Musician and composer
Joseph Daley http://jodamusic.com was
born in New York City’s Harlem beginning his musical studies in elementary
school and later studying at the High School of Music and Art, receiving high
honours and recognition. He was a member
of the most prestigious ensembles in the New York City school system where he began
performing on the Latin music scene performing alongside such fine musicians as
Rene McLean, Monquito Santamaria, Andy Gonzalez, Alex Blake and many others.
A scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music resulted in
his Bachelor’s degree in Performance and a Master’s degree in Music Education
and led to a career as an educator in the New York and New Jersey school
systems from 1976 until his retirement in 2005. Daley balanced his extensive
educational commitments with recording and performing in the ensembles of some
of the most provocative musicians on the contemporary jazz scene including
Muhal Richard Abrams, Makanda Ken McIntyre, Jason Hwang and Dave Douglas and
was an original member of Howard Johnson’s ground breaking tuba ensemble,
Gravity. He has also been a long-time collaborator with the highly respected
composer/ethnomusicologist and master of non-Western instruments, Bill Cole.
As well as composition, Joseph Daley works with his Earth Tones Ensemble and Ebony Brass Quintet as well as performing
as part of duo and trio collaborations and solo performances playing the tuba,
euphonium and valve trombone. Daley is also currently a member of the highly
eclectic ensemble Hazmat Modine, under the direction of musician and visual
artist Wade Schuman.
After nearly 40 years of recognition as one of the most consummate
musicians on the adventurous music scene with remarkable artists like Sam
Rivers, Carla Bley, Gil Evans, Charlie Haden, Taj Mahal and many more, in 2011,
Daley released his CD, The Seven Deadly
Sins to enthusiastic reviews, making several Best of 2011 lists. It featured his Earth Tones Ensemble (a full Jazz orchestra augmented by six
additional low-toned horns, and including a seven-member rhythm section and
four special guests). This was followed up two years later by The Seven Heavenly Virtues for string
orchestra.
JoDaMusic http://jodamusic.com has recently released a new album of Daley’s compositions entitled Portraits: Wind, Thunder and Love www.cdbaby.com/cd/josephdaley3
featuring percussionist Warren Smith
together with a full string orchestra comprising eight violins, four violas,
four celli, two basses, piano and percussion conducted by Joseph Daley.
JoDaMusic 002 |
The main work on the disc is the five movement suite
Wispercussion: Five Portraits of Warren Smith who recently celebrated his 80th
birthday yet still maintains a demanding teaching and performing schedule. Here
Daley has composed a homage, featuring Warren’s remarkable musicality on
vibraphone, marimba, tympani, gongs and trap drums (drum kit) sequentially on
each movement.
A small number of special guests join for the three
remaining pieces, Shadrack: Portrait of Bill Cole, Doretha and the
Blues:Portrait of Wanda Daley and Industria.
In Movement 1 of Wispercussion:
Five Portraits of Warren Smith for String orchestra and percussion the
string orchestra is soon joined by the vibraphone with 12 tone shifting
harmonies. The music soon picks up the pace and becomes more rhythmic leading
to a solo section for vibraphone which gently picks out and varies the theme.
The orchestra soon re-join and move the music forward to the coda.
The marimba alone picks out a theme as Movement 2 begins. The piano joins as does the orchestra in a
syncopated theme, very American in flavour and rhythm. Movement 3 opens with pizzicato strings and piano chords, continuing
the rhythm of the second movement. Timpani join adding a rhythm before the
strings rise up with the beat subtly changing as the drama increases. There is
a solo timpani passage before the music becomes ever more menacing with the
timpani bringing out the rhythm, Warren Smith providing some terrific playing.
A gong sounds deeply to open Movement 4 followed by lighter gong textures as Warren Smith
achieves some fine textures and sonorities. The orchestra takes over in a
dissonant yet melodic motif before more gong sounds are heard, full of
colourful effects with Smith finding so many varieties of sound. The orchestra
again takes over to develop the theme with a piano adding texture. Once again
the lone gong sounds before the orchestra re-joins developing and enriching the
theme, becoming ever more rich and beautiful. Evocative distant gongs change the
atmosphere to one of mystery, the orchestra enters warming the atmosphere with
its romantic texture before a gong can be heard within the orchestra for the
sudden conclusion.
Movement 5 opens
with a snare drum roll followed by a work out on the drum kit. A rhythm is
settled on as the orchestra joins, complete with piano in staccato phrases before
leading forward with an insistent drum rhythm. Soon there is a solo passage for
Warren Smith to utilise all aspects of the drum kit with a terrific display
from this percussionist before the orchestra joins again. Daley really lays out the orchestration well with
little pauses for the soloist to add distractive touches. Eventually the rhythm
and mood changes and becomes more upbeat with a jazz violin joining as the orchestra
moves ahead in a Latin rhythm. Here Daley creates a sophisticated mood with a
South American flavour whilst all the while Warren Smith adds sparkle and life,
bringing an extended, ever developing, insistent solo passage right up to the
end.
This is a varied, colourful and engaging work, full of unusual
and distinctive ideas and bringing an amalgam of musical elements.
The final three works bring guest artists Jerry Gonzalez
(trumpet and percussion), Onaje Allan Gumbs (keyboards), Satoshi Takeishi
(percussion) and Richard Huntley (percussion) as well as Gregory Williams
(French horn) for the final work.
Shadrack: Portrait of
Bill Cole is dedicated to the multi-instrumentalist in whose ensemble Daley
has been preforming for over 40 years. Bill Cole http://billcole.org
is featured on this recording playing
the double-reed Indian negaswaram.
Jazz is very much to the fore in this work though filtered through
the prism of strange and dissonant writing with the strange sound of the reedy South
Indian nagaswaram used in such a bluesy fashion despite its Asian flavour. This
is a terrific virtuosic achievement for Bill Cole as he improvises some amazing
passages. Eventually the cello of Akua Dixon brings a further Eastern sound as
she weaves an exotic line with the nagaswaram joining for a wild and braying
coda. A remarkable piece.
Doretha and the
Blues: Portrait of Wanda Daley celebrates over 40 years of Joseph Daley’s
marriage to Wanda Daley with the orchestra opening in a mellow jazz inspired
theme that flows gently with keyboard of Lafayette Harris and percussion accompaniment.
Soon a violin solo enters and really swings along with the orchestra. The
violin of Charles Burham joins achieving some fine textures as he adds so many
inventive phrases along the way showing him to be a fine soloist.
Industria takes
as its theme Diligence from Daley’s
composition The Seven Heavenly Virtues.
Timpani open with pedalling before a regular rhythm is established. The drum
kit joins as does the solo violin and keyboards, all keeping a regular rhythm
as the strings of the orchestra join. The violin soloist Elektra Kurtis becomes
increasingly free and florid, weaving around the orchestra in almost Eastern
inflections as the music builds to a tremendous swirl of instruments, the two
double basses of Benjamin Brown and Ken Filiano providing a darker yet always
transparent texture. Midway there is a drop in intensity in a section where the
players provide some unusual instrumental textures before slowly the music falls
quieter with no basses and percussion. The
orchestra rises up to bring about the coda, that nevertheless concludes on a
sparser texture.
This is a fascinating and engaging release with some fine
performances from all concerned. They are well recorded though a little more
air around the players would have been welcome. There are brief but informative
notes by the composer.
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