Here are a few notes on the album, and its production........ by MZ
Charlie passed away a few years ago, and he is dearly missed! This almost life-changing experience I had with him is actually a common thing among all his students. It's always incredible when I meet former students of his, and they all seem to have had the same experiences than me, to some degree. Talk about an amazing person!
So, with a few original tunes written, I called some of my dearest friends, people I enjoyed being around and making music with, and we played through some of these songs. The music started taking shape, and with everybody's talented playing and positive comments and input, we finalized pre-production and went into the studio on a few different sessions, starting in October 2008.
I am the luckiest guy the be able to count of the contributions of such amazing musicians and friends!
My enormous thank you to:
Gustavo Assis Brasil, Oriente Lopez, Itaiguara Brandão, Rodrigo Ursaia, Milene Corso, Dom Salvador, Cidinho Teixeira, Esperanza Spalding and Brandi Disterheft for being the absolute best at what you do, and for your beautiful participation on this record!
Production stories and ideas
In the process of planning the track order and overall feel for the record, I had the idea of asking each pianist to contribute a tune to the album. Oriente Lopez's "Spirit" is a beautiful song and the first original from Oriente that I played. We have, since then, recorded a full album of Oriente's music called "Aguas Profundas". Dom Salvador's "De Lá Pra Cá (From There to Here)" is a classic Salvador tune, you can close your eyes and hear and imagine the samba-jazz movement happening in the 60s, and all this wonderful new music being created and played in Brazil, all from just his writing and playing... amazing! Cidinho Teixeira's "Magali" was a song I played many times with Cidinho during the legendary Brazilian jazz-Sunday nights at Zinc Bar in NYC. What a great tune, fun to play, and I think it showcases Cidinho's masterful writing, arranging, and incredible groove!
 |
| CD Inside panel - "7 Lives" drum groove |
The ballad "Long Gone" was also challenging because of its form and meter changes, but again, I am so lucky to have these very special people playing with me! I couldn't have wished for better results.
During the studio sessions, I had the idea of jamming with Gustavo on a couple of different tracks, one slightly more organized, and another one where we wouldn't even talk about it, and we would just play. Gustavo and I go a long way back, we used to play "crazy free stuff" since we met at Berklee College of Music in the fall of 1999. We played countless gigs together, and released a CD together ("Dig Trio", from 2003). So I imagined that the chemistry between the two of us would play out on these 2 jams in an interesting way. As fate would have it, Gustavo and I couldn't see each other at all during the tracking of "Two Way Street" (parts 1 and 2), so this made for an even more special couple of jams!
Finally, I had an idea for an arrangement of Wayne Shorter's "Pinocchio", to be played as a fast-samba. I checked out several versions of the song, and noticed different changes, and occasionally, different bass-notes (mostly on recordings featuring Ron Carter on bass), which eventually helped me think a bit more "out of the box" on the harmony and arrangement of the song... so I tried a few different things of my own as well. I love Wayne, and love this tune!
After recording all the tracks with engineer Michael Brorby, who always does a fantastic job by the way!, and getting some extra help from my dear friend Chris Vandirlis recording Milene's vocals, it was time to mix/master it. Itaiguara recommended I called Dave Darlington to see if he would be available to do it. Dave is one of the most incredible guys I know, and needless to say, after working with him on "7 Lives" I have been doing most of my recordings with him, and recommending him for everybody I know! My friend Marcos Vigio gave invaluable help on listening and commenting on the mastering and finalizing of the album.... and right then, it was all done!
CD audio is done, now what?
Another great friend of mine came through for me at this point, and actually, during the whole process too: the sensational photographer and artist Peter Poby, who called me numerous times during the making of the album to make sure I was on the right track and didn't give up when facing the inevitable difficulties that come with making such a personal album. Poby "just nailed" the cover photo and art of the CD, I remember him just yelling at me during the photo shoot, when he took THE photo, "I got it!!! That's it!". Yep, you definitely did, my friend. WOW.... Thank you so much!
Many friends and dearest people helped me in many different ways- with words of advise, comments, and just "lending an ear" so I could test the material I had, and see people's reactions. To all of you, (you know who you are, and how much I bugged you all!) I am forever grateful.
To my family, my lovely wife, and all the people I played with during all these years - you all inspired me to be the best that I can be, and that's what the record is all about - trying to achieve our absolute best, and how it may seem like we need 7 Lives to do it!
I'd like to also thank you all so much for your constant support and interest, and for reading this blog post (and hopefully check out the album too!) - I hope that you enjoyed the stories and enjoy listening to the music as much as the band and I enjoyed playing and recording it!
Until next time, mz