ORIGINALLY DIGITAL-ONLY EPs COMPOSED BY DOUGLAS AND PERFORMED IN INFORMAL ‘SESSIONS’ WITH BRASS ECSTASY, RAVI COLTRANE, VIJAY IYER, LINDA OH, MARCUS GILMORE, AND NEW MUSIC ENSEMBLE SO PERCUSSION

SERIES LAUNCHED VIA NEW GREENLEAF WEBSITE, MOBILE SITE,
CLOUD & UPCOMING iPHONE/iPAD APPS

Ever since pioneering jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas launched his Greenleaf Music imprint in 2004, the label has been ahead of the curve in embracing new media and technology. Greenleaf was one of the first jazz labels to have a blog and a web store that catered to listeners wanting various high-quality digital formats. In doing so, Douglas recognized the importance and value of not only delivering music, but also offering artistic insight into the process of being a creative musician and consumer preference for differing audio fidelities.

Douglas acknowledges the importance of technology to him as an artist, “It feels like the relationship of the artist to the listener is changing, especially in the recorded domain. Listeners have more choice in how they interact with music, and an artist can provide more choices and more immediacy. I feel like new formats are an extraordinary opportunity for music and sound artists. In the case of Three Views, the GPS system gave me the spark to ignite these three sets of new music.”

Greenleaf’s activities over the last seven years represent a major paradigm shift – especially for the jazz world – in the way music is consumed, delivered and complemented with “extras.”

The latest development in delivering new music in a new way is the Greenleaf Portable Series. Launched in June 2011, the series digitally delivers volumes of new music, composed and arranged by Douglas and performed with a cross-section of the finest musicians in contemporary jazz and beyond  — including Douglas’s Brass Ecstasy, a quintet featuring Ravi Coltrane on tenor saxophone and pianist Vijay Iyer, bassist Linda Oh and drummer Marcus Gilmore, as well as the new music ensemble So Percussion.

Three Views finds the prolific trumpeter and composer at his highest artistic peak.  The records seem immediate with all the top-tier players playing with an intensity not often heard on present day jazz recordings.

For Volume 1, Rare Metals, Douglas convened his newest band, Brass Ecstasy—fresh off the acclaimed release United Front: Brass Ecstasy at Newport—for recording 5 new compositions and an arrangement of the classic Strayhorn tune “Lush Life.”

Following Volume 1, Douglas invited Ravi Coltrane, Vijay Iyer, Linda Oh, and Marcus Gilmore to play new music for this special quintet.  Upon release on iTunes, Orange Afternoons shot to #1 on the iTunes jazz chart generating a buzz rarely seen in the jazz world, especially for a digital-only release.

For the final GPS release of 2011, Bad Mango the quartet So Percussion joined Douglas in the studio for what is a truly unique album even for the ever-searching trumpeter.  Playing new compositions along side works from Douglas’ album Witnessand from his early 1990s band Tiny Bell Trio, Douglas is accompanied by marimba, musical saw, glockenspiel, and many non-traditional percussion instruments.

Douglas unveiled the GPS via a newly developed website optimized for mobile platforms, a cloud player that gives instant access to Greenleaf’s growing catalogue as well as an upcoming free app for the iPhone and iPad.

In addition to developing new distribution methods, Douglas is exploring creative avenues that might present themselves as a result of the new format. The Greenleaf Portable Series is the first result – shorter sessions, recorded in a day, presented more quickly to the market without the delays of putting out a CD.

“I liked the idea of streaming the music directly to listeners, and it seemed that CD length might not be the best representative in the new medium,” explains Douglas.

“Also the idea of shorter, more informal sessions appealed as it harkens back to the way jazz albums used to be recorded. The GPS gave me an outlet for a lot of new tunes and presented me with a way to record with some musicians I really admire but with whom I rarely get to play,” remarks the trumpeter.

Though Greenleaf recognizes the demand for digital and alternative content delivery methods, the label and its owner still also love the real deal, so Greenleaf is offering a very limited edition box set version of the first three volumes of GPS with beautiful artwork and packaging that our customers have come to appreciate from Greenleaf.

