SMV Comes to the Regency

In an era where sports fantasy leagues are all the rage comes a real-life historic teaming that serious music fans and bass players have long dreamed of. Last Tuesday night at the Regency on Van Ness, saw the incredible bass trio "SMV", featuring musical titans Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten. This unique alliance of three generations of bass gods has been on chat room and fan gathering wish lists for over 15 years, kept alive by periodic statements from all three that schedules permitting they would give it a go. Finally, in October 2007, with Clarke set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from Bass Player magazine, at its annual Bass Player Live! event in New York City, Miller and Wooten made the time to attend and induct their mentor. The ensuing VSOP jam not only blew the minds of the 900 in attendance, it cemented for the trio their inherent musical chemistry and thus the viability of pursuing the project in earnest. As a result, in January 2008, SMV entered the studio to record a CD and put together a summer/fall tour.

The three recall their first performance and the sessions for their disc. Says Clarke, “The second we started ‘School Days’ at the Bass Player event I knew it was historical for us and the audience. Marcus and Victor are so intuitive, and we each found our range. Marcus was slamming down the groove and Victor started playing these harmonics chords, and I was like, man, this is so bad-ass! When you have that amount of knowledge, respect and love it always creates clarity in the music.” Wooten admits, “To work with Stanley and Marcus has been a dream come true for me. We’ve each brought in tunes for the CD that allow plenty of space and interpretation from the other guys. It’s been pretty funny, with Marcus and I imitating each other and doing our Stanley licks. Best of all, the project is very musical; the bass heroics are there, but people are going to be surprised at how musical it is.” Adds Miller, “That was important; we didn’t want to just have everyone bangin’ away at the bass. In fact, we’ve had to encourage each other to play with more technique at times. The most interesting aspect has been hearing the distinct sound of our basses—which people all know from our albums—side by side. For me, it’s like listening to the history and evolution of the instrument; it’s really amazing.” Clarke sums up, “Considering we’re three guys playing the same instrument, it’s going to be a real revelation for folks. You’ll hear the electric bass in particular with some whole other possibilities. It’s a great new day for the bass.”

To their credit, all three members of SMV are equally adept at innovation and collaboration. Stanley Clarke is nothing short of a living legend, having liberated the bass the way Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker had liberated their instruments before him. Born in the bass-rich burg of Philadelphia, Clarke headed to New York City right out of college, as a classically-trained acoustic bass virtuoso. There, he quickly made his mark on the jazz scene gigging with Stan Getz, Joe Henderson and Horace Silver, before joining Getz pianist Chick Corea to form the seminal, Grammy®-winning fusion outfit, Return To Forever, in 1972. As the band took more of an electric focus (with Al DiMeola and Lenny White), Clarke not only split his time between upright and electric bass guitar, he launched the high-end boutique bass guitar market via his use of custom-made Alembic basses.

Having touched on performing his own music and bandleading as a teen, and taking issue with the bass being viewed as more of a support than a solo instrument, Clarke released a string of solo albums, starting with Children of Forever, in 1973. Three years later came the watermark bass disc, “School Days,” with its title track serving as the first bonafide “bass anthem.” Clarke also extended the range of the electric bass upward, inventing the piccolo and tenor basses in an effort to speak in the range of his musical hero, John Coltrane.

With his solo career in place, Clarke moved on to more acclaimed pairings, including the Clarke/Duke project (with keyboardist George Duke), the New Barbarians (with Keith Richards and Ron Wood), appearances on two Paul McCartney albums (including co-writing “Hey, Hey” with McCartney), Animal Logic (with Police drummer Stewart Copeland) and Rite of Strings (with Jean-Luc Ponty and Al DiMeola). The late-’80s brought new opportunites, as Clarke was hired to score the TV series Pee Wee’s Playhouse. This led to his first movie score, Boyz ’N’ the Hood, and what has become his second career as an acclaimed film composer. Additional notable soundtracks include Passenger 57, What’s Love Got to Do with it, Poetic Justice, The Transporter and the Showtime series, Soul Food.

