LUSH: The Joe Clark Big Band Featuring Jeff Hamilton

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

"Having experienced Joe's arranging talents, as a guest of DePaul University's Jazz Ensemble, I was excited about playing HIS compositions in HIS ensemble for this recording. He sure has many ways to express himself and knows the right musicians to call who understand his music. It was easy for me to walk in and feel right at home with this group.

In this genre of Jazz, we are often presented the freedom to ‘play our personalities.’ You’ll hear Joe’s passion for this music through his writing. I look forward to the next opportunity for Joe to make me sound like a million!”

-Jeff Hamilton, drummer, composer and bandleader

Graham Carter, owner-operator of JazzedMedia and drummer Jeff Hamilton are at it again doing good things for Jazz.

This time it involves a February 12, 2013 release of a new JazzedMedia CD by the Joe Clark Big Band Featuring Jeff Hamilton [JM1060].

Once upon a time, the United States State Department sent Jazz musicians like Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Dave Brubeck around the world as spokespeople for the music and the American way-of-life.

Jeff Hamilton has become a modern-day counterpart of these adventures in music appreciation although his preach-the-faith-of-Jazz junkets are more domestic in their focus.

Whether it be performing and conducting clinics at the Port Townsend, WA Jazz Festival, recording with the DePaul University Jazz Orchestra or being a guest performer at the Central Michigan University Jazz Weekend in Mount Pleasant, MI, Jeff is constantly sharing his skills and his talents to make the Jazz World a better place.

Following his 2012 appearance with DePaul University’s Jazz Orchetsra [also released as a Jazzed Media CD], Jeff’s latest venture finds him back in Chicago, IL once again, this time as the featured drummer and soloist with arranger-composer Joe Clark’s Big Band.

And who better to produce a recording of Jeff’s fun meeting with Joe Clark’s big band than Graham Carter.

Jeff once said of Shelly Manne, one of the greatest Jazz drummers in history:

“I was always mesmerized by the way he played.”

Thanks to his frequent appearances at nearby Jazz clubs and Jazz festivals, I feel the same way while watching Jeff play drums.

I’m always enthralled with Jeff’s drumming. He gets around the instrument so fluidly and always has interesting things “to say.” If anyone has taken on Shelly’s legacy of melodic and musical drumming, it’s Jeff.

Dating back to his years with Woody Herman through to his current co-leadership of The Clayton Hamilton Orchestra, Jeff knows how to kick a big band.

Because he writes them in a linear or horizontal style, Joe Clark takes full advantage of Jeff’s brilliance as a big band drummer with his arrangements on Joe Clark Big Band Featuring Jeff Hamilton [JazzedMedia JM1060]. Think drummer Mel Lewis playing Gerry Mulligan or Bill Holman charts with Stan Kenton or the Terry Gibbs Dream Band and you’ll get some idea of how evenly Joe’s writing flows with Jeff in the drum chair.

The eight tracks on Joe Clark Big Band Featuring Jeff Hamilton consist of three originals by Joe, one by Jeff, and four standards: Monk’s Well You Needn’t, Billy Strayhorn’s Lush Life and beautiful, ballad versions of Tenderly and Yesterday’s Gardenias.

The great thing about the inclusion of the four standards is that their familiarity gives the listener and opportunity to “set his/her ears” in order to better appreciate what is going on in Joe’s arrangements.

One feature of Joe’s writing that jumps out at you is how balanced it is. He knows the range of each instrument in the band and he reflects this knowledge by blending the instrumental sections in such a way that the sound of his music has a richness and a fullness to it.  It’s not all about trumpets screeching high notes and bass trombones and baritone saxophones punching out pedal tones.

No jumbled mass of sound, Joe’s writing allows melodic lines to play out; it doesn’t sound rushed or cluttered. With Jeff stoking the fire in the band’s engine room, Joe’s arrangements keep things simple and allow the band to pulsate under Jeff’s rhythmic guidance.

His charts follow a distinctive, linear logic with the result that they produce a rush of excitement which can only come from big band Jazz when it is performed by musicians who listen to one another and jell as a unit.

Joe’s arrangements share the solo spotlight among a number of band members.

BJ Cord, Victor Garcia and Joe, himself, on trumpet, Tom Garling and Bryant Scott on trombone, Dan Nicholson on alto saxophone, Anthony Bruno and Chris Madsen on tenor saxophone, guitarist Mike Pinto and pianist Ryan Cohan: each bring forth solos that reflect their influences while also offering strong indications of their own voices.

And then, of course, there’s Jeff Hamilton, who, along with the excellent bass work of Joe Policastro, moves things forward with his masterful kicks, licks and fills, always putting a premium on swinging.

Joe Clark Big Band Featuring Jeff Hamilton [JazzedMedia JM1060] is a treat that continues the tradition of swinging big band Jazz while, at the same time, refreshing and enhancing it with new ideas, new energies and news sounds.

Michael Bloom is once again handling the media relations for Graham and Jazzed Media and he sent along the following press release which further describes the recording and gives some background on Joe Clark’s career to date.

