Carol Sudhalter: The Octave Tunes

Carol Sudhalter has always been a bit of a Renaissance woman: playing and leading groups from duo to big band, collaborating with band mates from the U.S. and Italy, gigging overseas as well as at her home base in NY, being a multi-reeds player who doubles on flute, putting her own unique spin on familiar standards, and writing and performing original compositions.

Carol’s latest CD, Carol Sudhalter: The Octave Tunes, reflects the eclectic nature of her music. The title refers to the fact that each song has its own special opening leap. I’ve included my observations on a few of the tracks.

The first cut, “Flamingo,” given an Afro-Cuban treatment, features Carol’s ethereal but hard-driving flute, along with the exquisite piano of her young Italian protégé, Carlo M. Barile. On “Pancake Blues,” written by another fine Italian musician, Vido Di Modugno, who swings on organ, Carol showcases her earthy, old-school tenor. A soulful and moving vocal by Marti Mobin is the focus on “You Go to My Head,” where Carol contributes strong support with the interweaving lines of her bari, and her low-pitched notes cut straight to the heart.

It’s back to flute for “Alice in Wonderland,” along with Carlo on piano again. The sensitive interplay and soloing of the two instruments accentuates the wistful nature of the Disney song. In “Nature Boy,” Antonio Cervellino plays purring arco bass, and this time the pianist is the compelling Joe Vincent Tranchina. Carol contributes a heartbreaking flute solo before a return to the basic combination of arco and piano, with the occasional addition of flute accents. Another wonderful singer, Elena Camerin, is showcased with her romantic vocal to the beautiful Argentinian song, “Quisiera Ser.” Vito Di Modugno’s powerful organ is front and center for a moving reading of Billy Strayhorn’s “Daydream.”

To end the CD (and make it truly one for “all seasons”), are festive but off-the-beaten-track renditions of the Holiday Season standards, “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” and “The Christmas Song.”

These are just a few of the musical delights listeners can find on Carol Sudhalter: The Octave Tunes. There is no other recording, jazz or otherwise, quite like it. Carol Sudhalter and her fellow artists have managed to achieve fresh ways of performing familiar standards, as well as originals, and make this CD an enjoyable and fascinating listening experience from beginning to end.

For further information about Carol Sudhalter: The Octave Tunes click on this link. You can also learn about Carol Sudhalter's other recordings and gigs by going here.

An interview with Carol can also be found in my blogpost of Friday, July 24, 2009 ("And More Answers to the Two Questions.")

The Two Questions: Winter 2010 Edition

My first 2010 responder to the two questions is the unbelievably-talented keyboard player and composer, George Colligan. He has been in demand as a sideman, for such legends as Buster Williams and Jack DeJohnette. When not doing that, he can often be found leading his own bands, where he expresses a unique and compelling musical vision on both acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes. George's many CDs illustrate the fact he can play seemingly everything from straight-ahead to fusion to free, plus the recordings showcase his ability to write songs in different styles yet manage to retain a point-of-view uniquely his. The newest recording, "Come Together," (where he's joined by Boris Koslov on bass and Donald Edwards on drums), has gotten wonderful reviews from jazz critics.

Recently, George took time out from all this and a teaching gig, to send me some answers. Well, here they are:


1) Why did you decide on a career in music?

I don't believe that I decided. I had no other choice. (My last job before music was in the late 80's, working at the Great American Chocolate Chip Cookie Company in the Columbia Mall. I'm hoping I'll never have to go back to that.) But seriously, I would say that from 9th grade, the only thing I was any good at was music. It was weird because I didn't have any role models for becoming a musician. I did have some great role models as teachers, so initially, I thought I would be a band director. My middle school band director, Lee Stevens, and my high school band director, Don Cohen, were very inspirational. I should mention that my main instrument was trumpet, although I did mess around with drums and I was composing on the piano in high school. I had a lot of physical difficulty with the trumpet, and my high school band director actually told me at one point:" You seem to have a lot of music inside of you, but you just can't seem to get it to come out. Maybe you should play saxophone?" I think I hung in there with the trumpet just to prove him wrong.

At a certain point , maybe senior year of high school, I just was spending all of my time on music and I wasn't really interested in anything else. I decided to go to Peabody Conservatory as a classical trumpet/music ed major,despite my middle school band director trying to talk me out of it. In college, I started gigging at the Hyatt Regency in Baltimore as a jazz pianist. It was great to have that steady income, since I didn't get a lot of money from my parents. My rent was $250 a month, and I was making $220 every weekend at the Hyatt. So I liked that feeling of being a professional musician. And in terms of the piano, I was only playing piano to be a better composer- I didn't ever intend on being a pianist for a living.


2) What is it you love about jazz that made you decide to focus on that particular type of music?

