Oregon's "Prime"

I first enjoyed the original Oregon, during an "ECM Festival", at Washington, D.C.'s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Alongside Gary Burton, a young Pat Matheny, Eberhard Weber, John Abercrombie and Jack Dejohnette, Oregon truly shined. Thirty five years, and dozens of recordings later, the incredible jazz quartet Oregon will be releasing their latest effort, the eagerly awaited "Prime". Led by three of their original members, guitarist and keyboardist Ralph Towner, Bolinas-based Paul McCandless on reeds, and bassist Glenn Moore, Oregon's "Prime" follows the success of their Grammy winning "Oregon in Moscow" and "Live at Yoshi's". Oregon has continued, rather admirably following the tragic death of original percussionist Colin Walcott during their 1984 European tour. Walcott had ironically suggested that the great Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu could make a fine addition to the group, and after his death, Gurtu joined Oregon for three albums, "Ecotopia", "45th Parallel" and "Always, Never and Forever". With the departure of Gurtu to John McLaughlin's band, Oregon added percussionist Mark Walker, first heard on their 1997 release, "Northwest Passage", and to date, the longest-standing addition since Walcott.

"Prime", is due to be released January 23rd. "All About Jazz" reviewer John Kelman, writing about it's imminent arrival, said that "Given most marriages don’t last 35 years, the fact that three of perennially genre-busting group Oregon’s four founding members have remained together so long—and there’s little doubt that if Colin Walcott had not tragically died in a car accident in ’84, he’d still be around too—is truly remarkable. Sure, there are a few old warhorse rock and roll bands like the Rolling Stones who’ve been around longer. But given the mercurial and significantly less-recompensable nature of jazz, guitarist/pianist Ralph Towner, woodwind multi-instrumentalist Paul McCandless, and bassist Glen Moore’s ability to continue to evolve and find new things to say makes them a definite anomaly in the jazz landscape."

"Their latest release also features more recent recruit Mark Walker, who, having been with the group since ‘97’s Northwest Passage, is Oregon's longest-standing percussionist since Walcott’s untimely passing. Prime demonstrates just how they’ve taken influences from a variety of spaces over the years—jazz, folk, classical, ethnic music of India and Brazil, and more—and integrated them in ways that eliminate delineation, developing a unique language imitated but never copied. Their strongest album in years, Prime also reconnects the group with recording engineer Jan Erik Kongshaug and Rainbow Studio in Oslo, Norway. This is the first time they’ve recorded there since their short tenure with the ECM label in the mid-‘80s, and the result is an album whose sonic excellence matches its exceptional writing and performances.

As always, Towner provides the lion’s share of the writing. It's as much about his unique way of voicing as specific melodic and rhythmic concerns, and it remains instantly recognizable but never predictable. In its pastoral folksiness, “If” bears some resemblance to earlier pieces like “Green and Golden,” but its odd meter and deceptively difficult changes provide characteristic yet fresh grist for Towner and McCandless’ advanced improvisational acumen, which remains uncannily lyrical in the face of harmonic adversity.

And while some have accused Oregon of becoming softer and less edgy over the years, Towner’s three-part “Monterey Suite,” some of his best writing in recent years, lays waste to that suggestion. While lacking the sharp angularity of some of his earlier work, the complex nature of the first part, “Dark,” still comes from a shadowy place similar to “Distant Hills,” even as Walker’s kit work gives it less idiosyncratic but more dynamically-building forward motion. The second movement, “Tammurriata,” vividly proves that Towner’s creative sense of counterpoint is still intact.

As always, a number of brief free pieces act almost as way stations along the disc’s greater narrative arc, and it has the same inherent sense of purpose that has always differentiated Oregon's spontaneous improvisations, which are more about texture and ambience than mere notes and pulses.

Moore contributes two pieces, most notably a reprise of “Pepe Linque” from ‘85’s Crossing which, with Walker’s shuffle beat and Towner’s blues/gospel piano, is the closest Oregon has ever come to boogie. Proof that, with Prime, despite the kind of familiarity that can only come from so many years together, Oregon still has more than a few tricks up its sleeve."

