Jazz
is an art form that embraces a wide variety of musical styles
performed on a wide variety of musical instruments that are less
common in other genres. There have been several great jazz violinists,
but there haven't been too many jazz viola players, especially one
like DEBBIE SPRING, who plays a five-string viola. Spring is
now releasing her sophomore album, TOCAMOS, a
collection of mostly original and stylistically diverse tunes.
Five-string
violas are fairly rare. Violins and viola strings are both tuned in
perfect fifths. The violin tuning is G, D, A, E while the strings of
the viola, which are tuned one fifth lower than the violin, are C, G,
D, A. Inspired by her classical education and her love of Jean-Luc
Ponty, Spring has added a high E string to her instrument to be able
to play closer to the range of a violin.
Spring
was born in Miami and still lives in South Florida. When she was just
two years old, her mother saw how much she loved music and started
piano lessons at age five. Wanting to join her school’s orchestra,
Spring discovered the viola. She immediately fell in love with the
sound of the instrument and eventually had the opportunity to study
with several renowned viola teachers.
Although
she pursued her musical education at the University of Miami,
studying classical music, she had discovered jazz and fell in love
with Jean-Luc Ponty’s playing when she heard his early, acoustic jazz
violin albums. The University of Miami has a world class jazz
department, and the department head allowed her to take a jazz
improvisation class in her senior year. After graduating, she set out
on a career playing jazz with different groups in the South Florida
region. She performed with the group Ira Sullivan Strings Attached.
They recorded an eponymous album in 1983, garnering Spring positive
reviews.
Spring
went back to the University for a master’s degree and began writing
music. She performed with her own group for a while and produced a jazz
fusion album, Ocean Drive, in 1990. Adept at numerous styles,
she became one of the busiest viola players in the country. She
played pop music, toured with a popular country group called The
Mavericks, performed classical concerts with The Florida Grand Opera
and the Santa Fe Opera, among others, and backed the famous Miami
Sound Machine. One of her favorite gigs was touring with Shakira.
Spring relates, “I loved playing with Shakira. I’m a jazz musician at
heart and Shakira didn’t dictate what I was supposed to play. She let
me improvise, and I had some of the most fun trading riffs with her
on stage.”
TOCAMOS means “we play” in Spanish.
Spring wrote most of the music during the pandemic lockdown, and the
title of the album reflects her desire to get back together with
other musicians to play music. Joining Spring
are
some of the top, versatile musicians who make their home in the Miami
area, including HAL ROLAND (piano, keyboard), RUSTY HECK (bass
and Spring’s husband), ETTIENNE FUENTES JR. (drums), SCOTT
MARISCHEN (harp), PHILL FEST (guitar), HOWARD LEVY (harmonica
and known for his work with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones), DAVID
SCHANZER (percussion), JULIO MATTA (percussion), and EDDY
“ORIENTE” BALZOLA (spoken word).
Spring’s
playing is heartfelt and technically flawless, and the songs are
inflected with Latin, Brazilian, straight-ahead jazz, pop, and
classical music, reflecting the cultural diversity of South Florida.
She opens the album with “Mockingbird,” using the song of a
mockingbird that she recorded in her garden. Spring actually
incorporated some of the bird’s phrases in her composition. The tune
has an accessible, lyrical style reminiscent of Herbie Hancock’s
“Maiden Voyage.”
“Fragile,”
composed by Sting, is a pop tune featuring vocals by Hal Roland.
Rusty Heck’s arrangement gives the song a Latin tinge. The strings
are front and center with Spring’s viola and swirling licks from
Scott Marischen’s harp.
“Summer,”
written by Spring, was inspired by early Jean-Luc Ponty. It features
the jazz quartet of piano, bass, drums, and Spring’s soulful, lilting
viola.
“Tocamos,”
the title tune, was written by Spring, Rusty Heck, and Cuban born
guitarist and composer Eddy Balzola. It features the English
translation of a poem written and recited by Balzola. The poem
reflects Spring’s strongly held belief that music brings people
together no matter their nationality and outlook, which is especially
relevant for today’s fraught times. Spring reprises the tune as the
closing number with the original Spanish lyrics.
“Bossa
Minha” was composed by Spring and Heck. A gentle bossa, it features
Brazilian-American guitarist Phill Fest and percussion by David
Schanzer.
Spring
has gone to Argentina many times with Shakira and fell in love with
the music. Although the bandoneon is sometimes thought of as the soul
of the tango, on “Tango Y Mas,” Spring instead uses Howard Levy on
harmonica. Levy is a two-time Grammy winner who is a widely acknowledged
master of the diatonic harmonica. Heck, with roots from West Africa,
along with percussionist David Schanzer, provided the rhythmic basis
for “Senegal,” written by Spring in 5/4. It is built on rhythms from
the region.
It’s
rare to hear viola as the lead instrument in jazz. Pitched between a
violin and cello, it takes a highly accomplished musician like Debbie
Spring to use its warm, mellow sound in a jazz setting. With her
classical technique, deep knowledge of a range of international
styles, solid jazz chops, and superb compositional skills, TOCAMOS
is a compelling second project for an artist with an already
extensive career.
# # #
TOCAMOS
was
released on July 17, 2023 on CR Records and is available everywhere.
Online:
Debbiespring.hearnow.com/
Facebook.com/debbiespringmusic
YouTube.com@debbiespringmusic
IG:
@debbiespringmusic
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