Catching up in blogdom

It's been a while so I thought I'd post an update for the two to three people who actually read my blog.

Since my last post I have successfully emerged from the mouthpiece vortex, Morgan Excalibur in hand. Matter o' fact, I liked the tenor piece so much I went ahead and picked up the same piece for my alto. There was a brief retreat back to the vortex when I received my old Florida Link from Adam Niewood. This was the piece I had played on all through college before finding the Guardala. I had sent him the piece to correct some defects and when I got it back it played 100 times better than it ever did. After A-B-ing the two mouthpieces the Morgan still has the edge to me though I play the Link from time to time. Speaking of which I used the Otto Link on a recording session for pianist Azaam Hameed's upcoming CD. Oh and click on that link to Adam Niewood's website when you get a chance. Not only is he a great technician when it comes to mouthpiece work but he's a killer tenor player and composer as well. He's got a bunch of free mp3 downloads on his site that have been in constant rotation on my iPod for weeks.

Towards the end of February I had the pleasure of adjudicating my first high school jazz festival at Fonda-Fultonville High School. Guitarist Joe Finn and I listened and evaluated bands from all over New York state and also performed a brief set of standards for the students with some help from bassist Mike DelPrete and Danny Whelchel.

The next day I had the opportunity to play duo with two incredible pianists at a cafe Copake, NY - David Caldwell Mason and Armen Donelian. David ran into some killer traffic and ended up missing the first set but fortunately Armen just happened to be in attendance and joined me for a handful of tunes. Rather I should say I joined him. Prior to the performance I was familiar with his name but I didn't know much about Armen's playing. Let's just say that after our brief set I should have been paying him for the public lesson! He is a fantastic musician and I'd recommend going to hear him when he's in town at Justin's on April 8th. David eventually made it for the second set and we had fun, but not nearly as much fun as we had a few days later at Justin's. I had sent Dave charts and mp3s of my music a few weeks in advance of that performance and not only did he play the crap out of the tunes - he had them all memorized! I hope to do more playing with both David and Armen in the near future.

In the middle of March we had the second annual Burke Mountain Ski Trip. Though it began with six of us planning to drive north for a few days of skiing, in the end only three of us spent the weekend in Mike's family's trailside condo. I grew up skiing with my family but once I went to college and realized how expensive it was to strap on a couple boards to my feet and zoom down a mountain, ski trips became a thing of the past. Up until last year I don't think I had skied in ten years. Lucky for me it all came back on the first run. Heck, this year I even spent the end of the last day taking as much air as possible, reliving the glory days of my youth. I regretted this for days after we got home ...

There's a new instrument taking up space in my studio these days. I borrowed a friend's bass clarinet and I think I'm in love. While I'm not a fan the standard Bb clarinet, the bass clarinet is another beast entirely. Who knows, I may even practice it enough to bring it on a gig at some point. Stranger things have happened.

I've also been working on a few new tunes. I wrote a quirky 7/8 funk piece entitled "Gil Barney (Wins The Race)" in tribute to my dad. A little back story: Back in the day my father briefly attended a seminary while training to become a priest, which I hear was more common back in the day then it is in current times. In any case, one of his after hours hobbies was stock car racing which apparently wasn't looked on favorably by the seminary folks. Thus the stage name Gil Barney was born. I've always thought that was a quirky name and what better to name a quirky song. I've also been working on a as yet untitled ballad in tribute to the love of my life that will be unveiled this Sunday at Justin's. I hope she likes it!

Recent listening
ADAM NIEWOOD Id Trio +1
DEXTER GORDON A Swingin' Affair
MICHAEL BLAKE Right Before Your Ears
ACOUSTIC LADYLAND Last Chance Disco
POLAR BEAR Held on the Tips of Fingers
FIRE FLIES Baobabs in the Basement
THIEVERY CORPORATION AOL Music DJ Sessions

An update on the mouthpiece vortex ...