© -Graham Carter/Mark Hiebert/Jazzed Media, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

“From the liner notes by Mark Hiebert:

The title of this album is Lush. The word "lush" by itself can describe a man who drinks and becomes flirtatious, or it can depict something that is savory and appealing to the senses. The album includes a little of both, with characters like the Femme Fatale living in an unwritten story set in the streets of New Orleans, along with some of the richest and most beautiful new music in the big band repertoire. The listener will quickly fall in love with Joe's musical characters that show us humor, heartbreak, love, and beauty as their story unfolds.

Joe Clark grew up 35 miles southwest of Chicago in Lockport, IL. After high school, he moved into the city to pursue Composition and Jazz Studies degrees from DePaul University. Joe quickly became a top-call composer and arranger for the Chicagoland area. Already, Joe's arrangements and compositions have been performed by renowned Grammy-award winning artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Renee Fleming, Phil Woods, and Ira Sullivan; musicians from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Sinfonietta, and Grant Park Orchestra; the Rob Parton and Tom Matta Big Bands; and the DePaul University Jazz Ensemble and Alumni Big Band. Lush is his first of many albums to come as a leader.

"I think it was remarkable to everyone involved how quickly the band jelled. From the first moment of rehearsal, it was clear that we were ready to seriously play...the studio sessions were just easy and felt right from the get-go. Joe's music combined with the personnel selections he made created a warm atmosphere of collaboration and it just felt natural," commented tenor saxophonist Chris Madsen. The group had never played together before its only rehearsal, and flourished under veteran leadership from lead alto saxophonist, Dan Nicholson; lead trombonist, Andy Baker; lead trumpeters, Chuck Parrish and Brent Turney; drummer, Jeff Hamilton; and conductor, Dr. Bob Lark.

Bass trombonist Tom Matta was also tremendously influential throughout the session. "Joe has put together one helluva band for this debut recording, and I am as thrilled to be a part of it as I was excited and proud to have Joe as a student all these years at DePaul. The writing, the ensemble, and the soloists are all top-notch. And the drummer is pretty good, too!" Joe reciprocated, It was a real honor to have my composing mentor Tom Matta in the band, sitting right in front of me during the session. He not only dominates that bass trombone, he's taught me so much about the art of the big band. I owe him a lot." Malta's influence was also apparent to Tom Garling, who commented, "It reminded me a little of Gordon Goodwin, with a twist of Tom Matta for hip-ness."

It would be impossible to describe the session and not mention the great contributions of Jeff Hamilton. "Jeff Hamilton is THE DRUMMER'. He is a real artist-Baryshnikov of the beat. Before our first rehearsal, we sat and talked about the charts-he was always looking for deeper artistic depths, more detail, more ways of enhancing the arrangement. He is a deeply caring and professional musician," says Joe. Jeff brought his unparalleled talents to the table along with his original composition, Samba de Martelo, which Joe arranged to feature the drums.

The rest of the rhythm section was also truly outstanding. Pianist Ryan Cohan, guitarist Mike Pinto, and bassist Joe Policastro displayed consummate professionalism and complete musicianship throughout the session. They were deeply involved with the decision making process in the booth and in the studio, always striving for the most authentic sound and feel for the music. The listener will instantly appreciate the deep grooves and artful comping.

"The rest of the band is nothing short than the best musicians I've ever had the privilege to play with. Months before the session, as I was in the early stages of planning, I was totally giddy with the prospect of getting these guys all in the same room to make music together. What's exciting to me is how each individual's personality shined through in the recording. The soloists are amazing—each in their own unique personal way," said Joe. "Recording a big band album is like pulling a heist. I had been writing and dreaming for years and since the time was right and I won a generous artist's prize (God bless Nik Edes and the Edes Foundation), I could put together a dream team. Like a heist, everyone has specific roles that need to be executed with precision and since our session was only for a couple days, everything had to go off without a hitch. So time was of the essence and I was fortunate to recruit the very best."

The album is made up of five arrangements and three originals. Joe shines as an arranger with his Nelson Riddle-inspired Lush Life …, funky second-line infused Well You Needn't, thoughtfully orchestrated Tenderly, inventive Samba de Martelo, and hard-swinging Yesterday's Gardenias. His real compositional voice is most apparent in his three originals: Red Sky, Free-Wheeling, … and Femme Fatale. The one-take performance of Red Sky most clearly reflects Joe's deep understanding of composition and orchestration. Free-Wheeling, like Well You Needn't, reflects Joe's passion for the greasy sound of New Orleans brass bands. And Femme Fatale gives the world a look into Joe's film-noir-savvy mind.

This album was an absolute pleasure to be a part of, and the listener is in for a real treat. There is more in store for this group because as Joe said himself, "this is just the beginning" of the next wave of great Chicago music.

About Joe Clark

Joe Clark is an active composer and arranger of music in a wide variety of styles and idioms.

Working with Dr. Cliff Colnot, Clark is an arranger for The Institute for Learning, Access and Training at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, writing for the Once Upon a Symphony and Orchestra Explorers programs.

