Cory Weeds Little Big Band - Explosion (CELLAR LIVE July 6, 2018)

Vancouver jazz impresario Cory Weeds fronts a world class 11 piece "Little Big Band", in an ambitious recording at Bryan Adams' "Warehouse" studio in Vancouver's Gas Town neighbourhood.  

Weeds and his guests speak to the important collaboration between the visiting artists - Gary Smulyan, Joe Magnarelli, Steve Davis and PJ Perry - and the Vancouver players who host them.  

Weeds' prolific activity, in particular pairing top tier New York musicians with local Vancouver players, has helped build Vancouver into a vibrant jazz city, with a deep well of skill.  Although Weeds' live club The Jazz Cellar shuttered years ago, the associated label Cellar Live continues on with a vibrant and regular slate of recordings, and Weeds' work with the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society (managing Frankie's Jazz Club) keeps him at the nexus of all action.  

In this film, we hear some sincere testimony on what Weeds does best - producing a swinging, exciting project that enriches the scene around him.  The symbiosis between artist and producer survives in Weeds' world, with an appreciative nod in both directions.

01 Minor Mishap

02 Soon

03 East Of The Village

04 Park Avenue Petite

05 My Girl Is Just Enough Woman For Me

06 Canadian Sunset

07 KD's Motion

08 Please Send Me Someone To Love

09 Ready And Able

Cory Weeds tenor saxophone

GARY SMULYAN baritone saxophone

STEVE KALDESTAD tenor saxophone

PJ PERRY alto saxophone

JOE MAGNARELLI trumpet

CHRIS DAVIS trumpet

STEVE DAVIS trombon

ROD MURRAY trombone

CHRIS GESTRIN piano

PAUL RUSHKA bass

JESSE CAHLL drums

Gary Smulyan - Alternative Contrafacts (SteepleChase Productions ApS February 15, 2018)

Baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan brings here his trademark “contrafacts” (a music making method that shares the chord progressions with other compositions) approach to this first SteepleChase leader outing challenging us (maybe?) to guess the tunes he is employing.

Smulyan whose professional career took shape by joining Woody Herman’s Young Thundering Herds at age 22 (1978) has won Critics’ and Readers’ Poll awards numerous times by Downbeat and JazzTimes, among others.

1. Vodka (Mal Waldron)

2. Deep People (Jimmy Guiffre)

3. Tale Of The Fingers (Paul Chambers)

4. Cohn Pone (Al Cohn/Nick Travis)

5. Moodamorphosis (Gil Fuller,Dave Burns)

6. Ahma See Ya (Ted Curson)

7. I've Changed (Gary Smulyan)

8. On The Minute (John Eardley)

9. Hand (Coleman Hawkins)

Gary Smulyan baritone saxophone

David Wong bass

Rodney Green drums

Gary Smulyan Quartet - Royalty At Le Duc (SUNNYSIDE RECORDS February 2017)

The baritone saxophone went through a period of distinctive stylists. From Harry Carney and Gerry Mulligan to Cecil Payne and Leo Parker, the instrument has made a stamp on the jazz idiom, whether as a sentimental balladeer to the low voiced bebopper. Taking cues from all these stylists, bari specialist Gary Smulyan has definitely cemented himself at the top of a short list of players who have mastered the big horn. 

Smulyan’s expert service in the fantastic large ensembles of Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie and the Village Vanguard Orchestra has made him a standout section player and soloist. A voice that is distinctive and also an important element to the given ensemble. 

It is a rare pleasure to hear Smulyan in a small ensemble performance, a setting where you can really hear his genius unabated. A terrific opportunity came about during the fall of 2016 as the saxophonist was on a tour through Europe. Smulyan invited producer Jacques Muyal to a gig in Lausanne, Switzerland, which Muyal wasn’t able to attend. Knowing that Smulyan would be in Paris shortly thereafter, Muyal reached out to the world-renowned club, Le Duc des Lombards, to secure permission to record. The subsequent Royalty at Le Duc presents the brilliant Smulyan in a setting that allows his music to truly blossom, live in a jazz club.

The European rhythm section that Smulyan assembled for the tour was composed of French pianist Olivier Hutman, Italian bassist Michel Rosciglione and Austrian drummer Bernd Reiter. The ensemble was more than capable of handling the diverse program of jazz classics, including Thad Jones’s “Thedia” and “Elusive,” Billy Strayhorn’s “The Star-crossed Lovers,” Pepper Adams’s “Cindy’s Tune,” Joe Henderson’s “Serenity,” Raksin and Mercer’s “Laura” and Johnny Green’s “Body & Soul.” 

Gary Smulyan’s Royalty at Le Duc was recorded by lucky happenstance. The recording also provides an exemplary instance of the depth of the bari saxophonist’s incredible artistry on the bandstand, aided by some of the best jazz musicians Europe has to offer.

1. Thedia

2. The Star-Crossed Lovers

3. Cindy's Tune

4. Serenity

5. Elusive

6. Laura

7. Body & Soul

8. Verdandi

Gary Smulyan - baritone saxophone 

Olivier Hutman - piano 

Michel Rosciglione - bass 

Bernd Reiter - drums

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