{"id":267,"date":"2010-12-10T15:43:30","date_gmt":"2010-12-10T22:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jazzcomposersservice.com\/?page_id=267"},"modified":"2016-10-14T15:28:12","modified_gmt":"2016-10-14T22:28:12","slug":"our-recordings-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jazzcomposersservice.com\/?page_id=267","title":{"rendered":"Our Recordings"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Groovy Encounters<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The Dean Pratt<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0Big Band<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s first CD, Groovy Encounters<\/em>, is currently sold out, but we\u2019ve included a couple of partial tracks from it, and our second CD (see below) for you to listen to here.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

16 Men & A Chick Singer Swingin\u2019: Pratt Brothers Big Band Featuring Roberta Gambarini<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Liner Notes<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Big Brother<\/strong> Remarks<\/strong> upon<\/strong> the<\/strong> Emperors\u2019<\/strong> Lack<\/strong> of<\/strong> Clothes . . .<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAs I sit down to scribble these notes, I see that it is just about eight years to the day since the Pratt Brothers Big Band went into Rudy Van Gelder\u2019s studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ to record Groovy Encounters<\/em>. How time flies when you\u2019re having fun\u2014even if it\u2019s in a musical vacuum. In the past decade, Big Bands have definitely not made a comeback. Still, musicians who love to play this music and fans, such as you, who love to listen to it still exist. Though we may be few in number we are, nevertheless, determined to keep this great tradition alive; to keep the Emperor clothed in purple and gold, not rags. It\u2019s just that we\u2019re surrounded by charlatans, these days, poseurs, fakes\u2014totally naked \u2018Emperors and Empresses of Jazz\u2019\u2014who are touted to one and all as \u2018the next Ella,\u2019 \u2018the next Frank,\u2019 \u2018the next Dizzy,\u2019 \u2018the next Miles,\u2019 when they should just be run out of town on the next rail for impersonating jazz musicians. They are anything but. Strangely enough, though, it\u2019s not these jazz quacks themselves who are tooting their own out-of-tune horns. It\u2019s the big music business guys, the managers, the producers. You know who they are. Their names appear on every new young, hot thing\u2019s new, dull CD. Yawwwwn.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot to go off on a rant here (as the inimitable Dennis Miller would phrase it), but the people running this business of ours have, for the most part, seemingly taken leave of their senses, and foremost among the five, hearing<\/em>. These old guys are really in the business now of \u2018discovering\u2019 the next great, young, sexy, young, awesome, young\u2026and, most importantly, young<\/em> new talent. Like (not-so) wise men on camels, this self ordained group of producers, record executives, marketing directors and, yes, even some disc jockeys and music critics, have been doing their best to obscure any real talent out here, those few brave souls singing and jamming in the wilderness who are trying their damndest to keep alive the great legacy of our music. If there\u2019s a star in the East, these guys will miss it. The names Ellington, Basie, Miles, Ella, Sarah, Carmen and Billie Holiday are bandied around today by the tone-deaf wise guys to describe their mostly teen-aged discoveries. For the life of me, I don\u2019t have a clue as to what these folks\u2019 qualifications or musical expertise might be\u2014discoverers and discoveries, alike\u2014but, in comparing Ellas to oranges, and apples to Ellingtons, they have all but obliterated the meaning of\u00a0 the legacy left us by our honest-to-God legendary artists. For much of the listening public and, certainly, for the majority of record executives (who are either scared of losing their jobs or too young ever to have actually heard Billie Holiday or Count Basie), what constitutes good jazz and good jazz singing corresponds to\u00a0 whichever juvenile artist sold the most records last quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have seen the new crop of Jazz Emperors and the Empresses, and they have no clothes.