Messages

Messages live from Dizzy’s

PROGRAM

1 Cold Streak 5:19

2 Berceuse 5:43

3 Semaphore 8:28

4 Messages 8:32

5 Emanation 10:16

6 The Rise and the Fall 4:27

7 TwisT and Go 5:09

8 Baritone Bolshevik Blues 9:15

9 Above the Clouds 6:00

THE CAST

Patrick Zimmerli, composer, soprano saxophone
Steve Wilson, alto saxophone
Chris Potter, tenor saxophone
Ron Blake, baritone saxophone
Edward Simon, piano
Scott Colley, bass
EJ Strickland, drums

THE SONGS

Cold Streak— A funky, off-kilter riff, a poppish melody, a blues-influenced form, and classical canons within the saxophones, are musical Messages from a broad variety of musical sources, from Brahms to Earth Wind and Fire.

Berceuse— This Message comes from France, a country in which I’ve spent considerable time lately. Its signature composers Debussy and Ravel adored a lush sound (and weren’t above the occasional quintuple meter!), though the diatonic fireworks at the end might be a Message from Copland or Stravinsky. It’s dedicated to my wife Mirabelle, whose Messages I have the privilege of hearing each day.

Semaphore— This one is a signal from Stevie Wonder. The rising four-note saxophone melody, (on which many of the Messages pieces are based), might be thought of as a Bach trademark (the first fugue from WTC or the St. Matthew’s Passion chorale movement are examples), but it’s a fundamental musical gesture, issuing forth from at least as far back as Medieval Organum. Send Her Your Love is a more proximate springboard for this extended composition.

Messages— The title composition, this tune is about obsession. A simple melody spins out into an extended melodic section for the saxophone quartet (with bass), followed by an extended minimalist section that gradually morphs into an epic piano improvisation.

Emanation— A Message from the great John Coltrane, one of my earliest influences and someone who continues to exert considerable pull, even if it’s now more on the level of life-principles and artistic ideals than any specific sound world. But this tune, which was originally written entirely for solo saxophone (that was hard!), is also dedicated to my good friend and longtime colleague Ben Monder, whose Messages turn around often in my head.

The Rise and the Fall— Also based on the four-note melody, this waltz is a Message from Thomas Enhco, the French pianist who premiered this piece, with whom I’ve had a wonderful collaboration during my time there. The tag ending and growing dissonance flow from more 20th-century modernist composers, whose musical Messages I’ve spent considerable time absorbing.

Baritone Bolshevik Blues— Dedicated to Alan Morgan, one of the founding members of the Seattle Commissioning Club. Alan was an incredibly charming British expatriate with an inspiring depth of musical knowledge. In fact it was after a conversation with him that I was moved to explore the symphonies of Shostakovich. So Baritone Bolshevik Blues is actually based on a musical idea taken from the first movement of the Shostakovich 6th Symphony, but transformed into a jazz context.

TwisT and Go— this winsome Message is focused around the piano trio, a clear Message from the many masters of that genre past and present.

Above the Clouds— My father worked for the airlines for three decades. I’ll never forget his moving Eulogy at his own father’s funeral, where he likened life after death to an airplane rising Above the Clouds on an overcast day, and finding brilliant sunlight above.

TOTAL TIME 63:13

BIOGRAPHIES

Patrick Zimmerli writes a sophisticated yet approachable hybrid of contemporary classical and jazz music. Zimmerli has an extensive catalog of works for chamber, orchestral, vocal, jazz, and mixed ensembles of all sizes. His many collaborators have included The Lincoln Trio, Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Kent Tritle, Brooklyn Rider String Quartet, Scott Yoo, Aaron Diehl, Samara Joy, John Novacek, Ethan Iverson, Luciana Souza, the Knights Orchestra, and the Ying String Quartet. His music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, Salle Pleyel and the Cathedral des Invalides in Paris, Sala São Paolo in Brazil, the Vienna Konzerthaus Grosser Saal, and the SF Jazz Center, among many other venues.

Steve Wilson (alto saxophone) has attained ubiquitous status in jazz. Jazz Times calls him “one of the finest alto and soprano saxophonists of our time.” Wilson has brought his distinctive sound to more than 100 recordings led by such celebrated and wide-ranging artists as Chick Corea, George Duke, Michael Brecker, Dave Holland, Dianne Reeves, Gerald Wilson, Maria Schneider, Joe Henderson, Charlie Byrd, Billy Childs, Karrin Allyson, Don Byron, Bill Stewart, James Williams, Mulgrew Miller, and Christian McBride among many others.

Chris Potter (tenor saxophone) has emerged as a leading light of his generation. A potent improviser and the youngest musician ever to win Denmark’s Jazzpar Prize, Potter’s impressive discography includes 15 albums as a leader and sideman appearances on over 100 albums. He has performed or recorded with Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, John Scofield, the Mingus Big Band, Steely Dan, Jim Hall, Paul Motian, Dave Douglas, Ray Brown and many others.

Ron Blake (baritone saxophone) spent five years in trumpeter Roy Hargrove's quintet, and seven years in flugelhornist Art Farmer's group. Born in the Virgin Islands, Blake co-founded the 21st Century Band and the Tahmun record label with Dion Parson in 1998. He is a member of NBC's Saturday Night Live Band, and the Grammy award-winning Christian McBride Big Band. He has more than sixty credits on his discography as a sideman.

Edward Simon (piano), a native of Venezuela, has made a name for himself as a prolific pianist and musician. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, as a member of the all-star SFJAZZ Collective, he has been a Guggenheim Fellow and has won multiple awards and honors. Among numerous artists he has worked with are Bobby Watson, Terence Blanchard, Mark Turner, Greg Osby, Kevin Eubanks,Herbie Mann, John Patitucci and Brian Blade.

Scott Colley (bass)’s stature as a leading bassist in the field of improvised music is well known. Musical colleagues, like saxophonist Joshua Redman, praise him for being “one of the most musical bassists playing today. To me, he seems to have...this natural, intuitive, empathic sense of how to bring the most out of the other musicians and the music he’s playing.” Colley has performed on over 200 recordings, and has worked with, among others, John Scofield, Herbie Hancock, Andrew Hill, Michael Brecker, Jim Hall, Carmen McRae Dizzy Gillespie, Clifford Jordan, Joe Henderson, Art Farmer, Joe Lovano, Toots Thielemans, Bobby Hutcherson, Pat Metheny, and Bob Berg.

Enoch Jamal "E.J." Strickland (drums) is a world-class, drummer, composer, educator, and artist. The Miami native grew up in a creative household, where his dad was a percussionist in the Ft. Lauderdale Orchestra; his twin brother Marcus played the saxophone. He has worked with Russell Malone, Ravi Coltrane, Cassandra Wilson, Terence Blanchard, Lizz Wright, Wynton Marsalis, George Colligan, David Gilmore, Vincent Herring, and Nnenna Freelon, to name a few.

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