account
basket
Challenge Records Int. logo
When We Find Ourselves Alone

Rodney Whitaker

When We Find Ourselves Alone

Price: € 17.95
Format: CD
Label: Mack Avenue
UPC: 0673203108820
Catnr: MAC 1088
Release date: 22 August 2014
Buy
1 CD
✓ in stock
€ 17.95
Buy
 
Label
Mack Avenue
UPC
0673203108820
Catalogue number
MAC 1088
Release date
22 August 2014

"Mr. Whitaker, who plays with depth and resonance and constant swing; his single-note solo on “Invitation” hustles through sawed-off bebop phrases and seems to sing, up high and down low."

NY Times, 29-8-2014
Album
Artist(s)
Composer(s)
Press
EN
DE

About the album

With When We Find Ourselves Alone, he gathers generational contemporaries and modern masters including saxophonist Antonio Hart, pianist Bruce Barth and drummer Gregory Hutchinson—each a friend and musical partner for close to a quarter-century. Reinforcing the family feel of the proceedings, Whitaker’s daughter, Rockelle Fortin, brings her expansive voice and keen interpretative skills to five selections. “Quartet with saxophone is really my voice,” says Whitaker. “I grew up playing in that context and with vocalists. When you’re from Detroit, you don’t compartmentalize or segregate music. You play funk, you play bebop and you play gospel.”
The ambiance on When We Find Ourselves Alone is similar to what Whitaker generated on such turn- of-the-century gems as Winter Moon, Ballads and Blues: The Brooklyn Session and Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow—all recorded for small independent labels—on which the leader drew repertoire from several stylistic tributaries. Now, as then, Whitaker and company address the leader’s 5 originals and 6 arrangements with an old-school feel and a 21st century attitude. They follow the time-tested jazz aesthetic, embracing the tradition of navigating the long-standing forms with individualistic tonal personalities, ebullient soulfulness and an unending will to swing.

“I think of what Carl [Allen] and I did on our records as 21st century soul jazz,” Whitaker says. “This record is closer to modern hard bop. It’s about swinging and having a good time. Even though I hadn’t gigged with any of them for years, there’s a certain freedom to playing with people you trust that you can’t get otherwise. I worked with Bruce from 1989 to 1991 with Terence Blanchard, and he’s like a big brother to me. I was on the road for 4 years with Greg and 3 with Antonio in Roy Hargrove’s group. They’re like my little brothers, and we’re all grown men now. All these guys knew my daughter as a child, and they hadn’t seen her since she was probably 10 years old.”
Whitaker relates the back story of the jaunty opener, “The World Falls Away,” a medium swinger propelled by Hutchinson’s crisp beats and highlighted by Hart’s impassioned, melodic declamation. “It was Valentine’s Day, and I’d had a bad day,” he says. “My wife gave me a card that talked about the rigors and challenges of life, and at the end said, ‘But at night, when we’re together and lying in each other’s arms, the world falls away.’”

A thread of joyous nostalgia infuses “When You Played With Roy,” an AABA theme with a bossa feel that contains a catchy 10-bar bridge. Whitaker’s brief opening solo displays his abundant technique and creativity, qualities that also animate Hutchinson’s exchanges with the soloists. “Everywhere I play, people approach me and say, ‘I loved it when you played with Roy Hargrove,’” Whitaker says. “I started thinking about turning that title into a theme that would capture the joy of performing with Roy and the joy people got from hearing the group live.”

Whitaker bows a plush introduction to “Autumn Leaves,” then switches to pizzicato for a dramatic rubato duo with his daughter, whose stately rendering of the lyric foreshadows a cogent scat solo once the tempo morphs to swing.
Hart’s pure soprano saxophone tone illuminates the poignant long notes that open “Jamerson’s Lullaby,” which references not only the immortal Motown session bassist, but also the sadness that Whitaker’s youngest son, Jamerson, age five, experiences when it is time to go to bed. Whitaker adds, “He looks at you and smiles, and it’s so infectious it makes you happy,”—in this case, a mood-switch denoted with a change to major key in the B-section.

Fortin channels her inner Carmen McRae on “You Go To My Head,” enlivened by Hutchinson’s neo-hip- hop pocket and ascendant solos by Hart, Barth and Whitaker. Then Whitaker creates a polyrhythmic bass line to maneuver “Invitation”—one of several homages to tenor saxophone immortal Joe Henderson that he has recorded—away from well-traveled routes.

