Dafnis Prieto Masterclass



Cuban-born drummer Dafnis Prieto is a force. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to study with him for two weeks during the winter of 2010 while participating in a workshop at the Banff Centre and work with him on a daily basis. Prieto's intimate understanding of Afro-Cuban rhythms and his application of them to modern musical contexts is unbelievable. And of course his technique and coordination combined with a forward thinking view of music makes him, as far as I'm concerned, one of the great innovators of our time.

Here he is demonstrating some of his techniques from a masterclass:



And here's a more extensive interview with Dafnis where he talks about his art and craft:



I've posted these ones before, but here are a few good examples of Dafnis Prieto in action courtesy of the LP Percussion company:





And this little clave bit is from Prieto's session at PASIC 2008.

This...is...ridiculous!

The Monday Morning Paradiddle



As per usual, here's a collection of interesting things for you to check out today:



- The Banff Centre has a long-standing tradition of exceptional Jazz programs, going back to the early 70s. A lot of incredible music has been created in the mountains over the years and I've been very fortunate to have participated in numerous workshops there over the years.

Dave Douglas, the long-time director of the Banff Jazz & Creative Music Workshop (who incidentally will be stepping down after this coming year), offers some inspiring thoughts on the importance of attending and participating in workshops such as this over at his blog Greenleaf Music.

You can learn more about the Banff Centre at:

www.banffcentre.ca

- My good friend Matt Wilson is poised to release another album with his band Arts & Crafts entitled "An Attitude for Gratitude":



Here's a couple of great interviews with Wilson courtesy of Jason Crane over at the The Jazz Session:

http://thejazzsession.com/2012/01/23/the-jazz-session-340-matt-wilson/








- What am I listening to these days?

Aaron Goldberg Trio "Yes!" - Ali Jackson Jr. (drums)

Susie Ibarra "Drum Sketches" - Susie Ibarra (drums & percussion)

Jim McNeely "Group Therapy" - John Hollenbeck (drums)

Keith Jarrett "Ruta & Daitya" - Jack DeJohnette (drums & percussion)

Brian Blade & Fellowship "Perceptual" - Brian Blade (drums)

Morgan Childs Quintet "Time" - Morgan Childs (drums)

- Thanks to Peter Hum over at jazzblog.ca who turned me on to Aaron Goldberg's album "Yes!" It features some really outstanding playing from Ali Jackson Jr. on drums. Here's a clip of that trio from a hit at Dizzy's in New York City last fall:



- Speaking of piano trios, here's a couple of fine concerts featuring some great trio playing:

Jeff Hamilton/John Clayton/Monty Alexander



Benny Green/Ben Wolfe/Carl Allen





I'm looking forward to this exciting hit on Tuesday.

The Jeff McGregor Trio + 1

Featuring:

Jeff McGregor - Alto Saxophone
Simon Fisk - Bass
Jon McCaslin - Drums

with special guest: Jim Brenan - Tenor Saxophone

Tuesday, January 31

Kawa Espresso Bar
1333 8th St SW
Calgary, AB

8:00pm

No Cover



- Congratulations and all the best to the CBC's Katie Malloch, the host of the program "Tonic", who recently announced her retirement from the airwaves. Peter Hum over at jazzblog.ca wrote a very nice piece over here and Paul Wells offers his thoughts on his blog at macleans.ca here.

I can't stress enough about how indebted I am to Katie and to CBC Radio in general. Much of my early exposure to Jazz music and, most importantly, Canadian Jazz music came from tuning into Katie's program "Jazz Beat", Ross Porter's "After Hours" and Margaret Poitou's show "Easy Street" (that one goes back 20 years!) Let's hope that the CBC continues its support of Canadian Jazz and Jazz music in the wider scope. I never had the opportunity to record a session in Montreal for "Jazz Beat" but Katie very kindly played tracks from my first album "McCallum's Island" on her show quite frequently after it was first released.

I have no idea what her plans are post-CBC, but let's hope that Katie perhaps might consider other avenues to express her passion for Jazz music in Canada (how about joining the ranks of Canada's Jazz bloggers?)

I'm very proud to have had Katie as a spokesperson and advocate for Jazz music in Canada. Thank you Katie for a job well done all these years. Your passion and enthusiasm for the music always shine. Jazz in Canada is certainly at a better place because of you!

- Finally, courtesy of Adam Nussbaum, here is Alex Riel's dog playing the drums!



(dig the nice set of Gretsch drums...that pooch obviously has nice taste in drums)

Hey Ted, get your guys on this!

Brian Blade & The Fellowship



Here's a nice one to finish the week off, a couple of fine sets featuring Brian Blade and his Fellowship band from a recent show at Yoshi's in San Fransisco:



The chemistry that this band plays with is really something else. If I'm not mistaken, Blade has basically kept the personnel of this band together since the late 90s. That's impressive! One might imagine that a record company or a club owner or whom ever might be inclined to have Blade put together an all-star band of sorts. But I really respect the fact that Brian continues to develop his music with his crew despite the fact that they might not all be as high profile names as some of the other artists that Blade often accompanies as a sideman. I really respect that. The music always comes first with this guy and he and his band are musically in it for the long haul. These guys can all really play.

In the July 2008 issue of Modern Drummer, Ken Micallef asked Blade about this and his choice of musicians for his band. He replied: "It's hard for me to see it any other way. We're friends, we've known each other for so long. But when I write, these are the people that I hear. I hear their voices. I want my emotions and my heart to be wrapped up in that, otherwise I can't take stock. I want Fellowship to develop over as long period of time as possible."

I actually remember listening to his first album as a leader at a listening booth at the HMV on the corner of Peel and St. Catherines in Montreal shortly after it was first released in the late 90s. Brian had begun to gain some recognition for his work with Joshua Redman's band and with Kenny Garrett (as well as with Joni Mitchell and work with Daniel Lanois). He was definitely known for his intense energy and style of aggressive drumming (incidentally, I distinctly remember hearing a killer bootleg tape from the Montreal Jazz Festival featuring Brian with Kenny Garrett and Pat Metheny, playing on a program of John Coltrane's music, that bassist Sage Reynolds had given me. That shoddy tape recording really changed my perspective on things!) Anyways, for a "drummer's" record Blade's approach with the Fellowship really shattered any preconceptions I may have had at the time as to what a drummer-led band was all about. It's not really all about featuring the drums in every tune, building compositions around drum solos or crazy, mathematical odd meter vamps...instead this band is about a dedicated group dynamic and strong, through-composed textural and mood-based compositions that take a group effort in order to fully develop properly. What really knocks me out is their attention to space, pacing and dynamics that only the most mature of musicians with an open set of ears can tackle with such grace, flow and musicality.

Lately I've been revisiting the self-titled Fellowship album (1999) and the the follow-up "Perceptual" (2000) recently. The more recent Fellowship recording "Season of Changes" (2008) is on my to-do list as are his collaborations with guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel ("Friendly Travellers") and several trio recordings he recorded with pianist Edward Simon and bassist John Patitucci.

