News
Update and Downbeat poll - 2010-07-13
Hey Everyone, I have been real busy traveling, writing and recording/mixing. So I have been pretty absent from my site recently. Sorry. There will be some new records coming out later this year that I think you all will be interested in. I'll update you as they get further along. In the meantime... I would love if people could vote in the Downbeat readers poll. I'd love to show up in the Alto category, Composition, Album (Aliso) and Group category! Thanks for the support you guys give to me. D
Xalapa - 2010-06-09
Sorry to any students in Xalapa that expected me to be there this week. I had to cancel because of some other things that came up. I hope to make it down another time. Best, Dave
New John Escreet record out on Mythology today! "Don't FIght the Inevitable" - 2010-06-01
Escreet cd Don't Fight the Inevitable" out today on Mythology Records
John Escreet-Piano
David Binney-Alto and Electronics
Ambrose Akinmusire-Trumpet
Matt Brewer-Bass
Nasheet Waits-Drums
Great record! Check it out and get it at: http://www.johnescreet.com/live/
Latest 55 Bar gig up for download. The NY Times reviewed gig. 4/6/2010 - 2010-04-30
w/ Jacob Sacks Thomas Morgan Dan Weiss 4/6/2010 Gig
Christophe Schweizer European tour - 2010-04-14
w/Christophe Schweitzer Group
(David Binney,Jacob Sacks,Zack Lober,Dan Weiss)
4/14/2010 - Zurich, Switz-Moods
4/16/2010 - Passau,Austria-Cafe Museum
4/17/2010 - Geneva, Switz-AMR
4/18/2010 - Berlin, Ger. -A Trane
4/19/2010 - Leipzig (day off)
4/20/2010 - Leipzig (Recording)
4/21/2010 - Leipzig (Recording)
4/22/2010 - Munich, Ger. -Unterfahrt
4/23/2010 - Hamburg, Ger.-Birdland
4/24/2010 - Eschen, Liechtenstein-Tangente
4/25/2010 - Basel, Switz-Birdseye
4/26/2010 - Cologne, Ger.-The Loft
New York Times review - 2010-04-08
pril 8, 2010
MUSIC REVIEW | DAVID BINNEY
The Art of the Straddle: A Saxophonist Ranging at Will
By NATE CHINEN
The alto saxophonist David Binney upholds an agenda of indeterminacy. He doesn't swim in the jazz mainstream, but neither is he sworn to an established avant-garde. His music accommodates elements of funk and electronic music, but rarely accepts the known artifice of fusion. To some degree his in-betweenness is a signature, characteristic since his arrival in New York more than 20 years ago. Increasingly it's also a common ideal among up-and-coming musicians, which attests to his stealth influence on the scene.
He has a regular post at the 55 Bar in Greenwich Village, where he played to a crowded room on Tuesday night. And he has a working band, a really good one, with the pianist Jacob Sacks, the bassist Thomas Morgan and the drummer Dan Weiss. He featured the same rhythm section five years ago on an album called "Bastion of Sanity" (Criss Cross), from which he drew two of the three expansive pieces in Tuesday's deftly exploratory first set.
It opened with that album's title track, hitched to a slippery variant of swing. Mr. Binney phrased the melody as a string of hiccups and then eased into an elastic mode, coolly extemporizing over bass and drums, with ample space for Mr. Weiss to fill. The sparseness felt suspenseful but provisional; when Mr. Sacks finally came in on Fender Rhodes piano, his spooky, half-finished chords had the effect of fleshing out the groove.
Mr. Binney improvises with athletic intensity, but he's careful about measuring his output, constructing cycles of ebb and flow. There comes a point in most of his performances where the kettle reaches a boil, hissing through its steam; here it happened on a piece, as yet unrecorded, with the working title "Simple Vibe." Beginning in chiming placidity, the song gradually assumed a forward pull, and Mr. Binney applied similar pacing to his solo, moving from judicious concision to a torrential overflow.
His playing was inseparable from the shape-shifting heave of the rhythm section, made up of younger players of ambitious intelligence and shared experience: they also work as a trio, under either Mr. Weiss or Mr. Sacks. ("Timshel," on Sunnyside, is Mr. Weiss's worthy new release in this vein.) Mr. Binney's trust in that specific chemistry might have been one reason he didn't play any music from his new album, "Aliso" (Criss Cross), which involves a different bassist, and a repertory weighted toward post-bop standards.
That trust was also a reason for the focused heat of "PF," which clattered through a series of fractured odd meters, including the 17-beat pattern behind both the keyboard and drum solos. Mr. Binney, grounded in this expert thrash, made his contribution feel almost self-defining: his tone was dark but airy, his cadence keening but controlled.
The David Binney Group performs on May 4 at 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, Greenwich Village; davidbinney.com.
Aliso Scores available! - 2010-04-03
The Scores for my 4 tunes on Aliso are now available. You can buy them individually or all 4 in one zip file.
New cd "Aliso" out on Criss Cross Records!! - 2010-02-15
Aliso
featuring Wayne Krantz, John Escreet, Jacob Sacks, Eivind Opsvik and Dan Weiss
A mixture of some originals and a couple of Wayne Shorter tunes, A Monk tune, Sam Rivers tune and a Coltrane tune.
