JOE LOVANO NONET: 52nd. Street Themes

JOE LOVANO
Joseph Salvatore Lovano (29/12/1952) é saxofonista, clarinetista, flautista e baterista. Nascido em Cleveland, Ohio, Lovano é filho do também saxofonista Tony "Big T" Lovano que, desde a infância, o introduziu ao jazz de John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie e Sonny Stitt. Joe estudou no Berklee College of Music, onde foi aluno de Herb Pomeroy e Gary Burton. Depois, atuou nas grandes bandas de Woody Herman e de Mel Lewis. Mais tarde, já morando em New York, Lovano trabalhou com grandes nomes, como John Scofield, Paul Motian e Bill Frisell, até que iniciou sua carreira como líder, culminando com a formação do noneto, sua menina dos olhos. Lovano (com seu jeitão de "sósia de Pavarotti") já se apresentou no Brasil diversas vezes. É mais um grande nome do jazz, fruto da inesgotável capacidade norte americana de produzir músicos da mais alta qualidade - especialmente saxofonistas.
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JOE LOVANO
Joe Lovano was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1952, and began playing alto sax as a child. His father, tenor saxophonist Tony "Big T" Lovano, schooled Joe not only in the basics but in dynamics and interpretation, and regularly exposed him to jazz artists traveling through such as Sonny Stitt, James Moody, Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Young, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. While still a teenager he immersed himself in the jam-session culture of Cleveland where organ trios were common and Texas tenor throw-downs a rite of passage. In high school he began to absorb the free jazz experiments of Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Jimmy Giuffre, and was greatly affected by the interaction which occurred between the musicians. Upon graduation from high school he attended the famed Berklee School of Music in Boston where he met and began playing with such future collaborators as John Scofield, Bill Frisell, and Kenny Werner. He had been searching for a way to incorporate the fire and spirituality of late-period John Coltrane into more traditional settings. At Berklee he discovered modal harmony: "My training was all be-bop, and suddenly there were these open forms with deceptive resolutions. That turned me on, the combination of that sound and what I came in there with. I knew what I wanted to work on after that." In 1994 Joe was given the prestigious "Distinguished Alumni Award" from Berklee. Joe's first professional job after Berklee was, not surprisingly given his roots, with organist Lonnie Smith, which brought him to New York for his recording debut, followed by a stint with Brother Jack McDuff. This segued into a three year tour with the Woody Herman Thundering Herd from 1976 to 1979, culminating in "The 40th Anniversary Concert" at Carnegie Hall, which also featured Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Flip Phillips and Al Cohn. After leaving the Herman Herd Joe settled in New York City where he continues to live. His early years there were filled with jam sessions and rent gigs, but eventually he joined the Mel Lewis Orchestra for its regular Monday night concert at the Village Vanguard, playing from 1980 to 1992 and recording six albums with the Orchestra. In addition he worked with Elvin Jones, Carla Bley, Lee Konitz, Charlie Haden and Bob Brookmeyer, among others, eventually joining the modern drummer Paul Motion's band in 1981. Beginning in 1991 with his first engagement as a leader (at the Village Vanguard), Joe has experimented with different ensembles which reflect his searching and dynamic personality. His latest collaboration project, 52nd Street Themes (Blue Note 96667) holds a deep, personal meaning for Joe. It's as if he has worked his entire life to prepare for the work of this past year - culminating in the rich, expansive Nonet charts of 52nd Street Themes.
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ALBUM RELEASE
After numerous successful small group recordings, master saxophonist Joe Lovano tries his hand at leading a larger ensemble, in this case a nonet. With 52nd STREET THEMES, Lovano goes for a mellow group sound that, like the Birth Of The Cool band or Gil Evans' long-running outfit, swings and sways through several choice standards and originals. Lovano's signature big-toned tenor gets center stage in most of the arrangements, which are tastefully orchestrated by Willie "Face" Smith. The music on 52nd Street Themes holds a deep, personal meaning for saxophonist Joe Lovano. It's as though Lovano had worked his entire life to prepare for the work he did in 2000 —culminating in the rich, expansive Nonet charts of 52nd Street Themes, written by long-time Cleveland veteran Willie Smith. Fronting a four-man sax section, Joe blasts through such strong Dameronia as The Scene Is Clean and Tadd's Delight, refreshes the indelible lyricism of Dameron's lovely If You Could See Me Now, and, in an intimate duet with pianist John Hicks, one of Joe's favorite pianists, velvetizes Billy Strayhorn's lush Passion Flower. It also features Miles Davis' early "Sippin' at Bells"; Lovano's homage to Charlie Parker, the complex "Charlie Chan," a three-way saxophone conversation between Lovano and fellow tenormen George Garzone and Ralph Lalama that's punctuated by Lewis Nash's pinpoint drums; "Abstractions on 52nd Street," Lovano's extrapolation and embellishment of a Thelonious Monk line; and George Gershwin's "Embraceable You," plushly orchestrated by Willie "Face" Smith and lovingly performed by Lovano. Others contributing sax are Gary Smulyan (baritone) and Steve Slagle (alto); Tim Hagans and Conrad Herwig play trumpet and trombone, respectively, while Dennis Irwin handles bass. Like many other Lovano records, this hews close to tradition but updates it effectively. Besides the fervor of the playing — Smith says he would've played saxophone, but these New York players were much better prepared — the song selection is astute, Lovano's originals are solid, and Smith's sole compositional contribution, "Deal," is tasty indeed. Evoking the spirits of Tadd Dameron, Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Ernie Henry and George Gershwin, this album conveys the spirit of bebop as a living tradition, reveling in the collective camaraderie of a smallish ensemble that projects all the harmonic opulence of a big band.
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MINHA OPINIÃO - o grande (em todos os sentidos!)Joe Lovano nos leva de volta ao passado, aos memoráveis tempos do "bebop" e do "birth of the cool" na 52 St. em New York, onde tudo isso acontecia nos anos 40 e 50. O comentário aí em cima diz tudo. Eu destaco o grande tema "IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW", obra-prima de TADD DAMERON, não só pela beleza da música como pelo arranjo, nos moldes do "Birth of the Cool" - sem falar da notável performance de Lovano. Com esse repertório e com o timaço de craques, o álbum só poderia ser OURO EM PÓ.

(*) Para preservar a qualidade da gravação, o CD foi convertido para flac files. Dá mais trabalho pra baixar, mas vale a pena.
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JOE LOVANO NONET: 52nd. Street Themes

PERSONNEL:
Joe Lovano - tenor saxophone
Steve Slagle - alto saxophone
George Garzone, Ralph Lalama - tenor saxophone
Gary Smulyan - baritone saxophone
Tim Hagans - trumpet
Conrad Herwig - trombone
John Hicks - piano
Dennis Irwin - bass
Lewis Nash - drums

TRACKS/FAIXAS:
1. If You Could See Me Now
2. On a Misty Night
3. Sippin' at Bell's
4. Passion Flower
5. Deal
6. Scene Is Clean, The
7. Whatever Possess'd Me
8. Charlie Chan
9. Theme For Ernie
10. Tadd's Delight
11. Abstractions on 52nd Street
12. 52nd Street Theme
13. Embraceable You