I will always have long time friend and WPFW's "G Strings" host Tom Cole, to thank for my continued love of Oregon. The recent recordings of Towner on Bill Bruford's "If Summer Had It's Ghosts" with Eddie Gomez, and McCandless' work on several Bela Fleck and the Flecktones albums, notably "Live at the Quick", has made me hungry for this newest effort. Based on what I have heard so far, I too, am truly "primed".

Ahmad Jamal Comes to Yoshi's

The great jazz pianist-composer Ahmad Jamal will be performing at Yoshi's in Oakland, January 4th-8th. His most recent album, "After Fajr", was recorded live with his trio in France last year, and is considered one of his best. Recorded with bassist James Cammack, and the masterful Idris Muhammad on drums, his "Live in Baalbeck" DVD and the "L'Olympia 2000" CD concerts, are two of my personal favorites, and a must for Jamal fans. Jamal continues to tour throughout the world, as he has for the last five decades. Noted for his outstanding technical command and identifiable sound as a piano stylist, Jamal ranks as one of the most influential and popular artists in the history of jazz music.

He is one of the few jazz artists to sell over 1 million copies of an individual recording with "But Not For Me", which featured the huge hit "Poinciana", (Jamal's favorite Caribbean tree), which stayed on the charts for an unprecedented 108 weeks. Considering his trio "an orchestra," Jamal not only achieves a unified sound, but subtly inserts independent roles for the bass and drums. The hallmarks of his style are rhythmic innovations, colorful harmonic perceptions and the unique sense of space in his music, making his concepts exciting without being loud in volume.

The New York Times reviewer Ben Ratliff said of Jamal's "After Fajr", that the jazz pianist "knows how to get attention and reaction, and he has been tightening his rhetoric for more than 50 years. But the experience has grown more complicated. At the peak of his popularity, in the late 1950's, his trio played so precisely that its musicians sounded as if they were wired together, and Mr. Jamal kept veering between roars and pitter-patters; while other pianists drove percussively through complicated chord changes -- which somehow seemed more honest and authentic at the time -- he was criticized for sounding mannered." Mr. Jamal's playing has become more idiosyncratic and tumultuous. His new album, ''After Fajr'' (Dreyfus), recorded live with his trio in France last year, is one of his best.

The standard ''Time on My Hands,'' from the new record, describes how his old style has evolved. Jamal likes to play gentle, perfumed melodies as single notes in the high register of the keyboard. But then he balances them with darker, authoritative ringing tones from the lower end; he drawls and withdraws almost to the point of disappearing, then returns like a bulldozer, playing in a jacked-up, dislocating style. His music can be pushy and imperious, and he doesn't parse down to a recognizable aesthetic profile.

In his own pieces, like ''Manhattan Reflections,'' Jamal likes to use simple melodies, funk rhythms and vamps, and his trio, with bassist Cammack and the New Orleans native, drummer Muhammad, can keep them sounding fresh for a long time under his solos, while he unleashes his supply of short and fascinating diversions."

Steve Huey, of the "All Music Guide", wrote that Jamal was a "sorely underexposed figure and a major influence on Miles Davis. Jamal isn't generally ranked among the all-time giants of jazz, but he impressed fellow musicians and record buyers alike with his innovative, minimalist approach. Jamal's manipulations of space and silence, tension and release, and dynamics all broke new ground, and had an impact far beyond Jamal's favored piano trio format. As an arranger, Jamal made the most of his small-group settings by thinking of them in orchestral terms: using his trademark devices to create contrast and dramatic effect, and allowing the rhythm section a great deal of independence in its interplay. Nonetheless, his ensembles were always tightly focused as well, following their leader through sudden changes in tempo or time signature, and often carrying the main riff of a tune.

Jamal's own playing was a model of economy, because he didn't overwhelm listeners with his technique, his flashes of virtuosity had significantly more impact. His lines were spare and light, yet melodically and harmonically inventive, and driven by complex left-hand chord voicings that broke with Bud Powell's right-hand emphasis. A chamber-like sensibility and a classical formality permeated much of his playing, yet he swung like a jazzman without fail. Miles Davis greatly admired him, borrowing liberally from his repertoire and arrangements, and encouraging his pianist Red Garland to imitate Jamal's playing as closely as possible. Additionally, Jamal's concepts of space and subtlety greatly affected Davis in his own right, both as a soloist and as a bandleader who (as it's often put) let the music breathe."