It's available through the various online and store outlets. Not on iTunes yet but soon I would imagine. Enjoy!
To get the new cd right away,go to: http://www.abstractlogix.com/mymusic/aliso
Video 8-11-09 55 Bar - 2009-08-20
A few tunes from the 8/11/09 55 Bar gig. The whole gig audio will be up soon. Much better quality audio than thie video. Enjoy. D
Downbeat Readers Poll - 2009-08-12
If anyone feels like voting in the Downbeat Readers Poll... here's the link: http://www.downbeat.com/default.asp You'll see the poll link in the upper left hand corner.
New Video from 55 Bar gig - 2009-08-08
I have uploaded a recent video of our 7-28-09 gig at the 55 Bar. Simple Vibe and P.F. The sound is a bit distorted at times but worth watching. I will have the actual gig up for download soon. The audio will be good.
Latest 55 Bar gig download - 2009-07-17
So fun. Everyone on fire. A little video you can watch from our this gig here also, on the site in the video section and in the actual live gig section.
Random iPod shuffle list... - 2009-07-11
My List-
1-Copeland-Should You Return-You Are My Sunshine
2-Bobby Hutcherson-Ivory Coast-Un Poco Loco
3-Bob Mould-Underneath Days-Body of Song
4-Herbie Hancock-I Have a Dream-The Prisoner
5-Prefuse 73-Noreaster Cheer-Preparations
6-Bill Frisell-John Hardy/Ray Returns..-All Hat
7-Johnny Hammond-Thunder and Lightning-The Prophet
8-Luciano Berio-Gigue: Petite Suite-Complete piano works
9-Duke Ellington-Creole Rhapsody,Part2,take 2-Cenntenial
10-Jan Garbarek-Yr-Dis
11-Ned Rorem-Lions-American Spectrum
12-Bill Withers-Don't know what to say-Making Music
13-Junot Diaz-(audio book)-Part139-The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao
14-Mogwai-Boring Machines Disturb Sleep-Happy Songs for Happy People
15-David Binney/Alan Ferber-La Taqueria-In The Paint (ha!)
16-Eddie Daniels-Lost in the Rain-Morning Thunder
17-Antonio Carlos Jobim-Janelas Abertas-AC Jobim
18-George Duke-After the Love-Liberated Fantasies
19-Paul Desmond/Jim Hall-I get a kick out of you-First Place Again
20-Azar Lawrence-From the Point of Light-Summer Solsitce
21-Bennie Maupin-Excursion-The Jewel in the Lotus
22-Jef Lee Johnson-Subliminal Cut-St Somebody
23-Bill Conners-Face in the Water-Of Mist and Melting
24-Meshuggah-Dances to a Discordant System-Obzen
25-Frank Sinatra-Empty Tables-Reprise Collection
EXTRA--
26-Mike Maineri-Flying Colours-Wanderlust
27-Harelm River Drive-If we had peace today-Harlem River Drive
28-Jorge Ben-Os Alguimistas Estao Chegando os Alguimistas-A Tabua de Esmeralda
29-Hank Crawford-Down to Earth-We Got a Good Thing Going On
30-Dan Weiss-Trk 3 unreleased Cd- He orchestrates dialogue from Glenngary Glen Ross
31-William Schuman-Vigoroso Sym. #7-Schuman Symphonies 7-10 Seattle Sym
32-Stanley Turrentine-On the Beach-Pieces of a Dream
33-Lou Harrison-Pacifiko Rondo: Play of Dolphins-Music of Lou Harrison
34-The Brothers Johnson-Caught Up-Winners
35-Dave Brubeck-Stardust-Jaz at Oberlin
36-Steve Khan-City Suite:Pt 1,City Monsters-Arrows
37-Arvo Part-Salve Regina-Da Pacem
38-Tomahawk-Sun Dance-Anonymous
39-Freddie Hubbard-Bundle of Joy-Bundle of Joy
40-Elliot Smith- Pictures of Me-Either/Or
41-George Duke- Everyday Hero- Dukey Treats
42-Barney McAll-Yemaya Prayer-Modas
43-Merle Haggard-Wishing All These Old Things Were New-If I Could Only Fly
44-John Taylor-Dry Stone-Angel of Presence
45-Toru Takemitsu-Rain Tree Shetch-Complete Solo Piano Music
46-Death Cab For Cutie-The New Year-Transatlanticism
47-Benjamin Britten-6 Metamorphoses after Ovid Narcissus-Allan Vogel Oboe Obsession
48-Vince Gill-The Only Love-These Days (disc3)Some Things Never Get Old
49-Emmylou Harris-Not Enough-All I Intended to Be
50-Lou Rawls Can you Dig it (monologue)-I Can't Make it Alone The Axelrod Years
51-Snow Patrol-The Planets Bend Between Us-A Hundred Million Suns
52-Bob Mintzer-Swing Out-Swing Out
53-Gal Costa-Luto-Hoje
54-Nine Inch Nails-Ghosts lll (trk 21)- Ghosts l-lV
55-Bjork-Nattura-Nattura feat. Thom Yorke
56-MAE-Suspension-The Everglow
57-Zucchero-Nei Cosi Blu- Fly
58-Bon Iver-Skinny Love-For Emma Forever Ago
59-Lily Allen-The Fear-It's not Me, It's You
60-Stanley Cowell-Travelin' Man-Blues for the Viet Cong
61-Sonny Criss-Cool Struttin'-Warm and Sonny