With regards to Brian Blade's unique style of drumming: I'm paraphrasing here but I read somewhere awhile ago in regards to a lesson that Ed Soph gave to a rather high-profile and accomplished drummer who was fascinated with Brian Blade's drumming but could not figure out how to capture that same spirit, energy and dynamic in his own playing. Ed replied (and I'm paraphrasing here of course!) something to the degree of:

"Well you have to understand that when Brian comes to play he is like a big empty vessel just waiting to be filled up by the music that surrounds him. You, on the other hand, when you come to play your "vessel" is already filled up and ready to be emptied!"

This all makes perfect sense and sums it up nicely as I sit here writing this and listen to the album "New Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall" that features Brian Blade with Roy Hargrove, Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock and John Patitucci. His sense of dynamic flow is impeccable.

The guy is all ears, all the time!

I just have to wonder out loud here: what does Brian Blade practice on the drums when he's at home these days? Rudiments? Wilcoxon? Syncopation exercises? Ride Cymbal technique? Playing along with recordings? Levon Helm backbeat grooves? Of course I'm being a bit tongue-in-cheek-here, but I am genuinely curious. For what it's worth...I know from a personal experience (crashing on his piano players couch once!) that Brian spends a lot of time playing the guitar...but that story is for another blog post, another time.

If you go back and listen to his earlier recordings from the early to mid 90s I hear a strong influence of Elvin and Tony in his playing but with a distinctive New Orleans looseness (incidentally Brian was a student of Johnny Vidacovich at one point). However, as he's developed over the years he really plays with such an open phrasing that it's almost like you can't define what he does in terms of licks or patterns...there is a certain "organic" quality about his drumming and phrasing that somehow defies strict definition from a "drumistic" standpoint (take a good look at his now infamous solo from Joshua Redman's "Jazz Crimes" to see what I mean...)



Wayne Shorter offers some interesting perspective on this from that same Modern Drummer article I mentioned above: "Brian places importance on the kind of storytelling that takes you away from the technique of the drums. Brian is like Sonship Theus and Eric Gravatt, these kinds of drummers who aren't stuck in method books...Brian is like a painter. He is youthful. Every day is the first moment. He doesn't sound like he's working on something today that he was doing two months ago."

Hard to argue with that! Lessons to be learned, indeed...

Here's another favorite of mine that features Brian Blade with Kenny Barron and Kiyoshi Kitagawa:



btw-Andrew Hare recently commented on Brian Blade's drumming as well over at his blog The Melodic Drummer. Check it out.

Donovan - HMS Donovan

Anyone who likes the Donovan of "Sunshine Superman" or "Mellow Yellow" will probably want to ignore this album -- but anyone who liked the Donovan of "Colours," "Turquoise," or "Poor Cow," or Gift From a Flower to a Garden, will have to track it down, because they'll find it essential. One has to give Donovan a lot of credit for attempting a release like HMS Donovan in 1971, although it never came close to charting at the time of its release. The drugged-out hippie era that had spawned trippy folk-based albums such as Gift From a Flower to a Garden was long past, and acoustic folk recordings were considered passe, yet here was Donovan setting words by Lewis Carroll, Thora Stowell, Ffrida Wolfe, Agnes Grozier Herbertson, Lucy Diamond, Edward Lear, Eugene Field, William Butler Yeats, Natalie Joan, and Thomas Hood, among others, to what were often hauntingly beautiful melodies, mostly strummed on a guitar. What's more, it just about all works perfectly, once one gets past the tape-effect tricks and other silliness of the opening track, "The Walrus and the Carpenter." Spawned at a time when the singer/songwriter was about to become a father, the album has a decidedly playful tone, even more so than its obvious predecessor, For Little Ones. Lovely as that record was, there are also long stretches of HMS Donovan that have far prettier melodies, arrangements, and accompaniment, played at more attractive tempos. The playing here, which is mostly just Donovan's solo guitar with maybe a string bass and organ, and an unnamed female singer or two backing him on a few tracks, is crisper and more focused (along with the recording), and the tunes are seldom short of gorgeous, whether written by Donovan or simply his arrangements of traditional folk melodies. HMS Donovan marked the singer's last venture of this kind, into his mid-/late-'60s folk style, or into folk-style children's songs, and it was the last of his albums to be characterized by whimsy. As a sign of some of the behind-the-scenes tensions that characterized its production, HMS Donovan contains one attempt at a rock track, in the form of "Homesickness" -- this failed attempt to emulate such late-'60s singles as "Hurdy Gurdy Man" is the only failed track on the album, and was also the only track here on which Donovan's longtime producer Mickie Most had any input. "Lord of the Dance" (written by Sydney Carter and utilizing a melody that Americans may know better as "Simple Gifts"), "Queen Mab," and "Celia of the Seals" are worth the price of admission by themselves. The BGO CD reissue sounds great and has very thorough annotation by John Tobler. - by Bruce Eder, AMG

Artist: Donovan (Leitch)
Album: HMS Donovan
Year: 1971
Quality: flac files, artw.
Label: BGO Records (Remastered, 1997)
Runtime: 74:09

Tracks:
1.  The Walrus And The Carpenter (Lewis Caroll/Donovan) 8:36
2.  Jabberwocky (Lewis Caroll/Donovan) 2:37
3.  The Seller Of Stars (Thora Stowell/Donovan) 2:52
4.  Lost Time (Frida Wolf/Donovan) 2:29
5.  The Little White Road (Thora Stowell/Donovan) 2:05
6.  The Star (Donovan Leitch) 1:45
7.  Coulter's Candy (Donovan Leitch) 1:44
8.  The Road (Lucy Diamond/Donovan) 1:08
9.  Things To Wear (Agnes Grozier Herbertson/Donovan) 1:06
10.  The Owl And The Pussycat (Edward Lear/Donovan) 2:24
11.  Homesickness (Donovan Leitch) 2:31
12.  Fishes In Love (Donovan Leitch) 1:04
13.  Mr. Wind (Donovan Leitch) 2:38
14.  Wynken Blynken And Nod (Eugene Filed/Donovan) 2:26
15.  Celia Of The Seals (Donovan Leitch) 3:02
16.  The Pee Song (Donovan Leitch) 2:06
17.  The Voyage Of The Moon (Donovan Leitch) 5:18
18.  The Unicorn (Donovan Leitch) 0:55
19.  Lord Of The Dance (Sidney Carter) 2:31
20.  Little Ben (Donovan Leitch) 1:44
21.  Can Ye Dance (Donovan Leitch) 1:32
22.  In An Old-Fashioned Picture Book (Donovan Leitch) 3:11
23.  The Song Of Wandering Aengus (W.B. Yeats/Donovan) 3:56
24.  A Funny Man (Natalie Joan/Donovan) 1:51
25.  Lord Of The Reedy River (Donovan Leitch) 2:38
26.  Henry Martin (Traditional) 5:08
27.  Queen Mab (Donovan Leitch) 2:18
28.  La Moora (Donovan Leitch) 2:21

Personnel:
Donovan Leitch (Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica)
Mike Thompson (Bass, Organ)
John Carr (Drums)
Danny Thompson (Bass Fiddle) - 15
Mary (Fiddle)

Peter Erskine on DW Drums



Peter Erskine always has nice taste in drums and cymbals. Here he is today playing and demonstrating his beautiful DW Jazz series drums:



"You can take 'em uptown or you can take 'em downtown!"

