The excellent Jazz in Britain label continues to unearth nuggets from UK jazz history - May of this year saw the release of an album collecting for the first time ever, the complete recording sessions for the Spotlite vinyl album ‘Fingers Remember Mingus’ expanded with bonus tracks. The original album sessions, and the extra tracks, were all recorded between 1979 and 1983. Featured music on the show is by Charles Mingus and Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker and is interpreted by a great band put together by bassist Dave Green. In addition there’s a focus on Daniel Carter with his latest release and some older material with Patrick Golden and Jim Clouse. The show also includes some great new releases and a fascinating solo piece by Camila Nebbia.
SHOW AUDIO
PLAYLIST
Show Intro Theme 00:00
Fingers “Alice’s Wonderland” from Complete Remember Mingus (Jazz In Britain) 00:29
Harry Skoler “Red Brick Hill” from Red Brick (Sunnyside) 13:29
Michael Pagán “Gaviota” from Paganova (Capri Records) 26:22
Russ Brannon “Prayer To Somewhere” from Sojourn (Self Released) 35:25
Daniel Carter, Leo Genovese, William Parker, Francisco Mela “Oh Yeah T’ Be Blessed” from Shine Hear, Vol. 2 (577 Records) 42:10
Daniel Carter & Patrick Golden “NYC9” from Some Citizen (Park West Records) 1:02:57
Jim Clouse & Patrick Golden with special guest Daniel Carter “High Price” from Non Standard Issue (Park West Records) 1:19:43
Patrick Golden & Jim Clouse “Know teethe” from Is Anywhere Safe? (Park West Records) 1:29:01
Camila Nebbia “algo que solía conocer que ya no puedo identificar o recordar” from algo que solía conocer que ya no puedo identificar o recordar (Self Released) 1:38:55
Fingers “Anthropology” from Complete Remember Mingus (Jazz In Britain) 1:48:40
SHOW NOTES
Fingers - a band comprising Lol Coxhill (soprano/tenor sax); Bruce Turner (alto sax); Michael Garrick (piano); Dave Green (bass); Alan Jackson (drums). The featured tracks were recorded at the empty Hatfield Forum Theatre on 29 May 1979. In the liner notes to the album Dave Green says “One of the compositions that we played that day 'Alice's Wonderland' was written by Charles Mingus who had died earlier in the year on 5 January. I think the musical spirit of Mingus must have been in the air certainly it was reflected in my playing. When I listened to the tapes afterwards it was obvious to me that the album should be dedicated to the memory of the great bassist. If I was asked to describe the concept of Fingers I would say it was a Trad, Bebop, totally in the moment, joyously free improvising, hilariously funny band of completely dedicated jazz musicians who loved each other's company and who loved making music together”.
Harry Skoler - Things of beauty can come from the release of one’s traumas. Harry Skoler experienced the loss of a friend as a teenager, a passing that deeply impacted the clarinetist/composer and left an indelible mark on his person. On his new recording, Red Brick Hill, Skoler revisits the past and delivers the story instrumentally with an incredible array of musicians in an effort to cleanse his soul, keep his friend’s legacy alive, and to, hopefully, help others with such burdens through the gift of music. Skoler grew up in a house his father designed at the top of a red brick hill. Though there weren’t many children in their neighborhood, Skoler was able to develop deep friendships with a young girl named Nancy and a quiet, serious boy named Bill. When they were teenagers, Bill moved away from the hill but first brought Skoler a box of his childhood toys and trinkets. It wasn’t until later that Skoler was walking with a friend and saw Bill’s mother pulling into his friend’s house. Curious as to her appearance, Skoler asked his friend about Bill. His friend told Skoler that he wasn’t supposed to tell him anything. Pressing the friend, Skoler found out that Bill was dead. Running back to his house in a frenzy, Skoler dove into the past weeks’ newspapers, only to find an article relating Bill’s suicide. Devastated, Skoler received no solace from his parents and found that they had even asked that others not tell him of Bill’s demise. The loss and the actions of those around him had lasting effects on Skoler. It was only through making music that he was able to deal with the loss and feel the spirit of his lost friend. Through time and with help, Skoler was able to confront his emotions and find appropriate outlets to express them. In 2022 Skoler began work on a new project and it was producer Walter Smith III who encouraged Skoler’s decision to take the story and work it into a musical narrative. In August 2022, Skoler and his son went to New York City to record the album at Sear Sound. Prior to the session, Skoler told the story to which his son replied that Skoler should tell the ensemble that he and Smith had assembled, which included vibraphonist Joel Ross, bassist Dezron Douglas, and drummer Johnathan Blake, the story. The musicians listened to the story with empathy and promised to tell the tale through their playing. The recording evidences the ensemble’s empathy, as the music highlights the ensemble’s connection throughout. The recording is programmatic. Though the story behind Red Brick Hill comes from a place of great hurt, Harry Skoler has created a gorgeous and redemptive album of heartfelt music. Having hidden the story for over five decades, the process of ridding that weight has been essential to Skoler and he hopes that the outcome, namely the music of Red Brick Hill, will move people in their own ways.
