The Squid's Ear Magazine


BassDrumBone + guests Joe Lovano / Jason Moran: The Long Road [2 CDs] (Auricle)

The 40th Anniversary release for the creative free improvising jazz trio of Gerry Hemingway (drums), Mark Helias (bass) and Ray Anderson (trombone), with guests Joe Lovano on sax and Jason Moran on piano; superb lyrical soulful collective improvisation of the finest order.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Mark Helias-bass

Gerry Hemingway-drums

Ray Anderson-trombone

Jason Moran-piano

Joe Lovano-tenor sax


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UPC: 700261447490

Label: Auricle
Catalog ID: AUR 16+17
Squidco Product Code: 22707

Format: 2 CDs
Condition: New
Released: 2016
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
CD1 and CD2 #1-3 recorded at Acoustic Recordings in Brooklyn, New York on August 9th and 10th, 2016 by Michael Brody.

CD2 #4 & 5 recorded in Lausanne, Switzerland on March 11th, 2013, by Blaise Favre.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"BassDrumBone is a trio that has wedded the uniquness of it's instrumentation with the singular personality of it's three members. A true collective, their music combines three distinct compositional and improvisational approaches with an exceptional musical rapport. Mark Helias, Gerry Hemingway and Ray Anderson began performing as a trio in the fall of 1977. Their first record, Oahspe, was released in 1979 on the Auricle Record label. Bob Rusch in his review of the record, wrote: "Exceptionally good music, fearlessly played and tightly coordinated. Recommended."

In 1984 Right Down your Alley was released on Soul Note Records of Italy and in the beginning of 1986 You Be was released on the Minor Music label of Germany. Both records received acclaim from the European and American press including a five star review in Downbeat magazine for "You Be".

Next in 1988 came Wooferlo which was released on the Soul Note label. Ben Watson of Wire Magazine commented: "Each musician has a story to tell, the solos are stuffed with event and happenstance".

After 1988 the group went into a temporary dormancy while all three of its members pursued their own individual groups. In the fall of 1993 BassDrumBone became active again for a tour in Europe. A tour in 1996 yielded Hence the Reason (enj9222) and in March of 1999 BDB released some archival material from 1986-97 on an Auricle Records cd entitled Cooked to Perfection. BassDrumBone celebrated its 25th year together with the release of March of Dimes on the Dutch label Data. On the eve of our 30th anniversary, Clean Feed released The Line Up. Followed by The Other Parade also on Clean Feed in 2009."-Auricle Website



"Trombonist Ray Anderson, bassist Mark Helias, and drummer Gerry Hemingway have been performing together as BassDrumBone for almost four decades. The Long Road, the trio's tenth release, was recorded in celebration of the ensemble's forty-year anniversary, and is the group's most wide-ranging and definitive effort to date. In honor of this auspicious occasion, they invited esteemed tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano and vanguard pianist Jason Moran to sit in on a handful of tunes, which reveals the unit's sterling rapport, as well as their adaptability when collaborating with other artists.

There is no established leader in this trio of equals; though Anderson's expressive trombone is an obvious focal point, he regularly plays a supportive role, enabling Helias and Hemingway opportunities to take the lead. Technically, their roles are interchangeable, making each member equally responsible for providing melody, harmony and rhythm, in much the same way that each contributes to the band's songbook. Despite subtle compositional variety, which ranges from riotous marches and funky grooves to expressionist blues and dulcet ballads, these swinging numbers exude the sort of stylistic consistency born of longstanding camaraderie.

Anderson's vivid tone and mercurial phrasing elevates the proceedings. Whether unleashing tortuous chromatic runs, avant-gutbucket smears, or plangent cries, his optimistic deportment always shines. Helias holds down the bottom end commendably; whether bowing reverberating arco or thrumming deep pizzicato, his plummy lines provide his bandmates with an elastic but reliable foundation. Hemingway's gift for penning catchy themes parallels his robust melodic approach behind a trap set, which enables intricate triadic exchanges among the group.

Lovano parleys gracefully with Anderson, adding bluesy soulfulness to the cuts he appears on, while Moran imbues his features with a singular harmonic sophistication, although ultimately, it's the near clairvoyant interplay of the core trio that's most impressive. The double-disc collection ends with a half hour of material taped live in concert, capturing BassDrumBone's innate chemistry at its most exploratory, expanding upon basic song forms with a carefree élan common to experienced veterans.