Antonio Farao - Next Stories

One doesn't come across many pianists who not only have a firm command of the blues, bebop, ballads and beyond but also bring something personal and original to the keyboard. Antonio Farao` who has collaborated with Franco Ambrosetti, Richard Galliano, John Abercrombie, Billy Cobham, Lee Konitz, Antonio Hart, Branford Marsalis, Joe Lovano and Terri Lyne Carrington, among others, is arguably the leading mainstream jazz pianist in Italy today. The reigning winner of the Martial Solal Competition, Farao` is a leading member of Europe's multifaceted jazz community and among the few instrumentalists from that side of the Atlantic to have hung out and held his own in jam sessions at Small's and other clubs on the challenging New York scene where he earned the respect of his Afro-American peers there like the late Kenny Kirkland. For his third album on ENJA, "Next Stories," two days had been set aside for taping and a third for mixing but Farao` and his cohorts had quickly become a tightly knit unit that effortlessly put down ten tracks in seven hours including a break for lunch. There were a few false starts but otherwise the quartet nailed each tune the first time around and did so with authority. Except for the Cole Porter song and the pianist's tender rendition of John Williams's moving ballad "I Could Have Done More" from his soundtrack for "Schindler's List," all the songs were written by Farao` during the year leading up to the session. In May 2000, American magazine Cadence commented Farao`'s ENJA debut, "Black Inside": "Farao` at times recalls McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock but basically has his own advanced style.The pianist is particularly adept at building up his solos, his technique is quite impressive and his originals contain enough quality to hold one's interest throughout." "Next Stories" is the latest chapter to chronicle the ongoing creative saga of Antonio Farao` who started his adventures in jazz during the mid-1980s as a teenage prodigy sitting in with the likes of Daniel Humair and Steve Grossman at the Capolinea Jazz Club in Milan. Although still in his mid-30s, the classically trained pianist who graduated with honors from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan is a mature artist today. - from Enja's website

Artist: Antonio Farao
Album: Next Stories
Year: 2001
Label: Enja (2002)
Runtime: 49:54

Tracks:
1.  I'm Waiting 5:14 
2.  Theme For Bond 9:43 
3.  Creole 4:34 
4.  Sweet 4:08 
5.  Next Stories 7:33 
6.  I Could Have Done More 4:44 
7.  What Is This Thing Called Love 4:05 
8.  Few Days 6:43 
9.  Sabrina And Joseph 3:05 
All compositions by Antonio Farao

Personnel:
Antonio Farao (Piano)
Ed Howard (Bass)
Gene Jackson (Drums)
Pibo Martinez (Percussion)

Chris Potter Plays Tune Up



Not a drum post today but this one is for all my saxophone playing friends out there...well, and everybody, really!



There was also a bootleg of Potter performing a solo version of "All The Things You Are" similar to this making the rounds awhile ago. I'm impressed with Potter's ability to make complete music by himself and you never stop "hearing the tune" while he improvises a solo like this, even when he's really stretching with the time and harmony. While on the drums we aren't playing an instrument that is organized the same way melodically or harmonically, I think there is still a real lesson to be learned here. We should all be able to improvise and "play the tune" and execute our ideas with a certain clarity, organization and overall musicality that allows the listener to understand and hear the larger melodic/harmonic structures at play.

Up Close with Jack DeJohnette



Dig this: from the recent 2012 NEA Jazz Master's awards concert, here's some nice up close, behind the scenes footage of the Master Jack DeJohnette performing Ornette Coleman's composition "When Will The Blues Leave?" with the likes of Sheila Jordan, Ron Carter and my old buddy Jimmy Owens (from my days in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program in Washington, D.C.):



Watching this clip is a great opportunity to check out Jack's approach to timekeeping. In particular, take special note of Jack's right hand. This is a GREAT lesson in ride cymbal playing! He is quite relaxed and if you'll notice he hardly moves his arm/hand at all but yet the beat is strong, clear and has definite intensity to it.

Thanks for the lesson Jack!

Motian Sickness - The Music of Paul Motian: For the Love of Sarah



I was very excited to get a copy of Jeff Cosgrove's latest CD "Motian Sickness - This Music of Paul Motian: For the Love of Sarah" awhile ago and it's a great album. Jeff has recorded a collection of Paul Motian's music in a very uncommon strings + drums instrument combination. But it really works for me and Jeff has put together a very creative and musical take on Motian's unique compositions. I've enjoyed listening to these tracks very much lately.

I was intrigued with this project and Jeff was nice enough to answer a few questions about his recording journey and relationship with the late Paul Motian.


What was the inspiration for this project?

"It honestly came from wanting to do something different.  When I first heard Paul's record Conception Vessel, the music changed what I though a compositional/percussionist approach to jazz could be.  At the time of hearing that record, I was playing a lot of standards with various musicians in trio settings and at jam sessions.  I found myself restless in the music.  I want to strive to have my playing with equal parts jazz drummer and percussionist and didn't feel like I could get that with the situations I was in.  Motian's music really the most exciting vehicle for me to experiment with - he was approaching his music and standards from a very melodic/compositional point of view that really opened my eyes.  I would practice to his records and one day I just knew I wanted to make a record of Paul's compositions." 


What in particular attracted you so much to Motian's music?

"The emotional connection to the music and the effect of the musical space are the cornerstone of what attracts me to Motian's music.  I love to hear the sound decay in the melodies, it is hauntingly beautiful in some of the compositions, like Conception Vessel or Arabesque but can also be frantic and misshapen like in Mumbo Jumbo or The Storyteller.  The music has an elastic quality to it that creates a lot of illusions toward total freedom.  The reality is that the compositions and improvisations are always rooted in Paul's melody.  They are emotional, flexible pieces that come from Paul which produce beautiful music." 


On speaking and communicating with Paul Motian:

"Well about getting to talk to Paul, it is kind of a funny story.  I didn't know Paul but had spoken to him on the phone a few times and met him a few times through out the beginning of the Motian Sickness project.  It all started when I was talking with pianist Frank Kimbrough after he had recorded his Play record with Motian in early 2006.  I wanted to find out all about playing with Paul, as I'm a huge fan of Frank and Paul.  I mentioned the idea I had to record Paul's music and he thought it was a great idea.  He gave me Motian's number and took me about a year to work up the courage to call.  Frank set my expectations low that Paul would call back, but Paul called back the next day.  We talked on the phone initially for about 30 minutes about the idea for the music.  He was genuinely interested to hear his music expressed through the mandolin/fiddle/bass/drums.  Paul was hilarious on the phone, he really made it easy to talk to one of my hero's - one of my top five favorites actually.  He was very humble about his compositions.  When I told him the band name, he laughed so hard that he dropped the phone." 

"Throughout the three and a half years of working on the project, Paul sent me about 30 scores in two batches.  The first batch were twelve of his favorites, which included Conception Vessel, Mumbo Jumbo, For the Love of Sarah, The Storyteller, and Arabesque.  The second batch were tunes that I requested.  It is amazing to have the lead sheets in his hand writing and notations.  He would tell me, "the phrase is the most important thing...I don't care how the cats play the time, but the phrase is everything."  Those were definitely inspiring words." 

"I would see him at the Vangaurd and I talked to him on the phone a few more times before he passed away which was amazing.  Each time I would see him at the Vanguard, I would introduce myself and he would always say..."it's great to see you but man, this is a long way from West Virginia!" 