<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, I admit that taste in music is relative. What swings for one puts another to sleep. But what, in my humble opinion, is not<\/em> relative, and never will be, is bad time, bad phrasing, bad tone and bad pitch. No amount of background strings and artful lighting is going to morph Tiny Tim into Miles Davis. Funny, most of us used to be able to hear the difference between the two, and weren\u2019t afraid to admit it. Well enough, for now. Meanwhile, all my deepest thanks go out to those\u00a0 few, brave, time-perfect and in-tune souls who, ignoring mainstream, heavily subsidized trends, continue to create\u00a0 the music we all used to love so deeply–real jazz produced by the fully clothed Emperors and Empresses of Jazz.\u00a0 But hey, that\u2019s just my opinion. I could be wrong.”<\/p>\n

The Music<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAs on the first Dean Pratt Big Band CD, Groovy Encounters<\/em>, we begin with an Ernie Wilkins arrangement; this time, an original composition. Our tribute to Ernie, Clark Terry and Count Basie, it gets us off to a swinging start. The chart actually comprises two Wilkins arrangements of the same tune , with different backgrounds and ensembles. I thought, for our band, it would be a good idea to incorporate the two. I\u2019m not sure which bandleader Ernie first wrote this chart, but it was titled \u2018Big Bad Band\u2019 for Clark, and \u201cBasie Power\u201d for the Count. I\u2019ve titled our own version \u2018Big Bad Basie,\u2019 and the first soloist is Ronnie Mathews. Backed by Michael Pratt\u2019s drums and Chip Jackson\u2019s bass, Ronnie leads through ten outstanding choruses, demonstrating why he is still one of the premier pianists working today. Setting up the band\u2019s first entrance perfectly, Ronnie takes two more choruses, and then it\u2019s my turn to interact with the band a bit before playing a few choruses with just the rhythm section. A great big band tradition is up next, the tenor battle, magnificently carried out by Mike Karn and Willie Williams, who take four choruses each, trade choruses for another four and, eventually, take fours with the band for three more choruses. They light the way for Ernie\u2019s first shout and Michael\u2019s drum solo. (If you listen carefully, you can hear Michael–as our friend and mentor Buddy Rich used to do–cue in the final shout chorus with his four-bar count off.\u00a0 Michael I couldn\u2019t do it without you!) The chart ends with Ronnie\u2019s nod to the Count and one of those nice big chords topped off by Joe Mosello\u2019s lead trumpet.<\/p>\n

\u201cRich Shemaria\u2019s beautiful arrangement of \u2018Skylark\u2019 will introduce you to our featured vocalist, the inimitable Roberta Gambarini. Born in Torino, Italy, and brought up by a jazz-loving family, Roberta began listening to jazz as a child and, by age 17, was performing in jazz clubs around northern Italy. I first heard Roberta back in 1998, when she was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk vocal competition. I knew, from the first moment I heard her, that this was the voice of the new millennium. As you will hear throughout her cuts on this album, Roberta can do it all. She swings, has impeccable time, possesses an instrument of lyrical beauty, and scats not only with originality but makes the changes, too. I call hers \u2018The\u00a0 Real<\/em> Voice of an Angel.\u2019 Mark Phaneuf\u2019s flute is heard at the top and Alan Gauvin\u2019s lovely alto solo follows Roberta\u2019s vocal, complementing her and Rich\u2019s chart with just the right touches. The a<\/em> cappella<\/em> vocal bit was Roberta\u2019s idea, and there aren\u2019t many singers today who could pull this off so beautifully. A gorgeous treatment of this Hoagy Carmichael classic!