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| Brownman's Miles Davis Tribute  Every Friday in November at Trane Studio, Toronto multi-award winning trumpeter/composer Nick “Brownman” Ali will lead 5 different 5-man all-star ensembles through 5 historic eras of jazz which Miles Davis catalyzed and immortalized. Brownman, when asked about the tribute and the musicians behind the music, states, “For those who appreciate jazz as a true art form, Five Weeks For Miles represents a rare opportunity to understand it's greatest legend's career, where he could have gone and a reminder of what he might have meant to us today.I'm truly honoured to be fronting this sequential tribute and performing with such a monsterous cross-section of players.” Brownman has put together a spectacularly all-star cast for his production featuring everyone from Canadian jazz legends like Pat Labarbera & Terry Clarke, to luminaries in his own generation such as Robi Botos & Justin Abedin; to the best of the youngest new breed of jazz modernists: Tyler Emond & Larnell Lewis. Brownman continues, “We're all going to be trying to give all of ourselves over to the music... trying to do the man and his vision justice.” Week 1 - Fri. Nov 2, 2007. ”Young Miles” - The Bird Years: At 17 years of age Miles would travel across the river from his home in East St. Louis, Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri to hear well-known jazz musicians play in clubs. Mesmerized by their talent and style, he would listen to their all-night jam sessions until Charlie “Bird” Parker arrived in St. Louis with the Billy Eckstine Band in 1944. Charlie was the creative force behind a new form of jazz later dubbed “bebop”; the young Miles would become fascinated with it's complex melodic and harmonic structure leading Miles to follow Bird across the country until he was allowed to substitute for Parker's trumpet player at the time - Dizzy Gillespie. His tenure as Bird's sideman would most exemplify this hard-swinging period of his life. Brownman - trumpet Bobby Brough - alto saxophone Dave Restivo - piano Brandi Disterheff - upright bass Archie Alleyne - drums Week 2 - Fri. Nov 9, 2007. ”Birth Of The Cool & Kind Of Blue” - Post-Bop Miles: The term “cool” came to particular prominence in the 1950s to describe a more cerebral, less impassioned way of playing jazz. It's generally supposed that these sessions were part of the inspiration for the 'cool school' of jazz which flourished, particularly on the West Coast, in the 50s. Miles would confound the public's expectations by departing the bop world of Charlie Parker and embracing this new order of jazz, examples of which are heard on “Birth Of The Cool” (Capitol Records, '50), a pillar of this era of Miles' jazz development. -- Brownman - trumpet Jeff King - tenor & soprano saxes Nancy Walker - piano Ross MacIntyre - upright bass Bob McLaren - drums Week 3 - Fri. Nov 16, 2007. ”Plugged Nickel” - The Shorter Years: Two quintets in particular featuring 2 tenor saxophone giants dominated Miles' musical life almost exclusively from the mid 50's, right up until the 70's; one featuring John Coltrane and the other featuring Wayne Shorter; primarily demonstrated on “Kind Of Blue” (Columbia, '64) and “Live at the Plugged Nickel” (Columbia / Legacy, '65). This period would feature an assortment of quintets and sextets, all pushing the boundaries of improvisation within a simple modal framework; the two teamings that would leave the world breathless would be those with Coltrane and Shorter. -- Brownman - trumpet Pat LaBarbera - tenor & soprano saxes Robi Botos - piano Jim Vivian - upright bass Terry Clarke - drums Week 4 - Fri. Nov 23, 2007. ”From Bitches Brew to Tutu” - Electric Miles:Legendary as a kind of 'line in the sand' challenging jazz fans during the ascendance of electric, psychedelic rock, “In a Silent Way” (Columbia Records, 1969) hinted at the repetitive polyrhythms Davis would employ throughout the early '70s. It also partook generously of electric piano and bass tonal colourings previously explored in acoustic settings, but “In a Silent Way” and the subsequent “Bitches Brew” and “Live Evil” recordings remains a clearly electric jazz record, part ambient colour exploration, part rock-inflected energy and vibe, and part outright maverick creativity. Long, breathy solos would be a feature of this era, glistening against his new groups' strange admixture of musical moods. Miles' funkified ventures would continue through the 70's until his fateful meeting with Marcus Miller, which would lead to a long collaboration in the 80's with Miller playing producer and musical director to Miles' haunting horn. -- Brownman - electric trumpet Justin Abedin - electric guitar (from JackSoul) Eric Boucher - rhodes (from Chiva) Marc Rogers - 6-string electric bass (from Philosopher Kings) Colin Kingsmore - drums (from Brownman Electryc Trio) Week 5 - Fri. Nov 30, 2007. ”Doo-bop” - Had He Lived... Towards the end of Miles' life he began an exploration of another sub-component of modern popular music - hip-hop. The “Doo-bop” recording (Warner, '92) would feature rappers and loops and would have marked the beginning of Miles' exploration or this artform. It is often harshly referred to by critics as his “worst” documented recording and as a “forgettable” era of his life, but it still stands strongly as a prime example of the Milesian ethic -- his ability to recognize “what's next”, to creatively move within and extend that artform. Brownman states, “I believe it is extremely probable that, had he lived, Miles would have worked closely with the likes of Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, junglists, DJs, rappers and beat-makers alike. Tonight will be a salute to what MIGHT have been.” -- Brownman - electric trumpet Enlight - rapper (from Gruvasylum) Lil Jaz - turntables (from K-OS / Nelly Furtado) Tyler Emond - 6-string electric bass (from Electryc Trio) Larnell Lewis - drums (from Jully Black) Born in Trinidad, schooled in New York City under Randy Brecker's watchful eye and now called “Canada's preeminent jazz trumpeter” by New York City's Village Voice magazine, the ever dynamic Brownman tirelessly leading no less than 7 highly respected ensembles of his own. He is best known for his work as the leader of Canada's premiere latin-jazz ensemble CRUZAO and his electrified Miles Davis' influenced BROWNMAN ELECTRYC TRIO (2007 National Jazz Award winner for “Electric Group of the Year”). Despite the demands of leading 7 groups he is still one of the most called upon trumpet players in the studio scene, his recording credits sitting at just over 250 records to date. He is currently the featured soloist with the legendary New York City jazz-hip-hop artist GURU (of Gangstarr fame) for his JAZZMATAZZ ensemble and this month appears on the cover of CODA, Canada's most acclaimed jazz magazine. Since returning to Canada from NYC, he has been on the cutting edge of modern music in the nation for the last decade, winning multiple awards nationally and achieving international recognition while touring the globe. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |