Future Memories is the new album from New York-based German drummer and composer Mareike Wiening, featuring her longstanding band that includes saxophonist Rich Perry, pianist Glenn Zaleski, guitarist Alex Goodman, and bassist Johannes Felscher. Recorded in one day in the midst of an extensive tour, the album captures the live group energy and cohesion that only comes from playing together regularly.
Featuring eight of Wiening’s originals inspired by her band members, the compositions are emotional, rhythmical and most importantly, always lyrical. The music was captured in January 2020, just before the first pandemic lockdown, and the album’s title encapsulates Mareike’s feelings: the unexpected value of our future interweaves with various levels of past experiences, memories and the unknown. Balancing great compositions with soaring solo explorations, this is exciting, thoughtful, and engaging creative jazz.
1. Northern Sail
2. El Escorial
3. An Idea is Unpredictable
4. RiChanges
5. Future Memories
6. The Other Soul
7. Seesaw March
8. Dance Into Ju
Mareike Wiening | Drums
Rich Perry | Tenor Saxophone
Glenn Zaleski | Piano
Alex Goodman | Guitar
Johannes Felscher | Double Bass
Produced by Mareike Wiening
Executive Producer: Dave Douglas
Recorded at Riverside Studios Cologne, Germany on January 17th, 2020
Recorded by David Brucklacher
Mixed and mastered by Johannes Felscher
Graphic Design by Frank Hoeger
Photography by Lukas Diller
All compositions and arrangements by Mareike Wiening (GEMA)
Mareike Wiening plays Meinl Cymbals and Meinl Stick & Brush
COMING OUT APRIL 9th, 2021!This album features the music this group has been playing together since 2018. With compositions by the band leader and guitaristMatt Panayides, the group features Matt Vashlishan on Wind Synth, Rich Perry on Tenor Sax, Robert Sabin on bass, and Mark Ferber on drums. The album will come out this Spring
Contemporary jazz composer/guitarist Matt Panayides explores new sonic landscapes on Field Theory.
On FIELD THEORY, guitarist and composer MATT PANAYIDES explores new sonic landscapes by mixing electric and acoustic sounds in a set of modern, highly original post-bop compositions.
FIELD THEORY is a departure from Panayides' previous releases, Conduits (2016) and Tapestries of Song (2011), which were both acoustic, modern jazz projects. The music on FIELD THEORY is complex and modern yet exciting and accessible. The contrast between the electric guitar and EWI with the upright bass and tenor sax creates rich textures.
Although Panayides' approach to composition is influenced by the harmonic language of modern jazz composers like Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, he set out on his own path, writing tightly structured arrangements with dissonant harmonizations containing ample space for improvisation. Panayides says, ''For me, the ideas for compositions come as if from another place. They will appear at any time, sometimes while practicing or on a gig. But the ideas can also come in a dream, or while driving, or standing in line. The trick is to capture these little musical nuggets as best I can so I can organize them later. This entire album was conceived in this way.
''FIELD THEORY'' is a contemporary jazz album that does not completely abandon traditional forms. Panayides invites the listener in with music that is at once familiar, yet largely unexpected, with pops of contrasting colors that weave together images of sound that tell stories not unlike a great abstract painting.
“We are concerned with the future through the past.” Mel Lewis used those words to summarize his vision for the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra (previously the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, now the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra), and their 1983 record Make Me Smile & Other New Works by Bob Brookmeyer. The title of our record An Eye on the Future alludes to Lewis’s quote. This sentiment summarizes the mission statement of our band and the music contained here: we celebrate creativity and innovation while also remembering our roots in the jazz tradition. One of the ways we are able to maintain our roots in jazz is by standing on the shoulders of some of the great jazz arrangers of all time. Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Thad Jones, Bob Brookmeyer, and Jim McNeely have all had a profound influence on this music. We hope that this tradition can be heard alongside our own voice. This project also celebrates the voice of one of today’s most important saxophonists, Rich Perry. Rich is perhaps best known for his work in the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, but he has also been a longstanding member of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and is one of the most prolific soloists in the last three decades. In my opinion, Rich Perry is one of the most expressive saxophone soloists of our time. In writing for Rich, I wanted to showcase his distinctive voice while also giving him and the band the opportunity to interact in new and interesting ways. The result was five saxophone concertos, each showcasing a different aspect of both Rich’s playing and the band. The last two tracks feature the band exclusively.
