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CD 4192

"Blue Boat"

STEEN VIG Steen Vig and his Bluesicians featuring Gene "Mighty Flea" Conners and Cornell Dupree

1) Blue Boat (b) (Sidney Bechet, previously unrecorded

original) 4:32

2) Memphis Blues (c) (W. C. Handy, George Norton) 4:35

3) Soul Country (a) (Duke Ellington, arr. Lindgreen) 4:16

4) The Flea Is Jumping (a) (Gene Conners, arr. Lindgreen) 4:01

5) Blue Turning Grey Over You (a) (Fats Waller, Andy Razaf, arr.

Lindgreen) 4:52

6) Taps Miller (a) (W. Basie, B. Russell) 5:59

7) We Sure Do Need Him Now (a) (Trad., arr. Lindgreen) 5:36

8) Tee(d) (Cornell Dupree) 5:55

9) Kansas City Man Blues (c) (Cl. Williams, Cl. Johnson) 5:34

10) Copenhagen Hip Hop (a) (Gene Conners) 5:29

11) Foo Foo Blues (a) (Herman Autrey, Red Richards, arr.

Lindgreen) 7:23

12) Hotel Blaekregning (e) (Steen Vig) 3:02

Personnel: (a) Gene "Mighty Flea" Conners, Ole "Fessor" Lindgreen (tb),

Steen Vig (ss, ts), Soren Kristiansen (p), Cornell Dupree (g), Hugo Rasmussen (b), Thorkild Moiler (dr). Track 3: Tb obligat: Lindgreen. Track 4: Tb solo: Conners. Track 6: Tb chase Lindgreen (left) starting and Conners (right) - on chorus 8/8, one 4/4. Track 10: Vig playing ss and ts simultaneously plus one more ts added by overdub; tb solo: Conners. Track 11: Tb obligat: Lindgreen; voc and tb solo: Conners.

(b) Steen Vig (ss, ts), Soren Kristiansen (p), Hugo Rasmussen (b), Thorkild Moller (dr).

(c) Ole "Fessor" Lindgreen (tb), Steen Vig (ss, ts), Soren Kristiansen (p), Hugo Rasmussen (b), Thorkild Moller (dr).

(d) Soren Kristiansen (p), Cornell Dupree (g), Hugo Rasmussen (b), Thorkild Moller (dr).

(e) Steen Vig (p), Hugo Rasmussen (b), Thorkild Moller (dr).

Producer: Ole "Fessor" Lindgreen and Steen Vig. Executive producer: Arnvid Meyer. Focus Recording, Copenhagen Denmark.

Recorded April 3rd and 4th 1993. Engineer: Steen Sorensen. Mixed September 16th and 17th 1993. Engineer: Steen Sorensen.

Photo: Jan Persson. Layout: Chris Olesen.

DDD TOTALTIME-62:10

© ® 1994 STORYVILLE RECORDS Printed in Denmark

THE JAZZPAR PROJECT

IS ARRANGED ANNUALLY BY DET DANSKE JAZZCENTER

EXCLUSIVE SPONSOR

SKANDINAVISK TO BAKS KOM PAGN I

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CD 4192

and the tenor saxophone, simultaneously. 'He's always been a quiet guy with a big mouth', Lindgreen volunteered.

Without letting all the rabbits out of the hat on each and every track - one of the coup-d'etats is the early or old Basie-ringer 'Taps Miller' that has rarely been rung the way it rings here. From the humorous, almost abstract exchanges between the two trombones through the fast flights of fancy by pianist Saren Kristiansen and bassist Hugo Rasmussen - into Vig's own solo-break and surprise-ending. As if he just wont let go of the music. Or is writing his own treaties on the serious art of swinging. 'I'll be damned - who's that young tenor?' asked the American bassist Milt Hinton some years ago while listening to a rare recording by Steen and the late great Ben Webster.

'The JAZZPAR Concerts', Vig explained, 'were by nature and necessity rather cerebral and didn't give much room for tapping or dancing in the isles. In the studio we were on our own.'

