Hello friends;
Summer is almost upon us although Northern California has had more than it's share of rainy weather, even this month. I'm looking forward to some great events which are listed below while celebrating the Gemini soujourn. A brief summary of my recent activities:
In January, I attended the NAMM show in Anaheim, CA. It's always a huge blowout of every musical instrument manufacturer and related products on the planet. It's always great to see friends and colleagues and try the newest products, then go and find ice for your tired, sore feet! Speaking of feet, I have since discovered the best invention for sore feet ever. Check out Gravity Defyer shoes. They use three springs which are similar to those used in earthquake shock protection in modern buildings. Found them in the SkyMall mag on the airplane.
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A couple of weeks later, The Solstice Trio played at Jazz in the Backroom@The Plaza Bistro where we will be playing again this Friday. We definitely had 'em dancing in the aisles and hope to do so again. The next day, Catey and I took the big bird to our favorite island get away, Maui. We hadn't been there in two years. Maui is, of course, one of the most beautiful spots in the world and always a very special treat for us. It turned out to have a number of musical treats in store, as well. I have been there many times and developed a warm relationship with the musical community there so I always feel quite welcome when I return. I was invited to record by the great Fulton Tashombe at his Wailuku studio. He and my good friend Robbie Ray and I hung out while I added some tracks to an album he was producing. Fulton also very kindly loaned me his Yamaha tenor to play while I was on the island. Afterwards, we went around the corner to Cafe Marc Aurel where owner/drummer Mike Buono was hosting a great group including saxophonist, David Choy, bassist Bob Harrison and keyboardist Sal Godinez. They invited me up to play a couple and David let me use his Selmer MKVI which I actually liked playing a lot (sorry Fulton). Don't let anyone tell you that there isn't burning jazz on Maui. There was that night. That Sunday I played the session at Canoes with Brian Cuomo on piano, Bob Harrington on bass, Paul Marchetti on drums and the leader, trumpeter John Maritano. Paul invited me to play with his group including the great Shiro Mori and Fulton Toshambe on keyboards at Mulligan's on the Blue down in Wailea the following Saturday night. All the gigs were a blast and at other times I sat in at the Cool Cat Cafe with Marv Blue, Shiro, Bob and others. Of course in between, we enjoyed the fabulous Maui sunsets, snorkeling, whale watching on the sea and shore and just the wonderful Aloha spirit.
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The month of May had some great experiences for me. On May 13, I went to Zellerbach auditoium to here the truly great Sonny Rollins who was kicking off his 80th birthday tour. It was, of course a major concert and featured the return of, possibly, the best drummer that's played with Sonny since Al Foster, Kobie Watkins. it also featured Russell Malone, in his first gig with Sonny, percussionist Victor See-Yuen and long time bassist Bob Cranshaw. To say Sonny was happening would be a vast understatement. He's one of the few players that can send a jolt of electricity up my spine. He was doing just that from the first tune. Click here to read Richard Scheinlin's wonderful review of the concert. Couldn't have said it better myself. After the concert, I got to hang out with Sonny and trade Benny Carter stories. I thanked him for his cameo in the Benny Carter Tribute video as produced by Bret Primack, the Jazz Video Guy. Sonny's gracious response was "any friend of Benny Carter's is a friend of mine." Made my year!
I attended the first annual Jazz Education Network Conference in St. Louis in May. Having been a veteran of many NAJE and IAJE conferences, this conference was a very different experience. Around 1,200 educators, musicians and music merchants attended. The conference was hosted by The University of Missouri at St. Louis and their Jazz Director Jim Widner. Current President Mary Jo Papich and President elect Dr. Lou Fischer were everywhere and amiable and accessible. The meetings were open to members and sported real transparency. The merchant booths were held in less crowded spaces including individual rooms for some. This was a huge improvement over the IAJE method of herding them, usually in a basement, with all sorts of cacophony going on. In general, it was far easier to have solid exchanges with old friends and colleagues. I felt many more solid connections were made. The clinics were useful and well presented in a reasonable way that wasn't a burden on trying to find and attend. The concerts were very good and held in the school's auditorium which was a huge upgrade over the typical hotel fare. Jam sessions were held each evening in the lobby of the Hilton which happened to be where I was staying and were open to players so I made good use of the opportunity. This was also very different from the "closed" jams at the IAJE conferences. In general the feeling was very inclusive and welcoming. As Dr. David Baker said more than once, "the Phoenix has risen from the ashes." It was a great start and I'm looking for ward to attending the next one in New Orleans the first week of January.
