Tuesday, April 28, 2015

SFJAZZ Collective's Warren Wolf: Notes on Joe Henderson's "Jinrikisha"

Warren Wolf © Jay Blakesberg

“As a young kid learning to play jazz, this tune, from Joe’s 1963 release Page One, was one of the first pieces of music that I had the pleasure of learning. So naturally, when we chose Joe Henderson as the featured artist for our season, I jumped at the chance of arranging ‘Jinrikisha.’ The original was a medium swing but I decided to give the song and a straight eighth-note feel: instead of the swinging ride cymbal beat, the cymbal is played straight or even. I'm a huge fan of Dennis Chambers and his virtuosic playing, so after Avishai's solo, I decided to let drummer Obed Calvaire play various rhythms over a simple four-bar pattern, which is played by the rhythm section and horns before the melody returns.”

Warren Wolf, album notes from the SFJAZZ Collective's new album The Music of Joe Henderson and New Compositions, now available!

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SFJAZZ Collective returns to the SFJAZZ Center on May 8th to pay tribute to Joni Mitchell at the SFJAZZ Gala 2015.

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