Brilliant Bill... Kirchner, That Is! [From the Archives]

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

Bill Kirchner’s distinctive approach to Jazz became even more unique on October 7, 2014 when he was joined by pianist Carlton Holmes, bassist/vocalist Jim Ferguson and vocalist Holli Ross for “An Evening of Indigos.”  

The music from this concert was released on October 16, 2015 on a An Evening of Indigos double CD [Jazzheads Records JH 1213].

The premise for this concert is contained in the following explanation:

"The mood at this remarkable concert was indeed indigo but far from monochromatic," remarks Dan Morgenstern in the package notes.

Kirchner also includes his own comments made at the New School that night in the program notes:

"Most concerts are, in a sense, variety shows. The standard idea in programming them is to come up with a multiplicity of tempos and moods, usually building to a climax. In this case, we're aiming to explore one mood, though in different facets. And to sustain that mood, we'll refrain from talking to the audience between songs. . . . Just let the music and emotions envelop you."

In essence Bill wrote seven originals, arranged six standards, and invited three of his musician friends to perform it with him in concert. What a bash that must have been.

Bill Kirchner’s music is compelling; it draws you in with its originality. By way of analogy, it’s like being in the hands of a master navigator as you explore the unchartered waters of the Amazon. Think “Jazz” instead of “Amazon” and you are ready to have Bill take your senses and soul on a voyage of discovery as he navigates the music into new and different sonorities and textures.

This is improvisational music such as you’ve never heard before: two hours of fun and adventure from the brilliant musical mind of Bill Kirchner and his well-chosen associates: Holli Ross, Jim Ferguson, and Carlton Holmes.

It’s impossible for me to improve on the insights, observations and words of praise from the many distinguished Jazz musicians, authors and other artists whose comments on the music from this concert make up a large part of the insert notes that are included with the double CD of the music.

So I thought it best to simply represent their comments “as is” within this posting along with other marketing materials that Bill sent along.

Acclaim from those who were there or who watched the video on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGgdHdpC_-E

"The mood at this remarkable concert was indeed Indigo but far from monochromatic.

There is much that could be said - about Bill's fine and varied compositions, the flawless work of his associates

but what lingers are the beautiful sounds he coaxed from his horn. I look forward to hearing them again!"

- Dan Morgenstern, author. Living With Jazz; NEA Jazz Master

"Achingly beautiful music by a great player and composer who proves that doing what you love can be done no matter what setbacks you face. An inspiration for all of us.”

- Marc Myers, JazzWax.com

“You are the warrior supreme.”

- Dave Liebman, saxophonist, composer, educator, NEA Jazz Master

"The concert is remarkable for its lyricism, musicianship, restraint, and the unity of the musicians. ....a concert of surpassing intimacy."

- Doug Ramsey, artsjournal.com/rifftides/

"When I heard of the concert of Bill Kirchner's music, I said to myself, 'I have to adjust my schedule so I can attend.' I am so happy I did, as the concert was a TOTAL joy to me. There were beautiful melodies, great emotion, and wonderful performances that took place on the New School stage. Bill has been having serious health issues over the past number of years, but he has not let that affect his composing, his performing, and his emotional projection. This concert was filled with surprises on the highest level. All the musicians taking part did a job that Bill has to be very happy with; they all performed their BUTTS OFF, all for Bill and the audience. Thank you, Bill Kirchner, for giving me a night to really remember."

- Jimmy Owens, trumpeter, composer, educator, NEA Jazz Master

"It doesn't get better than this. 'Since You Asked' is paralyzing."

- Marlyn Mason, actress/writer/filmmaker

"What a fantastic concert! The unity of mood, as you say, combined with an enchanting variety of musical and lyrical nuances, is unique. I've always appreciated Jim Ferguson, both as an instrumentalist and as a singer,

but his interpretations, here, touched me particularly: his 'Save Your Love For Me,' so different from the other versions I love (Etta Jones, Irene Reid with Oliver Nelson), and those marvelous songs of yours: 'Foolish Little Girl,' that has a deep

melancholy yearning a la Alec Wilder, and the adaptation of Yeats.

Your own playing is always so elegantly moving and profound and, I'm ashamed to admit it, I've just discovered here in Miss Holli one of the real contemporary interpreters."

- Luciano Federighi, musician/jazz writer

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. That is a beautiful document of what must have been amazing to behold in the flesh!

I can't imagine the collective thrill that your audience experienced. There were a number of moments when the sheer beauty of the sound was breathtaking. A rare treat to savor."

