Steve Fidyk - "Battle Lines"

© Copyright ® Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

Since the inception of the music over 100 years ago, how to resolve the issue of striking a balance between exhibiting drum technique and playing the drums as a part of the music has always been a real challenge for Jazz drummers. The former is in the service of Ego while the latter is in the service of Jazz.

Every so often a drummer comes along with exceptional facility on the instrument who subordinates it to become a more integral part of the music.

Steve Fidyk is just such a drummer as I found out much to my delight when I listened to his previously released CDs Heads Up! [Posi-tone Label PR 8119] and Allied Forces. [Posi-tone Label PR 8157]

It’s all here - precision, blistering speed, power -  but you hear this through drums that emphasize bouncing bebop beats, New Orleans street beats, boogie beats, rock beats, straight-ahead jazz beats, organ-tenor-guitar beats, and the like - not just the drums. He has chops to spare but Steve is all about the music

The drums, as sensitively played by Steve, take on a controlled creativity that compliments and complements his performances and his recordings.

I suppose one of the biggest accolades you could offer about his recordings is that you would never know that the band on them is headed-up by a drummer. The drums don’t dominate the music. They are a part of it.

Battle Lines provides another opportunity to revel in Steve’s skills and talents and to appreciate him for what he is - a positive force for Jazz in so many ways - as a musician, a bandleader, composer and as an educator.

His entire musical evolution is characterized by achievements of the highest order: as a student, as a teacher and as a performer. And if, as Louis Armstrong [affectionately known in the Jazz World as “Pops.”] once declared - “Jazz is what you are.” - then the music on Battle Lines is a reflection of all the musical settings Steve has participated in his career: from a 21 year stint as the drummer and featured soloist with the Army Blues Big Band based in Washington, D.C., to the small groups led by tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf and guitarist Jack Wilkins, respectively, and, more recently, the Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia led by trumpeter Terell Stafford and the leader of his own quintets on this and two previous recordings.

The current version of Steve’s group is made up of Joe Magnarelli, trumpet, Xavier Perez, tenor sax, Peter Zak and Michael Karn, bassist, all of whom feature brilliantly on this recording. The media release for Battle Lines noted: “Each member is an active participant that pushes Fidyk’s hard-hitting rhythmic and melodic message direct to the theater of operations.”

Academically, Steve is on the Jazz faculty at Temple University, the Philadelphia University of the Arts and serves as the educational consultant for the Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington Program. [You can view his complete curriculum vitae on his website].

Given Steve’s many talents as a musician, bandleader and academician, it’s easy to overlook his accomplishments as a composer of tunes that are interesting to listen to and fun to play on. In his original compositions, his knowledge of theory and harmony is on display and helps make them melodically interesting vehicles on which to improvise.

Steve has provided these artist notes to help you better understand what’s going on with the music in this recording. CD order information can be found at www.bluecanteenmusic.com and it will be available for streaming and dowload through that URL on June 26, 2020.

Ignominy -  A composition by the great tenor saxophonist and composer Eddie Harris. My friend Joseph Henson, who was featured on alto on my last recording, introduced me to this piece several years ago. It's a simple tune with two themes — the first toggles between two chord changes and is 16-measures long, and the second is a 4-measure phrase that caps the melody with plenty of impact. Like many Eddie Harris compositions, it is funky, rooted in the blues tradition and fun to improvise over. The meaning of the term ignominy is "public shame or disgrace." This 20-measure song features solos by Xavier Perez, Joe Magnarelli and Peter Zak.

Battle Lines - This original is a burning up-tempo piece with an (A-B) melody, coupled with a 32-measure solo section. Each (A) melody section is 12-bars long and the (B) section is 8-measures. The piece opens with a 6-measure 5:2 polyrhythm introduction and doses in the same manner. The solo section features Peter Zak, Xavier Perez and one chorus of drums before returning to a recapitulation of the melody.

