There’s an interesting story behind the
making of the splendid music on Modern Days And Nights that has at its
source a modern jazz classic, John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.”
When the great
tenor saxophonist recorded the brisk 16-bar tune in 1959, he demonstrated
a wholly new way of looking at chord progressions, utilizing the basic
II-V-I cadences in an imaginative, unpredictable manner that opened up
harmonic vistas for countless musicians.
Among these
was keyboardist Andy LaVerne, known not only for his fluent, perceptive
work with Stan Getz from 1977-1980, but also for his powerful solo albums,
such as 1990’s Pleasure Seekers (Triloka) and 1995’s Time Well Spent
(Concord Jazz). The pianist had long insinuated the Coltrane canon into
his oeuvre.
Last summer,
LaVerne was teaching an improvisation workshop at a jazz camp conducted by
renowned clinician and educator Jamey Aebersold–highly regarded throughout
the world of jazz musicians for his now 70-plus play-a-long recordings
that, as he accurately puts it, “have changed the way musicians practice.”
“We were going
through some tunes and I decided to try ‘Giant Steps,’” says LaVerne.
“There were a lot of problems, so I tried it as a slower bossa nova and
all of sudden the students, ranging in age from their late teens to their
30s, could play it.”
Next in this
serendipitous journey came an article for Keyboard Magazine, for whom
LaVerne has written since 1984. The piece was a “Master Class” on “Giant
Steps,” inspired by his experience at the camp. "I broke the tune down
into small phrases, and made exercises out of them,” he says. The article,
written in July, was published in the November issue as “Twelve Steps to
Giant Steps.”
About this
time, LaVerne had been trying to interest Aebersold in a play-a-long
recording of the music of Chick Corea, but, for various reasons, that
project didn’t materialize. Instead, Aebersold, who had read the Keyboard
piece, suggested a “Giant Steps”-based play-a-long.
So LaVerne
gathered up a few Coltrane tunes that were based on the “Giant Steps”
formula–”Countdown,” “26-2,” etc.–plus a few originals, and started
rehearsing with bassist John Patitucci and drummer Steve Davis (all three
live near each other in Westchester County, outside New York City) for
what ultimately became the newly-out Countdown to Giant Steps.
“That trio
felt so nice, we thought ‘Why not do something else that wasn’t a
play-along?’ ” Manhattan native LaVerne, and spokesperson for this
project, recalls. They tossed around horn players’ names, with Davis
suggesting Bill Evans, who came aboard. “So we had the group, but no
focus,” says LaVerne.
Enter Jamey D.
Aebersold, owner of Double Time Records, and the clinician’s son. He said
an album of one composer would be a good idea, but in a modern setting,
“and I thought of Cole Porter,” says LaVerne, a fan of the fabled composer
who died in 1964 at age 71.
The group got
together and talked tunes, and offered possibilities for LaVerne,
who tailored the material for a group sound. For example, Patitucci
suggested the “Giant Steps” reharmonization that we hear on “Night and
Day,” which was inspired by Joe Henderson’s version of the song.
The pianist
also had solid, non “Giant Steps” instincts. For “Everytime We Say
Goodbye” and “Everything I Love,” he employed modulating key centers. On
“What Is This Thing Called Love?” “I did a slight reharmonization, and
added an interlude at one point which became the intro. Then John came up
with the bassline which is one of the highlights of the record.”
Patitucci is
also featured on “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” a rendition LaVerne
patterned after a favorite recording, Intermodulation (1966), with Bill
Evans and Jim Hall. (LaVerne studied for a brief period in the late ‘60s
with Evans and says, “I trace all my use of interesting harmonies from
those lessons.”) The pianist turned “Just One of Those Things” into a
waltz and “Love For Sale” into a Brazilian chorinho. “I wanted something
that contrasted what we are used to hearing,” he says.
Last but
decidedly not least is LaVerne’s “A Cole Porter Flat,” a play on words on
“Cold Water Flat.” “It’s not a tune that Cole Porter would write but one
which gave a modern feeling yet retained something of the Tin Pan Alley
era that Porter’s songs did,” he says. “Funny, I think my originals are
more like standards, whereas my versions of standards sound more like
originals.”
LaVerne
“really digs” Modern Days and Nights and says the players achieved their
aim: to make modern, invigorating music that has a band sound to it, not
like a jam session or a “bunch of cats getting together for a recording.”
I agree, and perhaps a major reason for the affinity of the musicians is
that they’ve almost all played with one another for many years.
Patitucci, who
calls his decade from 1985 to 1995 with Chick Corea a pivotal experience
and whose latest album, One More Angel, is due out soon, first played with
LaVerne on Pleasure Seekers. Evans, a Miles Davis bandstand mate in the
early ‘80s whose newest recording is Escape, met LaVerne when they played
with bassist Miroslav Vitous in 1980. Davis, who has worked with Dave
Liebman, Richie Beirach and Lynne Arriale and whose debut album is due out
on DMP Records, has paired with LaVerne on sessions at Aebersold clinics.
“He’s a really good drummer,” says Patitucci.
LaVerne hopes
Modern Days And Nights is just a beginning. “I’d like to follow this with
some live gigs and more recordings,” he says. “The chemistry is really
nice.”
‘Trane would
think so, too.
Zan Stewart February
17, 1997
Contributor to Down Beat Magazine, Stereophile & Swing
Journal
Cole Porter
wrote some of the most enduring songs of this century. So, when it came
time to choose material for this collection, the problem was not a matter
of inclusion, rather a matter of selection. Along with the intrinsic
beauty of his compositions, Porter infused his songs with a malleability
to absorb countless interpretations. While playing jazz is more expressive
than interpretive, the arranging and harmonization of familiar melodies
opens the way to interpretation.
The expressive
side of this project was covered by the musicians. The chemistry between
Bill, John, Steve, and myself proved most gratifying. The result of having
the Porter tunes as vehicles for self-expression, is the four of us
coalescing into a strong, yet flexible unit. Of course the gentle, genial,
and generous guidance of Jamey D. Aebersold certainly helped complete the
package. We really had fun playing, so have fun listening!
Andy LaVerne February
1997
