INTERVALS:THE NEWSLETTER OF DAVID LIEBMAN
VOL.11 #3-2003
HELLO TO ALL:
To new readers, I welcome you to my newsletter which I have been issuing several times a year since 1993. I encourage first time visitors to go to my web site offering in-depth articles, a list of available publications and CDs with sound clips, private photos and recordings of historic interest, information about my annual Saxophone Master Class, the International Association of Schools of Jazz (IASJ) and more. The address is www.davidliebman.com/lieb
If you don’t wish to receive this newsletter, unsubscribe through the web site (if that is how you receive it) or directly to me if this came as an e-mail. Some people may be on both lists, so if you receive two copies PLEASE go to my web site and unsubscribe since that would be the easiest way. To new readers, understand that I add people I think would be interested. If that assumption is erroneous in your case I apologize.
FEATURE:RAISON D’ETRE
Being quite opinionated as most artists are, it isn’t easy at times to avoid negative judgments in these newsletters or by extension when I am teaching for that matter. I have definitely been guilty of quick and unfair judgments to be sure; it’s good I am not running for political office!! Lamenting about how things were better in the past and how terrible the current state of affairs is, whether it be about music or any other subject is something I try to stay away from. With age it seems that I have adopted more of an attitude expressed so succinctly in French: “J’accepte”. It doesn’t seem that things change much and the human condition is what it is. I expressed these sentiments in my ENJA recording “Time Immemorial” which I did for my 50th birthday. However, recently I read some articles that compel me to reflect about the world we live in. Please bear with me.
From a magazine I have recommended in the past, the Atlantic Monthly (July-August ’03), an editorial written by Matthew Miller put forth statistics concerning the incredibly low pay scale teachers in the America earn as compared to other lines of work. He posits specific ideas as to how things could be changed to attract high quality young people to what is, after all, among the most important of professions for any culture, the teaching of the future generation. ”The American public is going to figure out that their teachers make less than their garbage collectors and they are not going to go for that”. Though this may be a uniquely American problem (noting that readers of this newsletter are from all over the world), I think that I can assume there is relevance for other societies in this observation..
An editorial in the Financial Times (7/25/03) written by Richard Tompkins stated that “studies show levels of happiness in the West have in many cases declined over the past 30 years”. The article goes on discussing the 1960s and how, at least in the Western world so many doors opened during that decade concerning idealism, technological progress, culture and more. But now: “Western civilization seems to have settled into a post modern trough in which the hope and idealism of the 60s have been replaced by cynicism and ennui. Where once young people rejected materialism and dreamt, however unrealistically of world peace and harmony, they are now more likely to be worrying about which brand they should be wearing to be cool”.
Finally, an article by the wonderful saxophonist and composer Benny Golson in Downbeat (Aug ’03) laments the “Death of Our Culture”. Golson discusses the rise and fall of culture, with jazz of course as a major casualty in our time, something that should be obvious to anyone who has any historical perspective. Benny ends with: “We now live for the memories of what was, because the reality is fast disappearing. God have mercy on us while we stand saluting our culture as it silently slips beneath the waves of human existence”.
As noted above, I don’t want to repeat the standard cliché that has been heard across eons of time from the older generation to the younger decrying the present period and how great it was in the “good old times”. (We’ve heard that DAD!!) I would rather think about the glass half full than half empty and all the wonderful young men and women I meet who are involved in music and the pursuit of beauty and truth. I would rather think about those young people who are sensitive to ethics and morality, dealing with these matters within reason relative to their stage of life, who will hopefully provide sanity and sense to the world. This is in fact the main message of jazz for me beyond the music itself.