Loopholes - I set out to write a "groove tune" for this project. Something that felt good and had a dance sensibility to it. I came up with the title idea as an extension from previous compositions I wrote for other solo recordings: The Flip Flopper (from Heads Up!) and Gaffe (from Allied Forces). Loopholes follows suit and was conceived with a similar approach. I've lived and worked in the Washington DC area for over 25 years, and recently retired from the U.S. Army Band, "Pershing's Own." During my tenure as drummer for the U.S. Army Blues Jazz Ensemble, a 17-piece big band, I performed in many unique environments to include concerts at the White House and Vice Presidents Quarters. In my 25+ years as a band member, I've witnessed my share of politicians and many loopholes. As we approach another election, I'm certain we'll encounter even more from our present and future elected officials... This tune features a funky swing feel with a 16-bar (A) and (B) section with solos by Joe Magnarelli, Xavier Perez and Peter Zak.

Thank You (Dziekuje) - A Chopin inspired piece entitled Dziekuje, meaning thank you — an expression of gratitude for the fans of Brubeck during his 1958 visit to Poland. A trio version was featured on the recording Jazz Impressions of Eurasia, a studio album recorded following that 1958 State Department tour, where the Quartet played 80 concerts in 14 countries throughout Europe and Asia. A more varied treatment at a medium tempo is featured on the live recording Bennet/Brubeck, The White House Sessions, Live 1962. When I first heard this piece, I was attracted to the beautifully haunting melody. I was also intrigued by the flexibility of both arrangements that are prominently displayed on both the studio and live versions. 

I wanted to include a Brubeck composition for many reasons. The first being that he, in my opinion, is often overlooked as a composer and pianist—one of the finest of his generation and in 2020, we celebrate the centennial of his birth. Secondly, I wanted to acknowledge and thank my drum teacher, Joe Morello, a seminal member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, who helped me a great deal musically and professionally. 

I first met Joe when I was an 18-year-old student at Wilkes College. The college jazz ensemble was performing at the Mansfield State Jazz Festival in Mansfield, PA the fall of my freshman year. My jazz band director Tom Heinze knew Joe Morello well and suggested I contact him for lessons. Morello did a clinic at the festival and afterwards, I sheepishly asked if he would have time in his schedule to teach me. He gave me his number and said to call his wife, Jean to schedule. It took six months for me to have the courage to call and schedule, and I'm so thankful I did. This was back in 1987, long before the distractions of cell phones, computers and iPhones. I would take a two-hour lesson every two weeks with Joe throughout my college years. After joining the military and being stationed in DC, I would drive up to see him for periodic "checkups" to make sure my form, technique and coordination were on track. Joe is responsible for developing my sound and reflex for music. My teaching at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA is based in part on his teaching and his style of presenting information. The arrangement of the tune as featured on Battle Lines is in 3/4 time and features Xavier Perez and Peter Zak.

Bebop Operations - is based on a 32-measure (A-A-B-A) bebop melody, with an 8-measure drum solo introduction. The melody has a playful-like bridge, with A sections featuring some tricky syncopations. The solo section follows the same form, and showcases Joe Magnarelli, Xavier Perez and Peter Zak.

Bootlickers Blues - A strange blues with a strange title. A "bootlicker" is a person who tries to gain influence or favor through a servile, obsequious or brown-nosing manner. The tune features a standard 12-measure blues form with a few measures of "3/4 time" mixed in to keep things interesting. The first chorus of piano and tenor follow the form of the melody, before breaking into a hard driving swing feel in 4/4 time over the blues form. The drum solo that follows the tenor is two choruses, accompanied by the bass and piano, over the form of the melody.

Lullaby for Lori and John - is a ballad composed for my parents. I lost my mom this past year from congestive heart failure, and my dad in July 2017 from the same condition. After my father passed, my mom moved in with my family. My wife and kids were incredible with keeping her as comfortable as possible. My folks had a traditional, "old school" relationship for 60 years. My father worked 40+ hour weeks as a machinist at TOPPS Chewing Gum Factory, and my mom stayed home, raising myself and three siblings. She cooked, cleaned, read to us, shopped for clothes, groceries, paid bills and kept the family unit together with love and respect-- never complaining once. They both selflessly wanted their children to do better in life then they did. When I was young, my father would also play gigs with his trio (6 nights a week) on tenor saxophone. On occasion, he would take me out with him on a Saturday night to hear his group play, and the drummer would let me sit in on a tune or two as the night came to a close. Lullaby for Lori and John was recorded in one take and I was in tears by the end of it. It features the incredible fluegelhorn sound of Joe Magnarelli. After we recorded it, Joe Magnarelli mentioned to me that you never really get over the loss of your parents. You're an orphan now for the first time in your life.

Churn - An up tempo original in 6/8 that features an (A-B-A) melody form with solos featuring Xavier Perez and Peter Zak. Following the piano solo is an accompanied drum solo over the introduction vamp played by Michael Karn on bass, before a recapitulation of the theme.

Steeplechase - Charlie Parker!!! He helped invent the be-bop vernacular, and we pay homage to his contributions with this spirited rendition. He changed the way jazz musicians conceive and approach improvisational music and in 2020, we celebrate the centennial of his birth. Almost every alto saxophonist since has been influenced by his sound developments and contributions.

#Social Loafing - A piece dedicated to those who spend an excessive amount of time on social media. The melody and solo form are A-A-B-C and based on (2) themes. #Social Loafing is a medium swinger with a progression that's fun to solo over. It features Xavier Perez, Joe Magnarelli, Peter Zak and a 1/2 chorus of drums on the first two (A) sections of the melody of the out head.

Sir John - A composition composed and recorded by trumpet legend Blue Mitchell on his 1960 LP Blue's Moods. The original recording features Wynton Kelly on piano, Sam Jones on bass and Roy Brooks on drums. Sir John is a cool blues with a bounce that fits like a glove with this combination of musicians that are featured on Battle Lines. It's the sole selection that showcases solos by each member, and oddly enough, runs approximately the same length of time as the original Blue Mitchell version done 60 years ago.

Jazz for Steve Fidyk is a “do” word - a verb, and he continues to do his part to play an active role in keeping the music alive; full of the energy and spontaneity for which it is acclaimed.

For skilled musicianship that generates power, pulse and propulsion in the finest traditions of Jazz drumming, you can’t do better than The Fidyk Force. 

The music on this recording is the first on Steve’s newly organized Blue Canteen label. Hopefully, there will be more to follow and soon.

- Steven A. Cerra

www.jazzprofiles.blogspot.com

Joe Magnarelli - Revisiting "Mags"

© -Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

I first met Joe Magnarelli in March, 1998 in a Seattle recording studio where we were recording Italian Jazz pianist Dado Moroni’s Out of the Night CD which I co-produced with Philip Barker for his Jazz Focus Records.

In between takes, we chatted amiably and Joe’s warm personality seemed a perfect compliment to his mellow approach to the trumpet which he plays in a style very reminiscent of Kenny Dorham.

Aside from his work on the Moroni album, I had previously heard Joe on recordings he made for Gerry Teekens’ Holland-based Criss Cross Records, a label he continues to record for under his own name and in combination with Philadelphia-based trumpeter John Swana.

Persistence [RSR CD 194] is my first encounter with “Mags’” work on Mark Feldman’s Reservoir label and it is a thoroughly enjoyable one.  On it, Joe is joined by Gary Smulyan on baritone saxophone and a rhythm section that is one of the best on today’s Jazz scene: pianist David Hazeltine, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington.

Peter Aaron is the music editor of Chronogram magazine and a contributor to the Village Voice, the Boston Herald, All About Jazz.com, All Music Guide.com, and Jazz Improv and Roll magazines. Here are his insert notes to Persistence [Reservoir RSR CD 194].

© -Peter Aaron, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

“There are several indispensable qualities an artist must have if he or she is to survive as a jazz musician. Tone. Technique. Ears. Resourcefulness. Adaptability. Good communication skills. Patience. Confidence. Individuality. Taste. Drive. Soul.