- Bill Bennett, jazz writer

"Thanks so much for making this real artistic and musical treasure available for us. The whole concert is touching and moving. And how the evening was sequenced is definitely a lesson from a master. Chapeau! as the French say! Perfect

interplay of all members of your group, i.e., the high artistry of how to listen. As a pianist I was especially fascinated by Carlton Holmes, whose touch and musical taste is another gem to listen to."

- Jurg Sommer, pianist/jazz writer

“You must have put an incredible amount of thought and preparation into it, and it shows. From the all-important choice musicians (who couldn't have been more sympatico) to the sequencing of the pieces, which couldn't have been any better.

The arc of the whole concert progresses beautifully, even though you're exploring the same pensive and lyrical mood throughout. It takes a lot of guts to reverse the usual 'variety' format of various moods and tempos and to ask that the audience partake of it as a whole, withholding any applause till the end (thus eliminating one of your pet peeves and mine - too much applause). Demanding this kind of attention span puts pressure squarely on the shoulders of the performers to create a spell and hold the audience, which you and the others clearly brought off."

- Steve Wallace, bassist/writer, wallacebass.com

"When Bill Kirchner enters with the theme, or variations on it, the tone of the evening becomes clearly set. There is drama in the lines: when building to a climax on changes, or at a turnaround, Bill invariably finds the expressive

color tone, and holds it for everything it's worth, projecting a very full and airy sound. Bill has developed a vocabulary that maximizes his sound, relying on careful note choices, vocal inflections, repetitive rhythmic patterns, and a grasp of the material that leads to good musical choices."

- Marc Steinberg, pianist

"Art is dangerous. It is one of the attractions: when it ceases to be dangerous you don't want it."

- Duke Ellington

"You can always simplify."

- Lee Konitz

"An Evening of Indigos," 2-CD Set by Saxophonist/Composer/Arranger Bill Kirchner, To Be Released October 16 By Jazzheads Records Recorded Live at the New School in October 2014 With Kirchner on Soprano Saxophone, Pianist Carlton Holmes, Bassist/Vocalist Jim Ferguson, & Vocalist Holli Ross September 8, 2015 Renowned as a renaissance man of jazz -- as an influential bandleader, sideman (on all of the saxophones, clarinets, and flutes), composer, arranger, record and radio producer, educator, writer, and editor -- Bill Kirchner is also one of jazz's most deeply soulful soprano saxophone stylists. He plays soprano exclusively on his forthcoming album An Evening of Indigos, a 2-CD package featuring Kirchner in the intimate company of pianist Carlton Holmes, a veteran of the leader's now-inactive nonet; Nashville-based bassist and vocalist Jim Ferguson; and longtime colleague Holli Ross on vocals. Jazzheads Records will release the set, Kirchner's fourth for the New York label, on October 16. Recorded on October 7, 2014 at a concert in the 200-capacity performance space at New York's New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, where Kirchner has taught for the past 25 years, An Evening of Indigos presents the quartet in a set of seven Kirchner compositions and six standards. "The mood at this remarkable concert was indeed indigo but far from monochromatic," remarks Dan Morgenstern in the package notes. Kirchner also includes his own comments made at the New School that night in the program notes: "Most concerts are, in a sense, variety shows. The standard idea in programming them is to come up with a multiplicity of tempos and moods, usually building to a climax. In this case, we're aiming to explore one mood, though in different facets. And to sustain that mood, we'll refrain from talking to the audience between songs. . . . Just let the music and emotions envelop you." From the album opener "Theme for Gregory," Kirchner's "simple jazz waltz with some nice chord changes," through the closing Rodgers & Hart standard "He Was Too Good to Me," the musicians explore many hues of indigo. Several of Kirchner's collaborations with lyricist Loonis McGlohon are included, among them "Gentle Voice in the Night" and "I Almost Said Goodbye," featuring Ross, and "Foolish Little Girl," with Ferguson on vocals. The vocalists take turns on a medley of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Someone to Light Up My Life" and "This Happy Madness," both with English lyrics by Kirchner's late friend Gene Lees. Another vocal medley pairs Bacharach-David's "Close to You" (previously recorded as an instrumental on Kirchner's 1999 nonet album Trance Dance) and Buddy Johnson's blues ballad "Save Your Love for Me." Also performed are Kirchner's (both words and music) "The Inaudible Language of the Heart," sung by Ross; his solo piano feature for Holmes, "Since You Asked"; and his musical setting of a poem by William Butler Yeats, "When You Are Old," sung by Ferguson. The bassist/vocalist and Kirchner duet on Bob Hilliard and David Mann's "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning." Kirchner's concentration on the soprano, his favorite instrument, is not entirely by choice. In 1993 he suffered a major setback when he was diagnosed with a non-malignant but life-threatening tumor in his spinal cord. The tumor was removed after two major surgeries, but he was left with no feeling and only two working fingers in his right hand, a pronounced limp, and chronic pain. Forced to put aside his other reed and woodwind instruments, he gradually taught himself to play a soprano saxophone that had been redesigned and rebuilt to accommodate his disability. "There's an economy to it that's by sheer necessity," he says of his current soprano style. "It's said that we're all stylistically a product of our limitations. I'm as good an example of that as anybody I know. "It was kind of serendipitous that the only instrument that I can still play is the one I liked playing the most. I had to relearn ways of playing it, but not as much as you might think. I guess I just learned to play with fewer notes. I don't think that my conception of playing changed all that much. It's just sparer now, that's all." Born in Youngstown, Ohio, in 1953, Bill Kirchner started playing clarinet at age 7 and took up saxophone in junior high and flute in high school. While majoring in English at Manhattan College in New York in the early '70s, he studied music privately with saxophonist Lee Konitz and pianist Harold Danko. After college, Kirchner spent five years in Washington, DC, where he played and studied with arranger Mike Crotty and edited transcripts for the Smithsonian Institution's NEA jazz oral-history project. Kirchner returned to New York City in 1980 and has remained there ever since. His nonet was active from 1980 to 2001 and recorded five albums for the Sea Breeze, A-Records, and Jazzheads labels. His sideman credits include work with the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, Anita O'Day, Mario Bauzá, and Tito Puente. His arrangements have been recorded by Konitz, Dizzy Gillespie, Patti Austin, and the Smithsonian Jazz Repertory Ensemble. He has annotated over 50 projects for Blue Note, Columbia/Legacy, Mosaic, and other labels and was awarded a Grammy for "Best Album Notes" for Miles Davis and Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings in 1996. He edited the books A Miles Davis Reader in 1997 and The Oxford Companion to Jazz in 2000. He produced and wrote four NPR Jazz Profiles and hosted 131 Jazz from the Archives radio shows for WBGO-FM. And he presently teaches jazz courses at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and New Jersey City University. "This night is one of the highlights of my career," says Kirchner of the New School concert. "To have one's music so sensitively and beautifully performed by Holli, Carlton, and Jim is a composer-arranger's dream. And the audience was with us all the way."   Photography: Ed Berger Web Site: jazzsuite.com Media Contact: Terri Hinte hudba@sbcglobal.net 510/234-8781 For order information go to www.jazzheads.com

