Addison Comes to Café du Nord

San Francisco is home to some of the most interesting politicians, musicians and artists I have ever seen. I was surprised to find out that these talented folks include the likes of past and present SF Board of Supervisor Presidents Matt Gonzalez, (bassist) & David Chiu, (violinist); Public Defender Jeff Adachi, (guitarist and filmmaker), the Sierra Club's John Rizzo, (guitarist) & Arthur Feinstein, (saxophonist), Port of SF's Rich Berman & Mission activist Eric Quezada, (saxophonists), activist Judy B. Onze, (singer), Fog City Journal's Luke Thomas, (guitarist), OVC's Brent Turner, (guitarist), BMW&L's Mark Mosher, (guitarist) and Beyond Chron's own Paul Hogarth, (pianist), just to name a few. Add Brightline Defence's Joshua Arce, (singer, songwriter, guitarist) and his band "Addison" to this eclectic mix.

During the day, Arce is doing battle as an attorney and activist with PG&E, Cal ISO, and championing the cause of public power and community choice aggregation. By night, he rocks with his quartet "Addison", alongside Luis Baptista, (bass and backup vocals), Yoshi Takebuchi, (lead guitar) and Paolo Asuncion (drums), playing clubs in and around SF and as far away as Liverpool, England. Addison's latest effort is entitled "Lay The Buddha Down". On Friday, February 19, Addison will be celebrating the release of their new EP at Café du Nord. The four-piece band is hot on the heels of being featured on BBC Radio by the legendary DJ Billy Butler, who interviewed the band and played two tracks from their recent "Freeze Out" EP.

It’s quite a story on how a local SF band ended up being featured on BBC Radio with little to no recognition overseas yet. It boils down to the ties that the band has to Soccer (or should we say “football”). Lead singer Arce and bassist Baptista are long time die-hard Liverpool F.C. fans, who recently recorded a cover of “You'll Never Walk Alone," a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Carousel. The song became popular with football clubs and their fans as it was performed by a massed chorus of supporters on matchday, but since the 1960s has become singularly associated as the football anthem of Liverpool F.C.

Addison's cover of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (from the Freeze Out EP) caught the attention of DJ Billy Butler, who was so impressed and intrigued that he interviewed the band about their football stance, SF’s music scene, and had Gerry from Gerry & The Pacemakers on air with them. Gerry & The Pacemakers version Of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is the official one used by the Liverpool F.C. team. Gerry even gushed, “It's better than ours!" Quite a flattering response from a band that’s more than 5,000 miles away. You can check out their entertaining interview here: http://www.addisonband.com/bbcinterview.cfm

The band’s latest EP, Lay The Buddha Down, came out of recording sessions from their as-yet-untitled debut album. Addison has combined the diverse international influences operating within the band. Baptista’s affinity for the feel-good pop sensibilities of Weezer meets the hard rock sound of Japanese band X Japan favored by guitarist Takebuchi. Studio drummer Nicolas Priario’s love of rock trio Soda Stereo, from his native Argentina, complements the anthemic sound of British bands influencing Arce, such as Oasis and Muse. When Arce isn't raising hell at San Francisco City Hall on behalf of low-income communities, you will find him with the other band members playing their alternative rock tunes in local venues such as the Hotel Utah Saloon and Cafe du Nord.

Lay The Buddha Down will be sold at the show, a few days before the official release date and will include a radio edit of the title track, “Shanghai,” “Screws,” and rounding it out with “Vallejo.” Co-headlining alongside ADDISON is The Junior Panthers, another homegrown SF band who plays lush, head-filling indie pop. Also performing is the Hi-Nobles who play 60s mod garage soul returning to the 21st century. Don’t miss a night full of SF’s finest musicians ready to break out.

Like the aforementioned folks at the beginning of my column, Arce and Addison embody the spirit of what makes San Francisco unique. Dedicated activism, sensitivity and fighting for a just cause. It shows in their work and the passion that these people bring to their music, art and poerty. From those of us "too young to die and too old to rock and roll", (to quote Jethro Tull), rock on Addison, rock on.