Alongside my personal all-time jazz piano favorites, Oscar Peterson, Dave Brubeck, Thelonius Monk, McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Bill Evans, Joe Zawinul, Horace Silver, and Keith Jarrett, stands the fabulous Ahmad Jamal. The late jazz vocalist Shirley Horn and her trio of bassist Ed Howard and drummer Steve Williiams, raved to me last year about Jamal's work on Horn's last album, "May The Music Never End", (Jamal played on two songs, "Maybe September" and "This Is All I Ask"). Jamal also briefly toured Europe with them. A "real treat" Shirley told me, "I wish I had him all the time". Do yourself a favor, and treat yourself to one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time.

Ahmad Jamal at Yoshi's in Oakland
Wednesday, January 4 - Sunday, January 8
Wed, Thu 8:00pm Shows $20, 10:00pm Shows $14
Fri 8:00pm Show $24, 10:00pm $18
Sat Shows at 8:00pm & 10:00pm $24
Sun 2:00pm Matinee, $5 Kids, $15 Adult W/One Kid, $20 General
Sun 8:00pm Show $24

Bruford / Borstlap: Every Step A Dance, Every Word A Song

I first saw the duo of British drummer Bill Bruford and Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz in 1982, at New York City's now defunct Bottom Line, and later in 1983, at D.C.'s now defunct Bayou. Bruford and Moraz had released two albums, the acoustic "Music for Piano and Drums", and the electronic "Flags". Consequently, these recordings and others have been reissued on Bruford's new record labels: Summerfold and Winterfold. Now, on this new CD, "Every Step A Dance, Every Word A Song", and a DVD titled "In Concert In Holland", Bruford this time teams up with Dutch keyboard master Michiel Borstlap, in duets culled from their 2003-2004 European tour. Although the duo's efforts are rooted in jazz, there are hints of the progressive-rock/New Age flavor of "Flags", where Borstlap employs synthesizer for choruses and textures, and Bruford's well known polyrhythmic beats and syncopations that propel this beautiful musical journey.

The "Left of the Dial" reviewer Glenn Astarita, notes that "Borstlap primarily uses a grand piano as his instrument of choice via a potpourri of swing vamps, and sublime moments, while Bruford's shading exercises, add color and additional warmth. Highlights include segments where the duo expands themes and unexpectedly switch gears as they often instill a polytonal outlook during jazz standards such as Monk's "Bemsha Swing," for example.

The piece titled "Swansong," is a compelling opus that defines the artists' overriding sense of musical intimacy coupled with power and tenacity. Here, Borstlap executes slashing crescendos amid Art Tatum-like chord voicings, as the unit melds quaint balladry with bluesy passages. The fun factor continues with Bruford's drumming onslaught, which serves as a prelude of sorts, to Borstlap's shrewd use of a synth chorale voicing to finalize the piece. Simply stated, it's about synergy and singular techniques rooted with elements of joy and precision.

Bruford met Dutch pianist Michiel Borstlap in 2002, and they began playing duo shows that were less about the confines of structure and more about what Bruford terms "performance-based" music, music of the moment where spontaneity and interaction were the predominant factors.

Canadian Music reviewer John Kelman wrote that "while Bruford and Borstlap are still more concerned with form than, say, Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi-whose recent album with Paul Motian, Doorways , is another beast entirely-the reciprocation between the two jumps out from the first notes of the more structured "The 16 Kingdoms of the 5 Barbarians." Bruford's liner notes allude to the fact that the performance space impacts the nature of the musical dialogue-smaller rooms having "the intimacy of a dinner table conversation between old friends," while larger venues "naturally become a bit more muscular and assertive."

Still, on more introspective pieces including the title track, the anthem-like "Inhaling Shade," and an abstract, yet faithful reading of Monk's "Round Midnight," Bruford may gently assert the forward motion, but he's also become a masterful colourist. And while Borstlap's supplementing of his piano with electronic keyboards sometimes gives the duo a broader complexion, the subtleties of their exchange are never overshadowed by sheer demonstrativeness.

Every Step a Dance, Every Word a Song may not be as great a step forward for Borstlap, already a well-established European jazz figure, but it represents one more advance in the pursuit of a more instinctive and natural approach for Bruford, an artist who has, for all intents and purposes, left his rock roots completely behind him.