Having stated repeatedly that the bass is a permanent, internal part of him, Stanley Clarke continues to live up to his moniker, the Lord of the Low Frequencies. Of late, he has been on the road with the Clarke/Duke Band, Rite of Strings, McCoy Tyner, and his own group; and he has the highly-anticpated Return To Forever reunion tour launching in June. Recently-signed to Heads Up International, Clarke has released the DVD, Night School, a star-studded tribute concert touching on all aspects of his extraordinary career, and Toys of Men, his commercially and critically-acclaimed war-conscious CD.

Striking a chord with music fans and music critics has been a consistent thread through Marcus Miller’s Grammy®-winning career. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Miller was raised among jazz royalty (his second cousin is Miles Davis-pianist Wynton Kelly) in nearby Jamaica, Queens. Inspired by his father, church organist William Miller, Miller played piano, organ, clarinet and sax, before gravitating to bass guitar by age 13, in order to get into local bands. He made his pro debut at 16, with flautist Bobbi Humphrey, and then hit the road with drummer Lenny White. Upon returning, Miller planted key seeds: In addition to cracking New York’s lucrative jingle and session scene, he joined the bands of Saturday Night Live and Roberta Flack, where he met David Sanborn and Luther Vandross. Both men quickly tapped Miller’s writing, producing, and multi-instrumental gifts for a steady string of hit records and tours. Soon after, Miles Davis came calling, leading to six albums, three of which Miller produced, most notably the landmark Miller-written and produced Tutu.

Firmly established as a producer, Miller guided recordings by Vandross (including the 1991 Grammy® winning R&B Song of the Year, “Power of Love/Love Power”), Flack, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, Wayne Shorter and Al Jarreau, while contributing killer bass lines (his peers nicknamed him the Thumbslinger) to discs by Donald Fagen, the Brecker Brothers, Grover Washington, Jr., Paul Simon, Don Grolnick, Was (Not Was) and countless others. He also formed the Jamaica Boys (with Lenny White and Mark Stevens) and broke into film composing with scores for Siesta, House Party and Boomerang.

Finally, in 1992, Miller turned his focus to his solo career with the release of The Sun Don’t Lie. Featuring his most unmistakable musical voice—his ’76 Fender Jazz Bass—Miller accepted the torch passed on by Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius and reignited the spark for solo bass albums, setting a new standard in the process. Miller’s seven subsequent solo efforts include the Grammy®-winning M2, in 2001 (making him the only solo bassist to have ever won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album), plus the biographical DVD, Master of All Trades. Creatively, Marcus Miller continues to keep multiple irons in the fire, scoring films and the Chris Rock TV show, Everybody Hates Chris, hosting the North Sea and Playboy Jazz Cruises—all while keeping up a rigorous touring pace for his latest CD, Marcus.

Like Marcus, “Victor” is the lone name needed among bass fans to identify the last great hero of the instrument, Victor Wooten. And also like Miller, Wooten’s musical reach goes far beyond the four-string. Born in Idaho to a military family, and raised on the island of Oahu and on the West Coast, Wooten received bass lessons at age 3 from his brother Regi. By the time he was 5, he had made his stage debut with his four older brothers. As The Wootens, they spent the ’70s opening for high-profile acts like Curtis Mayfield and War, before the family settled in Newport News, Virginia in the early ’80s. There, the brothers landed steady gigs at Busch Gardens theme park, in Williamsburg, and began to meet musicians from Nashville and New York.

In 1988, Wooten moved to Nashville , working with vocalist Jonell Mosser and meeting New Grass Revival banjo ace Béla Fleck. Within a year, Fleck, Wooten, Wooten’s brother Roy (a.k.a. Futureman) and Howard Levy formed the Flecktones, and were on their way to their first of three Grammys® to date. Wooten continued his bass focus, first forming Bass Extremes with fretless 6-string savant Steve Bailey, and then releasing the shot heard ’round the bass world: his remarkable 1996 solo debut, A Show of Hands. Meanwhile, seemingly everyone wanted the award-and poll-winning bassist on their project, leading Wooten to recordings and/or tours with artists like Branford Marsalis, Dave Matthews, Bruce Hornsby, Prince, Mark O’Connor, Gov’t Mule, Susan Tedeschi, Bill Evans, Vital Tech Tones (with Scott Henderson and Steve Smith) the Jaco Pastorius Word Of Mouth Big Band and India.Arie.