There follows “Freedom Day,” an Oscar Brown song depicting the end of slavery at the end of the Civil War that Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln memorably recorded in 1960 on We Insist! After Fortin’s intense delivery of the lyric, and fierce statements by Hart and Barth, Hutchinson displays his rarefied position on the drum tree with a solo that dialogues with Roach’s drum oratory from half-a-century ago.
“I follow W.E.B. DuBois in thinking about music as a way to talk about politics,” says Whitaker. “We live in a time where we have an African-American President, yet people are angry at him solely because he’s African-American. We’re not free yet, though we think we are. But slavery didn’t just change the black man. It changed us all. We’re not ready to let go of oppression or the anger in our hearts.” Whitaker’s social activist concerns underpin “A Mother’s Cry,” a memorable refrain that he composed a few years ago for the documentary film Malaria & Malawi: Fighting to Save the Children, earning a Michigan Emmy nomination for the theme. Propelled by Whitaker’s ferocious 12/8 vamp and Hutchinson’s Afrodiasporic beats, Hart uncorks a magnificent soprano solo that evokes both the pain of malaria’s impoverished victims and possibility of a remedy.

In arranging “Mr. Magic,” Whitaker hewed to Roberta Flack’s early ‘70s hit that Grover Washington immortally interpreted as a soprano saxophone instrumental in 1975. Fortin elicits oceanic emotions from the lyric; Hart’s ecstatic solo signifies on his very first jazz saxophone hero. “It’s a song about joy, someone who found someone, treated them with love and took care of them physically,” Whitaker says.

Whitaker composed the title track two years ago for a commissioned work titled Jazz Up South on the topic of migration stories. “It’s about forbidden love between two people who are in love when people do not want them to be together,” Whitaker says. Turbulent solos by Barth and Hart evoke the inflamed emotions of love denied. “For me, the story is a metaphor for life, when people don’t pursue their dreams. My compass has always been to do first what brings joy to my life.”

Along those lines, Whitaker concludes this well-wrought portrait of the artist in mid-career with “Lost In You Again,” a modern gospel classic by Fred Hammond, illuminated by Barth’s and Hart’s jubilant solos. “The spiritual realm is part of my upbringing, and if I’m telling a story or putting together a set, I want to attend to the whole person,” Whitaker says. “I want to talk about every aspect of life and love and tragedy. Sometimes you’ve got to talk about the unpleasant to get to joy, but ultimately it should all end with joy.”

Für When We Find Ourselves Alone versammelt Rodney Whitaker mit Saxophonist Antonio Hart, Pianist Bruce Barth oder Schlagzeuger Gregory Hutchingson Meister ihres Fachs, die außerdem seit beinahe einem viertel Jahrhundert zu seinen Freunden und musikalischen Partnern zählen, und auch Whitakers Tochter Rockelle Fortin trägt mit ihrer ausdrucksstarken Stimme bei.

Die Stimmung dieses Albums erinnert an Jahrhundertwende-Juwelen wie Winter Moon, Ballads and Blues: The Brooklyn Session und Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, auf denen er bereits Repertoire von verschiedensten stilistischen Richtungen präsentiert: die Band spielt mit Gefühl für die alte Schule und einer modernen Einstellung und folgt der lang erprobten Jazz-Ästhetik, die traditionelle Formen mit individuellen tonalen Persönlichkeiten, sprudelnder Emotion und nie enden wollender Lust am Swing.

So mischen sich auf When We Find Ourselves Alone eigene Stücke Whitakers wie der unbeschwerte Opener "The Worls Falls Away", eine Valentinstagserinnerung, oder ein Schlaflied für seinen Sohn Jamerson ("Jamerson's Lullaby") mit Standards wie "Autumn Leaves", hier ein dramatisches Vater-Tochter-Duo, und Fred Hammonds modernen Gospelklassiker “Lost In You Again” als letzten Song des Albums.

“Religion ist Teil meiner Erziehung, und wenn ich eine Geschichte erzähle oder ein Set zusammenstelle, möchte ich dabei die ganze Person betrachten," sagt Whitaker. "Ich möchte über jeden Aspekt des Lebens sprechen, über Liebe und auch über Tragödien. Manchmal muss man über das Unangenehme sprechen, um zur Freude zu gelangen, aber letztlich sollte es alles mit Freude enden."


