The Jazz Culture Feature
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIZZY GILLESPIE!!
Photo by Brian McMillen
Incomplete Recollections of John Berks Gillespie abstracted by L. Hamanaka
“Many know who Dizzy Gillespie was but only a few know WHAT he was. He brought about an organic change in music, the The Jazz Culture, VII:5
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likes of which we haven't seen since the time of J. S. Bach. He was a phenomenon and true American treasure that comes along ever so often as a gift bestowed on us by the Creator. ” Michael Longo, bebopyo@aol.com “I heard Dizzy live in Buffalo, New York in 1982, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He sounded like all my favorite trumpet players, realizing later all my favorite cats sounded like him, almost. He changed the way musicians approached jazz music and the trumpet. Dizzy invented latin jazz with Chano Pozo, was an innovative composer and arranger, and was maybe the best scat singer of all time. Also, he and Charlie Parker brought jazz to the forefront(1949) in American pop culture.” Joe Magnarelli, JoeMagnarelli.com Jimmy Heath has written about Dizzy Gillespie in his book, "I Walked with Giants," one of the most extensive and brilliant historical non-fiction books on jazz, and a must read for anyone interested in jazz heritage. When asked about Dizzy Gillespie, Mr. Heath recalls that... “For musicians, Dizzy was always teaching-as a human being he was "the most accessible genius I have ever met." Jimmy Heath, Heathmusic.com “I had a chance to meet the great Dizzy Gillespie back in the early 1980s while I was a young bandleader in Pittsburgh. He was an enchanting icon and his support for my big band endeavors were enthusiastic and endless. And like Basie, I feel his spirit with me every time I jump up onstage with my swing orchestra and it propels me to continuing keeping the jazz flame alive!” George Gee
…”I showed Mr. Gillespie trumpet valves cut for me by Nick Romanenko off an otherwise badly beat-up trumpet. Attached to a one and half ich diameter ten inch long pipe, which I carried around with me on tour as a tool for practicing breathing and finger dexterity. He liked it a lot. “Very smart,” he said, “You 2
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breathe in here and push the valves. Very good.” Valery Ponomarev, p.195, “On the Flip Side of Sound” “Dizzy Gillespie is another creator of bebop. He wrote memorable tunes, some very complex. He was also a famous band leader. However, he will always be remembered for his outstanding and daring improvisations. Totally original, and so difficult that few trumpeters accept the challenge of learning his solos note for note. He could trade ideas with Charlie Parker at any tempo and was often just as musical and creative. Dizzy used daring large intervals like no other trumpet player ever has, melodic and appropriate, not just pyrotechnique but part of his unusual style. He also employed a system of false fingerings that are, on the one hand, the only way to execute some of the bebop literature, and on the other hand, unable to be fully deciphered even by the most diligent students of the trumpet. Jon Faddis, to his credit, is one of the very few to adopt Dizzy as his model for approaching improvisation..Dizzy's improvisational style was the fundamental innovation for jazz trumpet after Louis Armstrong.” Mark McGowan
Trumpeter Danny Moore once revealed that Diz gave him a trumpet once, but he (Moore) damaged it by leaving it on the roof of a taxi; the taxi drove off and the horn fell in the street. Pub. Note:
Dizzy Gillespie inspired love and has a performing arts center named after him at the Baha’i Center at 53 East 11th Street, where Mike Longo, his pianist for decades, and associates are going to have a birthday party for Dizzy Gillespie on his birthday, October 22. The Baha’i Jazz Series, now in its 10th year, is inspired by Dizzy Gillespie, dedicated to preserving his contribution to music. John Birks “Dizzy” Gillespie was born in October,
1917, and died in January, 1993. An innovative and virtuoso trumpeter, composer, bandleader, arranger, he was born in Cheraw, South The Jazz Culture, V.II:5
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Carolina, the ninth child of James and Lottie Gillespie. His father was a weekend bandleader, and John Birks had access to many instruments; he took up trumpet, cornet, and trombone and he started piano at age four. Dizzy Gillespie fell in love with jazz after hearing Roy Eldridge on the radio, and got a trumpet scholarship to attend Laurinburg Institute in Laurinberg, North Carolina for two years before moving to Philadelphia with his family (he was the youngest of nine children). He joined the Frankie Fairfax Band in Philadelphia, where Charlie Shavers also played; and Shavers knew the Roy Eldridge solos, which Dizzy Gillespie then learned. After he moved to New York he sat in at jam sessions and got a gig with the Teddy Hill band, after his idol Roy Eldridge left. The Teddy Hill Band did a European tour, and when he came back he worked with flautist Alberto Soccorras’ Afro-Cuban group, and Al Cooper’s Savoy Sultans. From 1937 to 1944 Dizzy also worked with Charlie Barnet’s band and Benny Carter. In 1939, he joined Cab Calloway’s Orchestra, one of the highest paid groups at that time. Mr. Calloway recorded his “Pickin’ the Cabbage,” one of Gillespie’s