Additionally, Wooten took major steps forward in the field of education, offering music and life lessons though his popular Bass Nature Camps in his home base of Tennessee, and his enlightening novel, The Music Lesson. Presently, Wooten is maintaining his dual solo/sideman pace, regularly hitting the road and studio with the Flecktones (who have released a dozen albums), Mike Stern and Chick Corea’s Elektric Band. With each of his six solo CDs, Victor Wooten has expanded his musical focus and knack for genre-uniting, via his songwriting, producing and multi-instrumental skills—all while retaining his beacon bass playing. This has never been more evident than on his brand new release, Palmystery.

All things considered, SMV appears destined for greatness from the ground up. Perhaps the prospects for the band are best summed up by American Idol’s Randy Jackson, a top bassist himself and a friend to all three: “You’re talking about the three giants of their generations. I can’t wait to hear what those guys come up with!” So keep and eye and an ear out again for SMV, sure to pack this summer and fall’s most powerful one-two-three punch!

The Paul and John Comes to the Rockit Room

This Saturday night, two of my favorite musicians will join forces and debut their recent collaboration at the Rockit Room on Clement Street. "The Paul And John", is a new project by guitarist John Moremen in collaboration with fellow songwriter Paul Myers. They'll be playing songs from their upcoming album "Inner Sunset". The lineup for this show will be John Moremen - Guitar & Vocals, Paul Myers- Guitar & Vocals, Mike Levy - Bass, Daniel Swan - Drums. This show is also part of the International Pop Overthrow Festival. Also on the bill are good friends The Bobbleheads and the Corner Laughers. The duo informs that, "Since we are old people, we go on at 7:30pm." The full lineup is: 7:30 The Paul And John 8:00, Sentinel 8:30, Pleasure Trip 9:00, Eric Friedmann and The Lucky Rubes 9:30, Walter Clevenger and The Dairy Kings 10:00, The Corner Laughers 10:30, The Bobbleheads 11:00, The Brink 11:30, and the Preoccupied Pipers. In the words of my man Dean Preston, "Don't Miss This!"

"A true journeyman, Moremen has had a varied pop-oriented career, playing at various times with Half Japanese, The Neighbors, (Jimmy Silva's) Goat 5, and The Orange Peels (as their drummer!) in between his own solo side projects. While a powerhouse lead guitar player and more than capable songwriter, Moremen's proficiency at drums adds a lot of rhythmic backbone to his playing, adding an unmistakable quality to his fretwork that bolsters his soloing above the ordinary. Mind you, he is not a guitar wanker on the Malmsteen bandwagon. Moremen plays concise pop songs with a minimum of baggage but maximum hooks and brief, striking guitar leads that cut to the point and leave you breathless, wanting more. Even though Moremen seemingly gets too bogged down in other bands to put a full-length album together, this 4-song EP has a plethora of hooks and packs as much melodic wallop as anything put out today by the so-called power pop mafia. Very melodic and rocking."--scott homewood (aiding & abetting)

In 2008 Myers got together with John Moremen, to form THE PAUL AND JOHN and recording is under way in the Bay Area for their tuneful collaboration. Myers was born in Toronto, where his band THE GRAVELBERRYS made a bit of noise in the mid-90's. He moved to San Francisco in '97, continued to keep his hand in music while simultaneously developing as a journalist and author. In the Fall of 2007, Myers launched www.pulmyears.com. Pulmyears is an anagram of the name "paul myers". In the spring of 2008, his critically acclaimed "Pulmyears Music Blog" went live: http://pulmyears.wordpress.com/. A must read for music fans and part of my daily diet. Apocryphally, Paul was a founder member of the world's least successful Beatles cover band, "1972" who dramatically recreate the Beatles during the time they were suing each other and not speaking. (Paul played dual roles of George Harrison and legal counsel David Jacobs) As for ACTUAL accomplishments, Paul was asked to write the authorized biography of his pals, Barenaked Ladies which was published in two countries under the title: BARENAKED LADIES: PUBLIC STUNTS PRIVATE STORIES.