ADDISON @ CAFÉ DU NORD with Junior Panthers & Hi-Nobles
Record Release Party for “Lay The Buddha Down” EP
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 19th
2170 Market Street, San Francisco, CA
$10 / Doors 8:30 pm, Show 9:30 pm / (415) 861-5016
www.addisonband.com

"Soundtrack for a Revolution" Comes to Third Baptist Church

Last Tuesday evening on KPOO fm's "The Community Worker", I had the pleasure of interviewing acclaimed actor and producer Danny Glover and Dan Sturman, director, producer of the Oscar hopeful documentary "Soundtrack for a Revolution". Also joining us for the discussion was Jackie Wright, president of Wright Enterprises on the upcoming screening of the film at Third Baptist Church on Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday this Friday, January 15th. They've also unearthed some new, never seen before footage for this documentary. "Soundtrack for a Revolution" tells the story of the American civil rights movement through its powerful music -the freedom songs protesters sang on picket lines, in mass meetings, in paddy wagons, and in jail cells as they fought for justice and equality.

Directors Sturman and two-time Oscar winner Bill Guttentag (co-directors of 1997's "Nanking"), pair provocative vintage footage with emotional interviews with the men and women who endured the threats, the dogs, the night sticks, and the fire hoses, among them Georgia congressman John Lewis, Harry Belafonte, Coretta Scott King, Andrew Young, Julian Bond and many more. But ultimately the filmmakers want the music to do the talking, so they've also gathered Richie Havens, Wyclef Jean, Joss Stone, John Legend, TV on the Radio, the Roots, the Blind Boys of Alabama, and others to let loose on modern renditions of those timeless songs.

The freedom songs evolved from slave chants, from the labor movement, and especially from the black church. The music enabled blacks to sing words they could not say, and it was crucial in helping the protesters as they faced down brutal aggression with dignity and non-violence. The infectious energy of the songs swept people up and empowered them to fight for their rights. "Soundtrack for a Revolution" is also among the 15 documentary films being considered for a nomination. On February 2nd. the five films that make it to the nomination level will be announced and Oscars will be presented March 7, 2010.

In one scene, described in a recent press release, "a young black man sits politely at the "whites only" counter in a diner as white men berate him, throw food at him, and eventually beat him. But when he hits the floor, another man takes his place at the counter. Watching this ghastly footage, captured during the bitter days of segregation, it seems impossible to imagine anyone willing to endure such senseless brutality. But pair images like this with soul-stirring folk songs like "I'm Gonna Sit at the Welcome Table," "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize," and "We Shall Overcome," and suddenly anything seems possible. "Soundtrack for a Revolution" tells the story of the American civil rights movement through the music that fortified protestors as they struggled for equality..."

The screening is also a fundraiser for the NAACP, which is being held on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s actual birthday, January 15th at Third Baptist Church in San Francisco. Danny Glover will also will be on hand before the screening which will also have a special VIP reception in his honor.

"Soundtrack for A Revolution Oscar Nomination Hopeful Celebration"
VIP Reception with Danny Glover catered by FAZ Restaurants 6:00 p.m. January 15, 2010

(VIP Ticket includes Preferred Screening Seating)
Film Screening at 7 p.m.

Q&A with Danny Glover, filmakers Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman moderated by San Francisco Filmmaker Jacquie Taliaferro follows screening. You can purchase tickets online at fla.vor.us/groovetickets for "Soundtrack for a Revolution" or call 1-877-714-7668

A special appeal will be made for the survivors of the Haitian Earthquake. The audience will be requested to write checks to Hollywood Unites for Haiti www.hufh.org, a foundation founded by Jimmy Jean-Louis "The Haitian" on NBC's "Heroes" and to the American Red Cross.