early compositions. Mario Bauza was also in the trumpet section of Cab Calloway’s band and introduced him to Chano Pozo. While on tour with Calloway’s band, he met Charlie Parker in Kansas City. At the famous jam sessions at Minton’s and Monroe’s with Bird, Monk, Kenny Clarke, Bud and others, Dizzy Gillespie was experimenting and developing the harmonic and rhythmic basis of bebop. With others and in other contexts before and after, they created a new harmonic language and style out of the prior style. In 1941, after a famous dispute with Cab Calloway, he lost his gig. Although he did not throw the spitball in Cab Calloway’s Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie never ratted out the person who actually did throw the spitball. After the incident, like a true genius, he turned the situation into a period that helped fulfill his 4
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destiny by writing arrangements and becoming a sought after arranger, evolving his own musical identity. A trumpeter who could hit a Bb above high C, Dizzy Gillespie was riding a bike one day when he was hit by a car; he sued and won, but got only $1,000 award, meanwhile losing part of his top. As part of the hottest jazz scene in the world in New York, Dizzy Gillespie began working with Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Earl Hines’ Band (1943), Duke Ellington, Les Hite, Coleman Hawkins, and Jimmy Dorsey’s groups. From 1943-44, he co-led a combo with Oscar Pettiford, the great bassist. In the early 40’s he also played with Lucky Millinder’s Band. Diz and Bird used to practice together, and put together a practice book with their thoughts in it. the following statement to Dizzy Gillespie: “Our music is going to be the classical music of the future.” In 1944 Billy Eckstine hired Dizzy Gillespie as the musical director of his big band. At the time a gorgeous matinee idol with an international following, Mr. Eckstine’s band. At this time he was also recording small group records with Bird. According to Stanley Crouch, Dizzy Gillespie tried to form a big band in 1945 for a very short time but it failed. He was working with Bird in a quintet during the same period. It was on his second try in 1946 to have a big band that he kept it together for four years. Some of the players who worked in this band were: John Lewis, Milt Jackson, Kenny Clarke, Ray Brown, JJ Johnson, Jimmy Heath, Sonny Stitt, James Moody, Paul Gonsalves and John Coltrane. From 1946 to 1950, Dizzy Gillespie’s big band has been known among musicians as one of the greatest that ever was. When he had this big band he added Chano Pozo to the rhythm section, and composed and recorded some Afro-Cuban tunes like “Manteca,” as well as a piece by George Russell. One of the most beloved statesmen the U.S. has produced, in the 1950’s Dizzy Gillespie toured for the State Department through The Jazz Culture, V.II:5
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scores of countries, including the middle east, Greece, South America and many others. John Birk Gillespie’s brilliant musicianship, humor, “common touch” and showmanship made an international star. A composer who created a unique and innovative sound and style, ushering in and helping create a new era in jazz, bebop, Mr. Gillespie wrote “Woody ‘n’You,” “Night in Tunesia,” ”Con Alma,” ” Buzzy,“ ”Groovin’ High,” “Salt Peanuts,” among others. He also composed “Manteca,” “Tin Tin Deo” in which he combined Afro Cuban and jazz elements (CuBop). He led, with Chano Pozo and Mario Bauza (his musical “Godfather”), the emergence ofAfro-Cuban jazz. Mr. Gillespie combined exuberance, swinging at high tempos, virtuosity, brilliant musical thoughts, deep study and mastery of the African polyrhythmic heritage. He wrote “To Be or Not To Bop,” in 1979, an autobiography, thoroughly entertaining, honest and revealing. A genius with an infectious sense of humor, a master composer/arranger whose works fulfilled his imagination, his discography reveals a 60 year recording career, mostly as a leader. Many of these recordings are international classics. His trumpet bent at 45 degrees because Stump and Stumpy fell onto it at Lorraine’s birthday party in 1953. Since he liked the tone, he later commissioned a similarly bent trumpet for himself. His marriage to Lorraine lasted for 53 years. He has a daughter, jazz singer Jeanie Bryson and a grandson, Radji Birks BrysonBarrett. Dizzy Gillespie was active in the Baha’i Faith. It is impossible to transmit the meaning of a leading artist’s contribution, especially someone who developed so many of those who followed him. Dizzy Gillespie received a Lifetime Grammy Award, a Kennedy Center Honors Award, a Duke Ellington Award from ASCAP, and a Polar Award from Sweden. He influenced every jazz trumpeter that was born after him. Dizzy Gillespie shared the bandstand with Jon Faddis, his protégé, discovered 6
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Arturo Sandoval, taught Miles Davis and Max Roach and nurtured and befriended so many others. Perhaps that is the reason a number people close to Dizzy Gillespie could not voice their feelings for him. The best way to realize the depth and range of his musicianship is to listen to his records. If people and musicians study and listen a great deal and learn the history and context; it may only be grasped by a lucky few, but the pursuit of understanding can make you very happy.