What the music represents is respect for others coupled with a desire to portray beauty and honesty. Therefore, though it may seem that as artists we are helpless to change things on a practical level, it is the deep message that we send as a group which provides inspiration and hopes of bettering the world to those listening. We are honoring and reflecting upon positive qualities and by doing that, affecting change for the better. The bottom line is that with music of depth as great jazz is, an atmosphere is created whereby change of consciousness is possible. This is certainly true when compared to most other walks of life. I am realizing that as I get older, a “raison d’etre”- a reason to exist philosophically and spiritually becomes more of a priority than before. We are missionaries of sorts and to be aware of this should help focus our energies.
RESPONSES TO LAST NEWSLETTER:VIRTUAL RECORDING AND IF I HAD TEN MILLION IN THE BANK
In the last newsletter I wrote the following
concerning the use of computer programs like Pro Tools to edit and change every
detail of music in the recording process: “Philosophical questions obviously
arise: does this mean that musicians who are not up to level can fix things that
would otherwise reflect poor musicianship; is it fair to call what we do
improvised music when it can and will be fixed to be perfect? This is
understandable in the pop area, but for jazz!!” The following response is from
ace engineer Paul Wickliffe:
Dave: “While I agree that technology should not be used as a substitute for virtuosity, it should be used as a tool to achieve the artist's vision. When you play a live gig, the audience has the added advantage of seeing the group and feeling the energy of human contact with the band and the listeners. If you play a "wrong" note, it's gone in a second never to return. In recording, you have the added challenge of capturing lightning in a bottle with no one watching so if you play a wrong note, it's there forever. I have studied the recordings of Miles and Coltrane from the sixties and detected rather obvious editing. I'm not old enough to know if they were criticized for abusing technology, but they managed to create recordings that form the cornerstone of this art form in spite of "cheating" with technology. Jazz has been and will always be a live art form and if you can't play live, it's obvious. Some pop acts use lip sync and playback in performance and that's were I draw the line. If jazz records were given the same recording budgets that pop records have, I'm sure that the performance quality would improve organically. But, given we must all create art in a capitalist system, we have to make compromises. The real danger is being seduced by the tools to the point we start to engineer the "humanity" out of the music”. Well said, Paul. Thanks.
Concerning my comments about the situations when jazz guys play in pop groups, Irish bassist Ronan Guilfoyle commented:
“I think the point you're making is a really
good one and the biggest problem for me is when they try and tell you how good
the music is really - I don't buy that one either - at all. It implies that the
musician in question can have it both ways. But once you settle for the King's
Shilling, you've changed. You're like a plumber or a skilled labourer. In fact
you're on the same level as the sound and lighting crew - there solely to make
the star sound good, and getting well paid for it. The fact that you do this in
front of the audience and maybe are name-checked by the star during the show,
doesn't change the fact that you are a labourer for the leader, and if you don't
do exactly what he/she says, then you're
out. The point that your only job is make the star sound good, makes it
diametrically opposed to the jazz ethos, and no matter how many solos or
features you get during the star's gig, nothing can change that. On the one
hand, a labourer with a clearly defined job, on the other a creative being with
a personal input as to the success of the music and an ability to interact with
people on a human level using music as the means to do that. Once you take that
gig, you're beholden to somebody else, and cannot make any true creative
decisions without the boss' say so. They've sold their talents, hard work and
skills to the highest bidder, and in the end they've placed payment over
independence. This is fine - everyone's got a choice to make and it's different
for different people. But you can't have it both ways - once you take that gig,
you can't also claim the creative independence that a full time jazz player
espouses - it's not possible”.
I think Ronan clearly expounded upon my main point. Dramatic as it may sound, once you have given something away, it is near impossible to get it back, at least in the form it was before. Of course change is good, but purity of vision is a rarity and challenged naturally enough in our world without having to invite its demise.
BOOKS:THE DA VINCI CODE/THE BEAR COMES HOME/CONVERSATIONS WITH GOD
The Da Vinci Code is one of those books that you cannot put down, like a Ludlum spy novel. But here the subject matter is historic concerning Leonardo Da Vinci and other great minds of our civilization (Newton, Cocteau, etc.) who were part of a society protecting a secret about one of the major premises of Western thought concerning the birth of Christianity and exact nature of Jesus’ life. If you ever read ”The Last Temptation of Christ” by Nikos Kazantzakis you will have an idea about the subject matter of this book. Though it is fiction, there are some very stimulating thoughts and possibilities raised.