Twenty-Five Years Ago Today...

...And I can still vividly recall that night, on my way home, up Broadway, past the commotion on 72nd Street, and arriving to hear the news from friends visiting from DC, "Did you hear the news?! John Lennon was shot dead tonight!" We gathered around the radio, listening to WNEW, watching the scene on TV outside the Dakota in disbelief. John Lennon had been shot four times in the back, by the deranged Mark Chapman, who had asked the former Beatle for his autograph only hours before he laid in wait and killed him.

Chapman had actually met Lennon earlier as he left for a recording studio and got his copy of Lennon's Double Fantasy autographed, the image of Lennon signing one of his last autographs was actually caught by a photographer who witnessed it. Chapman remained in the vicinity of The Dakota for most of the day as a fireworks demonstration in nearby Central Park distracted Lennon's doorman and passers-by.

Later that evening, Lennon and Ono returned to their apartment fresh from recording Ono's single "Walking on Thin Ice" for their next album. At 10.50pm, as their limousine pulled up to the entrance of the Dakota, Ono got out of the car first, followed by Lennon. Beyond the main entrance was a door which would be opened and a small set of stairs leading into the apartment complex. As Ono went in, Lennon got out of the car and glanced at Chapman, proceeding on through the entrance to the Dakota.

As Lennon walked past him, Chapman called out "Mr. Lennon." As Lennon turned, Chapman crouched into what witnesses called a "combat" stance and fired five hollowpoint bullets. One bullet missed, but four bullets entered John's back and shoulder. One of the four bullets fatally pierced his aorta. Still, Lennon managed to stagger up six steps into the concierge booth where he collapsed, gasping "I'm shot, I'm shot."

Chapman stood there, holding his .38 Charter Arms revolver, which was pulled out of his hands and kicked away by one Jose Perdomo who then asked "What have you done, what have you done?", to which Chapman replied "I just shot John Lennon." Chapman then calmly took his coat off, placed it at his feet, took out a copy of J.D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, and started reading. Police arrived within minutes, to find Chapman still waiting quietly outside, still reading the book.

The two officers transported Lennon to Roosevelt Hospital in the back of their squad car as they thought John was too badly hurt to take the risk of waiting for an ambulance. One of the officers asked Lennon if he knew who he was. Lennon's reply is reported to have been "Yeah" or simply a nod of the head before he passed out. Despite extensive resuscitative efforts in the Emergency Department, Lennon had lost over 80% of his blood volume and died of shock at the age of 40. A stunned nation was informed of his death by Dr. Stephen Lynn who shortly before had broken the devastating news privately to anxiously waiting Yoko.

In the days that followed, the candlelight vigils in Central Park's renamed space, "Strawberry Fields," and the Dakota, the eerily beautiful sounds of Lennon's latest album, playing round the clock on the radio were a sad reminder of a tragedy no one could believe. Yoko Ono complained that the crowd in front of the Dakota kept her awake, and they moved to en masse to Central Park.

The next night, December 9th, Bruce Springsteen played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, and said "It's a hard night to come out and play but there's nothing else you can do," and he ended his show with a spirited performance of "Twist and Shout". A special commemorative issue of Rolling Stone magazine came out shortly after the murder, and featured on its cover, a photo taken the morning of the shooting by Annie Leibovitz showing a nude Lennon in an embryonic pose kissing a fully clothed Ono. (In 2005, this cover was voted as the number one magazine cover of all time by The American Society of Magazine Editors). Later the next year, Elton John's Jump Up! featured a hit single, "Empty Garden (Hey Hey Johnny)," a tribute to Lennon.

Chapman ultimately pleaded guilty to gunning down Lennon, and is currently serving life in Attica prison near New York. As recently as October 2004, he failed for the third time to secure his release. He said he had, "heard voices in his head", telling him to kill Lennon. Twenty years after his death millions of fans paid tribute to Mr Lennon in his home town of Liverpool and in New York. His widow launched a campaign against gun violence in the United States to mark the anniversary.

Lennon had joked years earlier that, "I'll probably be popped off by some loony," and sadly he was correct. The murder of celebrities by fans was not new, but extremely rare, and ironically, Lennon seemed aware of the risk. I once attended an Elton John concert in 1976, at the newly built Capital Centre, sitting with my chums in about the tenth row. We had camped out for tickets weeks earlier, as we normally did in those days, guaranteeing us great seating.

