Artist description It Was the lyrical playing of Lester Young that first led me to appreciate the artistry of a well-played ballad. In the early '60s, I started collecting and rehearsing the history of various tunes that caught my ear. I listened to a lot of Stan Getz, Richie Kamuca and Zoot Sims. When I was on the road, I always carried John Coltrane's Ballads album with me. It had a big influence on my playing...I love that album.After I recorded my last quartet album in 1987, I started thinking about all of the old ballads that I had amassed and would never have a chance to record unless I put them on one album. The problem was to find a record company willing to believe in the project.In 1989, I joined a two-week summer faculty at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. The dean, Don McCormack, heard me play a ballad one night with the faculty band and went crazy. His enthusiasm challenged me to come up with a new obscure ballad each year, and we had many conversations about what to do with my ever-expanding repertoire.Hoping I could eventually record them, I continued to collect obscure or underplayed standards and incorporating them into my club and concert dates. Although I'd built my reputation on the Coltrane-influenced high-energy style of playing, it was the ballad that intrigued the audience. People would come up after the set wanting to know more about the tune. To me, it was obvious that they needed to be recorded.Eventually, Bill King and Greg Sutherland asked me to do a tribute album to Stan Getz with five other Toronto tenor players in 1997. Bill came in to hear me play one night after the CD's release and told me that they had got a lot of positive reaction to my rendition of "You're Blase". When I mentioned I had a ballads album ready to go but could not find a label, Bill and Greg offered to record it on Radioland.I'm grateful that I finally was able to complete this work. The musicians I had on the date are fantastic players who afforded me the atmosphere necessary to record each sensitive tune. Don helped me with some of the harmony, re-working the changes on some of the old standards. Neil, I've played with for years, and my brother Joe I've been making music with for even longer. The record date was easy and comfortable, very relaxed. There was a mood in the room that seemed to carry into the music. I hope you enjoy it.

Music Style Traditional Jazz, Bebop Jazz, Ballads

Instruments sax

Albums Deep In A Dream

Press Reviews 2000 JUNO AWARD WINNER FOR BEST JAZZ CD2000 JAZZ REPORT AWARD WINNER FOR BEST JAZZ CD

Location Toronto, ON - Canada

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