SoundExchange: Tracking Down Artists for Royalties

In July of 2005, I wrote about Neeta Ragoowansi, a fabulous singer, musician, and a former entertainment attorney for the Kennedy Center. Neeta continues to use her powers for good, working as the Membership Director of SoundExchange, a nonprofit agency based in Washington, D.C. and authorized by the U.S. Copyright Office to collect royalties from digital broadcasters and pay them directly to performing artists. Founded in 2000 and initially part of the Recording Industry Association of America, SoundExchange made its first payments in 2001 and, after a slow beginning, has begun to double its annual collections. Recently, SoundExchange had come under fire for not doing enough to find those musicians, and see to it they get what they derserve. Those detractors couldn't be more wrong, as the Bakersfield Californian's Robert Price found out. Sound Exchange continues to find artists and their families, and for those that can't be found, their royalties reside in a general fund, to support their fellow deserving artists. In Price's December column, he detailed just how difficult it can be for Sound Exchange to find these artists, and how rewarding it can be when they do.

In a recent blogs, SoundExchange was taken to task for not doing enough to get royalties for artists like, T. Bone Burnett, Ton-Loc, Flock of Seagulls. As Neeta explained to me in a phone conversation last week, "That at the time of their release, any unclaimed funds would go towards SoundExchange's operating costs, thereby lowering the administrative fee charged. This would, then, in turn result in a larger payment being made to the featured artists and sound recording copyright owners who are paid by SoundExchange. There have been some artists who, upon hearing this explanation, chose not to claim their funds and opted instead to have their payments in essence redistributed among other featured artist and sound recording copyright owner payees in this manner." A noble way of giving back in the music world if ever there was one.

Last December, Price wrote: "Before 1995, U.S. recording artists weren't entitled to airplay royalties of any sort. The Digital Performance in Sound Recordings Act of 1995 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 changed that -- at least for Internet and satellite radio.

The nonprofit organization SoundExchange, authorized by the U.S. Copyright Office to collect and distribute royaltiesassociated with those specific media, started with a royalty pool of $5.2 million. About 90 percent of that money has been distributed to thousands of artists worldwide. Of the 9,000 performers identified as eligible in September, the group has located about 2,000. The rest are owed $500,000.

"This is just in its infancy and it's expanding every year," said Holland, a former reporter for the music industry weekly Billboard who does contract detective work for SoundExchange. Finding beneficiaries can be tough, though. Take Cooley, the legendary World War II-era Western Swing bandleader and '50s television host who murdered his wife at their Mojave ranch in April 1961.

Cooley suffered a fatal heart attack in 1969 while on a furlough from prison -- three months before he was to have been paroled. He left behind a catalogue of up-tempo hits and three children -- Melody, born in 1946; Donnell Jr., born in 1948; and John, a son from his first marriage, born about 1935.

The star witness against Cooley was his 14-year-old daughter Melody, who witnessed her mother's fatal beating. "She would be about 60 today," said John Simson, executive director of SoundExchange. "We'd like to talk to her." He'd like to talk to her brothers too.

Before Simson gives up, he might want to ask actor Dennis Quaid, who's planning to tell the Spade Cooley story one day with a film called "Shame on You," after Cooley's biggest hit. Quaid purchased rights to the stories of Cooley's children. Simson counts on people like Holland to do most of the legwork.

"Best job I've ever had," Holland said. "So many of these so-called heritage artists are just off the radar. They're people who still get airplay on super-hip satellite stations but not so much anywhere else. And most of the time they have no idea they're owed any money." He remembers fondly the day he tracked down the widow of Ernie K-Doe, a New Orleans R&B singer who recorded the Allen Toussaint song "Mother-in-Law."

"I've got a couple thousand dollars for your late husband," Holland told Antoinette Fox, who'd been yelling at a delivery man in the kitchen of the Mother-in-Law Lounge when he called. "Child, you just put the Thanksgiving turkey on the table," she replied. Word of mouth is Holland's best tool. It has worked elsewhere -- most recently in Shreveport, La., another country music hotbed.

