The featured artists will include:

Joe Barna (drums/compostions/bandleader)
Joe Magnarelli (trumpet/flugelhorn)
Adam Siegel (alto sax)
Michael Louis Smith (guitar) and
Lou Smaldone (acoustic bass)

…It’s been a great ride, in a great room and now its time for the boys to take the music to larger arenas. Come celebrate the gift of music and help support the arts in the Capital Region.

This show will carry a minimal donation of $10. The new SKETCHES OF INFLUENCE cd will be available at the performance along with T-Shirts and other goodies.

In contrast to Patneaude’s more stoic approach to jazz, Sketches of Influence’s bandleader and drummer Joe Barna hit the stage with the explosive energy and exuberance of a bull in a china shop. He wasn’t holding back, and he wasn’t about to make this just another run-of-the-mill jazz gig. No way, no how.

This was his CD release party, and Barna was out to energize the audience with his infectious enthusiasm for the band that he had assembled on stage and for the release of his newest CD, “Blowin’ It Out,” a tour-de-force that bridges the gap between the old and true Blue Note live recordings of decades back and the new vitality of the contemporary hard-bop jazz on the scene today.

It seemed as though half of Nippertown’s jazz musicians were in attendance, including heavyweight hitters like the exquisite Lee Shaw, who sat in the front row. The night was a double treat for Shaw – having one of her star pupils, Theo Hill, sitting behind the keys and having Joe Barna dedicate a self-penned number, “Ivory Romance,” to Albany’s grand-dame of the piano.

In fact, the duo of Hill and soprano saxophonist Joe Gordon performing “Ivory Romance” was one of the highlights of the evening. The tune evoked a heart-felt passion to Lee and jazz music that was the gateway to inner soul of all who heard it.

In all the original compositions played that night, saxophonist Gordon, trumpet giant Joe Magnarelli, acoustic bassist Lou Smaldone and drummer Barna reprised their brilliant three-day recording stint at the late and much lamented Bread & Jam Café almost a year ago. The only difference this time around was the substitution of former Albany native Hill for Syracuse pianist Dave Solazzo, a gifted performer in his own right.

With loads of spirited drum energy and a healthy dose of showmanship, Barna wooed the crowd from the start throwing signed Sketches of Influence t-shirts out into the audience and later presenting a single rose and a hug to a smiling Lee Shaw.

In another startling move, Barna invited promising Philadelphia-based saxophonist Adam Siegel, super trumpeter Dylan Canterbury and long-time saxophone giant Lee Russo up for a tune.

However, the highlight of the night was was when Barna invited everyone who had a direct or indirect hand in the making of his monumental CD up to the front of the stage. How many times does a musical artist acknowledge all the people – not just family, agents and the like – who had a hand in the recording and also in keeping the regional musical flame alive? Very few, in fact, but Barna proved he is one of those who doesn’t forget his friends in his journey to bigger and better things.

Review and photographs by Andrzej Pilarczyk

by Tom Pierce
Joe Barna has clearly established a unique track record the past few years journeying to New York City and arranging for many exciting, well-respected Jazz veterans (eg Ralph Lalama, Jerry Weldon, Joe Magnarelli, Jon Gordon, Gary Smulyan, etc) to perform with him at a number of “below the radar” Capitol District venues, uncovered by his dogged determination.

Earlier this year, his passion & persistence took him to a new level with a CD project that culminated in a live recording featuring Magnarelli & Gordon, on April 2-3, 2010 at the sadly now closed Bread & Jam Café in Cohoes. Having attended and enjoyed one of those sessions, this reviewer was anxious to hear how much of the quality and excitement of these performances was effectively captured on the CD – a goal that is often not easily achieved.

The music consists of seven originals composed by Barna, each inspired by and dedicated to artists (legendary or peers) and others important to him. An initial assessment of the type recording (As also implied by the CD title) would be a prototypical late 1950’s/1960’s straight-ahead, no nonsense, Hard Bop blowing session. This is in the classic style of the leading combos of that period, such as Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers and the Cannonball Adderley & Horace Silver’s quintets.

