Cadenzas - Edition XX
Bill Mays’ Fantasy for Piano, Cello, and Flugelhorn
Happenings and Such Before I say anything else, let me wish everyone a most Happy and Healthy New Year! I hope it brings wonderful and great things to us all!
Something New!
The year has already started out propitiously for me as my daughter Marisa gave birth to Charlotte Elizabeth Gifford on December 9, 2005. I am writing this short blurb as I fly over the Atlantic to visit them in England. I am as excited to meet Charlotte as I was for the births of my own three daughters!
IAJE Conference - 2006
To date, 2006 looks to be a fine year. It begins with my three appearances at the IAJE Conference in New York, January 11 – 15 at the Hilton Hotel. On Friday, January 13, I will be appearing at the Jazz Improv Magazine booth to speak with fans, sign CDs, and such. Later that evening, I will be playing in concert with a wonderful vocalist from Texas, Rosana Eckert. I first heard Rosana sing in Denton, Texas, at an environmental fund-raiser organized by Ed and Carol Soph. Like most instrumentalists, I am not partial to singers, but Rosana really sings well. She impressed me immediately and certainly earned my respect.
The third appearance, on January 14, will be a workshop with pianist Bill Mays entitled “The Art of Duo Playing.” Bill and I will play and speak about our approach to this very intimate format of Jazz improvising. Besides being one of the greatest living Jazz pianists, Bill is one who can also communicate verbally about his artistry. Every time I step onstage with Bill, whether performing in concert or conducting a master class or workshop, it is an event.
I can’t say enough about Bill’s talent. In another time and another place, he would be as readily recognized as are other better-known players who lack his imagination and mastery of the piano. But as more people experience Bill’s music, they continually feel as I do.
Other Stuff
Other exciting dates for me in 2006 will be appearing as guest artist at the Northwestern University Combo Festival in mid-February and a March tour in California featuring Bill Mays and me. There will be several dates for which we will add Los Angeles musicians, drummer Joe LaBarbera and bassist Tom Warrington. Bill and I will also perform in concert with groups from San Diego State University and DeAnza College and do a workshop for my friend, Dr. Fred Berry at Stanford University. We will also present one or two duo concerts.
March 18, I will be playing the Kennedy Center Jazz Club with pianist Joyce DiCamillo’s quartet. Other dates in March and early April will see my quartet with Bill, drummer Ed Soph, and bassist Rufus Reid for a three-day residency at Utah State. I will also be one of the adjudicators at the North Texas Jazz Festival in Addison, Texas, and then go with Bill for two days of recital/workshops in Houston, including our annual visit to Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts.
I will also be in Europe twice in the first part of the year – late April into May touring Switzerland and Germany with the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, and in July working and performing in Rome with my dear friend, trumpeter and composer Massimo Nunzi.
Jazz Cruise 2006
One other exciting date to mention is the quartet’s invitation to be one of the performing groups, October 28 – November 4, on the “Jazz Cruise 2006.” The touring quartet is confirmed – Bill Mays, Rufus Reid, and Ed Soph. Other invited “set groups” are the Clayton-Hamilton Big Band, the Bill Charlap Trio, The Don Friedman Trio, and saxophonists Houston Person and Plas Johnson. Other yet to be named groups will also perform, as well as an invited group of Jazz all-stars. The whole boat will be sold for the Jazz Cruise, so everyone on board will be there for the music, and there will be music everyday from noon till after 1:00 A.M. The cruise will be sailing out of San Diego, California, and will visit several ports along the Mexican Riviera.
If you are interested in going, check out the Jazz Cruise 2006 Web site for up-to-date details – www.thejazzcruise.com. If you should choose to go on this cruise, please mention that I made you aware of the cruise and that your coming to hear my quartet is a major factor in your decision to embark on the cruise. This makes the presenters aware of our drawing power and also makes it more likely that we will be invited back in the future.