Joe's music has been performed by Yo-Yo Ma, Renee Fleming, Phil Woods, Ira Sullivan, Jim McNeely, the Chicago Sinfonietta, Bob Lark and his Alumni Big Band, the Tom Matta Big Band, Mulligan Mosaics Nonet, DePaul University Jazz Ensemble, University of Cincinnati CCM Jazz Lab Band, Chicago Q Ensemble, thingNY, Julia Bentley and the Spektral Quartet, and players from the Grant Park Symphony and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His horn arrangements can be heard on Kanye West and Malik Yusefs "G.O.O.D. Morning G.O.O.D. Night". Joe has also written extensively for live theater and film, including fruitful collaborations with director Catherine Weidner and writer/director Kyle Higgins.

Joe's awards include multiple Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Awards, the Sidney and Mary Kleinman Composition Award, a DownBeat Student Music Award, and the Claire and Samuel Edes Foundation Prize for Emerging Artists.

A native of Chicago, Joe is also a trumpeter and director of the Joe Clark Big Band. His debut album as a leader, Lush, featuring drummer Jeff Hamilton, will be released on Jazzed Media Records on February 12th, 2013. He is on the faculty of DePaul University and Harold Washington College (City Colleges of Chicago).”

You can locate order information on the CD at www.jazzedmedia.com and at www.joeclarkbigband.com.

The following video will provide you with a taste of what’s on offer. The tune is Joe’s original composition Free-Wheeling with solos by Bryant Scott on trombone, Anthony Bruno on tenor saxophone and Victor Garcia on trumpet.

“The Flying Scotsman” – Gerry Mulligan and The New Concert Jazz Band

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

Leave it to Gerry Mulligan to open the second half of his performance at the 1988 Glasgow Jazz Festival with a rip-roaring arrangement by his New Concert Jazz Band of his original composition entitled … wait for it … The Flying Scotsman.

Beginning in 1924, the legendary locomotive sped its passengers from London across the Scottish Highlands and into Edinburgh without stopping, ultimately covering the 392 miles in 7 hours and 20 minutes.

Gerry always had a fascination with steam-driven railroad engines, so much so that he named a number of his original compositions after them and even entitled a CD in their honor – The Age of Steam [A&M CD 0804].

Gerry re-established his “New” Concert Jazz Band at a time in his career when he had the discretionary time to once again composed and arrange for a big band. He was like a kid with a new toy; he loved every minute of it.

This version of Gerry’s The Flying Scotsman contains two “shout choruses:” one that the full band plays after Gerry solo and the trumpet/trombone trade-off solos [beginning at 3:00 minutes]; the other follows the solos by pianist Bill Charlap and bassist Dean Johnson, who is a powerhouse through the piece [beginning at 4:47 minutes].

“Live” Jazz doesn’t get anymore exciting than this.

The Art of Jazz Guitar

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

There’s a reason why the name for the long part of a guitar is “the neck.”

For there are times when one becomes so frustrated trying to play such an unforgiving instrument that one is tempted to strangle it by grabbing it by – you guessed it - “the neck.”

Those who play Jazz guitar seem destined to play it for how else would you explain the choice of an instrument whose sound is difficult to sustain and whose volume can rarely be heard above other instruments unless it is electrically amplified?

It’s also an instrument that can easily get in the way by clashing with the piano as both serve the function of feeding chords and “comping” [accompanying] in most Jazz groups. Unless it is lightly “feathered” to the point of being more felt than audible, many drummers dislike its intrusion as part of the rhythm section because it makes the time sound chunky and/or feel stiff.

As a lead instrument, it doesn’t phrase easily with other instruments such as the trumpet, trombone or one of the saxes.

When it does find a natural category for expression, for example, in combination with a Hammond B-3 organ and drums, it risks disapproval due to the dislike that many have for the organ in Jazz [“sounds comical;” “belongs at an ice show or a circus;” “overbearing or domineering;” “Why doesn’t someone just pull the plug?”]

So what’s a self-respecting Jazz guitarist to do in order to have a place in the music?

One avenue of expression is to quietly and unobtrusively add a “light touch” to the rhythm section as guitarist Eddie Condon did for many years in Chicago-style and Dixieland Jazz groups or guitarist Freddie Green did as part of the Count Basie Big Band.

Another is to match up with other string instruments as did Eddie Lang with violinist Joe Venuti or the legendary Django Reinhardt with violinist Stephane Grappelli and the Hot Club of Paris.

In his essay The Electric Guitar and Vibraphone in Jazz: Batteries Not Included [Bill Kirchner, ed., The Oxford Companion to Jazz [London/New York, OUP, 2000], Neil Tesser observed of Django:

“Acoustic Jazz guitar reached an apotheosis with Django Reinhardt [whose French guitar had an extra internal sound chamber, which helped boost the volume]. Reinhardt founded his vibrant melodies upon fervid folk rhythms and unexpected chord voicings, the latter being inventions of necessity: a fire that damaged two fingers on his left (chord-making) hand forced him to reimagine his approach to har­mony. Reinhardt belied the then prevalent opinion that "Europeans can't play jazz"; tapping his experiences as a minority "outsider" (he was a Gypsy), he achieved an emotional power commensurate with that of jazz's African-American inventors, and his finger-picking tech­nique continued to stun jazz and even rock guitarists into the 1960s. Souvenirs (London) remains the best single-disc collection of his work with the Quintette du Hot Club de France, costarring Reinhardt's brilliant alter ego, violinist Stephane Grappelli.”

