Personnel:
Patrick Knwoles (vcl) and Richie Cole (as), with The Alto Madness Orchestra Danny Walsh (ts), Vince Cutro (tp), Rick Stepton (tb), Andrei Ryabov (g), Rick Crane (b), Wayne Dunton (d), Coleman Richards (perc)
Reference: FSRCD 802
Bar code: 8437328608022
A new production & Jazz Show dedicated to the legendary jazz greats, Buddy Rich & his Big Band, and Buddy Greco the man & his music.
"I first met Patrick Knowles while performing in New York City & came across him singing At St. Nick's Club in Harlem. I thought what great delivery & could he Swing!. We hit it off right away & have worked on & off together these last few years.
My first Big break came all those years ago with the Buddy Rich Big Band & the lessons I learned in those formative years & Patrick's love of the music of Buddy Greco became a natural discussion point for us. I of course played with Buddy Rich & Buddy Greco together on those famous American N.B.C. T.V. Shows & in particular remember appearing with them both at Ronnie Scott's Club in London. My Solo that night on "You Rotten Kid" will live with me forever.To have both the Composer & the Arranger accompaning me was something else. So the Idea of "A Tribute To Our Buddies" came quite naturally, especially since for the last seven years I have been creating my new, original concept, The Alto Madness Orchestra. I have always loved the Buddy Rich Big Band Sound, so I set out to develop new arranging techniques to create the sound & style of a Big Band, in the tradition of Buddy Rich, using only Four Horns & Three personel in the Rhythm Section. So the sound of the Alto Madness Orchestra with the Voice of Patrick Knowles was born. I have had other Artists record with my Band before,most recently the great French guitarist Patrick Soussois ("It's The Same Thing Everywhere" on DJAZ Records,France), but this is the first time I have featured a vocalist. We sat down on my Yacht berthed in the Florida Keys & made a plan. Half of the selections would honour the great Buddy Rich instrumemtally & the other half would be a tribute to Patrick,s all round favourite, Buddy Greco. We chose the Songs & I went to work. I enjoyed writing the arrangements for this project so very much. I especially enjoyed taking some of the much performed standards & putting my own Twist on them for that Alto Madness touch.
It was a real treat to bring back the legendary Coleman Richards out of retirement. A man who cast his wide shadow on the early days of Jazz.Thank you Coleman. And thank you Patrick (or should I say "One Take Patrick" -everytime right on the button-). It was a real pleasure working with you on this project & THIS IS THE START OF SOMETHING BIG."
Richie Cole (June 1st 2003, Trenton, New Jersey)
