Prelude To Real Life by Donald Edwards

Donald Edwards

Prelude To Real Life

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Criss Cross
UPC: 8712474138623
Catnr: CRISS 1386
Release date: 18 March 2016
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Label
Criss Cross

UPC
8712474138623

Catalogue number
CRISS 1386

Release date
18 March 2016

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

On his second Criss Cross leader date, Prelude to Real Life, drummer Donald Edwards picks up where he left off with the next
installment of an autobiographical narrativ in notes and tones.

Whereas in his debut, Evolution of an Influenced Mind, Edwards conveyed the story of his formative years as a musician with eleven
original compositions, here he addresses themes of love, family and fatherhood with an engaging suite comprising six kinetic, diverse originals of his and one by Alex Sipiagin, two personalized standards (Thelonious Monk's Skippy; Benny Golson's Stablemates); and three textural drum interludes.

Rejoining him from the first date are pianist Orrin Evans and tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III, both Criss Cross veterans, guitarist
David Gilmore, while rising star Luques Curtis assuming the bass chair. Edwards' old friend Nicholas Payton plays keyboards on three tracks, and eminent New York singer Vivian Sessoms lends her voice to three selections.

Edwards unifies the proceedings with the big beat, impeccable taste, and creative spirit that have made him a New York first-caller since
he moved to the Apple 15 years ago.

Artist(s)

Donald Edwards (drums)

Walter Smith III (saxophone)

Orrin Evans (piano)

Luques Curtis (bass)

David Gilmore (guitar)

The notion that nothing spurs the creative process like a deadline fully matches the back story of David Gilmore’s second album for Criss Cross, on which the 54-year-old guitar master navigates eight never-recorded compositions of both recent and older vintage, and a pair of well-wrought covers. “I had two months to write the music, so I was under the gun,” Gilmore says, before distinguishing From Here To Here with his label debut, Transitions (Criss-1393), for which he convened a crackling quintet to interpret repertoire by a cohort of recently deceased masters (Victor Bailey, Paul Bley, Bobby Hutcherson, Toots Thielemans, Woody Shaw, and iconic living elder Hermeto Pascoal). “I wanted to get a smaller working group in the studio to facilitate touring. My very first record Ritualism was centered around a guitar-piano-bass-drums quartet; I wanted to return to that format (a) because I like it, and (b) because of logistics.” The end result is an exceptionally vivid, varied date on which the leader showcases characteristically fluent chops, conceptual acumen and focused intention, matched by a rhythm section of New York first-callers. His primary soloistic foil is Luis Perdomo, himself a leader of four Criss Cross albums and pianist of choice for such avatars of Afro-Caribbean expression as David Sanchez and Miguel Zenon. “Luis is one of my all-time favorite pianists, one of the best out there,” Gilmore says. “He picks up things super-quick, he’s got great ideas, and harmonically and rhythmically he’s got it all covered.”

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Nicholas Payton (piano)

Vivian Sessoms (vocals)

Antoine Drye (trumpet)

Composer(s)

Alex Sipiagin

Jazz Festivals worldwide has seen Alex Sipiagin performing with the likes of Dave Holland, Michael Brecker, the Mingus groups, etc. Born on June 11, 1967 inYaroslavl, Russia, Alex began studying the trumpet at age 12, studying at the Moscow Music Institute and the Gnessin Conservatory in Moscow where hereceived his Baccalaureate. In 1990, Alex participated in the International Louis Armstrong Competition sponsored by the Thelonius Monk Institute in WashingtonD.C. winning top honors and soon after relocated to the jazz mecca of the world, New York City. Alex soon became a favored player for various bands including the Gil Evans Orchestra, Gil Goldstein's Zebra Coast Orchestra, the George Gruntz ConcertJazz Band, drummer Bob Moses' band Mozamba, Mingus Big Band as well as...

Alex soon became a favored player for various bands including the Gil Evans Orchestra, Gil Goldstein's Zebra Coast Orchestra, the George Gruntz ConcertJazz Band, drummer Bob Moses' band Mozamba, Mingus Big Band as well as the Mingus Dynasty and Mingus Orchestra, and the Dave Holland Big Band, Sextetand Octet groups.

In 2003 he recorded with Michael Brecker's Quindectet touringalso with the Michael Brecker Sextet. Alex has also worked with Eric Clapton, Dr.John, Aaron Neville, Elvis Costello, Michael Franks, Dave Sanborn, Deborah Cox, legendary producer Phil Ramone, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, etc., and many of the recordings he has been involved in has been nominated and/or won the Grammy's (Dave Holland Big Band's "What Goes Around," and "Overtime,"Michael Brecker's Qindectet "Wide Angles").

As a soloist, Sipiagin has eleven recordings out to his credit and has toured extensively throughout Europe, U.S., Japan and Russia with his own group. Healso teaches at the Groningen Prince Claus Conservatory, Academy of Music, Basel, Switzerland as well steady professorship at NYU.

Recorded 15 solo albums for one of prestiges jazz label "CrissCrossJazz" His recent album of his compositions and arrangements "Balance 38-58" features such noted musicians as Eric Harland, David Binney, Adam Rogers and Matt Brewer.

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Donald Edwards (drums)

Thelonious Monk

The most important jazz musicians are the ones who are successful in creating their own original world of music with its own rules, logic, and surprises. Thelonious Monk, who was criticized by observers who failed to listen to his music on its own terms, suffered through a decade of neglect before he was suddenly acclaimed as a genius; his music had not changed one bit in the interim. In fact, one of the more remarkable aspects of Monk's music was that it was fully formed by 1947 and he saw no need to alter his playing or compositional style in the slightest during the next 25 years.

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Benny Golson

Benny Golson (b. 1929, Philadelphia) has been a major tenor-saxophonist and composer for over a half-century. He began his career playing with the r&b band of Bull Moose Jackson in 1951 and with other local groups in Philadelphia. Golson worked with Tadd Dameron in 1953, the Lionel Hampton Big Band, Johnny Hodges and Earl Bostic. His Stablemates was recorded by Miles Davis in 1955.
Golson, whose tenor playing during the era was influenced by Don Byas and Lucky Thompson, gained his first fame as a member of the Dizzy Gillespie big band of 1956-58. He helped to make Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers into an important jazz institution through his professionalism and compositions during 1958-59, and during 1960-62 he co-led the Jazztet with Art Farmer. During that era he wrote such standards as Killer Joe, I Remember Clifford, Whisper Not, Blues March and Along Came Betty.
After his long period in the studios, Golson emerged in 1977 with a freer style and a different tone, resuming his role as a prolific musician. He has led his own quartet ever since and is still active today at 81.

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