David Marriott, Jr. is a jazz trombonist, composer/arranger, educator, and blogger. A two-time Earshot Jazz Golden Ear Award recipient and winner of the 1999 National Jazz Trombone Competition, David is active in a variety of Seattle jazz groups, including the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, Zubatto Syndicate and his own critically-acclaimed groups Septology and Triskaidekaband.
I try to stop into Silver Platters on Queen Anne whenever I'm in the neighborhood, so I pulled in after a nice dinner at my folks for a quick browse -- just taking a look, I told myself. These are always famous last words, as I somehow ended up at the cash register with this Steve Grossman reissue -- one I have never seen on CD, I might add. Steve Grossman's "Perspective" was released by Atlantic Records in 1979 and presents Grossman in a big budget production for the first time as a leader. He revisits some of the material from the Stone Alliance library, but each is given a fresh sound in the expanded group. Onaje Allan Gumbs also contributes arrangements on what would basically be Grossman's "final" record as a leader for a while, and certainly from this period. My brother found this on vinyl a few years ago -- just when I thought I had already found all the old Steve Grossman -- and when I saw it on CD, I had to snag the only copy on the outside chance that it was the last copy in print. Thanks to Wounded Bird Records for reissuing this monster!
Thankfully, you can pick it up on Amazon, but it doesn't appear to be available digitally -- you're out of luck if you can't play a CD for this one!
My recording titled "Septology: In The Beginning" is now available online via iTunes and a wide variety of other sources! It's taken a long time, but it's finally here, ten years after it's initial release in 1999. This recording, along with the two recordings I did with my brother Thomas, helped to start my career, and gained me a great deal of recognition as a composer. Commissioned by Earshot Jazz through a grant they received -- thank you again! -- and debuted at Jazz Alley, the work and the recording are still, ten years later, one of my proudest moments. My friends all sound so great, and it reminds me of a productive and care-free time in my life. Obviously influenced by the works of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and the Wynton Marsalis Septet, it was my first extended work, and truly helped me find my compositional voice. I've since written two more extended works for the group -- performed, but unrecorded -- and am working on a new work that will be recorded, and very soon. Your support can only make it happen sooner! If you've never checked it out, now's your chance. Try the widget below, or find us in the iTunes and Amazon stores, as well as a variety of others (via Tunecore) -- get it cheap at Amie Street, for example. Thanks again, and spread the word!
A couple of weeks ago, I spent the weekend out at Bear Creek Studios recording Phil Kelly's new big band record. Award-winning photographer Daniel Sheehan was on hand to take a group photo, and he's been kind enough to share the image on his blog, Eyeshot Jazz. Enjoy!
In a recent series of articles for The Partial Observer, Neo Classical columnist Holly Mulcahy writes about the ten most common ways that performers alienate their audiences. While the article is generally written from the context of a classical musician's point of view, nearly every word in this article applies to the vast majority of musicians as a whole. The article is written with humor to demonstrate it's points without coming across heavy-handed. Musicians: pay attention to this article -- it could help you get hired back!
A new UK social music and networking site, Kerchoonz, is now paying artists when their streams are played online. I'm testing it out with my Septology: In the Beginning recording to see what it's all about. If you'd like to help support me without having to spend a dime, listen to Septology: In the Beginning on Kerchoonz instead of playing your CD or MP3's. If you are a musician and want to upload your music and reap whatever benefits may come down the line, sign up for an artist account.
In a joint collaboration with Google, LIFE has placed millions of photos online for the general public to enjoy from their archive. Of those millions of photos, 200 appear when searching for "jazz", and there are some great shots here worth paying attention to that potentially were never published. View all 200 jazz photos in the LIFE archive, or feel free to visit the LIFE archive home page to look for other subjects -- on a side note, Louis Armstrong appears in the "People" list on the home page! I love the Miles one on the right, but I put my two favorites below, both taken by photographer Eliot Elisofon in 1954. Enjoy!
Leave it to Jerry Oram to drop all the golden nuggets! Here's another one, this time from noted trumpet player, composer and author Irving Bush:
There are two sides to a trumpeter's personality: there is the one that lives only to lay waste to the woodwinds and strings leaving them lying blue and lifeless along the swath of destruction that is a trumpeter's fury; then there's the dark side...
I've been quietly working on a new suite for my group, Septology, tentatively titled, America Is. This election season has helped to redefine America in so many ways, but at the core, the words we use to describe the best of what America is have not changed. Words like "freedom," "opportunity," "liberty," and "hope" come to mind, among many others. What is America to you, in one word? Please comment!
I didn't think I'd be able to attend much of the 2009 Earshot Jazz Festival as I've been completely tied up with The Drowsy Chaperone at The 5th Avenue, but with my Monday night free, and my brother in the band, I decided to check out Wayne Horvitz and NY Composers Orchestra West at The Triple Door. While I did bring my camera, I sadly didn't bring anything for note taking, so I missed getting the titles, but to be honest, it's not important. What was important about this concert was the music of composer and keyboardist Wayne Horvitz. I used to go see his band Zony Mash at the OK Hotel and revelled in the groove, but always remembered seeing a similar incarnation of tonight's band around ten years ago. My tastes have certainly broadened since then, and with a focus on Wayne's writing this time, I was even more taken with it. It truly was an all-star band:
Trumpets: Brad Allison, Ron Miles, Thomas Marriott
French Horn: Tom Varner
Trombones: Chris Stover, Nelson Bell
Saxophones: Mark Taylor, Skerik, Briggan Krauss, Hans Teuber, Jim De Joie, Doug Wieselman
Guitar: Tim Young
Drums and Percussion: Bobby Previte
Bass: Phil Sparks
Piano and Conductor: Wayne Horvitz, Robin Holcomb
The music was largely composed with sparse moments for improvisation, although there were a few extended solos -- generally by the saxophonists or Wayne. I found that the program truly reflected the seeming dual musical personalities of Wayne Horvitz: on one side, a deep love of groove, blues, and a fun-loving jam; on the other, a deep compositional complexity that understands the bigger ideas of drama, counterpoint, density, and development. Added to all this comes the icing of improvisation, usually in the context in simple harmonies or free open sections. For the most part, I would use words like "progressive" or "experimental" to describe the music, but I also took away the feeling of "energy" and "freedom" from the music as well. The epic "River of Whiskey" was a highlight, as was the sheer energy of Briggan Krauss during his one solo of the night. But it's hard to pick a highlight at all, because the improvisation really served the compositions -- a concept strangely lacking in much of jazz music today. Hopefully, it also reminded the listening public that the big band is not dead, it's just rare to hear something new. Well, we did tonight. Enjoy the slideshow!
