This performance of “Hot House” by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie followed their receipt of awards from DownBeat for Parker being the “Best alto sax man of 1951” and Gillespie for being “One of the top trumpet men of all time.” (BEST ALTO SAX MAN????!!!)
Best alto sax man of 1951? That's it? Not genius innovator who pioneered a completely new method and approach to composition and production that forever altered how music would be created? FOREVER?
Bird’s expression following the award presentations speaks for itself.
Alto jazz saxophonist Greg Osby
has an impressive résumé. A St. Louis, Missouri native, Osby finished
his studies at Howard University and the Berklee College of Music before
moving to New York City in 1982. Since then he has performed and
recorded with a number of legendary musicians, including pianists Jaki Byard, Muhal Richard Abrams, Andrew Hill, and John Abercrombie. He was also a member of Jack DeJohnette's Special Edition and became a founding member of the M-Base Collective. He has also toured with Phil Lesh.
He has even developed the SYOS "OZ" custom alto saxophone mouthpiece,
which meets the needs of both Osby and multitudes of other alto sax
players.
Taking the stage at SFJAZZ, Osby was joined by his very capable and creative pianist, Tal Cohen, who came in from Miami for the date. They were joined by local musicians David Ewell, a bassist known for his work with The Supplicants and carnatic jazz fusion band VidyA), and drummer Jemal Ramirez.
Ewell's
bass introduced Ornette Coleman's "Mob Job," which featured solos by
Osby, as well as gorgeous piano work from Cohen. "Please Stand By,"
named after the message that once appeared on television screens decades
ago, followed, beginning with a fast fingered solo by Osby and then
radiant piano from Cohen, before Osby stepped back in to conclude. Thelonious Monk's
"Ask Me Now," a melodious ballad, featured lyrical alto with flowing
piano; a flourish from Ramirez on the mallets concluded the piece.
A lively and robust version of Duke Ellington's
"I Didn't Know About You" began with Ewell's bass solo before Osby came
in with a sonic burst. Another rapid fire alto solo introduced Lou Donaldson's "Alligator Boogaloo." Featuring interplay between bass and drums, it had a funky rhythm reminiscent of Junior Parker.
Osby
related that "Minimalism," the first set's concluding piece and the
title track from Osby's most recent release "Minimalism" (INCM, 2023),
was so named because he had to edit it down and then cut it some more.
He told us that when he had asked his sister what she thought of his
music, she had claimed that "It sounds like mad clown music." This
inspired him to cut it down a bit.
The second set followed much
the same successful formula. Repeats of "Please Stand By" and "Mob Job"
were supplemented by additions such as "Truth" and "Inner Circle."
Ewell and Ramirez stretched out with solos. At the end of the set, a man
came up to Osby and rapturously praised the music. He was likely not
the first.
VP: You have quite an impressive social media presence. I am really impressed how up-to-date you are with all these things. Some young musicians still believe all this is not necessary. 😁
Osby: The music world is entirely different than when I started my career. In the beginning, I had major record deals, managers, agents, publicists, promotions agencies, street teams, tour managers, accountants, and more. Now major labels won’t sign an artist unless they have a guarantee that they will make lots of money for them or unless they've already established a sizeable social media presence and following. Not to mention, the internet and mobile phones were not invented yet back then, so we had to actually go out and do everything in person. This meant introducing ourselves to club management and handing out or posting printed flyers everywhere possible. Now it is important for every responsible artist to take charge of their own career and destiny. It's very important to know a little bit about every aspect of the music business and to take advantage of the free access that the internet and social media offers. Of course it's a lot of work but if your time is managed well and you have a lot of spirit and hustle, you can do much better than people with low initiative who only wait for good things to happen for them. I have survived because it's not in my nature to wait around for anyone. I just figure things out and learn how to do them myself. All it takes is to prepare and get organized and to do a little bit every day. You will eventually realize that it actually doesn’t take up as much time as you think. I do my social media updates and phone calls while I am having my morning tea or coffee. Then the rest of the day is spent practicing, composing, teaching or sometimes nothing at all! 😉
Geri Allen - keyboards Kenwood Denard - drums Kevin Bruce Harris - bass Greg Osby - soprano saxophone Robin Eubanks - trombone Graham Haynes - trumpet Jimmy Cozier - flute
Taken from the album "Reflections of the Eternal Line"
(Inner Circle Music INCM 0090)
This track features American saxophonist
Greg Osby and Swiss drummer/percussionist Florian Arbenz.
The recording was made in the workshop of renowned painter Stephan
Spicher who created the artwork in real time during the session.
Video filming & editing by Philippe Ohl at Philomedia.de
Snippet from an interview in Warsaw, Poland, held in a beautiful Philharmonic theatre. Promoting the “Iresi” project from tenor saxophonist, Carlos Averhof. Interview conducted my Maciej Ulewicz
Very recently, I was warming up in the dressing room of a performance venue in preparation for my concert. There were several other performers and groups on the bill as well. In an adjacent dressing room I heard another saxophone player suddenly go silent as I began to warm warm up while playing some very simple exercises and long tones - just to get the blood flowing, so to speak.
When I took a brief pause to change reeds, I heard (the listener) very loudly, rip some of the most incredible and complicated saxophone passages that I’ve ever heard played live. He almost sounded like a violin or viola. Of course I knew who the player was and I was very impressed, but never intimidated. I don’t function that way and I’ve never had a competitive spirit in music for the entirety of my career - nor do I understand the need for that energy. It’s pointless and quite frankly, debilitating.
After the performances had concluded, there was a casual meet and greet, photo shoot, and later, dinner and a jam session at a well known local restaurant. It was opportunity for all of the invited artists to play together since we all had played in separate ensembles during the actual shows.
……….!!!!!!!!!
I’m sorry to reveal that the player who reduced himself to aggressively showing off during the dressing room exhibition was absolutely the saddest participant during the jam session. He sounded levels beneath that of even an intermediate student. What was even worse was the idea that he STILL thought that he was killing and that he wasn’t embarrassed - not even a little bit. He didn’t have enough humility or academic aptitude to realize that for all of his technique, he didn’t know what to do or when to do it - because he’d spent all of his developmental time in isolation learning difficult patterns and exercises instead of engaging in fruitful exchanges with spirited peers. He was fantastic as long as he played alone, but with a group, his many shortcomings were on vivid display.
And to further the deep hole that he’d dug for himself, He basically rejected the invitation from myself and others to get together for some off-the-record jam sessions and music talk, which honestly, despite his facility, he sorely needed.
That was not the first time that I have had that experience. I somehow thought that it would be a distant memory as I got older and had moved away from conservatory and pedagogical thinking. I fully understand that students are vying for positioning, respect and placement in ensembles in schools. But whenever I see professionals trying to “outdo” others in actual performance situations, I question their reasoning for involving themselves in the creative arts in the first place.
