Goodbye Sirone

Gone is another jazz artist for year 2009. Bassist and composer Sirone died last October 21 at his second home, in Berlin, Germany.

Norris "Sirone" Jones  was born on September 28, 1940. He got into music by playing trombone and eventually switched to bass in the late fifties after being expelled from his high school band. A decision that would lead him to a life-long career in jazz beginning with George Adams in their hometown Atlanta, Georgia.

Sirone was always on the move. Like most prodigious jazz artists, he was drawn to the big apple relocating there in 1965. He established himself as a leading contributor to 70's avant-garde jazz movement with the Revolutionary Ensemble. A reed-less trio with AACM's Leroy Jenkins on violin, and Jerome Cooper on percussion. Their group was among the first to meld contemporary classical music to avant-garde jazz. Favoring color, tone, abstraction of rhythm, and intense musical interaction now known to many as chamber jazz.

A story he often told with both amusement and rancor, was their trio held a badge of notoriety for drawing displeasure to Quincy Jones. When their album The People's Republic was played by Herb Alpert at a party, A&M's artistic director Jones dismissed it as "not music". The album was released under Alpert & Moss' ill-fated subsidiary label Harmony.

In 1989, a grant received from the German Academic Exchange Service allowed Sirone to teach in Europe. While in Germany, he was able to express himself on various forms of media -- composing and playing music for film and television. Aside from doing live performances and studio work, he also has theater to his credit, collaborating with his spouse Veronika and Pulitzer prize winner Samuel Sheppard.

Sixty nine year old Sirone has recorded three albums under his name. He also appeared on numerous free jazz albums of Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders, Marion Brown, Sonny Sharrock, and The Jazz Composers Orchestra.

He is survived by his wife Veronika Nowag-Jones.

Together with colleagues, friends, and us fans of Sirone, Cultchas crew expresses its sincerest sympathy to his family for the loss of a remarkable artist. Goodbye Sirone.

 

(1) Sirone portrait was shot and cropped from Pharoah Sanders LP cover, Izipho Zam (My Gifts), released under Strata East Label. Original photo by Martin Bough.

(2) Video and audio by Robert O'Haire at straw2gold pictures. Posted with kind permssion from Mr. O'Haire. Project L'Afrique Garde: Michael Wimberly (drums & percussion), Nioka Workman (cello), Abdoulaye N'Diaye (saxophones), and Sirone (bass) Ras Moshe's MUSIC NOW at The Brecht Forum, NYC June 28th, 2008.

Vioncello's Fireman Emanuel Feuermann

With four strings tuned C, G, D, and A; the Vioncello or simply Cello has been a mainstay of classical music since the 16th century.

It is difficult to fathom chamber music without the sound of Cello in its spectrum. However, on a larger setting, its sound is easily engulfed by an orchestra during solo passages. Chief reason why this instrument has fewer concertos over its smaller sibling, the violin.

By the same token, there are only a handful of string artists who belong to the Pantheon of great cellists. There is Pablo Casals; his former student, Jacqueline Du Pre; and of course, Emanuel "Munio" Feuermann.

Born 22nd of Novermber 1902 in Kolomyia, Galicia. Emanuel belonged to a household  exceptionally predisposed to music. His parents were both amateur musicians while his elder brother Zigmund was a violin prodigy.

Emmanuel was destined to be a cellist. At four, tutored by his father, he insisted to play the violin  they way Antonio Stradivari redesigned the cello -- upright.

He made his concert debut playing Haydn's Cello Concerto in 1914. A few years later, barely seventeen years of age, he became a professor at Cologne Conservatory until 1923.

An unrelenting perfectionist who despised compliments and the instrument itself; he lamented cello as monstrous beast, difficult and  impossible. Words hard to reconcile against his performances' facile elegance.

Feuermann was well respected by his peers. "Feuermann is the true fireman of cello!", once exclaimed by his friend, violin virtuoso, Jascha Heifetz. Even his idol Casals, who is considered by many as history's finest on the instrument, regarded him as the greatest living cellist.

Word has it that Feuermann could play the original score of Mendelssohn's violin concerto on his cello. Another version of this story is him performing the entire frenetic third movement by bowing a violin held in vertical position.

His untimely death in 1942 via a routine medical operation is one of the great tragedies in the annals of classical music. A day marked by outpouring of grief, with no less than the great Arturo Toscanini crying "murder!" on Emanuel's funeral.

Cultchas crew now present the volcanic genius of the vioncello, Emanuel Feuermann.

(1) Emanuel Feuermann portrait posted with kind permission from Mr. David Sanders of Montagnana books
(2) Young Emanuel Feuermann portrait posted with kind permission from Ms. Selma Gokcen of Well-Tempered Musician

(3) Emanuel Feuermann performance photo with Jascha Heifetz from the Internet Cello Society
(4) Video from Youtube with kind permission from Marking19. Last known surviving footage of Emanuel in 1939 performing Antonin Dvorak's Rondo Op. 94 and David Popper's Spinnlied with Theodore Saidenberg.

Boss Guitarist George Benson

Growing up during the eighties meant playing, with a lot of imagination, Doctor J vs. Larry Bird on Atari; watching Mr. T and the rest of the gang build DIY anti-bad guy contraptions on A Team; Thriller of Michael Jackson, (yes, I tried to dress, sing, and dance like MJ, not a pretty sight) and of course, the famous ballads of George Benson.

It has been years since I've last played George Benson cuts even for casual listening. If it weren't for a recent thread on one of the Internet's biggest online Jazz resource, AAJ, his albums will still remain enclosed and untouched on my inactive shelf of LPs, tapes and CDs.

I first encountered George Benson via his hit tunes Nothing's gonna change my love for you and In your eyes. Apart from those, my knowledge about him was limited to his dandy vocals.

It took me a while to realize he was a "good" guitarist. When I saw him play live on TV , my interest was piqued as he was playing notes from his guitar exactly how he sang them. First time I saw such a feat.

This led to a series of search, starve, and buy missions starting off with a Don Sebesky backed session White Rabbit on CTI records. It wasn't long when I got hold of his releases with Columbia where he was playing serious stuff. At the onset, I could not believe what enormous skill and talent he had put to waste by singing pop tunes. I labeled him a sell-out and at the same time, guitar god.

Benson's guitar work is full of flawless, razor-sharp phrasings and explosive single note runs. It was as normal as breathing. Just when I thought he had run out of gas, he'll put in full- bodied octaves reminiscent of Wes Montgomery during solos. His rhythmic and harmonic sophistication was also something to marvel. While listening, I could not stop thinking him saying, kiss my axe!

Years have passed, I now realize my grave mistake of Mr. Benson's criticism. It was all borne out of ignorance for good musicmanship, and being insensitive to his circumstance.

Along with elite artists like Nat King Cole, George Benson is one of few musicians who have attained critical and commercial success in different genres. It is with greatest love of all that cultchas crew vote him as one of the world's versatile artists and most wicked six string slingers to have walked on this planet. Take it away boss George....

 

1. Images from George Benson website
2. Video  from Youtube by JazzAudrey. Live cover of Dave Brubeck Quartet's classic hit, Take Five (plus Buck Rogers Nihonggo) with Sadao Watanabe.