Working with Mike Vax
This past summer, trumpeter Mike Vax invited me to participate in the Prescott Jazz Summit, a weekend Jazz festival in Prescott, Arizona. Though the Jazz Summit is a small festival, the musicians and the concerts were of very high quality. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, performing in a quintet composed of Bob Florence, piano; Gary Hobbs, drums; my old and dear friend Jack Petersen, guitar; and Phoenix bassist Dwight Kilian. Mike has very kindly invited me back for the 2006 Prescott Jazz Summit, an event I very much look forward to. For those of you who might be interested, the 2006 festival will be held August 26 - 28.
Mike also invited me to join his Stan Kenton Alumni Band on a cruise this past December, similar to the one mentioned above. I’m sure I have made it quite clear that, having spent so much of my career playing in trumpet sections of big bands or in studio recording orchestras, my interest in playing in big bands other than the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band and the Westchester Jazz Orchestra is not as strong as it once was. While I occasionally take part in all-star big band situations, my real interest these days lies either in small group playing or performing only as a soloist with larger ensembles.
I have known Mike Vax a long time and though we have seldom worked together, we have had great fun getting to know each other. Mike Vax is a really good guy and easy to work with. He also knows how to take care of the business end of things. I watched as each day he fielded all the problems that seemed constantly to crop up. Most were caused by others having no understanding of what we needed in order to do the job we were hired to do; other issues arose because the planners of this musical journey were not very sensitive. Mike is a pro. If it had been me, I believe I would have just “lost it,” but Mike took it all in, analyzed what needed to be done and straightened out each situation. My hat’s off to him! All the musicians appreciate how Mike handles these situations. He is a person with some authority who is capable of speaking out for them and willing to do so. Mike does this at a time when most people in such positions want only to cover their own backsides. Mike thinks of the guys in his band first. I respect him a great deal for this.
I am rarely in a setting where I get to “hang out” and play with various friends living on the west coast, so this cruise presented the perfect opportunity for me to do just that. Bob Florence and Gary Hobbs are close friends of mine, and I really wanted to have time to get reacquainted with others, such as alto saxophonist Kim Richmond and trumpeters Steve Huffstetter and Jim Oatts. I hadn’t seen bass trombonist Kenny Shroyer in years, and had never really met trumpeter Dennis Noday. So these were nice circumstances in which to do so and also to meet the other players I didn’t already know.
I was standing in for Carl Saunders, the spectacular Los Angeles trumpeter, off somewhere performing with John Williams. There were special standouts among the band for my taste, players I found especially interesting. Steve Huffstetter is a beautiful Jazz soloist as well as an excellent composer/arranger. He is among the sought-after trumpet soloists in the Los Angeles area, performing not only with his own big band, but also with the “Bob Florence Limited Edition” and a number of other groups.
Scott Whitfield is an outstanding trombone soloist. Having worked with Scott several times, I know what a talent he is, but the more I hear Scott the less I feel I have scratched the surface of his playing. He is fearless - totally fearless!
Alto saxophonist Kim Richmond and tenor saxophonist Pete Gallio were outstanding soloists among the saxophone section. Kim is a fine lead alto player and woodwind doubler as well as an exciting soloist. He is also a fine arranger and composer who plays with many of the fine groups in Los Angeles in addition to leading his own large ensemble. Texan Pete Gallio is an exceptional Jazz tenor soloist who will one day receive the recognition he well deserves. He is very fluid and marvelously inventive. I had never met Pete’s counterpart, Alex Murzyn. Alex is from the Bay Area in California. He plays beautifully, and his style was a nice contrast to Pete’s.
Bob Florence is not only a wonderful composer/arranger, but a very sensitive pianist. He can also rock the band when the music calls for it. I have played in a duo setting with Bob as well as in a quintet setting, so I can certainly vouch for his marvelous versatility. He has become one of my favorite musicians. The mutual respect that he and Bill Mays have for one another also speaks volumes to me.