Elsewhere in his essay, Neil points out that “Before amplification, the guitar had little impact on Jazz, with a dozen or so important objections. … not until the mid-1930’s – when Gibson and others began fitting Spanish-style guitars with electromagnetic pickups, to amplify the strings themselves did Jazz guitarists have what they needed [to sustain sound and to increase volume on the instrument]. …

Pound for pound, no instrument has been more profoundly affected by twentieth-century technology than the guitar ….”

The Jazz electric guitar was pioneered by Charlie Christian who performed in Benny Goodman’s Swing era small groups as well as with the early beboppers at Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem before his death at a tragically early age.

Oscar Moore with Nat King Cole’s trio helped make the piano-bass-guitar trio a viable Jazz unit - a tradition that was continued first by Barney Kessel and then by Herb Ellis with pianist Oscar Peterson’s trio which included bassist Ray Brown. Pianist Ahmad Jamal’s earliest trio also included a guitarist, Ray Crawford.

Pianist George Shearing unique sound in the 1950s was made possible by the way in which the now-amplified electric guitar was voiced in unison, but octaves apart, with the piano and the vibraphone.

Tal Farlow with Red Norvo’s trio, Jimmy Raney with valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer’s quartet, Johnny Smith with tenor saxophonist Stan Getz’s quartet and Jim Hall with clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre’s trio used “a softer tone and a less pronounced attack to mold the guitar into a cool Jazz voice….” [Tesser]

Hall could also heat it up a bit as he demonstrated with Sonny Rollins’ quartet in the 1960’s and Kenny Burrell used his “exceptionally mellow tone” [Tesser] to raise the temperature in a variety of hard bop settings, including Hammond B-3 organist Jimmy Smith’s trio. Kenny’s work may also have influenced that of guitarist Grant  Green “… whose soulful tone and ringing lyricism distilled the bluesy essence of 1960’s hard bop.” [Tesser]

Wes Montgomery also came along in the 1960’s and blew everybody away with his propulsive melodies and his startlingly effective technique based on improvising in octaves.

As Wes explained in a 1961 Downbeat interview with Ralph J. Gleason:

”I’m so limited. I have a lot of ideas - well, a lot of thoughts—that I'd like to see done with the guitar. With the octaves, that was just a coincidence, going into octaves. It's such a challenge yet, you know, and there's a lot that can be done with it and with chord versions like block chords on piano. But each of these things has a feeling of its own, and it takes so much time to develop all your technique.

"I don't use a pick at all, and that's one of the downfalls, too. In order to get a certain amount of speed, you should use a pick, I think. You don't have to play fast, but being able to play fast can cause you to phrase better. If you had the technique you could phrase better, even if you don't play fast. I think you'd have more control of the instrument.

"I didn't like the sound of a pick. I tried it for, I guess, about two months. I didn't even use my thumb at all. But after two months time, I still couldn't use the pick. So I said, 'Well, which are you going to do?' I liked the tone better with thumb, but I liked the technique with the pick. I couldn't have them both, so I just have to cool.

"I think every instrument should have a certain amount of tone quality within the instrument, but I can't seem to get the right amplifiers and things to get this thing out. I like to hear good phrasing. I'd like to hear a guitar play parts like instead of playing melodic lines, leave that and play chord versions of lines. Now, that's an awful hard thing to do, but it would be different. But I think in those terms, or if a cat could use octaves for a line instead of one note. Give you a double sound with a good tone to it. Should sound pretty good if you got anoth­er blending instrument with it.”

Following its pronounced appearance in organ trios and on ‘funky Jazz’ records in the 1960s,  Jazz guitar seemed to veer off into an area of music that came into existence with the rising popularity of Rock ‘n Roll during the same period.

As Neil Tesser goes on to explain in his essay: “It’s no surprise that the spread of Jazz guitar paralleled the rise of rock. Funk Jazz had dipped into the blues, a guitar-driven music and the primary precursor of Rock-and-Roll. As Rock ascended in the 1960’s, the guitar came to dominate American music; as Rock and Jazz converged, the guitar symbolized the evolving musical fusion.”

The Jazz guitar also fused with other styles of music as well including Indian ragas, country and western music and folk music. These myriad, hybrid styles can he heard in the guitar playing of George Benson, Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin, Lenny Breau, John Abercrombie, John Scofield, Bill Frisell, and Pat Metheny.

Of course, there continue to be those Jazz guitarists who play in a more straight-ahead manner such as Joe Pass, Pat Martino, Ed Bickert and Lorne Lofsky, Peter Bernstein, Jake Langley and two, young Dutch guitarists based in Holland – Jesse van Ruller and Martin van Iterson.

Fortunately, when these plectarists grab the instrument by “the neck,” the result is one of the loveliest and liveliest sounds in all of Jazz and one that’s easy for most of us to identify with.