Three Views represents not only the three different vantage points presented here of Douglas as a composer, but also the three ways listeners can now listen to Greenleaf products – on a computer, on a mobile device or on their stereo.

featuring

Fabian Almazan, Mike Moreno, Joe Martin, and Marcus Gilmore

Saxophonist and composer Jake Saslow considers himself a Long Islander, but spent his first six years in the heart of SoHo. On his début record, Crosby Street, Saslow pays tribute to the neighborhood of his earliest years, in the company of pianist Fabian Almazan, guitarist Mike Moreno, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Marcus Gilmore.

Saslow’s childhood home proved to be a source of inspiration throughout his artistic career. Born to a photographer father and a mother who was a classically-trained vocalist, “I lived there until I was six years old, in the middle of pre-gentrification SoHo,” says Saslow. Painter Jean-Michel Basquiat had a studio next door and his upstairs neighbor was drummer Barry Altschul. “Barry did sessions all day long; that was the soundtrack to my household as a kid,” continues Saslow. “I was very lucky to have had the chance to experience the old New York City, where you could have a loft on the entire floor of a building for $100 a month.”

Saslow’s colleagues on this record represent different phases of his New York life. Drummer Gilmore is a friend from adolescence – “I’ve known him since he was 13,” laughs Saslow. “Marcus grew up in Queens and I was in Long Island.” Pianist Almazan is a classmate from the Manhattan School of Music. “Fabian is an incredible comper,” Saslow enthuses. “Joe Martin and Mike Moreno are guys I know through the New York scene; Mike I knew before I left for the Monk Institute, and I’ve played with Joe frequently since moving back to New York. All these musicians have sounds I wanted on this record.”

At the Monk Institute in New Orleans, Saslow was under the tutelage of trumpeter Terence Blanchard, and Blanchard’s own composition teacher, Roger Dickerson. Saslow considers his time in New Orleans a “sabbatical” from the bustling New York scene. “It was a time to gather my thoughts,” he says, “and focus on finding my individual voice and purpose.”

Citing Blanchard, Altschul and Michael Bublé on the same CV, Saslow’s individual voice is indebted to the jazz tradition, while focused on broadening his emotional palette. As the New York Times’ Nate Chinen wrote, Saslow “practices a harmonious strain of modernism, warm and well-considered.” The melodic arc of tunes like “Tiaga Forest” and “How Things Were” belie their odd time signatures and irregular phrase lengths. “That kind of writing came out of my studies with Dave Liebman,” explains Saslow. “There may be lots of odd meters and non-traditional phrasing, but it’s always to serve the greater purpose of melody.”

His nod to jazz history comes in his chordless trio rendition of Horace Silver’s “Lonely Woman.” “It was important to me to have someone else’s song on the record,” says Saslow. Having frequently played in a sax-bass-drums trio at NYC’s Bar Next Door, presenting a trio track in the midst of quartet and quintet pieces “makes them stand out more.” The experience of chordless trio work has left a mark on Saslow’s compositions, which can be heard in the attention to bass-driven counterpoint on tunes such as “Lucky 13″ and “Early Riser.”

Crosby Street is an independent release on Saslow’s own 14th Street Records imprint, and will come out on both CD and vinyl with a digital download card. “Vinyl is making a comeback,” Saslow says. “It’s a better product, with better sound quality and better artwork.” With a cover painting by his great-grandfather, Jake Saslow’s debut album is worth the the warm consideration.

Jake Saslow’s quintet will launch Crosby Street at the Jazz Gallery on September 28, 2011.

photo by Lynne Harty

Vijay Iyer‘s working trio with Marcus Gilmore and Stephan Crump is playing at New York’s Jazz Standard Thursday through Sunday, September 22-25.  They’ve just recorded a follow-up album to 2009′s Grammy-nominated Historicity; the new trio disc is slated for a March 2012 release on ACT Music.   At the Standard, the first two nights (Thurs-Fri, Sept 22-23) showcase the trio’s new and newly arranged music;  the second two nights (Sat-Sun, Sept 24-25), Vijay expands to a sextet, similar to the one that played at Castle Clinton a few months ago for the River to River Festival, with tenor saxophonist Mark Shim, altoist Steve Lehman, and cornet & flugelhorn player Graham Haynes.