Drummer Gary Hobbs has become a dear friend over the last few years and is a pleasure to play and “hang” with. He is a fine drummer who can fit into any musical situation and has great taste and sensitivity along with excellent time. He also has a great sense of humor and tells some great stories. He’s an all-around good person to be touring with.
I have to mention the other instrumental group on the ship, the Jeff Hamilton Trio. These three gentlemen – Jeff Hamilton, drums; Tamir Hendelman, piano; Christian Luty, bass – were just a joy to hear and to watch. They have been together for a good while now, and they seem to read each others thoughts. They don’t just “pick a tune and blow”; they have well-thought-out arrangements of their compositions that easily keep the listener interested. And they really swing!
On the final night of the cruise, our rhythm section and Jeff’s trio did a set each with invited guests. I have to say I was very touched that Jeff asked me to come up and play Thad Jones’ “A Child Is Born” in honor of my new granddaughter. Not only was I touched because the trio was celebrating this beautiful event with me, but because playing with them was like being placed in a silken glove. Wherever the music turned, they were there for me. It was a really wonderful moment, very special to me.
The cruise was fun, and I enjoyed it very much. Every musician was a good guy who did his job well. There was not anyone in the band who presented a problem. I thank Mike for inviting me and look forward to working with him again at the Prescott Jazz Summit.
Do I need A New Mouthpiece?
There’s a question for you! Ask most trumpet players - then let the games begin! But really, anyone who knows me knows that I am not a mouthpiece freak. Nor have I been searching for the perfect mouthpiece that will cure all my ills or solve all my problems. I just don’t think about mouthpieces - or horns - in this way, and probably the less I think about it, the better.
So why - many people ask - did I change to a GR mouthpiece in February 2004? One would guess that all I stated above is just a big lie. It isn’t – it really isn’t! So maybe I should tell you how I came to play a Gary Radtke mouthpiece.
I first met Gary Radtke at an ITG Conference four or five years ago. Free-lance artist Chase Sanborn and Dennis Najoom, co-principal trumpet of the Milwaukee Symphony, told me I should go down to a certain exhibitor’s room to try his mouthpieces. Never much of a thrill for me, I nevertheless went at their urging and played some of Gary’s mouthpieces. They were good, but I wasn’t really interested; I wasn’t looking for a mouthpiece, so I guess I turned myself off before I even played them. Then, when Gary started talking about the technical and acoustical aspects of mouthpieces, I politely headed for the door.
Chase was quite impressed though, and shortly after this Conference, he had Gary manufacturing his mouthpieces. After a while Dennis Najoom was doing the same. Now let me tell you - Dennis and Chase are great musicians as well as two of my close friends, and they are not screwballs. So when they began working with Gary, I was impressed. Not convinced, but certainly impressed!
Over the next three years, I saw Gary at the various ITG Conferences, and I would visit his booth and maybe have dinner with him and Dennis. As time went along, we talked together quite a bit and about two years ago, at the Conference held at Texas Christian University, I decided I wanted to see where this guy was coming from. Gary took a mold of my mouthpiece and kept it until I could get up to Wisconsin to see him. It took a while, but as soon as I knew I had a booking in the Milwaukee area, I called to ask him if I could come to his studio/shop to spend some time with him. Gary agreed, and the appointment was made.
I spent two days in the shop with Gary, and it was quite an experience. To say that Gary is intense is an understatement. He has a great deal of energy and is totally passionate about what he does. He works endless hours and can wear a young guy like me out over the period of couple of days. And that’s saying something!
Gary talks about alpha angles and beta angles and numbers and all sorts of things like that. Me? I just want to know how it feels, how it sounds, and whether it makes my job easier. Gary is a trumpet player, an engineer, and a master machinist; I am just a trumpet player who doesn’t want to know about the technical side, just the musical side. And that is exactly what Gary wants you to know about. He talks to you about all the technical stuff; he talks endlessly! But he really doesn’t care if you take in any of that stuff; he just wants you to sound good and enjoy what you are doing.