In 2001 Myers went on six month journey through Asia and India, before relocating to Vancouver, BC where he continued to play sporadically while flourishing as a writer and broadcaster. Myers returned the Bay area in 2006, this time to the East Bay where he lives with his wife Liza and their cat, "Buddy Guy." Besides his work with GRAVELBERRYS, Myers has been recording for the last few years under the band name, FLAM! which is the moniker for his original electronic and instrumental compositions. (Drummers may know this, a Flam is the sound of one hit followed rapidly by another). Paul Myers' biography of seminal English bluesman Long John Baldry, IT AIN'T EASY: LONG JOHN BALDRY and the BIRTH of the BRITISH BLUES, was published in Fall 2007 by Greystone Books and is distributed in the USA by PGW.

Should be a great evening y'all!

THE PAUL AND JOHN
International Pop Overthrow Festival
August, 16 2008 at The Rockit Room
406 Clement Street, San Francisco, California 94121
Cost : $10.00

The Yellow Jackets featuring Mike Stern Comes to Yoshi's

According to some basic, undeniable laws of nature, when two powerful forces collide, something explosive will occur, and a dramatic transformation is likely to take place as a result. It’s a law that applies to every dynamic in the known universe, including jazz. It stands to reason, then, that when a formidable jazz quartet like the Yellowjackets convenes in the studio with a high-energy guitar virtuoso like Mike Stern, the resulting reaction will be a singular event – one that’s likely to create something entirely new on the jazz landscape. Their show last night and again tonight at the Yoshi's on Fillmore, was indeed, such a performance. This phenomenon was also captured on "Lifecycle", the new collaborative recording by the Jackets and Stern set for worldwide release on Heads Up International a division of Concord Music Group on May 20, 2008. The first Yellowjackets recording in 15 years to feature a guitar player, Lifecycle illustrates the kind of energy and creative brilliance that results when five talented players pool their individual talents as songwriters and musicians and merge into an entity that’s far greater than the sum of its parts.

After simmering for years, the idea for the project reached critical mass when Stern and the Jackets performed together at the Montreal Jazz Festival in the summer of 2007. “We’ve all been a fan of Mike’s for a long time,” says Yellowjackets keyboardist and charter member Russell Ferrante. “Our goal was to make a recording that sounded like Mike had been in the band forever, and I think we accomplished that. To my ears, it feels cohesive – like five musicians with a genuine rapport.”

From the Montreal dates in the heat of the summer to the studio sessions in rural New York State in January 2008, Stern felt the same sense of rapport. “The Yellowjackets are a great band,” he says. “I think we have a lot in common musically, and our playing together felt very natural right away. They’re the ideal collaborative team. It’s so easy to play with them because they play so well together.”

Lifecycle is, in some respects, two albums in one. Seven of the ten tracks are quintet pieces featuring Stern and the Jackets, while the remaining three are quartet pieces that showcase the individual and collective talents of the current Yellowjackets lineup: Ferrante, saxophonist Bob Mintzer, bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Marcus Baylor. Whatever the combinations and permutations, it’s all good. Mintzer contributes three tracks: the energetic opener, “Falken’s Maze,” the rhythmically complex “Yahoo,” and the easygoing “I Wonder.”

Stern’s soloing on all three of these tracks is tastefully executed and in perfect sync with Mintzer’s ambitious sensibilities. “Rhythmically, these songs were a challenge for me,” says Stern, “but I’m always up for a challenge. I don’t usually play in odd time signatures, but the rest of the guys made even the challenging situations comfortable, and I was able to lay down some good solos for Bob’s compositions.”

“Mike is such a great musician,” says Mintzer. “I wrote these songs as a way to showcase what he can do, and once he got a hold of them, he took them to a whole new place. There’s a certain flexibility that you need to have when you write for a band like this. You have to be ready for things to take a different direction. That’s definitely what has happened here, and it’s fantastic.”

More than just a highly skilled and versatile soloist, though, Stern contributes two songs to the mix – the syncopated and playful “Double Nickel,” followed immediately by the more somber “Dreams Go.”