J0RGEN FRIGARD December, 1993

(Columnist - Jazz Special. Former New York-reporter to Denmark's Radio)

Steen Vig was born in 1944 in Copenhagen and has previously worked and recorded with Ben Webster, Jay McShann, Sammy Price, George Kelly, Champion Jack Dupree, Claude Williams, Al Casey, Doc Cheatham, Wild Bill Davison and Gene Conners. For further listening check the CD "Fessor's Guestbook" on Storyville STCD 8208.

The liner notes of this album were written shortly before the untimely death of Steen Vig on January 1, 1994, c.f. enclosure.

STCD 4192

The annual presentation of the JAZZPAR award, organized by The Danish Jazz Center and sponsored by Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni, is now four years old. In the relatively short time, it has become an event of proven significance in the international jazz community. The nomination for the international prizewinner now evoke greater interest and receive wider press coverage than ever before. It was by this process that the fine American pianist Tommy Flanagan was selected for the 1993 cash prize and the famous JAZZPAR statuette, which he received during the course of the live performance of the prize winning ceremony (Storyville STCD 4191).

Doubtless the choice of Danish bandleaders is watched most closely within Denmark - for 1993 they were Steen Vig and Kim Kristensen and Hdvaeverne (Storyville STCD 4193) - but even these have a wider impact, since the Danish musicians each invited two guests performers from abroad.

When Steen Vig was asked to put a band together for the 1993 JAZZPAR Tour and include one of his favorite foreign artists - his first thought was 'why not try to get Dr John?1. The popular New Orleans-pianist, singer and songwriter.

'We played together some years ago in Malmo, Sweden, and although he's kind of an introvert I love his very personal mix of... Professor Longhair, voodoo-rock and Monk. Unfortunately, he's made some big hits since then, and apart from the money that his agent was quoting it may have turned

into a minor riot between his fans and the fans of Tommy Flanagan - the prize-winner.'

Instead he called guitarist Cornell Dupree and the trombonist-singer Gene "Mighty Flea" Conners - 'who both know their blues too and are not hung-up on any one style. As a jazz player, you'd have to be an escapist trying to avoid the blues - whatever else you decide to play.'

The CD opens with a world-premiere. A jazz tune never recorded by its composer or, for all we know, by anyone else.

'I got the sheet-music and the title for Sidney Bechet's 'Blue Boat' from a guy up in Stockholm, who got it from a local clarinet player' - explains Vig, who, even with the help of several experts, has not been able to trace the origin of the tune further back yet. So if you know - please call.

'It's not a blues, but a beautiful song. Bechet played a lot of outrageous things and was perhaps deeper into the blues than any of the other great players before Charlie Parker, but he could also be gentle and thoughtful. And 'Blue Boat' is, for the most part, along those lines.'

So is Steen's superb playing and lyricism on Fats Waller's 'Blue Turning Grey Over You'. 'Of course', he laughs, 'you may also get too thoughtful. And miss the boat. Music doesn't always follow your particular mood. It's a collective thing. You may be floating happily along with the beat, parading all your favorite licks and not thinking at all, when someone in the band suddenly plays a crazy phrase that turns everything around. And no one knows where the dams thing came from? That's where the fun begins.'

For the studio sessions following the round of concerts, guitarist Dupree, who once worked in King Curtis' band next to a very young Jimi Hendrix, brought his own 'Tee'. And Ole 'Fessor' Lindgreen, Steen's long-time pal and the other trombonist here, suggested Duke Ellington's late 'Soul Country' as well as the rarely heard traditional 'We Sure Do Need Him Now' - 'which I got from pianist Little Brother Montgomery'. On Gene Conners wild 'Copenhagen Hip Hop', Vig insisted on working both his horns, the soprano

tHE PRODUCER AND

and his Bluesicians

I COMPACT

DIGITAL AUDIO

BIEM/nOb

Made in Sweden © ©1994 STORYVILLE RECORDS

featuring Gene Mighty Flea" Conners

and Cornell Dupree