Eric Nemeyer’s WWW.JAZZINSIDEMAGAZINE.COM February-March 2020 Interviews BobbyBobby WatsonWatson From Kansas City To Art Blakey & More PHOTO GALLERY WyntonWynton MarsalisMarsalis KennyKenny GarrettGarrett CharlieCharlie PersipPersip AhmadAhmad JamalJamal Comprehensive DirectoryDirectory of NY ClubS, ConcertS VicVic JurisJuris RememberingRemembering AA GreatGreat GuitaristGuitarist To Advertise CALL: 215-887-8880 December 2015 Jazz Inside Magazine www.JazzInsideMagazine.com 1 COVER-2-JI-15-12.pub Wednesday, December 09, 2015 15:43 page 1 MagentaYellowBlacCyank ORDER THIS 200+ Page Book + CD - Only $19.95 Call 215-887-8880 To Advertise CALL: 215-887-8880 February-March 2020 Jazz Inside Magazine www.JazzInsideMagazine.com 1 Eric Nemeyer’s Jazz Inside Magazine ISSN: 2150-3419 (print) • ISSN 2150-3427 (online) February-March 2020 – Volume 10, Number 9 Cover Photo and photo at right of Vic Juris by Eric Nemeyer Publisher: Eric Nemeyer Editor: Wendi Li Marketing Director: Cheryl Powers Advertising Sales & Marketing: Eric Nemeyer Circulation: Susan Brodsky Photo Editor: Joe Patitucci Layout and Design: Gail Gentry Contributors: Eric Nemeyer, Ken Weiss, Joe Patitucci. 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CONTENTS 4 Vic Juris — Remembering A Great INTERVIEWSINTERVIEWS Visit these websites: CLUBS, CONCERTS, EVENTS Guitarist 22 Bbby Watson JazzStandard.com 13 Calendar of Events 23 Photo Gallery: Kenny Garrett, Wynton Jazz.org 20 Clubs & Venue Listings Marsalis, Charlie Persip, Ahmad Jamal JJBabbitt.com MaxwellDrums.com PAY ONLY FOR RESULTS LIKE US PUBLICITY! www.facebook.com/ JazzInsideMedia Get Hundreds Of Media Placements — ONLINE — Major Network Media & FOLLOW US Authority Sites & OFFLINE — Distribution To 1000’s of Print & Broadcast www.twitter.com/ JazzInsideMag Networks To Promote Your Music, Products & Performances In As Little As 24 Hours To Generate Traffic, Sales & Expanded Media Coverage! WATCH US www.PressToRelease.com | MusicPressReleaseDistribution.com | 215-887-8880 www.youtube.com/ JazzInsideMedia 2 February-March 2020 Jazz Inside Magazine www.JazzInsideMagazine.com To Advertise CALL: 215-887-8880 To Advertise CALL: 215-887-8880 February-March 2020 Jazz Inside Magazine www.JazzInsideMagazine.com 3 quartet without piano. I’m always looking for ways to make the guitar more pianistic and fuller in INTERVIEWINTERVIEW sound, in the live setting as well as recording. JI: A few years ago when I interviewed Pat Marti- no, he said that had the guitar come first, it— instead of the piano—would be the dominant chord Vic Juris instrument in music. Remembering Guitarist Vic Juris, 1953-2019 VJ: It’s true. In Latin music, the guitar, string-like instruments are what the piano players play. So the guitar really came first in that situation. Interview & Photos by Eric Nemeyer JI: Yeah. I was reading something where these days everything is preconceived and it’s involved JI: What was the vibe like in doing the session? JI: You have a new album on Mel Bay. Describe in humili-tainment—you know, losing your job, Did you rehearse or was it impromptu or did you the process of the creation of the new album, A losing your girlfriend or wife. have specific instructions or dialogues that you had Second Look? with the musicians? VJ: I remember when I got my first guitar synthe- VJ: I love playing standards. So we decided to sizer in the ‘80s. Do you know Peter Sprague, gui- VJ: We rehearsed some, and the tunes that Lieb- format the record as five originals and five stand- tar player on the West Coast? man played on were things that we played in his ards, either jazz standards or Broadway-type stand- group a little bit. So he was familiar with the ar- ards. I had a lot of originals ready to go. And the JI: Yes. rangement of “All the Things You Are,” as well as standards I chose were “Indian Summer,” which is this other—I kind of re-worked “Woody ‘N You.” an old song, I can’t remember the composer. I VJ: He said to me, “The first thing that’ll happen There’s something on there called, “Dizzy, Trane, know Sonny Rollins recorded it—just a beautiful when you get a guitar synth is you’ll lose your and You.” I took part of Dizzy’s original harmony melody. I did that in trio. And there was a Keith girlfriend,” because you have to learn how to pro- of “Woody ‘N You” and then I put some “Giant Jarrett song from way back, one that he did with gram it. You have to spend all that kind of time Steps” changes on it, on one part of it, which be- Dewey Redman, the band with Paul Motian— with it. But the guitar synth never really caught on. came the Trane part. And then a little bit of my ”Shades of Jazz.” So I’ve been playing that a lot own, I kind of went up in half steps in “two fives” with a trio that I have with Tim Horner and Bill JI: It’s tough, because musicians who really are on the bridge. And I had given that to Liebman, Moore. So that one was kind of ready to go. And I into the music, for the most part, really want to and we played it in his group a few times. That was wrote a complete re-harmonization of “All the make music instead of being musical scientists, as probably the hardest thing to record. Harmonically Things You Are.” Dave Liebman once said in some clinic that I went it was the hardest thing to improvise on. to many years ago. JI: Can you elaborate on that a bit? What kind of JI: Was your approach to do several takes and find harmonic ideas were you pursuing? VJ: Yeah, but I tell you, Liebman really likes the the best one or was it one-take through? effects that I’m using. I’ve got a whole basement JV: It’s funny. I found a sequence of a few chords full of stuff. I’m catching up to John Abercrombie. VJ: Fortunately, we did the record at Jay Ander- on the guitar, fingerings that kind of spelled out the He probably has more or had. I think he lost a lot in son’s studio. So Jay not only played bass on it, he melody of that song. So it kind of happened by the fire in his house. I have a lot of amps and ped- was engineering at the same time. JI: Where’s his studio? VJ: His studio’s in New Paltz, New York. He lives “Just one of those things that about two blocks from ex-heavyweight champion, Floyd Patterson. I’m a real boxing fanatic. So I was really impressed that we were recording two blocks I didn’t set out to do that kind from Floyd Patterson. Actually, they’ve got a nice community up here. Jay Clayton lives right near there. And they also have a nice, little artsy com- of happened. And that always munity up here. They’ve got a few little places where people play. But he built a really good stu- dio. So, as a result, we were able to record for three days. And then Jay and I tweaked some stuff the seems to be the best stuff. last day. So I was there for four days. JI: I guess you have a lot of outtakes and other cuts The unintentional is always that you could have used that are equally as good. VJ: We got pretty much everything in two or three the most pure …” takes. And there’s a lot of acoustic guitar on there too. So I did quite a bit of overdubbing—not quite a bit, but some. accident. And then I just kept going. I kept playing als. So I’m constantly messing with that stuff.