This is the premiere CD of The Bull-Fonda Duo. The Duo began cultivating a chemistry in 2003 and has been seen in New York City at Pam Kraft's Loft Jazz; Parlor Jazz In the Moment; 55Bar; and The Buttonwood Cafe (Ct.).
"Using her voice and phrasing as a free instrument alongside Joe Fonda's bass exploits one of the most inventive ideas that have come from the new wave of jazz vocalists." (Trevor McClaren, AllAbout Jazz-NY.)
A NOTE FROM DAVID BAKER, Master Engineer
"Katie Bull and Joe Fonda are gracing the reduced member ensemble concept championed by the great singer and teacher Sheila Jordan with effortless offerings that I'm quite sure would please Sheila. The non-essential has been cut away to reveal the heart of the selections. Standards and originals complement each other in a compelling program that focuses on musicality over chops so that the listener is drawn in by the sincerity of their performance. So many want to record, so few come in as prepared and ready to improvise. The beauty within shines in the lack of embellishment. This music does not rely on gussied-up complexities, just respect for the song form and the listener. The only difficulty encountered on this session was the task of selecting the takes. It's an honor to take part in the presentation of this music that bears repeated listening." NYC, April 2004
Joe Fonda is a composer, bassist, recording artist, interdisciplinary performer, and producer. An accomplished international Jazz artist, Fonda has performed with his own ensembles throughout the United States and Europe, and as a side man with Archie Shepp, Ken McIntyre, Lou Donaldson, Bill and Kenny Barron, Leo Smith, Perry Robinson, Dave Douglas, Curtis Fuller, Mark Whitecage, Marion Brown, and Bill Dixon. Fonda was the bassist with the renowned Anthony Braxton sextet, octet, tentet, from 1984 through 1999. Fonda also sat on the Board of Directors from 1994 to 1999, and was the President from 1997 to 1999 of the newly formed Tri-Centric Foundation. He has also performed with the 38-piece Tri-Centric orchestra under the direction of Anthony Braxton, and was the bassist for the premiere performance of Anthony Braxton’s opera, Shalla Fears for the Poor, performed at the John Jay theater in New York, New York, October 1996. As a composer, Fonda has been the recipient of numerous grants and commissions and has released eight recordings under his own name. Fonda was also a member of The Creative Musicians Improvisors Forum directed by Leo Smith, and was the bassist with the American Tap Dance Orchestra in New York City, directed by world renowned tap dancer, Brenda Bufalino. In 1989, Fonda performed with Fred Ho’s Jazz and Peking Opera in its world premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. From 1982 to 1986 Fonda was the bassist and dancer with the Sonomama Dance Company. An independent producer since 1978, Fonda is the founding director of Kaleidoscope Arts and interdisciplinary performance ensemble. Currently Fonda has been recording and touring extensively with the Fonda-Stevens Group. They have released five CDs and have had seven European tours since 1997, with performances at the Bim huis in Amsterdam, Holland, the Prague Jazz Festival, Czech Republic, the Jazz Halo Festival, Belgium, and Jazz Festival Thurinsen, Weimer, Germany. Three of Fonda’s most recent projects are From the Source, Conference Call and the FAB Trio. From the Source is a group that incorporates the tap dancing and poetry of Brenda Bufalino and the healing arts of Vicki Dodd, and four jazz musicians. The group has released their first CD entitled, Joe Fonda and From the Source, on Konnex Records. Conference Call is a quartet, featuring drummers, Han Benik and Matt Wilson, with pianist Michael Jefry Stevens, and bassist Joe Fonda. Conference Call has released two CDs, one on Soul Note, Final Answer and one on Leo Records Variations on a Master Plan. The FAB Trio, featuring Joe Fonda, Barry Altschul, and Billy Bang, has just released its first CD, Transforming the Space, on CIMP Records. “The FAB Trio serenades us with their maturity, their honesty and longevity found in their many years of individual performances,” describes Kunle Mwanga, “They continue to be fresh and in the avant-garde of the music scene.”
