cymbalgroove

Thanks Peter. Miss having you around here! Hope all is well.

Thanks Bill.

Thanks so much Larry. Means a lot coming from you!

Hi everyone, I just wanted to let people know I just released a new CD called New York Connections with Peter Bernstein guitar, Jerry Weldon tenor, Jeb Patton piano and Neal Miner bass. It can be purchased here at CD baby http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mikemelito2 thanks for your interest.

Got to work a handful of times with him with Rochester over the years. He was a nice guy, loved the music and was very humble. He actually moved back here last month but I didn't get a chance to see him. Strazz worked with a lot of guys Kenny Dorham and Philly Joe as well as all the others. Very sad he passed.

Thanks so much Tom. Frank Basile is a great player for sure. He is also a great guy as well. Thanks again for the support.

I just released my fifth CD as a leader called THE RIGHT TIME. It's a hardbop record and It features me on drums, John Marshall on trumpet, Frank Basile on baritone saxophone, Neal Miner bass, Bob Sneider guitar and Dino Losito on piano. The album features seldom heard tunes by Sonny Clark, Gigi Gryce, John Coltrane as well as a few originals. You can find it here http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mikemelito check it out.

Lewis is a good guy as well I may add. He sounds good in a lot of different settings.

Lewis is a good guy as well I may add. He sounds good in a lot of different settings.

Thanks Tom! I appreciate it!

I just put out a brand new CD called The Right Time. It features me on drums, the great John Marshall on trumpet (who lived in NYC for years before moving to Germany) Frank Basile on baritone saxophone (who can be seen with the Vanguard Orchestra a lot), Neal Miner on bass (currently touring with Jane Monheit) and two upstate NY guys who have both played with many people as well Bob Sneider guitar and Dino Losito piano. The CD is available here http://cdbaby.com/cd/mikemelito and is also on itunes. The record has two obscure John Coltrane compositions, a tune by Sonny Clark, one by Gigi Gryce and a few originals. Check it out.. I think it's my best effort to date.

John really plays great. I don't think he is playing much trumpet these days but he's playing EVI. He's a very natural player who is comfortable in any setting. I remember him bringing me to Philadelphia one weekend at Chris's Jazz Cafe a few years back when he was playing trumpet and he was killin! The band was great as well. The late great Sid Simmons on piano, Madison Rast bass, Bootsie Barnes and Jon Gordon one night and Mike DiRubbo one night. John is very hard on himself. He's a legend in Philly and well deserved I might add.

Jimmy is a really good friend of mine and great drummer! I talk with him all the time. He has shown me pictures of him playing with Kenny Dorham, Mal Waldron, Al Haig and a bunch more. Jimmy has a very organic sense of the music. Still playing great. I heard him on the Smalls live feed last night with Tardo and Lee Hudson-Swingin..

I forgot to say how much I love Horace Parlan's playing. His Blue Note On The Spur Of The Moment is a great one!

Joe Romano is really good on that session. I first encountered his tenor playing on a Gus Mancuso record that Fantasy reissued on compact disc back in the 90's. His sound then seemed to be under a heavy Rollins influence, but on Act One you can tell he's listened to Coltrane. Still, he manages to be himself. Noto's sound is gorgeous on that record. I sure miss Joe Romano! Act One was probably his best recorded effort in my opinion. It was actually some of his best playing ever. His playing was very connected on that date.

How bout Wynton Kelly? He didn't stay in the middle register and to me is one of the most exciting musicians of all time. I do think though as I always say this stuff boils down to personal tastes. I get the feeling you're really not a bebop fan and that's okay. Barry Harris still plays the way he did 40 yrs ago. Younger guys like Tardo Hammer and Sascha Perry come to mind as two guys that have stuck to that way of playing. I love piano players who play simple. Usually because each note they play means something. My question to you would be who are some of your favorite piano players out of curiosity? I'm not trying to be an ass here, I'm actually trying to understand your views more is all.

"...narrowing the capabilities of the piano." Huh? Bebop/bop requires the ability to improvise on the fly as well as provide accompaniment for those who are doing so. By its very nature this sort of playing demands full and complete control of the keyboard. Mentally, but not physically. Even in comparison with playing Cherokee at breakneck speed in B major, an average Beethoven sonata places far more demands on both hands (especially the left). Are we really going to try and claim that comping behind yourself with the left hand maximizes the capability of the instrument as much as a Bach 3-part invention? Uh uh. It takes a lot of physical stamina---on any instrument---to keep up those tempos, execute, etc. It's a discipline and this is why there are relatively few dedicated bebop pianists. There are hardly any chances to play that music in the purest sense. The term 'bebop' itself is bastardized and now means just 'mainstream' to a lot of people---or nothing at all. But it---the true, undiluted thing---is as technically exacting---physically---as music gets. I'm not even touching the mental part. We'll be out of here next Thursday.... Agree 100%!! How many true bebop piano players are playing these days? REAL bebop not guys who everyone call bebop pianists when they come out of more of a McCoy influence than anything else. BTW I LOVE McCoy (early) and he could really play the stuff his way like on those early Freddie records like Goin Up and Open Sesame.

Not to be mean David and I don't want to start an arguement here but can you elaborate on this statement? Do you mean you don't have to have a lot of chops to play bebop? Just curious.. I would answer with what about Bud Powell, Monk and also Phineas Newborn, Barry Harris, Wynton Kelly, Sonny Clark, Kenny Drew? I wouldn't dare call those guys " simple single-note doodlers" Bebop is the hardest music in the world to play period! I'm talking about playing it RIGHT! You can hide a lot of stuff in a lot of notes. You can't lie behind your instrument or playing bebop.

One of the all time greatest musicians and people! My thoughts and prayers are with him and wife Linda.

Bob and John Sneider Al and Joe Cohn Andy and Steve Watson

I love Minor Move because I love the tune Minor Move + Sonny Clark is on piano. The record has some kind of recording flaw I heard from someone who talked to Cuscuna and that's why it wasn't released. I'm hearing this third hand so maybe I'm wrong? Anyone else hear this? I don't know if I would call the ensembles raggy for me at least. Lee is AMAZING!! Doug Watkins and Blakey have a great hook-up on this session I think too. Today is actually Tina's birthday!

Mobley is my all time favorite tenor player and I'm not familiar with this track. 1980 wasn't probably the best year for him. Hank was so so young when he died. What a shame!

Monty used to come to my house for dinner and hanging out when I was a kid. Fond memories of him really groovin on my Dad's record collection.

I read where Five Will Get You Ten off of A Fickle Sonance was actually a Monk tune Sonny took credit for. TS Monk said that in an interview that Sonny lived with Monk for a short time and took it from Monk. The tune sounds Monkish but Sonny could have wrote it. If Monk wrote why didn't he ever record it? I'm not doubting TS I'm just curious is all.

I'm a Sonny Clark freak!! His playing got to me the very first recording I heard with him which was Cool Struttin' I then quickly bought the Time recording with Max Roach and freaked over more of his great compositions like Nica aka Royal Flush. His compositions were really beautiful. The guy didn't play a wasted note!! I have most of his recorded output although some stuff I know I probably don't have. He played so relaxed and with so much clarity that it amazes me to this day. I've listened to those records a thousand times and can sing most of his solos which are some of the greatest of all time! Sonny was the man!!!