___ _ __ __
___/ (_)_________(_)___/ /__ ____ / /_
/ __ / / ___/ ___/ / __ / _ \/ __ \/ __/
/ /_/ / (__ |__ ) / /_/ / __/ / / / /_
\__,_/_/____/____/_/\__,_/\___/_/ /_/\__/
d i s s i d e n t
_______________________________________________________________________
a r t i s t : Branford Marsalis
t i t l e : Romare Bearden Revealed
d a t e : 2003
l a b e l : Rounder
g e n r e : Jazz
r l s. d a t e : Nov/2003
t r a c k s : 09
b i t r a t e : 192kbps
s i z e : 73,7 MB
_______________________________________________________________________
Tracks:
1. I'm Slappin' Seventh Avenue (2:01)
Written by Duke Ellington, Irving Mills. Henry Nemo
2. Jungle Blues (8:48)
Written by Ferd "Jelly Roll" Morton
3. Seabreeze (6:13)
Written by Fred Norman, Larry Douglas, Romare Bearden
4. J Mood (10:48)
Written by Wynton Marsalis
5. B's Paris Blues (4:27)
Written by Branford Marsalis
6. Autumn Lamp (2:52)
Written by Doug Wamble
7. Steppin' On the Blues (4:53)
Written by Lovie Austin, Jimmy O'Bryant, Tommy Ladnier
8. Laughin' & Talkin' (with Higg) (10:40)
Written by Jeff "Tain" Watts
9. Carolina Shout (2:35)
Written by James P. Johnson
Musicians:
Branford - saxophones: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9
Doug Wamble - guitar: 1,5,6
Joey Calderazzo - piano: 1,3,4,7
Ellis Marsalis - piano: 2
Harry Connick, Jr. - piano: 9
Eric Revis - bass: 1,3,4,5,7,8
Reginald Veal - bass: 2
Jeff "Tain" Watts - drums 1,3,4,5,7,8
Jason Marsalis - drums: 2
Wynton Marsalis-trumpet: 2,4,8
Delfeayo Marsalis-trombone: 2
Other Credits:
Executive Producer: Bob Blumenthal
Produced by Branford Marsalis
Recorded and Mixed by Rob "Wacko!" Hunter
Recorded on June 23 - 25, 2003 at Clinton Studios, New York, NY
Mixed on June 25 - July 3, 2003 at The Studio in the Country,
Durham, NC
--------------------
Jazz musicians have frequently inspired and been inspired by
visual artists; but the interchange has never been more direct
and intense than on Romare Bearden Revealed, which will be
released by Marsalis Music on September 9. This disc, comprised
entirely of newly recorded music, was produced by saxophonist
Branford Marsalis in celebration of The Art of Romare Bearden,
the major retrospective that opens at the National Gallery of
Art in Washington, D.C. on September 14 and subsequently
travels to museums in San Francisco, Dallas, New York and
Atlanta during 2004 and 2005.
The affinity that Romare Bearden (1911-1988), one of the most
vibrant and visionary American painters of the 20 th century,
felt for jazz music has been well documented. A native of North
Carolina whose family relocated to Harlem when he was three
years old, Bearden was a true child of the Harlem Renaissance
whose circle of friends included many of the communityÆs
leading musicians and authors as well as painters. Frequent
visits to relatives who remained in the South also sustained
BeardenÆs fascination with the rural as well as the urban
strains in African-American culture. By the 1940s, jazz
musicians and jazz scenes had begun to appear in his work; and
as time passed he began to employ titles of favorite jazz
performances for his paintings and collages. In his later
years, Bearden created specific works for albums by Charlie
Parker, Donald Byrd and Wynton Marsalis; and, since his death,
musicians such as Sonny Fortune and Robin Eubanks have also
employed images created by Bearden for their recording
projects.
Branford Marsalis is among the many jazz artists who have been
keenly aware of BeardenÆs creations. The charismatic
saxophonist had met Bearden in the æ80s and owned two of
BeardenÆs works. Having recently moved to North Carolina with
his family, Branford had also gained new insight into the
sources of BeardenÆs vision. So when the Romare Bearden
Foundation suggested that BranfordÆs label develop an album to
complement the major Bearden retrospective that opens at the
National Gallery of Art in September, he embraced the idea
wholeheartedly.