62-Frank Sinatra-You Are There-The World We Knew
63-John Kirby-Frasquita Serenade-John Kirby
64-Aretha Franklin-Why I Sing the Blues
65-Fennesz-Glide-The Black Sea
66-Brad Paisley-Then-American Saturday Night
67-Joe Henderson-Visa-More from an evening with Joe Henderson
68-Bruce Hornsby- The Red Plains-The Way It Is
69-Caetano Veloso- Na Baixa do Sapateiro-Bicho Baile Show
70-Johnny Hodges-Dukes Place-3 Shades of Blue
71-Metric Satellite-Mind-Fantasies
72-Per Norgad-Nova Genitura-for Soprano and..- Seadrift
73-Telefon Tel Aviv-Get Me Lost/Driving in L.A.-Telefon Tel AViv Remixes Compiled
74-Stevie Wonder-Tuesday Heartbreak-Talking Book
75-Luis Tinoco-Forgotten Places Largo-Molto-Luis Tinoco Chamber Works
76-The Twilight Sad- Walking For Two Hours-Fourteen Autumns,Fifteen Winters
77-Kenny Chesney-Who You'd Be..-Totally Country vol 6
78-Mark Anthony Turnage-Sleep On,Berceuse-Music To Hear
79-Edward Simon- Winter-Poesia
80-Dadi-Track 2 unreleased cd. comes out in Sept.
81-Merle Haggard-If Only I Could Fly-If Only I Could Fly (killing. the truth.Time to stop. One of my all time favorite performances.)
June 30th55 Bar gig for download - 2009-07-04
Latest gig. Unique. Very emotional and different in some ways.
We liked it.
June 2nd 55 Bar gig for download - 2009-06-15
The June 2nd 55 Bar gig is now available for download. Very inspired gig. Ambrose Akinmusire sitting on trumpet on "P.F" also. 320kbps
Josh Jackson Interview - 2009-06-11
Josh Jackson of NPR and WBGO did a very nice interview with me the other day. Here is the link:
http://www.wbgo.org/thecheckout/?p=716
Latest 55 Bar gig download - 2009-05-25
The 5/19/09 gig is up for download. Very good gig. Song List: Set 1: Bastion of Sanity, Simple Vibe, PF Set 2: Explaining What's Hidden, Lisliel, Montreal
Jazz Journalist Assoc Nomination - 2009-05-22
I am very happy to report that I have been nominated for Alto Saxophonist of the year (2009) by the Jazz Journalists Assoc. along with Ornette Coleman, Lee Konitz, Phil Woods and Rudresh Mahanthappa.
It's honor to nominated with Ornette, Lee and Phil as I grew up listening and studying them, of course.
Trio gig download - 2009-05-11
Just found this. Really fun trio gig at Cachaca,(now closed), in late 2008. Zack Lober on Bass, Jordan Perlson on Drums.
This is a real fun gig. Way more "straight ahead" then most of my gigs with a Wayne Shorter tune, Duke Ellington's "Heaven" and some other swinging stuff along with some intense hard grooving "P.F.'s". this is for anyone who wants to hear a burning gig. A lot of notes. Good sound quality. No mic's! It is a late last year gig so I randomly have the date as 11-11-08. So look for it there. Enjoy, D
Latest 55 Bar gig up, plus extra set - 2009-05-10
The 5/5/09 55 bar gig is now up for download. It was recorded with the Zoom and the setting was a little loud so there is some distortion when it gets loud. We liked the gig a lot though, so I mastered it and put it up with an extra set that we recorded in March. It's the first set of a 55 Bar gig captured before the battery ran out on the Zoom so that I couldn't record the 2nd set. So I add that 1st set here, lower the price by a dollar and you get 3 sets for $4.99. Not the greatest of recording qualities for the 2 recent sets but the music is happening. I really love the 1st set from March that is included here.
Lisbon score - 2009-05-02
For those of you that have purchased the score to "Lisbon" or the whole Cities and Desire score, it was pointed out to me that the Lisbon score had some pretty bad mistakes in it. i have since corrected them and re-uploaded both the single score and the whole album socres with the corrected version. If anyone who purchased those in the past, let me know and I'll email you the corrected Lisbon score. Best, Dave
String Project - 2009-04-27
Thanks to all that came out to the String Orch project I presented at the Jazz Gallery. It was a blast. SOOO much work but worth it. I am now thinking that it may be an album sometime this year... D
In L.A., Fresno. - 2009-02-05
We are playing California this week. Fresno this Fri night,and the Pasadena Jazz Institute on Sunday. (Me, Jacob Sacks, Thomas Morgan, Dan Weiss). I will have the new cd Third Occasion with me also.
