Author: JazzBariSax Curator, Andrew Hadro

New, previously unreleased, Pepper Adams album!

For Pepper Adams fans (which is most baritone saxophonists I think) there is great news. A new album is being released after being uncovered by some extensive archive digging. Its being released on the Real to Reel label headed up by Cory Weeds. The title is “Pepper Adams with the Tommy Banks Trio: Live at the Room at the Top”

This is a recording from an engagement Pepper did with the Tommy Banks trio. The new recording is in a 2 disc format with an extensive booklet. The tune lengths seem to indicate plenty of stretching out in the blowing, which makes sense on a live recording not originally intended for release. 

From the official description:

The 100-minute performance was recorded on September 25th, 1972 at the University of Alberta.

This is the first release from a rich tape archive from Marc Vasey in Edmonton, Alberta. The set is transferred from the original analogue tapes. The deluxe edition double CD Includes an extensive 15 page booklet with rare photos; essays by Gary Carner, producer Cory Weeds; plus interviews with baritone saxophonists Frank Basile and Gary Smulyan as well as original music producer Marc Vasey.

Click here to pre-order ! (releases May 6th, 2022)

New Mulligan Transcription – Straight No Chaser

A new transcription has just been added to the transcription repository – and its a bit of a strange one. This transcription comes to us from Erik Robisch, thank you!

Gerry Mulligan fans will probably know of the album that features him and Thelonious Monk. Two seemingly very different players with different approaches, and boy does that show on this album. Monk being famously fond of dissonance and jagged lines and Mulligan opting for linear consonant melodies. I think its a safe assumption that this was a record company’s idea of ‘put two big names together and profit’ and thus I’m not sure the music was at the forefront of the intention here.

There’s a quote from mulligan that goes something like ‘playing with Monk’s comping is like falling down an elevator shaft’ or something to that effect. I think this is probably true in the best of circumstances, but listening to this album I can’t help but think that Monk is just intentionally messing with and vibing Mulligan. For example on the track where this transcription comes from, Monk plays a chorus of the head (Mulligan noodles) plays the head again with Mulligan, comps for 2 choruses then just lays out for the rest of Mulligan’s solo and the bass solo to boot. Mulligan did very little to interact or acknowledge Monk’s comping. After the bass solo, Mulligan tries to noodle a bit behind the piano solo but seems to give up and they just take the head out. An odd album – but if you’re interested in hearing what Mulligan does over the blues, head to the transcription repository and download yourself a copy. Have a listen down below.

Andrew Hadro releases new single, ‘Regarding the Moon’

As the curator of JazzBariSax.com I often have the pleasure or sharing music by all of the great baritonists out there. Today, Friday December 24th I am releasing a single and would like to share a bit of my own music with the world. Perhaps you are curious as to what the person who runs this site chooses to pursue artistically.

Here’s a bit about the singe. Follow this link to find it on the streaming platform of your choice or YouTube.

‘Regarding the Moon’ is a new composition by Greek bassist Petros Klampanis, commissioned and performed by Andrew Hadro, baritone saxophonist in New York City. Hadro began working on the concept in the early days of the pandemic as a way to give work to composers during the global  performance outage. It is written for double string quartet (four violin, two viola, two cello), bass, piano, drums and features the baritone saxophone. It utilizes the extreme upper register of the baritone saxophone, a range and timbre rarely used by composers.
 
The title is both a reference to the extreme upper reaches of saxophone range and  a nod to composer Claude Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’. The piece is so technically difficult that Hadro spent months re-learning the altissimo range of the baritone saxophone, while the recording took nearly 18 months to complete on two continents with sessions months apart.  
 
According to Petros, ‘Andrew asked me to write a tune that features the high register of the baritone, a sound which I find especially beautiful and surely not what someone expects to hear from a bari. I tried to integrate the roles of the different ensembles, within the whole group (strings on the one hand and a jazz quartet on the other) and create a musical story that allows the leading instrument to shine but not overshadow the colors of the group.’
 
This piece is the first in a series of compositions commissioned to feature the baritone saxophone with strings as part of Andrew Hadro’s ongoing project, ‘For Us, The Living’. Subsequent works will debut in 2022.
 
‘Regarding the Moon’ will be released on the  ΠΚ Music label on December 24th, 2021. Available wherever music is sold or streamed. To learn more please visit https://andrewhadro.com and https://www.petrosklampanis.com
 

Virtual Round Table on Pepper Adams

Do you want to watch 14 respected baritonists talk about and tell stories about Pepper Adams? Of course you do! Fortunately for all of us Gary Carner has put together such a thing. Gary is the author of the recent Pepper Adams biography Reflectory. Have a watch of the video below, and enjoy!

The musicians featured in the roundtable discussion were: Kenny Berger, Larry Dickson, Gary Smulyan, Glenn Wilson, Frank Griffith, Peter Leitch, John Vana, Andre White, Frank Basile, Shirantha Beddage, Aaron Lington, Jason Marshall, Adam Schroeder, Anders Svanoe.

 

JazzBariSax Holiday Gift Guide Page

Curator, Andrew Hadro with some of the baritone gift options.

There are a lot of terrible or tacky saxophone things for sale on the internet. So I’ve done some digging and tried to save some time for people looking to get baritone related gifts for friends, family, or other baritone enthusiasts. I’ve already purchased a number of these items as you can see. Since the holidays are approaching I thought it might be a good idea to share the list with everyone. Though we shouldn’t need a holiday to shower the baritonists in our lives with gifts.

The items range from more generic posters/prints/t-shirts to very niche and well done artistic renderings of famous baritone minded musicians. 

So if you’re looking to pick up something (less costly than a new horn) for that special baritone saxophonist in your life, head over to the Gift Ideas Page.

If you’re looking for more practical maybe head over to the Accessories page for a nice gift.

 

Pepper Adams Biography is now out! + Interview

Fans of Pepper Adams (so pretty much all baritone saxophonists) should be aware of Gary Carner. It is not an exaggeration to say he is the foremost authority on Pepper Adams. Not only does he run the very extensive site, pepperadams.com he also published ‘Joy Road’, a very thorough annotated discography of Pepper Adams. And after many years of prepping, holding interviews, and research he has completed his biography of Pepper, titled “Reflectory: The Life and Music of Pepper Adams”.

The biography is currently available in eBook form, with a physical copy perhaps due out in the future.  The amazing thing about the eBook format is that it includes inline links to hundreds of recordings relevant to exactly what is being said in the book at that time. Many of these recordings are previously unreleased – thousands of hours of music included here.

Find out even more and buy a copy here:
https://www.pepperadams.com/Reflectory/index.html

I recently was able to have a nice discussion with Gary Carner about the book and also about Pepper Adams. His love and enthusiasm for the great baritonist and this project is clearly evident. I have included the interview below.

2 More Pepper Adams Transcriptions!

Continuing with the recent theme of Pepper Adams (appropriate since his birthday was recently) there are two new transcriptions in the repository thanks to Noah Pettibon! More Pepper Adams news coming soon too.

The first is on the classic Monk blues “Straight, No Chaser” from a live TV broadcast in Sweden, and the second is from the great album “Jazzmen Detroit”. Enjoy them both below!