Artist(s)

Rodney Whitaker

A member of Detroit's rich jazz tradition, bassist Rodney Whitaker has emerged as a member of the world jazz community. Solo recording artist and sideman, Whitaker has made a name within the new vanguard of young jazzmen dedicated to furthering the traditions of earlier acoustic stylists. While other musicians have made their home in the coastal scenes of New York and Los Angeles, Whitaker continues to reside in Detroit, where he seeks musical inspiration and the comfort of family life. 'The world has gotten to be a very small place,' he admitted in Detroit Jazz Monthly. 'You can live anywhere and still be in touch with the world.' Recording with an array of top talent and touring with such musicians...
more
A member of Detroit's rich jazz tradition, bassist Rodney Whitaker has emerged as a member of the world jazz community. Solo recording artist and sideman, Whitaker has made a name within the new vanguard of young jazzmen dedicated to furthering the traditions of earlier acoustic stylists. While other musicians have made their home in the coastal scenes of New York and Los Angeles, Whitaker continues to reside in Detroit, where he seeks musical inspiration and the comfort of family life. "The world has gotten to be a very small place," he admitted in Detroit Jazz Monthly. "You can live anywhere and still be in touch with the world." Recording with an array of top talent and touring with such musicians as Terence Blanchard, Bradford Marsalis, and Wynton Marsalis, Whitaker is contributing to the deep-rooted jazz world. Devoted to creative personal statement rather than preservation, his music points to a future yielding new voices from the works of the great jazz founders. Rodney Thomas Whitaker was born the son of James Lee Whitaker in Detroit, Michigan, on February 22, 1968. Whitaker first studied violin at age eight and later, at age thirteen, took up the acoustic bass. He studied the instrument with little interest until a neighbor introduced him to John Coltrane's 1958 album Soultrane, featuring the bass talent of former Detroiter Paul Chambers. In the liner notes to his album, Children of the Light, Whitaker recounted, "When I heard Paul Chambers, that was It! I wanted to play the bass." In the Detroit school system Whitaker received musical training under such instructors as Ed Quick and Jerome Stasson. While attending Martin Luther King High School, Whitaker fell under the tutelage of an influential music instructor, Herbie Williams. "Herbie was a very important person in my life," related Whitaker in the Metro Times, "because at that time I knew that I wanted to play jazz.... He started to teach me harmony, chord progressions on the piano, everything. I would spend four and five hours at a time after school with him." While a teenager, Whitaker met saxophonist Donald Washington, leader and founder of the ensemble Bird/Trane/Sco/Now! As a member of Washington's group, Whitaker played along side such musicians as alto saxophonist and flutist Cassius Richmond and Monzola (Whitaker's future wife). Under Washington's leadership, the group performed the work of traditional swing stylists as well as music by saxophonists Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and Albert Ayler. During his high school years, Whitaker also took part in jazz workshops held by trumpeter Marcus Belgrave (a former sideman with Max Roach, Charles Mingus, and Ray Charles). "Rodney is the most energetic bass player I've encountered," expressed Belgrave in the Metro Times. "When he was in school, I knew he was going to be a great player. He would get on a city bus, carrying his bass without a case to get to a workshop session." Whitaker's experiences with the ensembles of Belgrave and Washington were balanced with a formal study of symphonic music with the Detroit Civic Orchestra. He also received private instruction with Stephen Molina, a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Whitaker's reputation in the Detroit jazz community soon landed him a job with drummer/percussionist Francisco Mora, a group that also included veteran Detroit pianist Kenny Cox. Through Cox he met other musicians like saxophonist Donald Waldon (recipient of the Arts Midwest Jazz Master award) who brought Whitaker into his Detroit Jazz Orchestra. Cox's connections also helped Whitaker meet other jazzmen such as Lawrence Williams, Phil Lasley, and saxophonist Christopher Pitts. Whitaker's reputation soon traveled outside his hometown. When former Detroit bassist Robert Hurst left the band of Terence Blanchard-Donald Harrison Quintet, he recommended Whitaker as his replacement. After a year with the quintet, he joined a unit headed by Blanchard, in which he remained for two years. In 1991 he performed in the band of trumpeter Roy Hargrove. As Whitaker told Pat Smith in the Metro Times, "Working with Roy was pivotal. We were on the road eight months out of the year. We were the young, cutting-edge band. From that gig everybody got to know who and what I was about musically." During this stint he cut several albums with Hargrove, The Vibe (1991), Of Kindered Souls (1992), Roy Hargrove and Friends (1995), and Family (1995). After a three and-a-half year run with Hargrove's group, Whitaker spent 1995 performing on the road with the bands of saxophonist Kenny Garret, pianist Junko Onishi, and keyboardist Bob James. The following year, saw the release of his first solo effort, Children of the Light. Joined in the studio by such talents as sax player James Carter and trumpeter Wallace Roney, the album showcases compositions by Detroit musicians Kenny Cox, Francisco Mora, and Monzola Whitaker. The LP also includes two standards: "Broadway," a number made popular by Lester Young in 1940, and "On Green Dolphin Street," a piece most associated with Miles Davis's classic 1958 Columbia recording. Like his mentor Paul Chambers, Whitaker is an adept performer in the arco (bowed) style. Though he provides fine support throughout the recording, Whitaker reveals a sensitive and somber side in the last selection, "Cultural Warrior," a modal dark lament written by Francisco Mora which showcases his bowed and finger-style techniques. From his home base in Detroit, Whitaker is reaches an ever- expanding audience. In September 1996, Whitaker performed at Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival. Around this time, he led the house band at Detroit's legendary Blue Bird Inn--the former home of post World War II war be-bop which had, during the early 1950s, employed musicians such as Whitaker's mentor Paul Chambers. Whitaker's house band includes Cassius Richmond (who also appeared on his LP Children of the Light). Whitaker's Blue Bird job also included a show featuring one of the club's original performers, pianist Tommy Flanagan, for a three-day performance in June of 1996. As Whitaker stated in the Detroit Free Press, "The attraction of playing the Blue Bird is that all the cats did come out of here. It's humbling, but it's also like being passed the torch." Determined to carry on tradition while searching for new creative horizons, Whitaker exemplifies the continuing legacy of jazz as an ever-changing and personal art form.

