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| Doug Talley, from his online press materials |
One of my summer music highlights was a trip to Kansas City to hear saxophonist Doug Talley’s program of Wayne Shorter’s Blue Note tunes. I’d heard it three summers ago, and ever since, I’d been craving another visit to the Wayne spa.
Before the first hearing, I remember feeling skeptical about the prospect of this repertory concept, and I was also intrigued. But after the first few tunes, the total immersion in the glorious melodies and mysterious structures created a soothing state of enlightenment. And the band was great, with all players confronting the music on their own terms.
This time, the quintet played at the American Jazz Museum’s Blue Room, probably the most prestigious venue in the city for serious listening. Talley’s group includes Joe Parisi (trumpet), Wayne Hawkins (piano), Tim Brewer (bass) and Keith Kavanaugh (drums).
It was a weird experience, appreciating the master’s body of work and the musicians’ individual talents all at once. Shorter loomed as the sixth man on stage.
Talley said he’s learned a great deal not only from Shorter’s composing but also the way he interprets his work.
“When he plays his own music, I like the way he renders the melodies,” he said. “It took me a long time to enjoy his soloing on some tunes. It didn’t reach me at the time. I’d wonder, why is he doing that? Then I’d start playing the tune and I’d realize, he’s doing that because the tune asks that.”
Talley said Shorter is an acquired taste, and his songs are not easy to play.
“A lot of his tunes, you can’t just play some bebop line and expect to survive,” he said. “Typically, the melodies are simple, and the underlying chords are not. It’s almost like a puzzle, though I’m sure that’s not the way he would describe it.”
The simple elegance of the melodic lines creates an enjoyable entry point for the audience.
Talley said he was in high school when he first encountered Shorter’s music, during the Weather Report era. He listened backward to the Blue Note classics and the work with Art Blakey before that. Talley and his friends owned a few of the Blue Notes.
“We couldn’t figure out what he was doing or anything like that. It was way too complex for us at the time,” he said. The songs must be heard over time until they become a part of you, he said.
Before the first hearing, I remember feeling skeptical about the prospect of this repertory concept, and I was also intrigued. But after the first few tunes, the total immersion in the glorious melodies and mysterious structures created a soothing state of enlightenment. And the band was great, with all players confronting the music on their own terms.
This time, the quintet played at the American Jazz Museum’s Blue Room, probably the most prestigious venue in the city for serious listening. Talley’s group includes Joe Parisi (trumpet), Wayne Hawkins (piano), Tim Brewer (bass) and Keith Kavanaugh (drums).
It was a weird experience, appreciating the master’s body of work and the musicians’ individual talents all at once. Shorter loomed as the sixth man on stage.
Talley said he’s learned a great deal not only from Shorter’s composing but also the way he interprets his work.
“When he plays his own music, I like the way he renders the melodies,” he said. “It took me a long time to enjoy his soloing on some tunes. It didn’t reach me at the time. I’d wonder, why is he doing that? Then I’d start playing the tune and I’d realize, he’s doing that because the tune asks that.”
Talley said Shorter is an acquired taste, and his songs are not easy to play.
“A lot of his tunes, you can’t just play some bebop line and expect to survive,” he said. “Typically, the melodies are simple, and the underlying chords are not. It’s almost like a puzzle, though I’m sure that’s not the way he would describe it.”
The simple elegance of the melodic lines creates an enjoyable entry point for the audience.
Talley said he was in high school when he first encountered Shorter’s music, during the Weather Report era. He listened backward to the Blue Note classics and the work with Art Blakey before that. Talley and his friends owned a few of the Blue Notes.
“We couldn’t figure out what he was doing or anything like that. It was way too complex for us at the time,” he said. The songs must be heard over time until they become a part of you, he said.
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| Joe Parisi, from FBCC.net |
Talley’s group is usually a quartet, with Parisi frequently joining in. In addition to the Shorter program, the quartet plays non-themed performances.
The quartet, which formed in 1995, has composed and performed music for silent movies, including Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lodger” and three Chaplin works.
Since 1984, Talley has worked as a music teacher in the Shawnee Mission School District, on the Kansas side of the K.C. metro area. His career has spanned all grade levels, currently grades 8-12.
The quartet, which formed in 1995, has composed and performed music for silent movies, including Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lodger” and three Chaplin works.
Since 1984, Talley has worked as a music teacher in the Shawnee Mission School District, on the Kansas side of the K.C. metro area. His career has spanned all grade levels, currently grades 8-12.
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| The quartet, from left: Wayne Hawkins (piano), Tim Brewer (bass), Doug Talley (saxophones), Keith Kavanaugh (drums/cymbals). Photo from Talley's online press materials. |
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