Third Occasion, the new cd, is here! Download now! Scores too... - 2009-01-26
Today is the official release date of my new cd Third Occasion. You can download it right now from the "cd's" section of this site. It features Craig Taborn, Scott Colley and Brian Blade with the addition of a Brass section, Ambrose Akinmusire,Brad Mason,Corey King and Andy Hunter. 320kbps and all artwork. I am very happy and excited about this album. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it. Comment on my message board after you listen if you feel inclined. The scores are available already also, for the musicians out there. The physical cd is out now too. Best places to get it are: http://www.jazzloft.com/m-27167-David-Binney.aspx http://www.abstractlogix.com/xcart/_search.php?page=1&q=Binney&x=0&y=0 http://cdbaby.com/link?u=119870 And note that this cd was totally funded by all of you that bought gigs,scores,albums,etc... from this site over the last couple of years. So.. spread the word! The more of you that support this music from this site, the sooner I can get cracking on the next one! Thanks for your support! Dave
55Bar Binney,Escreet,Lober,Crane, Download - 2009-01-19
Latest 55 bar..Nice gig w/ John Escreet, Zack Lober and Tommy Crane.
New Cd soon and Downbeat - 2009-01-06
Just keeping everyone up to date on the new cd. It is called "Third Occasion" it features Craig Taborn, Scott Colley, and Brian Blade along with brass section on a lot of tracks, Ambrose Akinmusire, Brad Mason, Corey King and Andy Hunter. It is at the factory now and will be available by the end of the month. I may put it up as a download just before it's hard copy release so check this site. Also, there is a feature article in the upcoming (Feb) issue of Downbeat. Sort of a "get to know you" sort of piece but feature non the less. thanks! Dave
Freddie Hubbard - 2008-12-29
Don't really know what to say... He was one of my biggest influences ever. Still listen to him all of the time. I grew up going to hear him play in L.A. when I was a kid. Deep, deep influence.
12/17/08 Binney,Sacks,Morgan,Weiss 55 Bar,Gig Download (!!) - 2008-12-24
This is one of my favorites! Especially,personally,regarding my own playing.Great gig. Enjoy! Oh,this site will be updated very shortly. New features etc.. Plus,the new cd will be available here in 1 month!! Keep checking back.
11/4/08 Binney, Sacks, Morgan, Weiss 55 Bar gig for download - 2008-12-15
Obama - 2008-11-05
I am just so proud of my country right now. And as much as I love this country, this is the first time I have felt like that in a long time. Go Barack!
Updated Forum - 2008-10-10
I had to update the Forum section of the site because there was a spam attack. It is now fresh and new. All the old posts had to go though unfortunately. So feel free to start anew. D
Binney Quartet (Taborn,Colley,Blade) live. Download!!! - 2008-08-19
Hello, Sorry i have been absent from here for a little while. Just very busy. On the road most of the Summer and then came right back and recorded my latest cd which will be out ,probably, about November on my Mythology label. Craig Taborn, Scott Colley and Brian Blade. My preliminary feeling is that it's my favorite record to date. I still have a lot of work to do in picking takes etc.. but I am very excited about it and I know the guys felt the same. In the meantime, here is a gig we did in Switz on July 22nd. Really great gig.I know many of you have been waiting for a download of this group for years. It's a very roomy sound because it was recorded in a big theatre but the music comes across.There may be one or two more in the coming months. Enjoy! D
New Binney Krantz gig. Great One! - 2008-06-29
Latest Binney, Wayne Krantz, gig w/ Tim Lefebvre and GREAT drummer from Kneebody, Nate Wood. And sitting in for a nice solo, Ben Wendel also from Kneebody. This was a great gig. And it is possibly the best recorded gig I have done yet. I am getting used to the new Zoom recorder and the sound at Annabelle's in Brooklyn is great. Enjoy! D
Latest 55 Bar gig up for download 6/17/08 - 2008-06-19
Real nice, intense gig. Sacks, Weiss, Morgan. Enjoy! D
New Gig up for download. w/Krantz,Lefebvre,Almond - 2008-06-14
Hey All, Just played a great new place in Red Hook Brooklyn last night called Annabelle's. Really cool place. Amazing food too. Real fun gig.Totally improvised. Guys are killin' it! Put it up right away. 2 sets. And at 320 kbps. We play there again tonight. We'll see how it goes. Could be up for download in the next couple of days also. Enjoy, D
Couple of new gigs up for download - 2008-06-09
Hey All, There are a couple of recent gigs up for download. 5/26/08 gig at Cachaca with John Escreet,Zack Lober and Jordan Perlson. One set gig, low price. And the 6/3/08 55 Bar gig with Jacob Sacks,Thomas Morgan, Colin Stranahan and Adam Rogers sitting in on the 2nd set. This was recorded on my new Zoom recorder but I had it facing the wrong way. It still sounds ok but the Alto could be louder. For this reason I lowered the price a little. Next time I'll have it right and it will sound amazing! Enjoy, D
New Gig up for download / Back from the road - 2008-04-21
I am sorry i haven't been posting much here lately. I have just returned from being on the road for most of the last 2 months. It's been great but it's nice to be back in NYC for a couple of weeks. had a real nice tour in Canada and in Portugal and we played a concert,did a clinic and me a Dan Weiss adjudicated at the North Texas State Jazz Festival in Addison, Texas. My favorite gig on the road was our quartet concert at Espace della Arte in Montreal to a packed hall. Thanks,once again, Montreal! I recorded it and will check and probably post it soon. There is some video of this concert also. The latest gig that i posted here is a 55 Bar gig we did on one of the few days i was here this month with Taborn, Morgan and Weiss. It is a very nice gig. We felt real good about it. CHECK IT OUT! I'll be here in NYC for the next couple of weeks before a big tour with my other quartet (Taborn,Colley,Blade). I will be writing all new music for that tour and we will be recording in mid June here in NYC for my Mythology label. I'll write more soon. Thanks! D
Binney w/(Sacks,Weiss,Morgan,McCaslin) 2-12-08 Download - 2008-02-14
Latest 55 Bar gig. Always fun to play with Donny Mac! Also has nice solos on last tune by Samir Zarif and Lars Deitrich.