It might start here with Red Simpson, who is best known for his country songwriting prowess but also had moderate success as a recording artist during the late-'60s/early-'70s heyday of the truck-drivin' genre -- none better than 1971's "(Hello) I'm a Truck." "The guy told me they've got eight-hundred-and-something (dollars) for me," Simpson said. "What a great deal. 'Course my wife will probably get it."

The efforts of Holland, Ragoowansi, Simson and others on behalf of these performers continues, and in this ever growing electronic age of mp3 downloads, webcasts, streaming audio, the murky history of the recording industry and the struggling independent labels, SoundExchange continues to be a welcome ally to performers and artists all over the world. You can visit SoundExchange at http://www.soundexchange.com. You never know, they just may have some royalties for you.

Rent Romus' "The Lords of Outland XV"

Founded in 1994, the Lords of Outland is a rotating collective of ensemble members under the direction of saxophonist and producer Rent Romus. Throughout the Lords' fifteen year history in the spirit of free form experimentation its core roster has changed numerous times featuring guests like John Tchicai, James Zitro, Kash Killion, and many others. The group currently features CJ Borosque on no-input pedals and trumpet, Philip Everett on drums, percussion and electronics, Ray Schaeffer on electric basses, lead by Romus on alto, soprano, C-melody saxophones, voice, and electronics. To commemorate their longevity comes "The Lord of the Outland XV". Contained in "XV" are live public recordings covering a wide range of original jazz and improvisations, many of which have never been released from 1994-2008, and on disc two, a new full length project recorded in 2009. Other performing artists who have participated in the Lords of Outland include Jason Olain, Vytas Nagisetty, Andrew Borger, Bill Noertker, David Mihaly, Toyoji Tomita, Joel Harrison, Tom Nunn, Doug Carroll, Andre Custodio, Jesse Quattro, and Jonas Westergaard.

Romus is a force spanning over twenty years of D.I.Y. music production, performance, and curation. He is heavily involved in stretching past the confines of standard music forms performing his original compositions and improvisations in a wide variety of musical settings. He is also focused in presenting and supporting the local experimental and avant-garde community at large with his grass-root philanthropic vision for total artistic self expression and freedom from generic branding.

From his very beginnings as a student of Jazz while being exposed to the twilight tutelage of Stan Getz and the young vibrant jazz theory of Bruce Foreman he found himself drawn to the outer realms of music. In 1986 he founded the progressive jazz sextet Jazz On the Line that served as a vehicle for his original compositions until 1994. Romus produced his first album "Dark Wind" in 1988 (which also served as the first album for then thirteen year old drummer Steve Rossi), and his second recording entitled no boundaries in 1990. In 1992 he recorded and produced In the Moment, reissued in 2008 as "Thundershine" with Chico Freeman.

In 1995 he formed the collective entity The Lords of Outland with whom two years later he recorded "Adapt...or DIE!" with The Lords, which featured tenor sax master John Tchicai a contemporary of John Coltrane and Albert Ayler. During the mid to late nineties the Lords featured James Zitro, Kash Killion, Andrew Borger, Jason Olaine, Jon Birdsong, Dave Mihaly, Bill Noertker, and Toyoji Tomita to name a few. Romus submitted a video to the then fledgling BET Channel's National Network Show "Jazz Central". As the judges visibly struggled with The Lords’ rendition Eric Dolphy’s “Out to Lunch”, while looking balefully into the camera, he knew this band was bound to challenge the status quo. Throughout the Lords' fifteen year history its core roster has changed numerous times, which included Tchicai, Zitro, Killion, and many others. The group released two recordings in the ninties “You’ll Never Be the Same” in 1995 and, “Adapt…or Die!” in 1997.