But perhaps the most important quality a great  jazz musician - or any great artist, really -must have is persistence. Lots of it. Because without it, none of the other qualities mentioned above can be attained; when we see them manifested these characteristics can seem like assets an artist has been born with, but the truth is they have to be nurtured, developed. Which takes persistence. And persistence itself is what keeps an artist's eves on the prize, a strength that will carry him or her through the lean times, the slings of the naysayer, the chatty, indifferent audiences, the jet lag, the bad road food, the near-empty clubs, the sleepless nights of self-doubt that all artists encounter. The ones who don't have that all-important stick-to-itiveness eventually give up the ghost and quit playing, at least professionally.

But Joe Magnarelli has persistence. Lots of it. Joe, or Mags, as the trumpeter is often called, has been playing his horn for nearly 40 years. And for more than half of those years he’s been doing it professionally, both as a leader and in the bands of Lionel Hampton, Brother Jack McDuff, Harry Connick, Jr., Toshiko Akiyoshi, Jon Hendricks, and Ray Barretto, as well as in the Glenn Miller and Carnegie Hall jazz orchestras. Joe is also a teacher, serving as an adjunct professor at the New School of Social Research in Manhattan and New Jersey City.

University in Jersey City and conducting clinics and master classes outside of these schools. And, having been a stellar student himself under James Moody, Tommy Turrentine, and others, Joe certainly has a lot of knowledge and experience to pass on. But in addition to the notes-and-bars music theory material he covers, one lesson he imparts to his students is that of maintaining their resolve despite the tests and trials of learning and playing music-in other words, persistence. "Sometimes you do have to give the kids a pep talk," Joe says. "You know, that idea of 'Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger."' And, indeed, all tenured musicians know the value of emotional strength, both on and off the bandstand.

Since 1994 Joe has been making acclaimed albums as a leader and co-leader, but this is his first for RESERVOIR MUSIC. (He played as a sideman on Gary Smulyan's exemplary 2003 RESERVOIR release, THE REAL DEAL.) "Being on Reservoir is a really good situation for me," says Joe. "Mark Feldman has the right sensitivity as a. producer. During the session he pretty much just let us do our thing, but when he did offer input it was right on the mark. And I’d already known [engineer] Jim Anderson from some big band and small combo dates I'd played on, so it was all very easy, very relaxed." It definitely comes across: One of the hallmarks of PERSISTENCE is its overall relaxed, free-flowing feel. It's not hard to believe him when Joe mentions that the tunes were "pretty much all done in one or two takes."

Of course, the absolutely killer band Joe put together for the session enters into the equation, too. Check this lineup, jazz fans, and just try not to salivate: Mags on trumpet, Gary Smulyan on baritone, David Hazeltine on piano, Peter Washington on bass, and Kenny "The jazz Maniac" Washington on drums. A veritable all-star team of New York’s world-class straight-ahead scene. "They're some amazing cats, alright," beams Joe. "We'd all worked with each other separately before, so we were all familiar with each other. They could all sense what I wanted play, right from the first note."

Joe wrote Persist during his tenure with the late conga king Ray Barretto. "The tune was originally called 'Persist Until You Succeed' and had lyrics written by Sue Giles, and then I just started calling it Persist," Joe explains. "But Ray didn't like that title and renamed it ‘Mags,’ after me." As  "Mags:' the piece was done in a Latin arrangement for Barretto” s Grammy-nominated 2005 release, TIME WAS - TIME IS. Reworked into a 4/4 swing-time adaptation, Persist opens this album and provides the inspiration for its title. The track kicks off with an ensemble flourish and a strong pronouncement by Kenny Washington, and features a wonderfully scrambled recurring horn vamp and colorful and blustery solos by the leader and Smulyan.

The Village, with its effortless, light bossa nova groove, recalls the music of Joe's time with Barretto as well as the lively culture of Greenwich Village, where the trumpeter was living when he composed the tune. Hazeltine takes a great, sparkling turn here, staying clear of any predictable Latin keyboard clichés, and Joe contributes a fine, bubbly solo.

