Reflective Trombone

DEDICATION I lovingly dedicate this CD to the memory of my teacher, colleague, and good friend, Rex Peer (1928-2008), for the immeasurable value of his guidance, camaraderie, and friendship, and for the wonderful gift of his composition, "Blue Trombone." Two years after I started playing trombone as an 8-year-old third grader in the "senior band" in Cumberland, Iowa, I began my studies with Rex. He was a skillful, soulful trombonist and (if possible) an even more incredible teacher. He taught me basics, jazz, ballad playing, and music theory. As a result, I was not only well prepared for a career as a performer, but also got the bug for song-writing, arranging, and composing, which have been a cherished part of my adult music career. Needless to say, if it weren't for the many ways in which he helped me get my start as a player and writer, this CD would never have happened. LINER NOTES Theme of the CD: Reflective Trombone--First and foremost, this CD is about my trombone playing, which extends back more than 50 years, to when I started out as an 8-year-old third-grader, playing in the "senior" band in Cumberland, Iowa. In 5th grade, I began studying with a master trombonist, Rex Peer (1928-2008), who taught me basics, jazz and ballad playing, and music theory. As a result, I got the bug for song-writing and arranging and composing, which have been a cherished part of my adult music career. So, this CD also provides a chance to hear some of what I like to create, other than on the spur of the moment (as in jazz solos)-as well as some of what I think is truly beautiful, as a setting for those creations. I have also, since early childhood, been an irrepressible singer and whistler, probably inheriting that from my dad, Eldon Bissell (1925-1984) who, along with my mom Deloris, was one of my biggest fans. I wish he could hear this CD, for it carries on that Bissell "tradition," including also a couple of songs that provide a vocal showcase for his grandchildren and my children, Charles, Rebecca, Andrew, and Daniel, all of whom are fine, active singers in the Nashville TN and Lexington KY areas. Finally, it allows me to feature one of my very best friends and fellow Disneyland band members, Brian Atkinson, who is a fantastic jazz trumpeter and vibes player. I think you will agree that his solo on "Once in a Dream" is just lovely. On a deeper level, however, what I am trying to do in this CD is to "reflect" on things I have played or written in the past, in a way that goes beyond their original embodiments. Here are some informative and (I hope) interesting details about each of the pieces... Track 1--"Reflective Mood," by the great Sammy Nestico, has been played with piano or concert band accompaniment by countless trombonists (some of whom have had their performances posted on uTube), and I was honored to play it with the Iowa State University concert band on the Fall 1966 concert and the Spring 1976 tour, and again with the Cedar Rapids Community Band in the summer of 1970. I am aware of only one person who has performed it with an orchestra: the excellent Swedish flutist Goran Marcusson on his CD "Reflective Flute," and I have attempted to "up the ante" a bit by adding a choir singing "ah's" here and there. If only the 18-year-old from Cumberland, Iowa had had this kind of backup when he played it in college! Tracks 2 & 7--"A Little Less Wonderful" is a fun song that I composed in 1982, and it is intended to be a sort of hip "flirtation" song, as can be gathered from the lyrics. (Would this be a fun piece for the cast of Fox's hit show 'Glee' to perform, or what!) I always wished it could have been recorded by the likes of James Taylor or Barry Manilow, but that was then-and now it is presented through the talents of my children singing with me a la Manhattan Transfer. My son Daniel and I handled the scat-singing duties, and I threw in a little whistling for fun. (Take that, Toots Thieleman!) We recorded the vocal tracks in Nashville at my son Andrew's studio in November of 2009, and my son Charlie, who has a glorious bass voice, was on his way down from Lexington when his car broke down, so he had to "mail his part in." (He recorded it at home and sent it to us over the Internet.) But by hook or by crook, we did it! (Note to CD purchasers: the a capella version is actually track 7, not track 2, as listed on the back of the CD.) Track 3--"Where Are All the Happy Days?" is a song I wrote about 1978, and it had a set of rather gut-wrenching lyrics, which are (happily) lost to history. (I loaned my only copy of the vocal lead sheet to a guitar player, who could not find it when I later asked him to return it.) My teacher/colleague/friend, Rex Peer, and I played this as a bossa nova in our quintet, Hip Bones, in performances in Nashville in 1978 and 1979, but I always thought it needed a grander setting. Sadly, he's no longer around to hear it done up in the symphonic manner I devised for this CD. The bridge made a good enough introduction in the old days, but I have written a good amount of additional material around it, allowing the strings and woodwinds to weave a "reflective" mood that I hope makes the piece something more than just another "sad" bossa nova in minor. (Yes, it's somewhat autobiographical. No, please don't ask me for details.) I also opened it up in the middle to allow for a jazz solo in samba rhythm, then reversed direction, going back to bossa nova, and finally ending with a reprise of the intro material, capped with a salute to one of my favorite composers, J. S. Bach. (The 4-2-3 suspension in the last chord basically says, "...and I mean it!") Track 4--The next track, "When I Fall in Love," is not quite a medley, more of a blending, of Vincent Young's well-loved ballad standard and Stevie Wonder's more dynamic pop song, "I Believe When I Fall in Love with You It Will Be Forever." I first heard the Stevie Wonder song on a Sergio Mendez album in the 1970s and always wanted to record it someday, because of it's poignant harmony in the verse and it's three-part structure, which gave it a more dramatic feel than most songs. As for the Vincent Young song, it was always just another pretty song to me, until the fall of 1985, when I was hired to write it up as a female vocal. I came up with such pretty and satisfying harmonies, that I decided someday I just had to record it that way as a trombone feature. But I didn't think of combining it with the Stevie Wonder song until I was well into the arrangement for this CD. I realized at some point that, not only were the titles very suggestive of a possible marriage of the two songs, there were also overlaps in their harmonies, as well as related meanings in some of the lyrics, so I decided to exploit them for this recording. I also used a motif from the chorus of Stevie Wonder's song for the intro of the arrangement, and it really seems to set up nicely the first entrance of the trombone solo. Track 5--"Friends and Lovers" is the "happy" bossa nova I wrote about 1977, and which Rex and I played two-trombone style in Hip Bones in 1978 and 1979, as a sort of book-end to "Where Are All the Happy Days?" It was inspired by Antonio Carlos Jobim and by Sergio Mendez's Brazil 66, who respectively wrote and recorded so many of my favorite bossa novas during the 1960s and 1970s. More than one person has pointed out the strong mis-match between the upbeat melody and harmony and the unhappily protesting lyrics. I can't disagree, but I also have always thought that they were great fun together, despite the emotional disconnect between them. In addition to saluting Brazil 66 (with a unison male vocal in place of Mendez's chick singers), I also give a tip of the hat to Andy Williams and the Williams Brothers with some four-part vocal harmony, along with a little Urbie Green high-note trill on the ending. Track 6--"Once in a Dream" is what I call my "movie theme" tune, partly because I think it really would mak

Detalles del producto Dimensiones del paquete : 5,67 x 4,96 x 0,47 pulgadas; 0,64 Onzas Fabricante : CD Baby Fecha de lanzamiento original : 2010 Producto en Tienda desde : Octubre 7, 2010 Etiqueta : CD Baby ASIN : B00466K4LO Número de discos : 1 Dimensiones del paquete : 5,67 x 4,96 x 0,47 pulgadas; 0,64 Onzas Fabricante : CD Baby Fecha de lanzamiento original : 2010 Producto en Tienda desde : Octubre 7, 2010 Etiqueta : CD Baby ASIN : B00466K4LO Número de discos : 1