Ferrante contributes the introspective “Measure of a Man” and the gently melodic “Claire’s Closet,” both written for the quartet without guitar. “I think the quartet pieces offer a contrast to the more high-octane pieces that feature the guitar,” says Ferrante. “I was especially happy with ‘Claire’s Closet.’ Bob’s clarinet adds a very evocative quality to that song.”

Haslip’s contributions include the vaguely funky “Country Living,” along with “Lazaro,” an atmospheric piece that he co-wrote with Mintzer. “I had actually started writing ‘Lazaro’ for a solo record, but in the end, the piece had kind of a Jackets vibe to it,” Haslip explains. “I thought it would be interesting to finish it with Bob’s help, and he came up with some great stuff. I think that piece is a really fine collaboration.”

Holding down the diversity of songwriting, the unusual time signatures and the subtle rhythmic shadings is Baylor, the relative newcomer who marks his seventh year as the Jackets’ drummer. “As the drummer, you have to be able to colorize the tunes,” he says. ‘There are a lot of textures that go into playing with a band like this. There are a lot of subtle points in any given composition. Playing the drums in a band like this is almost like putting accents on a painting.”

But the release of Lifecycle in May is just the beginning of a picture that will continue to evolve throughout most of 2008. With the success of last year’s Montreal Jazz Festival gigs, and armed with a new album that captures that onstage magic, Stern and the Yellowjackets will hit the road together later in the year for a series of U.S. and European tour dates in support of the album.

“I can’t wait to play some of this music in concert with Mike,” says Haslip. “He’s a great artist with so much enthusiasm, and we’re honored to have had the chance to make a record like this with him. For a good part of this year, the Yellowjackets will be a quintet, and we’re very much looking forward to every minute of that experience.”

Before the performance at Yoshi's, Stern remarked to me that "It's cold in San Francisco!" We told him about Mark Twain's famed adage, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco..." He laughed and nodded. Later, following an incredible solo, we told him, "It's not cold anymore, you just burned the place up!!" Mintzer then called Stern, "inimitable", saying he needed big words to describe him!

Inimitable indeed!

Yellowjackets Featuring Mike Stern
Yoshi's San Francisco
August 6th - 8th and Yoshi's Oakland August 9th & 10th

Chris McNulty's Magic Trio Comes to the Healdsburg Jazz Festival

It's no secret that one of my favorite guitarists is none other fellow DC expatriate, Paul Bollenback. From his work with jazz legends like the late, great Stanley Turrentine, to the fabulous organist Joey DeFrancesco, Bollenback has become one of the most sought after musicians in jazz. Recently, he has been in the company of one of Australia's greatest singers, the incomparable Chris McNulty. McNulty demonstrates a finely honed improvisational sensibility delivered with an intense depth of feeling. Long a major jazz singer who has in recent times finally started to gain recognition for her talent, McNulty is one of the foremost singer-composers on the scene today. Her intonation and articulation are commanding and provide a preview for the level of musical excellence and creative artistry. Tonight, McNulty and her Magic Trio come to Healdsburg as part of a tour that brings this trio to the West Coast for the first time. The Magic Trio features McNulty on vocals, keyboard and percussion; Andrei Kondakov on piano, vocals and percussion; and Bollenback on guitar and percussion.

The Magic Trio features her versatile, soothing, swimming voice along with her writing and arranging skills and the writing and arranging chops of Bollenback plus his excellent guitar playing. Earlier this year the trio performed for three weeks throughout Russia, including appearances in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Ukraine at the first ever Kharkov Jazz festival. They will continue on to London's premier jazz club, Pizza Express, following their West Coast tour.

McNulty first visited New York City in 1985 and settled there in 1988 after being awarded an International Study Grant from the Australia Council. Since then Chris has garnered further accolades from critics, jazz musicians and fans alike. She has collaborated and performed with some of the finest musicians on the jazz scene today including: Gary Bartz, Bollenback, Gary Thomas, Mulgrew Miller, Ugonna Okegwo, John Hicks, Frank Wess, Ingrid Jensen, Terri-Lyne Carrington, Tim Garland, Tom Lellis, Billy Hart, Ed Howard, Jeff Ballard, Dave Pietro, Joe Locke, Peter Leitch, Tineke Postma, James Genus, , Matt Wilson, Jeff Tain Watts, David Fathead Newman, George Mraz, Kenny Washington, Steve Wilson, Joel Frahm, Gary Versace, David Budway, Harvey S and Tony Reedus.

