Phil Grenadier "Playful Intentions"

Brian P · May-13th-2003, 12:59 AM

Phil Grenadier "Playful Intentions" (Fresh Sound New Talent)
Phil Grenadier (tp), Kurt Rosenwinkel (g), Bill Carrothers (p), Larry Grenadier (b), Jeff Ballard (d)

1. Borderick (Bud Powell)
2. At a Loss (Brad Mehldau)
3. What is This Unanswered Question? (Phil Grenadier/Charles Ives)
4. Playful Intention (Phil Grenadier)
5. Ellipsis (Phil Grenadier)
6. Idiotheque (Radiohead/Paul Lansky)
7. More Mist From Cali (Phil Grenadier)
8. Tough Love (Phil Grenadier)
9. On the Bound (Fiona Apple)
10. Speak Low (Kurt Weill)
11. Give'Er (group improv)

"Jiveman's" second release is just out on Fresh Sound and was well worth the wait! With the exception of bassist/brother Larry, Phil has assembled a whole new crew from his debut CD (the highly recommended "Sweet Transients") and takes the music in a slightly different direction.

It's still too early for me to get into much detail (only listened once through so far) but I can say that "Playful Intentions" is a worthy title for these 11 tracks. It sounds like the 5 musicians on this session had a ball in the studio!

This one is sure to get many spins in my CD player in the coming months. Highly recommended.

Congrats Phil.

hearsay · May-13th-2003, 11:17 AM

Congrats to Phil, I look forward to hearing this, looks like some interesting song choices. That Radiohead is one of my favorites, and it should be interesting to hear what Phil did with that Ives piece.

That's a great cover too, did they design that over at FSNT?

Sergio Zamora · May-13th-2003, 12:12 PM

Fresh Sounds is a European label, right? Who is its distributor on this side?

And can somebody recommend at least a couple more albums on this label?

hearsay · May-13th-2003, 12:51 PM

How about Brett Sroka "hearsay", it's not bad.

Who distributes them is a mystery to most people.

Sergio Zamora · May-13th-2003, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hearsay
How about Brett Sroka "hearsay", it's not bad.,

Well, yes, there is that one.

So, I suppose the best place to get Fresh Sound is directly from them, right? I assumed that, which is why I'd like to order at least three albums together.

Tom Storer · May-13th-2003, 03:45 PM

You can order from their web site. Start with three w's and a dot, then Fresh Sound Records minus the spaces, then a dot com, and you'll get there. Eventually you'll find the list of "Fresh Sound New Talent".

Brian P · May-14th-2003, 02:36 AM

Hearsay's record is indeed tempting .. I may have to put in yet another order to Fresh Sound ...

Others FSNT records that I find myself listening to over and over ...

CHRIS CHEEK "Vine"
PHIL GRENADIER "Sweet Transients"
ALEXIS CUADRADO "Metro"
REID ANDERSON "The Vastness Of Space"
MARK ZUBEK "Horse With A Broken Leg"
NUNO FERREIRA QUINTET "Long Distance Calls"
BILL McHENRY "Rest Stop"
OMER AVITAL GROUP "Think WIth Your Heart"
THE BAD PLUS "The Bad Plus"
SEAMUS BLAKE "Stranger Things Have Happened"
CHRIS CHEEK/ETHAN IVERSON/BEN STREET/JORGE ROSSY "Guilty - Live at the Jamboree"

Kudos to Jordi Pujol for giving these musicians an opportunity to record and let their music be heard!

mke · May-14th-2003, 04:25 AM

I think this CD is better, than the first in that you get a greater feeling of "This is Phil's record".

I'll come back with more detailed comments after a few more listens.

My only negative comment is the artwork: the small image Brian P posted makes it look a lot better than it is in reality, IMO. Then again, I didn't really like the artwork on the first one, either. However, and most importantly, the music inside is good.

Jiveman · May-14th-2003, 11:09 AM

Well thanks so much for posting this, Brian.I really appreciate your kind words.

