ARTIST: Tom Gavornik
TITLE: A Long Time Ago...
LABEL: Self Released
GENRE: Jazz
BITRATE: 160kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 56m total
RELEASE DATE: 2007-00-00
RIP DATE: 2007-06-04
Track List
----------
1. A Long Time Ago (Ensemble) 9:50
2. Up And Away (I Don't Want To 7:11
See The Wires)
3. He Is Mysterious (The 9:14
Invincible Christ)
4. Little Friends 4:51
5. God Smiles On Me Too 11:08
6. White Hats/Black Hats (Cowboy 3:54
Blues)
7. Hey Jim, It's In "F" 2:29
8. A Long Time Ago (Duo) (Slight 3:55
Return)
9. March Of The Innocent 4:02
Release Notes:
As we burst into the new Millennium, our musical crusade to find the leaders of
a new movement should leave no stone unturned. Many of the 21 st century's
future Coltranes, McCartneys, and the like have yet to be born. But there is no
question that just as many leaders of the new era are alive and well and have
already been productive in the last century. One such trailblazer, Recording
artist Tom Gavornik, has been shaping the direction of Jazz guitar since the
mid-1960's. With the arrival of his fifth recording, Just Talking , Mr. Gavornik
has captured the imagination of jazz aficionados around the world. His most
relaxed, confident, and groundbreaking recording to date, Just Talking will
elevate Tom Gavornik's reputation to the highest echelon of composers and
performers in the modern age of Jazz. So slip in the disc, sit back, relax, and
revel in the knowledge that you are listening to the dawning of a new era in
American music.
* * * * *
Like so many others, Tom vividly remembers the arrival of The Beatles onto the
American music scene in February of 1963. The deceptively simple melodies and
harmonies packaged into memorable songs captivated the young man. He vowed to
save enough money to buy an electric guitar, and upon acquiring the instrument,
work diligently at becoming a proficient player. Tom eventually bought a guitar,
and in an effort to quench his insatiable thirst for learning, he used to lug it
miles and miles around his hometown to watch other players perform. He drove
more than one player crazy by standing directly in front of the stage with his
own guitar, watching intently, trying to memorize the movements of accomplished
fingers along the fretboard. In addition to his jaunts to local performances,
Tom studied rhythm guitar with a local teacher and immediately learned the
importance of composition and feel over style and flash.
As Tom's playing progressed, he began to gig locally 3 or 4 nights a week. His
interest in rock guitar was furthered as innovators like Eric Clapton, Jeff
Beck, and Jimi Hendrix brought their hybrid blues styles to the forefront of
popular music. When Tom came across a guitarist named Jim Stringer, who in Tom's
words was ôthirty years ahead of his time,ö he was moved to break out of the
pentatonic scales that so dominated his playing to that point and cross into
uncharted musical territory. In 1969, Tom formed an improvisational trio called
TNT. The three members took the styles of the aforementioned guitarists and
melded them with jazzier instrumentalists like Miles Davis, Wes Montgomery, and
George Benson.
Tom continued to hone his chops, and in 1973 he found a teacher and mentor in
the incomparable Harry Leahey. The new instructor encouraged Tom to eschew the
practice of only learning the standards and instead focus on his own
compositions. His first original songs drew comparisons to progressive rock
groups like Yes and Deep Purple, and gave a hint of the direction Tom would
pursue later in life. He became a firm believer in mastering and incorporating
theory without depending on it for his original material. Therefore, he was able
to quickly develop his own style and feel, which he continued to hone at the
direction of Harry Leahey. In what has become a hallmark of his sound throughout
his career, Tom always believed that the music and composition were more
important than his desire to show off his chops. While not afraid to compose and
execute the most difficult passages, he never lost focus of the ultimate goal,
the communication of the song to the audience.
The next logical step in Tom's career was to record and preserve his musical
ideas for posterity. In the early 1980's, he recorded 2 LP's, Songs of The
Harvest (1981) and Finally Home (1983). Both records received substantial local
and regional college airplay in the Tri-State area, and Tom quickly became a
well-known guitarist in and around New York City . He gigged and recorded
diligently throughout the 1980's, and from 1985-89 Tom compiled original
material for what would ultimately be his first release.
With the release of Playgrounds, Tom turned a corner in his personal and
professional life. Over the next two years, he spent time producing other
artists and reflecting on his own success. He had purged his personal demons and
come to a place of comfort in his musical career. But as he worked with other
musicians on their material, he began to grow restless with the need to write
and record. The first tune from Just Talking to emerge, ôAftermath,ö was written
in one sitting and captures all of the new energy in Tom's writing. The first
single, titled ôChildren of Promise,ö has an almost comical feel, and is a
perfect illustration of how the guitar can be an effective vocal instrument in
the hands of a supremely talented, intuitive player. All of the songs on the new
double CD represent what Tom has always believed, that the best music is only
about communication between the artist and listener. Just Talking may prove to
be the most innovative Jazz release of the first part of the new millennium, an
eclectic masterpiece and an example of pure music at the highest level. As we
listen to those that laid the groundwork for what we know and love as Jazz, it
is only natural to wonder who the next great masters will be and where they will
take us. The only certainty is that Tom Gavornik will have his hands firmly on
the wheel, and that the journey has just begun.