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The New Jazz Composers Octet
At Birdland
315 West 44th Street, NYC
212.581.3080
www.birdlandjazz.com
Gianni Valenti, Owner
Andy Kaufman, Business Manager
Tarik Osman, Manager
Special Guest: Wallace Roney on Trumpet
David Weiss, Trumpet; Myron Walden, Alto Sax;
Craig Handy, Tenor Sax; Steve Davis, Trombone;
Norbert Stachel, Baritone Sax; Xavier Davis, Piano;
Dwayne Burno, Bass; Nasheet Waits, Drums
Dr. Roberta E. Zlokower
January 6, 2004 Birdland hosted the same musicians that had performed with Freddie Hubbard recently, and they, in turn, invited Wallace Roney to join their Octet. This was a very late and very brief set, by Birdland’s standards. On an icy cold night at midnight, casual, but dissonant, piano riffs by Xavier Davis, accompanied by Steve Davis on trombone developed into a nice melody. Craig Handy’s solo sax was breathless and uninterrupted, before he went wild. Wallace Roney is extremely talented and alternated with Steve Davis to pick up the brass, just as Nasheet Waits’ drums accentuated "Walking the Line" by David Weiss. With the feel of a Miles Davis tune, Roney’s clear and very powerful trumpet took the theme octave by octave, higher and higher. To see his engraved black trumpet was worth the icy walk to Birdland. This Octet plus one had a Big Band sound with extremely nice harmonies. The following piece had a driven, marching beat.
Xavier Davis’ "David and Goliath", abstract and dynamic, allowed for Roney’s intense, interesting solos. Waits’ Drums, Dwayne Burno’s bass, and Davis’ piano merged, just before Handy joined on tenor sax. Handy passed the spotlight to Waits, who gave us a frenetic solo, one of the finest percussive riffs I have heard. I look forward to seeing Wallace Roney again, with his signature black, engraved trumpet. Roney was a real surprise, a hot sound on a frozen night.
Craig Handy on Tenor Sax
Photo courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Wallace Roney on Trumpet
Photo courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Xavier Davis on Piano
Photo courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
New Composers Octet
Photo courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Norbert Stachel on Baritone Sax
Photo courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Wallace Roney on Trumpet
Photo courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
Tarik and the Girls
Photo courtesy of Roberta E. Zlokower
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