Tubby Hayes - "England's Late Jazz Great" [From the Archives]

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

"I'm basically an evangelist," Vic Hall told The Tampa Tribune in 1993.

"I'm trying to spread the word about jazz, but it's in a gentle way."

Hall was host of the National Public Radio station's "Sound of Jazz,"

an eclectic show that first aired in 1968. Each week, Hall queued up

the big bands, giants of bebop and West Coast school, always tapping

into his enormous collection of 78s, LPs, open reel tapes and CDs. His

final show aired in 2005.

"And he was a volunteer the entire time," said Bob Seymour, jazz

director at the station, who lived next door to Hall in Seminole

Heights. "Vic always used to say that jazz was the one abiding passion

through his life, and he shared that love with such a commitment and

for so long."

The title of this piece comes from a compilation of Tubby’s recordings by the International Association of Jazz Record Collectors [IAJRC] which was issued as a CD in 2005 [IAJRC CD-1019] along with insert notes written by Vic Hall.

Sadly, both the IAJRC and Vic Hall are no longer with us.

Like Tubby, Vic was an Englishman. Both Tubby and Vic visited the USA from time-to-time, but unlike Tubby who died in London in 1973, Vic took up permanent residence in south Florida in 1968 and was for many years the co-host with Susan Giles Wantuck of “The Sound of Jazz,” an NPR radio program which aired on WUSF, 89.7 FM. Born in England in 1925, Hall bought his first jazz record when he was 13 [1938; the year that Tubby Hayes was born.]

Vic passed away on November 20, 2006 and one of his last achievements was in helping the IAJRC produce - Tubby Hayes: "England's Late Jazz Great" [IAJRC CD-1019] - which was to serve as his loving tribute to Tubby whom Vic considered to be “England’s greatest Jazz musician.”

