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Brad Myers & Michael Sharfe Sanguinaria (Hopefulsongs)
Street Date: March 3, 2017
(Colloquy Records 13214) The elements of interplay and synergy are fundamental to the essence of the finest jazz expression. With Sanguinaria (Hopefulsongs) the brilliant tandem of guitarist Brad Myers and bassist Michael Sharfe embrace these elements to perfection. What began as a musical conversation a few years ago when they began playing together in their hometown Cincinnati has flowered into full bloom with this stunning collaboration. And the blossoming metaphor is fully appropriate. In addition to our shared roots, for both of us, music was – has always been – in our blood. The bloodroot plant, whose delicate white flowers bloom in spring, is a metaphor for our collaboration. That the plant sometimes produces a rare double flower seemed symbolic of our duo format. When the plant’s root is pierced or broken, it bleeds a reddish sap, which also accounts for its Latin name Sanguinaria. Even more to the point, sanguine means hopeful and optimistic, and aria means an expressive melody or song – which brings us to the core of this beautifully expressive and compelling album. Twelve captivating songs – six by iconic jazz composers; four by Myers; and two provided by respected colleagues –receive enchanting interpretations, focused on beauty, joy and a powerful sense of hopeful inspiration. The mutual feelings of loving expressiveness and emotional warmth embodied by Brad and Mike through this music are palpable and uplifting – further enhanced by the remarkable virtuosity that is fully at their command. I think of the collaboration between Mike and me as a conversation and a dance. The essence of it, for me, is very yin and yang, but instead of one of us being yin to the other’s yang, each of us possesses both yin and yang. While there are four additional musicians participating in various places on the album – drummer/percussionists Dan Dorff Jr., Tom Buckley and Marc Wolfley on two or three pieces each, and Dan Karlsberg playing melodica on one – this is truly a pas de deux of aural motion with Myers on acoustic and electric guitars as well as guitar bongos; and Sharfe on double bass, fretless electric bass and percussion. That Brad has some experience as an electric bassist and Mike studied classical guitar adds another layer of understanding and sharing to the music. The way they stimulate and feed off each other is breathtaking, making it impossible to really tell what is arranged and what is essentially telepathic. Categories are pointless – ballads that aren’t just ballads; blues that aren’t simply blues; drivers that aren’t always drivers; and swing that isn’t only swing – as pieces shift and morph and transform from moment to moment without contrivance or disruption of the journey undertaken. Each song must be taken entirely on its own terms without any preconception. Outside of one splendid solo bass excursion and the consummate, ultra-sensitive supporting contributions of the guests, the listener should also dismiss standard notions of soloing and accompanying between Brad and Mike as they shift in and out of those modes as the moment and the story being told demands. Imagine a sumptuous Japanese meal, with a dozen dishes, each perfectly prepared to be all that it can be, but also crafted to complement and enhance each of the other dishes to both stand alone and in harmony – and that pretty well captures the heart and soul of this album. It makes one wish that there was some new form of technology that would allow you to shift back and forth between elements of each song the way one would sample different delights from each dish at will during the meal. The repertoire was selected with that same sense of harmony, imaginatively arranged by the two men either individually or together. The six pieces by the eminent jazz composers are conceived in an inspired original fashion while fully maintaining the integrity of the composers’ intent – Gerry Mulligan’s Line for Lyons in a walking groove; Steve Swallow’s Falling Grace alternating between unison and call-and-response; Jim Hall’s Waltz New as a vivid homage to his own many duo endeavors; Mike’s inspired double bass solo on Keith Jarrett’s Country; a Latin-ish 6/8 treatment of Vince Guaraldi’s Great Pumpkin Waltz; and a spirited jaunt in straightforward fashion on Dave Brubeck’s In Your Own Sweet Way that closes out the album. Two songs that were offered to Mike by their composers after performing together are Steve Cardenas’ New Moon, a beautiful balled that begins like a gentle rain and brews into a bit of a storm; and A Feeling Inspired by Maria, a deeply beauteous paean by Paul Bollenback that is recorded here for the very first time. Myers’ four compositions include the title tune that opens the album in rubato before taking a decidedly Brazilian turn with touches of Bach and Stevie Wonder in tow; the light and playful bounce on In from Somewhere that re-imagines Out of Nowhere; the deliciously suspended and rapid fire line of Norm’s Ridge inspired by Myers’ major influence, Pat Metheny; and the grooving Bentley’s Blues reprised from Myers’ acclaimed previous album, the outstanding Prime Numbers. At a time in our world where hope is a most precious and needed substance, the extraordinary Sanguinaria (Hopefulsongs) is a marvelous way to obtain some.
Brad Myers & Michael Sharfe Sanguinaria (Hopefulsongs)
(Colloquy Records 13214) Street Date: March 3, 2017 Brad Myers - Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Guitar Bongos (Sanguinaria) Michael Sharfe - Double Bass, Fretless Electric Bass (Norm’s Ridge), Percussion (Sanguinaria, Great Pumpkin Waltz, and Maria) with special guests Dan Dorff, Jr. - Drums and Cymbals (Norm’s Ridge, In From Somewhere, and Falling Grace) Tom Buckley - Drums and Cymbals (New Moon, Maria, and In Your Own Sweet Way) Marc Wolfley - Percussion (Great Pumpkin Waltz and Maria) Dan Karlsburg - Melodica (Sanguinaria) For more information, visit www.MusicByBrad.com National Press Campaign Jim Eigo Jazz Promo Services Ph: 845-986-1677 jim@jazzpromoservices.com www.jazzpromoservices.com |
| Jazz Stories with Bernard Purdie & David Haney February 4th Joe's Pub Tickets Now On Sale! $20.00 Doors at 6PM Show at 7:30PM The Public Theater 425 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10003 General Info: 212.539.8500 Tickets: 212.967.7555 |
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Jazz Stories combines the swinging exciting music with legend Bernard Purdie and company plus some great stories retold by David Haney.
