TRACK LISTING
Disc: 1 Track 1: Highway One - Bobby Hutcherson Track 2: Darius Dance - Marc Copland Track 3: Best Thing for You - Irving Berlin Track 4: Subduction - Phil Hey Track 5: Duke Ellington's Sound of Love - Charles Mingus Track 6: Mopti - Don Cherry Track 7: Blues Connotation - Ornette Coleman Track 8: Floresta - Hermeto Pascoal Track 9: Fifth House - John Coltrane
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 1 review)
Subduction will shake your world by D. Berryman (Minneapolis, MN United States) 5 Stars July 28, 2006 The word 'subduction' deals with the movement of tectonic plates that is a slow process that can result in earthquakes and volcanic activity. Likewise, music on this CD builds tension subtly and releases that tension in great rhythmic eruptions. The first sounds you hear on this CD is Dave Hagedorn's haunting vibraphone solo that introduces Bobby Hutcherson's Highway One, the last is Phil Hey's turbulent and triumphant drum solo for the final chorus of John Coltrane's Fifth House and the cheers of the crowd. What lies between is a demonstration of musical mastery that each musician has honed and the collaborative chemistry that has kept this band vital over the past 5 years. Starting at the turn of the millennium, the Phil Hey Quartet has had a regular gig at the Artists' Quarter in Saint Paul for one Thursday a month (and the occasional week-end). I have had the pleasure of attending many, if not most, of those gigs along with a steadily growing cadre of oldsters and youngsters who all feel very hip indeed to have discovered a subterranean hideout where you can hear world-class hard bop for a $3 cover. A feature of these gigs is that they would always play one tune that the group had never played together before, one member would bring in a new tune or arrangement and they'd all dig-in. This process helps them develop a book that is full of great and seldom heard tunes from both obscure and well known writers. One night Tom Lewis brought in a beautiful tune called Floresta written by Brazilian composer Hermento Pascoal which appears on this CD. In addition to Pascoal, Hutcherson, and Coltrane mentioned earlier, there are tunes on this CD written by Charles Mingus, Irving Berlin, Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, and Phil Hey's original, Subduction. One night at the AQ Phil Hey told a story of touring with the great tenor player Charlie Rouse. There was this very loud man in the audience talking over the music. Phil said he was getting pretty angry and kept playing softer and softer, but the guy didn't have a clue and never shut up. Phil talked with Rouse during the break and said "Did you hear that guy?". Rouse answered, "Yeah I heard him. It happens ... It made you mad though, didn't it?" Phil said, "yeah" and then Rouse said, "Then why didn't you play like it? There's nothing worse than a drummer with no fire." and then walked off. Phil said he was devastated, but the lesson was driven home. Phil is a passionate drummer who now doesn't hide it, and he uses that fire to slowly bring the music to a boil on this CD. Listening to this CD is almost like being there, hearing them "create beauty on demand" (As Davis Wilson says in the liner notes). The Musicians Pianist Phil Aaron has his own trio that has had a regular Friday and Saturday night gig at the Hotel Sofitel for many years. Phil Aaron attended the Berklee School of Music and the University of Illinois. Aaron served as music director in the dance department at UCLA and also taught music at Santa Monica College. He is a preferred pianist among vocalists and national touring acts, including Frank Morgan, Byron Stripling, Bob Sheppard, Sammy Davis Jr., John Patitucci, Scott Colley, Jeff Clayton, Ray Drummond, Barbara Morrison and Jackie Allen. In addition to five CD releases as leader, Aaron has appeared on a number of recordings by other artists. Phil has a style of playing that is dense and rich in color when comping and relaxed and lyrical when soloing, evoking Bill Evans. Phil has a habit of rising from the bench hovering over the keys when soloing, the sound makes one almost believe that he is levitating. I was quite amazed the first time I heard the sound, the beauty and fury that Dave Hagedorn, an uber-musician, generates when playing. Mild-mannered until he gets behind the vibraphone, Hagedorn is an Artist in Residence in the Music Department at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, where he teaches percussion, jazz studies and world music. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Percussion Performance from the Eastman School of Music, as well as various music-related degrees from the New England Conservatory and the University of Minnesota. His 2003 CD SOLIDLIQUID was released on Artegra Records. He studied with, and has toured nationally with, George Russell and appeared on Russell's recordings So What and The African Game. George Russell had singular significance in the evolution of jazz in the second half of the 20th century, Russell's book, The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, first published in 1953 changed the way jazz was taught and understood, and was responsible for introducing modal improvisation, as in the seminal recording of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue. Hagedorn demonstrates his knowledge of harmony and rhythm around the Twin Cities in performances and recordings of local ensembles, including the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and performs with groups including Source Code with Eric Kamau Gravatt, Apex, Low Blows, and Pete Whitman's X-Tet. It's not unusual to see Hagedorn enter the AQ late in the evening in tails and sit in with the band having just finished a gig with Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra or Minnesota Opera. Tom Lewis is one of the busiest bassists in town who appears as a sideman on many local CD's. He is a first call bass player with visiting artists like Benny Golson, Mose Allison, and Charles McPherson. Tom is also busy with local groups like the Phil Aaron Trio and is a long-time member of local bebop icon, Eddie Berger's All Stars - along with Phil Hey. Another thing that Tom and Phil have in common is they both attended the Woodstock, NY-based Creative Music Studio. During the '70 and '80's, the Creative Music Studio was considered the premier study center for contemporary creative music. Founded in 1971 by Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso and Ornette Coleman, CMS brought together leading innovators in the jazz and world music communities. Unprecedented in its range and diversity, CMS was an acknowledged phenomenon in the international music world, providing participants with the rare opportunity to interact personally with the musical giants of improvisation and musical thought on a daily basis. Phil Hey called it "a profound experience" and that was were he met Don Cherry, Dave Holland, and Ed Blackwell who would become his mentor. Phil Hey studied with Ed Blackwell starting in the mid-1970s. The lessons, which were conducted in New York, Minneapolis, Chicago and Blackwell's home in Connecticut, were crucial to Hey's drumming skills, and opened his eyes to a whole world of jazz. The friendship that formed between the two drummers resulted in years of Blackwell sharing experiences, as well as introducing Hey to future employers like Dewey Redman, Charlie Rouse and Kenny Barron. "I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing if it wasn't for Blackwell," says Hey. Their academic credentials may make them sound like a lot of egghead music theoreticians, but these are also seasoned veterans with much road-learning under their belts. They play with passion and commitment to the music. As one who has listened to this band over the past several years. I am very pleased with the result. Subduction is the culmination their labor and artistry, and a celebration of the music they have created together. I hope it is a first of many to come. This review first appeared on [.........].

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Subduction: Live at the Artists' Quarter | Audio CD

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