There are 42 recordings by Tubby Hayes in my collection and I would venture to say that more than half of these arrived over the years as gifts from Vic with little Post-It-Notes attached to their jewel cases on which Vic had scribbled - “You gotta check this out,” or “Boy, are you in for a treat,” or “I think this one will blow you away.”

In an ongoing conversation with Vic, I always maintained that vibraphonist/pianist Victor Feldman was the best Jazz musician England ever produced and away the argument would go.

I think that Vic Hall and I were old enough to know better about labeling or ranking musicians, but it was fun to argue the point mainly because Vic was so passionate about it.

Before Victor Feldman emigrated to the USA in the fall of 1956, he worked and recorded often with Tubby and they continued playing together when Victor returned to London or Tubby came to The States to play at Shelly’s Manne Hole in Hollywood in the 1960s.

Victor Feldman and Tubby Hayes had the highest regard for one another’s abilities and I always thought the world of Vic Hall as a patient mentor and a generous friend.

I wanted to remember Vic on these pages with the following excerpts from his insert notes to Tubby Hayes: "England's Late Jazz Great" [IAJRC CD-1019] after which you’ll find a video tribute to Tubby featuring none other than Victor Feldman on piano.

“The man whose music is contained on this compact disc may, arguably, be the best, all around jazz talent that Britain ever produced, Had his lifestyle been as pure as his musical convictions, he might still be with us today, instead dead at age 38, in 1973, another victim of the tragically misguided belief that drugs enhance the creative process, During his all too brief lifetime, however, Edward Brian "Tubby" Hayes produced some of the most brilliant and exciting jazz music ever spawned by the British modern jazz scene,

Tubbs, as he was also called, was, undeniably, a virtuoso on the tenor, saxophone, and more than merely competent on flute and vibes, These instrumental talents, together with his composing and arranging skills portray the complete modern jazz artist, a man who was able to create and perform memorable music within the framework of both the small group and big, with equal facility.

Born in London, England on January 30, 1935, Tubby started out on violin at the age of 8, switching to tenor sax four years later. At the age of 15 he became a professional musician, ultimately playing with the bands of Kenny Baker, Vic Lewis, Ambrose and Jack Parnell,

The first recording sessions under his own name were produced in 1955 and 1956 for Tony Hall's Tempo label, in octet, quintet and quartet formats, Most of these rarities have now been compiled by noted British jazz writer Brian Davis, then released on compact disc on the British Jasmine label. Also some of the Fontana sessions were re-released on LP on the Mole jazz label. The year 1957 saw the formation of the Jazz Couriers which was co-led by Tubby and Ronnie Scott, two men who shared the same musical concept, and who developed a remarkable musical affinity during the period the group was in existence. The group, a quintet consisting of two tenors plus rhythm, toured and recorded for a little over two years, finally disbanding in August 1959,

For the next couple of years, Tubbs led his own quartet with Terry Shannon on piano, Jeff Clyne bass and Phil Seamen drums, later to be replaced with Bill Eydon. In 1961, Tubby was selected to be temporarily traded for Zoot Sims In an unusual transAtlantic exchange, an arrangement that created a breakthrough against the British musicians union's staunch resistance to the booking of American jazz musicians to work in England. American jazz fans and musicians alike were simply knocked out by" the playing of this chubby 26-year-old, who tore around on the tenor like Charlie Parker did on alto, Understandable when you consider that. Tubbs cited Bird as his primary influence, Hayes made three return visits to the U,S, during the early sixties, recording with the likes of James Moody, Roland Kirk, Clark Terry and Eddie Costa, among others. These sessions were released on the Epic and Smash labels in the U.S. and one of them on Montana m England, Some of the

material was re-released on CBS and Columbia,

During this period several other important musician influences came into Tubby’s life. Victor Feldman, who ultimately emigrated to the States, encouraged him to take up the vibes and to study theory, harmony and composition. Jimmy Deuchar, a highly underrated Scottish trumpet player, who rivaled Hayes in technique and intensity of expression, was, according to Tubby, a profound stimulus on Hayes' playing during the period in which he was the other horn in a quintet that was together for about two and a half years and which disbanded in 1964.  Hayes credited Deuchar and Harry South, who played piano in Tubby's early quartet, and was an accomplished composer and arranger, for the guidance and help they gave him in his studies of jazz composition and orchestration,

In 1961, Tubby decided that the time had come to test his burgeoning skills as a jazz writer/composer so he formed his big band, his stature in English jas circles enabling him to bring together the very best musicians available, During the period 1961 through 1966 big bands under Hayes' leadership recorded several sessions for the Fontana label, featuring a number of Hubby's original compositions and arrangements.