<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we began planning this album, I had been looking for a chart to feature three of the finest trombonists any leader could wish for. Our bass trombonist, Wayne Coniglio, heard the call and his arrangement of Frank Wess\u2019s composition, \u2018Water Jug,\u2019 was just what I was looking for. The Promethean Scott Whitfield leads his section on Frank\u2019s head, continuing with two choruses on the 32-bar theme. He\u2019s followed by Rick Stepton, my old Buddy Rich band mate, for two, and then the saxophone section has a groovy chorus led by Alan Gauvin, who\u2019s been leading sax sections with that unique and commanding sound of his for over 35 years. It\u2019s been my privilege to have been on the stand with him for most of that time. The arranger solos next and, as you will hear, there is no better jazz bass trombonist working today than Wayne Coniglio. The concluding high note dual between Scott Whitfield and Joe Mosello was my idea, inspired by Stan Kenton\u2019s version of \u2018Machito.\u2019 I figured if you\u2019ve got it, flaunt it, and these guys have it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next arrangement is a tour de force for the band and Roberta. The Dizzy Gillespie recording of the original composition by Tom McIntosh entitled \u2018The Cup Bearers\u2019 was always a favorite of mine and, coincidentally, also a favorite of Roberta\u2019s. My friend Meredith D\u2019Ambrosio had put lyrics to the tune and thus the new song, \u2018Cup Of Life,\u2019 was born, giving Roberta and me the opportunity to record the song for you here. Michael Abene was our choice for the arranger, so we all met to work out a plan for the score. Michael is one of our truly amazing talents, and I am honored to call him a friend. His arrangements for the Maynard Ferguson band of the 1960\u2019s have always been some of my favorite big band charts, and this amazing arrangement of \u201cCup Of Life\u201d is no exception. Truly a suite for jazz band and voice, the first section of the theme is semi-rubato, with the reeds doubling flutes and clarinets behind Roberta\u2019s beautiful rendering of the lyric. A short interlude announces the beginning of the second and straight ahead section of the piece. Roberta has the spotlight again with a swinging reading of the lyric, this time followed by a terrific scat chorus that would have put a smile on Dizzy\u2019s face. My solo follows, again with a harmon mute, leading to another short interlude into the vocalese section. Michael wrote a wild shout for Roberta, trumpet, soprano and tenor in unison and, though it is a remarkable vocal achievement, I have to tell you it is just another day\u2019s work for Roberta Gambarini. Her talent knows no bounds. Wayne Coniglio\u2019s bass trombone introduces a vamp designed for a little drum work from my brother, then comes a reprise of the lyric from Roberta, ending with one of Michael\u2019s signature riffs topped off by a concert high C from the lead singer–and this little masterpiece comes to an end. (Mike Abene, you\u2019re a genius.)<\/p>\n

\u201cHank Mobley\u2019s \u2018Old World New Imports\u2019 is up next. The original Hank Mobley Blue Note recording of this composition, with Donald Byrd on trumpet, has always been a favorite of mine, and I asked Rich Shemaria to make this arrangement for us and what an arrangement it is. I wanted a feature for our baritone saxophonist, Dave Schumacher, Ronnie Mathews and Chip Jackson. Hank\u2019s tune provided the perfect vehicle. My brother\u2019s high hat cymbals set the tempo and then Dave and I state Hank\u2019s cute little head. Ronnie is up first for three choruses and then Dave and I take three. Rich\u2019s wild sax soli leads into a truly incredible solo from Chip Jackson. Not only is his solo amazing, but check out how he sets up the band\u2019s entrance. It just doesn\u2019t get any better than this. A reprise of the head, some exchanges with little brother and the band, an F# from Joe Mosello, and we\u2019re done.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next Ernie Wilkins chart, \u2018Falling In Love With Love,\u2019 is from our dance book and, initially, I had not meant to put it on this album. But the band was so knocked out by it every time they played it that they wouldn\u2019t hear of my not recording it. Of course, my arm doesn\u2019t have to be twisted too hard to get me to record anything by Ernie. Don Sickler has a short solo on trumpet and then our bass trombonist, Wayne Coniglio, does it again. Who said bass trombonists don\u2019t play jazz? Ronnie Matthews has some fun with the ensemble before the fine<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon Sickler, the publisher of Kenny Dorham\u2019s ballad, \u2018Fair Weather,\\\u2019 hipped me to this beautiful tune. Not surprisingly, Roberta Gambarini had