Tribute Trio history …
Evolved in 2010, the Tribute Trio gives people a way to appreciate and keep alive well-known as well as less-heard but phenomenal jazz piano composers and compositions. Listening to a concentrated, live compilation of numerous compositions by one composer is an extraordinary experience. To launch the trio, Artistic Director Victoria Rogers masterminded a yearlong series of monthly concerts each tributing a different piano legend. The Tribute Trio debuted performing the work of Horace Silver at the Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque. They concluded 12 months later with their own original works tributing the composers they had studied and played during the year. Both their CDs of originals – “Dedications” Vol. I and II – won Best Jazz CD in the New Mexico Music Awards. A third CD is slated for release in 2014. John Rangel, Michael Glynn and Cal Haines are passionate, dedicated and eloquent musicians. each exceptionally talented. Their strong creative dynamics provide a productive platform for their ongoing work together.
John Rangel
Pianist Composer John Rangel has been a professional musician for more than twenty years. He grew up in New York City listening to live Jazz and Classical artists. John studied with many prominent musicians including Stanley Cowell , Richie Beirach, Joanne Brackeen and Phil Markowitz. Some of John’s performance highlights include: Inntone Jazz Festival in Austria, The Outpost Performance Space, Carnegie Hall in NYC, Royce Hall in LA, Gene Harris Jazz Festival in Idaho, the Playboy Jazz Festival, LA County Museum of Art, MOCA, Central Avenue Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott’s in London, Jazz Café in London, North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands, and various venues in Osaka and Tokyo.
John has explored a tremendous range of musical expressions, including jazz, classical, film music, pop, hi-life, salsa, reggae, and calypso. Rangel’s versatility as a jazz pianist is evident in his work with jazz greats Nat Adderley, Ravi Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders, Sam Rivers, Rosemary Clooney, Marcus Printup, Billy Higgins and Dwight Trible, among others.
John’s interest in the Tribute Trio is to share his roots as a jazz pianist. The Tribute Trio performs the original compositions of these great pianists to highlight how they shaped jazz. John together with Cal and Michael bring to life the intention and sounds of the classic piano trios without restricting creative expressions from the group. The educational goal of the concert series is to illustrate the music and compositions of these piano legends to a wider audience. John’s compositions for “Dedications” Volume I are an expression of the concert series year’s experience of researching and playing these iconic pianists’ music. His compositional contributions for “Dedications” Volume II show his classical influences, an impressionistic style, and his creativity in taking a standard and reshaping the melody.
Michael Glynn
Bassist Michael Glynn began performing jazz professionally in his native Seattle at the age of sixteen. Since moving to Albuquerque in 2006, he quickly established himself as an integral part of the New Mexico music scene. In addition to playing his upright with countless local musicians throughout the Pacific Northwest and New Mexico, Glynn has performed with jazz legends including Bud Shank, Jon Hendricks, Bobby Shew, Don Lanphere, Bob Florence and the Cab Calloway Orchestra. On top of his jazz work, Michael also finds time to perform in a variety of genres ranging from classical to calypso. He was been recognized as a finalist for his composition “Middle Side, Topwise” by the 2009 New Mexico Music Awards.
For Michael, the Tribute Trio provides an opportunity to dig into the vast repertoire of the great jazz piano composers. In addition to the joy of playing these incredible works, the diverse styles of the composers give Michael a chance to explore the different roles that their bassists played in creating this music, from the funky blues feel of Sam Jones with Bobby Timmons, to the contrapuntal interplay of Scott LaFaro with Bill Evans, to the precision and swing of Ray Brown with Oscar Peterson. His growth as a composer is evident in “Dedications” Volume II in the incorporation of a broader scope of jazz to include world music.
Cal Haines
A drummer since an early age, Cal Haines has performed with show notables Diahann Carroll, Bob Hope, Al Greene, Yul Brenner, and jazz luminaries Emily Remler, Clark Terry, Teddy Edwards, Max Bennett and Bobby Shew. Haines’ “The Bright Side” CD features his first New Mexico Jazz trio, with Grammy-winning L.A. vocalist John Proulx. The CD was a finalist in 4 categories of the 2010 New Mexico Music Awards, and won Best Vocal Performance for “What Is This Thing Called Love?”, a duet with John Proulx. Cal is involved in a broad spectrum of the music of New Mexico with his group SuperSax New Mexico, the National Dance Institute. Michael Anthony’s First Take Trio and the co-presenting of more than 60 jazz concerts. He also has an interest in CD packaging and website design.
Since the trio plays the actual arrangements of each of the piano composers, the significant challenges present for the group are equally exciting for a drummer. Capturing the feels and patterns and studying the great drummers who originally played them – like Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke, Jimmy Cobb and Philly Jo – is a compelling experience for Cal. Cal’s first composition “Not So Easy”, written in collaboration with John Rangel, builds upon an unusual rhythmic lick, inspired by Jimmy Cobb.
