HARRIS EISENSTADT: GOLDEN STATE II
Michael Moore, clarinet
Sara Schoenbeck, bassoon
Mark Dresser, contrabass
Harris Eisenstadt, drums, compositions
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CD Liner notes:
Golden State began in Southern California in 2011 as a quartet with Sara Schoenbeck, Mark Dresser and Nicole Mitchell. When Nicole was unable to take part in a summer 2014 Canadian festivals tour, I tried to think of who would be a good fit. I knew I wanted an upper register woodwind instrument to go with bassoon and bass. Mark suggested Michael Moore, and though I hadn’t thought to invite someone who lived as far away as Amsterdam, musically it made perfect sense.
I’ve admired Michael’s soulful and elegant playing ever since hearing Clusone Trio at the Victoriaville festival as an undergraduate in 1998. As Dresser said after we finished this summer tour, Michael is a “musician’s musician.” So are, for that matter, Mark and Sara. All three are virtuoso instrumentalists, deeply imaginative improvisers, generous musical and personal spirits, and consummate individualists.
There are few live recordings in my discography as a leader. Yet what you have here is just that, from the last concert of the tour at one of my favorite festivals, the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and in my favorite venue there, The Ironworks. In addition to the relevant thank yous you’ll find in the album credits, I would like to thank the fantastic audience from that special evening. While it is a pleasure to record in studios with beautiful live rooms and great gear, it might be true that our music is best experienced in packed venues built for close listening, as The Ironworks is. As musicians we are responsible for bringing open hearts and total concentration to the stage, but the music is also elevated by an unspoken intimacy that can exist between musicians and audience. It felt great in the room that night and I trust that comes through on this recording. Enjoy.
Harris Eisenstadt, Brooklyn, November 2014
„Pure magic… a rare compositional talent.“
-John Kelman / All About Jazz