RobertaBlog

Saturday Aug. 28th, 2010    

9:30pm—midnight

Roberta Piket Trio at Miles’ Café— Saturday August 28th

 

Roberta Piket Trio

Roberta Piket piano

Daryl Johns bass

Billy Mintz drums

Join us at this brand new midtown venue for a rare opportunity to hear Roberta in New York on a Steinway baby grand.

Roberta Piket‘s trio has toured Japan and Spain as well as the U.S. She has performed her music at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., at the Earshot Festival in Seattle, at the Rochester (NY) Jazz Festival, and in New York at Small’s, the Blue Note Club, Birdland, the Knitting Factory and Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Roberta’s CDs frequently make the “best of” lists of the major jazz magazines. Whether performing her original compositions or highly personalized reworkings of standards, Roberta’s daring rhythmic modulations and vast harmonic expansiveness set a new standard for the piano trio.

Daryl Johns is a 13-year-old jazz bassist who was a semi-finalist in the 2009 Thelonious Monk International Bass Competition and came in honorable mention. Daryl was awarded “Best Soloist” and “Best Original Song” in Downbeat Magazine’s 2010 33rd Annual Student Music Awards. He has performed with jazz greats Randy Brecker, Jimmy Owens, Dave Liebman, Geoff Keezer, Carl Allen, Jay Leonhart, Warren Vache, Les Paul, Bucky Pizzarelli, Valery Ponomorev, Don Sickler and his father Steve Johns. He has recorded his first CD with his own piano trio at the Bennett Studio in his home town of Englewood, NJ and is currently doing recording projects at Rudy Van Gelder’s Studio produced by Don Sickler.

In an extraordinary career spanning nearly 40 years, Billy Mintz has played with some of the biggest names in the jazz world including Lee Konitz, Eddie Daniels, Harold Danko, Mose Allison, Mark Murphy, Bobby Shew, Charles Lloyd, Vinny Golia, and the Alan Broadbent Trio. Mr. Mintz has written two books: Different Drummers, originally published by Aamsco Music Publishing and Advanced Sticking and Sight-Reading (BM Publications). In recent years, Mr. Mintz has taken on new roles as a bandleader and a composer, performing his own compositions with various ensembles. He also performs solo drum set concerts with increasing frequency.

We’re still in the process of mixing the new recording. This is the most complex project I’ve done as a leader. We recorded several string/wind arrangements of mine (and one gorgeous ballad arrangement of Billy’s). There are also a couple of tracks with organ, including a funky 16/17 tune with several organ and percussion overdubs. (Overdubbing on my own CD is a first for me. It goes against my jazz grain. But in this case I think the results are worth it.) There’s still a vocal to get finished as well.

It’s very exciting, and I feel great about the music. But today, I started thinking about the CD from the perspective of the listener. There’s so much variety on this recording. There is an African American spiritual on which I do a free improvisation. There’s a burning modal piece of Billy’s. There’s a beautiful, lyrical arrangement of Bill Evans’ ballad Laurie and a strings/winds/vocal arrangement of the standard “If I Loved You” which is rather epic in scope. (Then there’s that troublesome organ overdub on Degree Absolute.)

I find myself wondering if listeners who like one style of jazz, or who expect a CD with a consistent “mood”, are going to be disappointed. I’d like to believe that most listeners understand that, as Duke said, there are only two kinds of music, good and bad. I’d also like to think that despite the variety, the recording has a certain coherence, a certain “sound” or, as musicians like to say, a “vibe”.

Ultimately I’m interested in making the best music while expressing what I need to express and experiencing what I need to experience. I wanted to write for strings, so I did. I wanted to play more organ, so I wrote for organ. For several years I’ve been expanding beyond mainstream jazz into improvised chamber music with musicians like Billy Mintz, Klaus Kugel, Louise Belogenis, Mark Reboul. So the recording reflects that as well. I explore the musical paths that excite me. If I did anything less, then the music would be less.

It’s great when people appreciate what we do. We all love praise. As artists we want to communicate something to the listener. And of course I’d prefer for people to like and enjoy every inch of the CD. But the music comes from within. It happens organically. No “decision” can be made. Some listeners (and critics) may not understand the “choices” I’ve made. But there is no choice, only what the music wants.

As always I had a great time playing with saxophonist Louie Belogenis and drummer Billy Mintz last night at Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village. I hope this great trio can perform more. It’s a pleasure to play improvised music with such sensitive, creative and disciplined musicians.

Nice review of the Five Spot CD we recorded live in Ukraine a few years ago:

Music Review: Five Spot – Poltva – Blogcritics Music.

Roberta Piket Trio in NYC
Monday, July 26, 2010
Time: 7:30pm – 9:30pm

Roberta Piket, piano
Billy Mintz, drums
Yoshi Waki, bass

Location: Miles’ Cafe
Street: 212 E. 52nd street
City/Town: New York, NY

Today I’ll be working on organ overdubs for the studio version of Degree Absolute. Also working on some parts for Irridium gig on July 7th with NY jazz Repertory Orchestra featuring Vic Juris and Dave Liebman.