John Rangel – piano | Michael Glynn – bass | Cal Haines – drums

Tracklist: 1. Time -John Rangel 2. Horace-Play – Michael Glynn 3. Not So Easy – Cal Haines & John Rangel 4. V – John Rangel 5. Chance – John Rangel 6. Priorities – John Rangel 7. Waltz – John Rangel 8. Heptagon – Cal Haines & John Rangel 9. This Is The Place Of Parting – Michael Glynn

Recorded: March 2 &3 2012 at Free to Earth Music in Santa Fe, New Mexico USA. Produced by: John Rangel. Graphics/packaging design by: Cal Haines and Victoria Rogers

Time is the canvas where musicians paint aural pictures to delight, inspire, reflect. There is no other way in but investing time for listening to hear these impressions. The changes for this tune are based on the standard “Just In Time”. Creating a new melody from a standard was a common practice amongst bebop musicians of the 1940s and ‘50s to simplify the need for rehearsal with a rhythm section. The inspiration for the melody in “Time” came from Charlie Parker. Horace-Play was written with the works of Horace Silver in mind. Silver’s ability to combine a deceptively simple bluesy melody with rapidly changing harmonies, as well as his focus on creating fully realized arrangements, have set a high standard in jazz and were the inspiration for this composition. Not So Easy is a tribute to Bobby Timmons co-written by John Rangel and Cal Haines. At a rehearsal Cal played this modified Jimmy Cobb groove that was on “Easy Does It”. That rhythm was the source of what became an uptempo soulful swing. V is dedicated to Victoria Rogers, the honorary fourth member of the group. Without her we wouldn’t have been able to sustain the effort we have for the Tribute Trio. She is complex, thoughtful, passionate, unusual, and a talented artist. Victoria has worked tirelessly to present the Tribute Trio and we will always be grateful to her. Chance is dedicated to Herbie Hancock. Herbie has always been a masterful arranger. His arrangements in the ‘60s were unpredictable and swinging. Some favorite recordings that still inspire John are “Takin’ Off”, “Empyrean Isles”, “Speak Like a Child”, “The Prisoner” and “Maiden Voyage”. “Chance” comes from a quote from Ansel Adams: “Chance favors the prepared mind…” Priorities is dedicated to Joe Zawinul and a tune called “The Fifth Canto” on his recording “The Rise & Fall of the Third Stream”. Paul Moyer said we are “entertaining ourselves to death” as a culture. A life dedicated to music is a personal choice and a matter of priorities. This is a tribute to Free Jazz Improvisation. Waltz is inspired by the beautiful chord progressions and lyrical melodies of Frederick Chopin. John improvised on one of the waltzes, changed the meter of the first section and replaced the melody with a bass solo. Although waltzes have lost their popularity among dancers, the jazz waltz provides listeners with a tender romantic mood. Heptagon co-written by John Rangel and Cal Haines is a tribute to Bobby Timmons. Not known for writing in odd meters, Mr. Timmons wrote “Cut Me Loose Charlie” in 5/4. Cal created a 7/4 second line New Orleans feel and “Heptagon” took shape. This Is The Place Of Parting consists of several short composed sections separated by areas of open improvisation. The concept behind the performance of this piece was to sustain a tranquil mood and let the energy ebb and flow as a trio instead of showcasing individual soloists. While not written in the style of Chick Corea per se, elements were influenced by him. Cal plays the cajon, bringing in the change in timbre.

Original compositions by John Rangel, Michael Glynn and Cal Haines. Inspired by jazz legends and other creative people.

“BEST JAZZ CD” 2013 NEW MEXICO MUSIC AWARDS

The outcome of two years of concert performances and a sequel to the historically focused straight-ahead swinging tunes of Volume I, the new CD is perhaps more forward-looking in its theme of tributing the ideas of jazz. The original compositions are by each of the trio members, some in collaboration. They reflect both the further gelling of the trio in their dynamics and the conceptual growth of the group. Songs such as “Not So Easy” and “Horace-Play” have clear ties to styles heard in the music of Bobby Timmons and Horace Silver, but “Time” is a tribute to the flow in the changes of the great song, “Just In Time.” There is a worldly jazz concept in “A Time for Parting”. Volume II accurately displays the Tribute Trio musicians’ personal compositional styles, while still incorporating learnings from the legends. The range includes swing, ballads and some unique odd-meter tunes.

