Rarely have two musicians given the impression of making their artistic proximity so manifest. Alto saxophonist Dmitry Baevsky and pianist Jeb Patton have known each other for many years. They met at a young age in New York, driven by a same thirst to learn the language of jazz and to make it their idiom of predilection. What better way for these two musicians to reveal their entente than in a tête-à-tête? What better context than a one-on-one, in which they elaborate the music together, privileging careful listening to one another other, a dialogue, a complementarity? The complicity is obvious between Jeb Patton’s elegant and articulated piano playing and Dmitry Baevsky’s vivid, precise and lyrical alto saxophone. The complicity is obvious between Jeb Patton’s elegant and articulated piano playing and Dmitry Baevsky’s vivid, precise and lyrical alto saxophone. Magnificently recorded, they have achieved a classic and everlasting album that marks the meeting of two contemporary jazz masters, simply called ‘We Two’.
“The Day After” présente Dmitry Baevsky au sommet de son art... Avec cet album, il continue son exploration musicale et prouve une fois de plus qu’il est sans doute l’une des voix les plus exaltantes du moment à l’alto. Le saxophoniste et compositeur new-yorkais est entré en studio avec ce quartet inspiré pour enregistrer un sixième album en tant que leader. Le répertoire compte six compositions originales, dont l’explosif blues mineur « Rollin’», « Hotel Baudin » aux harmonies complexes, et la valse « Would You?» qui ouvre l’album. Dmitry Baevsky nous livre un disque brillant... Le son profond et chaleureux qu’il tire de son saxophone, sa créativité sans fin et la complicité avec ses trois sidemen font de l’écoute de ces dix pistes un moment jubilatoire, à la hauteur de ses concerts sur scène. Fils unique d’un écrivain et d’une traductrice, Dmitry a grandi à Saint Petersbourg au milieu des livres... C’est à l’âge de 19 ans que la New School University de New York le remarque et lui offre une bourse... Quelques années après, il est entouré de Cedar Walton et Jimmy Cobb pour son premier album, “Introducing Dmitry Baevsky”.
Il s’est depuis fait un nom sur la scène internationale grâce à un son immédiatement reconnaissable et un jeu lyrique et puissant.... Dmitry a enregistré et joué avec une liste impressionnante de musiciens dont Benny Green, Peter Bernstein, David Hazeltine, Jeremy Pelt, Joe Cohn, Roger Kellaway, Eric Alexander, Harry Allen... Nominé en 2016 dans la catégorie “Best Alto Saxophonist” du prix du public de Hot House Jazz Magazine à New York. “ Dès son tout premier enregistrement, il s’est d’emblée imposé comme une importante nouvelle voix du saxophone alto. Avec un son puissant, une conception harmonique brillante et un sens du rythme inébranlable, le jeune homme attire par son lyrisme et intrigue par son originalité.” THE NEW YORK CITY JAZZ RECORD “Rien n’est fragile dans le jeu de Baevsky. Son timbre est profond et riche, avec une envergure semblable à celle des tenors ou altistes pre-bop, et un swing irrépressible attisé par toute une gamme d’idées et de chemins d’improvisation.” THE NEW YORK JAZZ RECORD
The only child of a writer and a translater, Dmitry was born in St Petersburg, Russia. Baevsky started piano lessons at the age of six and discovered his passion and seriousness for music as a teenager when he picked up an alto saxophone. Although he was not surrounded by professional musicians, his family was closely connected to music. His great grand-father, Moisei Beregovsky, was one of the most famous and respected Jewish ethnomusicologists who spent his life gathering melodies and words of Yiddish folk songs, as well as Eastern European Jewish dance melodies (klezmer music).
In 1991, he entered the Mussorgsky College of Music in St-Petersburg where he studied with the brilliant Russian jazz saxophonist Gennady Goldstein for four years. Throughout the nineties, he appeared in many jazz venues and international festivals throughout Russia.
Upon his arrival in New York at age 19, he was accepted into the Jazz Department at the New School University on a full scholarship. After finishing college, Baevsky remained busy working within the New York jazz community and has performed and/or recorded with musicians such as Benny Green, Peter Washington, Willie Jones III, David Hazeltine, “Killer” Ray Appleton, Peter Bernstein, Cedar Walton, Dennis Irwin, Jeremy Pelt, Steve Williams, Joe Magnarelli, Ryan Kisor…
In 2005, he released his first CD as a leader “Introducing Dmitry Baevsky” (Lineage Records). The album features such masters as Cedar Walton and Jimmy Cobb, along with Ilya Lushtak on guitar and John Webber on bass.
In 2009, Dmitry recorded “Some Other Spring” (Rideau Rouge / Harmonia Mundi) while on tour in Europe with the guitarist Joe Cohn.
In September 2010, the label Sharp Nine Records released “Down With It”, an album featuring trumpet player Jeremy Pelt as well as Jeb Patton (p), David Wong (b) and Jason Brown (dr). The recording stayed more than four months in the Jazzweek charts (a weekly report of the top fifty Jazz recordings played on radio stations across the United States and Canada).
Baevsky's second release on Sharp Nine Records, called “The Composers”, came out in 2012 and features David Hazeltine on piano, John Webber on bass, Jason Brown on drums and the great guitarist Peter Bernstein on three tracks.
