Vital Information
Steve
Smith
drumset and
konnakol
Tom Coster
keyboards and accordion
Baron Browne
bass
Vinny Valentino
guitar
Special
Guests
Bill Evans
tenor and soprano
saxophones
Pete
Lockett
tabla, kanjira, percussion and konnakol
Gilad,
congas and percussion
Juan Carlos Melián
congas
and percussion
Produced
by Steve Smith
Executive
Producers
Paul Siegel and Rob Wallis
Released on Hudson Music
Tracks
1. Interwoven Rhythms - Synchronous
2. Get Serious
3. The
Trouble With
4. The Bottom Line
5. Seven and a Half
6.
Interwoven Rhythms - Dialogue
7.
J Ben Jazz
8. Groove Time
9. You Know What I Mean
10. The
Closer
11. Jimmy Jive (for Jimmy
Smith)
12. Positano
Recording
Details
Recorded December 5-15, 2006, and
Mixed January 28-February 2, 2007, by
Robert
M. Biles
at Bob’s Hardware in Silverlake, CA
Mastered by
Jim Brick
at Absolute Audio, Atlantic Highlands,
NJ, February, 2007 |
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Expanded Liner Notes for Vitalization
The drummer in every band has the capacity
to become the “de facto” leader and arranger,
just by his strong voice, and the complimentary
nature of the instrument. In performance,
drummer Steve Smith fits into this mold
perfectly. However, as a bandleader and a
musician he brings much more to the table.
Smith’s background of musical experience
ranges far and wide. Most recently he’s been
touring with a new incarnation of Mike
Mainieri’s Steps Ahead, playing Indian/fusion
with George Brooks’ Summit (featuring Zakir
Hussain on tabla), and leading his new
straight-ahead quintet Jazz Legacy (with Andy
Fusco, Walt Weiskopf, Mark Soskin and Baron
Browne.) Yet, it’s his group Vital Information
that is the culmination of all these influences,
the canvas for his ever-expanding musical
palette.
These endeavors have had a
direct impact on the music Vital Information
creates, which is always a unique blend of
traditions combined with fresh ingredients.
Their new recording Vitalization continues this
expansive approach.
Vitalization, the
twelfth recording by Steve Smith and Vital
Information, features longtime band members
Steve Smith on drums, Tom Coster on keyboards,
bassist Baron Browne and introduces Vinny
Valentino as the band’s new guitarist.
Smith’s recent musical activities have inspired
him to
include special guests and an
international flavor. Saxophonist Bill Evans,
percussionists Pete Lockett (from London), Gilad
(from Israel) and Juan Carlos Melián (from
Spain), all make important contributions to
Vitalization.
Smith explained these
contributions for the new record from his New
York City home, "Bill Evans is one of my
favorite sax players. We tour together in both
Steps Ahead and Soulbop. In 2003, Bill toured
with Vital Information as a special guest and
appears with us on the Hudson Music DVD, Modern
Drummer Festival 2003. I was hearing sax on four
of the tunes, so it was natural to ask Bill to
play."
Over the past five years, Steve
Smith has been studying and playing Indian
rhythms, practicing konnakol (South Indian vocal
percussion) and has started playing the ghatam,
the South Indian clay-pot drum. As a result,
Smith has a new interest in hand percussion,
which has led to the international flavor on
Vitalization.
Smith speaks highly of the
percussion contributors to the recording. "Gilad
is now living in New York City, which is where I
first saw him playing in Vinny Valentino's band.
I was taken by his interesting ideas and
virtuosity. Juan Carlos Melián and I met at a
drum camp in Marktoberdorf, Germany where we
were both teachers. He sat in with Vital
Information on a European tour in 2004 and we
all enjoyed his vibe and musical approach to
percussion."
Both percussionists excel
on the congas, cajón and all of the various
ethnic shakers and "toys." Konnakol is heard on
"Interwoven Rhythms - Synchronous" and
"Dialogue.” These tunes feature the remarkable
world percussionist
Pete Lockett.
Of
his percussive partner Smith says, "Pete has
world-class knowledge and abilities on the tabla
(from the North Indian Hindustani tradition) and
kanjira and konnakol (from South Indian Carnatic
music). We've played a few duo and trio concerts
over the years, which gave me the idea to have
him play on Vitalization. I incorporated some
Indian rhythmic ideas on our last recording,
Come On In, but I wanted to take that approach
even further, so I invited Pete to enhance the
new music.”
With true musical maturity,
Smith leaves plenty of space for all of the
guest percussionists to season the music. Over
the past few years the rest of Vital
Information’s palette has been expanding as
well.
While Tom Coster is still turning
up the heat in classic Hammond B3 style on his
new Korg BX3, he is now conjuring otherworldly
synth sounds and navigating the band’s new odd
time signatures with more ease, allowing him to
interject his soulful personality upon every
note that he plays. Bassist Baron Browne is
further defining his role within the music as a
creative soloist, while never forsaking his role
as keeper of the groove.
