New album from Dave Askren and Jeff Benedict

Some people are obsessed with Wayne Shorter's music. Many of his compositions, which are known for their complex harmonies and memorable melodies, have become jazz standards. When two musicians of the caliber of guitarist DAVE ASKREN and sax player JEFF BENEDICT team up to record an album of Wayne Shorter music, the result is eminently gratifying. On PARAPHERNALIA, Askren and Benedict present a program of Shorter's music from his work mostly from the 1960s, culled from his solo albums and his recordings with Miles Davis and Weather Report.

 

Askren and Benedict have been performing and recording together and apart for 25 years. Askren has performed with many jazz and Latin jazz artists, including Bob Moses, Antonio Hart, Delfeayo Marsalis, Hendrik Meurkens, Bobby Shew, Sal Cracciolo, and Jimmy Branly among many others. He's also performed with many commercial artists, including Marilyn McCoo, Latoya Jackson, Linda Hopkins, and Little Anthony.

 

The son of a church organist and piano teacher, he played clarinet and saxophone when he was very young but switched to guitar when he was 14. He went on to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he also taught after he graduated. Askren enjoyed teaching and decided to bolster his academic credentials by getting a master's degree. He came out to California for music work and to study at Cal State LA, where he also taught while still working on his graduate degree in classical guitar. Askren met and became friends with Benedict at the school, where Jeff was teaching and leading one of the jazz bands. Askren has also released four CDs as a leader.

 

Benedict has performed with a long list of top jazz artists, including Toshiko Akiyoshi, Randy Brecker, Billy Taylor, Mel Tormé, Nick Brignola, Eddie Daniels, among many others. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also an in-demand classical recitalist and clinician and has appeared with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony, the Aspen Festival Orchestra and the Tanglewood Fellowship Orchestra. He recorded two small ensemble albums under his own name as well as a CD with the Jeff Benedict Big Band. He also founded and appears regularly with the Orion Saxophone Quartet.

 

PARAPHERNALIA is Askren's and Benedict's third recording as co-leaders. It follows their 2009 release It's All About the Groove and their 2017 release Come Together, of which All About Jazz has said, "They offer the listener a unique experience of groove-based compositions...that actually offers a complex carbonation of effervescent tunes, that will excite and engage the listening experience, even for the most discerning jazz aficionado."

 

Askren and Benedict brought on board for PARAPHERNALIA two top Los Angeles-based musicians, JONATHAN PINTOFF on bass and CHRIS GARCIA on percussion. Both artists have extensive touring and recording credits and are adept at jazz, Latin, and rock music.

 

According to Askren, "We didn't want to just do covers of Wayne's tunes. We didn't try to sound like him, because you can't do better than the original music. You can just do your own thing and make music your own way." The album opens with "E.S.P.," the title track from the 1965 Miles Davis album. After Wayne Shorter joined Miles' group, the quintet seemed to communicate by mental telepathy, inspiring the title E.S.P.This version is a blues-based, swinging, funky outing featuring an alto sax and percussion solo.

"Yes and/or No"is from Shorter's album Juju, released in 1964 on Blue Note. The tune is originally an up-tempo swing, but the band performs it here as a brisk mambo. Garcia, who seems to play a dozen percussion instruments at the same time, weaves together a rich tapestry of sound with absolutely no overdubs.

 

"Iris" is the second tune Shorter contributed to Miles' E.S.P. album. A slow jazz waltz, the original version featured Shorter on tenor sax, but Benedict beautifully captures the tune's vibey feel on soprano sax.

Shorter wrote "Mahjong," also from the Juju album, with an Afro/Latin groove in a series of short, melodic statements with repeating chords and a simple melody that is meant to represent people playing the game of mahjong. "Fall" is a medium swing tune from Miles' 1967 album Nefertiti. On PARAPHERNALIA, the band plays it in 6/8 time with an Afro/Cuban groove. "Paraphernalia," the title tune, comes from Miles' 1968 album Miles in the Sky. The album marked a turning point in Miles' musical development as the band started employing jazz-rock extended grooves. On this album, the band keeps the funk going with Askren's comping and Benedict's alto sax grooving hard.

 

Benedict and Askren perform two duo numbers on this CD. The first, "Miyako," is from Shorter's 1967 album Schizophrenia. The tune is named for his daughter. Askren plays a nylon string guitar on this piece that highlights Benedict's warm, alto sound. The duo wanted to give a nod to Shorter's post Miles work, so they included "Harlequin" from Weather Reports' 1977 album Heavy Weather. The original version featured the layered, electronic sounds, but Benedict re-arranged the tune as an acoustic number.

 

"Tom Thumb" is an R&B inspired tune from Shorter's Schizophrenia album. Here, the band dives right into the 60s style funky, boogaloo grove that culminates in a "shout chorus" inspired by Shorter's original solo on the piece. "Infant Eyes," the closing tune, is the second duo track featuring Askren and Benedict. From Shorter's 1966 album Speak No Evil, the soprano sax and acoustic guitar weave lyrical melodies in a dreamy pas de deux.

 

Wayne Shorter has composed some of the most memorable music in the last 60 years. After 25 years of playing together and arranging for each other, Askren and Benedict are totally in sync musically. PARAPHERNALIA is just not an homage to a great composer; it is a conversation between seasoned musicians who take the music to new and exciting places.

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PARAPHERNALIA is set for release on May 1, 2020 on Capri Records, and available online everywhere.

 

 

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