“Two or Three Birds With One Bird” – I am fascinated by “happy melodies.” Happy melodies are often considered to be naïve or un-hip. One of my favorite arranging techniques is to take a melody we would normally consider as un-hip and set it in a way that challenges those expectations. This is the case here. In this instanced I used a dense chromatic harmony and through-composed form to set the melody. The through-composed structure helps to facilitate interaction between Rich and the band. “An Eye on the Future” – I wrote this lullaby for my son the day I found out that my wife and I were going to be having a baby. Rich’s beautiful sound perfectly captures the hopes and fears any new parent has. “The Thursday Club” – I have always been a fan of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. This is our homage to the great Jazz Messengers tunes like Moanin’, One By One, and Dat Dere. “Like Someone In Love” – When you consider the lyrics, we assume this to be a happy song. Love is not always a happy emotion; it is complex and ever-changing. Here we tap into the more complex aspects of love. This can be heard in my reharminazation of the melody and Rich’s understated yet sophisticated melodic interpretation. “The Law of Contagion” – Unlike the previous four tunes, this piece integrates Rich with the band. The first theme is based on the half/whole diminished scale, and alludes to Bartok’s Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celesta. The form follows a theme and variation approach, but is broken up by solo statements, collective improvisation, shout choruses, episodes of boogaloo, and most notably, a four voice fugue. “Without a Song” – This arrangement is about the ideals of freedom, love, and justice. The original lyrics to this song featured the racist line “A darkie’s born, but he’s no good no how, without a song.” This line was changed by Billie Eckstein in his famous 1946 version where “A darkie’s born” was changed to “A man is born.” This transformed the meaning of the song to signify concepts of racial justice and freedom. The new meaning was carried on in interpretations by many black artists including John Coltrane and Joe Henderson. My arrangement uses this meaning as a way of commenting on modern social, political, economic, and racial injustice. Today when we face so much division in our country, these issues are more urgent than ever. This can be heard in the deconstruction of the melody of “Without a Song,” and how I set it using textures borrowed from Stravinsky’s Petrouchka. The arrangement ends on a message of hope tinged with sadness and uncertainty. “Crowd Control” – Last year a colleague bet me that I could not write in a modern big band style while conforming to the constraints of composers from the 1920s (Due to the limits of 1920s recording technology, arrangers had to be pretty sophisticated in their approach to form in order to incorporate complete melodic statements and multiple solo statements in under four minutes). This piece is based on Don Redman’s 1926 composition “The Stampede.” The form is almost exactly the same as “The Stampede” (I added a two measure piano intro to the melody, and an eight measure coda), but the style and texture are decidedly modern. Rather than break up solo statements between three soloists as was done in the Redman arrangement, I solo throughout.
1. Two or Three Birds With One Bird (Keith Karns)
Rich Perry, Tenor Saxophone
2. An Eye on the Future (Keith Karns)
Rich Perry, Tenor Saxophone
3. The Thursday Club (Keith Karns)
Rich Perry, Tenor Saxophone
4. Like Someone in Love (Jimmy Van Heusen, arr. Keith Karns)
“Mood” deciphers “ballads” here in this Rich Perry new album, which is, to quote the liner notes author Neil Tesser, “.. all ballads, all handled with skill and taste, yet all pushing at the edges to find something else.”
RICH PERRY tenor saxophone
HAROLD DANKO piano
JAY ANDERSON bass
JEFF HIRSHFIELD drums
1 DETOUR AHEAD (Herb Ellis, Lou Carter, John Frigo) 12:13
As Rich Perry’s previous release “Nocturne” deviated the standard quartet configuration by replacing piano with guitar, on this his 22nd album Rich tries something new again: an organ trio. With his two long-time creative partners (Gary Versace at the keyboard and Jeff Hirshfield on drums) Rich Perry opens a new chapter of the art of jazz improvisation.
Rich Perry, tenor sax
Gary Versace, organ [Hammond B-3 Organ]
Jeff Hirshfield, drums
1. Toys
Composed By – Herbie Hancock
2. I Didn't Know What Time It Was
Composed By – Rodgers & Hart
3. Afternoon In Paris
Composed By – John Lewis (2)
4. Without A Song
Composed By – Billy Rose, Edward Eliscu, Vincent Youmans