For the past month or so I've been using the Morgan Excalibur 8EL mouthpiece on my tenor. It took a little while to adjust my airstream but I've been pretty pleased with the results. I've been experimenting with various reeds and have had the best luck with Vandoren Java 3.5 and 4's. Another adjustment to the new set up was the addition of a Francois Louis "Ultimate Ligature". While the name is a bit braggocious, it sure beat the crap out of the Rovner ligature I was originally using. Never was a big fan of those Rovners as any of my students will attest ...

So far the mouthpiece has fared well in the various music situations I've found myself in - jazz duos, trios & quartets and Alex Torres' salsa/merengue band. I get to try it out with a big band soon as the Empire Jazz Orchestra's spring concert is right around the corner. Speaking of which, this concert's guest artist is Rufus Reid (the good news). Just read through the music today and it looks like a great concert - except that I have to play a ton of clarinet (which is very, very bad news).

If all this mouthpiece talk sounds a bit neurotic - you're probably not a saxophonist. ;)

Recent listening:

CHARLIE HUNTER TRIO Copperopolis (Ropeadope)
CHRIS POTTER Underground (Sunnyside)
HAROLD DANKO QUARTET Stablemates (Steeplechase)
JACK DEJOHNETTE/BILL FRISELL The Elephant Sleeps But Still Remembers (Golden Beams)
MANU KATCHE Neighbourhood (ECM)
PAUL MOTIAN BAND Garden Of Eden (ECM)

New music

I've been enjoying a few records in the past week or two. Yesterday I picked up a copy of Chris Potter's new album Underground. Potter's quartet is comprised of Wayne Krantz on guitar, Craig Taborn on rhodes, and Nate Smith on drums. Though bass-less in instrumentation, Taborn's left hand and Krantz's guitar often provide a bottom end while at other times there is no bass line in the traditional sense, rather just overlapping textures of rhodes and guitar. The underlying groove provided by Smith is decidedly in a rock vein, though Potter isn't content to stick with simple meters. It's great to hear the four musicians stretch out on this material - most tracks clock in around ten minutes. Three shorter cover tunes - Radiohead's "Morning Bell", Billy Strayhorn's "Lotus Blossom" and a radically re-harmonized version of the Beatles' "Yesterday" - help break up the longer pieces to make the overall album an interesting listing. Take a listen for yourslef at iTunes or visit Potter's website at www.chrispottermusic.com. You can also stream the song "The Wheel" in it's entirety at MySpace.com

Another record that I picked up recently was Manu Katche's "Neighbourhood". I'd been reading baout this record for quite some time and though it isn't scheduled to be released in the U.S. until later this month I figured I'd spring the extra few bucks and buy the import. Of particular intrest to me was the involvment of pianist Marcin Wasilewski and bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz as well as their occasional boss, trumpeter Tomasz Stanko. I was a big fan of Wasilewski's Trio record on ECM last year and when he and Kurkiewicz aren't playing as a trio they are part of Stanko's excellent quartet. Add Jan Garbarek's tenor and the leader's prog-rock influenced drumming to the mix and the end result is smooth jazz of the highest order. Don't get me wrong, you won't hear any of these tracks back to back with Kenny G and the like anytime soon, but the quintet create an easy to stomach, Euro-jazz sound that is right up my alley. I will say that Garbarek's tone tends to stick out from time to time but I've been able to cope with it since everything else sounds so good. No website for Katche himself but you can read a little more about the album at ECM's website

A third album that's received it's share of spins on my iPod is Paul Motian's Garden Of Eden. The drummer's second release on ECM in as many years finds him shorting the name of the long standing Paul Motian Electric Bebop Band to the Paul Motian Band. It also finds the usual instrumentation of drums, electric bass, two tenors and two guitars augmented by a third guitar! Having the the third guitar doesn't alter the sound of the group much to my ears but it is interesting to hear two soloists at once while a third guitar comps. In any case I love a third of this record (the tunes by Mingus, Monk & Bird) and am still up in the air about the rest of it. It seems that once the bebop tunes are out of the way, time is thrown out the window. I enjoy an occasional rubato piece as much as the next guy but when ten out of fourteen pieces have no discernible pulse whatsoever I tend to find myself loosing interest. What kills me the most is that the tunes with a pulse swing so hard! I'd love to hear more of that. Perhaps if Motian had sequenced the tunes in a different order ... I don't know. I think this one requires more listening. Listen for yourself at iTunes.

