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ZOOM   recorded nov 2002-feb 2003

ARTIST: Chaz Jankel
Title: Zoom

Catalogue Number: CHAZJANKEL2

Personnel: Chaz Jankel - piano
Dave Lewis - tenor sax
Dylan Howe - drums
Andy Crowdy - acoustic bass
Dave Heath - flute

This record reflects my evolution as a musician and composer. Two years previously I recorded OUT OF THE BLUE{my first acoustic jazz recording)and from that time onwards I've been playing with the same musos but scaled down to a quartet and with the addition of Andy Crowdy on bass. Keeping the same team of players has built up a trust and empathy between us and I've gained more confidence as a bandleader.

Prior to the making of OUT OF THE BLUE I hadn't played any "jazz gigs" as such although I've been playing gigs with Ian Dury [tragically now deceased] and the Blockheads, who have also just recorded a new album.

trk I: Cycle........is precisely that. The piece started with the little piano riff which I captured on a hand held cassette recorder which is rarely out of reach.The melody was a natural extension and then I worked back to the intro which was influenced by the music theory bible of Slominsky[thats a tough one to say let alone spell!]

trk 2: Strollin' ....is a blues and an homage to Miles swing period of the 50's. Gilad Atzmon who has his own band The Orient House Ensemble who also featured on O.O.T.B mentioned at the time of making that album that there weren't any blues on the record. Well this time round there is!

trk 3: Flame ..the melody and chords appeared in a flash soaked in a deep orange haze.I do feel blessed to have written this as I often find the melody creeping into my head. I also love the way we all interact on this track,.and I especially love Dylan Howe's cymbal work, for me he is like an impressionist painter And oh yeah, Dave Lewis' first bridge is spellbinding. I'd just like to point out that my son Lewis[10 yrs old] falls asleep to ZOOM every night. I think he's finally nodded off by about track 5. Of all the tracks on the album this is the piece I would like to arrange for a big band in a sort of Gill Evans meets Duke kind of way[we will see]

trk 4: Latina ...I've loved latin music as long as I can remember particularly Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso. I once had the pleasure of working with Nana Vasconceles on the movie score to Making Mr Right and also worked briefly with Willie Colon on a song I wrote that never saw the light of day]. On LATINA I was just playing around with the chord structure tossing various melodies around my head and then I played it to Dave Lewis and this is what he popped up with.

trk5: Dont spill the mocha ...My wife Elaine picked up on the tune I jammed on piano and I developed the piece further. One day Andy Crowdy came over to hear my latest composition and after one run-through I suggested going to get some coffee...mocha coffee to be precise. On our return I placed my coffee on top of the piano overlooking the fact that I'd opened the piano prior to going to get the aforesaid coffees. What a mess-most of the strings covered in chocolaty coffee. The strange thing was the piano played better after that. Well the action was certainly swifter!

trk6:Zapata......This was the last piece to be written before the session. I love the atmosphere and tonal colour of it and the band really connect with one another. Andy Crowdy really digs in deep on this one!

trk7:Lees' Surprise ...One evening at the end of a blockheads session which was recorded in the same studio( which incidentally I owned from1980 - 1990) I went and sat down at the Yamaha grand and started playing half asleep in a sort of reverie. Lee Harris who organizes and builds the site and is at the hub of Blockhead activities wanders into the studio where I'm sat tinkering with this melody and liked it so much he went and found a portable tape recorder to preserve the idea. That’s the sort of guy he is.....and voila!...LEES' SURPRISE.

trk8:Keep Your Silly Ways ......This is a re interpretation/setting of a tune I wrote formerly known as SEX AND DRUGS AND ROCK AND ROLL that I wrote with Ian Dury in 1977. My little high tinkly piano figure is a reference to an agogo rhythm that punctuated Charlie Hadens' bass solo on Ornette Colmans 'Change Of The Century' album which was recorded in the 60's which formed the basis for S&D&R&R. Dave Heath makes a brief appearance on this and Cycle but I would like to find a future project where he could be featured more prominently.

and finally...... trk9:Timeless....On this album I wanted the music to flow more than my previous record which I'm pleased with but in some respects was a little complex at times;and in this new state of awareness this piece fell out of my heart and into my fingers.

Chaz Jankel

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