this song in her repertoire as well and, when I caught her performing it on a gig with Don at the Jazz Standard here in New York, I knew we had to record it. Hearing that voice sing this melody was a no- brainer for me, and I asked Roberta if she would do a version for us with the big band. She agreed, and we both thought Mike Abene would again be perfect for the arrangement. As usual, he turns in a masterful tone poem on Kenny\u2019s tune. Mike Karn, saxophonist extraordinaire, plays an outstanding solo here, creating just the right mood over Mike Abene\u2019s rich and lush voicings. And Roberta, well here, hers is<\/em> the voice of an angel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn our last album, we premiered a couple of charts–one by Chico O\u2019Farrill and another by Ernie Wilkins–that had been written for the Basie band but never recorded. This time out, we ‘introduce’ an arrangement by Don Piestrup of ‘When Your Lover Has Gone,’\u00a0written for Buddy Rich\u2019s band back in the 1960\u2019s. Buddy did play this chart quite often back then but, for some reason, it never made it onto any recordings. A typically swinging chart from Don, it opens with Brother Michael\u2019s a<\/em> la<\/em> Buddy Rich high hat intro and four-bar count off. It was deja<\/em> vu<\/em> for Mike and me recording this and it brought back some terrific memories of our tenure with Buddy. Solos are by Mark Phaneuf on alto, Rick Stepton on trombone, and Willie Williams on tenor.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoberta picked \u2018East Of The Sun\u2019 for her final offering on this album, she and I sketched out how we wanted the arrangement to go, and then I asked Rich Shemaria again to do the honors.\u00a0 Rich had about two weeks to write both this and \u2018Skylark\u2019 for us, and he came through with flying colors. Roberta wanted to sing the first chorus with just the bass, and so she and Chip make some magic here. You don\u2019t get this kind of interaction and empathy by overdubbing, folks and, throughout the date, Roberta sang live with the band and it made all the difference in the world. The saxes enter behind Roberta\u2019s second chorus with Rich\u2019s chart giving a nod to another great arranger, Thad Jones. I get to trade with the band for a chorus, and then it\u2019s all Roberta. Dig her a<\/em> cappella<\/em> tribute to Ella on the ending. (Roby, you\u2019re the greatest.)<\/p>\n

\u201cBasie\/Wilkins started us off and Basie\/Wilkins bring us to a close. Ernie\u2019s title \u2018Sixteen Men Swinging\u201d almost<\/em> says it all but, today, since we want to be a little more politically correct, we\u2019ve titled our album \u201cSixteen Men & A Chick Singer Swingin\u2019.\u2019 Hey, I said a \u2018little\u2019 more politically correct. I can\u2019t think of a better way to end this excursion in modern music than to \u2018swing just a little bit,\u2019 all 17 of us. Solos are by Mike Karn on tenor, Scott Whitfield on trombone, and the Pratt brothers.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo all of the members of the band, and to Roberta Gambarini, I say sincerely, that it has always been, and always will be, an honor for me to be in the same room with you. You have made my dreams a reality once again.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo Tom Swift, our recording engineer, who saved us in the studio so many times, your terrific ear and musicianship qualify you to be \u2018The 17th Man Swingin\u2019.\u2019 This project could not have been made without your hard work, talent and generosity, and I look forward to doing it again, long before another eight years go by.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo my ophthalmologist, Dr. Robert Ritch (as well as Kay, Alan, and the whole staff at Glaucoma Associates of New York); to Mike\u2019s and my parents, Rosalie and Bob; to my sister, Chris, and our other brother, Steven; thanks for all of your love and support. To Buddy Rich, for giving my brother and me a taste of what it\u2019s like to work with not only a genius but the swingin\u2019est and grooviest cat around, undying thanks. And last but far from least, to my darling Elizabeth, who lights up my world each day in more ways than I could ever find space for here, my thanks as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo all of you\u2014our fans and lovers