David "Fathead" Newman & The Tilden Webb Trio: Cellar Groove

Straightahead / Mainstream Jazz
premiera polska: 2014-06-18
kontynent: Ameryka Północna
kraj: USA
opakowanie: Gatefoldowe etui
opis:
multikulti.com:
Saksofonista David „Fathead” Newman brał udział w najważniejszych nagraniach Raya Charlesa lat 50. i 60., był stałym członkiem jego comba, a potem także kierownikiem muzycznym big bandu, najbardziej zaufanym przyjacielem Raya. W pewnym okresie obaj byli uzależnieni od heroiny. Zagrali razem tysiące koncertów. Charakterystyczny ton saksofonu Newmana, jego energia, podejście do dźwięku stały się ważną częścią brzmienia Raya Charlesa.

Urodził się David Newman w Teksasie. W szkole grał na saksofonie altowym, zdobywał wtajemniczenie w zespole Bustera Smitha, który kilkanaście lat wcześniej uczył Charlie’ego Parkera w Kansas City. Na początku lat 50. występował z bluesmanem „T-Bone” Walkerem. W 1954 r. wraz z Lowellem Fullsonem nagrał płytę Reconsider Baby. Współpracował także z Ornette’em Colemanem i Redem Connorsem.

Newman poznał Charlesa w 1961 roku, kiedy Ray grał na fortepianie w zespole Lowella Fulsona. Kiedy spotkali się ponownie w 1954 roku, Ray zaangażował go na baryton. Grał i na barytonie, i na tenorze, i na alcie. Jego porywające solówki były nieodłączną częścią słynnych pierwszych przebojów Charlesa, które zmieniły bieg muzyki popularnej. W roku 1958 nagrał pierwszą płytę autorską: „Fathead: Ray Charles Presents David Newman”. Fathead odszedł od Charlesa w 1964 r., jednak pracował z nim okazyjnie również w latach 70.

Przez 10 lat grał w zespole flecisty Herbie’ego Manna, a następnie występował z własnymi zespołami. Jako muzyk sesyjny nagrywał z Arethą Franklin, Donnym Hathawayem, B.B. Kingiem i Natalie Cole, współpracował z takimi liderami jak Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Kenny Dorham, Dr John, Stanley Turrentine.

Wydana w 2013 roku płyta "Cellar Groove" nagrana z triem Tildena Webba to koncertowa rejestracja z Cellar Jazz Club w Vancouver. Pięć jazzowych standardów ("Cellar Groove" N. Turney'a, "This I Dig of You" Hanka Mobley'a, "Hard Times" P.F.Mitchella, "Cristo Redentor" D. Pearsona i "A Night In Tunisia" D. Gillespie'go), po dwie kompozycje Newmana i Tildena Webba to kwintesencja klubowego jazzowego grania, sugestywny, ciepły ton instrumentów lidera każdemu przypadnie do gustu. Newman gra z zacięciem be-bopowca, ale słychać w jego frazowaniu śpiewny, soulowy ton, tak charakterystyczny dla tego, zmarłego w 2009 roku muzyka.

Jazz to pasja, która połączyła i doprowadziła do wielu ekscytujących muzycznych spotkań, płyta "Cellar Groove" jest tego najlepszym dowodem.

Liner Notes:
As both a musician and man, David Newman expressed exxtreme elegance. His manner was understated. He was an unusually handsome man who carried himself with dignity and grace. He walked through the world with quiet confidence. His spoken voice, like his musical voice, was warm and loving. His tender soul was evident in everything he said and played.

In jazz's hard-edged culture, gentlement are rare. David was the very model of a gentle man. By the time he had reached his late twenties, he had risen to the rank of a musical master, yet never with the slightest hint of self-congratulatory conceit. For all his humility, his storied six-decade career is a model of deep and enduring work.

His mentors spoke readily of his prodigious talent.

"I heard him as more than a sideman," said Lowell Fulson, the great bluesman with whom Newman played in the early fifties. "I heard him as a star in his own right."

Fulson's piano player, Ray Charles, hired David when he began a small band of his own in 1954. "He has one of the kindest, sweetest dispositions of anyone I'd ever known," Said Ray. "They called him 'Fathead' but I called him 'Brains' because of his keen intelligence. He had it all covered—down-and-dirty blues and high-flying bop. And he put it together with a smoothness that had me wishing I could blow sax half as good as him."