The Bear Comes Home poses a wild supposition which is that a bear plays jazz saxophone. The story and writing is passable enough, but it is the author’s insights into the jazz process that are expressed so beautifully and accurately. Rafi Zabor, who plays drums has definitely been around the scene and the musicians, truly capturing the feeling of jazz in the Apple (New York) and on the road, with conversations involving musicians such as Billy Hart and Charlie Haden as well as others. A must for jazz lovers.
Conversations With God is one of the heaviest books I have read in years. It was given to me by someone (please let me know who you are if you read this) who said I should definitely get into it. I am not a New Age fan and the book seemed to be in that direction so I put it off. But I must say it very deep concerning the spiritual and philosophical type of questions that we all have and perpetually ask about why things are the way they are. I had a discussion of this sort some years ago with a priest from my area, Father Perry, a very deep and knowledgeable man. This book, in which the author talks with God recalled that important discussion I had. In essence, we are all responsible for how we perceive and act in life. It is in the end a matter of free will. I will be searching out the other volumes of this remarkable work. The author is Neale Donald Walsch.
A NEW INSTURUMENT:THE AULOCHROME
Francois Louis is from Belgium and one of those guys who is clever both with his mind and hands as well as a player himself. He is well known for making the wooden mouthpiece used by Joe Lovano. He has branched out, inventing a new instrument, the aulochrome. In essence it is the binding together of two soprano saxophones allowing the keys of both to be played either separately or together over the entire range. Therefore, any interval can be played. There is a double mouthpiece and each key has two sets of triggers. The idea of a double horn is not new. Jazz saxophonist Roland Kirk played up to three horns at the same time. Some years ago I made a recording with launnedes players from Sardinia, an instrument constructed of three straight wood flute like tubes tied together (Blessing of the Old Long Sound-Inowo). But Francois’ aulochrome is chromatic. There is one saxophonist, Fabrizio Cassol, who is devoting the time necessary to find a way to be fluent on the instrument. Besides the amazing possibilities of the instrument, there are some fantastic innovations involved that could easily become part of the saxophone as we know it, especially the very light action Francois has employed on the aulochrome, reminiscent of a flute. Of course getting a big company interested in innovation is another challenge, but I think you can look for the aulochrome in the future. In the great tradition of Belgium instrumental inventors (Adolphe Sax was from Dinant, Belgium), Francois Louis has pushed the envelope a bit further.
CONTEMPORARY HARMONY by Ludmila Uhlehla
The reprinting of this classic book has a nice story attached to it. Ms.Uhlehla has been teaching at the Manhattan School of Music for over fifty years. One of her students in the 1960s was Richie Beirach. He introduced me and others to Uhlehla’s book which in my opinion is the best summary of the evolution of harmony from the Romantics through the 20th century composers. For many years it was passed around by musicians and then one day when I was giving a clinic at Manhattan (before teaching there as I do now), I met Ludmila and asked her about the book. She told me that she owned the rights and was free to do what she liked with it. I put her together with my publisher, Advance Music and they republished it. I’ve decided to use it as a text in my masters and doctorate course on chromaticism at Manhattan School (shared with pianist Phil Markowitz).
To get familiar with it again, I spent the summer rereading this fantastic book. Though Ludmila is a classical musician, her descriptions of harmony, nomenclature and language back up my contention that as far as the 20th century goes, jazz is the equivalent of what would’ve been considered basic musical training in the preceding century, referred to as the “three B’s.” What this meant is that through the study of Bach, Beethoven and Brahms along with selected peers one would have a basic grounding in music of all sorts (considering that the choices were more limited in the 19th century as to what was available). Similarly, knowing the jazz language in our time is the gateway to all the styles of music we encounter in our time including pop, classical and world music. In other words, a well trained jazz musician is a well trained everything musician---PERIOD!!
