Following up
Gratitude (a 2017 collection of songs that served as an expression of
deep-seated gratitude for the immense love and support Stephens received while
climbing his way back to health after fighting FSG, a rare kidney disease),
which was lovingly embraced and lauded by the press and fans alike, Dayna
Stephens offers us his ninth album as a leader, Liberty (available Feb 28th).
Stephens, a master musician, one of the scene’s leading artists, and most
respected woodwind aces, is in full flight on Liberty; free from the grips of
ill-health, liberated from the constrictions that a harmonic instrument
naturally imposes, able to express himself fully due to his own virtuosity, and
unbound to explore the many streets, avenues and alleyways of this music, running
lockstep with his more than adept band mates, Ben Street on bass and Eric
Harland on drums.
Liberty is a
broad term that can refer to many situations, and for this recording it takes
on a few meanings. Playing trio as a saxophonist without any chordal harmonic
support can be exposing yet very liberating. Making this recording with such
masterful musicians as Ben and Eric, who I’ve known and had the pleasure of
playing with for close to 15 years in various situations, made exploring
rhythmic and harmonic avenues a real unforgettable and fresh creative
experience. Capturing it at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio, one of the best sounding
and most inspiring rooms ever to create music in, just makes this project that
much more special.
One
important common definition of Liberty says: “The state of being free within
society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life,
behavior, or political views.” It’s tough not to be aware of current events
taking or loosing shape within our species. After all is said and done, we are
all in so many ways privileged to be a part of a self-aware group of beings. We
possess the powerful ability through memory and written language to look back
at our past with vivid detail and great emotion, while showing the present
moment what worked or not, and what gave us joy and fear. Balancing our
multiple unique levels of diversity and world views with the awareness that we
are all a part of a global community atop a spinning delicate crumb in space
has proven to be a persistent puzzle for our species, leaving me to wonder if
Liberty is capable of being one of those vast fields of common ground it once
seemed to be. How do we burst these various fortified bubbles of feedback loops
that shield us from realizing that we are all looking into the same mirror? If
not with Liberty for all then with what?
Upcoming
Tour Dates:
- Feb 26 - Dazzle, Denver, CO
- Feb 27 - Kuumbwa Jazz, Santa Cruz, CA
- Feb 28-29 - The Blue Whale, Los Angeles, CA
- March 1 - EarShot Jazz Festival, Seattle, WA
- April 29 - The Jazz Gallery, NYC
- May 7 - Sunset Sunside, Paris, France
- May 8 - Jazz Station, Brussels, Belgium
- May 9 - Bumhuis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- May 10 - Muri Jazz, Muri, CH
- May 31-June 1 - Tamir Hendelman-Music of Miles Davis
- Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa
- July 3 - Saxophone Intensive, California Jazz Cons., Berkeley, CA
- July 20-26 - Langnau Jazz Workshop w/Gretchen Parlato
- September 22-28 - The Village Vanguard - Dayna Stephens Quartet
- December 15-20 - The Village Vanguard - Kenny Barron Quintet
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