MOMENT TO MOMENT - Remembering HARRY WHITAKER

Just yesterday morning I found out about the passing of Mr. Harry Whitaker. For those who are not acquainted with him, Harry was a brilliant piano player, arranger and composer. Coincidentally as some of my dearest friends, he was born on September 19 1942 in Pensacola, Florida and grew up in Detroit, influenced by the town's fertile music scene.

Harry was part of that super creative post-bitches-brew generation that took spiritual jazz to another level, giving birth to outstanding sessions of oniric music. In New York he became part of Roy Ayers' legendary band "Ubiquity" contributing with outstanding compositions such as "We Live In Brooklyn, Baby!". He later collaborated with R&B singer Roberta Flack serving as musical director for almost a decade and countless are his collaborations with other artists.

As a leader Harry produced several recordings recorded over the years - since the mid 70's - that were released by different labels at different times. One of his most acclaimed albums "Black Renaissance" was issued a few years ago by the record label Ubiquity Records. The session included jazz legends like Dave Schnitter, Woody Shaw, Billy Hart, Buster Williams just to name a few.

For an extensive view on Harry's life and releases you can read this very accurate article: http://www.waxpoetics.com/2010/11/rip-harry-whitaker/ and his own website: http://www.harrywhitaker.com/

My personal experience with Harry goes very deep and is one of the most important relationships I've had in my life. I feel very fortunate to have spent so many hours with him being trained on a musical and human level. I always think of Harry as one of my mentors and a true friend during my New York days. Harry and I got close around the year 2000 when he would sub for piano player Ehud Asherie at our regular gig at Rockefeller Center. I loved playing with him as the unexpected would always happen. During that time I'd go visit him at his pad. Sometimes he would cook for me - he was an excellent cook - and we'd talk and listen to music of all kinds for countless hours. I already knew how blessed I was to be experiencing those moments. I especially loved Harry's sensitivity - he was a philosopher of his own kind - and his sense of humor. He would always preach about his "Moment To Moment" approach to music and to life. He always loved to talk about women in a very respectful and insightful way, and that's why - I assume, he had a lot of female friends. He used to play regularly at Smalls and Fat Cat, but I especially enjoyed hearing him at Arturo's Pizzeria where he 'd play for 2 or 3 days a week. There was a special energy during those nights, the place packed with customers, musicians and singers that would line up to sit in. And Harry made sure everybody got a chance to play! Through him I got to meet many amazing musicians I later got to perform with. Every time somebody asks me what my influences are, Harry's name instantly pops up in my head and that's how meaningful his presence in my life has been. R.I.P. Mr. Harry Whitaker, love you forever!

China Tour + Future Plans

I recently came back from a wonderful tour in China with a new project called The Tectonic Quartet along with Michael Blake on saxophone, Teddy Kumpel on guitar and Peter Scherr on bass. Peter, a Hong Kong resident for now 20 years, has been covering a very important role in spreading creative music projects all over China for several years. After a two-days rehearsal in his wonderful recording studio we took off to mainland China cruising through many different cities for a total of 9 concerts in 10 days. I particularly enjoyed playing at the outdoor JZ festival in a beautiful park in Shanghai which reminded me of Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park. As it often happens nowadays Jazz Festivals include not so jazzy acts, but then again what is jazz anyway? Shanghai was definitely a mesmerizing city, very international and racially diverse.

Another remarkable venue was in Qingdao, famous for its Tsingtao Beer brewery. Once a German colony Qingdao faces the Yellow Sea and South Korea. We played in a beautiful art space called the Redstar 401 run by Steve Madiwen, an American entrepreneur living in China for more than two decades. Here's a clip of our performance:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjE3NjIyNzQ0.html

Playing at Freedom House in Changsha was also very fascinating. A cozy cafe' situated in the ancient part of town, this place is run by a few hippie guys and girls who serve delicious teas and coffees and spend countless hours carving oddly shaped pieces of wood while listening to experimental jazz. Hanging out with these beautiful people was for me definitely one of the highlights of the tour.

Once back in Hong Kong, after a day break, we started working in Pete's recording studio to lay down a considerable number of tracks that we had been playing live. Mixing and editing is now in process and I look forward to hear the result of 3 very inspiring days. After this we went and played our most fierce performance at another very atmospheric venue, Hidden Agenda, located on the 3rd floor of a building in an industrial area of Hong Kong, which made the perfect conclusion to a very successful tour. A very entertaining take on all this was published by Michael Blake on his Blog. Definitely worth reading!

Now back in Italy I just played Auditorium Parco Della Musica in Rome for the annual "Gezz - Roma Jazz Festival" with piano player Alessandro Lanzoni and bassist Gabriele Evangelista. I have been playing with these young talents for a year and a half now and overtime this project is growing deeper and deeper, always finding new ways of self-expression. Hopefully we will release an album in the near future.

Next month I will be playing with an excellent quintet featuring Michele Polga (saxophone), Fabrizio Bosso (trumpet), Luca Mannutza (piano) and Luca Bulgarelli (bass). For details on the itinerary please see the "Shows" page. Ciao!!!

HelpJazz.com

I made this little video to help my friends at Search & Restore create a community for a new generation of jazz fans. Log in at http://helpjazz.com/ and contribute towards a new jazz scene worldwide! Enjoy!!!