ROAD NECESSITIES
Traveling as we all know is harder than ever. This summer my bag was lost twice. The first incident I guess could be expected as I was taking six flights in two days. The second was a result of the blackout in the northeast of the U.S. in August. After a day I did get the bags back in both cases. So carrying a toothbrush and some other essentials (underwear, tee shirt, etc.) in your carry on is important. On another account I didn’t observe one of the cardinal rules of traveling especially in Europe, which is to always take a sweater because the weather can change in a minute. I was in Belgium directly after the big heat wave that affected Europe for weeks during July and August. Suddenly on my second day the weather changed to pretty cool and I was sweaterless!! ALWAYS TAKE A SWEATER when going to Europe. On the good side, the frames of my glasses broke and it was of course a holiday followed by the weekend. Fortunately I had a backup pair of glasses, something which should be remembered by all travelers regardless of profession, but especially musicians who have to read music.
WKCR-JAZZ RADIO
WKCR from Columbia University in New York is and has been a great jazz for years. It is available through the web and besides knowing about it in general, be aware that they will be playing all Coltrane from Sept 14 through the 26th.
NEW RECORDINGS
With the problems in the recording industry these days, especially for jazz, there is little sense to rely on “scheduled” release dates. In the old days, someone like myself who records for several companies would try to coordinate multiple releases so that one recording wasn’t competing with another for a limited audience. This didn’t always work but at least you tried. Things have changed radically, but somehow I have a wide assortment of recordings recently released or about to be this fall.I count my good fortunes for this.
CONVERSATION-THE DAVE LIEBMAN GROUP-Sunnyside
This features the present group with drummer Marko Marcinko, guitarist Vic Juris and Tony Marino on bass along with Caris Visentin on oboe and English horn. The music is very representative of where the band has been musically since Marko joined two years ago with as usual a wide variety of styles including free playing, odd meter settings and several lyrical tunes. As far as standards there is a wild odd meter arrangement of “On A Clear Day.” We did this recording after our Midwest tour last fall and it is reflected in the music. As I have maintained through the years, having a steady group, even if the actual gigs are sparse, enables me to have a platform for musical ideas that would not be as evident in all the other settings I play in. With over twelve years together with Tony and Vic, our “conversation” is quite developed.
BEYOND THE LINE-THE DAVE LIEBMAN BIG BAND-Omnitone
This is the studio recording of my New York based big band under the direction of Gunnar Mossblad. I have never attempted to write for big band, a task that just seems too daunting. Besides there so many great writers doing it. But over the years I have been fortunate to have many writers offer to take my originals and arrange them. This has been going on for thirty years so the repertoire of big band charts I have represents all the phases of my career highlighting the different bands I have had from Lookout Farm to the Dave Liebman Quintet with John Scofield through Quest and the present group dating from the beginning of the 1990s. This big band recording features songs like “Pablo’s Story” recorded on my first album as a leader on ECM, “Lookout Farm” in 1973, arranged here by trumpeter Bill Warfield; there is a wonderful Vince Mendoza arrangement of “Beyond the Line” from “Turn It Around” recorded in the early 90s with my present group. Included is one standard arranged by the great Jim McNeely that he wrote with me in mind. It was first performed at Carnegie Hall with the now defunct Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the classic “Sing, Sing, Sing” with completely contemporary harmony. The styles represented on this CD are tremendously varied as a result of the repertoire and different arranger’s concepts.