What has emerged is a meditation on BeardenÆs vision in which
Branford, on soprano and tenor saxophones, his quartet
(featuring Joey Calderazzo, piano; Eric Revis, bass; Jeff
ôTainö Watts, drums) and some illustrious guests present their
own aural impressions of BeardenÆs powerful visual imagery.
Chairman, Tallal ELBoushi, stated, "The Board of Directors of
the Romare Bearden Foundation feel enriched by our association
with the immensely talented Branford Marsalis. This project
brings together two typically unconnected art forms, visual art
and music. Through this creative partnership on the Romare
Bearden Revealed CD project, we saw a natural alignment with
the Foundation's mission to preserve and perpetuate Bearden's
legacy. We recognized the opportunity it offered to once again
publicly acknowledge Bearden's truly exceptional and
multidimensional talents, among them as a visual artist, writer
of scholarly and children's books and a songwriter/lyricist. It
is particularly fitting that this unique project has come to
fruition during this time when Bearden is being celebrated and
honored with a major retrospective by the National Gallery of
Art--the first African-American artist to be so honored."
After immersing himself in BeardenÆs art, Branford created a
program that moves among jazz classics referenced in and
suggested by BeardenÆs art, new compositions created expressly
for this recording, and a song in which Bearden himself played
a creative role. From the jazz works that share titles with
Bearden paintings, Branford chose ôSlappinÆ Seventh Avenue with
the Sole of My Shoe,ö a 1938 tour de force by the Duke
Ellington orchestra rearranged for quartet plus rhythm guitar;
ôJ Mood,ö his brother WyntonÆs 1986 blues recreated here in a
performance where the trumpeter joins BranfordÆs quartet
(drummer Watts was also heard on the original recording); and
ôCarolina Shout,ö James P. JohnsonÆs classic stride-piano piece
presented as a charging duet between BranfordÆs soprano sax and
the piano of Harry Connick, Jr. The feelings generated by
BeardenÆs art recalled two other traditional compositions û
Jelly Roll MortonÆs ôJungle Blues,ö heard in a rousing live
performance recorded at PhiladelphiaÆs Kimmel Center by the
Marsalis Family, and ôSteppinÆ on the Blues,ö in which
BranfordÆs quartet interprets the soulful 1924 recording in
which trumpeter Tommy Ladnier was featured with pianist Lovie
AustinÆs Blue Serenaders) û as well as ôLaughinÆ and TalkinÆ
(with Higg),ö a recent Watts homage to the late Billy Higgins
that finds Branford and Wynton engaging in astonishing
instrumental dialogue.
Branford also wrote ôBÆs Paris Blues,ö a nod to both Bearden
and saxophone patriarch Sidney Bechet, and asked Marsalis Music
recording artist Doug Wamble to bring the sound of the rural
blues into the mix with his solo piece ôAutumn Lamp.ö Both of
these new compositions allude to Bearden paintings that will be
included in the exhibition. Finally, ôSeabreeze,ö a piece from
the 1950s to which Bearden contributed lyrics, was revived at a
sensuous bolero tempo.
Romare Bearden Revealed is a recording that reflects BranfordÆs
view of Bearden as ôadventurous. His work reflects a world of
tradition, and also the will to break tradition.ö Annotator
Robert OÆMeally adds that the disc ôchallenges hearers to see
the music, viewers to hear the paintings,ö and likens the
interchange between BeardenÆs creations and these musicians as
ôcalling and responding û or, as Bearden liked to put it,
calling and recalling.ö
To learn more about Romare Bearden and to view his art, visit
www.beardenfoundation.org and
www.nga.gov/exhibitions/beardeninfo.htm
_______________________________________________________________________
01-I'm Slappin' Seventh Avenue [02:03]
02-Jungle Blues [08:51]
03-Seabreeze [06:13]
04-J Mood [10:49]
05-B's Paris Blues [04:30]
06-Autumn Lamp [02:54]
07-Steppin' On The Blues [04:55]
08-Laughin' & Talkin' (with Higg) [10:43]
09-Carolina Shout [02:36]
-------
53:34 min
_______________________________________________________________________
inventas vitam iuvat excoluisse per artes