Thousands of $$$

Does anyone out there have thousands of dollars they want to give to me to make jazz records?? I love this stuff. Im currently on day 2 of a great session with tenor saxophonist Chris Gale, pianist Jordan Baskin, bassist Sean Cronin and drummer Morgan Childs. I have to say the first day seemed like a bit of a chore, lots of waiting around, a tired band (don't get me wrong, they sounded great) but today, they are totally dialed in. We started with a great tune of Morgan's called I Town, a crafty Monk like number and everyone tore it up on pretty much every take. Tune 2, a Gale composition called Fennel which is a funky number with a quirky rhythmic thing that kind of keep you on the edge a little bit. The third tune 'Blue House' again penned by Childs is a gorgeous ballad that features the wondeful piano work of Baskin and some soprano work by Gale who has a beautiful tone on this instrument. This is going to be a great record.

I honestly thought I would never ever have the patience to be a 'producer' because its a lot of sitting around but I have grown to love it and my patience level has grown considerably. Producing can be a easy or difficult job. With these guys it has been easy. the musicianship is very high and they often work out there own stuff without much imput from me but it does help to have an outside perspective.

I'm serious, if anyone has a whole bunch of money that they want to give me to put out records. I'm totally in. I have some great ideas :)

Ryga, Perry, Summers, Donaldson, Hayes, Patton, Crusaders etc

What a great show last night at the club. PJ and Campbell. I have never been a big fan of putting two of the same instrumentalists together as it usually ends up sounding like an unorganized cutting session. The past two weeks however has been the complete opposite. I believe I spoke about Coon and Gannon in my last post and cited the mutual admiratin they had for one another and how it played out during their set. Two great players who respect on another playing at their absolute best. Well that happened again last night with PJ Perry and Campbell Ryga. The elder Perry was a huge influence on Ryga growing up and Campbell played with so much joy and excitement. He usually does play with those attributes but on this night it was more evident then ever before. A particular highlight was their exchange on Ah-Leu-Cha without the rhythm section. Speaking of the rhythm section, they were absolutely fabulous. Craig Scott doesn't get enough credit for his tasteful understated but hard swinging drumming. I have had the pleasure of hearing him a lot lately with Frank Wess, Ian McDougall and then with the outfit this weekend. Chris Sigerson is in the same category, not enough credit for his wonderfully creative piano playing and Miles Hill just sitting back there laying it down. It was a fabulous night all around. It was also very very nice to see the club totally packed! I think it may have been a record night at The Cellar but that is unconfirmed.

For those of you who don't know Tyler Summers, you should! This guy was a phenomenon when he was in high school. He was so advanced back then and has continued to grow immensely as a musician. This time however I don't speak of his abilities as a jazz musician but rather a pop star. Okay star may be little grand but Tyler's latest recorded effort 'Along For The Ride' is in the pop vein and it showcases Tyler's abilities as a songwriter, singer and acoustic guitar player. If you know me, you know that I have a love of pop music. This a fabulous record. Highlights are 'Settle Down' and 'Hold On To Me?" I think thats what it called, I don't have it in front of me. Go to www.tylersummers.com and check it out for yourself. Very cool stuff! Tyler will be at the club with David Braid (keys), Brad Turner (trumpet), Matt Wigton (bass) and Stockton Helbing (drums) on December 8th and 9th. Should be a happening show.

I went a little nuts the other day and bought some Mosaic sets that are absolutely incredible. First off the Mosaic Select of organist Big John Patton. These sessions are happening. Straight ahead funky organ stuff. Nothing ground breaking or innovative, just straight ahead organ music. Freaking beautiful!!

The complete Lou Donaldson on Blue Note from 1957 - 1960. Some of the reveiws say this set isn't very good. WRONG!! Lou is on fire throughout this whole set and it makes me why, when you talk about bebop saxophonists, Lou's name never really comes up. This has to change as this set is proof that Papa Lou can bop with the best of them. His sound isn't quite as full as some of his contemporaries but is still sweet and beautiful. If you can spare the money, get this set.

The Jazz Crusaders I'm a little disappointed in so far but to be fair I haven't checked much of it out as of yet so I will reserve my comments on this for a later date. Tubby Hayes on the other hand is absolutely burning on every set I seem to by. I hvae been buying up all I can find on the legendary under appreciated tenor saxophonist, flautist and vibist. Commonwealth Blues is one I bought on ebay and is unreleased BBC recording with a British Group. A heart rendering rendition of "The More I See You" by far the highlight.

