My Baby + My Baby
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Le JAZZ NOIR est arrivé!
All JAZZ NOIR pre-orders have shipped!
Warmest thanks to all our friends and fans.
Warmest thanks to all our friends and fans.
PERFECT PEACHES
AZ friends, join us at Sacred Grounds in Scottsdale
this Thursday, February 18 at 7:30 pm
to hear the premiere performance of
PERFECT PEACHES.
this Thursday, February 18 at 7:30 pm
to hear the premiere performance of
PERFECT PEACHES.
STOP, COLLABORATE & LISTEN
Thrilled and honored to have collaborated with
California Poet Laureate DANA GIOIA
on track three of my new album
JAZZ NOIR
California Poet Laureate DANA GIOIA
on track three of my new album
JAZZ NOIR
JAZZ NOIR Liner Notes By EDDIE MULLER
Ask people to name a musical instrument synonymous with film noir, and it’s a safe bet no one will say the flugelhorn, the ax of choice for my man, Dmitri Matheny. It’d be the saxophone, by a landslide. Which is strange, because sax barely figures in scores from the classic era of film noir, roughly 1944-54. Orchestral strings set the tone, in the work of such geniuses as Miklós Rózsa (Double Indemnity), Franz Waxman (Night and the City), and Roy Webb (Out of the Past).
People hearing that saxophone aren’t wrong, however. It’s an understandable misconception, based on how the elastic notion of noir was integrated and adapted into the cultural bloodstream by crime writers, film and television producers, and jazz musicians. It’s a dark and twisted road that’s led us from The Killers (Rózsa, 1946) to Odds Against Tomorrow (John Lewis, 1959) to Taxi Driver (Bernard Herrmann, 1976) to Mulholland Drive (Angelo Badalamenti, 2001). In the roadhouses along the way, combos and arrangements have constantly changed—but the song has remained the same: you suffer for your desire … so you may as well suffer with style.
Dmitri Matheny and I charted this route years ago when we collaborated on a “Jazz-Noir” film series for SFJAZZ, which drew on our respective knowledge of music and film. I came away from the experience with a keener insight and deeper appreciation of the scoring of many favorite films. If our conspiracy struck the spark for this album, I’m proud of the small role I played and thrilled that you get to reap the benefit. I’m just tickled to be name-checked (between Herb Caen and Tony Bennett!) in the album’s centerpiece, “Crime Scenes,” a 12-minute suite that delves into the sexy and sinister side of San Francisco, featuring some amusingly “hard-boiled” spoken-word poetry, including a dame who will “draw a chalk outline around your heart.” It pays loving, backhanded tribute to my hometown, and local sleuths ranging from Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon) to Mike Stone (The Streets of San Francisco).
That’s what I love about Dmitri’s take on noir—it travels the whole route, reaching back to caress the sinuous notes of the venerable “Caravan,” a Juan Tizol composition from 1936 made famous by the Duke Ellington Orchestra, then tracing that sultry promise forward to find Audrey Horne slinking around in shrouded rooms to Badalamenti’s score for Twin Peaks. In these grooves (can’t help it, grew up in a vinyl world), Matheny leads his crack crew through a sonic history of noir, with nods to composers ranging from Harold Arlen to Lalo Schifrin.
The opening “Noir Medley” weaves together unforgettable swatches of scores by Henry Mancini (Touch of Evil), Jerry Goldsmith (Chinatown), David Raksin (Laura), Bernard Herrmann (Vertigo, Taxi Driver) and Harold Arlen (Blues in the Night), and instantly proves that, yes, the flugelhorn can evoke— perfectly—the nocturnal longing of the best noir.
Matheny crafts an eight-minute Gold Medal paperback out of poet Dana Gioia’s “Film Noir,” a pungent roux of small-town trouble straight out of Black Wings Has My Angel, featuring a discontented dame who, “if she shot you dead would finish your drink.”
The extra kick in this road trip is the juxtaposition of venerable jazz standards (“Stormy Weather,” “Estate”) with unexpected, underappreciated gems such as John Williams’ gorgeous “The Long Goodbye,” composed for Robert Altman’s 1973 revisionist take on Philip Marlowe, and Stevie Wonder’s “Golden Lady,” from the same year. (If you don’t think “Golden Lady” is noir, revisit the lyrics: the poor sap is dying to sell his soul for his dream girl.)
Other surprises: a haunting version of Polish composer Bronislaw Kaper’s High Wall, the title theme for the 1947 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer noir of the same name, and the band’s jaunty exit with “What Now My Love?” French composer Gilbert Bécaud’s renowned 1961 hit, covered by everyone from Shirley Bassey to Sonny and Cher, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass to Elvis Presley.
Especially poignant for me is Matheny’s cover of Charlie Haden and Quartet West’s 1995 “Here’s Looking at You,” itself a tribute to the classic noir films that inspired Quartet West’s rich, romantic sound. It’s a beautiful, elegiac nod to a recently fallen comrade.