of big band music\u2014till next time, keep the faith and, above all, keep swingin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dean Pratt<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Groovy Encounters The Dean Pratt\u00a0Big Band\u2019s first CD, Groovy Encounters, is currently sold out, but we\u2019ve included a couple of partial tracks from it, and our second CD (see below) for you to listen to here.   16 Men & A Chick Singer Swingin\u2019: Pratt Brothers Big Band Featuring Roberta Gambarini Liner Notes Big Brother Remarks upon the Emperors\u2019 Lack of Clothes . . . \u201cAs I sit down to scribble these notes, I see that it is just about eight years to the day since the Pratt Brothers Big Band went into Rudy Van Gelder\u2019s studio in Englewood Cliffs, NJ to record Groovy Encounters. How time flies when you\u2019re having fun\u2014even if it\u2019s in a musical vacuum. In the past decade, Big Bands have definitely not made a comeback. Still, musicians who love to play this music and fans, such as you, who love to listen to it still exist. Though we may be few in number we are, nevertheless, determined to keep this great tradition alive; to keep the Emperor clothed in purple and gold, not rags. It\u2019s just that we\u2019re surrounded by charlatans, these days, poseurs, fakes\u2014totally naked \u2018Emperors and Empresses of Jazz\u2019\u2014who are touted to one and all as \u2018the next Ella,\u2019 \u2018the next Frank,\u2019 \u2018the next Dizzy,\u2019 \u2018the next Miles,\u2019 when they should just be run out of town on the next rail for impersonating jazz musicians. They are anything but. Strangely enough, though, it\u2019s not these jazz quacks themselves who are tooting their own out-of-tune horns. It\u2019s the big music business guys, the managers, the producers. You know who they are. Their names appear on every new young, hot thing\u2019s new, dull CD. Yawwwwn. \u201cNot to go off on a rant here (as the inimitable Dennis Miller would phrase it), but the people running this business of ours have, for the most part, seemingly taken leave of their senses, and foremost among the five, hearing. These old guys are really in the business now of \u2018discovering\u2019 the next great, young, sexy, young, awesome, young\u2026and, most importantly, young new talent. Like (not-so) wise men on camels, this self ordained group of producers, record executives, marketing directors and, yes, even some disc jockeys and music critics, have been doing their best to obscure any real talent out here, those few brave souls singing and jamming in the wilderness who are trying their damndest to keep alive the great legacy of our music. If there\u2019s a star in the East, these guys will miss it. The names Ellington, Basie, Miles, Ella, Sarah, Carmen and Billie Holiday are bandied around today by the tone-deaf wise guys to describe their mostly teen-aged discoveries. For the life of me, I don\u2019t have a clue as to what these folks\u2019 qualifications or musical expertise might be\u2014discoverers and discoveries, alike\u2014but, in comparing Ellas to oranges, and apples to Ellingtons, they have all but obliterated the meaning of\u00a0 the legacy left us by our honest-to-God legendary artists. For much of the listening public and, certainly, for the majority of record executives (who are either scared of losing their jobs or too young ever to have actually heard Billie Holiday or Count Basie), what constitutes good jazz and good jazz singing corresponds to\u00a0 whichever juvenile artist sold the most records last quarter. \u201cI have seen the new crop of Jazz Emperors and the Empresses, and they have no clothes. \u201cOK, I admit that taste in music is relative. What swings for one puts another to sleep. But what, in my humble opinion, is not relative, and never will be, is bad time, bad phrasing, bad tone and bad pitch. No amount of background strings and artful lighting is going to morph Tiny Tim into Miles Davis. Funny, most of us used to be able to hear the difference between the two, and weren\u2019t afraid to admit it. Well enough, for now. Meanwhile, all my deepest thanks go out to those\u00a0 few, brave, time-perfect and in-tune souls who, ignoring mainstream, heavily subsidized trends, continue to create\u00a0 the music we all used to love so deeply–real jazz produced by the fully clothed Emperors and Empresses of Jazz.