Michael Pagán - Paganova the new album from the prolific pianist/composer Pagán, who has become a fixture of the Kansas City jazz scene over the past two decades, documents five of his compositions and three arrangements of tunes by some of the most celebrated masters of the post-bop era. While the instrumental format of two saxes and rhythm section, a pillar of the jazz lexicon, may call to mind such seminal works as the Lennie Tristano Quintet featuring Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh, the Cannonball Adderly Quintet in Chicago, and the Tribute to John Coltrane: Live Under the Sky featuring Wayne Shorter and Dave Liebman, Paganova’s front line breaks ground in that its reed men, David Chael and Michael Herrera, switch instruments between tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones throughout the entire set, resulting in a breathtaking showcase in the art of sax doubling. The album released July 19, 2024 via Capri Records. Bassist Louie Pagán, an independently established composer and producer in his own right, crosses the genre line to join his father’s group on electric and upright bass, adding an exciting flare particularly to the Latin and straight-eighth note offerings, while renowned veteran drummer Ray DeMarchi (who appeared on Pagán’s 2010 Capri release Three for the Ages) wraps the entire ensemble in sophisticated, experienced drum-work. As Pagán’s steady, virtuosic hands testify to the accolades he’s received over the years as a versatile mainstream pianist, clearly his compositions and arrangements and the front line of David Chael and Michael Herrera are at the center of Paganova, a release sure to please any fans of double sax quintets.
Russ Brannon is a guitarist and composer from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Known for his melodic and improvisational playing style, Brannon’s unmistakable sound has never stopped evolving over the course of his sixty year career. Influenced early on by Chet Atkins, The Ventures, and Howard Roberts, and later on by Larry Carlton, George Benson, and Robben Ford, Brannon’s music is infused with the sensibilities of these musical giants without ever sounding contrived or derivative. From his early beginnings in the late 50s as a teenager playing dance halls to his latest project recorded nearly 65 years later, the journey has been epic. His latest offering is a beautiful new recording called Sojourn. This album represents Brannon's musical autobiography: the culmination of decades of playing and recording, traveling the world, and raising a family. It was recorded during a hugely challenging period for Brannon: halfway through the process, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. His treatment began quickly, consisting of five or six weekly radiation treatments for seven weeks. Brannon stayed as engaged as possible through this, and the production of Sojourn moved forward thanks to producer Michael Wojewoda and his incredible band. Brannon is thankful to be cancer free today. Brannon has often said he believes instrumental music can kickstart a listener's imagination, reaching places that words cannot. “A great melody is one that is not always predictable. I love to reach listeners by playing something unexpected - a surprising cadence or a bittersweet dissonance. These pose wonderful and engaging questions that lead to interesting resolutions.” Performed by a group of Atlantic Canada’s finest musicians, Sojourn is a beautiful and compelling musical statement by an important elder statesman of Canadian music.
Russ Brannon - Guitar, Compositions
Lori Cullen - Voice
Chris Mitchell - Tenor Saxophone
Silvio Pupo - Keyboards
James Gatti - Bass
JR Smith - Drums
Tom Roach - Percussion
Jennifer Jones, Celeste Jankowski, Anne Simons,
Kristy Money, Alexandra Bates, Hilary Brown - Strings
Michael Wojewoda - Producer
Daniel Carter, Leo Genovese, William Parker, Francisco Mela - Building from their debut album from last year, these legendary musicians and 577 mainstays reunite for a second volume. As in the first, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, pianist Leo Genovese, bassist William Parker (also playing Gralla and Shakuhachi on this album), and drummer and vocalist Francisco Mela, unite for another epic album. This project again draws from classic avant-garde arrangements, juxtaposed with today’s experimentalism and a huge range of instrumentation. Shine Hear, Vol. 2, is testament to their mastery and ease. The album and tracks titles are inspired by another poem Carter wrote about the transience and motion of modern life. The project will be released this September.
Keeping the Carter theme going three tracks from three older albums on the new Park West Records label which has collected together a lot of releases from Patrick Golden and Jim Clouse. Daniel Carter & Patrick Golden - After years of collaboration, Daniel & Patrick made this first Duo album in January 2021. Jim Clouse & Patrick Golden with special guest Daniel Carter - The first in a series of albums by Patrick & Jim along with some of NYC's finest improvisers also from 2021. Patrick Golden & Jim Clouse - the second in a series of duo album from the pair released in 2022.
Camila Nebbia - a sax player, improviser, composer and visual artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina based in Berlin. This remarkable release is offered free on Bandcamp. The title translates as “something i used to know that i can no longer identify or remember”.