The guitar is rivaled by only the human voice in its universality.

The following video montage pays tribute to some of the many Jazz guitarists who have put a smile on our face and a song in our heart over the years.

The tune is a smokin’ version Freddie Hubbard’s Gibraltar as performed by Jake Langley on guitar, Joey DeFrancesco on Hammond B-3 organ and drummer Terry Clarke.

Fabergé, Easter Eggs, Bobby Shew and “Joy Spring”

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

Making Jazz and making Art require infinite dedication, skill and love. Thank goodness for the dedication of those few who bring it all to a level of genius for the rest of us to marvel at.

- the editorial staff at JazzProfiles

Some of our Jazz and Art features may be inspired, while others are somewhat of a stretch. You be the judge.

I see the world this way from time-to-time and obviously have fun developing video montages of great works of Art set to great Jazz.

Bassist, author and all-around good guy, Bill Crow is always saying that “Jazz is fun” and I am having fun combining these mysterious and magical worlds of artistic and musical creation.

I never know when The Muse is going to strike, but when it does, I run with it – hence the title of this piece which came about after a recent viewing of a museum exhibit of the work of the famous jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé, maker of the sumptuous Easter Eggs for the Russian Imperial Family.

And since I am not a believer in coincidence, the fact that Bobby Shew’s version of Joy Spring was next up when on turned on my car’s CD player after visiting the Fabergé museum exhibit pretty much decided the matter for me.

For Spring is the season for Easter, a holiday whose importance rivals that of Christmas in the Russian Orthodox Church, and the joyous celebration of this festive season gave birth to the fabeled Fabergé jeweled eggs. How’s that for a stretch?

All of this is explained in detailed below in an annotation excerpted from the current House of Fabergé website.

In his insert notes to the 1988 CD he recorded with Holland’s famed and illustrious  Metropole Orchestra, trumpeter Bobby Shew described himself this way:

"I've been referred to as an 'incurable romantic." I don't know ... MAYBE! I can tell you that there is a part of me that does, in fact, seek out moments of romance in the music ... no matter what tunes, where or with whom. When I was a child first being exposed to Jazz, I loved the 'feel' of it. I loved the energy of it ... the beauty of it. I wore out copies of Clifford Brown with strings, Stan Getz's COOL VELVET, the soundtrack album to the movie THE SANDPIPER with Jack Sheldon playing those gorgeous Johnny Mandel charts. I guess if I am an incurable romantic, it's because I dreamt, as I think most horn players have, of doing a string album someday before we leave this earth. This recording with the outstanding Metropole Orchestra under the direction of Rob Pronk exceeds my wildest dreams. The real bulk of the credit here go to Lex Jasper whose arranging is absolutely magical."

Bobby is a great soloist but he is also an excellent lead trumpet player; a rare combination in Jazz.

He has appeared on numerous recording dates and has a number of albums out under his own name, none better, in our opinion, than his 1988 Mons CD with The Metropole Orchestra under the direction of Rob Pronk with its finely orchestrated arrangements by Lex Jasper.

We located the following overview of Bobby’s career on www.jazztrumpetsolos.com.

“Bobby Shew, (born March 4th, 1941, Albuquerque, New Mexico) began playing the guitar at the age of eight and switched to the trumpet at ten. By the time he was thirteen he was playing at local dances with a number of bands and by fifteen had put together his own group to play at dances, occasional concerts and in jazz coffee houses. He spent most of his high school days playing as many as six nights a week in a dinner club, giving him an early start to his professional career. During his 3 year tenure as jazz soloist for the famed NORAD band, he decided to make music his career. In 1964, soon after his discharge, he became a member of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.

After his stint with Tommy Dorsey, Bobby was asked to play with Woody Herman's band upon Bill Chase's recommendation. He then spent some time playing for Della Reese and Buddy Rich, who's big band had just been formed.  Many other similar situations followed and Bobby played lead trumpet for a number of pop stars. This brought Bobby to live in Las Vegas where he became prominent in various hotels and casinos.

By this time Bobby was widely known for his strong lead playing rather than as a jazz soloist. So late in 1972 he decided to make a move to the Los Angeles area in order to get re-involved in developing as a jazz player. He landed a lot of studio work and many jazz gigs, working with Bill Holman, Louie Bellson, Maynard Ferguson, and a sustained period with the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin big band. His spell with the band produced many fine albums, notably Kogun (1974), Tales Of A Courtesan (1975) and Insights (1976).  During that time he played in many Los Angeles-based rehearsal bands as well, including Don Menza's and the Capp-Pierce Juggernaut.

In the late 70s, Bobby toured Europe and the UK with Louie Bellson's big band, appearing on some of the live recordings, including Dynamite! (1979) and London Scene (1980). In the 80s Shew's playing was mostly in small groups, as both sideman and leader. Shew has also recorded many of his own albums. Several of these received very high accolades including his albums "Outstanding In His Field" which was nominated for a Grammy in 1980, and "Heavy Company" which was awarded the Grammy for Jazz Album Of The Year in 1983.

