Red's Blues was inspired by a lick that Red Mitchell played on a duo recording with Bill Dobbins at Bradley's in New York. This is a quintet version featuring guitar and flugelhorn playing the melody.
With Never Let Me Go, Jim McNeely and I tried to pay homage to the Bill Evans/Jim Hall duo tradition. I must say that when I presented this tune to Jim at the session his reply was that "this is one of my favorite tunes." It certainly sounds like it to me!
No Lips, No Smile was written during a time when I was playing in a trio lead by the bassist Jim Gannon with Brian Murphy on vibes. Jim was the one responsible for this title and only he knew the real meaning.
I tip my hat to Ahmad Jamal with the tune Ahmadification. It sort of has an updated Poinciana feel from his earlier recordings.
The title tune, Night Waves, was written for Mercedes Barker of Barcelona, Spain, who has a very special musical gift. The original title was Ballada Para Una Amiga, but the sound of Jim Snidero's alto solo made me envision the rhythm of the ocean waves in the early evening.
I have recently been playing the tune, O.P. Update, by my main man, Todd Coolman with whom I survived many trips to Europe - with bass! It is a dedication to Oscar Pettiford and was on Todd's CD entitled Tomorrows. Coming out of the gate is Steve Gilmore's solo, keeping that beautiful "bass tradition" alive.
The melody for A Piece of Cake came as the result of an exercise in melodic construction for one of my jazz arranging classes. It is based on a short motif that Miles Davis played on the Tutu album. This simple melody has a samba-like feel and features Chris, Jim, and myself.
As the closer, Captain Hook features the septet and is in a more contemporary style, yet still retains the Art Blakey Jazz Messenger's aesthetic. Everybody gets a chance to solo on this tune and I get to play the congas for a minute!
I had great fun making this CD and I want to thank Bill Goodwin for being there when I needed him and for providing excellent advice throughout this project. A special thanks goes to Kent Heckman at Red Rock Recording in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, for capturing the sound of my music so beautifully.
Arrangements of my original pieces are available by contacting Brown Cats Productions.
This album is dedicated to Barbara Katz Brown.
Steve Brown
Recorded 8/10 and 8/11/93