In 1990, McNulty's debut recording in the States, Waltz For Debby (Discovery 1990), received outstanding reviews in several publications and features the official published lyric by McNulty of the great Miles Davis classic, Blue in Green. In 1994 McNulty was also honored to be selected as one of the six exceptional new jazz singers on the New York scene to be featured on the Venus recording, Big Apple Voices. She has gone on to record several CDs since then, A Time for Love (Amosaya 1996), I Remember You (Mop Top 2004- re-released on Elefant Dreams 2006), Dance Delicioso (Elefant Dreams 2005) and her most recent and highly acclaimed Whispers the Heart (Elefant Dreams 2006) which has been included on the Jazz Journalist Assocation's (JJA) list of Top 10 recordings of 2006. Her development over this period of time from lyricist to full fledged composer has been duly noted in major press reviews and articles.

McNulty has maintained an active profile and presence on the international scene as both performer and recording artist since 1991. Her magnetic performances have led to ever increasing festival dates around the world with a touring schedule that includes festival appearances in the UK (Brecon, Wales 2005) Ireland (Kilkenny 2005), Russia, Australia and Belize. In 2002 McNulty toured Russia with Bollenback and appeared in the very first St Petersburg Jazz Festival. They have since returned to Russia for several concert and club engagements. McNulty's recently completed 2007 global tour featured engagements at The Melbourne Jazz Festival with her ensemble (Australia 2007), Dundee (Scotland 2007), Adelaide, Australia with her Trio Delux project featuring her long time bassist, Ugonna Okego and collaborator/accompanist, Paul Bollenback), as well as the Kaluga Guitar Festival in Kaluga, Russia with Bollenback and Kondokov, once again in Trio Delux format. The tour also included a weekend engagement at London's Pizza on the Park, culminating in a 5 night engagement at Dizzy's Coca Cola Club at the Lincoln Center (NYC) (June 2007).

Her music has received major recognition on national radio throughout the States, UK, Australia, Ireland, Canada and Europe. Recent major features include Michael Jacobi's "Raising the Standards" at KRML Jazz Radio as well as Doug Spence's nationally syndicated program, The Nightly Planet from ABC Australia.

McNulty appears as a guest soloist on Bollenback’s Brightness of Being as well as his most recent release Invocation, releasing October 2007. McNulty's 6th release in the States, Whispers the Heart, features several new outstanding original works and arrangements including a string quartet written by Chris, along with featured guests including jazz great Frank Wess, Ingrid Jensen, Bollenback (Paul also shares executive and co-producing credits), Ed Howard, Dave Pietro, Tineke Postma, Gary Versace, Matt Wilson, Rogerio Boccato and Montez Coleman. McNulty also co-produced a Hip-Hop meets Jazz project with Bollenback and Chapter One.

McNulty's most recent release, Whispers the Heart, has garnered major accolades from the international press and radio as well as being voted one of the top ten releases of 2006 by Jazz Journalists Association's (JJA) Nancy Barrell. Bollenback's Invocation remained on the Jazz Week Charts for several months in 2007. As first call guitarist for such jazz great as Joey DeFrancesco, Gary Bartz, and Steve Gadd, Bol lenback's range and impressive discography speak for themselves. Multi faceted pianist, composer, vocalist, and percussionist Andrei Kondokov is a major jazz star in his native Russia, and currently co-leads the band 5 Corners as well as appearing alongside Russian saxophonist Igor Butman in concert halls and clubs throughout Russia, Europe, and the States.

McNulty, Bollenback, and Kondakov together weave a constantly surprising and fresh improvised sound that has been described as being "like children playing". The Magic Trio, in concert for the first time on the West Coast, is a performance not to be missed.


Chris McNulty's The Magic Trio, with Paul Bollenback and Andrei Kondakov
Friday, August 1
Palette Art Café
235 Healdsburg Ave.
Healdsburg, CA
8:00 p.m.