Jazz guitarist BILL BANFIELD's father just turned 100 years old. At a recent celebration, family and friends gathered virtually and in person to celebrate his life and ask his advice. Bill had been learning his father's lessons for years, but a recent phone conversation led his dad to give him the title for his new Mesa/ Bluemoon Recordings album. As Bill tells it, he was speaking with his dad when he suddenly realized that he had something else that he needed to do. His father said, "Bill, I will talk to you, but you must TAKE TIME TO LISTEN.” The words hit Bill like a thunderbolt, as his album was designed as encouragement to concentrate on the stories found deep in his music.
Born and raised in Detroit, Banfield attended the prestigious arts magnet school, Cass Tech. He was mentored by two of the city's finest jazz guitarists, Kenny Burrell and Earl Klugh. He also learned from the examples and conversations with masters Mic Goodrick, George Benson, John Scofield, Emily Remler, Pat Martino, Pat Metheny, Ernie Isley Lee Ritenour, Tuck Andress, and Jack Wilkins. Banfield calls his approach "solo-voiced guitar," reflecting his belief that imagination and emotion are essential ingredients in all great music, and that his playing comes directly from his heart. Banfield dedicates TAKE TIME TO LISTEN to Burrell and Klugh “to lift up these jazz guitar icons who greatly inspired and coached me as an early teen as I aspired to be like my heroes.” Bill opposes the sound bites of music presented on social media. He programmed the album's songs like a live concert, where the music becomes a wordless conversation between the guitarist and his audience. Most of the tracks are first takes (without "punched-in" corrections) with minimal overdubbing. In addition to a generous collection of Banfield's tuneful originals, the playlist draws from a wide range of pop classics like Sting's "Fragile," Elton John's "Your Song," and Carole King's "You've Got a Friend," along with jazz standards such as "Autumn Leaves," "Summertime," and "Someday My Prince Will Come." Following the examples of great jazz interpreters, he hints at the well-known melodies rather than playing them verbatim, saying that it only takes a few notes to communicate the essence of a great song.
In addition to the familiar repertoire, Banfield has included several of his own compositions. "AM Song for Birdie" combines a repeated bird-song motive with a catchy rhythmic ostinato, and an adapted version of that ostinato punctuates the smooth melodic feel of "On the Other Side." "The Closer I Get to You" is a lyric ballad which uses a hesitation rhythm in its opening choruses before becoming more assertive near the end. "Song for Earl" is a soulful tribute to Mr. Klugh featuring impressive parallel octave hits punctuating an intensive melodic line voiced in thirds in the final chorus. Banfield pares down the various elements in a quiet memorial for his friend and mentor. "Pass Me the Blues" romps and stomps with a powerful backbeat over rhythmically complex improvisations.
In the studio, the microphones were placed very close to Banfield's acoustic guitar to catch the mechanics of the instrument. As Bill wrote on his website, “I also hoped that the recording sounded close to what I pictured in my head, sounding natural, with all the imperfections, heavy breathing, hands missing and slapping the side of the instrument and all in my own voice trying to keep time and tune the best way I can. It’s never a safe or settled territory--maybe that’s the “next grown-up record.” It’s bluesy, funky, sonorous and abstract, it’s jazzy and classically woven, it sings, cries, and proclaims it’s time to be whatever it wants to be while asking us to just sit and listen so we can hopefully like it.”
Banfield's accomplishments range far beyond the scope of this album. His independent label JazzUrbane issued recordings featuring Chief Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott), Grace Kelly, Greg Osby, and Terri Lyne Carrington. On the classical side, Banfield has composed 12 symphonies, 7 operas and 9 concerti, with performances of these works spanning most of North America's finest orchestras. A renowned educator, he is a Professor Emeritus from the Berklee School of Music and is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Longy School of Music at Bard College. He was the Arts and Culture correspondent for "The Tavis Smiley Show," and was hired by Quincy Jones in 2010 to create a national music curriculum and textbook revolving around American musical culture. Banfield has written several books, including volumes on Ornette Coleman, Kendrick Lamar, and Nikki Minaj.
He has received praise from renowned colleagues. Gunther Schuller placed him in a historical context when he wrote, “In the history of most of Western music culture, the works which came from its own time were perfectly made with what needed to come forward. Bill's music and work fit these criteria; his music is well made for the times.” Henry Louis Gates adds, “Bill Banfield is one of the most original voices on the scene today. He tunes us into the conversation happening worldwide between the notes of contemporary musical culture.” Yet for all the academic praise, the most important accolades for Banfield's new record should come from the listeners. So, TAKE TIME TO LISTEN. You'll be glad you did. # # # TAKE TIME TO LISTEN will be available at Spotify.com, Apple.com, iTunes.com, Amazon.com and all digital retailers. Available July 19, 2024. For further info view: billbanfieldmusic.com & mesabluemoon.com.
WATCH: Bill Banfield Live at Coda Jazz (16 minutes) INTERVIEW: Sun-Music Live (58 minutes)
Online: Billbanfieldmusic.com Facebook.com/bill.banfield.14 Mesabluemoon.com Instagram.com/jazzurbane Instagram.com/billbanfieldjazz Youtube.com/@JazzUrbaneRecords1 Twitter: x.com/BJazzUrbane |
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Topic: Guitarist Bill Banfield Debuts Intimate Solo CD
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