All downloadable cd's now at 320 kbps!! - 2008-02-03
It is now possible for me to raise the file quality on my cd's. I have re-uploaded all the cd's I have here for download. They are all now at 320 kbps which is the highest possible quality for mp3. It's damn close to cd quality and when they have done tests, people cannot hear the difference at this level from a cd. Re-enjoy! Also, there will be some new surprise downloads coming in the next couple of weeks...
Lost track from Luxury of Guessing session! - 2008-02-03
Echo park, a track that was recorded for the Luxury of Guessing session but didn't make the cd because of length of the cd, is now available for the first time here! It features a fine guitar solo by Ben Monder and short solos by Donny McCaslin and Steve Armor along with some great percussion by Danny Sadownick. Find it in the "CD" section..
Some stuff I have been listening too - 2008-01-29
OK. A lot of people have been asking what i am listening too. Here's a list of what i have been listening to lately. It's all over the map so be careful. Some of you may not want to hear some of this stuff. Listen before you buy. i don't want to get an email from someone saying "What the f*ck are you listening to Toto from 2006 for?!" or " Natasha Bedgingfield?!" Right now I am listening to the Mute Math live record. Real nice. Lately, Natasha Bedgingfield's new one Pocketful Of Sunshine Marisa Monte's last two Infinito Particular and Universo Ao Meu Redor Various Jackie Mclean Blue Note 60's things. Mostly the one's with Bobby Hutcherson and Grachan Moncur Carlinhos Brown- One of my favorite musicians. Best: Alfagamabetizado (If you can find it.) All the records are great except for the newest one (A Gente Ainda Nao Sonhou),weak. A Toto record, Falling In Between, from 2006 believe it or not! Some 80's Dave Sanborn records Duncan Sheik (one of my favorite composers) Brighter/Later: A Duncan Sheik Anthology Les McCann Another Beginning Underworld-Oblivion With Bells Various Burt Bacharach Red House Painters -Old Ramon one of my favorite bands. Also check out Sun Kil Moon, another of Mark Koselek's great bands. Queens of the Stone Age- Era Vulgaris Keyshia Cole- Both albums *Anthony Hamilton- This guy is one of my favorite singers. I LOVE these records. Southern Comfort, Ain't Nobody Worryin', Soulife, Comin' From Where I'm From. Especially Southern Comfort. He keeps getting better and his phrasing is deep. Track 9 ,"Float" from Comin' from... is so deep. and by pure coincidence a track by PJ Harvey called Float is also really deep. Caetano Veloso- One of my all-time favorites. i have been listening to CE which is new but check out LIVRO if you don't know it. That's the shit. One of the best produced records in the last 20 years for me. MAHLER- Symphony No. 9, again! I think it's one of the greatest works ever. A lot of Paul Desmond- One of my top 3 favorite Alto players. Anything. Never heard him sound bad. i have been listening to some Brubeck like Jazz goes to Junior College. Desmond sounds unbelievable. Some Milestone era Joe Henderson. And revisiting Telefon Tel Aviv. Any is great. Map... best.
Back from Brazil - 2008-01-25
Sorry I have been a little absent from the site recently but i have been traveling a lot. I just got back from Brazil which was one of the great experiences of my life. I am around now for the next month and a half and there are some gigs coming up this week including the Knitting Factory here in NYC on Sunday and the 55 on Tuesday. So there should be some new downloads soon. I had a lot of thoughts while down in Brazil and will try to express them here at some point soon. I have updated my schedule so there are a lot more dates here now. Check them out. More news soon. Thanks, D
Binney featuring Wayne Krantz,Lefebvre,Weiss gig download - 2008-01-08
Dec. 18th's 55 Bar gig. Intense. Now up for download. Check out the sample.192 kbps
Finally! Cities and Desire scores available! - 2007-11-30
All the scores to Cities and Desire are now available. They can be bought separately or you can buy the whole album of scores and save money.Go to the "Scores" section of this site. A lot of you have asked for these so I am happy to finally get them up here. Enjoy! (A note: To load these scores up to the site I had to create a "track" that appears on the cd track list. It's not an actual musical track on the album. Obviously.)
Binney featuring, John Escreet, Fima Ephron,Jordan Perlson download - 2007-11-27
I went back and listened to this one from earlier this month and realized it was a good one. A lot of energy and Fima and Jordan to gether are great. A lot of saxophone too. Enjoy.
