Its Easy to Remember Cory Weeds Quintet

• 1 With Prestige 06:16
• 2 Expose 05:40
• 3 Candy Man 05:23
• 4 Its Easy To Remember 05:51
• 5 Bossa For All 06:05
• 6 Kelp 05:55
• 7 The Mabe 05:58
• Total Runtime 41:08

Info for Its Easy to Remember

Join tenor saxophonist and jazz impresario Cory Weeds celebrates the release of his 11th CD as a leader. It’s Easy To Remember was recorded at Smalls Jazz Club in New York City in March. A saxophonist with an expressive sound rooted in Jazz tradition, Weeds has released 11 records as a leader on Cellar Live, the label that he founded in 2000.

His last release This Happy Madness, recorded with The Jeff Hamilton Trio reached #1 on the Jazz Week Chart and stayed there for 2 weeks. Weeds fulfills a long time dream of collaborating with New York City pianist David Hazeltine. He is one of a handful of young pianists who has successfully forged his own distinctive style and musical voice out of the accumulated greatness and weight of a modern piano tradition. David's influences extend from Art Tatum and Bud Powell to such great living masters as Buddy Montgomery, Barry Harris and Cedar Walton.

"Cory Weeds has always possessed an insatiable curiosity for exploring the feeling of Jazz through his adventures on the alto as well as the tenor saxophone. On It’s East to Remember, his eleventh disc as leader Weeds serves up an eclectic menu of pieces – some standards, a piece by Kenny Drew, Luis Giraldo and two others by the late Ross Taggart, together with one each by this ineffable guest: pianist David Hazeltine and one by Weeds to close out the set. Each is a beautifully-crafted ‘short story’ in song, shaped by a charismatic musical voice – Cory Weeds – playing at a very high level with a high-flying group that also includes the extrovert New York trumpeter Joe Magnarelli, bassist Paul Gill and drummer Jason Tiemann. But principally, the music reveals Cory Weeds to be an artist of commanding and poetic personality.

Weeds may seem at odds with most young Canadian musicians; indeed with most musicians anywhere in North America who appear to favour free improvisations with abstract titles, which an industry in love with name-calling has entitled “avant-jazz”, whatever that means. The saxophonist continues to play no-nonsense, wickedly swinging music in the Jazz idiom. He reshapes standards diving headlong into them and turning the music inside out, playing each anew to appealing and colourful effect. There are no tricks, no tricky time signatures and absolutely no fanciful posturizing; just an earthy roaring saxophone dancing through the changes with a spectrum of thematic ideas, packing a rhythmic wallop. The ravishing aura that Cory Weeds gives this music is wonderfully complemented by Hazeltine’s piano, supplying evocative foundations – with flights into a melodic stratosphere, every now and then – Magnarelli’s liquid fire and the gleaming sonorities of Gill, shadowed by the rumbling gestures of Tiemann.

At every turn, the protagonists appear to take turns basking in the spotlight: tenor saxophone teaming up with trumpet as they jitterbug and race in and out of waltztime through “Emily” for instance. The tenor saxophonist himself opens his shoulders in dramatic fashion with deeply felt touches of the blues on Kenny Drew’s “With Prestige”. Magnarelli is never very far from the action and neither is David Hazeltine, who seems to delight in prancing across the keyboard while Gill proves his virtuosity with a marvellously played arco solo reminiscent of something Milt Hinton often did – minus the mumbling, of course. Ross Taggart’s two compositions “Expose” and “Kelp” are radiant in themselves, have heart-grabbing melodies and are played with full-hearted affection, golden-toned eloquence by Cory Weeds. “Smoke Gets Into Your Eyes” is absorbing, and its cheeky line connecting the choruses makes it a delight to listen to – not simply because of the soli by Weeds, Magnarelli and Hazeltine.