Katie Bull is a jazz vocalist and multi-media performer living in New York City. She has sung with jazz vocalist/composer Jay Clayton, and Jay Clayton's Voices; jazz singer Sheila Jordan; pianist and composer Kirk Nurock in his Natural Sound; composer Julius Eastman; pianists Michael Jefry Stevens, Frank Kimbrough, Joshua Wolf, and Theo Hill; percussionists Lou Grassi, Matt Wilson, Harvey Sorgen, George Schuller, and Jon Wikan; bass players Joe Fonda, Martin Wind, and Cameron Brown; guitarists Carey DeNigris & David Phelps; and most recently, saxphonist Jeff Lederer. Her premiere CD Conversations with the Jokers (with Michael Jefry Stevens/piano; Lou Grassi/percussion; Joe Fonda/bass) was released in March 2003. The album was met with outstanding critical response, and - as an first time self-produced album - appeared on 12 Top 10 CMJ radio charts, culminating in an invitation to the JazzWeek festival in Rochester NY. In 2005 she released her critically acclaimed second CD, LOVE SPOOK (Mat Wilson, Frank Kimbrough, Martin Wind, Michael Jefry Stevens, & Joe Fonda). That album recently enjoyed 10,000 downloads in a two week period on AllAbout Jazz. com! Her albums are independently produced on the Corn Hill Indie Label; distributed by North Coutntry Distributors; and can be purchased on cdbaby.com, and in selected stores. Katie is also a writer, inter-arts performer, and founder of The Bull Family Orchestra, a hybrid-arts company integrating dance, spoken text, and music. The most recent BFO project, "The 29 Questions Project", (writers Hillary Rollins & Bull) was published in the 2005 Plays and Playwrights Anthology by Martin Denton, NYTE Inc. and is available at Barnes & Nobles and on Amazon.com. Monologues from her play "Message from the Driver" are included in the 2007 Applause books anthology, "Best Monologues of the New Millenium". For the 29 Questions project Katie collaborated with jazz singer/composer Ayelete Rose Gottleib, and oud player/composer Yoel Ben Simhon. Go to www.katiebull.com for most recent reviews and upcoming events. Katie sings every six weeks at the 55BAR in downtown Manhattan.
David Baker (Engineer) - was a Grammy Award winning audio engineer and producer of over 2,000 recordings. His credits, too numerous to mention in their entirety, include recordings for EMC, Enja, Blue Note, Atlantic, Sony, Verve, Black Saint/Soul Note, MaxJazz, Universal/Polygram among other record labels. Mr. Baker's long term working relationship with Shirley Horne earned him a Grammy in 1998 for recording I Remember Miles for Verve. He has also worked with a wide variety of artists including Will Boulware, Dave Liebman, Richie Beirach, Paul Bley, Al DiMeola, Art Farmer, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Maria Schneider, George Russell, Maceo Parker, Bruce Barth, John Scofield, John Zorn, Sun Ra and numerous others. From 1973 to 1975 he was the Chief Engineer for Vanguard Records, during which time he established a relationship with many Japanese engineers and producers including Yoshihiro Suzuki (for Philips/Eastwind lable) and Yashohachi Itoh, of Sony records. His working relationship with Itoh remained strong right up to Mr. Baker's death. After 1975 Mr. Baker worked primarily as a free-lance engineer until 1986 when he began remastering the entire Vanguard Classics catalog for re-release on CD. Most recently, Mr. Baker applied his years of live recording experience to doing archival recordings for Jazz at Lincoln Center's 2003/04 Season, including performances by The Dave Brubeck Octet and Toots Thielemans. Record production quality at the source was Mr. Baker's recording principle. His discography spans 40 years covering all genres of music, which took him all over the world. Mr. Baker was one of the masters of the art of recording. He consistently demanded and always achieved an exceptional level of quality.
This album is dedicated to the Master Engineer, David Baker
& his Family.
David Baker (1945-2004)
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