John Vaughn – saxophones | Dax Compise – drums | Brian Clark – bass | guest appearance by: Rent Romus – C-melody saxophone
Produced by C.O.M.A.. Recorded Direct to 2-track analog by Myles Boisen at Guerrilla Recording Oakland, California, December 28, 2003. Mastered by Myles Boisen, January 13, 2004 | http://comaonline.com/
C.O.M.A. would like to thank Karin and Merilyn for putting up with musician husbands, Ray and Melissa from the Caffein Den for providing a constant venue, Rent for putting up with us, the “In The Moment” crew for their support and Dave Bryant for his liner notes.
Tracklist: 1. THE CALL TO ALL by compise 2. TRADITION by Compise 3. I LOVE YOU by Compise 4. GOING SOUTH by Vaughn 5. ELEVATOR TO HELL by COMA 6. PAYIN1 THE RENT by COMA 7. SHALOM MICKEY by COMA 8. HEY, THAT HURTS! by Vaughn
C.O.M.A. California Outside Music Associates
inspired by the influences of Ornette Coleman and world music, blend sound creating a free expressive music. Originating from backgrounds in music education and performance, their styles have ranged from classical to modern rock and everything in between. Dax Compise and Brian Clark are both graduates of the Conservatory at the University of the Pacific (UOP), and John Vaughn has a bachelors and masters degree in music as well as a long history of working the east coast and mid-west jazz scenes. Their debut CD on Edgetone features original composition featuring their unique explorations and solid music traditions.
I spent an intense several months in a band
with John Vaughn in the summer/fall of 1980. We were the house band in a little night club in Hickory, North Carolina 6 a pretty good gig for the likes of us.. Plainly put, we got away with murder on that gig, crofting a mix of standards and the avant-garde and forming a bond with regular customers that spoiled us rotten and set us on the road to ruin, unable to hold down a d’straight? playing gig with a straight face. We had learned that you CAN have it both ways 6 you can follow your musical bliss and take the audience along with you, provided you earn their trust up front. Not a bad deal.
It is with a great sense of relief and a restored faith in humanity, then, that I greet John Vaughnis return to musical trouble-making. As you can hear on this disc, collective improvisation, percussion interludes, and area bass solos (known as The Three Kisses of Death in lesser hands) are all alive and well, and still work when musicians are skillful and savvy enough to earn our trust up front. That Vaughnis chops and droll wit are in better shape than ever after 20+ years is especially gratifying, and his ability to find another group of kindred spirits in Clark and Compise is downright inspirational. Ifd like to think he knew it was possible because we learned it together way back when.
I remember seeing Ronald Reagan win the presidency in a landslide right as the gig in Hickory was coming to an end. It seemed an ominous harbinger, a sign that the free lunch for free music was over, and a stifling conservatism was about to strike fear in the hearts of adventurous souls everywhere. As California embraces another conservative actor/governor, allow me to suggest that John Vaughn and his formidable band of subversives is exactly the kind of karmic corrective his home state sorely needs. At least, they make ME proud to be an American. With fondness and admiration, Dave Bryant, Cambridge, Massachusetts keyboardist for Ornette Coleman and the Shock Exchange, January, 2004
…a breath of fresh air in a torrid afternoon in that car graveyard which is jazz today. – MASSIMO RICCI
…a sense of swing and some downright catchy tunes. Indeed, their approach is an important aspect of much new “outside” jazz, which seeks a rapproachment between trad and modern, as well as incorporating a sense of other styles, such as funk and rock. All of this blends into a musical stew that is tasty as well as spicy. – Christian Carey, Splendid
CD version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)