Category: Jazz Selections
Emily Tours Downtown NYC
Several new performances have been tracked down from the 80′s of Emily playing the clubs in New York City. They are obvious amateur recordings, but new tunes are always a special surprise to share. Thanks to Simon for his on going vigilance to find new material for AllThingsEmily.
The recordings are comprised of three performances from different venues. First is Emily playing with guitarist John Basile at the Angry Squire Jazz Club on August, 23rd, 1986. Titles include So What, Days of Wine and Roses, Mahna De Carnaval, What’s New, and a couple of Unknowns. The Unknowns sound so familiar but we can’t quite place a name to them yet. If someone recognizes the untitled songs, please let us know.
The second recording took place on August 8th, 1985 at the renowned Blue Note with Paul Socolow on bass and Bob Moses on drums. This short set list includes her favorite Bobby Timmons piece, Moanin, her own composition from the same titled 1983 album, Transitions, and How My Heart Sings made famous by Bill Evans.
The last piece is a single 12 minute plus improv of Emily’s composition, Nunca Mais also from her album Transitions, from an unknown venue in 1984 with guest guitarist Stanley Jordan. You can hear him on the second guitar solo. Enjoy.
Toshikazu Saito recognized the second unknown as Speak Low, a composition by Kurt Weill from 1943, popularized by names like Walter Bishop Jr., Cal Tjader, Sonny Clark and others. Thanks Toshikazu.
another thanks to Mark Perna who studied with Emily back in the day a recognized the first unknown as Midnight Waltz by Cedar Walton. My deepest appreciation to those who keep my information up to date and correct.
Bailey’s New Promise Garners International Attention
A New Promise, Sheryl Bailey’s exceptional album in tribute to Emily grabs some international press with this public radio interview from Radio France Internationale.
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From RFI with Alison Hird:
US jazz guitarist Sheryl Bailey can chop it with the best of them. She’s a guitarist with Klezmer Madness and Abraham Inc. (both led by virtuoso clarinetist David Krakauer), while her solo career has seen her interpreting the diverse talents of Louis Armstrong and Jimi Hendrix.On her latest (6th) album A New Promise, she joins forces with the 16-piece Three Rivers Jazz Orchestra from her hometown of Pittsburgh, showing she’s equally at ease with a big band ensemble.
Together they pay homage to the late forerunner female guitarist Emily Remler. The album features three of her pieces – the samba-inspired ‘Carenia’, ‘Mocha Spice’ and ‘East to Wes’ in tribute to her hero Wes Montgomery – as well as Bailey’s own compositions.
“Remler was a fantastic guitarist, the first woman to gain prominence both nationally and internationally,” says Bailey. “I feel like it was humbling to dig into that and try to pull something out of me that would be lasting in her honour.”
While for Bailey “there’s only one list… there isn’t a separate list for female guitarists”, she recognizes Remler helped pave the way for gender not to be an issue.
“Certainly at that time it was a big deal… it was incredibly hard for her (in the 80s) to break through and be taken seriously…. For me it was a tribute to someone who opened a lot of doors for me.”
To a degree Bailey now opens doors for others, proffering sound advice to her budding students at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Hard work is the key but also “be a nice person… and always give 100 per cent… you never know who’s listening to you!”
See the full article at RFI. Catch up on the latest with Sheryl @ SherylBailey.com.
Buy A New Promise @ iTunes or CdBaby
