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Take 5 top gun percussionists with a love for jazz and a talent for
writing music. Arm them with an assortment of vibraphones, marimbas,
drums, and other percussion devices ... the result is so good, there
oughta be a law ... Lawless Percussion & Jazz Ensemble.
Jazz Behind Bars, the mastermind of Larry Lawless, first started out as a dream, a dream of bringing a group of seasoned professional percussionists together to perform and record original jazz music. In July of 2006, David Bugher, Bart Elliott, Larry Lawless, Rich MacDonald and Doug Walter met in
Boulder, Colorado, each with two of their own compositions in tow, for an intense week of rehearsals and recording. The result ... Jazz Behind Bars.
TRACKS
- Happy Thoughts - David Bugher
A light samba
by the youngster of the group. David put this tune together in about a
week after I contacted him to join our group. Starts with a unison
flashy mallet lick, contrasted by offsetting triplet hits in the bass
and drums, then a short drum intro by Bart on the set using brushes
takes us into the catchy melody by Doug, with Larry doing the
counterpoint. At the end, we pull out the latin toys, and overdub a
samba school from the auditorium seats!
- Sharptooth - Rich MacDonald
This funky tune in 3/4 has a
jagged melody, reminiscent of some sea creature's intimidating fangs,
hence the name. After the bass, vibe intro, with Rich laying down his
groove, the marimba and xylophone double a very syncopated riff. The
introduction of the melody doubled in bells and crotales makes for an
interesting texture that leads into a unison hit in all parts that sets
up the solo section. David takes a ride on vibes, followed by a
masterful drum solo by Rich over the chord changes, playing with the
feel and time signature into a flurry of notes bringing back the unison
hit.
- Tone Down - Bart Elliott
Bart based this tune on the
changes to the Miles Davis standard, "Tune Up", but with the
chromaticism inverted and in 3/4 instead of 4/4. David gives us the
melody in very free style, accompanied by a marimba chorale. The form
is a standard head tune, with open-ended solos by David and Doug.
Listen for Doug turning the beat into a half time 2 in his marimba
solo, and Rich laying down the walking bass lines.
- The Doctor and the Deacon - Larry Lawless
This was originally composed as a
jazz duet for vibes and marimba, and could be performed that way. The
addition of bass, drums, and hand percussion gives it more of a combo
feel. The solo section is designed to trade 8's, then 4's, then 2's.
- The Tortoise and the Hare - Rich MacDonald
The use of only non-pitched
percussion instruments (with the exception of "Call to the Colors" on
the xylophone to start the race) make the Tortoise and the Hare unique
on the album. The bass drum provides the plodding 8th note ostinato of
the tortoise, while everything else hops around in 7/8. In the middle
section, parts enter randomly, crescendo and decrescendo to give a
rich, weaving texture.
- Insomnia - David Bugher
David wrote the basic tune when he
was in 8th grade, but thoroughly fleshed it out into a full blown
ensemble for the recording. Mostly a 4/4 medium samba, there is a
wicked Afro-cuban section in 6/16 that sets up the solos. Bart's "moose
call" on the conga adds a masterful touch.
- Attack of the 10 Octave Marimba - Larry Lawless
The creepy sound effects in the
beginning were performed live by grabbing anything we could find to
make an unusual sound, and running around the auditorium with the
overhead mics lowered. Lion's roar, bowed crotales, ocean drum, a
mixing bowl half filled with water, and Doug sloshing around Bart's
gallon water drinking jug give the impression of a creature arising out
of the swampy woods. The idea was from an exchange on here on the Drummer Cafe
where a young student insisted his teacher had a 10 octave marimba,
leading to Bart doing a Photoshop  of a giant marimba coming down the street
creating a panic. The overall structure is in 10 measure phrases in 7/4, but with break strain in 5/4.
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Hevy Revy - Bart Elliott
This is an exercise in
groove, with Bart's evolving drum patterns moving over the ostinato bass line
in alternating measures of 5/4 and 9/8. Unusual sounds include bowed
gong, pitched javanese gongs, and a frame drum.
- Poupres minus Rouges - Doug Walter
Although this piece is just a
simple Bb Blues progression, the way the parts are laid out is anything
but simple. Each mallet instrument outlines the chords in contrasting
patterns of groups of 3's, 4's and 5's, making this a very challenging
work. In the middle, Rich again puts on his walking bass shoes, as Doug
gets down and dirty. The title is French for "purples minus reds",
which equals "blues".
- Homonyme Fils - Doug Walter
An opening canonic section in the
style of Renaissance counterpoint, but with definite Bartok influences
leads to a gorgeous melody and accelerates to a "happy little samba".
Doug opens up on the solos and displays his mastery of the mallets as
well as his exquisite taste.
For more information Lawless Percussion or to purchase Jazz Behind Bars, visit www.LawlessPercussion.com. You can also visit the Lawless Percussion MySpace page at www.myspace.com/lawlesspercussionandjazzensemble to listen to full cuts form the CD.
What others are saying ...
"Included in the unique percussion/jazz combo Lawless Percussion and
Jazz are Larry Lawless (marimba, xylophone and vibraphone), Doug Walter
(marimba and vibes), Rich MacDonald (MalletKAT bass and drumset), Bart
Elliott (MalletKAT bass, bass marimba and drumset), and David Bugher
(vibes and MalletKAT bass). All of the selections are original
compositions by the members and include "Happy Thoughts" and "Insomnia"
by Bugher, "Sharptooth" and "The Tortoise and the Hare" by MacDonald,
"Tone Down" and "Hevy Revy" by Elliott, "The Doctor and the Deacon" and
"Attack of the 10 Octave Marimba" by Lawless, and "Pourpres Minus
Rouges" and "Homonyme Fils" by Walter.
"As a result of the eclectic nature of the composers, the diverse
compositions reflect only one commonality among themselves—that of
excellent musicianship and gifted improvisational solos from several
keyboard soloists (both marimba and vibes). Of additional note are the
solid drumset grooves by Elliott and MacDonald and the impeccable and
realistic, foundational MalletKAT bass lines.
"The overall effect of the CD is one of very clean performances and inspired individualistic compositional passion."
— Jim Lambert
Cameron University, Lawton, OK, USA
PERCUSSIVE NOTES MAGAZINE
Issue Vol. 45, No. 4, August 2007
Published by the Percussive Arts Society
"This most interesting
percussion-based, straight-ahead, rich and clear project boldly chooses
to walk you through the entire album devoid of the traditional array of
horns, keys, guitar, and vocals, and beckons you along with just the
magic of the distinctly colorful vibes and other assorted goodies
(marimbas, drums, wood blocks, MalletKat Bass, etc.) to rhythmically
stomp through, sometimes dancing past in a very slight island shimmy of
sorts. A vibrant, potent, and entertaining undertaking overall, I have
my favorites here, like Lawless’s “The Doctor and The Deacon,” a piece heavy on the pronouncement of drums and vibes.
"Lawless and Co. do a
great job of steering the spotlight on such an integral part of the
arsenal of instruments in music and, on this project, they make a very
clear statement on the major contributions made by percussions and
their overall impact on jazz."
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