The Squid's Ear Magazine


Conly, Sean: The Buzz (577 Records)

A mix of lyrical, free and traditional compositions, the majority from leader, New York bassist Sean Conly, along with pieces from long-time collaborator Michael Attias, Sam Rivers and Paul Motian, performed in the piano trio format with drummer Francisco Mela and pianist Leo Genovese, in a great balance of jazz steeped in tradition but living fully in the present.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Sean Conly-bass

Francisco Mela-drums

Leo Genovese-piano


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UPC: 755491202890

Label: 577 Records
Catalog ID: CD-577R-5871
Squidco Product Code: 30490

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack
Recorded at Trading Eights Studio. in Paramus, New Jersey, on October 7th, 2020, by Chris Sulit.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Exploring the iconic trio format, Sean Conly (Bass), Francisco Mela (Drums) and Leo Genovese (Piano) mix composition and improvised music into a shared language. Inspired by both contemporary and traditional musical arrangements, the musicians' distinct inclinations blend together in playful form, delivered in an easy dialogue between the musicians.

The Buzz's 10 tracks are gentle and warm, displaying the comfort that the artists have with each other, and lending the album a similarly inviting aura throughout. This marks Sean Conly and Leo Genovese's debuts on 577 Records, respectively, and will be Francisco Mela's third album on 577 Records, following MPT Trio (2021) and Music Frees Our Souls, Vol. 1 (2021)."-577 Records

"I usually play an album from front to back at least once before writing anything, naturally, but as I had just finished a review of Genovese's Ritmos de Agua, I chose to play this one from back to front and was astonished at the decorum of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in The Clowns", the final track on the album. I then realised that it acted as a bowing out from a performance that was all dignified and sedate. Much of that propriety is due not only to the piano/pianist, but also to the amalgamation of the three musicians' individual inclinations in both classic and contemporary jazz styles.

Pianist Genovese is well recognised for his collaborations with many musicians of repute including, for example, Jack DeJohnette and the Wayne Shorter Group, as well as for his discography.

Bass player Sean Conly is a familiar spirit with much of the World's music and this lends both contrivance and inventiveness to his performance. He is both player and composer and as he works with both, it is expected that he will, in both fields of endeavour, attempt to meld the old and the new approaches to song, sound, synchronisation and tempo into one, complete and inventive utterance.

Drummer Francisco Mela has been top choice for many of the leading musicians in jazz, among them Kenny Barron, Gary Bartz, Joe Lovano, John Scofield, McCoy Tyner and Bobby Watson. Studies at Berklee College of Music led to his teaching there, and developing his career on the Boston scene led to his working on putting together the traditional sounds he grew up with in Cuba with the newer sounds of modern jazz. Contact through Berklee brought him to Lovano and this was followed by McCoy Tyner's hearing him play with Lovano and employing him from 2009.

Although all tunes really are compositions, they exhibit elements of a collective morphology, redolent of the languages which develop from free jazz improvisations. The sounds of these compositions are warm and sincere, echoing, I think, the ease that these musicians have in each other's company. Another piano trio that's not just another icon."-Ken Cheetham, Jazz Views



Also available on vinyl LP.
Get additional information at Jazz Views

Artist Biographies

"Sean Conly is a bassist (electric/contrabass) and composer whose love and affection for a huge spectrum of the world's musics have made him an extremely versatile performer. As a player and a writer, Sean is constantly looking for ways to mix the traditional with the new, in an never ending journey to mix melody harmony rhythm and sound into a unique artistic voice.

Born in Gunnison Colorado, raised in Topeka Kansas, he has been obsessed with music for his entire life. At age six, Sean began playing guitar and writing songs trying to emulate the music his parents loved such as the Beatles, The Doors and Harry Nilsson. In school band Sean played percussion but as his teen years began and he wanted to start a band he picked up the electric bass. "My grandmother bought me a bass for Christmas when I was thirteen. It came with a Mel Bay method book which I stayed up most of the night devouring and then the next morning I went to a band tryout ." Within A few months Sean started to play around town. For the rest of his teens he played in numerous bands performing in venues across the Midwest. Sean was already a voracious listener and was spending many nights glued to the radio discovering any and all kinds of music. Punk funk rock metal r/b and many more styles were all in constant rotation. Eventually It was thru these nighttime binges that he became more and more attracted to jazz and improvised music from such artists as Charle Mingus The Revolutionary Ensemble and Ornette Coleman and Jaco Pastorius.

After high school, Sean moved to Kansas City to attend the UMKC Conservatory of Music where he began to study the Contrabass, but his real education happened on the bandstand with local legends such as Ahmad Alaadeen, Tim (Timbone) Williams, Jay McShann, Claude "fiddler" Williams Rich Hill, Norman "Bishop" Williams, Horace Washington and many others.

Studying in the days and working 4 or 5 nights a week helped him solidify his playing, He also started to write and arrange music for his own groups, and for the university's jazz orchestra and for mentor Ahmad Alaadeen. Kansas City had a lot to offer but Sean had always had his eyes set on moving to New York City, so in an attempt to learn more and to bridge the gap between NYC and KC, he moved to Paterson New Jersey to study under Rufus Reid at William Paterson University.

A year later he moved to Manhattan, where he has resided ever since. Since then he has gone on to tour the world and/or record with a diverse list of artists such as Gregory Tardy, Freddie Hubbard, Regina Carter, Ray Barretto, Charles Blenzig, Michael Franks, Tom Harrell, Andrew Hill, Nicholas Payton, Stefon Harris, Yoron Israel, Eric Lewis, Deidre Murray, John Mcneil, Timucin Sahin, James Moody , Mike Stern, Rick Margitza, Michael Attias, Tony Malaby , Myron Walden, Phillip Harper, Russ Lossing, Anthony Coleman, Avishai Cohen (trpt), Ayelet Rose Gottleib, Vana Gehrig Trio, Darius Jones, Ken Vandermark/Steve Swell Quartet, The Newport Millenium Celebration (with Cedar Walton, Randy Brecker, Howard Alden, Lou Tobackin, Francisco Mela, Paula West, Joe Fiedler's "Stunt Chicken", Iranian singer/songwriter Mohsen Namjoo and many, many others.