less

Bruce Barth

Jazz pianist and composer Bruce Barth has been sharing his music with listeners the world over for more than twenty-five years. In addition to traveling widely performing his own music, he has also performed with revered jazz masters, as well as collaborated with leading musicians of his own generation. Bruce has performed on over 125 recordings and movie soundtracks, including fifteen as a leader. He is equally at home playing solo piano (American Landscape on Satchmo Jazz Records), leading an all-star septet (East and West on MaxJazz), and composing for a variety of ensembles. His trio has recorded live at the legendary Village Vanguard in New York City, and his duo recording with saxophonist Steve Wilson, Home, was chosen by DownBeat...
more
Jazz pianist and composer Bruce Barth has been sharing his music with listeners the world over for more than twenty-five years. In addition to traveling widely performing his own music, he has also performed with revered jazz masters, as well as collaborated with leading musicians of his own generation.
Bruce has performed on over 125 recordings and movie soundtracks, including fifteen as a leader. He is equally at home playing solo piano (American Landscape on Satchmo Jazz Records), leading an all-star septet (East and West on MaxJazz), and composing for a variety of ensembles. His trio has recorded live at the legendary Village Vanguard in New York City, and his duo recording with saxophonist Steve Wilson, Home, was chosen by DownBeat magazine as one of the best recordings of 2010. His trio has also appeared at several major European festivals, including San Sebastian, La Spezia, and San Javier, where Bruce shared the bill with Chick Corea's trio.
Originally from Pasadena, California, Bruce arrived on the New York jazz scene in 1988, and soon started working in the bands of Stanley Turrentine and Terence Blanchard. While in Terence's band, Bruce recorded his first two CDs as a leader, In Focus and Morning Call for the Enja label; both were chosen for The New York Times' top ten lists. These recordings displayed not only Bruce's powerfully fluent piano playing, but also the scope of his own compositions and his imaginative arrangements of jazz standards.
As a leader of his trio and larger ensembles, Bruce has performed at major venues in the United States, Europe, and Japan; he has led bands at many major venues in New York, The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and major festivals in UK, Spain, Sweden, and Portugal.
Throughout his professional life, Bruce has had extended collaborations with Terell Stafford, Steve Wilson, Luciana Souza, Steve Nelson, and Tony Bennett. He has performed with James Moody, Phil Woods, Freddie Hubbard, Tom Harrell, Branford Marsalis, Art Farmer, and the Mingus Big Band. Finally, Bruce is a dedicated teacher, currently on the faculties of Temple University and Columbia University. He has also given master classes around the globe.

less

Composer(s)

Press

Mr. Whitaker, who plays with depth and resonance and constant swing; his single-note solo on “Invitation” hustles through sawed-off bebop phrases and seems to sing, up high and down low.
NY Times, 29-8-2014

Play album Play album

You might also like..

Dedication
Bruce Barth Trio
Spirit Songs
Anthony Branker | Ascent
Oasis: The Music of Gregg Hill
Rodney Whitaker
Cranbrook Christmas Jazz
Rodney Whitaker
Outrospection: The Music of Gregg Hill
Rodney Whitaker
All Too Soon: The Music of Duke Ellington
Rodney Whitaker
Common Ground: The Music of Gregg Hill
Rodney Whitaker
Beguiled
Gwendolyn Dease
Portrait of Peterson
Peter Beets