Shew has become one of the jazz community's most in-demand clinicians and concert soloists. Bobby is well known for his fiery bebop trumpet and for over three decades has performed and recorded with the elite of the jazz world.

As an educator, he's made his mark as Trumpet Chairman of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) and as the author of numerous articles and books on trumpet performance and technique. Bobby is also on the Board of Directors of the International Trumpet Guild. An important influence through his teaching activities, Shew is ensuring that, in a period when dazzling technical proficiency is becoming almost commonplace, the emotional qualities of jazz are not forgotten.

As for Joy Spring, Ted Gioia’s wonderful new book The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire [New York/London: Oxford University Press, 2012, p. 213] offers this background information on the tune.

© -The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire

by Ted Gioia with permission from Oxford University Press USA. Copyright © 2012 by Ted Gioia.”

 “Now that more than a half century has passed since his tragic death in an automobile accident at age 25, Clifford Brown has fallen into the unfortunate obscurity that seems to afflict many great jazz artists who never lived long enough to make stereo recordings. Jazz fans today do not enjoy listening to tracks that lack clean, crisp, seems-like-you're-in-the-same-room sound quality. The cut-off-point is around 1957.  If artists recorded fine music in 1958 or 1959—as did Mingus, Miles, and Monk— they are widely celebrated today, but if they left the scene in 1956, as did Clifford Brown, they risk becoming a forgotten footnote in the music's history.

Yet the new millennium jazz fans who don't know about Brownie really must acquaint themselves with this artist, who was the most breathtaking trumpeter of the mid-1950's. There's no better place to begin than with "Joy Spring," his most famous and oft-played composition. Brown left behind two studio recordings, and both are worth hearing, although I have a slight preference for the version made with Max Roach at the August 1954 sessions that did much to establish the new hard bop sound of the period.

The song is aptly named. Brown's music captures a more jubilant and optimistic worldview than one encounters with many of the later hard bop players, who aimed for an edgier and grittier sound. His trumpet technique furthered this sense of positive energy: he had a full and beautiful tone, and even at the fastest tempos hit each note cleanly and with what my old philosophy professor would call "intentionality." But not antiseptically, as with so many virtuosos: his playing is as notable for its warmth as it is for its flawless execution. The melody line of "Joy Spring" furthers this life-embracing vibe, with its phrases that constantly return to declamatory chord tones, and the modulation up a half step for the second eight bars—a common arranger's device for making a chart seem brighter and more insistent, but one that is rarely written into the lead sheet of a modern jazz combo tune. …”

And we located this synopsis of Fabergé’s career on the current House of Fabergé website.

© -Excerpted from www.faberge.com, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

“The series of lavish Easter eggs created by Fabergé for the Russian Imperial family, between 1885 and 1916, against an extraordinary historical backdrop, is regarded as the artist-goldsmith’s greatest and most enduring achievement.

The Imperial Easter eggs are certainly the most celebrated and awe-inspiring of all Fabergé works of art, inextricably bound to the Fabergé name and legend. They are also considered as some of the last great commissions of objets d’art.

The story began when Tsar Alexander III decided to give a jewelled Easter egg to his wife the Empress Marie Fedorovna, in 1885, possibly to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their betrothal.

It is believed that the Tsar, who had first become acquainted with Fabergé’s virtuoso work at the Moscow Pan-Russian Exhibition in 1882, was inspired by an 18th century egg owned by the Empress’s aunt, Princess Wilhelmine Marie of Denmark.

The object was said to have captivated the imagination of the young Maria during her childhood in Denmark. Tsar Alexander was apparently involved in the design and execution of the egg, making suggestions to Fabergé as the project went along.

Easter was the most important occasion of the year in the Russian Orthodox Church, equivalent to Christmas in the West. A centuries-old tradition of bringing hand-coloured eggs to Church to be blessed and then presented to friends and family, had evolved through the years and, amongst the highest echelons of St Petersburg society, the custom developed of presenting valuably bejewelled Easter gifts.

So it was that Tsar Alexander III had the idea of commissioning Fabergé to create a precious Easter egg as a surprise for the Empress, and thus the first Imperial Easter egg was born.

Known as the Hen Egg, it is crafted from gold, its opaque white enamelled ‘shell’ opening to reveal its first surprise, a matt yellow gold yolk. This in turn opens to reveal a multi-coloured, superbly chased gold hen that also opens. Originally, this contained a minute diamond replica of the Imperial Crown from which a small ruby pendant egg was suspended. Unfortunately these last two surprises have been lost.

The Empress’s delight at this intriguing gift with its hidden jewelled surprises was the starting point for the yearly Imperial tradition that continued for 32 years until 1917 and produced the most opulent and captivating Easter gifts the world has ever seen. The eggs were private and personal gifts, and the whole spectacular series charted the romantic and tragic story leading up to the end of the mighty Romanovs.