Also in 1995 and 1996, Romus self-produced two overseas tours of Denmark which featured some of Copenhagen’s young improvisers pianist Jonas Müller, and drummer Stefan Pasborg who now enjoys world wide recognition as one of the top young jazz drummers of Europe. In 1999 Romus released "Blood Motions" with Pasborg and bassist Jonas Westergaard. In 2001 Romus released four CDs; "Avatar In the Field", "PKD Vortex", "The Metal Quan Yin", and "Guinea Pig Live at the Hotel Utah" that reflected his love for interweaving science fiction, horror literature, improvisation, Finno-Ugric traditions, socio-political themes, and the inspiration of Albert Ayler in his music.

In 2003 he along side guitarist Ernesto Diaz-Infante created The Abstractions, who released three recordings during their time together that included an all star cast of experimental musicians and singers from California including Jesse Quattro, Scott R Looney, Bob Marsh, and Philip Everett.

In 2005 he continued his free improvisational experimentation with the creation of Bloom Project with perpetual touring master pianist Thollem Mcdonas releasing the self titled "Bloom" in 2006, "Prismatic Season" in 2007 and "Sudden Aurora" in 2009. In addition to his ongoing adventures with Bloom Project, The Lords of Outland found a new sonic base mixing harsh noise and jazz improvisation releasing "Culture of Pain" in 2006 and most recently in 2008; "You can sleep when you’re dead!" The core group consists of drummer Philip Everett, bassist Ray Schaeffer, and noise pedal artist C.J Borosque.

As a producer and artist business activist Rent Romus founded Edgetone Records a label for all forms of music improvisation and experimentation in 1991. During his early years from 1988 - 1998 as a concert producer he was appointed Executive Director of Jazz in Flight in 1996. From 2002-04 he was the Director of Promotion for the SF Alt Festival, and at the turn of the new century in 2000 he founded Outsound Presents under which he is the Executive Director and a curator of The SIMM Music Series at the Musicians Union Hall as well as the long standing Luggage Store Gallery New Music Series both in San Francisco. In 2002 he started The Outsound New Music Summit (formerly the Edgetone New Music Summit), a national experimental music festival held in the greater San Francisco Bay Area every summer now produced under the Outsound Presents banner which continues at the present.

Ken Micallef, (a renown writer for Billboard, Spin and New York Magazine), once wrote of The Lords of Outland, "Safely, if not sanely put, Lords of Outland imagines Jaco Pastorius playing armor outfitted basketball with a band of crazed bassists and saxophonists. The rhythms run amok, the melodies are anything but friendly, and nausea and sickness is sure to follow." "Lords of The Outland XV" is indeed, not for the squeamish and quite frankly, that's what makes them so damn good.


The Kathryn Keats Show Comes to the Throckmorton

Singer, songwriter, producer and survivor, Kathryn Keats returns to Mill Valley's Throckmorton Theater on December 17th, bringing another stellar ensemble of musicians and razor-sharp, impeccably crafted, soulful compositions, filled with entertaining and unpredictable moments and joy for every age. Keats is a fascinating and incredible entertainer that is reclaiming her career after 20 years in the witness protection program. She is currently developing a Broadway musical loosely based upon her book “After the Silence”. Her heroic journey from captivity to freedom has inspired audiences in Europe and the United States. Keats is often a guest artist at community outreach events that raise awareness about domestic violence. Joining Keats for this latest show are Michael Manring on bass, Jeff Oster on flugelhorn & trumpet, Celso Alberti on drums, Joe Venegoni on percussion and Kelly Park on piano & vibes.

Keats has been involved in music since the age of five, working as a teenager with such legends as Tennessee Ernie Ford, Loretta Lynn and Word Baker. She initially studied at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Early in her career, she performed at Carnegie Hall and toured the country with a successful off Broadway show. Her studio work included national commercials and sound tracks and recording for various producers. Then… Keats was put into hiding after her former collaborator Ken Ford threatened her life. Law enforcement officials urged her to change her identity. Her name was legally changed after a harrowing experience with Ford culminated in a jury trial in Oakland, California. In order to protect herself, she was forced her to give up her career. All of her ties from her past were cut in 1989 after her last performance awarded her a Critic’s Circle award for best performance in the original stage version of The Rocky Horror Show.