SKETCHES OF SPAIN with the Manhattan School of Music Orchestra
A self produced live recording from the Manhattan School under the direction of Justin DiCioccio is something I am very proud of since this is my favorite all time piece of music. I have reported in past newsletters about several performances of the piece over the last few years. This concert in December, 2001 was the second time I played the entire work in live performance. To hear all the inner writing that Gil Evans did, something not so evident on the original recording, is a thrill in itself. And though I play the main parts of Miles’ melodies mostly on soprano, my solos are of course completely improvised. In addition there is acoustic guitar, synth and extra percussion as well as tenor and wooden flute on my part.
COLORS-SOLO TENOR-Hat Hut
In the late 90s after having returned to playing tenor for a few years, while doing a workshop at the Banff Center for the Arts in Canada I had the opportunity to record. It was during the same period that I did a recording with John Stowell and Don Thompson of standards that I have highlighted previously in the newsletter. Borrowing a tenor, recording in a big room overlooking the Rocky Mountains, I decided to depict the feeling of various colors. Having done similar solo work on The Tree and The Seasons (both on Soul Note in the early 90s), I am quite comfortable with the concept of using an image or feeling to inspire a specific musical idea. So using red, blue, yellow, black, grey and white for two takes each on tenor, I depicted the moods that the various colors portray. Joe Lovano and Mike Brecker wrote liner notes for which I express my appreciation. The recording is an exploration of the some of the many colors available on the big horn.
COSMOS-DAVE LIEBMAN AND ABBEY RADER-Cadence
I have done several recordings with drummer Abbey Rader, a first generation free jazz drummer who knows that language intimately. This occasion was a concert at the famous recording and multi media school, Full Sail in Orlando, Florida. The assignement for one of their classes was to video and record our concert which was done completely professionally. This was recorded on the eve of Coltrane’s birthday (Sept.22, 2001), only a few days after the World Trade Center tragedy, so it was a heightened state of emotion for us and the listeners. Being a recording school with state of the art recording, this CD has captured some of the best sound of my tenor playing on record. Befitting the situation we played a few Trane tunes besides originals recorded previously. This is free jazz with all stops pulled out.
Besides the web sites of the various companies and hopefully access to the recordings through sites like Amazon, several of these and other older releases are available through my wife’s distribution service. Look under David Liebman Recordings at: www.davidliebman.com/caris or by email: caris@ptd.net
RECENT ACTIVITIES
THE WEST COAST OF IRELAND
In July along with Caris and my daughter Lydia, in the company of bassist Ronan Guilfoyle, his wife Maeve and son Christopher, we rented a house for one week on the Dingle Peninsula in western Ireland. This is an area land of mystery and beauty sticking out into the Atlantic with the next stop being Boston. I have always maintained that Irish people are at the top of the “friendly” food chain with warmth, generosity and humor abounding throughout their culture. (Maybe the great Guinness beer contributes a bit to that!). Musically, the folk tradition of Ireland is among the strongest and I have seen maintained with festivals and practitioners everywhere. We attended the Willie Clancy Festival in a small town which goes on for a week and consists of non stop playing in pubs by professionals and amateurs alike. The afternoon was spent going from pub to pub where these incredible jam sessions took place. It could be five to ten musicians on guitars, fiddle, button accordions, frame drums, flutes, etc., getting down and launching into song after song without hardly a word being spoken. Though the tunes sound similar to my ear after awhile, it seems like these people know thousands of melodies and all it takes is one guy starting a song which before long is joined by everyone. It works kind of like Miles Davis used to run a set-tune to tune with no real beginnings or endings. At the end of the week we spent a few days in Dublin and did a gig with the Dublin Project (Ronan on bass, Conor Guilfoyle on drums, Mike Nielsen on guitar and Mike Buckley on sax). This is definitely one of the great countries and cultures to be experienced.