The instrumentation you chose is definitely not a common one.  How did you come up with the unique idea to record an album of all string instruments and drums? 

"I live in an area (Eastern West Virginia) where there is a lot of bluegrass music.  The warmth of that sound is really attractive to me.  I had always wanted to play freer jazz with that warm sound.  Over the last ten years, I have ended up collecting all of Paul's record as a leader.  Throughout studying his music and playing, I just had a feeling that the warmth of sound that a mandolin, fiddle, and bass would bring out the illusive elements of Motian's music.  It has such a folkloric quality to it and is so flexible to interpretation, much like bluegrass."

"I started to set up a couple rehearsals of the music with very traditional bluegrass musicians, I could tell right away that the music was perfect for the interpretation.  The guys I was working with in the rehearsals were not use to the flexibility and give that the melodies had regarding time.  It was definitely strangely beautiful though.  I had to find the right players that understood the subtle nature of freer music and the warmth of bluegrass." 

"First I approached mandolin player Jamie Masefield, which was introduced by a friend who manages the Discover Jazz Festival in Burlington Vermont.  Jamie was playing at the festival in June of 2010 and my family and I were there for vacation and we met after his set. I knew Jamie was very comfortable in bluegrass and is an amazing jazz player - his Jazz Mandolin Project is a very, very cool band.  He was definitely hesitant about it as he was largely unfamiliar with Motian as a composer.  After sending him the tunes, he was definitely interested but still not sure he could fit in.  When we talked about where I was coming from with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band sound, he was hooked." 

"With bass, John Hebert was really the guy that I wanted.  I had never met him but I really dug his playing with Fred Hersch, Andrew Hill and so many others.  His sound is so big and inviting.  John had just played on my friend Noah Preminger's record so I called Noah and got in touch with John.  From the outset, John was into it, super helpful and very encouraging.  He helped me get the studio time together and when the original fiddle player was unable to make the recording, John suggested Mat." 

"I knew of Mat and his playing with Motian.  The first time I went to see Motian, Mat was in the band.  He just has such a natural sound and really can do so much with it.  Mat understands improvised music but very understanding of the sound of classical and bluegrass.  Mat was very cool and interested when we talked for the first time.  He wanted to do the record and it just seemed so effortless.  Plus, he is just such a laid back guy which is so important for me.  He was also encouraging when I talked about this being my first record."

"The guys were amazing from a musical and personal standpoint.  The three and a half year time getting to the studio was worth it to have these guys on it.  I couldn't have asked for more from these fine musicians and am so grateful to have been able to work with them." 


On the recording process:

"In true Motian fashion, there was not going to be an rehearsal based on everyone's schedule.  We recorded in New York in the first week of February in between two major snow and ice storms.  John was coming in from Germany from a tour, I was coming up from West Virginia, Jamie was coming from Vermont, it had the potential to be disaster.  When we walked into the studio, it was the first time we had all seen each other.  The first notes we recorded were Arabesque, the one and only take of that tune.  I knew we had a record that we could all be proud of.  The communication was great.  Everyone had ideas for the tunes, we arranged everything in between takes.  It just really seemed meant to be.  We talked, joked and played some great music together.  I was so fortunate to be able to make this music with musicians of such a high level."   

"This project has been a dream come true.  It had frustrating moments with all the fits and starts with trying to get it all together but it certainly paid off.  I was really, really fortunate to have all the support from my wife who would not let me give up.  She knew it was important for me and I can't thank her enough for it...the record is named for her.  This record was a testament to believing in something and it will come true. Additionally, Paul did get to hear the record before he passed away which I was able to get a lot of closure on this project."


As you can see here, Downbeat magazine also offered a very positive review of this album:




If you are interested in listening to this fine album, you can pick it up here:

iTunes (with two bonus tunes)

Amazon

CD Baby

Gabriel Yared - Shamrock

Lebanon-born Gabriel Yared started his career as a pop composer and musical arranger for the likes of Michel Jonasz and Françoise Hardy. His first encounter with films occurred in 1973 with Samy Pavel's Miss O'Gynie et les Hommes Fleurs. Six years later, he was invited by Jean-Luc Godard to score Every Man for Himself. From there, Yared went on to compose up to seven scores a year. Unlike other prolific film composers, such productivity did not result in simple repetition; Yared sought his inspiration in various genres and styles, ranging from classics to folk, rock, and jazz. His moody saxophone compositions in Betty Blue and his score for The Lover, in which he experimented with Oriental instruments, were awarded Cesars (French Oscars). In 1996, he enjoyed another success with The English Patient, for which he was awarded an Oscar. - by Yuri German, AMG

This material: music for a ballet. Based on a Story by Carolyn Carlson and performed by the National Ballet of Amsterdam. Premiered at the Natonal Theatre of Amsterdam on October 15th 1987. All tracks written and arranged by Gabriel Yared.

Artist: Gabriel Yared
Album: Shamrock
Year: 1987
Label: Les Disques du crepuscule (1988)
Runtime: 39:33

Tracks:
1.  Temptation 2:13 
2.  A Short Tale 3:32 
3.  Sidetrack 4:01 
4.  Shamrock I 7:10 
5.  Poules 0:56 
6.  Bagpipes 4:29 
7.  Alleluia 4:08 
8.  Human Clock 6:42 
9.  Shamrock II 2:16 
10.  Gaité Parisienne 4:01 

Personnel:
Gabriel Yared (Composer, Arranger)

John Riley in Clinic



This is just a short one, shot on somebody's iPhone (probably!), but I was fascinated by John's explanation of how he uses different inversions of double strokes between the snare and bass drum while playing time with the ride cymbal to develop further vocabulary for comping:



I like his ideas of dealing with permutations of the double strokes, varying the speed (eighth notes to triplets) and then also leaving notes out. It's a simple enough concept but combined with some imagination and creativity those patterns should give one enough ideas to develop over a lifetime!

Ralph Peterson Jr. Plays



Another bad ass drum solo from Ralph Peterson Jr. today:



Ralph has also got an excellent new instructional DVD out and, after now owning and viewing it myself, I highly recommend it for anyone seriously interested in studying the art of Jazz drumming. There is a lot of serious information and great playing packed into this DVD!

Here's a great sample from this DVD of Peterson explaining and demonstrating his craft:



(I really dig those blue sparkle drums Ralph!)

You've probably noticed the advertisement/link on my blog for Jazzheaven.com at the side of this page. Run (don't walk!) and go to that website NOW to find an amazing collection of Jazz instructional videos. I'll be featuring an interview with the mastermind behind these excellent productions, Falk Willis, in the near future. Stay tuned.

Dennis' Bass



Another post today for my friends of the bass clef persuasion, here's a very moving piece and a tribute to bassist Dennis Irwin, a marvelous musician who left us way too early:



I had always admired Dennis' playing, having heard him on recordings with the likes of John Scofield, Joe Lovano, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and on a ton of dates on the Criss Cross label (how I found those particular albums is for another future post...) He always struck me as the ultimate sideman, someone that people loved to play with and who musicians obviously knew they could always depend on to play their music. If you saw his name on a gig or an album you always knew that he would get the job done with taste, musicality and professionalism. A great role model for any rhythm section player, I think.