Each egg, an artistic tour de force, took a year or more to make, involving a team of highly skilled craftsmen, who worked in the greatest secrecy. Fabergé was given complete freedom in the design and execution, with the only prerequisite being that there had to be surprise within each creation. Dreaming up each complex concept, Fabergé often drew on family ties, events in Imperial Court life, or the milestones and achievements of the Romanov dynasty, as in the Fifteenth Anniversary Egg of 1911, commemorating the fifteenth anniversary of Nicholas II’s accession to the throne, or the Romanov Tercentenary Egg of 1913 that celebrated 300 years of the House of Romanov, showing portrait miniatures of the Russian dynastic rulers.

Although the theme of the Easter eggs changed annually, the element of surprise remained a constant link between them. The surprises ranged from a perfect miniature replica of the Coronation carriage - that took 15 months to make working 16-hour days - through a mechanical swan and an ivory elephant, to a heart-shaped frame on an easel with 11 miniature portraits of members of the Imperial family.

Alexander III presented an egg each year to his wife the Empress Marie Fedorovna and the tradition was continued, from 1895, by his son Nicholas II who presented an egg annually to both his wife the Empress Alexandra Fedorovna and to his mother the Dowager Empress Marie Fedorovna. However, there were no presentations during 1904 and 1905 because of political unrest and the Russo-Japanese War.

The most expensive was the 1913 Winter Egg, which was invoiced at 24,600 roubles (then £2,460). Prior to the Great War, a room at Claridges was 10 shillings (50 pence) a night compared to approximately £380 today. Using this yardstick, the egg would have cost £1.87 million in today’s money.

The Winter Egg, designed by Alma Pihl, famed for her series of diamond snowflakes, is made of carved rock crystal as thin as glass. This is embellished with engraving, and ornamented with platinum and diamonds, to resemble frost. The egg rests on a rock-crystal base designed as a block of melting ice. Its surprise is a magnificent and platinum basket of exuberant wood anemones. The flowers are made from white quartz, nephrite, gold and demantoid garnets and they emerge from moss made of green gold. Its overall height is 14.2cm. It is set with 3,246 diamonds. The egg sold at Christie’s in New York in 2002 for US$9.6 million.

Of the 50 eggs Fabergé made for the Imperial family from 1885 through to 1916, 42 have survived.”

Bobby’s brilliant trumpet playing and the stunning Fabergé jeweled eggs along with other works of art by his studio are all on display in the following video tribute to both of them.

Making Jazz and making Art require infinite dedication, skill and love.

Thank goodness for the dedication of those few who bring it all to a level of genius for the rest of us to marvel at.

Ivan Lins and The Metropole Orchestra

It's not often that a vocalist swings a big band with strings out of the concert hall, but check out this video to see Brazilian composer and vocalist Ivan Lins attempting to do just that [figuratively, of course] with Holland's Metropole Orkest under the direction of John Clayton. Lins takes the orchestra through its paces with another of his simple ditties, but stay with this one as there are some rhythmic and harmonic surprises in store. The guitar solo is by Peter Tiehaus and the always-dependable Martijn Vink is on drums. Beautifully filmed and, as such, worth a look in full screen. Everyone has a good time with Ivan's music. I hope you will, too.

The New York Voices and the WDR Big Band Cologne

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

“These Voices are a Whitman's Sampler of various flavors and tastes, richer than a chocolate bon bon." 

- All About Jazz

Mike’s arrangements really give the New York Voices a workout using them as another section along with the WDR’s brass, reeds and rhythm. There’s no sing-the-melody-and-get-out-of-the-way on this album, the voices are “in” the arrangements; they sing as part of the band. In addition to singing with the band, the New York Voices vamp, riff, participate in shout choruses, as well as, soloing and doing a cappella vocals.

This is music for grown-ups; only experienced professionals need apply.

- the editorial staff at JazzProfiles

Over the years, there have been many excellent combinations of vocal groups teaming with big bands such as Lambert Hendricks and Ross with Count Basie’s Band, The Singers Unlimited and Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass and The Four Freshman with the Stan Kenton Orchestra.

Of course, there was a time during the Swing Era when almost every big band featured a vocal group: the Modernaires, the Pied Pipers, The Mills Brothers, Mel Tormé and the Meltones, the Andrews Sisters, the Boswell Sisters, to name only a few.

It doesn’t always work, but when it does, the tandem of “big” voices with big bands is full of energy and excitement.

The New York Voices with Mike Abene conducting of the WDR, Cologne-based Big Band is one pairing that comes together, magnificently.

Mike’s arrangements really give the New York Voices a workout using them as another section along with the WDR’s brass, reeds and rhythm. There’s no sing-the-melody-and-get-out-of-the-way on this album, the voices are “in” the arrangements; they sing as part of the band.

In addition to singing with the band, the New York Voices vamp, riff, participate in shout choruses, as well as, soloing and doing a cappella vocals.

The NYV’s first full “live” album and first release from Palmetto Records is due out March 5, 2013 and you won’t want to miss it. This in performance album presents fresh arrangements of new and vintage favorites, helping to mark the 25th anniversary year of the vocal group.

Ann Braithwaite, Jon Muchin and the fine team at Braithwaite & Katz are handling the marketing and media relations for the CD and here’s their press release for the recording at the conclusion of which you’ll find two audio-only tracks that which offer sampling of the music on this album.