SAXOPHONE MASTER CLASS
This year was the 16th Master Class. As I have mentioned every four years I invite all past attendees to return. The goal is to monitor their progress and go deeper into some of my concepts. We had a great class of fifteen students, mostly from the past few years with a couple of guys from classes held in the 1990s. One night featured the student’s original tunes performed at the Deerhead Inn in Deleware Water Gap, PA accompanied by Phil Markowitz on piano, Marko Marcinko on drums and Tony Marino on bass. Italian pianist Roberto Tarenzi whom I have played and recorded with in Milan sat in on a few tunes. I invite a non saxophonist guest lecturer to the reunion classes to give the students something unique. This year the great educator and one of the most experienced musicians I know, Hal Galper, was the speaker. With his new book on “Forward Motion” which I highlighted in the last Intervals newsletter, his tome on touring published by Billboard Publications and anecdotes from his years with Chet Baker, Phil Woods and Cannonball Adderley, it was an inspiring experience for all of us. The next night he played the Deerhead Inn in duo with Tony on bass and I sat in for a set. Hal is a relentless and voracious artist, always seeking to change and better himself.
NEXT YEAR’S CLASS: Those interested in the next class (August 2004) should get in touch with me after the New Year and send a tape. I am also considering a three day class for all instrumentalists in my chromatic concepts joined by Phil Markowitz. I will be presenting a lecture on the subject at the IAJE in January in New York and will announce the details there as well as in my next newsletter.
ROCHESTER-ITALY–BELGIUM-SCANDINAVIA-GERMANY-AUSTRIA
As always in Europe the summer is full of great gigs. And although there is more and more pop oriented music being featured at some well known festivals, it still amazes me how intensely the European audience listens to whatever is offered. In a small town near Bari, Italy I played with drummer Mimmo Campanile, pianist Danilo Rea and bassist Paulino Della Porta. We played straight out jazz for an audience of several thousand in the town square with the age range from three years old to ninety-no problem---just listening and enjoying. Shortly after I performed with “Far North” (Lars Daniellson, Bobo Stenson and Jon Christensen) in Trondheim, Norway and Stockholm. There was a wonderful big band concert with the Brussels Jazz Orchestra at the Middleheim Festival in Antwerp, Belgium featuring tunes from the new Omnitone release “Beyond the Line”. Also worthy of mention was my sitting in at that festival on an earlier evening with John Scofield, John Pattituci and Peter Erskine for a few tunes. Sco, who was in my band in the late 70s has really developed a unique and singular style. We had a ball playing some standards. A nice festival produced by a good friend and old student, saxophonist John Nugent (who also produced the Stockholm Festival) took place in Rochester, New York with my own band performing in June. Also in June I did a few days at the University of Mannheim, Germany playing with their big band featuring music written by a wonderful composer, Jurgen Friedrich. At the same time I did a record date with the fine saxophone professor there, Jurgen Seefelder, which featured drummer Keith Copland who lives in Frankfurt. There were also some gigs in the western Canadian cities of Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria with drummer Steve Smith, saxophonist Mike Zilber, bassist John Schifflett and pianist Paul Nagel. Of course Steve is well known through his rock work with the famous group”Journey”. But besides that notoriety he is a wonderful musician who can play anything. And finally the summer ended with some gigs in Italy with drummer Alessandro Fabbri, bassist Ares Tavolazzi and pianist Alessandro Galati followed by a special concert at the 25th anniversary of the great Saalfelden Festival in Austria with a really interesting group of musicians: Wolfgang Riesinger on drums, Jean Paul Celea on bass, Jamey Haddad on percussion, Wolfgang Mitterer on sampled keyboard, Marc Ducret on guitar and Matthew Garrison on electric bass. The music, organized by myself and Wolfgang featured a very eclectic mix of styles. All of these great gigs demonstrate that if listeners are given the opportunity in the right circumstances, they will enjoy the music, no matter the style.
MISCELLANEOUS
IN PASSING:HERBIE MANN AND BENNY CARTER
If you were listening to jazz in the 1960s, you had to be aware of flautist Herbie Mann whose brand of Latin tinged blues based jazz was very popular. The recording “Live at the Village Gate” was pivotal for me and I must have played “Comin’ Home Baby” dozens of times in my beginning years on the flute. Herbie Solomon(his original name) was, like myself, from Brooklyn, NY. He was an important producer and record company entrepreneur through the years with a reputation for honesty and integrity which earned him a lot of respect in the jazz community.