Which brings us
to Vital Information’s newest member, Vinny
Valentino. Smith remarks, “Vinny grew up playing
in Hammond B3 trios and has that deep swing
ingrained into his playing. He's extremely
funky, has a warm sound and is a strong
composer. When our long-time guitarist Frank
Gambale left the band to develop his solo
career, Vinny was our first choice to step into
the group.”
Valentino grew up in
Washington DC and is a graduate of Howard
University. He has played with everyone from
Jimmy McGriff and George Benson (his guitar
mentor), to Bill Evans, John Pattitucci and
Dennis Chambers. It is Benson who calls Vinny a
"young genius with brilliant tone and fresh
ideas." Valentino has seven recordings as a
leader.
After Vinny joined the band in
July 2006, the band embarked on some "collective
writing" and Valentino's Adirondack lakeside
mountain retreat was the perfect setting for
creativity. This process was nothing new to the
band but the locale and the environment were
entirely different.
After 10 days of
extensive jamming, composing and arranging,
Vital Information emerged from the mountains of
upstate New York with more than an albums worth
of new music. "But then we did something
different," Smith reveals, "We took the new
music on the road performing it live before
making the record. This is something we’ve
always wanted to do."
All of the new
music has touches of inspiration from Smith’s
latest experiences, the expected fire and groove
from Browne and Coster, and a refined sense of
swing that Valentino brings to the mix.
"Interwoven Rhythms - Synchronous" finds Lockett
and Smith’s konnakol vocals synchronized over a
modern “trancelike” groove featuring Baron’s
dancing bass line and Coster’s floating electric
keyboard. Vinny finds the perfect spaces to
interject some classic rhythm guitar that ties
everything together. At the conclusion of every
phrase, we hear unison konnakol and drum set
that is simply staggering.
"Get Serious"
is an exemplary Tom Coster composition -- tight
unison lines, gorgeous chords, soaring melodies
and dynamic basslines. The percussion section of
Juan Carlos and Gilad support the melodies as
well as the adventurous improvisations of both
Valentino and Coster.
The intro finds
Smith playing the syncopated melody on the toms
along with Browne, Coster and Gilad. The tension
builds even further when Smith introduces a
jagged yet appropriate groove. All of this
musical tension is released when Valentino’s
guitar melody enters like a breath of fresh air.
Vinny’s solo remains bright, suspended
above Coster’s probing chords. For his own solo
Coster focuses on the more sinister demeanor of
his harmony and he waits until the very end to
brighten things up. The tune comes full circle
when the band, along with Juan Carlos and Gilad,
takes it out, playing the angular melody in
unyielding unison.
Of "The Trouble With"
Smith says, "Vinny has been playing this with
his own band for a while. When I heard it, I
thought it was a perfect ‘Vital Info’ tune with
its compelling groove and soulful melody. It’s
an ideal vehicle for some high powered soloing.”
The song kicks-off with some serious
rhythm work by the composer; rarely has a rhythm
guitar part been used so effectively as an
intro. A traditional Motown drum fill escorts
Bill Evans’ muscular tenor saxophone into the
melody. Both Valentino and Evans’ solos are
instigated by duets with the drummer. With
Valentino, Smith’s snare and bass drum answer
(and occasionally end) the guitarist’s slippery
phrases.
Coster forgoes the duet, and
cuts right to the point with a super-funky organ
solo that stabs and darts, building up to a
soulful and gradual explosion from Evans. Smith
and Evans begin with a duet that leaves you
wanting more and Bill proceeds to weave his way
through the solo form as though he’s played it a
thousand times. The band then lays down a nice
vamp for Steve to solo over, climaxing with some
furious single strokes before the final chord.
The title for Vinny's up-tempo blues "The
Bottom Line" has a dual meaning. It is a
remembrance of the famous and departed New York
City club that the band always loved playing,
while the tune itself is framed perfectly by the
bottom line bass orchestrations of Baron Browne.
This is some of Smith’s most swinging drumming
to date and it inspires the rest of the band to
do just the same.
Pay close attention to
Valentino’s Grant Green inspired half time
entrance to his guitar solo. Smith and his new
associate show a wonderful telepathy throughout
Vinny’s well structured and swinging offering.
Evans’ solo (this time on soprano) uses
Browne’s creatively shifting and smooth “bottom
line” to help him reach new heights. The band
plays some well-orchestrated accompaniment to
Smith’s solo, before wrapping it up.
The
tune "Seven and a Half," is based on a tribal
sounding drum rhythm that Smith came up with in
15/8, which South Indian musicians call 7 1/2.
This drum theme, which Lockett doubles in
perfect unison on the kanjira, reappears each
time with an altered ending repeated three times
before resolving to beat one, what the Indian
musicians call a “tihai.”