© -Braithwaite and Katz, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

“The live album resulted from a 2008 concert in Cologne, Germany, that was recorded as part of 20th-anniversary touring by the vocal quartet of Kim Nazarian, Lauren Kinhan, Darmon Meader and Peter Eldridge. Abene conducts the ace WDR  (Western German Radio) Big Band in a program of freshly conceived pop standards, artful New York Voices originals, beloved songs by Paul Simon and Annie Lennox, and such hip jazz evergreens as Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments."

New York Voices Live with the WDR Big Band Cologne includes three songs new to the New York Voices discography: a jazz vision of Annie Lennox's pop hit "Cold," a swinging update of the 1920s Broadway tune "Love Me or Leave Me" and a virtuoso a cappella take on Lerner & Lowe's "Almost Like Being in Love." The concert recording was preceded by a luxurious three rehearsals with Abene and the WDR Big Band, imbuing the performances with seamless ease and energized confidence. "The concert was a blast - you can hear that in the recording," says Peter Eldridge of New York Voices. "The WDR Big Band is full of great players, who can get in deep with an incredible range of music. People have always remarked on the energy of New York Voices live - and that's what this album captures in full for the first time, I think. The songs are a mix of old and new - which is apt as we come up on our 25th anniversary."

Highlights of the album include that gorgeous take on Oliver Nelson's early-'60s instrumental classic "Stolen Moments," with the lyrics of Mark Murphy. There is a virtuoso rendition of "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" and a hard-swinging "Darn That Dream," as well as two numbers reprised from the group's 1998 RCA studio set New York Voices Sing the Songs of Paul Simon: "Baby Driver" and "I Do It for Your Love." Then there are two originals: the moody, mellifluous "The World Keeps You Waiting" by Eldridge and Laura Kinhan; and the Chick Corea-influenced showpiece "The Sultan Fainted" by Eldridge and Meader.

New York Voices Live with the WDR Big Band Cologne reunites New York Voices with arranger-conductor Michael Abene, who produced the vocal group's very first studio album, released by GRP in 1989. Music director and principal arranger-conductor of the WDR Big Band since 2003, the Brooklyn-born Abene has a resume marked by stints with the bands of Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Rich and Mel Lewis, as well as work with singers from Liza Minnelli to B.B. King to Patti Austin. He has also composed works for Paquito D'Rivera and Holland's Metropole Jazz Orchestra.

 "Michael has a certain expressive angularity to his writing, but his arrangements swing so hard - there's a real earthiness to the sounds he gets," explains New York Voices member Darmon Meader, co-producer of the album. "Mike is an old-school cat who has really lived this idiom and really knows his band, stimulating the players with the intricacies and blends in his charts, the challenging lines. For what's ostensibly a vocal album, the big band is featured extensively - which is very exciting. And we function in the arrangements almost like another section of the band, with our four-part harmony similar to what a sax section would do. This album really reinforces the idea of New York Voices being connected to the lineage of instrumental jazz."

Celebrating their 25th anniversary in 2013, New York Voices is the Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble renowned for their excellence in jazz and the art of group singing. Like the great jazz vocal groups that have come before, such as Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, Singers Unlimited and Manhattan Transfer, the foursome of Kim Nazarian, Lauren Kinhan, Darmon Meader and Peter Eldridge have learned from the best and taken the art form to new levels. Time Out Chicago has said of New York Voices: "We dare say there may be no better way to understand the wit and wink of jazz harmony than via these Voices."

From 1989 to 1994, New York Voices released four albums on the GRP label: New York Voices, Hearts of Fire, What's Inside and The Collection. The group has also starred on albums by the Count Basie Orchestra, Paquito D'Rivera and Jim Hall, among others. In 1998, the quartet released the RCA album New York Voices Sing the Songs of Paul Simon. Of that hit album, All Music Guide says: "The arrangements are brighter and brassier than Simon's originals, but there's a real charm to the performances that makes it a thoroughly entertaining experience." In 2001, New York Voices issued the Concord album Sing Sing Sing, featuring the group's spin on the great big-band songbook. The Los Angeles Times said of that album: "The title track quickly lays down what to expect from the balance of the program: complex, interwoven vocal lines, interactive improvising and brisk ensemble accompaniment. And revivalist swing fans - both players and listeners - would do well to check out the Voices' capacity to bring a contemporary quality to classic material without sacrificing the essence of either."

The interests of New York Voices are rooted in jazz, but the members often incorporate Brazilian, R&B, classical and pop influences. In recent years, the group has been called upon by the Boston Pops to bring a new edge to the pops orchestra circuit across the U.S. In 2007, New York Voices released the album A Day Like This via the MCG Jazz label. The quartet mixed things up again, ranging from Brazilian sounds and swinging trio numbers to a couple of big-band romps and a handful of original songs by the members. New York Voices have appeared on the world's great stages, from Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center and the Blue Note (in New York and Japan) to the opera houses of Vienna and Zurich, plus the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.”

Press photos, sound samples and more available are at:

www.newyorkvoices.com

www.palmetto-records.com