Four Lane Refuge
Story:
Four Lane Refuge was inspire by the music of McCoy Tyner and the realization that sometimes a long, solitary drive can be a refuge from the pace of life.
Zimistry
Story:
Zimistry was written for the great South African jazz artist Zim Ngqawana. He was artist-in-residence at the University of Tennessee in spring of 2004. I had many opportunities to play with him and learn from him. Zim was a charismatic and inspiring musician, bringing together the energy of "My Favorite Things" era Coltrane with the simplicity and soulful beauty of native South African folk music. The UT jazz faculty recording with Zim entitled "Zimology in Concert USA" won a South African Music Award as "Best Traditional Jazz" record of the year in 2008. I was fortunate to have Zim play on a couple of tracks on "Tune Me" when he was in Tennessee in 2004. Sadly, Zim passed away in spring of 2010. His solo on Zimistry is a great example of the energy that he brought to every performance.
Ringing Celestial
Story:
Ringing Celestial is a dedication to the late, great drummer Samarai Celestial. He spent about a dozen years on the road with Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Arkestra before settling in Knoxville in the late 1990s. I was fortunate to play with him quite a bit when I was working in Donald Brown's band. Samarai had a way of playing drums where he would throw you a curve about every 8 bars or so. He would do things that kept me from phrasing the way I normally would, and forced me into altering the way I played. He always kept it fresh, reminding me of Duke Ellington's definition of jazz as "the sound of surprise."
