After lasr summer's
Thrio concert/recording at Pete Douglas's Bach Dancing
and Dyanamite Society I flew up to Seattle for a few days
to record with my old partner in crime, bassist Jeff
Johnson and drummer John Bishop .
(We had some
technical problems with the Thrio recording and have
enlisted the technical expertise of drummer Bill Goodwin,
who did such a marvelous job of mixing the "Agents Of
Change" recording. It may take some time and work but it
will be released at some point in the
future.)
I hadn't played
with Jeff since I broke up my trio in 2000. Since then we
have each been developing our own directions that
dovetailed niceley with the Rubato concept. As he
remarked "Hal, you've gone over to the dark side." which
pleased me to no end. It was a joyful reunion. He and
John had been playing and recording together for sometime
so they were well mated and fell right into the groove.
Thier radar-like interaction and instantaneous responses
are stunning, acheiving degree of rapprt on a level akin
to mind reading.
The CD includes
four of my new originals: "Valse Cool," "Figurine,"
"Chromatic Fantasy," and "Other Days," as well as Jeff
Johnson's plaintif original "Zen" and new interpretations
of the jazz classics "Milestones," "Naima," and "Miles
Ahead."
The album is
scheduled for a March 2007 release on
Origin
Records
If you've been having a hard time finding "Agents Of
Change" in retail outlets it's because, until this month,
it has only been available through my web site. City Hall
Records has signed on to distribute them in all the
regular places and they should be available
presently.
Alfred Publishing
has agreed to reissue "The Touring Musician, A Small
Business Approach To Booking Your Bnad On The Road." No
release date as of now but am looking forward to seeing
this book , which has helped counless musicians get work,
back on the shelves
again.
TOURING
UPDATE
One can only go so
far practicing. I'm getting itchy to get out on the road
again because it's the only way I can continue to plumb
the depths of Rubato playing. At this point in time I can
only book myself "in the cracks" of my academic schedule
but who knows what the future will bring?
I'll be touring the
North West with Jeff & John the end of March early
April, to promote the release of "Furious Rubato." Our
itinerary is on the home page.
LATEST
NEWS
Primier jazz
pianist and friend Larry Willis's house burned down a
couple of weeks ago. Fazoli Salon is presenting a
"Pianists Play For Larry" benifit concert at St. Peter's
Church on Monday, February 26th. that will include a line
up of over 18 piaists who will play 10 minutes each,
myself included. If you live in The City your attendance
and support will be appreciated.