I spent two really enjoyable days with Gary - at least I enjoyed them immensely! Gary has a dry sense of humor and is fun to be around. He likes people. You just have to get to the point of knowing him in that way. But Gary is also a wealth of information, and though most of it went over my head, some of it got through. Once you start to get the gist of it, the experience gets even better.
But the really important thing is in the playing, and that’s what really impressed me! Certain things started to jell, and I really liked what I heard. The changes he made had to do mostly with fixing the physically acoustic properties inside the mouthpiece - scientific stuff - and doing a bit of work on the rim. Gary also focused on the way the mouthpiece fit into the receiver and the “gap” between the end of the mouthpiece’s shank and the venture of the lead-pipe. We all know that the slightest change can make a big difference, and this is what happened. No drastic changes were made and drastic differences in my playing did not occur. But to the professional, it is the subtleties that make all the difference. These subtleties were enough to sell me and convince me to play the mouthpiece that Gary made for me.
Gary Radtke is one of a kind - a throwback to the age when a person finds what he loves to do and then lets his passion drive him to “take it to the max.” Gary is dedicated and has spent hours working with players who could never begin to return the same. But that’s not the point, and that is not why Gary does what he does. He’s just that intense about it all! Another thing I like very much about Gary is the respect he has for the other people who do what he does. That is a rare quality in this business, and one that I greatly respect.
So, did I need a new mouthpiece? I don’t know! It just kind of morphed that way. Some friends - Chase and Dennis - piqued my interest, and I got to know Gary over time. He never tried to “sell” me on his mouthpieces, but I found, eventually, that I wanted to learn more of what he was doing. Subsequently, I had the opportunity to spend time with him, to see what he was all about, and that was it. I didn’t need a new mouthpiece; it just worked out that way.
Bill Mays’ "Fantasy" for Piano, Cello, and Flugelhorn
I was speaking of Bill Mays - wasn’t I? I must tell you about this exciting project that Bill brought to fruition. In the June 2004 Cadenzas - Edition XIV, I wrote about Alisa Horn, the young cellist from Memphis, my hometown, whom I have known since she was a child. Alisa is now twenty-three years of age, and is finishing her master’s certificate in cello at Northwestern University. Alisa’s father, Dr. Howard Horn, and I have been friends since I was sixteen, and I am close with all of the Horn family. Having listened to Alisa play as she grew up, I have always wanted to do a performance with her.
Bill Mays and I played for the University of Memphis Jazz Week in February 2004. Howard and his wife Jan invited us to have Sunday brunch with them at their home. Alisa was there on college break at the time, and I really wanted Bill to hear Alisa play. It was in my mind for several years to propose that Bill compose something for us – an extended piece for cello, piano, and flugelhorn. I thought the three of us would be an amazing combination, but I couldn’t propose such a project without Bill’s having an opportunity to hear Alisa play. I knew when he did he would be excited by her musicianship.
To quote my past article, “Alisa first played an unaccompanied Bach cello suite for us. I then asked her to play Ernest Bloch’s ‘Schelomo,’ a marvelous piece that she performed on her senior recital. Well - that was it for Bill! He asked what else she knew, and Alisa told him she had done the Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata. Alisa asked Bill to play with her, though the accompaniment is very difficult - as difficult as the solo cello part. Bill is fearless - never afraid to try anything; music is great fun to him, so he agreed with no trepidation whatsoever. As they waded through the Rachmaninoff, everyone there could feel their musical ‘coming together.’ It was a beautiful moment.”
We were all thrilled, and Bill and Alisa were immediately captivated with each other. When I proposed Bill’s composing a piece for the three of us, Bill was taken with the idea and said if he could acquire a commission to put aside the time to compose an extended work for the three of us, he would love to do so. Over time, Alisa’s dad and a good friend, Dr. Frank Osborne, granted the commission, and Bill set to work.
Bill finished composing the piece in mid-November and “Fantasy” - a three movement piece for piano, cello, and flugelhorn - came to life. “Fantasy” is written almost wholly in the classical style, but has sections of improvisation from all three instrumentalists throughout the three movements. It is truly a wonderful work, beautifully musical and expressive, giving each of the instruments its due and each instrumentalist an opportunity to shine.