It's weird because I think I liked jazz the less I understood it. It always seemed exciting and mysterious to me. Plus I always liked the rhythm. I used to like classical music a lot, and I liked some pop, rock, and rap music at various times. But jazz always seemed to stand out to me. A neighbor gave me some really great records that I listened to a lot: Clifford Brown/Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis' " Milestones", and a record with Art Farmer and Donald Byrd called " Trumpets All Out." I also listened to Clifford Brown " The Beginning and The End" , Herbie Hancock's " Headhunters", and Coltrane's " My Favorite Things." I used to try to play my trumpet along with the records, even though I had no idea why I didn't sound like what the artists on those records were actually playing. For some reason, jazz always gave me a really vivid mental picture that I wanted to understand and be a part of.

I also like the fact that jazz is a living music. Since I wanted to be a composer, jazz has given me an opportunity to compose on the bandstand every night. Plus I have gotten to write a song in the afternoon and have it performed that evening. I like to be creative. I don't think that need would have been fulfilled playing trumpet in an orchestra!


For a virtual experience of George at a live gig, go here:

Mark Murphy for NEA Jazz Master and Downbeat Singer of the Year?

The NEA Jazz Masters ceremony is going on even as I type this, and once again Mark Murphy is not among the group. Since Jon Hendricks and as of tonight, Annie Ross, have been so honored, it seems logical that Mark should be the next jazz vocalist to become an honoree in 2011. However, if no one nominates him, this will not occur. I strongly urge all his fans to so encourage the NEA by going to its site.

While I'm at it, also want to mention that Mark Murphy did not get chosen as Jazz Vocalist of the Year in the latest Downbeat Readers Poll. Can you believe it? An innovator like him is shut out, yet that guy I mentioned in an earlier blogpost "who has stolen from the best" gets voted in ahead of the master. Not sure when nominations will be solicited for that honor as well, but when the time does come, let's all make sure we vote for Mark.

Okay enough spleen-venting. Next blogpost--back to business as usual!

Back Again to the Two Questions: Pre-Holiday Edition

In this latest post, the familiar "two questions" have been answered by the versatile drummer, Mauricio Zottarelli, born in Brazil but for the past few years another fellow resident of Astoria. Mauricio has been a sideman with musicians such as harmonica player Hendrik Meurkens and keyboardist Hiromi but is currently focusing on his own music. There was the recent release of his CD, 7 Lives, and on Tuesday, December 22, he and his band will be gigging at Zinc Bar, located at 82 W. 3rd St., in Greenwich Village, NYC. The first set begins at 9:30 p.m.

Now let's read what Mauricio has to say:


1) Why did you decide on a career in music?

Deep question. Well, I don't think I actually had a choice. You know I think it's kind of a cliche and people say that all the time, but I did try to do other stuff before being a full-time musician. But I always did music, even, you know, as a hobby during weekends and things like that. I was always involved. And according to my parents, I was always playing drums since I was 2 or 3 and I didn't even know what I was doing, but I was always banging on stuff and interested in music from early on. My dad is a keyboard player and mostly by instinct--he didn't really go to school for music, but he loves jazz, and it also seems to be a common thing that happens with all the musicians. People have their parents as a reference and whatever they were listening to in their homes. So that's kind of what happened to me too, but I didn't get into jazz until much later on.

2) What is it you love about jazz that made you decide to focus on that type of music?

Well, basically, I love the freedom that jazz gives us and what you can do with it, and it's a lot more liberating in a way than playing other types of music. You know, it's deeper and it's something that when I started, I was playing heavy rock and I was interested in other types of music, not so much into the jazz thing that my dad was listening to. Then when I went to school and I started to understand more of what was happening, that really switched for me, though I still love heavy rock and still love all sorts of other music. But jazz is really interesting because of that freedom, and because of how you can express yourself in such a way that I don't think you have that freedom in other types of music. Maybe you do but it's a different thing, and that's what I really love about playing improvisational music. Sometimes you can do just anything and you can leave it open to whatever happens. It can be a great experience; it can be frustrating, but that's what I love about it. It's not having to plan everything out beforehand.


For a preview of Mauricio's music, watch his recent video at You Tube by clicking here. Also, be sure to check out his website: www.mzdrums.com.

Back to the Two Questions

In this current blogpost, the two questions have been answered by the incredibly-talented Russian-born jazz pianist and composer, Misha Piatigorsky. Actually, his music is about more than just straight-ahead jazz. It also encompasses elements of classical, Brazilian, rock, funk, and World, plus he's a darn good drummer too! Misha performs with many types of bands, in particular, his trio, his septet and the more rock-oriented Sketchy Black Dog. Furthermore, he's been the music director for Mark Murphy since 2002. Misha recently released the CD, "17 Rooms." It showcases his versatility as he, ably assisted by Boris Kozlov on bass and Ari Hoenig on drums, performs mainly originals, such as "Ballade of Edward vs. Edward Opus 23," "Kindred Spirit," and the title song, along with a few songs by other composers, such as John Lennon's "Imagine."