"David belongs in the highest category," said flautist Herbie Mann, another close associate. "When you speak of the immortal saxophonists of the post-war era-Dexter Gordon, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Stanley Turrentine, Stan Getz—David stands shoulder-to-shoulder with all of them. To develop a unique voice on a reed instrument is no easy task, and David's voice was absolutely his own. Whether on alto, tenor or flute, his sound was silky-smooth, lyrical and filled with wit and surprise."

In the winter of 2004, at age 71, David had never sounded better, as demonstrated by his sterling set recorded at Cory Weeds' Cellar Jazz Club in Vancouver. David's wife Karen remembers it as an especially happy time.

"It was always a joy to visit our new-found family in Canada," she says. "Despite the cold, there was warm appreciation for David everywhere we traveled, especially at the Cellar where David recorded with three talented musicians. The room was packed with already familiar faces eager to hear his velvet sound. The club was always full of loving vibes. In David's playing, you can hear his excitement and eagerness to return that love."

The set is especially balanced and satisfying from the brilliance of David's original compositions ("The Cookie," and "The Gift") to his signature blues lament ("Hard Times") to classic bop (Hank Mobley's "This I Dig Of You" and Dizzy Gillespie's "Night in Tunisia") to a haunting ballad (Duke Pearson's "Cristo Redentor.")

The steady support of Tilden Webb's superb trio brings out the best of one of the American's premier jazzman. As you listen to David dance through the changes on this freezing night in Canada, you realize that certain artists improve with age. "Ripeness is all," Shakespeare wrote in King Lear.

David Newman realized a ripeness—a gorgeous maturity of tone, invention and pure poetry that will endure forever.

by David Ritz

audaud.com * * * *:
David “Fathead” Newman comes from that great tradition of Texas tenors who had a raw, tough, big-tone sound which was exemplified by the likes of Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb, Buddy Johnson and Buddy Tate. Newman spent some twelve years with Ray Charles and had quite an extensive discography, but he may never have received the full recognition he deserved, because he continued to be thought of as an accompanist rather than a leader. In this re-release from Cellar Live records, originally recorded in 2004, shows that he had his own voice and could play with the best of them.

This live Newman session from the now-closed Cellar Jazz Club in Vancouver BC, found him backed by a very sympathetic and in-the-groove trio lead by the impressive pianist Tilden Webb. A previous iteration of this outing was released in 2005 but with very limited distribution, and had a slightly different track list.The opening track is the title tune is ”Cellar Groove,” and is a rocker from the opening bars from Newman. It sets the tone for the balance of the album and gives Newman plenty of space to roam with the full support of the trio. Pianist Webb has a firm touch with a strong single-note style and fills in with great comping. Drummer Cahill offers some sparkling breaks as required. Newman’s own composition, “The Cookie,” follows, however he has forsaken the tenor sax in favour of the alto sax but with no diminution in his ability to express his ideas in a free-flowing style. Webb continues with his hard-driving piano and keeps the composition moving forward.

Hank Mobley was one of those tenor players in the Sonny Rollins tradition but less exuberant and more laid-back. His tune “This I Dig Of You” is an ideal frame for Newman to show his expressive command of tone and texture. On the other Duke Pearson’s “Cristo Redentor” is played with economy and insight. Newman is back on alto and is completely at home in the upper register of the instrument. Webb shows he has a blues touch and a harmonically lyrical approach to the composition. Not unexpectedly the Dizzy Gillespie classic “A Night In Tunisia” opens with a Latin vibe, then turns into an up-tempo flight propelled by Cahill’s drumming and some blistering piano from Webb, coupled with Newman’s swirling tenor.

David “Fathead” Newman was seventy-one in the winter of 2004 when this was recorded and clearly demonstrated that he was still filled with curiosity and fluid expertise.
by Pierre Giroux April 11, 2014

muzycy:
David "Fathead" Newman: Tenor, Alto Saxophone & Flute
Tilden Webb: Piano
Jodi Proznick: Acoustic Bass
Jesse Cahill: Drums

utwory:
1. Cellar Groove
2. The Cookie
3. Lady J
4. Hard Times
5. This I Dig of You
6. Cristo Redentor
7. Roundabout
8. A Night In Tunisia
9. The Gift

total time - 68:38
wydano: 2014-02-11
more info: www.cellarlive.com
more info2: www.davidfatheadnewman.com