Unfortunately,
tunes written in odd times sometime contain
mechanical grooves that never seem to rise above
merely stating the “uneven” time signature.
However, with Vital Information, this is clearly
not the case -- this tune grooves hard.
In fact, Smith and the band make the Indian
concept of playing in 7 1/2 downright funky.
They collectively accomplish this by playing
through the “ones” and concentrating on their
entire soloing statements instead of the exotic
time signature. Note the scorching “rock-guitar”
solo after Smith’s outrageous solo; it’s
actually a synth solo by Coster!
On the
atmospheric “Interwoven Rhythms - Dialogue” we
hear Smith’s doubled konnakol vocal on the left
and right sides, while Lockett’s improvisations
are heard in the middle. They exchange phrases
for the entire composition only joining together
in unison near the end of the piece. This all
happens over a ethereal and pulsing groove that
is propelled by Baron’s fretless bass and Smith’
s new Tala Wands on a sizzling Zildjian Flat
Ride.
While Vinny Valentino’s "J Ben
Jazz," (dedicated to Vinny’s bass playing buddy
John Benitez) opens and closes with some
inspired conga soloing from Gilad, the tune
belongs to bassist Baron Browne. He not only
contributes an elegant fretless bass solo, but
his harmonic and rhythmic underpinnings really
make this tune come alive. After two choruses of
bass bliss, the band drops out for Valentino’s
serene, yet metrically intricate, chordal solo,
which becomes a vamp for Smith’s most powerful
solo on the record, which happens to be in 13.
"You Know What I Mean" is quintessential
Vital Information. This composition, written by
the entire band, is based on some of Smith’s
funkiest drumbeats to date. For this tune, Steve
combines many different approaches and concepts
of funk.
At the beginning we hear the
snaky and slippery style of 70s San Francisco
funk, he eventually morphs this with some second
line feel and later swings hard with a backbeat
-- some NYC “swunk” -- and Baron Browne is with
him every step of the way, the two musicians
working as one. In his guitar solo Valentino
maneuvers the shifting ground by taking chances
and landing on his feet.
After Bill
Evans’ haunting soprano saxophone enters, Smith
introduces a feel reminiscent of Al Foster’s
drumming with Miles Davis. This unique approach
implies half time and double time
simultaneously, giving the soloist lots of room.
Gilad’s melodic congas and Vinny’s
wickedly funky guitar serve to further enhance
this extraordinarily grooving interlude.
Finally, all of the melodic lines reappear,
twisting around one another before Evans and
Coster trade some angular phrases and take us
home.
Upon close listening, you’ll notice
that the aptly titled "Groove
Time" and
"Jimmy Jive" are the same tune, written by Tom
Coster, with two contrasting treatments. For
"Groove Time" the band incorporates some
Washington, DC "Go-Go" rhythms into the
arrangement and for "Jimmy Jive" the band
embraces a greasy Jimmy Smith approach. Tom
dedicates the latter version to the late B3
master.
“The Closer” is a fusion tour de
force. The band usually writes a larger than
life set closer for every recording and there is
no doubt that this one provides the fireworks
that Vital Information is known for.
This moniker is defined by Vinny and Tom’s
searing exchanges, Baron’s virtuosic solo and
Steve and Vinny’s blazing duet. “The Closer” is
in fact a three-part suite that starts in a
swinging jazz-rock mode, moves into a fusion
middle section, recapitulates part one with even
more energy and culminates – in classic Vital
Info style – with a blistering drum solo over a
vamp.
“Positano”
is a lovely coda to a masterful recording. One
can feel the romance when listening to Vinny
Valentino's beautiful serenade of a ballad,
featuring Coster on his accordion.
After
20 plus years, Vital Information’s expanding
musical territory is larger than ever.
Vitalization is an exciting new chapter in this
hard working band's ongoing history.
-
Mark Griffith
drummer - recording
artist - author - historian |
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Questions?
Write
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"Steve
and
company
have a
solid
home run
with
Vitalization.
Everyone
can
enjoy
this at
any
level of
appreciation.
For
those
that
listen
to the
"songs",
they
will
enjoy
some
great
music,
while
those
that
listen
"note
for
note"
will
appreciate
the
incredible
performances
and
energetic
pace of
the
project.
Overall
I would
have to
give
this
recording
a solid
5-Star
rating
and
strongly
recommend
it to
anyone
that
enjoys
the
creative
musical
style
called
Fusion
and
anyone
that
appreciates
a great
Jazz
recording."
--
Rick
Calic,
jazzrockworld.com
"...this
fusion
supergroup
is right
at the
top of
their
game
offering
hard
hitting
stuff
fueled
by pros
that
refused
to rest
on their
existing
chops,
continuing
to push
their
boundaries
into new
realms.
If
you've
been
digging
the
recent
fusion
renaissance
from the
classic
players,
this is
going to
be
another
feather
in your
musical
cap."
--
Chris
Spector,
Midwest
Record
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