When she could no longer work in the music industry she did not lament the loss of time. She began working behind the scenes, packaging feature films, creating and producing shows for television and film and directing several bands and artists. Her work included projects for Herb Ritts, Wayne Masur, and Mary Ellen Mark. When she had been to enough Herb Ritts birthday parties and met everyone the early 90’s required, she began creating, producing and packaging for television and radio.

Keats’s most impressive role was in taking on the persona of an industry executive, building strong industry relationships in Hollywood and New York while never disclosing her true identity.

On January 12, 2005, Keats discovered that the man who had threatened her life for over three decades had finally died. It was then that Keats could come out of hiding. Since then, she has reclaimed her past beginning to write again and record her music. She created a one woman show an to mark her return and has played The Knitting Factory LA, New York’s The Bitter End as well as The Plush Room in San Francisco. She has also made time to perform benefit shows for the victims of violence.

Along with Tony Valenziano of Smile Records, Keats recorded her first full length CD “After the Silence” in April 2007. Keats’s story is being developed as a feature film and was also featured in Readers Digest in '07. Her ”After the Silence” toured in 2007, bringing not only her music, but also her amazing story to the public.

For the Throckmorton show, Keats has brought the very best: Joe Venegoni – Award winning composer, musical director, and master percussionist, regarded as one of the most innovative artists performing today; my man Michael Manring – Grammy nominated artist and Bassist of the Year winner; Celso Alberti – Brazilian born drummer for such artists as Craig Chaquico, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Jose Neto, Stef Burns and most recently, the legendary Steve Winwood; Jeff Oster - 2007 NAR Lifestyle Music Awards WINNER - Album of the Year & Best Contemporary Instrumental Album; Kelly Park – Former faculty member at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he received the "Mercer Ellington Jazz Masters Award" for his performance mastery of piano, vibes and drums.

In short, Kathryn Keats is no ordinary animal. When most would be happy to finally live their life in peace Kathryn is driven to share her story and teach others how to save their lives, reclaim their dreams, and live again. Don't miss a truly wonderful ensemble and a truly inspiring musician.

The Kathryn Keats Show
Kathryn Keats – songwriter & vocals, Joe Venegoni – percussion
Michael Manring – bass, Jeff Oster – flugelhorn & trumpet
Celso Alberti – drums and Kelly Park – piano & vibes
142 Throckmorton Theater, Mill Valley, CA
Thursday, December 17 8:00 pm
$20.00 General Admission, $23.00 Day of Show
Buy tickets or by calling 415.383.9600

Steve Gadd & Friends Coming to Yoshi's

A well-respected drummer who has appeared in many types of settings in many genres, Steve Gadd's impressive technique and flexibility have been influential during the past 20 years. He started playing drums at the age of three, sat in with Dizzy Gillespie when he was 11, and after extensive study and a stint in the Army, Gadd became an important studio drummer beginning in 1972. Among his more significant jazz associations have been with Chick Corea (starting in 1975), Bob James, Al DiMeola, Tom Scott, Grover Washington Jr., David Sanborn, the group Stuff, the Manhattan Jazz Quintet, and his own impressive band (the Gadd Gang) which recorded for Columbia in 1986 and 1988. Next week, Gadd brings an all star line-up to Yoshi's in San Francisco with keyboardist Joey DeFrancesco, saxophonist Ronnie Cuber and guitarist Paul Bollenback.

Gadd is one of the most sought-after studio musicians in the world. Regarded as the most influential drummer in contemporary music, Gadd can play anything, easily bridging different musical styles. His feel, technique, and musicality on such tunes as Paul Simon's "Fifty Ways", Steely Dan's "Aja", and Chick Corea's "Nite Sprite" were so awe-inspiring and his concepts so innovative that they instantly assured his special position in the history of the percussive arts.

