MP3 Deuterium - Dreams of Madrid
Cool jazz with a fusion sensibility is how people describe this music. Think Jimmy Smith with Dave Brubeck, with some Spyro Gyra and Gerry Mulligan thrown in. This is cool instrumental jazz that isn''t smooth or crazy bop.
10 MP3 Songs in this album (57:18) !
Related styles: JAZZ: Post-Bop, JAZZ: Cool Jazz
People who are interested in Gerry Mulligan Dave Brubeck Jimmy Smith should consider this download.
Details:
Deuterium: Deuterium is a heavier and stable isotope of ordinary hydrogen. It is a colorless, odorless, nontoxic, diatomic, flammable gas. Deuterium gas is used in fusion power.
This CD was recorded and originally released in 2001, in San Diego California. It was recorded “live in the studio”, with no overdubs or electronic manipulation of the music as played by the musicians. This great group of musicians came together for a short time and created unique, interesting, and lasting music in an unusual fusion style, crossing jazz, blues, rock, and other genres and making the sum much more than its parts.
CREATIVE CREDO
Each performance is a unique expression of creativity. Each piece must be re-interpreted each time it is performed. Each musician must challenge themselves and the band in each performance. Playing music is a joyous expression of individuality.
SOURCE OF DREAMS by Yasha Susoeff
The title track, Dreams of Madrid, sprung forth fully formed in just two hours at the piano, but the mallet work added by Dean really gives this piece a timeless quality. The leads have become one-upsmanship among the players, and the piece just gets better and better.
When I brought The Rider out for recording, it was hard to believe that the piece was over thirty-five years old. But this interpretation makes it fresh as the day it was written. When Marc takes the leads on Bari, I realize that this piece was waiting those 35 years just for him.
Light the Fire is another old composition. It has been evolved over the last 30 years. You can hear the strong blues influence in this piece and Gregg really rips a lead on the bass.
The Grinder, also an older composition, was reinvented this last year with a modified lead line, harmony on organ, and a break to swing on the keyboard lead. Bass and drums flirt with a Latin rhythm, but it stays just north of the border, a true San Diego original.
Strong Man was composed specifically as a piano solo. Dean chooses a beat somewhere between rock and jazz to lean this piece toward fusion, and his solo is so lyrical, I can hear the melody. And if counted out, the drum solo is exactly to form. I just love how the ending keeps you hanging.
Freedom’s Flight was a piece that came out of a warm-up exercise in one of my rock projects. It’s blues all the way. The piece swings even though the bass is straight rock. I think that juxtaposition of style really gives this song a lot of interest.
Most of the songs I contributed have a sly, cool tone to them, but Sweet Something is just plain sweet. The bossa-nova feel, lyrical melody line, and chord movement make this one of my favorite compositions. This was written at a single sitting, and as I look back at it, I wonder “Where the heck did that come from?”
Three and a Half is another composition that has an up feel to it even though it is in a minor key. That piece started as an exercise to produce phrasing in an odd time signature. It is mostly in 3/4 but with a couple of 4/4s mixed in here and there. If you don’t notice them, then we did well. Marc’s soprano sax leads are truly inspired on this one.
SIMPLE MUSINGS by Marc Rosen
The inspiration for Simple City came as I was walking in downtown San Diego one afternoon in December. The weather, as usual, was beautiful, probably 65 degrees with a light breeze off the ocean bringing me the smells of the water. I was thinking about what it was like in other places, cold and blustery, and how relatively simple life is in San Diego in comparison. Musically the piece is simple, with a contrast between the first section and the second, blues type section for the solos. You know you''re playing with outstanding musicians when they can take a simple song like this and really make it sound great. These guys made the song much better than I ever thought it was.
Hippo Dance was based on the idea that the baritone saxophone, the "hippo horn", can sound sort of like one would imagine a hippo dances. Again, the contributions of the players are what make this work. Dean''s approach on the drums is perfect for the tune, and Yasha and Gregg make it easy for me to solo. Yasha''s solo sets off the piece very well.