This strain of jazz that is a big favorite of Barna & the other band members (as well as this writer) represented a melodically listenable, soulful, and rhythmically looser extension of the seminal mid-1940’s Be-Bop created by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. It has evolved over the past 50 plus years (with the inclusion of Modal, Avante Garde, Afro-Cuban, Brazillian, Fusion and other influences) to often be referred to as Post-Bop, and serves as a major part of the foundation of today’s broad modern Jazz mainstream – still stimulating, challenging, and pleasingly familiar, but not dated.

The format of most (but not all) of the tunes was the time-honored sequence of melody statement, solos, trading fours & melody restatement, typically done at an uptempo pace. But the recording has more than enough of a sophisticated, but natural vibe, tight construction, and earnestly engaging interplay to pass this listener’s basic CD test: Is it interesting and stirring enough to go back to more than twice?

All five of the medium/uptempo numbers were solidly engaging in both their design & execution, with the title track’s robust staccato-like melody line particularly catchy. But I personally found that the most distinctive Barna compositions were two that departed from the above format and tempo. “Teardrops From Home” has a graceful and pleasing melody that avoids sounding like a lament, but rather conjured images of two lovers leisurely strolling through a park. And “Ivory Romance” was an especially poignant showcase not only for Dave Solazzo’ s Bill Evans influences, but also the obviously deep respect, influence and affection Barna has for the esteemed pianist Lee Shaw – a side of this power drummer many may not be aware of.

The two exceptional frontline veterans consistently demonstrated why Barna was so eager to convince them to travel up from New York for this project. Joe Magnarelli’ s soaring, but lyrically appealing approach evoked pleasant memories of the late, dynamic Freddie Hubbard on trumpet and flugelhorn. And Jon Gordon’s virtuoso but tasteful command of the alto reminded one of both Art Pepper and Phil Woods, with the bonus of an intriguingly different voice on soprano sax.

Some additional impressions I had of Magnarelli & Gordon include: the passionate, full, rich tone of both; the outstanding ability of each new soloist to maintain the energy surge and take off from the ending idea thread of the preceding soloist; and the reasonable length solos by both horn men that avoided unnecessary and frenetic repetition of individual notes & phrases.

As for the impressive rhythm section, their sparkling comping provided
wonderfully supportive punctuation and drive, that highlighted the ideas of the soloists; and they adroitly discharged their primary responsibility of maintaining a swinging pulse, to ensure the listener a smooth, lilting ride.

Pianist Dave Solazzo merits particular attention for his uplifting, energetic playing that balances swinging exuberance with elegance. In this type music, his obvious listening to Horace Silver is delightfully borne out. It was also a treat to hear in this combo setting, the booming “bottom” of Lou “Country Time” Smaldone’ s bass even more dramatically than in Keith Pray’s Big Soul Ensemble. Acknowledgement should also be paid to the leader, Joe Barna, who focused almost exclusively on driving the band’s groove, rather than taking solos. But his sticks on the ride cymbal sounded crisp, clean & consistent to this observer.

Speaking of which, a special salute is due to Mr Pray, for very generously serving as sound engineer, drawing on his experience in doing three CD’s with his own bands. I was particularly happy to hear how well he ensured a good sound balance between all 3 members of the rhythm section and the horns, as well as the crowd noise, which was picked up to enough to capture the “live feel” without intruding on the music.

I was one who gratefully “came of age” in the late 1950’s to 1960’s, while eagerly enjoying live in New York, the type of music that Barna & company so earnestly emulate in this CD. Therefore, I find it hard not to be moved – not only by the expressive warmth and talent of these five musicians and all the support many others extended to him to make it possible, but above all, by Barna’s resolute commitment & passion to accomplish this worthwhile recording.

Tom Pierce has had a burning passion for Jazz for over 45 years, initiated and fueled by seeing live in New York City, starting in the early 1960’s, virtually every major artist still performing. He’s been very happily living in Guilderland the last 8 years, as an active retiree sharing his love of music by writing online reviews for a number of web sites, preparing DVD presentations to various groups, co-Hosting Radio programs showcasing his favorite artists and busily supporting A Place for Jazz and the SwingTime Society in a variety of ways.

Holding a “drop party” for your new CD is not complicated: You get all the players from your disc, play all the tunes on the disc, point the audience to the table where the disc is being sold, and you’re done. What the audience got at the drop party for Joe Barna’s new release Blowin’ it Out was a celebration – not just of the disc, but of the entire Capital Region jazz scene, and both Barna and Massry Center impresario Salvatore Prizio deserve big love for building a truly outstanding show.