Like Haden, Dmitri Matheny is an artist who manages to find beauty blooming in the darkest corners. He’s a good man to have along if you’re planning a long drive through an uncertain night.
—Eddie Muller
Known internationally as the “Czar of Noir,” Eddie Muller is a writer, producer and impresario. He is the founder of the Film Noir Foundation, which rescues and restores at-risk noir films from around the globe, and producer and host of San Francisco’s NOIR CITY, the largest festival of film noir in the world (now with seven satellite festivals around the U.S.). He frequently appears on Turner Classic Movies, and has lectured on film noir at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.
50TH BIRTHDAY BASH AT THE NASH
CYBER MONDAY SPECIAL OFFER
50TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
You’re invited to
THE NASH
for Dmitri Matheny’s
50th Birthday Bash
It’s the ideal location
for jazz jubilation on an auspicious occasion
our quinquagenarian celebration
at one of the best clubs in the nation
Saturday
DECEMBER 19
7:30 to 9:30 pm
join us for cake, prizes, games
and live music, featuring
Nick Manson piano
T-Bone Sistrunk bass
John Lewis drums
Dmitri Matheny flugelhorn
and surprise guests
Tickets
$15 general
$12.50 advance
THE NASH
110 E Roosevelt Street Phoenix
thenash.org | 602-795-0464
THE NASH
for Dmitri Matheny’s
50th Birthday Bash
It’s the ideal location
for jazz jubilation on an auspicious occasion
our quinquagenarian celebration
at one of the best clubs in the nation
Saturday
DECEMBER 19
7:30 to 9:30 pm
join us for cake, prizes, games
and live music, featuring
Nick Manson piano
T-Bone Sistrunk bass
John Lewis drums
Dmitri Matheny flugelhorn
and surprise guests
Tickets
$15 general
$12.50 advance
THE NASH
110 E Roosevelt Street Phoenix
thenash.org | 602-795-0464
BLACK FRIDAY SPECIAL OFFER
THE STUFF THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF
In the spirit of today’s THANKSGIVING holiday, I want to express my gratitude to all our supporters, friends and fans for helping to make JAZZ NOIR a reality.
Here’s an update:
We’ve finished all four recording sessions (twelve selections in all), and are now mixing the album!
Last night’s downtown photo shoot — under neon lights, in the shadowy streets — was a cinema-worthy thrill.
Soon we’ll ship the music and images to our art director, annotator and mastering engineer so they may begin their creative work.
We’re on track for a February 20 release and can’t wait to share it with you.
Watch our teaser trailer and pre-order yours HERE.
JAZZ NOIR, in the words of Sam Spade, is “the stuff that dreams are made of.”
Thanks for making our dreams come true!
~Dmitri
JAZZ NOIR UPDATE
Official street date February 20, 2016
Friends — an update on JAZZ NOIR:
We’ve had three terrific recording sessions at studios in Seattle (with saxophonist Jay Thomas, pianist Nick Manson, vibraphonist Susan Pascal, bassist Phil Sparks and drummer Todd Strait) and Oakland (with saxophonist Charles McNeal, pianist Matt Clark, bassist John Wiitala and drummer Akira Tana).
Most of the tracks are now in the can, and the results are beyond our highest expectations.
The fourth and final session (with pianist Bill Anschell) is scheduled for later this month, after which we’ll begin mixing, mastering, design and manufacturing.
In consultation with our distributor, JAZZ NOIR is now scheduled for international release February 20, 2016 on the Papillon/BluePort jazz label.
Watch our teaser trailer and pre-order your copy of JAZZ NOIR here.
We can't wait to share it with you!
Thanks for your support.
Warm regards,
Dmitri
ROAD DOGS
This is how we do it: grilled salmon and mixed greens!
Walkies with Weimaraner wonder dog Lara Knific!
Walkies with Weimaraner wonder dog Lara Knific!
THANK YOU!
THE SEATTLE SEVEN
JAZZ NOIR Session #1
(L-R) Phil Sparks, Todd Strait, Jay Thomas, Nick Manson,
Dmitri Matheny, Bill Anschell, David Lange
David Lange Studios
Edgewood WA
August 20, 2015
(L-R) Phil Sparks, Todd Strait, Jay Thomas, Nick Manson,
Dmitri Matheny, Bill Anschell, David Lange
David Lange Studios
Edgewood WA
August 20, 2015
HANGING TEN
Family Photos
Fortress of Sassitude | Centralia WA
August 12, 2015
Photo by Sassy
Fortress of Sassitude | Centralia WA
August 12, 2015
Photo by Sassy
Q2 PROGRESS REPORT | 2015 RESOLUTIONS
Practice Art Farmer improv method religiously.
Q1—I've been inconsistent in my practice. Will recommit.
Q2 — Doing a little better with this. Teaching helps.
Finish writing Jazz Noir material for 2016 recording.
