Monday, April 6, 2015

SFJAZZ Collective's Robin Eubanks: Notes on Joe Henderson's "Black Narcissus"

Robin Eubanks © Jay Blakeberg

“I researched and listened to many different recorded versions of Joe Henderson's classic ‘Black Narcissus.’ Most were very similar to the original. Why mess with a classic, right? But I wanted to try and approach it differently. I got the idea for the drone tones from the melody. Joe composed the melody beginning with four B-flat dotted half notes. I stacked perfect 5ths to build the harmony and added a melody to set up the intro. Joe's melody is untouched but I re-harmonized it, slowed down the tempo and added a semi-funky beat to create a different feel for the composition.”

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


SFJAZZ Collective's 2015 Spring Tour begins this Thursday (4/9) at the Jazz Standard in NYC!

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