Steve Smith , Don Paul, Mike Stern, John Surman & More

World of Jazz 724

In this eclectic mix there is a 40th anniversary retrospective of the work of ex-Journey drummer Steve Smith. In addition a then and now look at guitarist Mike Stern plus a remarkable album from poet Don Paul. This is interspersed with some new releases plus a new version of a 1969 recording by UK jazz legend John Surman

SHOW AUDIO

SHOW PLAYLIST

• Show Intro 00:00

• Brent Laidler “Riffy Business” from Hidden Gems (BEL) 00:29

• Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet “The Seeker” from Situation (PlayOn Records) 08:00

• Steve Smith And Vital Information “What Is This Thing Called Love” from Time Flies (Wounded Bird Records) 15:29

• Steve Smith Jazz Legacy “A Night In Tunisia” from Live on Tour, Vol. 1 (Drum Legacy Records) 22:19

• Steve Smith Vital Information “Island Holiday” from Vitalive! (VeraBra Records) 34:53

• Steve Smith And Vital Information “One Down, One Up (feat. George Garzone, Manuel Valera, Janek Gwizdala)” from A Prayer For The Generations (Wounded Bird Records) 42:21

• Don Paul And Rivers Answer Moons “The Dreamers And The Believers” from Louisiana Stories (Irresistible /Revolutionary Records) 48:56

• Don Paul And Rivers Answer Moons “Colors Changing Colors” from Louisiana Stories (Irresistible /Revolutionary Records) 58:54

• Mike Stern “Chromazone” from Time In Place (Atlantic) 1:12:42

• Mike Stern “Crumbles” from Echoes And Other Songs (Mack Avenue Records) 1:20:13

• John Surman “Once Upon A Time” from Flashpoints and Undercurrents (Cuneiform Records) 1:28:23

• Daniel Bernardes “City of Glass” from City of Glass (Self Released) 1:37:34

• Daniel Carter Ayumi Ishito “Night Mirrors” from Endless Season (577 Records) 1:45:14

• Strat Andriotis “Between You And I” from Exits (Dekatria Records) 1:55:03

SHOW NOTES

Brent Laidler

Brent Laidler guitar; Mark Buselli trumpet, flugelhorn; Ned Boyd alto sax, flute; Jamie Newman organ ; Richard “Sleepy” Floyd drums; Scott Pazara bass

Guitarist, composer, and arranger Laidler mined fake books going back as far as the 1920s to find music that he could reshape into hip compositions for his newest album. Most of the original music he used as sources never became standards, even though some were written by well-known composers; nevertheless, he felt that many of the tunes had very well-crafted changes that were amenable to reworking in a more modern idiom. He conceived the project during the Covid lockdown when he had a lot of free time. He has three dozen old, printed fake books, many more in PDF form, and at least 14,000 tunes on his phone. He spent his time sightreading fake books and listening to his large collection of recorded music. He soon discovered all the hidden gems that would appear on this record. The compositions are not contrafacts. Rather they are adaptations with new melodies and chord reharmonizations based on the original forms. Laidler chose tunes that he felt were fun to improvise to, and his creations are significantly different from the originals. He cleverly named his versions in ways that harken back to the original inspirations. For Laidler, making music has always been about “making joyful noise,” and the joy that he expresses via his music runs through every.

Alex Coke & Carl Michel Sextet

Alex Coke/Flute & Sax; Carl Michel/guitar ; Elaine Barber/Harp ; Bob Hoffnar/Pedal Steel ; James Suter/Bass ; Carolyn Trowbridge/Vibes

This distinctive six piece composer’s forum from Austin, Texas, breaks down barriers of musical genres, fearlessly exploring the possibilities involved in combining musicians from diverse musical backgrounds. The music is consistently cinematic and offers listeners a warm, modern, propulsive sound expressed through colourful timbres and solid musicianship.