Benny Carter was a legendary multi talented musician and composer from the 1920s who continued performing until recently. I can’t profess a tremendous personal knowledge of Mr.Carter, but his influence on Bird, Phil Woods and others as well as an arranger in Hollywood places him in the pantheon of jazz greats.
CARNEGIE HALL WORKSHOP
Last year I took part in the first Carnegie Hall Jazz Workshop directed by Justin DiCioccio. Carnegie Hall has been doing classical ensemble workshops for over a decade but they just began jazz last year. Ensembles send a tape and are chosen to be coached for several days by Justin, myself, Rufus Reid and trumpeter Terell Stafford with a final performance in one of their small halls. Obviously this is quite a prestigious situation and even being around Carnegie Hall itself is a thrill. I took lessons at Carnegie Hall studios with Joe Allard every Saturday in the 1960s and even then I was aware of the importance of this palace of music. There is a tape audition necessary and groups chosen have all expenses paid. (Last year there was a group from the Netherlands attending.) To be placed on the mailing list for a brochure contact Randy Neff at Rneff@carnegiehall.org or call 212-903-9741. Groups are chosen with the age limit of 18 to 30 playing any style of jazz with ensemble size limited from trio to sextet. The actual days of attendance are March 20-25, 2004.
SIGNAL TO NOISE MAGAZINE
I have been receiving this magazine for awhile now and it is utterly fascinating. It is lengthy with small print and very extensive reviews/interviews. But what is remarkable is that I personally am not aware of most of the names in the magazine or the record labels which advertise. The music that is reported seems to be primarily what Europeans call ”improvised music” or in some circles it might be referred to as avant garde or free music. In New York it is known as the “downtown scene”. I can’t say that it is all jazz per se, but it is inspiring to see how much music is being created by serious folks which is “below the radar” meaning not mainstream at all. The site is signaltonoise.org
DOWNBEAT AND JAZZ IMRPOV INTERVIEWS
The Downbeat interview that I did live at the last IAJE Conference in Toronto with Howard Mandel is “supposed” to be in the October education issue. The other interview in Jazz Improv, a remarkable magazine is one of the best I have ever done with editor Eric Nemeyer. This magazine is more like a book published a few times a year which besides in depth interviews features analysis of solos and recordings with real teaching materials available for use. The interview was in Volume 4, Number 2. The magazine can be accessed through www.jazzimprov.com
FUTURE ACTIVITIES
SEPTEMBER:The COTA Festival with the Evan Gregor Group and the Dave Liebman Group; performance at the Opera House in Jim Thorpe, PA with the Dave Liebman Group; the 55 Bar in New York with guitarist Joel Harrison; the Jazz School in Berkeley, California and the Monterrey Jazz Festival with Mike Zilber, Steve Smith, guitarist Fareed Haque and bassist John Shifflett; the Budapest Jazz Orchestra in Hungary.
OCTOBER:
the University of Miami Festival with the Concert Jazz Band; Saxophone Summit
tour with Mike Brecker, Joe Lovano, Phil Markowitz, Cecil McBee in Europe:
Darmstadt, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Padua, Istanbul, Warsaw, Budapest, Vienna,
Catania and Palermo (Sicily), Lyon, Lisbon, Rome; concert in Holland with
bassist Ronan Guilfoyle, drummer Erik Ineke, saxophonist John Rocco.
NOVEMBER: the IASJ Meeting in the Hague; the Dave Liebman Group at 55 Bar and the Deerhead Inn, other East Coast gigs.
DECEMBER: European tour in duo with pianist Marc Copland; the Deerhead Inn with pianist Jim Ridl.
PEACE TO ALL