With all these projects, it's amazing that Misha had time to answer my questions. But he did, and his answers now follow:


1) Why did you decide on a career in music?

Well I think it's not a matter of choosing to make music my career. Making a decision that this is all I want to do. So a career or no career--that's a subsidiary sort of occurrence. I decided that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. This is what I want to do everyday all day long. This is my hobby. This is my love. This is my food. So you do what you need to do and if you can work out a situation to make some money doing it, then you're in business.

2) What is it you love about jazz that made you decide to focus on that type of music?

Well I've always heard jazz in my house growing up and I was a classical pianist until I was about 16 years old or so. Besides hearing jazz I heard a lot of Beatles, because that's what my parents were really into. But my dad always played Oscar Peterson albums and different kinds of stuff--George Shearing albums--and I just got incredibly into it. When I was about 17, I started checking out different albums and different pianists, and I realized I really want to learn how to do that and how to make that happen. And the more I examined, the more infatuated I got with different pianists, with different horn players, musicians--just the sound of jazz. And there is such a round and open art form from so many different generations of great jazz musicians. And I started just eating everything up, you know--starting from anything from eating up the way Count Basie plays, to falling in love with Monk, Duke, you know, and then falling in love with the way Bill Evans plays, falling in love with the way Kenny Barron plays, falling in love with the way Chick Corea plays, Keith Jarrett. So I just started to focus on whoever I was infatuated with at that moment. If I heard something I was crazy about, I just needed to understand it and devour it.


To see videos of Misha Piatigorsky with his octet at the Iridium Jazz Club, as well as videos of his earlier gigs, click on this link.

For even more information about Misha Piatigorsky, check out his site at http://www.mishamusic.com/.

Justice for Jazz Artists

Justice for Jazz Artists is an organization attempting to get pensions for all jazz artists who work in NY clubs. Thanks to its lobbying the NY State Legislature, two years ago the 8.375% sales tax on admissions to jazz clubs was repealed. This money was to be redirected into pension payments, which would thus cost the clubs nothing but benefit the artists who perform in them. (Please note, however, that Musicians’ Local 802 does have collective bargaining agreements with Jazz at Lincoln Center and the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Also there are several member-leader agreements already in place that provide pension and health benefits to jazz musicians.)

Justice for Jazz Artists has been striving to get as many names as possible on a petition encouraging the NY jazz clubs to do the right thing. On September 29, a rally was held at Judson Memorial Church. I had the privilege of being a part of this event. Great music was contributed by artists such as Jimmy Owens, Bob Cranshaw, Benny Powell, Bernard Purdie and Keisha St. Joan. Speeches were also made by some of them, as well as by Amiri Baraka and Councilman Alan J. Gerson. Then all the musicians in attendance who had brought their instruments picked them up, some of those without instruments picked up signs with slogans about our cause and we all marched, New Orleans-style, out into the street. Our destination was the Blue Note, for the purpose of presenting a copy of the petition to a representative of the club. We slowly proceeded there, using a carefully delineated route under the watchful eyes of some of New York City's Finest, the petition was dutifully presented, and we all returned to Judson Memorial to the accompaniment of one of Monk's songs as rendered by our marching band.

Those of us who consider jazz important feel it is a travesty that its practitioners have long been denied the right to a comfortable retirement. If you agree and want more information about Justice for Jazz Artists and its efforts, you can go to its site by clicking here.

Fat Cat

Been a while since I've done a post, mainly because I've been waiting for more of my jazzy friends to step forward with answers to my "two questions." (Hmmph!) As a result, my blog has been idle for too long. Therefore, I decided to do my latest post on a strange but interesting venue I've started going to when I want to hear good jazz but not break the bank, Fat Cat.

Fat Cat is located at 75 Christopher Street near 7th Avenue in NYC. Once I go down the stairs, the first one to greet me is a guy who takes the $3 cover (cash only). I pass the bar area, then head over to a small section filled with couches near what you might call the "stage." Meanwhile behind me are dozens of pool tables, ping pong tables, foosball tables, tables with chessboards and checkerboards on top, etc., as well as people loudly involved in the different activities. All this makes for an interesting non-musical accompaniment to the jazz, which bands of various sizes are attempting to play for whoever is seated on the couches and trying to listen.

The gigs I generally check out at Fat Cat are those with reed man extraordinaire Peter Brainin on tenor and soprano. One of the most memorable also included Mark Soskin on piano, Boris Koslov on bass and Mike Clark on drums. Great music played by some of the greatest musicians on the planet--it doesn't get any better than this! (Definitely not an upscale kind of club like Blue Note or Birdland, but with jazz of this caliber at wallet-friendly prices, who cares? Plus I kinda dig the weird atmosphere of the place!)