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The Music Of Duke Ellington

by Casares Brothers Trio (Feat. Joe Webb)

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1.
Rain Check 05:22
2.
After All 04:42
3.
4.
Dual Highway 05:39
5.

about

The body of work by Edward Kennedy Ellington, the Duke of music, it extends to more than 800 works according to Wynton Marsalis. He isn't just one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century but arguably the one that defines the sound of his era with more accuracy – the music he left though, is timeless. His style is far away from conventional, it is always creative and inventive, symphonic and humorous, rich but straight to the point. His presence in any history book should be taken for granted.

In this humble EP we can't avoid the almost 30-year collaboration he held with another brilliant mind, Billy Strayhorn. The music they produced together encompasses some of the most beautiful art ever.

This is our interpretation and little tribute to them. We hope you enjoy it.

- Lluc Casares
-----

[CAT] La cantant Luna Cohen em diu un dia: “Joan, tinc un amic a Londres que vol fer un intercanvi amb músics de Barcelona. Es diu Joe Webb”. Vaig buscar el seu últim disc i quasi caic de cul. Només de parlar amb ell ja vaig veure que era un entusiasta de la música i la vida en general, i especialment de la ciutat Comtal. Volia fer un intercanvi amb l'escena d'aquí, així que em va proposar d'anar uns dies al novembre a tocar al Regne Unit. Em va suggerir que si volia portés algun altre músic, potser un solista. La meva resposta va ser immediata, “el meu germà toca el saxo força bé...”

Ens vam plantar allà i vam quedar amb en Joe a la Jam Session del mític club Ronnie Scott's. Des del primer moment, vam veure que hi havia molt bona connexió amb en Joe, i des d'aquell moment ens va acollir de la millor manera, portant-nos a visitar la ciutat, a menjar als millors llocs i a resguardar-nos de la pluja a casa seva.

Però no havíem anat a fer el turista, així que de seguida ens vam posar en marxa: què tocaríem? Encara no ho havíem parlat. A l'arribar al Kansas Smitty's, el club que gestionen amb la banda que porta el nom del bar (The Kansas Smitty's House Band), vam proposar un parell de temes que tots ens sabéssim i algú en va proposar un del Duke Ellington. La resposta va ser unànime: hauríem de fer un repertori de música seva.

Passats els dies que vam estar allà, vam parlar amb en Joe unes altres dates perquè vingués ell aquí. Vam decidir completar el grup amb el Casares Brother adoptiu, el contrabaixista Giuseppe Campisi. De seguida vam trobar llocs per tocar, ja que la proposta va agradar a tot arreu. Tot i això, volíem deixar algun dia buit per poder-ho gravar. Al final no vam tenir massa temps lliure, així que vam encabir una sessió matinal als Estudis Vertigo d'en Ferran Donatelli.

El que podeu escoltar és el resultat íntegre d'aquella sessió. En van sortir quatre temes, amb l'afegit d'un cinquè que va ser enregistrat aquella mateixa nit a l'actuació al club 23 Robadors. Amb la sala plena de gom a gom, el nostre amic i també pianista Luismi Segurado, aguantava amb la seva mà la gravadora portàtil que va enregistrar la peça que tanca aquest recull de música. A més d'això, va col·laborar també cedint-nos la seva preciosa caricatura de l'homenatjat Duke Ellington, que ben orgullosament exhibim a la portada d'aquest EP.

- Joan Casares
-----

[ENG] Singer Luna Cohen told me one day: “Joan, I have a friend in London who wants to make an exchange with musicians from Barcelona. His name is Joe Webb”. I looked for his last record and I almost fell down the stairs. Just by speaking to him I saw he is an enthusiast of music and life in general, specially about the city of Barcelona. He was planning on making an exchange with someone from our music scene, so he proposed me to go for some days to play in the UK. He suggested that if I wanted I could bring a second musician, maybe a soloist. My answer was immediate: “my brother plays sax quite well...”

We flew there and met Joe at the late Session at Ronnie Scott's, the famous club. Since the very first moment, the connection with Joe was fantastic and he was the best host for us. He showed us the city, brought us to get the best food and even took us to his place when the rain wouldn't allow to do anything else.

But we weren't there for tourism. We started to wonder what should we play, since we hadn't yet discussed this. When we arrived for the first concert at Kansas Smitty's, the club they manage with the people on Joe's band (The Kansas Smitty's House Band), we named a few tunes we all knew and someone asked about some Duke Ellington's piece. The answer was unanimous: we should play an entire repertoire of Duke's music.

After these days, we discussed with Joe some other dates for him to finally come to Barcelona. We completed the group with our adopted Casares Brother, the bassist Giuseppe Campisi. Soon we found out the venues to play, since everyone dug the idea. Nonetheless, we wanted to save one day to record the music. In the end we didn't have no free days, but we squeezed an early morning session at Vertigo Studios with sound engineer Ferran Donatelli.

What you can hear next is the entire result of that session. Four pieces came out, plus a fifth one that was recorded that very same evening during the show at 23 Robadors in Barcelona. In the first row of a full packed house, our beloved friend (and also a pianist) Luismi Segurado, held with his hand the portable recorder that taped the piece that closes this music selection. Besides, he also contributed with his beautiful portrait of Duke Ellington that we proudly exhibit on the cover of this EP.

- Joan Casares

credits

released May 25, 2020

Lluc Casares - ts
Joe Webb – pn
Giuseppe Campisi – b
Joan Casares – d

Recorded at Vertigo Studios & 23 Robadors, 21-2-2020
Recorded by Ferran Donatelli & Luismi Segurado
Mixed by Quim 'Kato' Puigtió
Cover by Luismi Segurado & Joan Casares
Produced by The Changes (TC005)

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The Changes Music Barcelona, Spain

The Changes: We are a platform for the promotion of new music and artistic contributions. We are a self-managed collective, an independent music label and a net between the musicians and the audience in support of the artistic transmission and cultural creation. ... more

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