The Vortex

For the past several weeks I have been in saxophone purgatory. (For those reading who are not saxophonically inclined you may as well skip this entry) I've been happily playing a Guardala Brecker II mouthpiece on tenor for approximately ten years. I love that piece, it's free blowing, has a great tone and projects like crazy. I never thought I'd be looking for another mouthpiece - ever. But recently, within the past six months or so, I've been hearing a sound in my head that differed from the sound I was able to produce with the Guardala. Try as I may, I just wasn't getting the sound.

So, a few weeks ago, I entered "the mouthpiece vortex". I've heard stories of saxophonists who search their entire life for their holy grail mouthpiece, the one mouthpiece that just clicks. I thought I had my mouthpiece with the Guardala, so It wasn't until I began searching for a new piece that I realized that I too had entered the vortex - my every thought was centered on which mouthpiece I would try next, how did this one stack up to that one, would it work on a gig, etc. At one point I had collected ten different mouthpieces to try out:

Hard Rubber Otto Link W.T. facing
Hard Rubber Otto Link #6
Hard Rubber Otto Link #7
Metal Otto Link #5
Metal Otto Link #6
Metal Otto Link #7*
Metal Otto Link NY #7
Metal Otto Link Florida #8
Morgan Excalibur #8 EL
Morgan 8 L
Meyer #7

(Thanks to James, John, Jeremy, and Mike for contributing to the collection).

Well, much to my girlfriend's delight, I believe I may have settled on a mouthpiece ... for now. It's the hard rubber Morgan Excalibur 8 EL that I bought a while back. Saxophonist Myron Walden had tried some Excaliburs out and recommended the piece when I ran into him at Justin's about a year ago. At the time I ordered a couple and kept one but I didn't take to it initially and put it on the shelf. Recently I popped a 3.5 blue box Vandoren reed on the thing and it sang! Out of the pieces I've tried, I really feel the most comfortable on hard rubber but the Links lacked the projection I needed in a mic-less live situation. While I haven't used it on a gig yet, I did use the Excalibur at a rehearsal today and it worked great. I'll try it out this weekend at One Caroline and Justin's to make sure.

2005 Cincinnati Bengals R.I.P.: 9.11.05 - 1.08.06

It was a heck of a season, but sadly all good things must come to an end - and what a sad end it was. In the second play of the Bengals first playoff game in 15 years, star quarterback and arguable team leader, Carson Palmer suffered a devastating injury that pretty much knocked the wind out of the rest of the team. Palmer had just thrown an incredible 66 yard completion to rookie receiver Chris Henry - who would also succumb to injury a little later in the game. (Palmer had also just signed a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract a few days earlier.) Enter veteran second string quarter back John Kitna who did his best to rally the team to a halftime lead.

While my hat is off to Kitna and the rest of the team for a resilient first half, the Bengals pretty much folded in the second half and handed the Steelers the victory. Watching those final two quarters made me think I was watching a traditional Bengals team, instead of this year's squad. And while I enjoyed this year's season immensely, I was pretty confident that the Bengals weren't going to go all the way. There were just too many games that the team didn't play well. That said, as long as Palmer is back next year, 2006 could be the year ...

Dave Holland Quintet

Dave Holland is bringing his quintet to town this week. Chris Potter, Robin Eubanks, Steve Nelson and Nate Smith will join Mr. Holland for two sets at Schenectady's Van Dyck this Friday night. The same group, with Antonio Hart filling in for Mr. Eubanks, performed at the club back in '98 and it was an incredible evening of music. Tunes clocked in at over a half hour and it was nice to hear Mr. Hart play Mr. Holland's music. I'm excited to see the band with it's regular line up this time around. In anticipation I've been listening to ...