Binney featuring Wayne Krantz 55 bar download - 2007-10-23
Recent 55 gig featuring Wayne Krantz.Everyone plays great. Rocker,groove vibe. 192 kbps Check out the audio sample.
Wild One! latest 55 Bar gig w/ Blade,Weiss,Morgan download - 2007-08-31
Well this was a crazy one. Just sort of came together. Real fun. Alto, Two drummers and Bass. Brian Blade, Dan Weiss and Thomas Morgan! This is definitely one for drummers. Samir Zarif and Ben Van Gelder sit in on the last tune also for and added pleasure.
Binney Group at Jazz Gallery 8-17-07 Downloadable. - 2007-08-25
Nice gig with acoustic piano. Even a couple of short videos up on the site from this gig.
Latest Binney Group gig up 8-14-07 Downloadable. - 2007-08-16
Another good one. Same group as 2 weeks ago. Same great results. Really fun. w/Jacob Sacks, Thomas Morgan and Dan Weiss. All gigs are now at 192 kbps. The group is really stretching and getting into some mind-boggling adventures.
Max Roach - 2007-08-16
I wasn't surprised to hear that Max had died. I knew he was real sick. He was 82. Good life. Couldn't ask for more than a life like he had. Besides what he did with music, which we all know, he was in the center of the racial issues in the 60's. He stood up and spoke his mind. Quite a life. I remember just a few years ago standing right behind him after we got off of a flight to Montreal to play the festival and he was so soft, gentle, dressed so dapper in a perfect suit and the Canadian border people were giving him such a hard time. Asking him all of these questions that they eventually didn't ask me and when they asked him who he was, why he wanted to come to Montreal and what he did. He said.." my name is Max Roach and I play the drums." Very humbly, not expecting for a second that they should know who he was. Almost made me cry. Such a deep moment. So beautiful.
Latest Binney Group gig up 7-31-07 Downloadable. Great gig. - 2007-08-04
Jacob Sacks, Thomas Morgan, Dan Weiss (and Samir Zarif plays tenor on the last tune. "PF") I know I say "great gig" often but i don't put these gigs up for download unless they are real good gigs. This was a great one.Really fun. Enjoy! D
David Binney Group (Taborn,Weiss,Morgan) at Cachaca 7/24/07 up for Download - 2007-07-26
This was a great gig. Acoustic piano. Recorded at 192kbps. 3 Sets! My tunes except for Kurt Rosenwinkels "Night Blues" and Scott Colley's "Convergence".
The Seventies - 2007-06-24
THE SEVENTIES Well, here I am sitting in a van with Edward Simon, Hans Glawischnig and Clarence Penn as we are being driven through Tuscany on our way to our next gig at the Terni festival. They are listening to their iPods as am I. I am listening to a duo recording by Marc Copland and Greg Osby called Round and Round. I have already listened to The Shins "Wincing the Night Away", a little Charlie Parker and the whole Bobby Hutcherson album call "Now!" which happens to be one of my favorite records. This made me think about so many records that have had such an impact on me. I have always wanted to compile a list of these and put them up here on the site. I realize that so many of the records I love are from the Seventies. This because I was a kid growing up then and this was the music that made me want to play music. But it's not only that, and I don't really think this is a bias as I have had major discussions about this but... I think that the Seventies was our greatest period of creativity in the arts and especially in the arts in the U.S. I feel very fortunate to have been alive and aware at that point in history. I have not seen a period since that was as inspiring. I am not just talking about music. The film industry was at it's highest point in the Seventies without a doubt in my mind. T.V.,Pop and Rock music and while I can't comment on it as knowledgeably I would imagine that you could find arguments for this in Dance, Writing, Painting and Classical music. There are reasons for this. I think that the 1960's (the "Sixties") were such a reaction to what we had set up in this country beforehand: politics, social issues such as Race relations and Women's rights, Vietnam, etc..that it spurred socially conscious and very intelligent art. At the same time we were seeing the beginning of a period where big business was seeing money and profits in the arts and THAT really took off in the 80’s and has continued through the 90’s and certainly the 2000’s. To the point where it has hurt art in general and everything in life for that matter as far as I am concerned, to the determent of intelligence and freedom of expression. Freedom in general actually…. Wow.. I could really keep taking this to other levels. Maybe I’ll stop here for now. D Here is a list off of the “top of my head”. THIS JUST A PARTIAL LIST. Really, just off the top of my head. There are SOOO many more albums I could include if I was home and could look at my collection. I felt like I should just start the list though and I can always add on to it.. There are a couple that are actually from the very early “80’s” but they somehow fit on this list for me. Coma separated titles. Wayne Shorter- Native Dancer Bobby Hutcherson- Now!, Highway One Jan Garbarek- Photo with..., Paths and Prints, Places Gary Bartz- JuJu Man, I've Known Rivers, JuJu Street Songs,Music is My Sancuary Bennie Maupin- The Jewel in the Lotus, Slow Traffic to the Right, Moonscapes George Duke- The Aura Will Prevail, Feel, Brazilian Love Affair Joe Henderson- Black Miracle Freddie Hubbard-High Energy, Liquid Love,Love Connection, Windjammer Rainer Brunninghaus- Freigweht Herbie Hancock- Sunlight, Manchild, Secrets, Mwandishi,Thrust Weather Report- Mr.Gone, Heavy Weather, Talespinin’, Night Passage McCoy Tyner- Sama Layuca, Fly with the Wind, Song for my Lady, Song of the New World,Trident, Atlantis, Enlightenment,Sahara Stanley Clarke-Stanley Clark, Journey to Love Oliver Lake- Heavy Spirits Brecker Bros-Brecker Bros, Straphangin' Oliver Nelson- A Dream Deferred Joanne Brackeen- Tring-a-ling Mike Nock- In Out and Around Keith Jarrett- Luminescence, Arbor Zena, My Song Joni Mitchell- The Hissing of Summer Lawns, Hejira Dave Liebman/Richie Beirach- Forgotten Fantasies, Jaco Pastorius-Jaco Pastorius Dave Sanborn-Taking Off, Sanborn, Hideaway Jan Hammer- The First Seven Days Jeff Beck- Blow by Blow, Wired Steely Dan- Aja, Gaucho Dexter Gordon- Homecoming, Sophisticated Giant Tony Williams-The Joy of Flying, Million Dollar Legs Chick Corea- Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy, Secret Agent, The Leprechaun, Three Quartets Milton Nascimento- Journey to Dawn, Milton (Raca) Billy Hart- Enchance Pat Metheny- White Album, American Garage, Bright Size Life John Abercrombie- Timeless, Arcade, M Rickie Lee Jones- Rickie Lee Jones, Pirates Pharoah Sanders- Thembi Ralph Towner- Solstice, Sounds and Shadows, Old Friends New Friends Eberhard Weber- The Colours of Chloë, Yellow Fields, Following Morning, Silent Feet, Fluid Rustle Donald Byrd- Places and Spaces, BlackByrd
Binney w/Krantz,Lefebvre,Weiss,Eubanks,55 Bar,download now. - 2007-06-06
Binney w/Wayne Krantz,Tim Lefebvre,Dan Weiss,and Robin Eubanks Mostly improvised gig except for "Last Minute" which features Robin Eubanks. Real fun, both loud and ambient gig. Guitar solo Wayne takes in the first set kills me! Nice to have Robin on the last tune. He sounds great as usual. Real fun gig. Mastered as a 192 kbps mp3 as an extra bonus.
5-22-07 Binney 55 gig up for download - 2007-05-25
Good gig. Binney,Taborn,Morgan, Weiss. 2nd set features two special guests playing great. Enjoy!
5-8-07 Binney 55 gig up for download - 2007-05-11
Binney,Taborn,Morgan,Weiss and special guest Tenor player on 2nd set.
Latest Balance 55 Bar gig (4/10/07) up for download. Great gig! - 2007-04-12
Really great gig. The band in top form with the regulars Taborn,Morgan and Weiss. Real fun. Nice solo on the last tune from 18 year old Altoist Ben Van Gelder also.
Binney, McCaslin,Morgan,Cleaver 2/27/07 55 Bar up for download - 2007-03-10
Binney, McCaslin,Morgan,Cleaver 2/27/07 55 Bar up for download
Oceanos the new cd on Criss Cross is out now! And score for We Dream Oceans. - 2007-02-26
This is basically the same group as "Afinidad". Brian Blade, Scott Colley, Adam Rogers, Luciana Souza, Pernel Saturnino, Shane Endsley, Alan Ferber and Jesse Newman. Also check out Scott Colley's new cd "Architect of the Silent Moment" which I produced and play on. CamJazz
Latest 55 Bar gig w/Sacks,Morgan Weiss, available for download. - 2007-02-25
Jacob Sacks fills in for Taborn and sounds amazing. Real good gig.
Tour gig (12/8/06),Cities and Desire Group, up for download. - 2007-02-12
Gig from our Canadian tour with the Cities and Desire group. 2nd night at the Rex in Toronto. A board recording which I mastered as best as I could. Sound not bad though.You have to scroll down to Dec.8th,2006 because that was the date of the gig. There is a short sample of the gig that you can listen too before buying.(Click on "Audio" when you get to the gig). David Binney, Mark Turner, Craig Taborn, Thomas Morgan, Dan Weiss.
Trio straight ahead gig up - 2007-02-01
David Binney, Hans Glawischnig, Jeff Hirshfield at the 55 Bar 1-21-07 Blowing straight ahead gig. Tunes by Sam Rivers, Wayne Shorter,George Shearing, Kenny Wheeler and a couple new ones from Binney. A lot of saxophone! Fun gig. (And yes, the Kenny Wheeler tune incorrectly listed as "Heyoke" is "Smatter".Some of you are definitely on top of it!) D
Latest Binney Group gig up 1-30-07 - 2007-02-01
w/Gregoire Maret on Harmonica, Eliot Cardinaux,Thomas Morgan, Dan Weiss. Last tune also has Miles Okazaki and Samir Zarif
Latest 55 Bar gig up for download McCaslin, Morgan, Cleaver - 2007-01-18
My regular group is on the road except for Thomas so this Tuesday was Donny McCaslin, Thomas Morgan and Gerald Cleaver. I wrote a couple of new things for it and we did a Joe Lovano tune and a Duke Ellington tune. So all different stuff for this gig. Real fun. Have to play more with Gerald, he's so great! Miles Okazaki joined us for 2 tunes in the 2nd set also.