This evening was originally scheduled as a mix of classical music and jazz, the jazz portion being supplied by CSR alum Brian Patneaude. (“I graduated in… some time ago,” Patneaude admitted to us.) When Prizio joined up with Massry and Blowin’ was ready to hatch, he changed the gig to an all-jazz night. Never one to shrink from a challenge, Patneaude was packing all-new material when he led his quartet onto Massry’s immaculate stage. The bright opener “Lake Timeless” – inspired by the beauty of Schroon Lake – had the tenorman starting in the clear, but the rest of the band didn’t wait long to dive in the deep end. The piece definitely got the gig off the ground even as it conjured thoughts of another drop party sometime in the future.

David Caldwell-Mason’s constructions have a classical base as well as a classic jazz base, and this element infuses Patneaude’s music with a palpable maturity. The pianist’s marvelous lyricism softened the meditative “Orb” and gave Patneaude a terrific foil on everything else; Caldwell-Mason also contributed a buzzing Fender Rhodes sound to “Too Vast for Malice”, recalling Patneaude’s third disc As We Know It. Mike Parker may have an aversion to traditional footwear – he played the set in his stocking feet – but he’s got a big fat sound and a solid sense of counter, both on double bass and Fender, and his vibrant foundation let drummer Danny Whelchel stick and move like the heavyweight he is. (Whelchel’s also got a pretty good comic side, which he showed during Patneaude’s “tasteful” introduction to the closer “Blucocele.”)

Now, if you’re the second act on a double bill, the “traditional” drop-party strategy is to give the first act a brief nod before getting down to the business at hand. But the “traditional” didn’t even get a look: As he was re-arranging his cymbals before the blitzing opener “Sudden Lee”, Barna gave an impassioned speech about everything Patneaude’s done for jazz in this area, from creating this very web site to organizing the online petition demanding Justin’s keep playing live jazz. “This guy deserves a big round of applause for being him,” Barna declared.

And then Barna got down to business, and business was good – and when I say “good”, I mean “awesome.” Joe Magnarelli and Jon Gordon remind me of Horace Silver’s front line every time I hear them, and their aggressive attack on “Sudden” was right on the mark. Barna claims Gordon is the best soprano sax player around, and on this night it was impossible to argue the point, particularly after his wild explorations on the Coltrane-esque “The Purpose.” As bold and sharp as Magnarelli is on trumpet, he’s also the only horn player I know who can bust a flugelhorn out of its traditional “romantic” stance. Magnarelli’s muscular sound really lifted the bossa “Teardrops from Home,” which Barna wrote during one of his more destructive relationships. (“But I didn’t propose!” Barna exulted after revealing the piece’s genesis.)

One of the wild cards Barna had up his sleeve was pianist Theo Hill, a former Lee Shaw student who’s been leaving some serious marks on the downstate scene. Hill didn’t just own everything he touched; he re-created it in his own image, displaying an organic sense of melody and composition that had everybody gasping. His intro to “Ivory Romance” eschewed the disc’s crystalline sound in favor of a flowing dissertation that made you wonder if a mad scientist had cloned Herbie Hancock. Hill and Gordon did “Ivory” as a riveting duet; Barna pulled the rest of the band offstage, giving the pair the full spotlight.

The other wild cards came in the form of Lee Russo, Dylan Canterbury and Adam Siegel, the special guests on “A Rose for Pam”, a piece Barna wrote for his mother years ago. (“None of this is possible without her,” he asserted as he presented his mom with… What else? A rose!) “Rose” started life as another Barna bossa, but Canterbury took the tune and re-booted it as a Freddie Hubbard/CTI-style cruiser, and the results were tremendous, even though the front line suffered from a lack of microphones. Then again, if you’re going to play off-mic, Massry is the place to do it, so we lost none of Canterbury’s roaring trumpet, Russo’s rich tenor, or Siegel’s Katana-sharp alto.