Gadd attended the Manhattan School of Music for two years, then finished at Eastman School of Music. Before that, he studied privately with Bill and Stanley Street and John Beck. He established himself with Chuck Mangione, then spent three years in the Army prior to coming to New York and doing studio work in 1971.

He rapidly rose to prominence on the studio scene and has since played with a wide variety of artists, including Carly Simon, Phoebe Snow, Aretha Franklin, Al DiMeola, Stanley Clarke, Rickie Lee Jones, Tom Scott, Frank Sinatra, and Stuff.

After a period of touring and recording with his own band, the Gadd Gang, he provided the spark that ignited Paul Simon's South African inspired, Grammy Award-winning recordings and dynamic live touring band.

Today, Gadd is still as busy as ever, balancing frequent recording dates with a hectic touring schedule. Some artists include Eric Clapton, David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Joe Sample, and jazz piano virtuoso Michel Petrucciani. His performance at Yoshi's wraps up a whirlwind European and U.S. tour.

Steve Gadd & Friends featuring Joey DeFrancesco, Ronnie Cuber, Paul Bollenback
Nov 13-Nov 15, 2009
Friday & Saturday 8pm & 10pm shows $25

Sunday 7pm $25

The Stanley Clarke Trio Comes to Yoshi's

This weekend, world reknown bassist Stanley Clarke brings his latest incarnation with long-time bandmate, drummer Lenny White and pianist Hiromi Uehara to Yoshi's on Fillmore for promises to be an amazing show. In a career that spans nearly four decades and includes gigs with Return to Forever, Rite of Strings and a variety of other solo and collaborative projects along the way, Clarke – one of the most prominent voices in electric jazz and fusion – had seemingly covered every possible corner of the jazz landscape. But there was one avenue he had yet to explore. “I had never done an acoustic bass record, ever,” he says. “There’s a long list of people on whose records I’ve played acoustic bass – Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, Joe Henderson and many others – but I’d never done an acoustic jazz trio record of my own. So I wanted to record one that would just feature the piano and the acoustic bass in a way that you could really hear the bass.”

This long-overdue dream project became a reality with the May 12, 2009, worldwide release of Jazz In The Garden (HUCD 3155) on Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group. For his first straight ahead acoustic jazz trio recording, Clarke assembles two brilliant collaborators at the top of their respective games: Uehara and White. Each represents a distinctly different generational and cultural perspective, but given the range and versatility of both, the net effect is superb. Indeed, the synergy resulting from all three of these luminaries makes for one of the most refreshing Stanley Clarke recordings in recent years.

“Lenny is like a walking encyclopedia of jazz history,” says Clarke, who first played with White in Joe Henderson’s band when both session men were barely out of their teens, and later in the fusion-oriented Return To Forever. “Lenny is the guy who will never let you forget tradition, ever. When it comes to drummers, it’s fashionable to think that the one who plays the fastest or has the most gear is the best guy. But the guy you really want is the guy who’s smart – the guy who really has a lot upstairs. That’s Lenny.”

White likens his relationship with Clarke to some of the great pairings in sports. “In football, there was Joe Montana and Jerry Rice in San Francisco,” he says. “In baseball, there was Tom Seaver and Jerry Grote with the Mets. These were some very successful combinations. And then in jazz, you have some great pairings of drummers and bass players like Tony Williams and Ron Carter, or Elvin Jones and Jimmy Garrison. I rank Stanley and myself among those pairings. We’ve played together for so long, in so many different kinds of situations. We started out by playing straightahead music together, and then that morphed into the jazz-rock fusion, which became a movement in itself. Now we’re coming back full-circle with this recording.”

Clarke was less familiar with Hiromi, a Berklee-trained protégé of Ahmad Jamal and Chick Corea who made her recording debut only six years ago. Since then, she has shaken up the piano jazz scene with a riveting style that ranges from the traditional to the avant garde. “I checked her out, and I realized that she was really, really talented,” says Clarke. “To be so young, and yet have so much knowledge – about melody, about harmony, about rhythm – is very rare. It’s very unusual for a piano player under the age of thirty to have that kind of maturity. That’s what’s cool about her.”