CD's
Fractals by RICK STONE
A provocative idea made into an enduring cd by Rick Stone, full of his original compositions and a few timeless standards. Def. Fractals: A Rick Stone fractal is a mathematical set that has a fractal dimension that may exceed its topological dimension may fall between the integers. They say music is related to math and the study of music will help you in math. Rick Stone has chosen to explore the concept of fractals through music. There is a fractal competition going on right now to build the largest fractal triangle in the world. Pretty soon, our kids will be saying, “Don’t get so fractal with me.” By Rick Stone, c2011,with Marco Panascia, bass and Tom Pollard, drums. See: Rickstone.com 1. Stella-Victor Young This standard is a real challenge for anyone and this version would delight the composer. Rick Stone takes it at 175=quarter note in 7/4 meter in an intimate mood, with a light, lyric intro and a yearning tone, Mr. Stone romps through the love song with an assured grace and melodic lines, fulfilling the inner meaning, shaping his and contrasting by traveling to different registers. Mr. Panascia, with a singular baritone sound and good articulation, easily floats through the changes for a chorus. They then trade 8’s, with sensitive drummer Tom Pollard, restate the theme and end in a flourish. The Jazz Culture, V. II:10
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2. Fractals (o)-a mathematical theory applied to music, starting with an interesting pattern, as if an abstract motif were repeated, and the improvisation is more creatively expressed. At about 148 =quarter note, in 5/4 meter Fractals is a lighthearted and provocative with new harmonic challenges and a pretty theme. Nice interplay with the drummer and a short Latin ending. 3. Key Lime Pie (o) at 150=quarter note, a pretty and amiable vibe pervades this piece about home life and the pleasures and warmth to be found only at home, Mr. Stone finds the perfect feel to express this. We all have to rest our heads somewhere, and within that security, Stone finds a merriment that is missing from much modern music. He is one of the best guitar soloists; and Mr. Panascia has just the right feel for this song. Pollard is a drummer deserving greater recognition. 4. The classic Darn that Dream-Jimmy Van Heusen/Eddie DeLange walking ballad at about 76 =quarter note. Duets with the bass (arco)and guitar chording the melody, with cymbal color from the drums. Then the tempo is filled out with some arpeggiation and drum brushwork on the bridge. Nice simple arrangement that works. This cd radiates a certain romantic glow with a warm sensitive sound with a rhythmical feel that is always right, and the players are constantly feeling the subdivisions of the beat. Mr. Panascia and Mr. Stone solo well, each with their individual voice distinct; and Mr. Stone sort of elongates the melody by arpeggiating it, which is provocative, because the lyric is a bit closed in, and then closes the last 8 with a more familiar feel of chording on the key notes of the melody, and some runs up and down the guitar registers to end in a fade (like a dream). 5. Scoby (o) was a sand dancer who used to perform at Barry Harris’s mega- concerts. This musical tribute to him at 106=quarter note, in a slow swing, with the brushes played with a sand-like sound by Pollard. The melody is reminiscent of the 8
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dancer, cheerful, accents on the upbeat, with short licks in a bluesy rendition, scalar licks that go from 8th to 16th note runs, but always complementing the melody. Mr. Stone breaks up the solo line with a good sense of form using some altered notes and finds interesting variations along the way. With Mr. Panascia’s solo, you can feel the actual feet of the dancer hit the floor, smushing around the sand, as he picks gritty licks. They then trade 4’s with the drummer, who doubles on the first, and then falls into collapsed licks similar to those a dancer might invent, then creates a scalar type of rhythmic run, returning to a groovy rendition of the head on what sounds like rhythm changes. 6. Nacho Mama’s Blues (o)- At about 138 =quarter note, just the right tempo. For what sounds like a whole tone head, but expertly done by Mr. Stone so that it does not sound outside the everyday vocabulary with a kind of triplet feel, sort of blues about the mundane world which we exist in most of the time, making it a place where we do not expect surprises but our way of looking at things can be a mind warping or expansive experience. Mr. Panascia is comfortable in this vernacular as well and finds a lot of rhythmic ideas that provide contrast. Mr. Pollard provides solid and swinging accompaniment. 7. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes-Jerome Kern & Otto Harbach. A ballad that turns into a bossa nova at the bridge and goes out that way, a lilting tempo that makes the sadness easier to bear. And Mr. Stone finds the right notes within this framework that challenge the sensibility of looking back at lost love, in a tone that does not underrate it, but is deeply felt without being maudlin. Mr. Panascia who has a classical as well as a jazz perspective, effectively states his experience from a bass point of view in a short solo, and Mr. Stone picks it up again providing a vibrant restatement of the beautiful melody, chording every note, then surrounding the key notes with pretty voicings, and the ensemble fades on a Latin vamp then slows. The Jazz Culture, V. II:10