The saxophonist Cory Weeds and his superb cohort invest these charts with plenty of vinegar and honey and they’re equally compelling in the swinging world of their Jazz idiom. Each of the musicians is vibrantly alert to mood and detail all the while feeding on the enterprising activity of Paul Gill’s bass and Jason Tiemann’s drums, both of whom play with gorgeous inflections and extended techniques. The recording was made at Spike Wilner’s Small’s Jazz Club in Greenwich Village. Weeds, who is also a “Jazz” Tour Guide, made an enterprising trip to New York City with a group of hard-nosed Canadian Jazz fans and invited them to sit in on this performance whereupon the recording was made amid the noise of The Village. A capital idea for the making of some truly evocative music." (Raul da Gama, Jazzdagama)

Cory Weeds, tenor saxophone
David Hazeltine, piano
Joe Magnarelli, trumpet
Paul Gill, bass
Jason Tiemann, drums

Recorded March 17th, 2016 live at Smalls Jazz Club, New York City
Engineered & Mixed by Jimmy Katz
Mastered by Dave Darlington
Produced by Cory Weeds & David Hazeltine

Cory Weeds
A saxophonist with an expressive sound rooted in Jazz tradition, a label owner tirelessly documenting unsung Jazz heroes, one of Canada’s most important Jazz impresarios, the hardest-working man in Jazz business – Cory Weeds is all of these things, and much more.

Weeds may be best known as the founder and owner of Cory Weeds’ Cellar Jazz Club in Vancouver, which he successfully ran for more than 13 years. Weeds built the Cellar to become one of North America’s best Jazz clubs, where masters such as George Coleman, Jeff Hamilton, Louis Hayes, David “Fathead” Newman, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and the finest Jazz musicians from Vancouver and across Canada performed before it closed in February 2014.

But he wasn’t just the club owner. As a saxophonist who studied at the University of North Texas and Capilano University, Weeds spent many nights on the Cellar bandstand as a leader and sideman. He held his own when performing with icons like Joey DeFrancesco and Christian McBride. Weeds has also recorded fourteen albums as a leader, including: Explosion (with his little big band), Let’s Groove, The Music Of Earth Wind & Fire (with Mike LeDonne), Dreamsville(with The Jeff Hamilton Trio), It’s Easy To Remember (with David Hazeltine, Joe Magnarelli, Paul Gill and Jason Tiemann, reached #1 on the Jazz Week Charts) This Happy Madness, (with The Jeff Hamilton Trio, reached #1 on the Jazz Week Charts), Condition Blue, The Music Of Jackie McLean (with Peter Bernstein, Mike LeDonne, and Joe Farnsworth)., As Of Now(with the Harold Mabern Trio), Let’s Go (with Steve Davis), the Juno-nominated Up A Step(Cory Weeds Quartet), With Benefits (with Lewis Nash and Peter Washington), Just Like That(with the Tilden Webb Trio), The Many Deeds of Cory Weeds (with Joey DeFrancesco), Everything’s Coming Up Weeds (with Jim Rotondi), and Big Weeds (with Peter Bernstein, Mike LeDonne, and Joe Farnsworth). He will release his fifteenth album in early 2019, Live At Frankie’s Jazz Club (with Harold Mabern and Terell Stafford).

While the Cellar is now a happy memory, the record label Weeds established in 2001 is alive and well. Cellar Live has put out over 140recordings, including many that have spent extensive time on the JazzWeek charts, with many more releases planned. In addition to playing on numerous sessions, Weeds has also served as producer on more than 80 recordings. In 2017 Weeds celebrated a win at the 2017 Juno Awards when Metalwood won for Jazz Album Of The Year: Group.

On the presentation front, Weeds is employed full-time by Coastal Jazz & Blues (the producers of the annual TD International Jazz Festival) where he serves as Programming Manager for Clubs & Special Projects.

Beyond Vancouver, Weeds has a strong affinity with New York City. He brought so many of the Jazz mecca’s top players to his club, and has performed, toured, and recorded with many of them. Tapping in to his insider knowledge of the New York scene, he has led the New York With Weeds tour to NYC seven times. Weeds leads about 40 Jazz lovers on each tour to Jazz clubs off the beaten track and private recording sessions. The seventh tour saw the group visit Chicago Illinois in March 2017 and it sold out in record time and in 2019 the group will head to Italy!

This album contains no booklet.