I was fortunate to spend some time hanging out with Dennis and play with him in 2004 while I was spending time in New York City on a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. I was studying with drummer Matt Wilson at the time and he introduced me to Dennis while I was following around Matt's band "Arts & Crafts" while they were touring the five boroughs, performing school concerts as part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center outreach program.

Dennis was a very warm person and graciously invited me to his loft for a couple days to play together and talk about music. We also had a mutual friend in Montreal bassist Brian Hurley (whom I had played with extensively) so we got along pretty quickly. Dennis and I played a lot of quarter notes together (among other things!) and I learned a lot from his tales of playing with all the world's greatest Jazz drummers (Art Blakey, Bill Stewart, John Riley, Idris Muhammad, Kenny Washington, Mel Lewis, Lewis Nash - you name it!) Dennis and I was also shared a few laughs following his gigs on Monday evenings with the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and he graciously invited me to sit in with Pete Malaverni's trio at the Sweet Basil one night (and let me tell you, it was very hard to play following the swinging' drumming of Leroy Williams!) It was a great lesson and experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Here's a clip featuring Dennis Irwin with the Joe Lovano Nonet to enjoy courtesy of Bret Primack, "The Jazz Video Guy":



And finally a performance of Matt Wilsons "Arts & Crafts" band featuring Dennis on the Monk tune "We See":

Didier Lockwood - 'Round About Silence

The last 25 years have been like an extraordinary whirlwind of musical encounters, each more rewarding than the preceding. This time, however, I felt it necessary - even vital - to try and suspend time so as to relish the delicate silent space that surrounds it. All of us have tried, in our own way, to express the ineffable. To convey, sans artifice, the brittleness of things. It is in this spirit that we invite you to share these simple stories, tender, melancholic and sweet, like an escapade out of time, hoping that you will get as musch pleasure in listening as we have had in telling them. - by Didier Lockwood, from the CD cover

Artist: Didier Lockwood
Album: 'Round About Silence
Year: 1998
Label: Dreyfus Jazz
Runtime: 56:04

Tracks:
1.  I Remember Alby (Didier Lockwood) 4:32
2.  La javanaise (Didier Lockwood) 4:35
3.  Grenouille (Benoit Sourisse) 2:19
4.  Sao Luis (Francis Lockwood) 4:44
5.  Madiva (Didier Lockwood) 5:46
6.  Entrasystoles (Didier Lockwood) 3:30
7.  Round About Silence (Didier Lockwood) 4:06
8.  Bossa pour Didier (Stephane Grapelli) 4:56
9.  Nicou (Andre Charlier) 4:44
10.  Epique ou rien (Benoit Sourisse) 4:22
11.  Hati (Didier Lockwood) 3:11
12.  Rue de la foret (Didier Lockwood) 4:17
13.  Ballade des fées (Didier Lockwood) 2:39
14.  Jour de pluie (Didier Lockwood) 2:18

Personnel:
Didier Lockwood (Violin, Alto Saxophone, Trumpet, Mandolin)
André Charlier (Drums)
Marc-Michel Lebevillon (Double Bass)
Benoit Sourisse (Piano)
Guest musicians:
Bireli Lagrene (Guitar) - 2,8
Eric Séva (Soprano Saxophone) - 5,7,10
Marc Berthoumieux (Accordion) - 4,11
Caroline Casadesus (Vocals) - 4,7
Anne Ducros (Vocals) - 4,7
Dominique Marc (Tenor Saxophone) - 13
Claude Egéa (Trumpet, Flugelhorn) - 10
Damien Verherve (Trombone) - 10

Art Taylor & Johnny Griffin



"Oh you better watch out, Mr. A.T. knows who's been naughty and nice..."

Here's another great one of Art Taylor teaming up with Johnny Griffin from a French television broadcast:



Art Taylor was an impeccable timekeeper, comper and overall great accompanist. Watching his left hand in that last clip is a lesson in itself. No wonder he was in such high demand as a sideman back in the day. His playing always struck me as a great combination of Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones and Art Blakey although done in a very personal and creative way.

The Monday Morning Paradiddle



Good morning everybody and happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Let's all take a moment to reflect on the meaning of King's important message that still resonates today.

Here's a few things of interest worth checking out today:

-Props to Rubim DeToledo and his crew that performed music from Mile Davis' "Bitches Brew" and "In A Silent Way" over the weekend at the Beatniq Jazz & Social Club. Rubim, along with Jim Brenan, Bob Tildesley, Ralf Buschmeyer, Chris Andrew, Tyler Hornby and Raul Gomez Tabera really nailed it and they all sounded great.

-Following the recent death of saxophonist and composer Sam Rivers, NPR's A Blog Supreme published this very thoughtful article about some of the important lessons that Rivers has taught us:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2012/01/06/144333414/what-i-learned-from-sam-rivers


-Drummer Rakalam Bob Moses gives us this personal and inspiring article on his relationship and mentorship with the great Edgar Bateman:

http://jazztimes.com/articles/27196-edgar-bateman

-I came across this footage of Terry Clarke performing with a chamber string-ensemble:



About 2/3 through the clip Clarke plays a very cool brush solo on his signature Ayotte drums (with a single 10" mounted tom)

-Billy Drummond is one of my favorite all-time contemporary drummers. Not the greatest footage, but here he is with pianist Renee Rosnes on Thelonious Monk's "Four in One":



I heard Rosnes and Drummond play together several times over the years as a trio with a variety of bass players and it was always killing!

-What am I listening to these days?

Dana Hall "Into the Light" - Dana Hall (drums)

Dave Holland Octet "Pathways" - Nate Smith (drums), Steve Nelson (vibraphone)

Shelly Manne & Friends "My Fair Lady" - Shelly Manne (drums)

Dave Liebman "We Three" - Adam Nussbaum (drums)

John Coltrane "Dear Old Stockholm" - Roy Haynes (drums)

Eric Harland "Voyager" - Eric Harland (drums)


-Have you seen this old footage of Greg Hutchinson warming up in the studio?



Damn!

-Here's a couple of classic pieces to watch and reflect on...here is Elvin Jones performing with the John Coltrane Quartet on the pieces "Afro Blue" and the moving "Alabama" from Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual television series:





-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - "On the Importance of Jazz"



"God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create, and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many
different situations.

Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.

This is triumphant music.

Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.

It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls.

Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail. It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down.

And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.