2015 marks his debut on Jazz Family label with “Over and Out”, a trio album recorded with bassist David Wong and drummer Joe Strasser.
Dmitry Baevsky (as)
Fabio Miano (p)
Ignasi González (b)
Joe Strasser (ds)
1. Somethin' Special (feat. Fabio Miano, Ignasi González & Joe Strasser)
2. Fools Rush In (feat. Fabio Miano, Ignasi González & Joe Strasser)
3. Cheesecake (feat. Fabio Miano, Ignasi González & Joe Strasser)
4. Lament (feat. Fabio Miano, Ignasi González & Joe Strasser)
5. Eclypso (feat. Fabio Miano, Ignasi González & Joe Strasser)
6. The End of a Love Affair (feat. Fabio Miano, Ignasi González & Joe Strasser)
7. I Thought About You (feat. Fabio Miano, Ignasi González & Joe Strasser)
You can hear it loud and clear in his music: Dmitry Baevsky is here! The Russian born alto saxophonist has made quite a name for himself since immigrating to New York from his St. Petersburg birthplace nearly twenty years ago. Now a charter member of the world jazz community, Baevsky has proven himself to be a formidable force to be reckoned with, confirming his prodigious abilities in countless appearances with some of the music’s greatest artists. From his very first recording with NEA Jazz Masters Cedar Walton and Jimmy Cobb the altoist has shown himself to be an important new voice on his instrument. Possessing a robust sound, acute harmonic mind and keen sense of rhythm, the young horn man puts it all together in a manner that is appealing in its lyricism, yet intriguing in its originality.
On his four previous efforts as a leader Baevsky has appeared in the traditional jazz quartet/quintet configuration. On this fifth outing he has chosen to expose his talent to the greater scrutiny of the trio format. He explains, “A trio setting is just different. It makes me go places rhythmically, harmonically and melodically, that I might not go otherwise … it boosts creativity, and at its best the outcome can be rewarding to both the musicians and the listeners. The sound is so much more open, airy and even fragile. In a way it’s a dangerous place to be in; it puts more light on everyone, but if the musicians are good it’s a great way of showcasing their abilities that otherwise might be overlooked.”
The impressive skills of both bassist David Wong and drummer Joe Strasser are indeed on full display here. Baevsky notes, “I am very fortunate to know, play with and even be friends with these two guys. Their credentials speak for themselves, but I would like to add that they provide me with exactly what I need – real, super strong “New York” energy and sound, uncompromising swing and the willingness to support the soloist at the maximum capacity without sacrificing their identity. They’re real pros on the highest level possible, who also happen to be wonderful human beings that I can trust completely -- which is uber important. It’s like climbing a mountain – you have to have the complete trust and support of your team.”
The music Baevsky has chosen to spotlight the cohesive talents of the trio clearly reveals the depth of his broad knowledge of the jazz canon. He notes, “The repertoire is really important to me. I don’t choose songs because of some specific “significance” or “meaning” they have for me. I simply look for the best possible vehicles to improvise on; songs that have interesting harmonic, rhythmic and melodic things going on. Ones that will sound great, that will be appealing to both the audience and the band. And last but not least, that will inspire me.” Somewhat ironically, the songs the saxophonist has chosen to perform on this pianoless excursion are for the most part composed by or associated with some of jazz’s greatest masters of the keyboard.
The towering evergreen “Poinciana” that begins the date was of course popularized in jazz circles by pianist Ahmad Jamal’s classic rendition recorded Live at the Pershing. Ray Bryant’s soulful “Reflection” is best known for Phineas Newborn’s interpretation on the Roy Haynes album We Three. Monk and Duke are represented by the former’s “Brilliant Corners” and the latter’s “The Feeling Of Jazz” and “Tonight I Shall Sleep (With A Smile On My Face).” “Turquoise” is by the recently departed Cedar Walton (with whom Baevsky recorded and shared the bandstand for a week at Chicago’s Jazz Showcase). Walton’s spirit is also present on “Circus,” which was first widely heard on the Impulse album Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers! that featured the great pianist.
Baevsky even dedicates one of his three originals on the date to a pianist. He says, “ ‘Silver Screen’ is sort of a tribute to Horace Silver, thus the title. I just wanted to write something in that tempo - in between slow and medium - and Horace always wrote great things for this tempo. Sort of like his ‘Strollin’.” Dmitry describes his own “In the Know” as “a slightly different type of a tune.” He explains, “It has a lot of changes going by, which is something that I like to deal with and it has a rather unusual bridge, harmonically speaking.” Of the date’s title track the saxophonist declares, “I wanted to have something fast, but not too crazy fast, to play. I was looking for the right material, but nothing was quite clicking. At some point I came up with a simple melody that stuck with me and after a while I wrote a slightly more involved bridge. The song is rather standard in its nature and makes it a fun number to blow on.”
The disc closes with the standard “Stranger In Paradise.” Baevsky confesses, “The melody is inspired by Russian composer Borodin’s piece - so in a way it is a semi-hidden nod towards the place I come from….” When he first came to New York, Dmitry Baevsky (like most musicians from another part of the world) probably felt like a “stranger in paradise.” Today he’s no longer a stranger, but an integral part of the jazz capital of the world’s inspiring scene. You can hear why here. His message is clear. Over and out.