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8. Places Left Behind (o) with voicings that seem to be drenched with a fine wine, at about 96=quarter note, a walking ballad that after echoing some reminiscence, a bass solo plucked in a timbre that twangs and seems to dwell emotionally, picked up by the guitar lines that are echoing a time in the past, in intensely looking backward. It is a song that could have only been written in the modern day world, where we are rushing from place to place and lead tightly scheduled lives in fairly alienated surroundings. The melody is lyrical and translucent like semi transparent glass. 9. Speed Bump (o) - at about 144 =quarter note a modern melody that swings anyway. And it does sound like a speed bump by the way, though the tempo is not fast. Actually Marco Panascia is very sympatico to Mr. Stone’s songs, as is Mr. Pollard. Mr. Stone does an outreach type of solo using classical improve well phrased and balanced lines; not too notey and throwing in some welcome triplets, achieving excellent articulation. This song reminds one of accidents that happen along the way and, how you deal with them determines your day. 10. Ballad for Very Sad and Very Tired Lotus Eaters. Billy Strayhorne at about 76 =quarter note, a beautiful and rarely done ballad, whose melody sounds like a poem, with a solo by Mr. Stone to match, who shows his ability to improvise a solo that fulfills a masterpiece. A song about why can’t Life meet our expectations…and Life is a bummer sometimes, so some of us Eat Lotuses. 11. The Phrygerator(o) at about 175=quarter note. Kind of exotic and provocative statement of the (mode) theme with a pretty Latin foundation laid by Mr. Pollard. An improv where sometimes the patterns Mr. Stone states are showing without the usual half steps one is accustomed to-but perhaps that is prejudice born of aural habit, a very nice solo by Mr. Panascia, some trading with Mr. Pollard dynamic and never loud. As he takes the song out, it is like modern architecture. 10
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Altogether very satisfying and finely put together by excellent musicians, well recorded at Acoustic Recording, Mr. Stone’s songs use modern harmony with diversity. He expresses himself in most of the genres that swing. A cd to add to your collection, especially if you like guitar trios. He composes original songs with a tonal palette and emotional sensibility that is his own. An artist who has found himself. Michael Weiss’s SOUL JOURNEY on SINTRA
Michael Weiss, p, Steve Wilson, alto, Ryan Kisor, t, fl, Steve Davis, trb, Paul Gill b, Joe Farnsworth, d, Daniel Sadownick, perc. See: www.michaelweiss.info 1. Optimism -The first song is exciting and dramatic, with the melody that combines inventive ways of using horns, blues, semi-cubist in architecture, accenting the upbeats, that draws the listener forward and has an optimistic ring. This sound is relevant to the 21st century as a new beginning. The horn section plays under the piano solo, and then Mr. Weiss takes off by himself, mostly with succinct licks that expand and are passionate expressions of his musicality. The drummer has a nice round sound. The horn lines are hip with a graceful forward sweep. The song ends on a high note. 2. El Camino-A travel tune with a bright feeling (about 160) with a strong Latin percussion. The horns play the melody, which seems to be comments on the “road.” There is a written bass line, then the piano enters in a rhapsodic flow, improvising about “the path,” a joyous experience full of discovery. The horn back up lines do not intrude; the piano asserts itself chordally, and also has ideas that are spirited and different, while the bass plucks a counter line below. The colors are well contrasted; the trombone solos pensively, introspectively and there is a good balance between sections per the arrangement. A sinuous sax solo by Mr. Steve The Jazz Culture, V. II:10