Half-way during the show, Elton told the audience, "I have some great friends in the audience tonight", and with that, a brilliant spotlight shown down on my friends and I. Were we being honored for our dedication and love of Elton, we naively wondered? Suddenly I happened to look behind me and, sitting there was John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Cher, an unlikely trio to say the least! "Oh God," I heard Lennon mutter as he sheepishly waved to the stage. Before Elton could finish the next song, Lennon, Yoko and Cher were gone, clearly uncomfortable with the gazes and the attention they were getting.

There would be more tributes for Lennon, A play and concerts, but December 8th, like December 7th, will always be a day that for many of us, will "live in infamy". For me and others, it really is the day the music died.

Jazz Vocalist Shirley Horn 1934-2005

One of my all time favorites, friend and mentor, the legendary vocalist Shirley Horn, passed away last week at the age of 71. Despite a long bout with diabetes, and the loss of a leg, Horn continued to perform up until the end. Her last album, "May the Music Never End", provided us once more with a masterpiece that is just as timeless and inimitable as she was. The self-produced CD confirmed what many musicians have been saying about the Grammy award winner for years: she was indeed one of the finest vocalists in jazz music history.

With an exclusive fan base that includes Barbara Streisand, Barry Manilow and opera soprano Renee Fleming, the Miles Davis protege relied only on the magic of her voice in this historical recording. For the first time in her flawless career, because of health concerns, Horn performed without her piano. Instead she permitted her long-time protege George Masterhazy and the veteran Ahmad Jamal to carry out the album's seamless piano performances. Jamal's appearances on "May the Music Never End" are remarkably significant as it is the pianist's first time as a sidemen on any recording.

One of the most touching performances on the album was Horn's soulful interpretation of The Beatles classic, "Yesterday". The introductory re-record "Forget Me" is dedicated to Horn's late friend singer/poet Valerie Parks Brown. Her sweet rendition of the nostalgic Duke Ellington piece, "Take Love Easy" features Verve labelmate Roy Hargrove on fluegelhorn, as does the emotional "III Wind". With a select mix of originals and standards, "May the Music Never End" is an unblemished portrait of why Horn's legend will continue to be a part of jazz music's present and future.

Horn was accompanied on "May the Music Never End" by her trio pianist George Mesterhazy, and two of my oldest friends, bassist Ed Howard and drummer Steve Williams. "Most of these are songs I grew up with," says Horn, who still lived in her native Washington, D.C. "My family loved music and there was always music around from the greatest singers and bands. Usually, I just learned the songs my mother used to sing around the home. I would ask her, 'What's the name of this one, what's the name of that one?' because I'd have the melody in my mind. I remember hearing Peggy Lee singing "Why Don't You Do Right." In fact, probably 75 percent of the songs I do are ones I heard at home."

But Horn didn't set out to be a singer. "It was an accident," she explains. "What I remember first in my life is playing the piano. That's when I was four years old. I'd go to my grandmother's home. She had a parlor with a great big piano. The parlor was for company, and it was closed off with French doors. It was always cold, but I didn't want to do anything but just go in there and sit on the piano stool. I wasn't interested in playing with the kids outside. After several years of this my grandmother told my mother to get me lessons."

Horn discovered the allure of her singing when, at 17, she was playing in a local restaurant/night club. "One night close to Christmas, this older gentleman who would regularly come in for dinner came with a teddy bear as tall as I. Somehow I knew that was for me," she recalls. Indeed, the patron sent her a note saying "If you sing 'Melancholy Baby' the teddy bear is yours." "I was very shy and it was hard for me to sing," Horn says, "but I wanted that teddy bear."

Audiences continued to ask for songs and Horn eased into her role as a vocalist. "It was no big thing, but then I started to realize how much I loved to sing." One of her most requested tunes was "You're My Thrill." The song stayed in Horn's repertoire for more than twenty years whenever she played the One Step Down, which she remembers as "the best little jazz joint" in D.C. Now defunct, the One Step Down was also one of D.C.'s "places to be", for Shirley's annual New Year's Eve Show. The owner would often say to her, 'you've got to record that song'," she remembers, "and I said 'I'm going do it once I've made up my mind.'"