In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Opening Address to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival

(thank you to Kenan Foley who sent me this important message this morning)

Hardbop Saxophone: Hank Mobley - No Room For Squares


1.Three Way Split (Hank Mobley) 7:47
2.Carolyn (Lee Morgan) 5:28
3.Up A Step+ (Hank Mobley) 8:29
4.No Room for Squares (Hank Mobley) 6:57
5.Me 'N You (Lee Morgan) 7:15
6.Old World, New Imports+ (Hank Mobley) 6:05
7.Carolyn (Alternate Take)(Lee Morgan)* 5:33
8.No Room for Squares (Alternate Take)(Hank Mobley)* 6:43

*Bonus tracks, not part of the original album

Lee Morgan, trumpet; Hank Mobley, tenor saxophone; Andrew Hill, piano; John Ore, bass; Philly Joe Jones, drums

+Donald Byrd, trumpet; Hank Mobley, tenor saxophone; Herbie Hancock, piano; Butch Warren, bass; Philly Joe Jones, drums

Recorded on March 7, 1963 (#3 & 6) and October 2, 1963 (all others) at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

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Rare Jazz Saxophone Recordings: Warne Marsh Lew Tabackin - Tenor Gladness


Recorded on October 13-14 1976

01 - Basic #2
02 - Easy
03 - March of the Tadpoles
04 - Hangin' Loose
05 - New ance
06 - Basic #1

Lew Tabackin & Warne Marsh - tenor sax
John Heard - bass
Larry Bunker - drums
Toshiko Akyioshi - Piano

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New Jazz Saxophone Recordings (2011): Bob Mintzer - Yellojackets Timeline

01. Why Is It 5:04
02. Tenacity 6:07
03. Rosemary 4:54
04. Timeline 5:11
05. Magnolia 4:36
06. A Single Step 7:05
07. Indivisible 5:22
08. Like Elvin 5:32
09. My Soliloquy 6:22
10. Numerology 5:56
11. I Do 6:00

Russell Ferrante - piano,keyboards.
Jimmy Haslip - bass.
Bob Mintzer - tenor and soprano saxes,bass clarinet.
Will Kennedy - drums,keyboards.
Robben Ford - guitar on track 5
John Daversa - trumpet on tracks 2,8

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Jacky Terrasson & Cassandra Wilson - Rendezvous

For this notable set, pianist Jacky Terrasson teams up with the smoky, chance-taking vocalist Cassandra Wilson, either Lonnie Plaxico or Kenny Davis on bass and percussionist Mino Cinelu. The music is quite impressionistic and atmospheric. Terrasson and Wilson stick to standards, but their renditions of such songs as "Old Devil Moon," "My Ship," "Tea for Two" and even "Tennessee Waltz" are quite haunting and floating, slightly disturbing and occasionally sensuous. Terrasson, who takes "Autumn Leaves" and "Chicago 1987" (the one non-standard) as solo pieces, was on his way to forming his own style, while Wilson had certainly found her niche. An intriguing matchup. - by Scott Yanow, AMG

Artist: Jacky Terrasson & Cassandra Wilson
Album: Rendezvous
Year: 1997
Label: Blue Note
Runtime: 48:54

Tracks:
1.  Old Devil Moon (E.Y. "Yip" Harburg/Burton Lane) 5:47
2.  Chan's Song (Herbie Hancock) 5:45
3.  Tennesee Waltz (Pee Wee King/Redd Stewart) 4:47
4.  Little Boy Lost (Alan Bergman/Michel Legrand) 5:06
5.  Autumn Leaves (Joseph Kosma/Johnny Mercer/Jacques Prévert) 2:38
6.  It Might As Well Be Spring (Oscar Hammerstein II/Richard Rodgers) 4:59
7.  My Ship (Ira Gershwin/Kurt Weill) 3:25
8.  I Remember You (Johnny Mercer/Victor Schertzinger) 3:02
9.  Tea For Two (Irving Caesar/Vincent Youmans) 4:47
10.  If I Ever Would Leave You (Alan Jay Lerner/Frederick Loewe) 5:29
11.  Chicago 1987 (Jacky Terrasson) 3:09

Personnel:
Jacky Terrasson (Piano)
Cassandra Wilson (Vocals) - 1,3,4,6-10
Lonnie Plaxico (Bass) - 1,3,6-10
Mino Cinelu (Percussion) - 1-3,6,8-10
Kenny Davis (Bass) - 2

Blue Note - The Story of Modern Jazz



The Blue Note record label is undeniably one of the greatest Jazz record labels of all time. Here's a very informative documentary on the story of the people who made it happen:

Free Jazz Saxophone: Ornette Coleman - In All Languages


Disc 1 (the Quartet)
Peace Warriors" – 2:35
Feet Music" – 3:32
Africa is the Mirror of All Colors" – 2:58
Word for Bird" – 3:16
Space Church (Continuous Service)" - 3:59
Latin Genetics" – 3:39
In All Languages" – 3:33
Sound Manual" – 3:08
Mothers of the Veil" – 3:45
Cloning" – 3:14

Disc 2 (Prime Time)
Music News" – 3:00
Mothers of the Veil" – 4:28
The Art of Love is Happiness" – 2:29
Latin Genetics" – 2:45
Today, Yesterday and Tomorrow" – 3:10
Listen Up" – 2:29
Feet Music" – 3:49
Space Church (Continuous Service)" – 4:34
Cloning" – 2:28
In All Languages" – 3:06
Biosphere" – 2:20
Story Tellers" – 2:49
Peace Warriors" – 2:23

Disc 1 (the Quartet)
Ornette Coleman - Alto and tenor saxophone
Don Cherry - Trumpet
Charlie Haden - Double bass
Billy Higgins - Drums

Disc 2 (Prime Time)
Ornette Coleman - Saxophone and trumpet
Denardo Coleman - Drums
Calvin Weston - Drums
Jamaaladeen Tacuma - Bass guitar
Al MacDowell - Bass guitar
Charlie Ellerbee - Electric guitar
Bernie Nix - Electric Guitar

Free Jazz Saxophone: Ornette Coleman - Song X


01 Song X
02 Mob Job
03 Endangered Species
04 Video Games
05 Kathelin Gay
06 Trigonometry
07 Song X Duo
08 Long Time No See

Ornette Coleman - Alto Sax alto, Violín
Pat Metheny - Guitar & Synth Guitar
Charlie Haden - Bass
Jack DeJohnette - Drums
Denardo Colemann - Drums & Percussions

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Tony Meets Art!



Today's post features a meeting of drummers of epic proportions!

This French concert, featured in its entirety, features the great Art Blakey and Tony Williams working together, backed up by Stanley Clarke on bass and a group of percussionists:



In particular check out their version of Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant" which I quite enjoyed. This is a great example of two great jazz drummers from different generations making interesting music together. I did the math and Art is about 53 years old in this footage while Tony is around 27...almost half the age of Blakey!

Blakey was obviously a big fan of drummers playing together and gave us several albums on the Blue Note label that featured bands with multiple drummers and percussionists. We don't see jazz drummers collaborate like this very often (although Joe Lovano's "US FIVE" project comes to mind as does Joshua Redman's double trio) but it's certainly an interesting sonic texture worth exploring.

Stacey Kent - Let Yourself Go

Let Yourself Go is an exceptional collection of 13 tunes written by the cream of popular song writers -- Berlin, Gershwin Brothers, and others -- honoring Fred Astaire's contributions to the vocal art. With his low key, narrow ranged voice, Astaire probably introduced and/or made popular more songs that were destined to become standard entries in the Great American Songbook than any other artist. Kent delivers this selective play list with one of three musical combinations, just piano, with piano plus rhythm, and with a larger aggregation which includes sax and guitar. Irrespective of the instrumental context, all of the tunes are delivered with Stacey's pleasant nasal twang to help her create the impression that the lyrics she's singing are part of an intimate one on one conversation with each listener. There's nothing over dramatic on this album. No gimmicks, just a voice as engaging as any on the scene conveying the meaning of a melody in the tradition of the person she is honoring, the inestimable Astaire.
Kent's pianist, David Newton, is one of the premiere accompanists in the U.K., having worked with such top flight singers as Tina May. He and Kent display their musical attraction to each other on a relaxed, suave rendition of "Isn't This a Lovely Day" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me," where Kent and Newton gently joust as they deliver an elegant rendition of this tune. "Relaxed" is as good a word as any to describe the atmosphere for this session. There's nothing frenetic here. "S'Wonderful," usually performed at a fast pace, gets a languid, medium tempo treatment with Newton's piano, an effortlessly lilting Colin Oxley guitar and Jim Tomlinson's tenor sharing the mike with Kent. "A Fine Romance" is about as upbeat as it gets, with Oxley's cleaned line guitar setting the pace. Newton engages in a bit of Erroll Garner-like humming during his solo on this tune. Tomlinson's romantic tenor is featured on "Let Yourself Go" and "They All Laughed." On "One for My Baby," he brings out his clarinet, using the middle register to help create the proper melancholy mood for this definitive "drowning my sorrows in booze" tune.
In addition to providing more than 50 minutes of musical entertainment, the liner notes set out the lyrics for each tune. This is another excellent album by American born, U.K.-based singer Stacey Kent, and is happily recommended. - by Dave Nathan, AMG

