Joe Lovano - Village Rhythm

CDs: Village Rhythm

1. Village Rhythm (Lovano)
2. Birds of Springtime Gone By (Lovano)
3. Dewey Said (Lovano)
4. Chelsea Rendez-Vous (Lovano)
5. Variations of a Theme (Lovano)
6. His Dreams (Lovano)
7. T' Was to Me, Pt. 1: Celebration of Life...
8. Part II: Theme (Lovano)
9. Sleepy Giant (Lovano)
10. Duke Ellington's Sound of Love (Mingus)
11. Spirit of the Night (Lovano)

Joe Lovano - Tenor/Soprano Sax, Gongs
Tom Harrell - Trumpet
Kenny Werner - Piano
Marc Johnson - Bass
Paul Motian - Drums

Produced by Giovanni Bonandrini

Recorded June 7-9, 1988

"By 1988, it was becoming increasingly obvious that tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano was on his way to becoming a major name in the jazz world. For this advanced hard bop set, he contributed all of the selections other than Mingus’ ‘Duke Ellington's Sound of Love.’ ...Lovano is heard throughout in his early prime, playing inventive and generally concise improvisations that were beginning to become distinctive." Scott Yanow - All Music Guide

My dad, Tony "Big T" Lovano, had just passed when I recorded this, so I included a couple of tributes to him, including T Was to Me, which I performed on saxophone and gong.

It was based on a poem my friend Ronald Hudson Smith wrote about my dad. I read the poem, like Trane did on A Love Supreme.

Dewey was written for both Miles Dewey Davis, and Dewey Redman. The first four bars are reminiscent of a phrase that reminded me of both of those cats.

Tom and I were in Mel’s band in the early 80s, and like my other dates, I wrote the compostions with the players in mind.

"With Woody, we were on the road, the whole time. I had a week off in the summer and a week off at Christmas each year. That was it! " Joe Lovano