Although content to stay at home, Horn was coaxed away to New York City in 1960 by Miles Davis. Notoriously disdainful of singers, Davis had been seduced by Horn's debut recording, "Embers and Ashes". He invited her to open for him at the Village Vanguard, catapulting her into a limelight she had never sought. After Horn retreated from view for much of the 1970s and 1980s to raise her daughter, she found her fame blossoming anew after her 1987 signing to Verve. In 1990, not long before his death in 1991, Davis added his graceful trumpet phrases to the title track of Horn's "You Won't Forget Me". In 1998, Horn paid tribute to her mentor with the brilliant "I Remember Miles", for which she won the Grammy award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. All in all, Horn has garnered 7 consecutive Grammy nominations, and her albums "Here's to Life, Light Out of Darkness" (A Tribute to Ray Charles), and "I Love You, Paris" all soared to number one on the Billboard jazz charts.

What Davis, Quincy Jones, and others heard as early as 1960 has been affirmed over the years by numerous awards and recognitions. In addition to her Grammy award and nominations, Horn has won 5 "Wammie" awards, (the Washington area's music industry award). In 1987, she was presented the Mayor's Arts Award for "Excellence in an Artistic Discipline" in Washington, DC. In 1990 Horn's "Close Enough for Love" album won one of France's premiere music awards, the Academie Du Jazz's Prix Billie Holiday. In 1993, she added the prestigious Edison Populair HR57 Award for "Here's to Life" to her stunning list of honors. Three years later, Horn was elected to the Lionel Hampton Jazz Hall of Fame. In 1998, Marilyn Bergman, President of ASCAP honored Horn "in recognition of over four decades of her unique and influential role in interpreting the American song," and in 1999, Horn was selected as the recipient of the Phineas Newborn, Jr. Award, with an all-star tribute concert in her honor. Most recently, she was voted #1 female vocalist in the New York Jazz Critics Awards and #1 jazz vocalist in DownBeat's Critics' Poll.

Inviting listeners into an elegant and sincere musical embrace, "May the Music Never End" was the latest stunning result of Shirley Horn's singular ability to connect with her collaborators, her material, and her audience at the most heartfelt level.

After seeing Shirley and the gang at her hotel last April, I commented on her return to the piano, and a wonderful show at the Masonic Auditorium. She told me that "I'm still going strong child, and I told you I was going to play that piano again".

We'll miss you Shirley.

Bob Moog, Inventor of the Synthesizer 1934-2005

I last saw the famed Dr. Robert Moog, at the 117th AES Convention in October, posing with my friends from the Women's Audio Mission. Known for the synthesizer that bears his name, the electronic keyboard genius died at his home in Asheville, North Carolina on Sunday. He was 71. Moog was the inventor of the Moog synthesizer - whose variants have been used by everyone from Pink Floyd to Kraftwerk, Duran Duran, the Black Eyed Peas and the Neptunes - was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer in April and had received radiation therapy and chemotherapy to combat the disease, according to a post on his official Web site.

Born on May 23, 1934 in New York, Moog began tinkering with early versions of electronic instruments as a teenager. After writing an article about them in 1954, he opened a business building and selling theremins, machines in which pitch and volume could be controlled by the wave of a musicians' hand. Moog earned degrees in physics, electrical engineering and engineering physics before staring out on a path that would turn him into an icon for generations of modern musicians.

By 1963, Moog developed the first widely used electronic instrument, a synthesizer, whose first popular appearance was on the Monkees album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd.. The instrument had its breakthrough, though, in 1969 when musician Walter (now known as Wendy) Carlos had a Grammy-winning smash with Switched on Bach, an album of electronic versions of Johann Sebastian Bach pieces.

Moog's synthesizers, which came with a piano-style keyboard, quickly became popular with rock musicians, who appreciated the wide range of unique sounds they could create by adjusting the various controls. Moog synthesizers appeared on the Beatles' Abbey Road and the soundtrack to Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange."

Moog reached a bigger audience in 1971 with his more portable Minimoog Model D, which had an even wider range of variations. His devices, which were heavily used by prog rock bands of the '70s, included the Taurus bass pedal synthesizer, which gave thick bass sounds to Genesis, Rush, U2 and the Police. Songs such as Donna Summer's 1977 disco hit "I Feel Love" were created almost entirely from Moog synthesizers, inspiring countless techno producers and artists of the 1980s and '90s.