Haney talked to each of these artists and had them to recount the
following stories for Cadence Magazine: Sonny Rollins, The Bridge
Story; John McLaughlin's story about recording with Miles Davis; Gunter
Hampel remembers Thelonious Monk; Steve Swallow recalls his trip to
Jamaica with Herbie Nichols; Dominic Duval on Charles Mingus; and of
course Bernard Purdie breaks down the Purdie Shuffle.
Bernard Purdie, drums
David Haney, piano and narration Adam Lane, bass Steve Swell, trombone Nora McCarthy, vocals Kat Modiano, flute & special guests
BERNARD PURDIE the
world’s most recorded drummer, was born June 11, 1939 in Elkton,
Maryland as the eleventh of fifteen children. Purdie moved to New York
in 1960 after finishing high school and played with (among others),
Lon-nie Youngblood before landing his first hit with King Curtis. This
led to his engagement with Aretha Franklin in 1970 - the beginning of an
unparalleled career. Since then, Purdie has been a regular guest in the
studios of the stars of Jazz, Soul, and Rock, working together with
Paul Butterfield as well as Larry Coryell, Miles Davis, Hall &
Oates, Al Kooper, Herbie Mann, Todd Rundgren and Cat Stevens, as well as
regularly producing his own solo albums under his own name.
Pianist DAVID HANEY studied composition with Czech American composer Tomas Svoboda and piano with jazz pianist Eddie Wied. As music editor for Cadence Magazine, David interviewed over 60 jazz artists for the Jazz Stories project. The following artists have worked and recorded with David: Roswell Rudd, Julian Priester, John Tchicai, Steve Swell, Roy Campbell, Bud Shank, Wolter Weirbos, Han Bennink, Andrew Cyrille, Bernard Purdie, Marvin Bugulu Smith, Ger-ry Hemingway, Dylan Van de Schiff, Buell Neidlinger, Dominic Duval, Adam Lane, Michael Bisio, Paul Blaney, Perry Robinson, Johannes Bauer. As a leader, Haney has over 20 albums on CIMP-USA, Cadence-USA, SLAM-UK, NoSe-So-Argentina, La Gorda-Argentina, Canada Jazz Studio-Canada. ADAM LANE By combining a disparate set of influences into a unique improvisational voice, Adam Lane has become recognized as one of the most original creative voices in contemporary jazz. His 2006 recording New Magical Kingdom, was recent-ly featured in the Penguin Jazz Guide 1001 Best Records Ever Made, and his most recent recording, Ashcan Ranting received a myriad of critical praise including four stars in Downbeat. “Lane’s music is genuine, accessible, fun. The music is deeply in touch with the essential pleasures of earwig-worthy tunes, fat bluesy grooves, and sheer tonal beauty.” (Downbeat Jan 2011)
"Haney
and Purdie fit together like interlocking parts of a jigsaw puzzle...
These two makes a really strong and fascinating team." Cadence Magazine
"I’m very happy to have worked with Dave Haney. That’s number one. Dave did a thing for me. He actually brought me back to creativity. Just doing things wild – I mean all of the unexpected stuff that you can possibly think of. And it got me thinking: wow, I haven’t done this in 30-35 years!” - Interview with Bernard Purdie, Oregon Music News "Haney tells these tales with the dramatic flair of a Garrison Keillor.." Cadence Magazine |
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A very special appearance by jazz maestro Monty Alexander.
“Looking Back,” will be a retrospective of his celebrated career with his dynamic Trio,the Harlem–Kingston Express and many special guests too. MONTY ALEXANDER: Looking back January 31- February 1 Revisiting "That's the Way it is” 1969 Remembering Milt Jackson / Ray Brown Quintet w/ Monty Alexander Featuring Warren Wolf - vibraphone Ron Blake - tenor sax Hassan Shakur -bass Jason Brown -drums February 2 Revisiting Montreux '77 (Jazz at the Philharmonic) Remembering Dizzy Gillespie / Milt Jackson / Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis w/ Monty Alexander Featuring: Dominick Farinacci - trumpet Andrae Murchison - trombone Warren Wolf-vibraphone Ron Blake -tenor sax Hassan Shakur -bass Jason Brown -drums February 3 Monty Alexander - Harlem Kingston Express Revisiting Jamaica's Studio 1 Featuring: Andrae Murchison - trombone Ron Blake -tenor sax Dominick Farinacci - trumpet Karl Wright - drums / percussion Andy Bassford -guitar JoshuaThomas - el. bass Hassan Shakur - bass Jason Brown - drums February 4 Monty Alexander - Harlem Kingston Express Revisiting Jamaica's Studio 1 Featuring: Andrae Murchison - trombone Wayne Escoffery -tenor sax Karl Wright - drums / percussion Andy Bassford - guitar JoshuaThomas - el. bass Hassan Shakur - bass Jason Brown - drums |
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