Steve Smith

Ex-Journey drummer Smith with a selection of back catalogue material from various bands he has lead since the early 1980s

Don Paul And Rivers Answer Moons

Don Paul - Poet ; Roger Lewis -Saxophones ; Kirk Joseph - Sousaphone ; Don Vappie - Banjo and Guitar ; Herman Lebeaux - Drums-Set and Sound-Scapes ; Alexey Marti - Congas and Cajon.

The liner notes say:

This album spans geographies and generations and musical genres. It's Sunrise and Sunset and it offers Keen Emphases on the sweat after Noon and between Midnight and Dawn. It's like making love while dancing or imagining lives' stories while making love. It's Rigs meant for Offshore with legs consecutively canted like spars of fantastic Armada and it's a mother calling friends "Boo" and her children "darling sugarpuddins" and Oil-Field Hands calling each other "Sugar" and "Babe". It's something you got. See where you go. Freedom here is feeling each day... This Album and Stage-Show, its Lyrics and Over-the-Top Musicianship, above all intend to bring new perceptions and pleasures.... ENJOYMENT of what's always grown here

Mike Stern

I was searching through some old CDs and came across Stern’s 1988 release - I had been inspired to buy it after seeing him play with Miles Davis in London a few years earlier. This reminded me of his latest album. A 36 year gap - he has not lost any of his fire and inspiration

John Surman

John Surman - soprano and baritone saxophone, bass clarinet ; Alan Skidmore - tenor saxophone and flute ; Ronnie Scott - tenor saxophone ; Mike Osborne - alto saxophone ; Malcolm Griffiths - trombone ; Erich Kleinschuster - trombone ; Kenny Wheeler - trumpet and flugelhorn ; Fritz Pauer - piano ; Harry Miller - bass ; Alan Jackson - drums

This appears to be a sort of expanded version of the NDR recordings on 18 April 1969. According to Discogs the original release which had 5 tracks included a 8 further tracks on a black and white film of the whole concert - although it does not specify what they are. This appears therefore to correlate with the 13 tracks on the new release which is therefore a capture of the whole thing. The assumption is that someone has excised the 8 extra tracks from the film and converted them for an audio version. A who’s who of british jazz at the time with a handful of European guests makes up the band.

Daniel Bernardes

Portuguese pianist Bernardes delivers a musical interpretation of one of my favourite books by one of my favourite authors. Attempting to capture the mystery and uniqueness of Paul Auster’s City of Glass is a challenge - Bernandes achieves this with some memorable playing. A marvellous sometimes epic homage to a great author who passed in 2024.

Daniel Carter Ayumi Ishito

Legendary maestro Daniel Carter and flourishing player Ayumi Ishito join forces in dreamy debut album that redefines ‘Auditory Escape’. Originally recorded as an acoustic set, the plan changed when Carter encouraged Ishito to explore audio production. Before they knew it, she had shaped beats and sounds that perfectly complemented his creativity, forming a tranquil, melodic dialogue. His delightful expressions become animated through his trumpet, saxophones, clarinet, flute, piano, and poems.

Strat Andriotis

A consummate guitarist. While known first and foremost as a jazz musician, Andriotis has proven himself fluent in many styles, as evidenced by the seven rock-and- classical imbued albums he has released under his own name. Andriotis’ compositional style is uniquely his own - he’s taken to describing his approach to writing as ‘sweet and sour.’ A native of Greece, Andriotis immigrated to Hamilton, Ontario with his family as a child. After years spent studying the piano and playing along with records by Cream and Jimi Hendrix, his life changed forever when he heard Miles Davis’ iconic record In a Silent Way for the first time, prompting his decision to dive into jazz head first. Since then, Andriotis has performed and recorded with pianist Tom Carney, the rock group Eleven Degrees, drummer Albert Bouchard (Blue Oyster Cult), legendary bassist Tony Levin, and many others; his past recordings boast an impressive list of collaborators including jazz luminaries like Grammy winning pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba and violinist Jerry Goodman (Mahavishnu Orchestra.) His new album Exits features two contrasting trios weaving their way through eight of his beautiful compositions. With his trusted Fender Stratocaster, Andriotis has once again proven himself to be a virtuosic, thoughtful and expressive bandleader.