Though digital synthesizers would eventually replace the analog ones popularized by Moog, the warm, organic tones of his instruments were rediscovered in the 1990s by a wave of musicians who sought out the original versions, spawning tribute groups such as the Moog Cookbook and a movie, "Moog," in which artists including DJ Logic, Money Mark, Mix Master Mike, DJ Spooky and Yes' Rick Wakeman paid tribute to the inventor in the "Moog Documentary Clearly A Labor Of Love, by Kurt Loder".

Moog had also recently worked with Roy "Futureman" Wooten of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, on his "Royel" piano sampler. Musical collaborator and long time friend Seth Elgart had recently purchased Moog's fabulous "50th Anniversary Moog", to go along side his other vintage synths. He proclaimed it to be one of Moog's best creations. They, like so many others, will feel the loss of one of the greatest musical icons of the 20th century, and like the amazing Dr. Theremin before him, his dream will no doubt live on forever.

Trio! Comes To The Mountain Winery

Having had the pleasure of seeing all three of these stellar musicians in many of their previous incarnations, I am genuinely looking forward to this late-summer tour. I have already gotten rave reviews of their east coast shows in Washington and Vermont. Trio! brings together the musical talents of the prodigious Stanley Clarke on bass, banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck, and the incredible French violinist Jean-Luc Ponty in a stunning genre-crossing collaboration. All three musicians are world renowned, critically acclaimed and award-winning performers and collaborators and this joint venture is an exciting exploration of their collective musical backgrounds.

Stanley Clarke has many titles: bassist, composer, conductor, orchestrator, arranger, songwriter, producer, and recording artist. In a career that has spanned more than thirty years, he has explored new territory and redefined the role of the bass as more than just a rhythm instrument. He invented the piccolo and tenor bass and is a virtuoso on both electric and acoustic instruments. His legendary work with pianists Chick Corea and "Return to Forever", and later George Duke, have stood the test of time. Clarke has won many prestigious awards, including GrammysR and Emmys, has topped the charts and has sold enough records to earn multiple gold and platinum albums. Tracks such as "Lopsy Lu" and "School Days" have immortalized him in the Jazz world. He continues to work hard on his own recordings as well as scoring numerous film and television projects, such as Boyz 'N' The Hood, The Five heartbeats, and Pee Wee's Playhouse. Like his music, he remains a constantly evolving work in progress.

Often considered the premiere banjo player in the world, Bela Fleck has virtually reinvented the image and sound of the banjo. His remarkable performing and recording career has taken him all over the musical map, both with his group Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and on a range of solo projects and collaborations. He has been nominated for a Grammy award twenty times, has eight wins to his credit and has been nominated in more different categories than anyone in Grammy history. Genre-bending albums like Flight of the Cosmic Hippo, Tales From The Acoustic Planet, Outbound, and Perpetual Motion continue to demonstrate why he is a powerful and creative force in Bluegrass, Jazz, Pop, Rock, World Beat, and Classical music, and everrything else in between.

Jean-Luc Ponty is a musical pioneer and the undisputed master of violin in jazz and rock. He is widely regarded as an innovator who has applied a visionary spin to his work and expanded the vocabulary of modern music. Born in France, the son of music teachers, he studied multiple instruments while growing up. He learned to play in the vibrant Parisian Jazz scene of the 1950s, where the violin was not necessarily an accepted modern Jazz instrument. As his talent and creativity became apparent, his notoriety grew. Over the last three and a half decades, he has toured the world many times over and worked with a variety of other musical greats, including Frank Zappa, (who added both the aforementioned George Duke and Ponty to his famed "Mothers on Invention" band, and helping secure Ponty's visa in the process!), Elton John, Al DiMeola, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and more. His solo works, including Aurora, Imaginary Voyage, Enigmatic Ocean, Cosmic Messenger, and Tchokola, have been continual chart-toppers since the 1970s and Jean-Luc Ponty remains a vibrant creative force in the Jazz-Rock world.

It doesn't get much tastier than this. Trio! will be performing at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, August 19th, and at Yosemite's Strawberry Festival in September. Sounds even tastier now!