TECH COPY (CD Booklet) street date: 06/24/2016
ARTIST: Marquis Hill
TITLE: The Way We Play
LABEL: Concord Jazz
UPC: 888072392069
CJA-39206-02
Produced by Marquis Hill
Recorded by Anthony Gravino at Bunker Studios, Brooklyn, NY
Assistant Engineer: Jacob Bergson
“Straight, No Chaser" and "Beep Durple” Recorded by Seth Presant at The Village Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Mixed by Seth Presant
Mastered by Paul Blakemore at CMG Mastering
Photography: Max Leithner (cover), Phil Jordan, Samo Cinema (other photos)
Package Design: Natalia Rios
Marquis Hill – trumpet, flugelhorn
Christopher McBride − alto saxophone
Justin "Justefan" Thomas – vibraphone
Joshua Ramos − bass
Makaya McCraven − drums
Special Guests
Christie Dashiell – vocals
Meagan McNeal – vocals
Vincent Gardner – trombone
Harold Green III – poet
Juan Pastor − percussion
GREAT THANKS:
Thank you first and foremost to my wonderful mother − for supporting me, Mom, at every step, since day one: thanks for instilling in me the reality that nothing is impossible; I love you! Thank you to the incredibly talented and resourceful musicians and engineers, involved in the making of this project. Thank you for glimpsing the vision with me, and for giving imaginative life to this music. To each positive mentor I have had in my life: you have pushed and motivated me to never give up − to keep believing the very best, and so I thank you well beyond words and from the bottom of my heart: Diane Ellis, Professor Ronald Carter, Ernest Dakwins, Willie Pickens, Bobby Broom, Tito Carillo, Pharez Whitted, and William McClellan. Very special thanks to Zakiya Powell and Fola Management. I would also express deep thanks to The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and to the Concord Music Group, for providing me with this truly unique opportunity. It is wonderful! I will also like to give thanks to the creator, my ancestors and ask for continued guidance. Lastly, I shout a huge “THANK YOU!” to the place that has molded me in many ways − into the strong, proud, black man I am − yes − to the city of broad shoulders, my city, Chitown, Chicago! Thank you!
Artist Representation/Management:
Zakiya Powell, Fola Management folamanagment.com
marquishill.com
concordmusicgroup.com
(P) & (C) 2016 Concord Music Group, Inc., 100 N. Crescent Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. Printed in the U.S.A. CJA-39206-02
1. Welcome / “Bulls Theme” (1:46)
“Welcome” (Marquis Hill) MHillMusic (ASCAP)
“Sirius” (Alan Parson-Eric Woolfson) Universal Music-Careers (BMI)
2. The Way We Play / Minority (6:12)
“The Way We Play” (Marquis Hill) MHillMusic (ASCAP)
“Minority” (Gigi Gryce) Second Floor Music obo Twenty Eighth Street Music (ASCAP)
3. Prelude (0:37)
4. Moon Rays (5:31)
(Horace Silver)
Ecaroh Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
5. My Foolish Heart (4:29)
(Victor Young-Ned Washington)
Chappell & Co. (ASCAP) / Shapiro Bernstein obo Catherine Hinen Music (ASCAP) / Patti Washington Music (ASCAP)
6. Polka Dots and Moonbeams (2:04)
(Jimmy Van Heusen-Johnny Burke)
Bourne Co. (ASCAP) / Spirit Two Music obo My Dad’s Songs (ASCAP) / Spirit Two Music obo Reganesque Music (ASCAP) / WB Music Corp. obo Marke Music Publishing (ASCAP) / Spirit Music obo Limerick Music (ASCAP)
7. Fly Little Bird Fly (5:51)
(Donald Byrd)
Blackbyrd Music (BMI)
8. Maiden Voyage (3:30)
(Herbie Hancock)
Hancock Music Company (BMI)
9. Straight, No Chaser (3:47)
(Thelonious Monk)
Thelonious Music Corp. (BMI)
10. Beep Durple (5:56)
(Carmell Jones)
EMI U Catalog Inc. (ASCAP)
11. Juan’s Interlude (0:36)
(Juan Pastor)
Juan Pastor Publishing Designee (ASCAP)
12. Smile (5:22)
(Charlie Chaplin)
Bourne Co. (PRS)
The softspoken eloquence of Marquis Hill's horn and pen moves toward paradox:
Real individuality allows profound ensemble and vice versa
The best senses of the music's past usher, it's now
Truth, however complex, is fundamentally singable
Hill has orchestrated the present tunes and personalities with unique care. Few visions/bands so reconcile bopping virtuosity and grooving hip-hop. The Way We Play points up jazz’s enduring ‘Chicagoesse.’ Hill’s homages to classic tunes, several that first brought him into this music as he blew and grew at, and, between, Fred Anderson’s Sunday night Velvet sessions also honor their composers and performers. The set looks back to look forward, forward to look back, emphasizing the search for one’s own voice within the great ‘aural continuum.’ Hill and the Blacktet highlight the enduring freshness of these sometimes quite-adapted forms, from Chicagoan Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage” to Carmell Jones’ “Beep Durple.” The quintet, too, is smartly adapted on several cuts; vocalist Christie Dashiell (Washington D.C.), drummer-percussionist Juan Pastor, poet Harold Green III, and the great trombonist Vincent Gardner make meaningful appearances. And Mr. Green rhymes one of the band’s focal commitments: “The way we play is the way we love.”
Whether via auditory memories of Art Farmer’s brilliant minimalism, great recordings of “My Foolish Heart” (Hill’s dubbed trumpet choir accompanies Dashiell’s interpretation of this Young/Washington collossus), the prayer-like protest of Donald Byrd’s “Fly Little Byrd Fly,” or Carmell Jones’ own deeply personal homages to Browny, the Blacktet thank you for joining them in these transformative climbs!
−Kevin Sparks