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Wilson, who has his own sound combining emotion and the joy of playing. This group plays with the spirit of youth. The horn section comes back with section comment, playing melodic long tones, ending on an extended long tone, projecting a happy adventure on the road. 3. Soul Journey (about 106), with a pretty horn line voicings like the spread of daylight over the sky, with dynamic subtlety as they play the melody, which sounds like it ought to have a lyric. Michael Weiss then plays a solo on a Fender Rhodes, that gives a slightly less percussive sound than the piano. A pretty stream of contrasting rhythms and melodies that seem to represent the inner life of the soul as it goes from its beginning to its end; with a slightly funky accent. A slight crescendo, ending on a series of ascending lines, stretched out on long tones. A sax solo, plaintive and with bursts of motifs that seem to ride the rhythm section with pealing searching lines, fades out the song. A lovely modern sound and admission that the Soul’s Journey is what concerns all of us. 4. Orient Express-A cool tune arranged in a way that gives equal weight to color, and short propulsive melodic riffs (starting about 120, then doubling the rhythm in the following chorus, perhaps as the train takes speed.) Out of this, the piano bursts headlong in a brilliant statement. Mr. Weiss plays with inevitability and determination, sublimating technique to feeling. A horn section segues and provides contrast. Mr. Wilson then takes the torch, and like an Olympic skier, zooms and flies over slopes, occasionally jumping to keep his balance. A trumpet solo by Mr. Kisor follows, fluent and optimistic. He knows how to build a simple lick and develop it into layers of lines that exceed eachother, while varying the rhythm. The players don’t lose their melodicism even though the tempo is high. Then a drum solo, dramatic, by Mr. Farnsworth. The horns repeat the melody, which resembles the horizontal propulsion of a racing machine, coming to an end on a long tone. cont. p. 1 5
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"I think Monk's tunes are played a lot for a lot of reasons: because they're good tunes, because they're well constructed, well crafted, have memorable melodies, interesting harmonic progressions, because they have beauty as well as humor." Michael Weiss www.michaelweiss.info "Monk was hard for me to hear when I was younger. I liken it to my disdain for cottage cheese, as I matured, I got it . . . I understood it. Is this because his spirit embodies the modern age, or because his harmony is so challenging and fresh? Thelonious is the man most sampled for songs of today. In answer to that question, great music of genius is timeless as is Glenn Gould's interpretation of Bach or a 100th playing of "Abbey Road" by the Beatles....Monk embodied the spirit of music in 1944 as well as today's music.His harmony is fresh . . . and challenging, and like classical music, may take some refining to really hear it. And yet it appeals to the common people because it swings and is delightful and thoughtful. Monk had to compose, composition was as important to him as soloing, and it shows in the many jazz classics he has produced. He was an improvisor in the truest sense of the word and it's hard to imagine the world without his beautiful music." Nos Vemos, Richard Vitale "Thelonious Monk tunes are very original, they convey the unique sensibility of Monk. This originality extends to melody, rhythm and harmony. He was a student of Ellington, but ...Monk knew that he was innovating a new music (bebop), and he wasn't satisfied with just playing bebop melodies on conventional changes. Monk also didn't care to cater to the technical limitations of horn players, which is why many jazz players accept the challenge of learning his music 足 it is very difficult to execute and still make a coherent musical statement. Someone asked Monk why he didn't write more tunes and he said that it wasn't necessary since musicians still couldn't play the ones he had already written. You can't fake his music either, you have to memorize it and understand it to reach its essence...Coltrane started to become a jazz legend after an ...six month...engagement...with Monk in the 1950's." Mark McGowan
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ALL NIGHT SOUL--St. Peter's Church October 13, 2013, 54th Street & Lexington Ave 5:00 p.m. on Honoring Dr. Barry Harris and Sheila Jordan
Happy Birthday OCTOBER BABIES:
Vocalists Michael Sergio, Jack Di Monte, Rick MacClaine. Tyler Mitchell, b Cecil Bridgewater, t JAZZ on the STEPS Concert:
Reverend Kaz Takahashi, Tenor Saxophone, Lionelle Hamanaka, Vocalist, Kuni Mikami, Piano, Tomonori Mizuno, Drums, Ron McClure, Bass, Bishop Johnson of Church of the Village, United Methodist Church, & Rev. Nathaniel Dixon of St. Stephen's Bronx United Methodist Church Japanese American United Church Presents: October 10, 2013 Time: 6:00 p.m, at 255 Seventh Avenue (bet. 24th & 25th St.) 212.242.9444 infojauc@gmail.com The Jazz Culture Newsletter Private Jazz Tours in NYC are available; also music teachers in various countries for students & jazz lovers. email: info@thejazzculture.com. Ads are available in The Jazz Culture Newsletter. The Jazz Culture Newsletter has been read in 57 countries in the past year.