Artist: Stacey Kent
Album: Let Yourself Go
Year: 1999
Quality: eac-flac, cue, log, artw.
Label: Candid
Runtime: 55:02

Tracks:
1.  Let Yurself Go (Irving Berlin) 3:49
2.  They Can't Take That Away from (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) 5:02
3.  I Won't Dance (Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields/Jimmy McHugh) 4:42
4.  Isn't This a Lovely Day ? (Irving Berlin) 4:01
5.  They All Laughed (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) 4:32
6.  He Loves and She Loves (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) 4:26
7.  Shall We Dance? (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) 3:05
8.  One for My Baby (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer) 5:58
9.  's Wonderful (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin) 6:02
10.  A Fine Romance (Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields) 3:04
11.  I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan (Howard Dietzt/Arthur Schwartz) 2:39
12.  I'm Putting All My Eggs in One (Irving Berlin) 3:46
13.  By Myself (Howard Dietzt/Arthur Schwartz) 3:50

Personnel:
Stacey Kent (Vocals)
Jim Tomlinson (Tenor and Alto Saxophone, Clarinet)
Colin Oxley (Guitar)
David Newton (Piano)
Simon Thorpe (Double Bass)
Steve Brown (Drums)

Michael Brecker Quartet Germany 1999


Michael Brecker Quartet
Stadtgarten
Köln, Germany
November 6, 1999

Lineup

Michael Brecker, tenor saxophone
Larry Goldings, organ, piano
Adam Rogers, guitar
Idris Muhammad, drums

Tracklist

1. Arc of the Pendulum (Brecker)
2. Half Past Late (Brecker)
3. Delta City Blues (Brecker)
4. Renaissance Man (George Whitty)
5. Round Midnight (Monk)
6. Autumn Leaves (Kosma)

FM Broadcast

NEA Jazz Master 2012 - Jack DeJohnette



Congratulations Jack!



And here's Jack and Roy Haynes engaging in a friendly "tap off" following the NEA Jazz Master's luncheon:



Haynes!

Modern Jazz Saxophone: Wayne Shorter - Schizophrenia


1.Tom Thumb (Wayne Shorter) 6:15
2.Go (Wayne Shorter) 4:52
3.Schizophrenia (Wayne Shorter) 6:59
4.Kryptonite (James Spaulding) 6:25
5.Miyako (Wayne Shorter) 5:55
6.Playground (Wayne Shorter) 6:20

Curtis Fuller, trombone
James Spaulding, alto sax and flute
Wayne Shorter, tenor sax
Herbie Hancock, piano
Ron Carter, bass
Joe Chambers, drums

Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on March 10, 1967

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Modern Jazz Saxophone: Wayne Shorter - Etcetera


1.Etcetera (Wayne Shorter) 6:17
2.Penelope (Wayne Shorter) 6:44
3.Toy Tune (Wayne Shorter) 7:31
4.Barracudas (General Assembly) (Gil Evans) 11:06
5.Indian Song (Wayne Shorter) 11:37

Wayne Shorter, tenor saxophone
Herbie Hancock, piano
Cecil McBee, bass
Joe Chambers, drums

Recorded on June 14, 1965 at the Van Gelder Studio,
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

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Modern Jazz Saxophone: Lee Konitz - Alone Toghether


1.Alone Together (H.Dietz-A.Schwartz) 13:48
2.The Song Is You (J.Kern-O.Hammerstein) 12:54
3.Cherokee (Ray Noble) 10:59
4.What Is This Thing Called Love? (Cole Porter) 11:32
5.Round Midnight (Williams-Monk-Hanighen) 12:49
6.You Stepped Out Of A Dream (N.Brown-G.Kahn) 11:36

Lee Konitz, alto saxophone
Brad Mehldau, piano
Charlie Haden, bass

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Jazz Saxophone Classics: Eric Dolphy - Out To Lunch


01 - Hat And Beard
02 - Something Sweet, Something Tender
03 - Gazzelloni
04 - Out To Lunch
05 - Straight Up And Down

eric dolphy - alto saxophone (4-5), flute (3), bass clarinet (1-2)
freddie hubbard - trumpet
bobby hutcherson - vibraphone
richard davis - bass
tony williams - drums

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Jeff Coffin & Bob Moses Clinic



Saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Coffin is one my favorite contemporary musicians these days. I really admire his sense of creativity and fearless attitude when it comes to improvisation and blurring the lines between styles in an interesting and musical way. With him, anything goes and he certainly has the technique, the knowledge and an open mind that allows him to do so. His playing with Bela Fleck a year ago in Calgary was a personal highlight for me so naturally I was excited to come across this clinic footage of Coffin playing along with the great Rakalam Bob Moses:



Collector Items: Eric Dolphy - The Complete Prestige Recordings


DISC ONE   
1. G.W. 7:58
2. On Green Dolphin Street 5:44
3. Les 5:13
4. 245 6:50
5. Glad To Be Unhappy 5:28
6. Miss Toni 5:41
7. April Fool 4:08
8. G.W. (Take 1) 12:10
9. 245 (Alternate Take 1) 8:10
10. Screamin' The Blues 10:59
11. March On, March On 5:00

DISC TWO   
1. The Drive 5:49
2. The Meetin' 6:43
3. Three Seconds 6:25
4. Alto-itis 4:59
5. Lautir 4:04
6. Curtsy 5:52
7. Geo's Tune 7:13
8. They All Laughed 5:08
9. Head Shakin' 10:46
10. Dianna 9:07
11. Out There 6:54

DISC THREE   
1. Serene 7:00
2. The Baron 2:56
3. Eclipse 2:44
4. 17 West 4:48
5. Sketch Of Melba 4:38
6. Feathers 5:00
7. Caribe 10:07
8. Blues In 6/8 5:44
9. First Bass Line 4:06
10. Mambo Ricci 6:56
11. Spring Is Here 5:07
12. Sunday Go Meetin' 5:50
13. Trane Whistle 6:18
14. Whole Nelson 3:33