To date, Hiromi has committed much of her compositional and performance energies toward pushing the music to the outside, but she welcomed the opportunity to do something a little more traditional. “I’ve always loved straightahead jazz,” she says. “I’d just never done it in my own projects. So I was very happy to be able to do it finally. And to do it with these two musicians was more than I could have hoped for. I didn’t feel any walls. They were very welcoming. They were very open to what I had to offer.”

The set opens with “Paradigm Shift,” an introspective piece written by Clarke following the historic election of Barack Obama, which took place on the day Clarke returned from a long series of international tour dates. “I’d been getting the whole European and Asian perspective,” he says. “There was a lot of energy for Obama over there. There are a lot of reasons why he got elected. It wasn’t just a matter of being the new black guy on the scene…It’s a complete shift in the way people interact with candidates and with government. I was watching all that unfold, and I just kept saying, ‘Wow.’”

Cinematic and sweeping, “Sicilian Blue” is a stirring piece written by Hiromi, inspired by her visit to the Mediterranean island in 2008. Per Hiromi’s suggestion, Clarke plays the opening portion with a bow – a difficult technique, he admits, but one with a satisfying payoff. “The place has such a special atmosphere, with all of its old landscapes,” says Hiromi. “It’s hard to explain in words how I write music, but it almost always involves some kind of image in my mind. All of my songs are visual in one way or another.”

“Take the Coltrane” is a sly sounding duet between Clarke and White. “When I hear that tune, what I hear is brotherhood – the brotherhood that has developed over the years between Lenny and me. There are little musical subtleties that can only happen between the two of us…I really get a kick out of playing with Lenny. He’s probably my favorite drummer to play with.”

Also on the nostalgic side is “Isotope,” a tune that Clarke and White played with Joe Henderson in the early days. “I grew up with this tune,” says Clarke. “It was part of my youth. So when I hear it, I think of the early ‘70s and the years I spent with the great Joe Henderson. I was going for that same feel. Whenever I play that tune – or even just hear it – I’m always thinking of Joe.”

“Global Tweak,” a playful and melodic duet between Clarke and Hiromi, is exactly what the title suggests. “We both just sat down and tried to tweak each other musically,” says Clarke. “It was total improvisation. We both really enjoyed this.” Jazz critic Don Heckman points out in his liner notes the beauty of two seemingly disparate perspectives converging so perfectly in a single improvised moment of music: “How fascinating it is to hear these two gifted players – thousands of miles separated by culture, decades different in age – come together in such complete, on-the-spot musical understanding and companionship.”

“Under the Bridge,” a 1991 hit by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is rearranged here by Hiromi for jazz trio – not as big a leap as it might seem, she notes. “I don’t know how to differentiate jazz from rock,” she says. “It’s so hard for me. When a melody is good, it’s just good. I brought this song up because Stanley and Lenny wanted something that wasn’t a jazz standard, and yet it works so well with the rest of the record.”

In many ways, Jazz in the Garden is Stanley Clarke’s way of reconnecting with a time much earlier in his career before his plunge into electric jazz – a time when he earned his stripes playing acoustic bass with some of the most enduring names in the annals of jazz. “There are times when you want to revisit the things that really established the foundation in your life,” he says. “I spent many, many years studying acoustic bass, and many years playing in New York after I left Philadelphia in the late ‘60s. I played with everyone who was there at the time. It was a long time ago, but all that stuff from that period is what made me who I am. This record is my way of reconnecting with that time and that music.”

Stanley Clarke Trio with Hiromi Uehara & Lenny White
Oct 09-Oct 11, 2009
Friday and Saturday 8pm & 10pm shows $32
Sunday 2pm Kids Matinee show
$5 Kids, $18 Adult (with kids), $28 Adult (general)
Sunday 7pm show $32