Manafonistas

 

 
 
 
Just a footnote to my post about Marc Copland, not really a full blown review:

The new trio album, ECV by Canadian guitarist Roddy Ellias, Marc Copland and bassist Adrian Vedady really hits the chamber jazz sweet spot for me. It’s an all acoustic, superbly recorded album that blends folk, jazz, classical and avant- garde compositional techniques with plenty of room for blowing. This is a highly pleasurable listen from start to finish. There are mostly melodic pieces, but also a few that are pretty abstract, and even one that uses what sounds a lot like 12 tone techniques.

Overall it’s a downtempo affair, but it’s anything but sleepy background music. Lots of odd time signatures, contrapuntal writing and very deep listening going on. Copland responds perfectly to everything his band mates throw his way, making him a consummate accompanist. His solos are especially on point in this setting. Bassist Adrian Vedady, who I am unfamiliar with, has a bright tone and aggressive attack, similar to Eddy Gomez. He’s a supportive player, though his solos don’t immediately grab me, but will perhaps sink in over time.

As there are so few jazz players who have made the acoustic guitar their main instrument, it would be facile to describe Ellias’s writing and playing as similar to Towner’s. Towner’s writing has a signature sound that can be broken down into his neoclassical work, his world influenced writing and on occasion, a straight-ahead sound. While Ellias seems to mine those same veins of musical ore, somehow he comes up with a sound that doesn’t bring Towner to mind as much as one would think. His melodies are more angular, and his chord structures just don’t sound like Ralph’s. It’s like two master painters with slightly different palettes. As I’m not very familiar with Ellias’s work, it will take time to get to know his individual sound. I do like his writing, very much. As a soloist, Ellias is generally more spare, and his improvisational approach tends to be a bit more abstract than Towner’s.

The best thing I can say about this new recording is that I listened to it no less than 3 times yesterday.  It can be purchased (and at the best price I could find,) through CDbaby.com.

Well I rang up Pantucci

Spoke to Luchi

I gave them all

Zuerst wollte ich als Fat Lady of Limbourg gehen, dann entschied ich mich doch für das Sprachkostüm. Da ich mich auf dem ultrasnobbistischen Festival in Sanremo bewege, trage ich die Cat-Eye gegen die südliche Sonne und ein schwarzes Midlength dress, natürlich alles Gucci. Ich wollte James Taylor wiedersehen, my sweet baby James, young as 68, what the hell is he doing here? We were so young, when he sounded already so old. He was 20 then … So many drugs, so many chicks … In Sanremo he performs with Giorgia, la star italiana. Sie ist so jung wie das Lied von Carol King, 1971 geboren.

Quando sei triste, preoccupato, dice il testo,

Quando hai bisognio di una mano et niente va il verso giusto

Chiudi gli occhi e pensami, lo arrivero, correndo

YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND

James Taylor und Giorgia in duetto, bellissima!

Ich ziehe mein Kostüm noch nicht aus. Es muss mich noch durch die ersten Höllenkreise von Dante begleiten. Nächstes Jahr gehe ich als Beatrice, certo!

I believe in Zufall (chance).

I guess it was before 1995 when I became aware of Marc Copland, so it was just the same time when Brian met the music of Marc Copland. It was the time when the internet stepped out from governmental, universitary or military institutions to conquer the world and knit a world wide web. In those days it was not so easy to do things like this:

I’ll be exploring his back catalog for many years to come.

Nowadays it’s simple. Just visit Discogs or Spotify (as I did yesterday) and you’ll find an abundant number of recordings of Marc Copland.

How did it happen – maybe in 1993 – that I heard Marc Copland? You know (or even not) that German TV-stations didn’t broadcast a full 24-hour-program then. The station 3sat for example showed overnight only Teletext, underlaid by Jazz and some additional information about the presented tune. On average I visited 2 or 3 times a month this nightly hours of 3sat when I couldn’t find sleep or when I woke up early in the morning. One morning I listened to an electrifying Piano Trio, Marc Copland treating the keys, as I could read. A few days later I got the CD. Two Way Street is the title of this fine album, starting and ending surprisingly muscular. In between you’ll find wonderful balladesque versions of M.A.S.H. and Antonio Carlos Jobim’s Zingaro. You listen to an imaginative pianist with a highly individual use of harmonies, fine melodic lines, in conversation with his tasteful partners Dieter Ilg on bass and Ralph Penland on drums. Songs Without End never found the way to Germany, I presume.

 
 
 

 
 
 
Booklet remarks by John Abercrombie
 

I lost sight of him, like you Brian, not because of descending interest, but rather than lack of offerings. I discovered one more album, What’s Goin On, with Dieter Ilg and Jeff Hirshfield. This time the notes in the booklet are created by Marc Copland.

 
 
 

 
 
 
Booklet remarks by Marc Copland
 

It was rather late, when I focussed on this great artist again, not since Copland is cooperating with ECM, which started not before 2013. The label Pirouet from München had been the home of Copland for a long time, as far as I see from 2003 until 2012. In this period 3 highly important albums had been released, gems in my collection.

 
 
– NEW YORK TRIO RECORDINGS VOL. 1 / MODINHA
– NEW YORK TRIO RECORDINGS VOL. 2 / VOICES
– NEW YORK TRIO RECORDINGS VOL. 3 / NIGHT WHISPERS
 
 

I know that Marc Copland started his musical career as a saxophone player, a fact which is well documented on the Pirouet website.

Marc Copland, 1948 in Philadelphia geboren, beherrschte das Altsaxophon Mitte der 1970er Jahre vorzüglich, kollaborierte in New York mit arrivierten Kollegen wie Ralph Towner, Chico Hamilton und John Abercrombie. Doch irgendwann spürte er, dass etwas falsch lief. „Die Musik, die ich spielte, war nicht die Musik, die mir im Kopf herumging.“ Von einem Tag auf den anderen legte er das Horn zur Seite, zog sich völlig aus der Szene zurück und begann, das Geheimnis des Elfenbeins zu ergründen. Zehn Jahre verschwand er von der Bildfläche, übte verbissen und studierte andere Pianisten. 1985 fühlte er sich endlich bereit für den Start in die zweite Karriere. Ein Novum, ein Unding!

Another important label is hatOLOGY, where Copland recorded several albums between 2002 and 2011, including Marc Copland And … & Impressions (Duo with Dave Liebman).

I can’t say more than Brian about Marc Copland, except of that I witnessed him live at the wonderful Jazz Club Birdland in Neuburg/Donau – a deep experience.

Thanks to Brian for singing the praise of Marc.