Barna was Barna, which means he took no prisoners, and had a blast-and-a-half while he did it. “This is a CD-release party,” he declared. “Not a CD-release funeral!” He also took the opportunity to thank a lot of people: He prefaced “Ivory” with an impassioned tribute to Lee Shaw, inciting the crowd to give the Capital Region’s reigning jazz icon a standing ovation; before the closer “Blow it Out”, he gathered everyone who helped him in some way during the birth of Blowin’ and had them pose for a picture at the front of the stage. (We’re talking about 25 people, including most of the albanyjazz staff!) The haters can think what they want, but Joe Barna isn’t just a great drummer – he’s a great man, with a huge heart and a serious sense of gratitude. We saw all of it on this night, and it was one of many things that made this a drop party like no other.
J HUNTER is a former announcer/producer for radio stations in the Capital Region and the Bay Area, including KSJS/San Jose (where he was Assistant Music Director/Jazz Programming) and Q104 WQBK/Albany. He is a frequent contributor to the web site All About Jazz and to the monthly music magazine State of Mind. He currently resides in Clifton Park.

Read This Here

Watching drummer Joe Barna’s development has been pure pleasure for everyone who’s followed him. Only a few years ago, Barna could have handed out business cards embossed with the slogan, “This kit goes to 11!” But his rocket-like growth curve has left those days far behind, as witnessed by Barna’s superb live disc, Blowin’ It Out.

Recorded live at the late, lamented Bread & Jam Café in Cohoes, New York, Barna collected a heady mix of local heroes and New York heavies to make the kind of energetic trad jazz that needs to be played: the kind that gives the past a grateful nod, but not an over-reverential bow. It’s also music Barna composed with individuals “of influence” in mind—from local icon Lee Shaw to Hall of Fame pianist McCoy Tyner. The up-tempo opener “Sudden Lee” is dedicated to second-generation sax star Lee Russo, and the front line of reedman Jon Gordon and horn player Joe Magnarelli hit this hard-bopper like the Packers hit Ben Roethlisberger. The crowd only gets a short taste of the devastating harmony the two Vanguard Jazz Orchestraalums are capable of before Gordon steps out and sears the place with his alto.

It sounds wrong to call Gordon economical, because the content just comes in waves and rarely stops. But itisn’t wrong, because it’s all substance with no filler; not a note is wasted or out-of-place, whether it’s on flag-wavers like “Lee” and “Brother Steve,” or on the elegant ballad “Ivory Romance.” Gordon plays soprano sax on the latter tune, and the result proves Gordon is one of today’s best on that instrument. While Gordon is the diver and the dancer, Magnarelli is the big hammer. It’s not that he lacks moves of his own—far from it. But it’s his muscle car quality power that makes his pairing with Gordon so choice. Magnarelli even takes the usually more subtle flugelhorn and makes it a weapon of marvelous destruction on the sexy bossa “Teardrops from Home” and the waltz-cum-blues “It Has Only Been A Day.”

Anyone familiar with bassist “Captain Lou” Smaldone won’t be surprised with the wide, fat foundation he effortlessly lays, or with his substantive solo on the bluesy “Time For Tyner.” The big surprise comes from pianist Dave Solazzo. The Syracuse native’s stock-in-trade has been a Bill Evans-quality lyricism, which Solazzo amply displays during his in-the-clear solo on “Ivory.” But his unexpectedly funky aggression on “Tyner” is worthy of the piece’s namesake, and his best moments on Blowin’ It Out happen when he surrounds the front line’s melodies with grinning, impudent fills. Barna’s always a great drummer, but on this date he’s a greatleader, focusing most of his energy setting up his band mates to score big; the closest he gets to a solo is trading ripping fours and eights with the front line.

Life is all about choices. Joe Barna chose to put his music ahead of himself. It was a wise decision that showed maturity and discipline. And Blowin’ It Out is only the beginning.

READ THE REVIEW HERE

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For this performance I have hired musicians that have been with me as a friend or college classmate from almost the beginning of my musical journeys. MIKE SMITH (guitar) LOU SMALDONE (acoustic bass) and what I believe to be one of the finest and most creative saxophonists under the age of 25, ADAM SEIGEL (alto sax).

This is the groups first concert since April and I am really looking forward to getting back to it. The room will only hold around 50-55 people and if the last show is any indicator it is sure to be a full house. Please join us is celebrating the gift of music on this very special evening.

To make a reservation please call (518) 435-0843 or just show up and be part of the fun…Look forward to seeing you ♥ joe