The band next reprises the standard I Had the Craziest Dream, giving the Harry Warren/Mack Gordon chestnut a smooth and buoyant but relentlessly swinging treatment. While Joe delivers the tune's gorgeous melody with measurably heartfelt tenderness, it's the (non-related) Washington’s that almost steal the show here. "A trumpet player hardly ever gets to play a beautiful standard with a rhythm section like that," says Joe. "It was too much fun, playing that tune with those cats." Peter Washington's strutting bravado drives the performance, and the riveting breaks that he and Kenny Washington contribute are likewise highlights.

It's not hard to guess where the title of D Train Boogaloo came from. "I was on the D train heading downtown to a gig at Birdland when I wrote it," recalls Joe. "Before every record date I force myself to write one tune just for that particular session. The pressure helps me get focused for the date, and D Train Boogaloo is the one I wrote for this album."

PERSISTENCE also boasts a pair of ageless standards by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz. Joe picked up Haunted Heart just a few years ago, while he was playing with Barretto. "I didn't realize that Dietz and Schwartz had written the tune, but I'd always loved it," Joe says. "Barretto’s band had done an arrangement of it, and Barretto liked what I was playing on it. He said, 'Man, you should always play that tune.' I love it." And no doubt listeners will love this version, with -warm deep Smulyan solo, and the lyrical musings of the leader. You and the Night and the Music, on the other hand, was an unplanned inclusion. "That was the last tune we cut. There wasn't any arrangement, we just blew." And blow, they do, especially Smulyan and Kenny Washington during an early, fiery exchange that proves one of the set’s high points.

The ballad Barretto is an homage to Joe's former mentor, who died in 2006. "I started writing it pretty soon after he passed," says Joe. "I'd work on it every morning, adding to it little by little."  It would seem the tunes namesake would've been deeply touched by the tender tribute, which is graced by the trumpeter's gorgeous lines and Smulyan's simpatico comping behind them, as well as a spare, exquisite passage by Hazeltine.

Joe had some fun with the tide of the last tune, Soul Sister. "It's basically 'Body and Soul' redone as a waltz:' he says. "I like to write on top of a standard once in a while. It's fun to do." The tracks, loping, easy, pendulum-like groove offers an excellent backdrop for the lithe intervals of Peter Washington and the leader's occasional Coltrane-esque trills. After such a satisfying ride, its the perfect performance to bring the album in for a smooth landing. And Mags and the band make it all sound so easy.

But of course it isn't easy. Oh, it gets easier as the years roll on. But only after the players have already poured years of dedication and sweat into their craft. Which is a fruitful and never-ending process for Joe Magnarelli. And one jazz lovers will never tire of listening to. If there's one lesson that this music illustrates, it's that persistence pays off.

“Life can be very demanding, but you can't let the tough times get you down," offers Joe. "Every day when you wake up it's a chance to start fresh.”

PETER AARON JANUARY 2008

I have always liked the tune – You and the Night and the Music – particularly after hearing pianist Bill Evans’ interpretation of it on the Interplay album which features a sparkling solo by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard.

The version of the tune on Persistence does not disappoint, especially if you are a fan of straight-ahead Jazz.

As you can hear on the soundtrack to the following video, after Joe plays the line [melody] using a Harmon mute, baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan and drummer Kenny Washington launch into trading eights, fours and twos that are of such a high quality that they could serve as a model of how this form of – if you will – interplay between horn and drums is done.

Kenny’s exchanges with Gary begin at 1:09 minutes with the 8’s starting at 1:16 minutes; the 4’s at 2:01 minutes and the 2’s at 2:47 minutes.

And, if you are so inclined, listen to this audio a second time and just concentrate on the bass line that Peter Washington lays down behind Joe’s playing of the melody from 18 seconds to 1:08 minutes. All hyperbole aside, this is simply some of the most magnificent Jazz bass playing that you are ever likely to hear.