Thats it for now!!

Makin Records

As I write this Im sitting in my office engineering a soon to be Cellar Live release by Bill Coon and Oliver Gannon. I think they call themselves Two Much Guitar, a fun play on words no doubt but there is never toooo much guitar when these guys are on stage. Its so great to witness the mutual admiration and respect that these to wonderful musicians have for one another.

Cellar Live has been a source of enjoyment since the day it started. What was suppossed to only be one two records tops has turned into 18 records with about 6 more expected to be released this year alone. Cellar Live is also hoping to attend MIDEM for teh first time thie January in Cannes, France.

There is something that never gets old about the process of putting out a cd. I have learned so much over teh past five years about the process and continue to learn on an ongoing basis. I never would/ve never dreamed of actually engineering a record five years ago. Now I'm not quite sure if I'm doing a good job but Chris Gestrin or Brad Turner who mix most of my records never say anything about the files I present to them so I must be doing something right. Make no miskake about it though, Brad and Chris make these records sound amazing. Recording on such a small stage is a difficult task sometimes but these guys lend their genius to the whole process and make me look like a genius!

The most rewarding part of the label is my distro deal with Japan. You see distro in Canada really means nothing. Im lucky if I sell 50 of any of our titles in the stores even though we continue to get tons of reviews nation wide. We sell lots of units on our website, from the club of course but Japan is what makes it really fun. They seem to be able to take a completely unknown artist in their market and sell a ton of records. For example 300 Bruno Hubert,350 Dave Robbins Sextet, 250 Joel Haynes Trio, 100 Oliver Gannon etc. Its nuts and they love our stuff which is really cool to.

I have had the pleasure of working with the Saltspring Workshop Sextet who are some fine young musicians and they have a cd coming out soon, we're trying our hardest to get the UGETSU cd out, Linton Garner's last concert before he passed is also in the works as well.

Fun stuff!!

Radio Show / Alto Madness and a pot pourri

Im excited to announce that I have finally gotten my radio show back on 102.7 CFRO every Monday from 11:00 am to noon. Hopefully if you're at work you can check us out on the web at www.coopradio.org. Unfortunately I only have one hour but hey I'll take it. The format of the show is as follows. The 1st Monday of every month will be the birthday show where we feature music from musicians who are celebrating a birthday that month. On December 5th we'll have music from the likes of Barry Harris, Hank Crawford, Dave Brubeck, Frank Morgan, Jim Hall, Jimmy Smith, Donald Byrd and Sonny Red all of whom were born in December. The 2nd Monday of the month will feature a musician who is upcoming at The Cellar or another venue. On December 12th we will be featuring pianist Kenny Barron for 60 minutes including an interview which will be fun. The 3rd Monday of every month we're calling 'Vinyl Freak' and we'll feature a rare out of print vinyl record that has yet to be re-issued on CD. On December19th, Jesse Cahill is scheduled to come into the studio and at the time of writing this we don't konw what record he'll be bringing in. It will no doubt be a gem however. The fourth Monday of every month we will feature a local artist from right here in Vancouver. We'll bring them into the studio and play some of their music, talk a little bit and have them program some of the music for that particular show. Dec 26th I will not be at the station so this feature will start in February.
Can't wait to start.

Im also very excited about next weekend. Two of my favorite musicians on my favorite instrument will be sharing the stage. Cam Ryga and PJ Perry. A little somethin I decided to call 'Alto Madness." Its going to be a blast as these two guys so so much respect for one another.

Then my week begins with producing the Morgan Childs / Jordan Baskin /Sean Cronin /Chris Gale project. Im particularily excited about this opportunity. This is a great band with lots of creative ideas so it will be a breeze.

On another note barring any major disaster it looks as if Cellar Live will be releasing The Oliver Gannon / Bill Coon project known as TWO MUCH GUITAR. We will be recording tomorrow night(Nov 19th) and using tunes from that sessoin as well as the session we did back in September. should be good!!!

How can you tell I'm excited about subbing for Nou this Friday. Find below my playlist for the show. The first hour of the show will be dedicated to the art of the 'live' performance. Then we open it up for a free for all before finsihing off with a classic Prestige date featuring: Jack McDuff on organ, George Benson on guitar, Red Holloway on saxes and Joe Dukes on drums. The session is 'Hot Barbecue' and it was recorded in 1966.