\u00a0 But hey, that\u2019s just my opinion. I could be wrong.” The Music \u201cAs on the first Dean Pratt Big Band CD, Groovy Encounters, we begin with an Ernie Wilkins arrangement; this time, an original composition. Our tribute to Ernie, Clark Terry and Count Basie, it gets us off to a swinging start. The chart actually comprises two Wilkins arrangements of the same tune , with different backgrounds and ensembles. I thought, for our band, it would be a good idea to incorporate the two. I\u2019m not sure which bandleader Ernie first wrote this chart, but it was titled \u2018Big Bad Band\u2019 for Clark, and \u201cBasie Power\u201d for the Count. I\u2019ve titled our own version \u2018Big Bad Basie,\u2019 and the first soloist is Ronnie Mathews. Backed by Michael Pratt\u2019s drums and Chip Jackson\u2019s bass, Ronnie leads through ten outstanding choruses, demonstrating why he is still one of the premier pianists working today. Setting up the band\u2019s first entrance perfectly, Ronnie takes two more choruses, and then it\u2019s my turn to interact with the band a bit before playing a few choruses with just the rhythm section. A great big band tradition is up next, the tenor battle, magnificently carried out by Mike Karn and Willie Williams, who take four choruses each, trade choruses for another four and, eventually, take fours with the band for three more choruses. They light the way for Ernie\u2019s first shout and Michael\u2019s drum solo. (If you listen carefully, you can hear Michael–as our friend and mentor Buddy Rich used to do–cue in the final shout chorus with his four-bar count off.\u00a0 Michael I couldn\u2019t do it without you!) The chart ends with Ronnie\u2019s nod to the Count and one of those nice big chords topped off by Joe Mosello\u2019s lead trumpet. \u201cRich Shemaria\u2019s beautiful arrangement of \u2018Skylark\u2019 will introduce you to our featured vocalist, the inimitable Roberta Gambarini. Born in Torino, Italy, and brought up by a jazz-loving family, Roberta began listening to jazz as a child and, by age 17, was performing in jazz clubs around northern Italy. I first heard Roberta back in 1998, when she was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk vocal competition. I knew, from the first moment I heard her, that this was the voice of the new millennium. As you will hear throughout her cuts on this album, Roberta can do it all. She swings, has impeccable time, possesses an instrument of lyrical beauty, and scats not only with originality but makes the changes, too. I call hers \u2018The\u00a0 Real Voice of an Angel.\u2019 Mark Phaneuf\u2019s flute is heard at the top and Alan Gauvin\u2019s lovely alto solo follows Roberta\u2019s vocal, complementing her and Rich\u2019s chart with just the right touches. The a cappella vocal bit was Roberta\u2019s idea, and there aren\u2019t many singers today who could pull this off so beautifully. A gorgeous treatment of this Hoagy Carmichael classic! \u201cSince we began planning this album, I had been looking for a chart to feature three of the finest trombonists any leader could wish for. Our bass trombonist, Wayne Coniglio, heard the call and his arrangement of Frank Wess\u2019s composition, \u2018Water Jug,\u2019 was just what I was looking for. The Promethean Scott Whitfield leads his section on Frank\u2019s head, continuing with two choruses on the 32-bar theme. He\u2019s followed by Rick Stepton, my old Buddy Rich band mate, for two, and then the saxophone section has a groovy chorus led by Alan Gauvin, who\u2019s been leading sax sections with that unique and commanding sound of his for over 35 years. It\u2019s been my privilege to have been on the stand with him for most of that time. The arranger solos next and, as you will hear, there is no better jazz bass trombonist working today than Wayne Coniglio. The concluding high note dual between Scott Whitfield and Joe Mosello was my idea, inspired by Stan Kenton\u2019s version of \u2018Machito.