Feature Story-October 2002
The Masters of Groove with James "Blood" Ulmer

October 15-20, 2002
Jazz Alley, 2033 6th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98121

by Chris Morda

Masters of Groove: featuring Reuben Wilson (Organ), Bernard "Pretty" Purdie (drums), Grant Green, Jr. (Guitar), and Leo Gandelman (sax). Special opener will be James "Blood" Ulmer with a solo show. Set times are Tuesday and Wednesday at 8pm, Thursday through Saturday at 8 and 10pm and Sunday at 6:30 and 8:30pm.

Reuben Wilson has been recording since the late '60s when his career started on Blue Note records. Reuben is considered one of the grandfathers of the modern Acid Jazz movement. Because many hip hop artists have used samples of his music in the last 10 years, Reuben's affiliation with Acid Jazz has helped to resurrect his career and has made him a sought-after bandleader again. Reuben was recently in Seattle as part of a Hammond B-3 Summit featuring Lonnie Liston Smith and Jimmy McGriff. It will be great to have him as the featured organ player throughout the evening.

Bernard "Pretty" Purdie is recognized as the one of the most recorded drummers in history. Purdie enjoyed his first hit as the drummer for King Curtis in the early sixties. By 1970 he was the drummer for Aretha Franklin, marking the start of a prolific session career that has seen him on over 3000 recordings! He recorded with a variety of musicians as diverse as Steely Dan, Larry Coryell, Isaac Hayes, B.B. King, and Joe Cocker, just to name a few. Purdie is also recognized as a significant influence on the modern Acid Jazz movement, as his beats have been sampled on a large number of acid jazz albums.

Grant Green, Jr. comes from a musical family; his father Grant Green, Sr. was a well known and highly respected guitarist in his own right. Grant's father recorded with Reuben Wilson in the '60s for Blue Note records. Grant, Jr. has now become a guitarist of note himself and has recently cut an album of his own with Reuben Wilson. Grant moves between jazz, funk, soul, and blues as seamlessly as do his "masters of groove" band mates.

Leo Gandelman is one of the leading artists in his native Brazil. He has recorded on no less than 600 dates and is highly sought-after in Brazil for his popular brass arrangements. Gandelman's parents are both musicians and initiated classical training for Leo from as a youngster. By the age of 15, he was playing the flute for The "Orquesta Sinfonica de Buenos Aires". Leo went on to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston before returning to Brazil and starting his successful recording career.

In Jazz Alley's first ever performance with an opening act, James "Blood" Ulmer will perform a short solo set. "Blood" has had a very varied and prolific career since becoming a professional musician in the mid '60s. Many critics proclaim Ulmer to be one of the most innovative guitarists in music-in the tradition of Jimi Hendrix. While Ulmer's playing never strays far from a blues sentiment, it can find itself in a number of unique surroundings, such as in a free jazz group (The Revelation Music Ensemble), with one of the most important free jazz musicians of all time (Ornette Coleman), part of a power trio consisting of violin and drums (Odyssey), or on an album of electric guitar accompanied by a string quartet. Ulmer's most recent recording was last year's very original interpretation of many blues standards entitled Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions and was many critics' pick for best blues album of the year.