MEL GRAVES / Ear Shot
Mel Graves (bass); Bob Afifi (flutes); Harvey Wainapel (tenor sax); Randy Vincent (guitar); George Marsh (drums); Al Bent (trombone); Pete Estabrook (trumpet)
"Ear Shot is nice music to dig while sipping your favorite beverage on your front steps on a sunny day (or one that deserves to be)." Mark Keresman
The EAR SHOT project includes many of the jazz compositions that I wrote in 2001 and 2002. My jazz writing utilizes areas that I have been working on for the last 30 years like: odd time signatures (7/4 and 11/4), varieties of rhythmic feels (especially exploring different types of 3/4), angular yet lyrical melodies and counterpoint. In terms of orchestration I wanted to expand upon the instrumentation of flute, guitar, bass and drums that we used in 2001on Randy Vincent’s recording project “Mirror Image”.
The natural choice for me was the tenor saxophone that I used on my previous recording of jazz originals “Emotion In Motion”. I have known Harvey Wainapel for several years and have always wanted to work on a project with him. He added a lot of fire and soul to the CD. I wrote some simple backgrounds for two of the Latin tunes on the project and fellow Sonoma State University faculty members Pete Estabrook and Al Bent were first choices there. Also they each contribute a very effective solo to the CD. I consider drummer George Marsh my rhythm section soul mate. We go back together to the late 60’s with Denny Zeitlin, Jerry Hahn and Mose Allison and have played in a wide variety of music over the years. I can not think of another drummer who could do what he does for my music. I have also played for about two decades with guitarist Randy Vincent. In addition to his inventive soloing he also provides just the right balance between space and definition that allows my compositions to breathe. Flutist Bob Afifi is my first choice for both my jazz and contemporary classical writing. When I started teaching at Sonoma State University in 1982 Bob was my first truly outstanding student. We have worked together in a wide variety of settings over the years. Bob can be heard on my contemporary classical CD “Day Of Love”, also on the Mutable Music label. Bob’s beautiful tone and creative solos added a lot to EAR SHOT.
Ear Shot is a medium up tempo piece with a lot of offbeat rhythmic accents. This composition was designed just to get the juices flowing in the band and is often our opener at concerts. After two exciting solos by Harvey and Randy we trade 8’s with George. I am dedicating Picturing You to a very special friend and early mentor from my college days in Ohio, Jack Barger who passed away unexpectedly in May, 2002. He was a great drummer and good friend. I am sure I will keep picturing him through the years. The tune has a Latin feel and is in 3/4 time. After a bass solo, Pete and Bob are featured. For Smith is written for another close musical friend, Smith Dobson who died in a tragic car accident in 2001. He was one of my favorite pianists of all time and I wish I would have his always glowing, upbeat and warm personality. Smith can be heard on the CD recording of my two hour third stream composition from 2000 “Spirit Changes”. The tune starts rubato and moves to a lyrical jazz waltz then ends with another rubato section. Harvey’s mournful sound captures the mood perfectly. Revisiting Higgins was inspired by a tune that I use in my improvisation class, “Our Man Higgins” written by Lee Morgan. The original tune was an extended whole tone oriented 24 bar blues that had two bar drum breaks built into it and was of course written for the late Billy Higgins. My piece features George on built in 8 bar drum breaks, uses more altered scales than whole tone, has a longer form and includes a second section in 7/4. The third section of the head uses the same melody and chords as the first section of the piece but eliminates the drum breaks. The take starts with a 48 bar drum solo. Missing You is a ballad that passes the melody around from bass to guitar to tenor saxophone. It was written for my mother who passed away in 1995. Again Harvey’s soulful tone really fits the spirit of the piece. 3 and 7 was inspired by a workshop that we had at Sonoma State University in 2001 with Hermeto Pascoal and Jovino Santos Neto. They played a composition that was in 2/4 and 5/4 at the same time. I thought that would be a fun area to explore so I wrote a piece where the flute is in 3/4, the guitar and bass are in 7/4 and the drums cover parts of both feels. Heads and Tails explores musical areas that go between counterpoint and fugal material. It features solos by Randy, Bob and myself. Time To Push Restart is a Latin tune that uses a lot of slash chord harmony, a two part counterpoint part for flute and bass at the bridge and three horn background punches. Bob, Randy and Al are featured on solos for this one. For Bertram was written for my bass teacher from my graduate school days at U.C. San Diego, Bertram Turetzky. He was and still is a mentor and good friend. It features a bowed melody on the bass at the end of the tune that is again two part writing with the flute. I end the piece with one of Bert’s classic creations, a glissandi exploration with harmonics. Conversation Piece is a fugue that goes between tenor saxophone, guitar and bass. It features the only free improvisation that is on this CD. Over The Top is again another contrapuntal piece that alternates 4/4 and 5/4 bars in the first section then goes to an 11/4 bridge section with a lot of syncopated rhythmic punches. When this section comes around in the solos we are still in 11/4 but the rhythmic figures are twisting and turning in different ways.
TRACK LIST
Ear Shot (6:26)
Picturing You (7:30)
For Smith (6:42)
Revisiting Higgins (8:19)
Missing You (6:01)
3 And 7 (6:45)
Heads and Tails (8:21)
Time To Push Restart (7:00)
For Bertram (4:33)
Conversation Piece (3:31)
Over The Top (6:03)
REVIEWS
Fluency is a constant throughout Ear Shot's The Music of Mel Graves (Mutable). As a bassist, Graves mostly steers from the backseat; as a composer he favors odd time signatures and cascading melodic figures. His chief partners in this venture are flutist Bob Afifi and saxophonist Harvey Wainapel, who provide most of the album's solo statements. The remainder of Graves' septet operates as a loose unit, animating and inhabiting his tunes. Altogether, it's a solid effort, conveying a prismatic quality-a sense, in other words, of viewing an object, or hearing a theme, from a multitude of angles. This, it turns out, is the album's only real fault as well; problems arise as it progresses, revealing a sameness in tone from song to song. Graves-whose last album, a song cycle inspired by Pablo Neruda, incorporated elements of modern chamber music-could only benefit by similarly varying his more straightahead fare.
Mel Graves is a California bassist and composer who past affiliations have included Mose Allison, Jerry Hahn (whose Jerry Hahn Brotherhood was an early fusion band, circa 1970), Joe Henderson, John Abercrombie and Denny Zeitlin. Here. On this, one of his infrequent dates as a leader, Graves explores sun-kissed Pacific Coast cool bebop with 11 easygoing originals. Which is not to imply this is Quiet Storm fodder - there's plenty of sure' n 'steady, breezy swing, quietly resolute soloing (especially from the hearty Rollins-ish sax of Harvey Wainapel and Bob Afifi?s sturdy, unsentimental yet heartfelt flute) and thoughtful compositions (unusual time signatures, a nice sense of spaciousness, avoidance of clichés) that manage the nice trick of being mellow, accessible and substantial. Re: points of reference, this set puts me in mind sound-wise of some Verve albums from 1961-66, the Paul Desmond and Hubert Laws albums from around the same time and the 70s, and even the MJQ. While no monster, Graves' Ear Shot is nice music to dig while sipping your favorite beverage on your front steps on a sunny day (or one that deserves to be).