Four decades on and still going strong, this venerable group, comprised of established musicians who share aesthetic outlooks and common histories, is something of a rarity by contemporary standards. Richly varied, The Long Road is a winning testament to their creative longevity."-Troy Collins, All About Jazz


Get additional information at All About Jazz

Artist Biographies

"Mark Helias is a renowned bassist, composer and producer who has performed throughout the world for more than four decades with some of the most important and innovative musicians in Jazz and Improvised Music including Don Cherry, Edward Blackwell, Anthony Davis, Dewey Redman, Anthony Braxton, Abbey Lincoln, Cecil Taylor, and Uri Caine among many others. A prolific composer, Helias has written music for two feature films as well as chamber pieces and works for large ensemble and big band. His orchestra piece "Stochasm" was premiered by the American Composers Orchestra in June of 2011. Twelve recordings of his music have been released since 1984, his latest being "The Signal Maker" on the Intakt label. He teaches at Sarah Lawrence College, and SIM (School for Improvisational Music) in Brookyn, NY."

-Mark Helias Website (http://www.markhelias.com)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Gerry Hemingway has led a number of quartet and quintets since the mid 1980's. In addition he has been a member of a wide array of long standing collaborative groups including Brew with Reggie Workman and Miya Masaoka, the GRH trio with Georg Graewe and Ernst Reijseger, the WHO trio with Michel Wintsch and Bänz Oester, as well as numerous duo projects with Thomas Lehn, John Butcher, Ellery Eskelin, Marilyn Crispell, and others. Mr. Hemingway is a Guggenheim fellow and has received numerous commissions for chamber and orchestral works as well as being noted for his innovative and multifaceted work as a solo performer which began in 1974. He was a member of the Anthony Braxton Quartet between 1983 and 1994 and is also well known for his collaborations with some of the world's most outstanding improvisers and composers including Evan Parker, Cecil Taylor, Mark Dresser, Anthony Davis, Derek Bailey, Leo Smith and many others. He currently lives in Switzerland having joined the faculty of the Hochschule Luzern in 2009."

-Gerry Hemingway Website (http://www.gerryhemingway.com)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Ray Anderson has been continually noted as a contributor to the legacy of the slide trombone since his emergence in the 1970's, having won numerous Down Beat Critics Polls. He has shown remarkable musical range on the slide trombone and as a result reawakened interest in the instrument's expressive possibilities and sonic scope. He has led or co-led and composed for a daunting assortment of projects including tradition-minded ensembles, experimental groups, big bands, blues and funk projects and even a trombone quartet. He has performed and recorded with Anthony Braxton, David Murray, Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra, Dr. John, the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band, Luther Allison, Bennie Wallace, Henry Threadgill, John Scofield, Roscoe Mitchell, the New York Composers Orchestra, Sam Rivers' Rivbea Orchestra and countless others. Anderson is a gifted teacher and has been the Director of Jazz Studies at Stony Brook University since 2003. Anderson has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fund for U.S. Artists at International Festivals, the Oberon Foundation and Chamber Music America. In 2001 he became a John S. Guggenheim Fellow."

-Ray Anderson Website (http://www.rayanderson.com)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Jason Moran (born January 21, 1975) is an American jazz pianist, composer and educator, heavily involved in multimedia art and theatrical installations. Moran recorded first with Greg Osby and debuted as a band leader with the 1999 album Soundtrack to Human Motion. Since then, he has released eight other albums-with his trio The Bandwagon, solo or leading other ensembles-and appeared in about 30 albums as a sideman. He has garnered much critical acclaim and won a number of awards for his playing and compositional skills, which combine elements of post-bop and avant-garde jazz, blues, classical music, stride piano, and hip hop, among others."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Moran_(musician))
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Joseph Salvatore Lovano was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 29, 1952 and grew up in a very musical household. His dad, Tony, aka Big T, was a barber by day and a big-toned tenor player at night. "Big T," along with his brothers Nick and Joe, other tenor players, and Carl, a bebop trumpeter, made sure Joe's exposure to Jazz and the saxophone were early and constant.

Joe's mom, Josephine, and her sister Rose were serious listeners, as well, His Mom remembers hearing Big T play opposite Stan Getz and Flip Phillips when they were engaged. And Aunt Rose went to hear Jazz at the Philharmonic with Ella Fitzgerald when they came through Cleveland.

Not surprisingly, Joe began playing the alto at five, switching to the tenor a few years later. By the time he got his driver's license at sixteen, Joe Lovano was a member of the Musician's Union, Local 4, and working professionally. He started playing club dates (sometimes subbing for his dad), and Motown cover bands, eventually saving enough money from these gigs to put himself through college."

-Joe Lovano Website (http://www.joelovano.com/biography/)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



CD1



1. Oh Yeah 4:52

2. Bungle Low 5:47

3. Bluray 10:26

4. Kemp 5:50

5. Why Not? 6:07

6. Quomput 4:45

7. Tone L 7:11

8. At Another Time 5:56

CD2



1. Bluish 5:54

2. Different Cities 6:17

3. Cherry Pickin 6:59

4. The Line Up 18:18

5. Lands' End 12:31

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Jazz/Improv
Trio Recordings
Quartet Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
Piano Trio (Piano Bass Drums)

Search for other titles on the label:
Auricle.


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