Vijay Iyer Trio - Thursday & Friday, Sept 22-23

Vijay Iyer Sextet – Saturday & Sunday, Sept 24-25

THE JAZZ STANDARD

116 East 27th street (Betweek Park & Lexington), New York City

Sets 7:30, 9:30pm each night

3rd set at 11:30 on Friday & Saturday

Featuring Saxophonist Mark Turner, Bassist Joe Martin, and Drummer Marcus Gilmore

Guitarist Gilad Hekselman‘s third album, Hearts Wide Open, finds him in the company of his working trio with bassist Joe Martin and drummer Marcus Gilmore. They are joined by saxophonist Mark Turner in a set comprised entirely of Hekselman’s original material. The title refers to Hekselman’s perspective on the practice of music-making. “As musicians, we get to travel and play for different audiences, moving people and creating something positive in the world,” he says. “It’s about opening our hearts as musicians as well as opening the hearts of listeners.”

Hekselman speaks of his bandmates with admiration. “Joe is one of my favorite bass players,” he says of his musical colleague of the past 7 years. “He’s easy to play with and has a huge round sound on the bass. He has a real awareness of what needs to be happening.” He calls Gilmore “addictive to play with. Marcus is so advanced, raw and groovy at the same time. It’s how I like drumming to be.” The union of Martin and Gilmore provide “a really wide beat,” giving Hekselman the space to freely phrase his evocative melodies within the time. Saxophonist Mark Turner’s deliberate tenor is an ideal foil to guitarists. Hekselman describes Turner as “a very intelligent player,” combining an extensive harmonic knowledge with a deeply-rooted sense of emotion. The clarity of Hekselman’s sound and Gilmore’s ride cymbal emphasize the craftsmanship of Turner’s improvising. “I loved his playing on records for many years, and after I moved to New York I got to hear him more. He’s an idol of mine, and one that I can actually call for a gig!”

Gilad Hekselman, Mark Turner, and Marcus Gilmore in performance mode

Whereas Hekselman’s previous records were split between his own compositions and standards, Hearts Wide Open is the first to exclusively feature his writing. Driven by strong, communicative melodies, the tunes embrace the tradition of song form. Hekselman focused on his own work this time around, because “the feeling of playing a standard is achieved anyway through these tunes. They have a familiar sound to them.” “Hazelnut Eyes” is an updated take on the Latin tinge present through all of jazz history; “Brooze” swings in slow motion; and the infectious line of “Flower” bears resemblance to West African pop.

From the opening figure of “One More Song” to his comping sensibility throughout the album, Hekselman’s approach to the guitar could be described as pianistic. His main influences have always been pianists and horn players. “When I put on a record just to listen to, it’s almost always a piano trio,” says Gilad. “The music I got obsessed over as a teenager always featured pianists: Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans and, more recently, Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau. It’s been a great challenge and inspiration for me, to think like a pianist on guitar.”

Since his arrival in New York, Gilad Hekselman rose to prominence alongside drummer Ari Hoenig and clarinetist Anat Cohen. Both strong bandleaders in different ways, Hekselman’s tenure as a sideman has deeply influenced his own work. As the leader of his first tour, Hekselman says, “Ari is a school of rhythm. He hires his band members without really telling them anything. That’s the approach I’ve taken: I surround myself with musicians that I trust. I embrace their changes to my music.” With Cohen, Hekselman was exposed to music from around the world. “Anat is a very present bandleader – she knows what she wants on the bandstand and knows how to communicate it well.”

From the Tibetan bowl that opens “Prologue,” to the powerful rapport exhibited throughout the album, Hearts Wide Open is a testament to Gilad Hekselman’s emotional journey through music. “The greatest benefit of being a musician,” he says, “is making the world a better place.”