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5. Atlantis is a pretty original, starting out as almost a ballad and picking up in later sections in the development. Atlantis is supposed to be a mythical country that no one could find, as our imagination Michael Weiss remains a place we like to dwell, to conceive of the future and beautiful things. After the melody is stated, there is a segue to the solos, with beautifully voiced horns that harmonize well. The piano solo is balanced, melodically inventive, providing rhythms that contrast and keep their own grace. There are some comments by the horn section. Mr. Weiss’s mind is that of a person who exists in music more than language; and keeps his eyes on a big picture, while he takes us through unexplored territory. Improvisors incite unimagined possibilities, past mountains of ice, unseen oceans, new planets‌striated chords are built into the arrangements. A flugelhorn, smooth as satin, segues into a slow pause; then the Latin pulse begins again, with some grand architecture expressed through chords played by the horn section. A piano improvisation comments over an insistent latin pulse, and the group fades out. 6. The Prophecy. An engaging melody that sounds like a prophecy with meat to it, like a song without words: Out of which the saxophone emerges like a Bird of Paradise with wings, fluttering and doing low flying turns in melodic improvisation, and swing breaks loose, the beat a sultry and sinewy insistent (116), a strong bass accompaniment, and well played drums. The trumpeter does a another type of solo, using long tones to soar and drift. The trombone solos groovily, and uses space well; the piano takes over with a bluesy, modernistic, hip attitude, with good accents, articulation and different phrasing, using the whole piano and showing knowledge of wide piano literature. The melody repeats, the horns with a great blend, in a crescendo of its last The Jazz Culture, V. II:10
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phrases. 7. The Cheshire Cat, a bouncy and delightful piece, with humor, delineating the smile and pouncing nature of a cat; who is basically after all, the supreme individualist. About 168, a swinging tune with some big interval jumps, using triplets and blues progressions naturally with a unique tone. Mr. Weiss is one of the pianists with his own sound, and an arranger. Mr. Kisor plays a humorous and clever solo, using triplet runs, and the logic of a cat, if that’s possible. Mr. Wilson discovers his own rhythmic licks, creating a cat dance that tumbles into a few 16th note runs, creates cat-like predicaments, and then escapes unscathed. Mr. Davis uses blues logic inventively, to pose Call and Response situations that a cat might very likely find itself in. Mr. Gill has fine articulation and builds from short licks to longer, a nimble situation. The group then exchanges with the drums, and a nifty horn section carries out the melodic rejoinder with hip phrasing. 8. La Ventana- (window) about 200‌a busy street below, or is it the window of the soul? This song conveys the sense of moment-to-moment discovery when you look out a window. No alienation here, but a belief in life, with lovely improvisation by Mr. Weiss. Mr. Kisor has a lyric reach to his solo and has technical ease. Unusual percussion solo, finding cool licks, both compelling with forward drive and all without ego. The horn section cascades into a dramatic ending with a flourish. 9. A medium swing, (about 160) with pretty swells by the horns, called Second Thoughts, whose melody has a hip tone. The trombone solo breaks out, with short motifs, by someone who is very good at Call and Response and using as few notes with the utmost compression and extension. Mr. Weiss comps well. Then he solos with logic and grace, inserting lovely triplet ideas that lift the melodic line and change its shape, reminiscent ofWynton Kelly and Herbie Hancock, but with his own concept. The horn section then plays a hip line, sounding like a traveling song, or moving on 16
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after all with life, with a cascade of tones over a solo trumpet line that ends in a long tone. “Soul Journey” is by an artist who has a flair for writing tunes
that express the modern age, and arranges his pieces combining jazz and classical devices, in a jazz style that can stand next to classical works for similar sized groups. This cd will inspire and appeal to fans of mid-sized combos that sound like a family, or better yet, a group of like-minded friends.