\u2019 I figured if you\u2019ve got it, flaunt it, and these guys have it. \u201cThe next arrangement is a tour de force for the band and Roberta. The Dizzy Gillespie recording of the original composition by Tom McIntosh entitled \u2018The Cup Bearers\u2019 was always a favorite of mine and, coincidentally, also a favorite of Roberta\u2019s. My friend Meredith D\u2019Ambrosio had put lyrics to the tune and thus the new song, \u2018Cup Of Life,\u2019 was born, giving Roberta and me the opportunity to record the song for you here. Michael Abene was our choice for the arranger, so we all met to work out a plan for the score. Michael is one of our truly amazing talents, and I am honored to call him a friend. His arrangements for the Maynard Ferguson band of the 1960\u2019s have always been some of my favorite big band charts, and this amazing arrangement of \u201cCup Of Life\u201d is no exception. Truly a suite for jazz band and voice, the first section of the theme is semi-rubato, with the reeds doubling flutes and clarinets behind Roberta\u2019s beautiful rendering of the lyric. A short interlude announces the beginning of the second and straight ahead section of the piece. Roberta has the spotlight again with a swinging reading of the lyric, this time followed by a terrific scat chorus that would have put a smile on Dizzy\u2019s face. My solo follows, again with a harmon mute, leading to another short interlude into the vocalese section. Michael wrote a wild shout for Roberta, trumpet, soprano and tenor in unison and, though it is a remarkable vocal achievement, I have to tell you it is just another day\u2019s work for Roberta Gambarini. Her talent knows no bounds. Wayne Coniglio\u2019s bass trombone introduces a vamp designed for a little drum work from my brother, then comes a reprise of the lyric from Roberta, ending with one of Michael\u2019s signature riffs topped off by a concert high C from the lead singer–and this little masterpiece comes to an end. (Mike Abene, you\u2019re a genius.) \u201cHank Mobley\u2019s \u2018Old World New Imports\u2019 is up next. The original Hank Mobley Blue Note recording of this composition, with Donald Byrd on trumpet, has always been a favorite of mine, and I asked Rich Shemaria to make this arrangement for us and what an arrangement it is. I wanted a feature for our baritone saxophonist, Dave Schumacher, Ronnie Mathews and Chip Jackson. Hank\u2019s tune provided the perfect vehicle. My brother\u2019s high hat cymbals set the tempo and then Dave and I state Hank\u2019s cute little head. Ronnie is up first for three choruses and then Dave and I take three. Rich\u2019s wild sax soli leads into a truly incredible solo from Chip Jackson. Not only is his solo amazing, but check out how he sets up the band\u2019s entrance. It just doesn\u2019t get any better than this. A reprise of the head, some exchanges with little brother and the band, an F# from Joe Mosello, and we\u2019re done. \u201cThe next Ernie Wilkins chart, \u2018Falling In Love With Love,\u2019 is from our dance book and, initially, I had not meant to put it on this album. But the band was so knocked out by it every time they played it that they wouldn\u2019t hear of my not recording it. Of course, my arm doesn\u2019t have to be twisted too hard to get me to record anything by Ernie. Don Sickler has a short solo on trumpet and then our bass trombonist, Wayne Coniglio, does it again. Who said bass trombonists don\u2019t play jazz? Ronnie Matthews has some fun with the ensemble before the fine. \u201cDon Sickler, the publisher of Kenny Dorham\u2019s ballad, \u2018Fair Weather,\\\u2019 hipped me to this beautiful tune. Not surprisingly, Roberta Gambarini had this song in her repertoire as well and, when I caught her performing it on a gig with Don at the Jazz Standard here in New York, I knew we had to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":85,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-267","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jazzcomposersservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jazzcomposersservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jazzcomposersservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jazzcomposersservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jazzcomposersservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=267"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/jazzcomposersservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":366,"href":"https:\/\/jazzcomposersservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/267\/revisions\/366"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jazzcomposersservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jazzcomposersservice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}