Friday, June 19 – 8pm (doors 7:30)
VIJAY IYER TRIO performing at Harlem’s Temple M
Vijay Iyer, piano
Stephan Crump, bass
Marcus Gilmore, drums

TEMPLE M
555 West 141st Street (East of Broadway)
New York, NY 10031
Subways: 1 train to 137 & Broadway (City College) or A/B/C/D to 145 & St-Nicholas

Vijay Iyer has been fortunate to stay fairly active as the leader of his working trio this year – various US venues and festivals, a European tour, and a studio recording, titled Historicity, due out this October on the German label ACT Records, with distribution in the US by Allegro.

Vijay will share his latest findings with New York audiences, playing at a vibrant new uptown spot called Temple M.

Check out a full-length trio concert Vijay’s Trio did in Amsterdam last February, recorded for Dutch radio. (Requires appropriate media player, as well as your patience through a brief Dutch-language preamble and interlude. 2 sets!)

Also check out this nice feature article in this Friday’s New York Times about trio drummer Marcus Gilmore (grandson of Roy Haynes), along with Vijay’s Fieldwork colleague and Fully Altered client Tyshawn Sorey, Dan Weiss, Kendrick Scott and Justin Faulkner, who according to Times critic Ben Ratliff, are all “finding new ways to look at the drum set, and at jazz itself.”

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ALSO Friday, June 19 – 9:00 PM
EAST COAST DEBUT PERFORMANCE
Amir ElSaffar/Hafez Modirzadeh Quartet – Expansions on the Maqam and Dastgah

Amir ElSaffar – trumpet
Hafez Modirzadeh – saxophone
Mark Dresser – double bass
Alex Cline – drums

Alwan for the Arts
16 Beaver Street (between Broad and Broadway), 4th floor
New York, NY 10004
cover: $15
phone: (646) 732-3261
website: http://www.alwanforthearts.org/event/363

A Destined Collaboration: Amir ElSaffar and Hafez Modirzadeh, each of mixed heritage (Iraqi American and Iranian American, respectively) whose musical careers are dedicated to expressing their ancestral traditions within a highly personalized and creative jazz language, have now teamed together to articulate a unprecedented form of music with serious forward-looking potential. ElSaffar, originally from Chicago, has spent years traveling abroad seeking out masters who could impart to him the Iraqi maqam tradition, and composed the highly acclaimed Two Rivers suite (released in 2007 on Pi Recordings), his first major work joining maqam with contemporary improvised music. Hafez, based in the San Francisco Bay area and fifteen years Amir’s senior, had spent years under the guidance of Iranian master musician, Mahmoud Zoufounoun, learning the Iranian counterpart to maqam, known as dastgah. By 1992, Hafez had developed his own “chromodal” approach to intercultural musical practice, which allows for the co-existence of multiple traditions within one cohesive system, and has since composed a large body of uncompromisingly original work that adapts Persian tuning into a variety of musical contexts.

ElSaffar and Modirzadeh were aware of each other for a number of years, thanks to mutual friends such as Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa, who repeatedly talked to each about the other. Amir was first exposed to Hafez’s music when Iyer played him In Chromodal Discourse (first released in 1993 on Asian Improv Records) in 2001, and knew immediately that Hafez was someone he would like to make music with. Finally, in late 2008, Fred Ho brought Hafez and Amir together for his own big band recording session in New York, and the chemistry was immediate. Fortunately, Amir had a performance the following evening at the Jazz Gallery, and Hafez was able to join his quartet for the engagement.

This left ElSaffar with the determination to travel to the West Coast a few months later to develop concepts with Modirzadeh, where intense practice together over a 10-day period led to a collaboration on four performances, the most notable of which was at the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles. There, joined by world-renowned bassist Mark Dresser and master drummer, Alex Cline, all four musicians were left enthused and anxious for another chance to play together. The opportunity has come, sooner than expected, as Dresser and Cline will be joining ElSaffar and Modirzadeh for a performance at Alwan for the Arts, a Middle Eastern Cultural Center located in Manhattan’s financial district on June 19th.

The group will be performing new and original material that weaves through the tonal spectra of Iraqi maqam, Persian dastgah, and contemporary jazz, exploring concepts of sound generated by the timeless modes of expression that seek to expand human spirit.

For more information, please call or email us at 215-921-4447 or info [at] fullyaltered.com.