In addition to recording sessions and live appearances, Hayes was also featured in a number of radio broadcasts and television programs, as leader of both small groups and big bands, and as a sideman with other leaders.

No attempt has been made to comment on the music contained herein, as it speaks far more eloquently for itse!f. Tubby is heard on tenor saxophone flute and vibes on the various tracks, anti thanks to Jack Towers' wizardry, some recordings of highly questionable quality have been made listenable. Further re-mastering by Gary Baldassari has created the optimum sound on this compact disc.

Recording dates, personnel and composer/arranger credits for the original recordings have been annotated where known, Educated guesses have been ventured for the undocumented material,

If these recordings represent your first encounter with the playing of this British musician, you may be struck with the similarity in style and phrasing between that of Tubby Hayes and American tenor man johnny Griffin. They shared other similarities, as both were short in physical stature, and both were referred to as "The Little Giant", Griffin was known as the fastest horn in the East and this appellation could well have been applied to Hayes also, it would have been a High Noon shoot-out had these two diminutive giants faced off across a stage, horns a-blazin’. Unfortunately we will never know what the outcome of such a confrontation would have been, even though johnny Griffin is still alive, and playing as well as ever, we only have recordings such as are preserved on this disc, to remind us of the remarkable creative force in British jazz, that was Edward Brian “Tubby” Hayes.”

Vic Hall

The Sound of Jazz

WUSF 89.7 FM

Tampa, FL

New From Resonance Records

A Non-Profit Jazz Label With a Mission. Devoted to Preserving Jazz and Discovering the Rising Stars of Tomorrow.    Resonance Records Proudly Presents:  BILL EVANS  Some Other Time: The Lost Session From   the Black Forest The only STUDIO album ever recorded of the Bill Evans Trio with jazz greats Eddie Gomez & Jack DeJohnette    Available in Deluxe 2-CD & Limited Edition 2-LP Sets       Release Date: April 22, 2016   (*Record Store Day Exclusive LP Release - April 16, 2016)  Pre-Order TODAY!      Some Other Time: The Lost Session From the Black Forest is a newly unearthed studio session from the iconic pianist Bill Evans featuring bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Recorded on June 20, 1968, nearly 10 years after the legendary Kind of Blue sessions with Miles Davis and a mere five days after the trio's incredible Grammy award-winning performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival, this is truly a landmark discovery for jazz listeners worldwide. Available in deluxe 2-CD and limited edition 2-LP sets, and containing over 90 minutes of music, this is the only studio album in existence of the Bill Evans trio with Gomez and DeJohnette. Bill Evans at MPS Studios, June 20, 1968 Photo by © German Hasenfratz (Courtesy of Andreas Brunner-Schwer) Some Other Time was recorded by the legendary MPS Records founder and producer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer along with writer/producer Joachim-Ernst Berendt at the MPS studios in the Black Forest (Villingen, Germany).    Hans Georg-Brunner Schwer In The Recording StudioCourtesy of the Brunner-Schwer family   Joachim-Ernst Berendt Photo © SWR  Includes a 40-page book with new historical essays by jazz journalist Marc Myers and German jazz historian Friedhelm Schulz; producer Zev Feldman; new interviews with Gomez andDeJohnette; plus rare and previously unpublished photos from the archives of photographers David Redfern, Jan Persson, Giussepe Pino, Hans Harzheim and German Hasenfratz. WATCH & SHARE  THE MINI-DOCUMENTARY    Hear the amazing story of how this long lost studio album was unearthed as told by producer Zev Feldman, Friedhelm Schulz, Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette.        BILL EVANS ON THE MAY COVER OF JAZZTIMES MAGAZINE!    PRE-ORDER NOW!   Deluxe 2CD  $24.98 RECORD STORE DAY ONLY!  Limited Edition 12" 2-LP Pressing of 4,000 *contact your local record store for availability   Digital Download on iTunes Pre-order on iTunes & receive 4 tracks instantly: "You Go To My Head," "It Could Happen To You," "These Foolish Things" and "How About You?" LISTEN NOW!   You Go To My Head & How About You?      "There was big excitement about us going to the studio. This record represents a time and space where he was exploring new approaches to standard repertoire  rhythmically and harmonically." - Jack DeJohnette "Every time he touched the piano, he touched my heart and he played with a sound that was just a gorgeous sound and he always was so expressive in his playing." - Eddie Gomez For more information about Resonance releases, visit us at: ResonanceRecords.org  STAY IN TOUCH         Resonance Records 5711 W. Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90016

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