As a band leader or co/ leader he has performed with several stellar groups over the years starting with The Invisibles featuring Ben Monder, Tony Malaby, John OGalliger and Tony Moreno, Re:Action with Michael Attias Tony Malaby and Pheeroan Aklaff, Grassroots with Darius Jones, Chad Taylor and Alex Harding, High Low Brow with Mike Pride and Mary Halvorson, Think Shadow with Michael Attias and also as a solo performer. Recently He has unveiled a new piano trio , The True North Project, featuring Tom Rainey and Kris Davis. In May 2018 Cleanfeed will release a new trio Recording "Hard Knocks" featuring saxophonist Michaël Attias and Satoshi Takeishi on drums.

Sean is also an in demand Teacher. He has given clinics on four continents and since 2009 has been on the faculty of The Collective School of Music (thecollective.edu). In 2017 He was chosen as the recipient educator in The Alaadeen Jazz Master/Apprentice program and in 2018 was an Judge at the Notre Dame Jazz Fest."

-Sean Conly Website (https://www.seanconly.com/about/)
3/13/2024

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

"Francisco Jose Mela is a Cuban drummer and percussionist who has performed with a wide array of prominent international Latin and jazz artists including Kenny Barron, Gary Bartz, JoAnne Brackeen, Jane Bunnett, Regina Carter, Anat Cohen, Paquito D'Rivera, George Garzone, Larry Grenadier, Stefon Harris, Lionel Loueke, Joe Lovano, Jason Moran, John Patitucci, John Scofield, Esperanza Spalding, Mark Turner, McCoy Tyner, Chucho Valdés, Kenny Werner, and many others.

Born in Bayamo, Cuba, Francisco Mela studied at the Music School of Arts El Yarey as a teenager before furthering his studies at the National School of Arts for Teachers, el CENCEA. He taught at Rafael's Cabrera Conservatory of Music and played with some of the country's top Latin jazz musicians, as well as leading his group, MelaSon Latin Jazz Band, that toured throughout Mexico. In 2000, he moved to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music and was invited to join the percussion faculty. He became the house drummer at the Wally's Café. It was here where he developed the concept for what would later be his own group.

In 2005, Mela joined the quartet of saxophonist Joe Lovano. Of particular note was the group's 2008 album on Blue Note entitled Folk Art.Later that year, Mela was approached by McCoy Tyner to join his trio.

Mela was named the Twin Cities Jazz Festival's first artistic director in 2014, Before appointment, he served as artistic director for the Xalapa Jazz Festival in Veracruz, Mexico (2010-2013).

In late 2016, Mela was part of an inaugural ensemble that joined Afro-Cuban pianist Chucho Valdés and saxophonist Joe Lovano for an international tour throughout Europe and North America. He also leads his own group, The Crash Trio."

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

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

"Leonardo Genovese was born in Venado Tuerto, Argentina in 1979. After some years of studying classical piano at the National University of Rosario as well as private lessons in contemporary music, he moved to Boston in 2001. He started his career at Berklee College of Music where he studied with Danilo Perez, Joanne Brackeen and Frank Carlberg, among others. Leo graduated as a Professional Music Major in 2003 and has been constantly performing and recording with talented musicians such us Hal Crook, Darren Barrett, George Garzone, Francisco Mela, Joe Lovano, Bob Gulloti, Phil Grenadier, Dave Santoro, Chris Cheek, Michael Janisch and Ben Monder. In 2004, he released his first solo album entitled Haikus II signed by Spanish label Fresh Sound Records. He also performs regularly with the Esperanza Spalding Group, the Mike Tucker Quartet, Planet Safety (w/Bob Gullotti and Dave Zinno), Wayne Shorter Group and Jack Dejohnette.

When he's not touring with Spalding, Genovese - who is currently based in New York - also plays with a loosely assembled group called the Chromatic Gauchos, whose core membership includes Bob Gulloti, Dan Blake and John Lockwood. This threesome, along with Spalding and percussionist Sergio Miranda, appears prominently on Seeds. While Genovese is still early on his career arc, he hopes that his music could eventually be more than just a source of entertainment, but also a force for change in a world that is troubled by economic, social and political challenges. "I would like it to go somewhere positive, somewhere helpful," he says. "I would like for people to really gain something worthwhile from it. There are so many people around the word in need. Most of us never realize it, because most of us have the basic necessities and much more. But some people - many people - have very little."

He adds: "I want to make people more aware of the many different circumstances - and sometimes difficult circumstances - that other people face every day. A lot of it has to do with having the right intention. Music is a lot like people in that way. If it comes from a good place, it's more likely to bear good fruit." "

-Whirlwind Recordings (https://www.whirlwindrecordings.com/%E2%80%8Bleo-genovese/)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. The Jake Leg 5:44

2. Good Idea 3:40

3. In The Stretch 5:03

4. Euterpe 4:18

5. From C To Sea 5:18

6. The Buzz 3:14

7. Sweetie Pie 5:37

8. Flower (Bonus track) 3:34

9. Shades 5:09

10. Send In The Clowns 3:08

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Trio Recordings
Piano Trio (Piano Bass Drums)
Melodic and Lyrical Jazz
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
Top Sellers for 2021 by Customer Sales

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577 Records.


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