So this is it! this is getting real my friends, next week I will go in the studio and record for 2 days with Kenny Barron! Needless to say I am as excited as one can be. This is a dream about to become true. I remember growing up and listening to Kenny Barron, he is a legend, one of the true masters. Kenny is just a beautiful person all around, so generous and kind.
I went to his house this morning to go over the music with him. It is incredible how you can recognize his sound, his voicings, so powerful and harmonious. We started the rehearsal with my composition "Prelude", and it starts with a simple C-7 / DbMaj7 for 8 bars. I don't know why or how, but that C-7, he plays it in such a beautiful way! The form of this song is AABA, and the B is an adaptation of this classical piece for piano I wrote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p_0uDSVIS0
I will play the soprano on this song and it will be just trio, sax, piano and bass.
We went on with "Question Mark", a swinging waltz with a bluesy taste, a singing melody with some modulating harmony. This piece will be a duo soprano and piano.
We will record the standard "Alone Together" as a quartet (I will play the tenor) and with a latin feel to it, almost like a bolero. Also on the recording will be "Lester Left Town" by Wayne Shorter, that we will play a bit faster than the original version, "Plain Jane" by Sonny Rollins (got to thank my brother Rob Duguay for introducing me to this great tune) and "On a slow boat to China" that I will play duo tenor and piano.
"The 5 O'clock shadow" is an original composition, the head is completely rubato and then the solo is a turn around in F- and a 4 bar phrase on cue. Kenny played such beautifully at the rehearsal, I can't wait to record it so you can hear it!
"Habanera" is a beautiful melody by my friend Javier Zalba and it will feature Kenny.
"Blues For Fred" is dedicated to my friend Fred Lebayle, the genius mouthpiece maker. It's a tricky blues, the first part is in 21/8, basically an afro feel in 7, then the dotted quarter note becomes the new half note and we go into a fast tempo 4/4 for the second part, the melody is obviously edited a little bit and the solo is on a 24-bar blues.
"Don't you know me by now" is a great tune by Tommy Campbell, a blues in the style of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, super swinging!
We finished the session with "Duke Ellington's sound of love" by Charles Mingus. I met Tommy Campbell on a gig with the Mingus big band so i thought it would be nice to have a mingus tune in the book. This is such a great composition, it will be recorded as a duo alto sax and piano.
We are going to have one more rehearsal and next week we will be in the studio making some beautiful music for you!
I went to his house this morning to go over the music with him. It is incredible how you can recognize his sound, his voicings, so powerful and harmonious. We started the rehearsal with my composition "Prelude", and it starts with a simple C-7 / DbMaj7 for 8 bars. I don't know why or how, but that C-7, he plays it in such a beautiful way! The form of this song is AABA, and the B is an adaptation of this classical piece for piano I wrote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p_0uDSVIS0
I will play the soprano on this song and it will be just trio, sax, piano and bass.
We went on with "Question Mark", a swinging waltz with a bluesy taste, a singing melody with some modulating harmony. This piece will be a duo soprano and piano.
We will record the standard "Alone Together" as a quartet (I will play the tenor) and with a latin feel to it, almost like a bolero. Also on the recording will be "Lester Left Town" by Wayne Shorter, that we will play a bit faster than the original version, "Plain Jane" by Sonny Rollins (got to thank my brother Rob Duguay for introducing me to this great tune) and "On a slow boat to China" that I will play duo tenor and piano.
"The 5 O'clock shadow" is an original composition, the head is completely rubato and then the solo is a turn around in F- and a 4 bar phrase on cue. Kenny played such beautifully at the rehearsal, I can't wait to record it so you can hear it!
"Habanera" is a beautiful melody by my friend Javier Zalba and it will feature Kenny.
"Blues For Fred" is dedicated to my friend Fred Lebayle, the genius mouthpiece maker. It's a tricky blues, the first part is in 21/8, basically an afro feel in 7, then the dotted quarter note becomes the new half note and we go into a fast tempo 4/4 for the second part, the melody is obviously edited a little bit and the solo is on a 24-bar blues.
"Don't you know me by now" is a great tune by Tommy Campbell, a blues in the style of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, super swinging!
We finished the session with "Duke Ellington's sound of love" by Charles Mingus. I met Tommy Campbell on a gig with the Mingus big band so i thought it would be nice to have a mingus tune in the book. This is such a great composition, it will be recorded as a duo alto sax and piano.
We are going to have one more rehearsal and next week we will be in the studio making some beautiful music for you!