Praying in the Church of Jazz - McLean / Dean

Jazz, Period. - Praying in the Church of Jazz

"Blue Fantasy" by Al McLean

Al McLean - Saxophone
Kevin Dean - Trumpet
Mike Rud - Guitar
Morgan Moore - Bass

Recorded February 5, 2011 at The House of Elliot, Montreal.

In this installment of Jazz, Period., some of Montreal's best musicians can be found in "The House of Elliot", a converted church in Montreal. Tastefully equipped with a generous selection of collectible gear, the studio's secret weapon is its ambiance, which provokes a sort of musical reverence in all who set foot.

Complete with a ceiling mounted hymn bell, the decommissioned church has a wonderful acoustic fingerprint. The reverberant sanctuary is taut and alert, offering subtly textured canvas for the players to paint on. Just the right amount of tooth to catch the brush...

This piece by saxophonist Al McLean features a hypnotic, dirge-like melody, sparse phrasing drifts intriguingly across an even pedal thumped out by Morgan Moore. The tight head devolves into a rollicking blues blowing section, and the players, in turn, offer testament. Especially of note is Mike Rud's guitar work on this piece. Superlative. A gem of a solo, hearkening Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis' best work. All in attendance please rise and join us in saying... Amen!

Al McLean can be heard regularly in Montreal's Jazz venues, and is a sought after saxophone repair man. Read more about Al McLean here:
http://www.almclean.com/about.html

Kevin Dean is professor, and a founding faculty member of the Jazz program at McGill University's Schulich School of Music (http://www.mcgill.ca/music/).

More on Kevin Dean:
http://kevindeanmusic.com/
http://people.mcgill.ca/kevin.dean/


Directed and filmed by Randy Cole
Sound recording - Daniel (DJ) Joseph
Audio mixed and mastered by Randy Cole

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Jazz
• Cannonball Adderly
• Elliot Mechanic
• Montreal
• Blues
• John Coltrane
• Lee Morgan
• Clifford Brown
• Mike Rud
• Morgan Moore
• Church

[kaeljoe]

Good job guys. Sounds melodic and very pleasing.

[spiderman917]

Where's the Martin Committee!?!?! lol

Really Great piece though. Great job guys!

[saviesax]

Al in my ears and eyes is an unsung hero and I so love what stands for.Now I need to contact him,Because I want him to work on my Selmer mark alto.Bravo Al keep the faith.

[DustinLindenSmith]

Oh my goodness. What a gorgeous piece, and... geez you guys sound absolutely fantastic!!! What a frigging amazing alto solo, too! Awesome. Thanks for the heads-up about this, Rud. Great, great work.