DAVE HOLLAND QUINTET Extended Play (ECM)
DAVE HOLLAND QUINTET Not For Nothin' (ECM)
DAVE HOLLAND QUINTET Prime Directive (ECM)

In other DHQ news, I stumbled upon Robin Eubanks' Podcast in the iTunes music store. While I was initially drawn in by his interviews with Chris Potter I've become a big fan of the backstage banter from the various performances that Mr. Eubanks is a part of. It must be a blast to be on the road with this guy. If the above link doesn't work just search for "Robin Eubanks" at iTunes or visit his website at www.robineubanks.com and click on "projects".

Trio @ The Daily Grind

Decided to try something a little different last night as Mike, Danny and I played trio at the Daily Grind in Troy, NY - the BPQ-1 if you will. Mixed up some originals (Drop, Release, Majority, Exit, Will You Be, Red) and jazz standards (Take The Coltrane, Body & Soul, Flamingo, A Night In Tunisia, Donna Lee, I Love You, Out Of Nowhere, You're My Everything) and a good time was had by all.

LISTEN: Flamingo (8.8mb)

Things are looking up ...

Anyone who's known me for the past 25 years or so knows that I've been a die hard Cincinnati Bengals fan through thick and thin. Long before I ever lived in the city known for it's delicious chili, I was enticed by the incredibly cool new uniforms of the 1981 team. I can remember watching the Bengals on TV with my Dad and being drawn in by those snazzy orange and black stripped helmets. This is of course only a slightly better reason to become a fan than my lifelong stint as a Boston Red Sox fan due to my mother's purchase of a cap with a "B for Brian" when I was a toddler ...

In any case '81 was a good year for the Bengals. Ken Anderson and Chris Collinsworth led the team to it's first Super Bowl ever and though they put up a good fight the orange and black ultimatley lost to the San Fransico 49ers. I'd have to wait another seven years for another bowl appearance and the '88 team led by Boomer Eisason once again made it to the big game, and lost, once again to the 49ers. I have fond memories of that '88 team, espicially rookie running back "Ickey" Woods and his infamous "Ickey Shuffle".

Since 1988 then Bengals have, for lack of a better term, sucked. It's gotten to the point where I'd pretty much given up caring about football in general. This from someone who used to follow the NFL fervently all throughout middle and high school. Enter the 2005 Bengals. After two years of 8-8 finishes, it appears that this year's team is destined for greatness, or at least a winning season. The team is led by young league leading quarterback Carson Palmer and two incredible recievers - T.J. Houshmandzadeh and the flamboyent Chad Johnson. Mr. Johnson's endzone celebrations bring to mind the Ickey shuffles of the last championship team. Currently 9-3, the Bengals face Cleveland tomorrow at home. More news as it develops.

Top 10 of 2005

Since it's nearing the end of the calendar year I figured it's as good a time as any to choose my top ten records of 2005. Only problem is, I can only come up with nine. Perhaps I'll post another list when I think of that one last record that I've listened to as much as these other nine, but here are my top ten minus one of 2005 as of right about now ...



1. E.S.T. Viaticum (ACT)
2. KNEEBODY Break Me (Greenleaf Music)
3. WASILEWSKI/KURKIEWICZ/MISKIEWICZ Trio (ECM)
4. TORD GUSTAVSEN TRIO The Ground (ECM)
5. CHRIS CHEEK Blues Cruise (Fresh Sound New Talent)
6. DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE Plans (Atlantic)
7. COLDPLAY X&Y (Capitol)
8. AVISHAI COHEN At Home (Radaz)
9. BENEVENTO/RUSSO DUO The Best Reason To Buy The Sun (Ropeadope)

LISTEN: Top 10 of 2005 Podcast (15.8mb)
Musical samples of each of the above.

to blog or not to blog ...

To blog. Here goes nothing.