Upon the composition’s completion, Bill informed me that, due to a project in which he had been recently involved, a number of hours of studio time was available to him at a recording facility in the Soho area of New York City. Bill wanted to record the piece as a presentation demo, hoping it might help us in acquiring performances. I suggested that if we came out this session with a master-quality recording of “Fantasy,” we should consider it as part of a CD to present to recording labels for release. With this in mind, Bill sent Alisa and me our respective parts so that we might be individually prepared for our coming together. We then set about arranging a time for Alisa to come to New York to rehearse and record the piece. We found a three-day period in mid-December convenient to all our schedules. This allowed for a full day of rehearsing together, with a day in between for cleaning up our individual parts before recording. If needed, it would also have allowed us the second day for another group rehearsal, but that proved unnecessary.
In the interim, Bill also arranged Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise” and Debussy’s “Girl with the Flaxen Hair” for the trio. From a prior recording session, Bill and I already had four excellent duo pieces “in the can,” also from the classical repertoire. If the new pieces turned out as we expected, everything taken together might be more than enough for a unique release featuring both the trio and the duo.
Alisa flew in on December 15 to rehearse with us at Bill’s Pennsylvania home. We took the second day to relax at my place and go through some individual parts. At noon on Saturday, December 17, we went into The Studio to record. The Studio is a small, but very comfortable recording facility in which to work. I asked our friend, Jack Cortner to produce the session; Jack, a most talented arranger and composer, has produced almost all of my CDs. He has a wonderful sense of balance during the recording process, ensuring that everyone stays on track and remains musically mindful of the overall picture.
The engineer, Masuo, and his assistant, “Agee,” worked quickly yet efficiently. They wasted no time getting excellent sounds on all the instruments, and we started recording almost immediately after the session’s set start time. At my request, we first recorded the second movement of “Fantasy.” With the exception of a few measures in the first movement, this was the only movement in which I really played the trumpet, I felt the results would be better by recording this movement, then moving on to the rest of the music that, with the above-mentioned exception, featured only the flugelhorn. It would also make things go smoother for the engineers in that they wouldn’t have to be concerned with change of sound and usage of various mutes.
The playing was wonderful! The “red light” was on and we were prepared. We became inspired by one another, and the music just flowed. We didn’t rush through anything, just took our time to make the music right! Whenever any one of us felt a need to re-do a piece, we were happy to accommodate. We were having a wonderful time playing this music together, and we wanted each other to be completely happy with the results. We recorded the three movements of “Fantasy,” the Rachmaninoff, and the Debussy in six hours. What came from this is a beautiful recording of all the pieces Bill composed and arranged for the trio.
This was an exhilarating experience for us all, and I feel we have something truly unique to offer audiences and a recording label. The three of us are very excited about this project, and we are committed to finding a venue at which to play the premiere. It seems the first might possibly be Alisa’s master’s recital at Northwestern this spring. My manager, Steven Gates, is also committed to finding chamber music series at which to perform this music. A number of these series are discovering the musical and audience value of presenting music that “crosses over the line.” We would present a full concert by the three of us, performing “Fantasy” and the other two pieces we recorded. Bill wants to arrange other music, also taken from classical literature that would fit with this program.
It is such a “high” to bring to life a project such as this. When three musicians of our caliber and experience feel such a strong connection to making music and can bring forth music like this, it is a real “turn-on!” I only hope that the powers-that-be can look beyond their fears of presenting something new and see the myriad possibilities we can offer. Today – who knows? Art and culture are in such a state of disarray, with “pap” and “crap” being the order of the day, that it is sometimes difficult for me to maintain a strong positive outlook. But believing in this project and these musicians as I do, maybe in the midst of all this mediocrity we will find some bright and enterprising person or persons who love art and artistry, who will recognize this for what it truly is – music that has substance and the ability to reach out and touch audiences.