October Listings
Ray Blue October 1‐Jazz Ed Workshop in Peekskill October 4‐ Showman's 375 West 125 Street 9:30, 11:30, 1:30 am. October 5‐ Beanrunner Cafe, Peekskill NY, 8, 11 p.m. October 18‐Division Street Grill, 7‐10 p.m. October 19‐Cleopatra's Needle‐93 & Broadway, NYC 10 pm October20‐22‐Midwest Tour October 24‐ Jazz Ed Workshop, Peekskill, NY October 26‐CC Pro Am with Mike Longo Big Band at Paramount in Peekskill October 29‐Garage, 7th Avenue South near Christopher Sheridan Square, 6‐10 Kenney Gates, pianist. Philadelphia, every Tuesday, Sunday and some Saturdays at the High Note Cafe on Tasker & 13th, 5‐9 p.m. George Gee Orchestra at Swing 46, (346 W. 46 Street bet. 8th/9th Ave.) Tuesdays; sm. Sat. 9:30‐free dance lesson beforehand. Lionelle Hamanaka‐ October 10, Japanese American United Church, 6:00 p.m. 25th Street & 7 Ave. Steps on the Church (Methodist) Loston Harris October 22, the Carlyle, 9:30 p.m. Mad. Ave & 76 St Bertha Hope/Kim Clarke‐October 28, Local 802 322 W. 48 St., 6‐9:15 p.m.
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Mike Longo‐ October 22, hosts Dizzy Gillespie's Birthday Party at the Baha'i Center, 53 East 11th Street 8 p.m. Joe Magnarelli‐ October 14, JALC Jazz at Lincoln Center Jim Malloy, Swing 46, 9:30 p.m. October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31. Ron McClure: Solo piano at McDonald's at 160 Broadway in Manhattan from 12‐4 PM on Tuesdays & Saturdays.(October 1,5,8, 12, 15, 19, 22, 26, 28) I play the "American Songbook," originals and rom other contemporary composers. October 10, JAUC, Steps on the Church, 255 7th Avenue, 6:00 p.m. Kuni Mikami: October 10, Japanese American United Church, 6:00 p.m. 25th Street & 7 Ave. Steps on the Church (Methodist) John Mosca & Michael Weiss: Vanguard Orchestra Every Monday night at the Village Vanguard Bill Saxton: Bill's Place every Friday, 148 West 133 Street, 9 p.m. Ranked #25 among 305 attractions in NYC Rick Stone Trio October 17 6‐10pm, The Garage, 99 7th Avenue South Rev. Kaz Takahashi: October 10‐Steps on the Church, Japanese American United Church, 255 7th Avenue, 6 p.m. Richie VitaleOctober 12 –Richie Vitalie at Measure at the Pamgham Place Hotel, 8‐11 pm October 19 –Richie Vitalie Quintet at Measure at the Pamgham Place Hotel, 8‐11 pm ENGLAND: John Watson Trio at the Palm Court, the Langham Hotel, London, 1c Portland, Regent Street 207‐636‐1000 every weekend 1) IMAGINATION UK Tour October 2013 featuring John Watson on keyboards/vocal! 2) Dave Koz & Friends at Sea John Watson on smooth jazz cruise! – video available 3) Hayman’s Gin Palace at the Langham 11th Oct‐ 30th Nov featuring the John Watson Trio! ‐ Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights 18
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