Rodney JONES

Dreams And Stories

(2005)

1. Star Eyes 4'44
(Don Raye / Gene De Paul)
2. Leana's Song 4'36
(Rodney Jones)
3. Happy Blue 3'43
(Rodney Jones)
4. The Song Is For You 4'53
The Song Is For You (Jerome Kern / Oscar Hammerstein)
5. Blue Days, Blue Dreams 5'38
(Rodney Jones)
6. Five For The Duck 3'13
(Rodney Jones)
7. While We Dream 4'09
(Rodney Jones)
8. Summertime 5'46
(George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin / Dubose Heyward)
9. Serena 5'57
(Rodney Jones)
10. No Time For The Blues 5'35
(Rodney Jones)
11. Blues When You Need Them 3'11
(Rodney Jones)
12. Road Song 3'58
(Wes Montgomery)

Total Time: 55:23

  • Rodney Jones - Guitar
  • Kenny Kirkland - Piano
  • Marc Johnson - Bass
  • Jeff "Tain" Watts - Drums

    Engineer: Phil Kapp
    Digital Transfers: Mitch Yuspeh
    Tape Preparation: Malcolm Addey
    Mixed at     CLOUD CAP STUDIOS by Rodney Jones and Peter Darmi
    Mastered at     CLOUD CAP STUDIOS by Peter Darmi
    Photography: Gene Martin
    Design: Brad Wrolstad

    All Songs by Rodney Jones

    Recorded at M&I RECORDING, New York City

    Special Thanks To The NEA for their support of this project, Joe, Barney, Raghunandar and Ray for their belief in this project.

    To Peter Darmi for great ears.
    Thanks To the brilliant musicians who played on this recording, Kenny you are gone too soon. I miss your music and all of the laughs. "You ain't The Man."
    To Marc and Jeff, the gifts of your talent and skills made the music happen.
    Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Kenny Burrcll and George Benson. You each left a clear roadmap about what feeling and groove in music is. I hope that this music honois you.
    John Lewis, Thank you for caring enough to point me in the right direction, John Motley for giving this young kid a chance to play, Darwin Gross for sharing your love of feeling and Spirit in music.
    Sri Harold Klemp for amazing spiritual adventures.
    Mitch, Ira and Phil Kapp at M&I RECORDING for good times and good sounds.
    We're still here Lawrence and Mary Jones for unconditional love and support, Walter and Lynn Huntley for being present, Leana Serena, and Laura Jones for being great kids and people, I love you, Cara Anne Jones for bringing the sunshine to my life and filling me with love.
    Rachel for your love and support and a thousand other things, Redmond, Josh, Scott, Miles and Joe for friendship above and beyond the call of duty. Lena Home and Ruth Brown for feeding my Spirit with yoursoulfulness, Tcdd, Christine, Patrick and my friends in Eckankai for sharing the journey,
    Paul Stache and SMOKE JAZZ CLUB for giving the music a home.
    Yamaha Guitars, Lehman Guitars, Palen Guitars, and Heritage Guitars for great instruments.
    Chico Hamilton for a lifetime of friendship and good advice. Thank you the listener. I am truly grateful and humbled, When you share the joy in which this music was created then my task is done.

    Rodney Jones. NYC

    There is a saying that I have always loved. "Jazz is a young man's music best played by older men." The genius of jazz Charlie "Yardbird" Parker said, "If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." One of the aims of the jazz musician has always been to express themselves through music ... to play from the heart and mind, to share the music of the Soul.
    Each of us carries within us the many seeds we planted in seasons long ago. Dreams and hopes, wishes and prayers from days long forgotten have taken root within our heart and minds enriching the tapestry that is our lives. At birth we are a blank slate. Filled with immeasurable potential. Only the resonance that we enter life with is active, guiding us towards where we are already going.
    All music starts from silence. There is an idea born within the Soul of man, transmitted though the mind and heart to be heard as music when the musician plays. The music on this CD tells a story and it is part of the story, the journey of four musicians who found through music the purpose and calling of their lives.
    I always wanted to express myself through music but what self was I expressing ? How could I play myself if I did not know myself ? I wondered was I just the sum total of my mind and emotions, my social environment or was there something else. A part of me so deep within so as to escape my conscious awareness. Sometimes when I would play music or even listen to music I would feel transported to another place; a deeper space within myself where there was clarity and awareness, Light and Love. That was what was in my mind and heart when this project was formed and the music was written and recorded.
    Kenny Kirkland and I grew up together and played together from the time we were just teenagers. He got so good so fast that all of us that were his musical friends were amazed. He had that magic touch of genius and the gift of being able to make everyone he played with sound better. He is gone from us too soon but captured on this recording are footprints of his talent that will live on.
    One of my mentors was the legendary John Lewis from the MODERN JAZZ QUARTET. I studied with him for 2 years while attending The City University of New York. While speaking to him one day I mentioned that I was going to record and asked him for his recommendations for a bassist. He enthusiastically told me about a bassist relatively new in town that had a big sound and a sensitive touch. That bassist was Marc Johnson who is known for his work with the late Bill Evans and countless other settings. It was Kenny who recommended Jeff "Tain" Watts. Kenny told me that he was the perfect combination of a drummer who could swing like crazy and play with feather-like sensitivity. He was right ! We went into the studio and with little fanfare recorded the songs on this CD.
    All of the tunes on this CD were recorded using my thumb instead of a pick. I used the thumb because it is a more delicate and softer sound and flows from the soul not just the mind or heart.
    "Star Eyes" is one of my favorite tunes of all time. I must have listened to Bird's version one thousand times.
    "Leana's Song" was written for my daughter Leana when she was just 5 years old. I wanted to capture the wonder and magic that I saw in her eyes. My love for Bill Evans is obvious in the tone and texture of the arrangement.
    "Happy Blue" is clearly a tune inspired by Wes Montgomery. It was he who showed me how to play with my thumb and set an example of playing the guitar with feeling and emotion that I have always tried to emulate.
    "The Song Is You" is a swinger from the first note. Kenny Kirkland plays an amazing solo combining the best of traditional and modern harmony.
    "Blue Days, Blue Dreams" was written in a moment of reflection on life and its meaning. For me, it expresses the feeling of being content in the moment.
    "Five For The Duck" is a relaxed blues meant "to swing you into bad health" as the expression goes.
    "While We Dream" is my favorite song on the CD. For me it captures the feeling of love that I experienced watching my young daughter as she slept. Marc Johnson states the melody beautifully with his bow.
    "Summertime" evokes memories of Wes' Smokin' At The Half Note CD.
    "Serena" is a delicate ballad inspired by my daughter Serena. In it are the unspoken words, hopes and dreams from father to daughter.
    "No Time For The Blues" is a Minor Blues March. It is the sort of tune that Stanley Turrentine would have eaten up !
    "Blues When You Need Them" is about the soulful place the blues take you. I have long been fascinated about who created Soul, God or James Brown ? Maybe this blues can shed some light on that !
    "Road Song" is Wes Montgomery's anthem to life on the road. Between the four of us there were a lot of years spent on the road. We really felt this one. I am so happy to have this music come out. The playing is warm and sincere. I dedicate this CD to Kenny Kirkland my dear friend, and to John Lewis my mentor. Both are gone too soon. Their genius touched so many lives and changed mine. To each I say thank you and job well done. And to you I say enjoy.

    Safe journeys,
    Rodney Jones,     October 2005