11 Years -Eric Alexander and Vincent Herring-The Battle
If I Were A Bell -Mulgrew Miller - Live @ Yoshi's
A Night In Tunisia - Charlie Parker-Town Hall
Groovin High - Charlie Parker - Town Hall
Monks Mood - Theolonius Monk and John Coltrane - Carnegie Hall
Bye-Ya - Thelonius Monk and John Coltrane - Carnegie Hall
Old Folks - Frank Morgan - Live @ The Jazz Standard
Flicker - Chad Makela - Flicker
I Didn’t Know What Time It Was - Hendrick Meurkens - New York Nights
Waltz For Debby - Benny Golson - Stockholm Sojourn
Tom Harrell - Brian Lynch -Conclave
Head - Don Patterson - Mellow Soul
Roccuss - Lee Morgan - Presenting
Ive Never Been In Love Before - Sonny Red - Out Of The Blue
The Time Is Now - Joel Haynes - The Time Is Now
Georgia - Joel Haynes -The Time Is Now
Teeko- John Swana - In The Moment
Three Blind Mice - Dr. Lonnie Smith - Think
Whisper Not - Golson / Farmer - Tonk
Thespian - Freddie Redd - Shades Of Redd
How Long Has This Been Going On - Bill Charlap - The American Soul
Hot Barbecue -Jack McDuff - Hot Barbecue
The Party’s Over - Jack McDuff - Hot Barbecue
Briar Patch - Jack McDuff - Hot Barbecue
Hippy Dip - Jack McDuff - Hot Barbecue
601 1/2 North Poplar - Jack McDuff - Hot Barbecue
Cry Me A River - Jack McDuff - Hot Barbecue
The Three Day Thang - Jack McDuff - Hot Barbecue


I also may be getting my regular show back on Monday late mornings from 11am to Noon. I'll keep you posted.

A Trane

Hello all. Just a note to let you know that I'm subbing for Nou Dadoun on A-Trane, 230 to 530 this coming friday on 102.7 CFRO. I will be featuring music from the following:

Tubby Hayes - 100% proof
Chad Makela Quartet - Flicker
Joel Haynes Trio - The Time Is Now
Hendrick Meurkens - New York Nights
Eric Alexander / Vincent Herring - The Battle
Frank Morgan - Live @ The Jazz Standard
John Swana - From This Moment
Jeff Tain Watts - Detained

and much more. I will also be featuring in its entirety organist Jack McDuff's 'Hot Barbecue' from 1966 with Red Holloway on tenor sax, George Benson on guitar and Joe Dukes on drums. This album has yet to be released on CD.

Night Out

I did something that I haven't done in quite some time last night. Actually go out to another venue and listen to live jazz. My night started out by hitting A&B Sound and picking up two aweseom Tubby Hayes records. One called Mexcian Green and the other called 100 % Proof. The latter is an amazing date with a big band and Tubby Hayes is really tearing it up. He's got a huge tenor sound and simply swings his ass off. I have heard of him for a long time but never really picked anything up. When I was on the road with Paul Anka, Alvin Cornista and I were talking and Hayes' name came up and decided I better check him out. WOW!!

I headed down to O'Douls to hear Ross Taggart play some solo piano and brought my horn along. I had the pleasure of playing a whole set with him and it was so much fun. I have sat it with Ross tons before but for some reason we really connected this time and thought that we played some nice stuff.

After O'Douls I headed over to Rime to catch Brad Turner's Quartet. Im embarassed that its taken me so long to get to Rime and I have to say its a GREAT PLACE. It was encouraging to see 50 or 60 people there. I couldn't help wonder why The Cellar can't seem to draw like that on a Tuesday night. Ah, to have the walk by of Commercial Drive. I'm not trying to insinuate at all that Cem has it easier. He works hard and like any jazz club I think struggles to get by. The vibe was great, lots of musicians hanging out and a great listening audience. I sat with two of Vancouver's Jazz Scenes biggest characters Jesse Cahill and Terry Deane or Big T as he is affectionatley known. We got into the dangerous game of overrated / underrated. I wish I had the guts to post some of my thoughts but I might be black listed forever I mean afterall I am the guy that likes George Coleman over Wayne Shorter. One thing the 3 of us agreed on unanimously is that Dylan van der Schyff is the finest player of brushes in this city. the whole band was sounding great!!

Then it was off to the airport to pickup Fathead and Karen Newman. It was great to see them come off the plane. They have become good friends and I get excited everytime I see them because they are so cool.

It was fun to get away from The Cellar and go somewhere else to hear music. I should do it more often.