IF IT GOT ANY BETTER THAN THIS IT WOULD HAVE TO COME WITH A DAY OFF

This record smokes from top to bottom
It smokes while taking a bath
It smokes while walking your giraffe
It smokes in the middle of the night
It smokes in the broad daylight
It smokes while smoking your cigar
It smokes while the cops chase you in your car
Because they think your smoking a giant spliff
Or maybe they just want a hit?
And while they’re smoking on the side of the road
They’ll hear this groovy Tribute Trio record
And want to get it as a gift
For their precinct drug czar
Because Michael, John, and Cal
Are smoking pure elegance
(and that doesn’t come in a cigar)

–mARK wEber | KUNM Thursday jazz host | Albuquerque USA

The Tribute Trio

John Rangel, piano; Michael Glynn, bass; Cal Haines, drums—was formed in 2010 to do exactly that: pay tribute to some of the legendary pianists who have helped create and enrich the history of jazz. The trio’s two albums to date, Dedications, Vols 1 and 2 (Self Produced) have earned “Best Jazz CD” honors (2012, 2013) in the New Mexico Music Awards competition. Whereas Vol. 1 was devoted largely to pianists from the swing and bebop eras, Vol. 2 has expanded the trio’s horizons to include genres ranging from world music to classical, with several stops in between.

The dedicatees on Vol. 2 extend from Horace Silver and Bobby Timmons to Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, Frederic Chopin (“Waltz”) and even Victoria Rogers, the trio’s music director and “honorary fourth member.” The album opens, however, with “Time” (based on the song “Just in Time”), described as “the canvas where musicians paint aural pictures to delight, inspire, reflect.” The inspiration for its melody, we are told in the liner notes, came from one of the foremost jazz icons of them all, Charlie Parker. That may have proven difficult even for someone of Bird’s immense stature, as Bells Are Ringing, the musical in which “Just in Time” was introduced, opened on Broadway in November 1956, more than a year after Parker died. Be that as it may, the trio gives the fast-paced romp a splendid reading on which Rangel, who relocated from Los Angeles to New Mexico several years ago and teaches at Northern New Mexico College, unveils his impressive chops while Glynn and Haines provide a spacious comfort zone.

“Horace-Play” is a blues written in the Silver Style, and “Not So Easy” a soulful throwback to the bop era co-written by Rangel and Haines with Timmons in mind (as was “Heptagon,” which could have been imported straight from New Orleans). To verify that Rangel is at ease in any setting, the trio salutes Hancock with the tasteful “Chance,” Zawinul with the quasi-free “Priorities,” and Chopin with the even- tempered, classically inspired “Waltz,” on each of which Rangel changes colors as readily as a chameleon. The same can be said for the trio as a whole, whose close interplay is exemplary on every number. Rogers, the trio’s right-hand person, is described as “complex, thoughtful, passionate” and “unusual,” words that may also be used to clarify her own “tribute,” the gossamer ballad “V,” superbly performed by the trio. The album closes with “This Is the Place of Parting,” summarized in the notes as “several short composed sections separated by areas of open improvisation.” While “not written in the style of Chick Corea per se,” we are told, “elements were influenced by him.” So one more “tribute” can be added to a session whose concept is admirable and execution first-rate. — Jack Bowers

“… What the new release says more than anything is that the trio is its own man, with compositional skills and musicianship worthy of wider attention.” — Mel Minter, April 26-May 2, 2012, Alibi, Albuquerque

“… This splendid, engaging disc is the second album of recordings composed by group members inpired by those immersions [11 tribute concerts 2010-2011]. The musicians are so ‘on’ that they start into the opener ‘Time’ sounding as if they’re in the middle of a song. Rangel flies along in bebop mode, Glynn walks in a steady eighth-note rhythm, and Haines keeps it fresh with fine work on cymbals and drums. Rangel and Haines co-wrote the Bobby Timmons tribute ‘Not So Easy,’ a cool composition anchored by a catchy, slightly spooky bass part. ‘V’ is a lovely piece, reminiscent of Eric Satie, dedicated to the group’s artistic director, Victoria Rogers. ‘Priorities,’ dedicated to Joe Zawinul, is a tribute to free improvisation. Glynn bows mysteriously in the darkish intro and there’s a drum break played against discordant figures by Rangel and Glynn, but it’s all perhaps a bit tame for the free-improv reference. ‘This Is The Place Of Parting,’ alternating composed and improv playing, is a fine end.”– Paul Weideman, April 27-May 3, 2012, Pasatiempo, Santa Fe

For upcoming concert events please contact the Tribute Trio web page here…  For bookings please contact Cal Haines via cal.haines@comcast.net

CD version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)

MP3 version (79.60MB zip download)