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Friday Evening, June 4, 2010 - MEL MARTIN and the SOLSTICE TRIO@Jazz in the Backroom@The Plaza Bistro 420 First Street East Sonoma, CA 95476 phone 707.996.4466 w/ Robb Fisher - bass and Jeff Marrs - drums 7-10PM
Sunday Afternoon, June 6, 2010 - MEL MARTIN and the SOLSTICE TRIO@ The Bliss Bar 4026 24th Street, SanFrancisco, CA 94114 (415) 826-6200 w/ Ratzo Harris - bass and Jeff Marrs - drums 4:30-7:30PM $10
Sunday Afternoon, August 22, 2010 - THE MEL MARTIN ALL-STAR BIG BAND featuring special guest vocalist Jamie Davis @ The Douglas Beach House, El Granada, CA 4-8PM (650) 726-4143 $35-40 info@bachddsoc.org Directions Tickets
This gig will mark the return of my big band, many new charts and the attitude: when the going gets tough...the tough get bigger! Also, this is the first time my big band has appeared at the famed Bach venue which I have been playing at for nearly 40 years. I started when I was five. NOT TO BE MISSED!
Wednesday Afternoon, September 15 -THE MEL MARTIN BAND@The Oakland City Center - 12th St. Oakland City Center Station is in the heart of Downtown Oakland, near historic Old Oakland and Oakland's Chinatown. Free Concert Directions featuring Brad Buethe - guitar, Robb Fisher - bass and Jeff Marrs - drums.
We'll be playing music from our recent CD "Where The Warm Winds Blow."
Saturday Afternoon, September 18, 2010 - MEL MARTIN @ The Hot Springs Jazz Festival - Details TBA
"Full of marvelous moments that guarantee the pleasure of any jazz fans. A must-have item."
Jazz Station- ARNALDO DESOUTEIRO'S Blog Jazz, Bossa and Beyond
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"This new release by multi-reed player Mel Martin is a sonic delight."
Bob Bernotas - Just Jazz Newsletter
Reviews: Jazz.com, Audiophile Audition, Billboard, Jazz Society of Oregon
It is quite different from anything I've recorded since the early '90s and is reminiscent in ways to my early Listen recordings but with much more of a jazz slant. It was recorded in July when the great jazz pianist Don Friedman came out from New York to do a California tour with my group including guitarist Brad Buethe, bassist Robb Fisher and drummer extrordinaire Jeff Marrs. Besides Don, special guests include John Santos on percussion and Barry Finnerty on guitar. The repertoire is broad and varied from the Latin-tinged Rhythm Man (Do Not Disturb) to the contemporary classical piece with a jazz breakout In The Stars by Stephen Melillo, I Have A Dream by the great Herbie Hancock including my adaptation for woodwinds of his original horn arrangement, the funky, Bitches Brew style of Silly Hawk Walk, a beautiful live version of Blue In Green, George Russell's inventive take on Love For Sale: Ezz-Thetic, The great Benny Carter composition Where The Warm Winds Blow, my personal tribute in 6/8 to my lovely wife Catey: To Catey With Love, and the chestnut Victor Young composition Weaver of Dreams. On many of the pieces, I overdubbed special woodwind arrangements appropriate to the particular composition or just featured the sextet and quartet. I'm very excited about getting it out there and hope that you will enjoy it.