DISC FOUR   
1. You Are Too Beautiful 5:11
2. Stolen Moments 7:52
3. Walk Away 5:25
4. Jaws 4:37
5. Mrs. Parker Of K.C. (Bird's Mother) 8:01
6. Ode To Charlie Parker 8:43
7. Far Cry 3:53
8. Miss Ann 4:16
9. Left Alone 6:41
10. Tenderly 4:19
11. It's Magic 5:40
12. Serene 6:38
13. Images 5:45
DISC FIVE   
1. Six And Four 7:15
2. Mama Lou 5:02
3. Ralph's New Blues 9:54
4. Straight Ahead 5:33
5. 111-44 3:26
6. Rally 5:41
7. Bass Duet 5:42
8. Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise 7:38
9. Where? 6:00
10. Yes, Indeed 5:50
11. Saucer Eyes 5:07
12. Status Seeking 8:52

DISC SIX   
1. Duquility 4:09
2. Thirteen 4:42
3. We Diddit 4:23
4. Warm Canto 5:37
5. Warp And Woof 5:36
6. Fire Waltz 7:58
7. Like Someone In Love 19:42
8. God Bless The Child 5:34
9. Aggression 16:45

DISC SEVEN   
1. Fire Waltz 13:25
2. Bee Vamp 12:22
3. The Prophet 21:15
4. Booker's Waltz 14:36
5. Status Seeking 13:20

DISC EIGHT   
1. Number Eight (Potsa Lotsa) 15:34
2. Bee Vamp (Alternate Take) 10:04
3. Don't Blame Me 11:09
4. When Lights Are Low 12:11
5. Don't Blame Me (Take 2) 11:45
6. Miss Ann 5:56
7. The Way You Look Tonight 9:09

DISC NINE   
1. Woody'n You 10:25
2. Laura 12:12
3. Glad To Be Unhappy 6:18
4. God Bless The Child 7:09
5. In The Blue (Takes 1, 2 & 3) 16:59
6. Hi-Fly 13:28
7. Oleo 7:23

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Soul & R&B Saxophone: David Sanborn - Here & Gone


1.St. Louis Blues (5:19)
2.Brother Ray (Feat. Derek Trucks) (5:40)
3.I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town (Feat. Eric Clapton) (4:48)
4.Basin Street Blues (4:56)
5.Stoney Lonesome (4:10)
6.I Believe To My Soul (Feat. Joss Stone) (4:31)
7.What Will I Tell My Heart? (4:47)
8.Please Send Me Someone To Love (3:22)
9.I've Got News For You (Feat. Sam Moore) (4:26).

Eric Clapton (vocals, guitar)
Joss Stone (vocals)
Derek Trucks, Russell Malone (guitar)
John Moses, Charles Pillow (bass clarinet)
Lou Marini (tenor saxophone); Howard Johnson (baritone saxophone)
Keyon Harrold, Lew Soloff, Wallace Roney (trumpet)
Gil Goldstein (Fender Rhodes piano, Wurlitzer piano, Wurlitzer organ)
Ricky Peterson (Hammond b-3 organ)
Christian McBride (bass instrument)
Steve Gadd (drums)

If you want to listen to this cd click here and take look for "open box" icon

Jazz Saxophone Classics: Charlie Parker - Complete Savoy Masters




You don't know what saxophone is if you don't know this recordings note by note!!!!

Disc 1
01. Tiny's Tempo - 02:55
02. I'll Always Love You - 03:00
03. Romance Without Finance - 03:03
04. Red Cross - 03:08
05. Warming Up a Riff - 02:33
06. Billie's Bounce - 03:11
07. Now's the Time - 03:16
08. Thriving on a Riff - 02:57
09. Meandering - 03:17
10. Ko-Ko - 02:55
11. Donna Lee - 02:34
12. Chasin' the Bird - 02:45
13. Cheryl - 02:59
14. Buzzy - 02:30
15. Milestones - 02:37
16. Little Willie Leaps - 02:52
17. Half Nelson - 02:45
18. Sippin' At Bells - 02:25
19. Another Hair-Do - 02:40
20. Blue Bird - 02:50
21. Klaunstance - 02:44
22. Bird Gets the Worm - 02:33

Disc 2
01. Barbados - 02:30
02. Ah-Leu-Cha - 02:56
03. Constellation - 02:29
04. Parker's Mood - 03:05
05. Perhaps - 02:36
06. Marmaduke - 02:45
07. Steeplechase - 03:06
08. Merry-Go-Round - 02:28
09. Groovin' High - 02:44
10. All the Things You Are - 02:51
11. Dizzy Atmosphere - 02:50
12. Dizzy's Boogie - 03:12
13. Flat Foot Floogie - 02:35
14. Poppity Pop - 03:01
15. Slim's Jam - 03:20
16. A Night in Tunisia (Carnegie) - 05:13
17. Dizzy Atmosphere (Carnegie) - 04:03
18. Groovin' High (Carnegie) - 05:15
19. Confirmation (Carnegie) - 05:40
20. Koko (Carnegie) - 04:15

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New Jazz Saxophone Recordings (2011): Houston Person - So Nice


01. Blues Everywhere
02. All Too Soon
03. I Wished On The Moon
04. Kiss And Run
05. So Nice
06. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
07. Close To You
08. Star Eyes
09. Minor Inconvenience
10. Easy Living
11. Everything I Love
12. Stephen Sondheim Medley

Personnel:
Houston Person: tenor saxophone;
Warren Vache: Cornet and Flugelhorn (1-3, 8);
Mark Patterson: Trombone (1, 5, 6, 8, 9);
John Di Martino: piano;
Howard Alden: guitar (1, 2, 9-11);
Ray Drummond: bass;
Lewis Nash: drums

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Hardbop Saxophone: John Coltrane - Paul Chambers Whims Of Chambers


1.Omicron
2.Whims Of Chambers
3.Nita
4.We Six
5.Dear Ann
6.Tales Of The Fingers
7. Just For The Love

John Coltrane: Tenor Sax,
Donald Byrd: Trumpet,
Kenny Burrell: Guitar,
Horace Silver: Piano
Paul Chambers: Bass
Philly Joe Jones: Drums

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Collector Items: The Complete Ike Quebec Blue Note 45 Sessions


Tracklist, Disc One:
01. A Light Reprieve (4:39)
02. Buzzard Lope (6:17)
03. Blue Monday (5:06)
04. Zonky (4:35)
05. Later for the Rock (4:37)
06. Sweet and Lovely (4:19)
07. Dear John (6:54)
08. Blue Friday (5:05)
09. Everything Happens to Me (short version) (4:32)
10. Mardi Gras (6:14)
11. What a Diff'rence a Day Makes (4:08)
12. For All We Know (4:12)
13. Ill Wind (6:13)

Tracklist, Disc Two:
01. If I Could Be with You (6:04)
02. I've Got the World on a String (5:35)
03. Me 'n' Mabe (5:13)
04. Everything Happens to Me (long version) (6:39)
05. All of Me (2:59)
06. Intermezzo (3:46)
07. But Not for Me (3:45)
08. All the Way (3:55)
09. How Long Has This Been Going On (6:00)
10. With a Song in My Heart (3:57)
11. Imagination (5:10)
12. What is There to Say (4:34)
13. There is No Greater Love (4:46)

Personnel (Collective):
Ike Quebec - tenor saxophone
Edwin Swanston, Sir Charles Thompson, Earl Van Dyke - organ
Skeeter Best, Willie Jones - guitar
Milt Hinton, Sam Jones, Sonny Wellesley - bass
J.C. Heard, Wilbert Hogan, Les Jenkins - drums

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