Thanks to Brett(Hearsay)for the congrats.

First,I'll say I don't have a copy yet...So I've not seen the artwork that Hearsay liked and mke dissed.

The artwork for both my cds were done by my ex.

I thought it looked cool(music,painting,drawing).She worked quite hard on it,but I know mke knows his stuff.The picture of Larry and I playing as little kids didn't do it for you ?

One thing I've learned from the experience of making cds & putting yourself out there is that some will like it and some won't.

I myself,am proud of the cd & I really tried my best.I hope to do even better next time.

Thanks for listening...

james harrigan · May-14th-2003, 11:45 AM

congrats on the new CD, Phil!

FSNT is putting out a lot of very interesting music these days - too bad they are almost impossible to find. I was just listening to Bill McHenry's "Graphic" yesterday, which is outstanding, and so is Reid Anderson's "Abolish Bad Architecture". Phil's new one, with that lineup, is just too tempting to pass up - I'll have to get it.

Ordering directly from Spain hasn't worked for me. The best and cheapest source for FSNT is the web operation run by Jamey Abersold, The Music Resource, a great online source for jazz in general. For example, they have Phil's first CD "Sweet Transients" available for $11.25 (the new one isn't available yet).
You can figure out the URL yourself.

Jiveman · May-14th-2003, 12:42 PM

Thank you so much James!I hope you enjoy it when you find it!

I've been told Tower Records in the village has a good supply of FSNT's.

Have you tried Fresh Sounds website.I've heard nothing but success stories.

Thanks again!

pargyris333@yahoo.com · May-14th-2003, 05:30 PM

Listened to this CD, found many compelling originals. Phil's playing is always an inspiration to me.

If listeners enjoy Phil's work here, they may want to check out his playing on a related cd, 'A Point of Departure', with the Phill Argyris Quartet featuring Boston Jazz veterans Stan Strickland and Phil Grenader. Mostly standards, some orginals. Trying tear at the fabric of the standard tunes. This cd is available on Amazon.

Other Steve · May-14th-2003, 08:55 PM

Haven't heard Phil's disc yet, but very much looking forward to it. Phil, the downtown Tower didn't have it two weeks ago, but I haven't checked since then.

Just wanted to jump in here to second the recommendations for the Reid Anderson and Bill McHenry discs in Brian P's list, as well as hearsay's recommendation of Brett Sroka's disc.

I also want to add, in the strongest terms possible, Chris Lightcap's Bigmouth, which features a commanding quartet with McHenry, Tony Malaby and Gerald Cleaver and some seriously compelling inside-out writing. One of my favorites of the year so far.

I'm heading over to Tower now.

Other Steve · May-14th-2003, 09:28 PM

Foiled. One copy of the old one, none of the new one. Hrrmmph.

Oh, well. It was a walk of all of three blocks, which I needed for the fresh air, anyway. But it did require all of my willpower not to part with cash for the new Steve Lacy and Luciana Souza discs on Sunnyside...

Tanager · May-14th-2003, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Other Steve
But it did require all of my willpower not to part with cash for the new Steve Lacy and Luciana Souza discs on Sunnyside...

Give in! Give in!

Other Steve · May-14th-2003, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tanager
Give in! Give in!

Oh, I will. But I'm waiting for payday.

mke · May-15th-2003, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jiveman
The artwork for both my cds were done by my ex.

I thought it looked cool(music,painting,drawing).She worked quite hard on it,but I know mke knows his stuff.The picture of Larry and I playing as little kids didn't do it for you ?

I figured the same person had done both.

Actually, the pictures are very cool. I'm sure Ellery would envy that hat!

And your notes on each song are short but very good: concise and informative. I'm just not a fan of the cover art.

Gary Sisco · May-15th-2003, 08:43 AM

Congrats, Phil! I'll take a look for it in NYC next week. I dug the first one, as you know.

