Joe Smith Jazz

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*The Melodic Workshop is exactly what it sounds like.* I have come to realize that I write music using my ear and that the Melody is what speaks to me. I have been working to free up my mind from all the things I have learned about music and to let melody flow out. In this group I am working towards a concept I have been feeling for a long time. I feel that this music is a music of the future. A mix of many, many different ethnic styles; so many in fact that all of them have lost their own original identities. That leaves us with lots of raw feelings and basic concepts. Melody. Rhythm. Sounds. Melody is free and should be left alone as much as possible to move freely to its destination, unrestricted by impure influences. Rhythm is another animal. With this group I'm developing a sense of rhythm that is free from even structures (4/4 with 4 or 8 bar phrases.) The rhythm flows over a large pulse but with the freedom to digress naturally into "odd" phrases. The idea is to have so many percussive voices speaking all at once that the "1" is lost and yet everyone is moving together. Having more than one drummer is the key. (three is the answer I think) I like to think of this feeling as the old "Drumset falling down the stairs" effect. Its all moving together at the same speed but there are no "Man Made" attributes. This rhythmic concept combined with a concept of a separated "robato" melody on top of this that is free to take as long as necessary to be true to the melodic phrase is the root of my Idea. This leaves the Musicians without many of the foundations that they have learned to expect when playing music. They have to play with a stronger sense of Intent. When this way of playing music is comfortable is when freedom starts. I have always been attracted to acoustic sounds from instruments but more and more I feel that what I am searching for is natural sounds. In this group are the Electric Bass and the Fender Rhodes, two electric instruments but with beautiful natural timbre. I am also interested in incorporating metallic sounds into the overall sound of the group. Sounds that are percussive. Gong like. These are the concepts behind the Melodic Workshop, but it's still just music. The great musicians that I am lucky to be able to work with create this music, make this music speak. It all comes down to playing and creating together. I plan to develop these concepts and write new material for the group. I am in no hurry and am looking forward to watching the music come alive and plan to capture the many different stages this music will travel through. I am planning on releasing a live CD from our tour of Spain we made in December of 2002. Keep your eyes and ears open for it. Enjoy music and life!-- Joe *Musician Bios*
Joe Smith - Drums Born in Chicago, 1971. Joe attended the Cincinnati Conservatory and the Manhattan School of Music studying with Vernel Fornier, Jimmy Lovelace, John Riely and Jeff Williams. During the 90's, Joe lived in New York City where he was the leader of many groups featuring such musicians as Reid Anderson, Ethan Iverson, Chris Lightcap, Jason Lindner, John Stetch and Ben Waltzer. In February 2003, Joe will be featured on the latest recording of Jazz Legend John McNeil. Joe was also a founding member of the African Funk group 'Fatima' and will be featured alongside Jesse Murphy and Jorge Rossy on a new disc to be released this spring. Joe is currently living in Barcelona.
Bill McHenry - Tenor Sax Born in Maine, 1972. Bill attended the New England conservatory in Boston where he studied with Bill Garzone, Dewey Redman and Jimmy Juffry. Playing a major role in the New York City Jazz scene for the last 10 years, Bill has been featured as a sideman on the discs of many great young Jazz musicians such as Chris Lightcap, Reid Anderson, Ethan Iverson, Ben Waltzer, Rebeca Martin, Guillermo Klien and John Stetch. As a leader, he has released two discs for the Fresh Sound New Talent label, both receiving honors from the New York Times. Bill's latest disc features jazz legend Paul Motion, Reid Anderson and Ben Monder.
Guillermo Klien - Fender Rhodes Born in Buenos Aires, 1969. Guillermo received his degree in composition from Berklee in 1993 where he had studied with Inessa Zaraevtzy and Sofia Rossoff. In 1995, he moved to New York City where he began developing and performing with his own group Big Van and later Los Guachos. Many of the finest young Jazz musicians have played in his groups such as Diego Urcola, Chris Cheek, Bill McHenry, Tony Malaby, Ben Monder, Marlon Browden, Jeff Ballard, Luciana Souza and Claudia Acuna. As a leader Guillermo has released four discs, the last three by Sunny Side Records. In 2002, he spent three months in India, producing and arranging two albums, working closely with many famous Indian musicians. He is currently living in Barcelona, Spain.
Jorge Rossy - Piano, Drums Born in Barcelona, 1964. Jorge has lived in Boston and New York. During the 90's, he met and began playing with musicians like Mark Turner, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman and Perico Sambeat. He formed the group The Bloomdaddies with Chris Cheek and Seamus Blake, and collaborated with many other musicians of the new generation. He is at the moment the Spanish musician with the most international projection, and from 1996 has regularly been the drummer of the Brad Mehldau Trio, with whom he has recorded several discs and made tours all over the world. The musical trajectory of Jorge Rossy is documented in an extensive discography, in which in addition to the before mentioned musicians, appear musicians like Mark Johnson, Chic Corea, Jimmy Knepper, Danilo Perez, Avishai Cohen and many others.
Gorka Benitez - Tenor Sax Born in Bilbao, 1965. Considered to have one of Spain's most personal and expressive voices in Jazz, Gorka has been a leader in the Jazz scene in Spain for the last 15 years. After living in New York in the 90's, he has been living in Barcelona where he leads his trio and plays in the groups of David Xirgu, David Mengual, Marc Miralta and with the Mingus Dinasty Big Band Condicio Humana.
Chris Lightcap - Bass Born in Pennsylvania in 1970. Chris has studied with bass legend Milt Hinton, Jeff Levine, Cameron Brown and Bill Dixon. In 1992 he moved to New York City where he began working regularly with the Cecil Taylor Big Band. He has performed with Archie Shepp, Sunny Murray, George Garzone, Paquito D«Reviera, John Abercrombie and Jeff "Tain" Watts. Chris recorded two Discs as a leader featuring Tony Malaby, Bill McHenry and Gerald Cleaver, "Lay-up" in 2000 and "Bigmouth" in 2003 for the fresh sound New Talent label. Chris can also be heard on over 25 discs as a side man with Joe Morris, Tom Harrell, Anthony Coleman, Matt Maneri and many others. Since 2000, he has toured and recorded extensively with Jazz Violinist Regina Carter and is feature on her latest release for Verve Records entitled "Pagannini: After a Dream." He has also toured and played major festivals with such bandleaders as Mark Turner, Ravi Coltrane, Matt Wilson and Terrel Stafford.