Q1—Wrote 3 new charts. 2 are keepers. More to come.
Q2 — Now have more than enough material and ready to record.
Create and learn fresh DMG sets: 11 tunes, 2 original.
Q1—Done!
Q2 — Focused on next season’s material now.
Pay health insurance first every month, no matter what.
Q1—So far, so good!
Q2 — Ditto.
Walk or swim daily. Lose 5 pounds monthly, 60 by year-end.
Q1— Down 16 pounds since Jan 1.
Q2 — Cut 36 pounds since Jan 1.
Increase number of workshops nationally from 54 to 100.
Q1—Way behind; only 23 booked so far. Redoubling my efforts.
Q2 — Some progress; 39 booked. Still at it.
Increase touring income by 20% while playing 20 fewer shows.
Q1—Results are mixed: so far I'm working more but making less.
Net income YTD is 43% greater than in Q1 2014, but 40% short of goal,
and per gig average is only 88% of 2014 levels.
Q2 — Still working more, making less...
Bump per gig average by 5% and increase total net income by 27%.
Q1—Not looking good (see above). Imperative that we book considerably more workshops this fall.
Q2 — Ditto.
Eschew cynicism, laugh often and see the best in people.
Q1—They don't make it easy but I'm mostly grateful and happy.
Q2 — Life is good.
When the time is right, get a dog!
Q1—Not yet...
Q2 — Soon!
REMEMBERING ORRIN KEEPNEWS (1923-2015)
MOON ROCKS (KEEPNEWS BLUES) from the album PENUMBRA
(L-R) Dave Ellis tenor saxophone, Dmitri Matheny flugelhorn, Orrin Keepnews producer,
Bill Douglass bass, Kenny Wollesen drums, John Heller guitar
(L-R) Dave Ellis tenor saxophone, Dmitri Matheny flugelhorn, Orrin Keepnews producer,
Bill Douglass bass, Kenny Wollesen drums, John Heller guitar
RESOLUTIONS
FREE SMART PHONE APP
CHRISTMAS JAZZ
JAZZ IN JANUARY
SNOWCAT OPENS THIS WEEKEND
AZ Parents & Grandparents:
Looking for an alternative to the same old holiday shows?
THE SNOWCAT is a family-friendly musical tale that encourages sharing and gratitude.
Join us for the Arizona premiere of Dmitri Matheny's The SnowCat, a special family show with matinée performances Saturday, December 6 at ASU Kerr Cultural Center Scottsdale and Saturday, December 13 at Chandler Center for the Arts.
“In this spellbinding performance,” raves Town & Country, “Matheny and his band weave a magical, musical tale of a little girl searching for her missing white cat on a chilly afternoon. The SnowCat reveals the spirit of sharing and gratitude that makes the holiday season such a wonderful time of year.”
Created especially for children and family audiences, The SnowCat combines storytelling, singing, visual art and live music in a variety of styles, including jazz, blues, jump swing, funk, calypso, samba, tango and R&B.
Featuring the musical talents of Holly Pyle, Andrew Gross, Nick Manson, T-Bone Sistrunk, Dom Moio and Dmitri Matheny.
Our gift to you: a FREE SnowCat coloring book for every child.
Don't miss it!
MY KINDA DAY
ONE PENNY SHIPPING
Still trying to find the perfect gift for your favorite music-lover?
We'll charge only 1¢ shipping when you purchase our music from CDBaby.com between December 1st and 3rd.
Whether you buy 1 disc or 100, it’s only ONE PENNY for standard domestic or international shipping. That's one penny TOTAL.
Here's the link.
And here’s to a music-filled holiday season!
Warmest wishes,
Dmitri
NOBODY'S COOLER THAN SNOWCAT
Arizona friends, join us for the AZ premiere of THE SNOWCAT, a special family show with matinée performances Saturday, December 6 at ASU Kerr Cultural Center Scottsdale and Saturday, December 13 at Chandler Center for the Arts.
“In this spellbinding performance,” raves Town & Country, “Dmitri Matheny and his band weave a magical, musical tale of a little girl searching for her missing white cat on a chilly afternoon. The SnowCat reveals the spirit of sharing and gratitude that makes the holiday season such a wonderful time of year.”
Created especially for children and family audiences, The SnowCat combines storytelling, singing, visual art and live music in a variety of styles, including jazz, blues, jump swing, funk, calypso, samba, tango and R&B. Don't miss it!
“In this spellbinding performance,” raves Town & Country, “Dmitri Matheny and his band weave a magical, musical tale of a little girl searching for her missing white cat on a chilly afternoon. The SnowCat reveals the spirit of sharing and gratitude that makes the holiday season such a wonderful time of year.”
Created especially for children and family audiences, The SnowCat combines storytelling, singing, visual art and live music in a variety of styles, including jazz, blues, jump swing, funk, calypso, samba, tango and R&B. Don't miss it!