Brett's is a good one, too, long's it's being talked about, even if I do say so myself. Which I do, in the notes. A very good debut CD.

Jiveman · May-15th-2003, 12:03 PM

Other Steve-Thanks very much for seeking!I haven't received any copies yet myself.I hope Tower stocks it soon as I'd hate to miss out on yours and Gary Sisco's purchase! I'd be very interested in your thoughts.

Thanks Gary Sisco for the well wishes.I'll never forget how kind & how big a help you were to me on the release of "Sweet Transients".I hope you enjoy this one!

mke-Thanks for clarifying a bit.The hat you refer to(I think)is my Dad playing trumpet during World War 2! Either that or you're confusing my hair for a hat.It wouldn't be the first time!

Great to see Phill Argyris discover this place!Thanks for the kind compliments.I'm getting more & more into composing,so thanks for the encouragement.Phill is an excellent young pianist.I think many here would enjoy his very fine CD.

Clunky · May-16th-2003, 06:00 AM

I await a package ( hopefully it'll be here today) with Jivemans and Hearsays disc in addition to Lightcap's Bigmouth and a Xavier Davis CD. I saw Davis play with Stefon Harris and his chops simply blew me away.
I am big fan of Bill McHenry and have found the 6 month wait for his new FSNT CD with Paul Motian, Ben Monder and Reid Anderson intolerable. It'll probably come out tomorrow and I have to compile another large Freshsound order.!!

mke · May-16th-2003, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jiveman

mke-Thanks for clarifying a bit.The hat you refer to(I think)is my Dad playing trumpet during World War 2! Either that or you're confusing my hair for a hat.It wouldn't be the first time!

Oh, it's your dad. I thought it might of been you playing in some kind of revival band!

Gary Sisco · May-16th-2003, 09:47 AM

Problem solved. This just in:

****************************
Please do not reply to this email address. Questions, comments, orders or anything else should be directed to the email address listed with the body of the text or on the signature line. Thank you. -the crew
****************************************
Hello,

We have the following Fresh Sound titles back in stock. These are *not* yet
listed in our online search engine. These are $15 each, except for #333
which is a double and is $25.00.

Orders can be made by simply sending an email with the
order information to: orders@cadencebuilding.com
We take visa, mc, and discover.

Jiveman · May-16th-2003, 02:35 PM

Gary-Please excuse my lack o' comprehension...Are you saying Cadence has my CD for sale now?

Thanks for your help!

Sergio Zamora · May-22nd-2003, 02:20 PM

Listening to this right now. Very nice. I'm especially digging the second half of the disc, from around track 6 down. It just seems a bit more cohesive than a few of the earlier tracks. It's all good, though.

Jiveman · May-22nd-2003, 03:41 PM

Thanks very much for purchasing & your comments,Omar!

Do you hear any AE improv influence on "Give Er"?

Sergio Zamora · May-22nd-2003, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jiveman
Thanks very much for purchasing & your comments,Omar!

Do you hear any AE improv influence on "Give Er"?

Yeah, that was some very interesting playing. I need to listen to it again, but you definitely had a Dorner/Kelley/Hautzinger/Ezaki thing going on. Very cool.

Jiveman · May-22nd-2003, 04:21 PM

Now that's a compliment!!!

Ezaki?Someone else for me to check out?

Sergio Zamora · May-22nd-2003, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jiveman
Ezaki?Someone else for me to check out?

I think so. You should check out the 'Trio at Offsite' with Taku Sugimoto, Taku Unami, and him - Masafumi Ezaki, or 'Manga-Michi' with just Taku Unami. Both are on Hibari Music. I really dig those two recordings.

Jiveman · May-24th-2003, 01:13 PM

Ok Omar--next week I start the search for Masafumi Ezaki!

Thanks for the tip!

I wanna hear that new nmperign too....

Jiveman · June-13th-2003, 02:38 PM

Just wanted to let any interested people know that "Playful Intentions" is now available at Amazon.