Latest Balance 55 Bar gig (1/2/07) up for download - 2007-01-08
Features a real straight ahead "Lester Left Town" in 2nd set.
Latest Balance 55 Bar gig (12/19/06) up for download - 2006-12-23
Great gig. Chris P joins us on 1st set and plays his ass off. Real development with the group after the tour. Apparent here.
New download - 2006-12-21
Hey All, I am in L.A. Yes! Nice weather, Mexican food. My childhood revisited! The latest download is a zip of 3 sets. One from Le Kemia in Montreal with the Cities and Desire group from our recent Canada tour. It is 98% of the first set as I forgot to turn the recorder on for a minute. There is also the first set ot the last gig of the Canada tour taken from Upstairs in Montreal. In addition there is a 1 set gig I did Iridium in NYC with Adam Rogers,Tim Lefebvre and Dan Weiss. 3 random sets that I put in one package. There will be downloads of some of the other Canadian gigs like the 2 gigs in Toronto which were amazing. I am awaiting the files. They were recorded professionally. Also the latest 55 Bar gig from a couple of nights ago with Taborn,Morgan,Weiss and Chris Potter will be up in a day or so. That was an amazing gig. The band is really developing and changing. This gig is a great example of that. Look for it real soon. Enjoy! Dave
Latest Balance 55 Bar gig (12/12/06) up for download - 2006-12-14
Real good gig on the night we returned from a week long tour. There will be some of the Canada tour gigs up for download soon. A few of those gigs were amazing. It was the Cities and Desire group which is the Balance group with Mark Turner added.
Latest (11/14/06) 55 Bar gig up for download - 2006-11-17
Binney,Wayne Krantz,Tim Lefebvre,Fima Ephron,Tom Rainey (and Miles Okazaki 2nd set) Totally improvised mayhem. Fun.
Latest (10/30/06) gig up for download - 2006-10-31
David Binney w/ Adam Rogers,Sean Wayland,Tim Lefebvre,Zach Danziger Really fun gig. Didn't feel amazing to me when we played but when I listened back I loved it. Really nice. VERY electric and funky. Almost all totally improvised other than a loose version of Arylmyn Trangent.
Latest 55 Bar gig up for download - 2006-10-19
Real nice gig. David Binney -Cities and Desire -Mark Turner,Craig Taborn,Thomas Morgan, Dan Weiss
Latest download: David Binney w/Simon,Rogers,Lefebvre,Weiss 55 Bar, 10/11/06 - 2006-10-13
Good gig. Very electric like the last one with this group which is also on this site for download. Mark Turner is on the other one rather than Edward. Next Tuesday's gig will be with Taborn,Weiss,Morgan and Mark Turner. Look out for that one around Thursday of next week.
Latest Balance gig (10-3-06) now available for download - 2006-10-08
Great gig with special guest Tenor player sounding amazing 2nd set.
Cities and Desire, my new Criss Cross cd has been released. - 2006-09-26
Cities and Desire,my new Criss Cross cd featuring Mark Turner,Craig Taborn,Thomas Morgan and Dan Weiss has been released.You should be able to get it anywhere. I know it is up on Amazon.com now. Thanks!
Binney Group, Birmingham, Eng.- Informal Clinic/Concert download - 2006-09-25
Very informal 1 hour 30 minute clinic/concert w/Adam Rogers,Dan Weiss and Thomas Morgan in Birmingham,England last April. You'll have to turn the volume up on the "talking" parts but nice music.
Bow and Quarter ep-David Binney-Chris Bowman (download only) - 2006-09-19
This is an ep that I have just released. It was recorded a number of years ago.It's a three tune ep. I have always really liked it and wanted to do something with it. Now with my site and downloads, it can come to light. Chris Bowman is a longtime friend and great drummer. We will finish this as a whole album at some point I think...although maybe we'll just make ep's every once in a while. I actually "play" a little trumpet and quitar on one track! Check it out in the "cd's" section of this site. Hope you enjoy it.
Latest Balance gig 9-12-06 now available for download - 2006-09-18
Binney,Taborn,Weiss,Morgan also Mile Okazaki on 2nd set. Nice gig.
Letter by a friend... - 2006-09-17
This is something a very good friend wrote about a bar that I go to often. A place Chris Potter, Scott Colley, et al know well. I have had some of the deepest and most inspiring conversations at this place. (Including last night!)This may seem unimportant to some,I don't know but it is metaphor for what is happening all over. A loss of culture, a loss of something real. One For The Road I found out last night that in 28 months the P & G Cafe will be losing its lease and closing its doors for good. For those of you who don’t know, the P & G Café, on the corner of W 73 Street and Amsterdam Avenue, has been serving every day since it opened in January of 1942. If you have never been, you have probably seen our “Cafe Bar” neon sign, either getting out of the subway or as a telltale NYC background in one of the many movies, TV shows, or comic books in which it has appeared. I am a relative newcomer. I have been a patron since I moved into the neighborhood in the late 1980’s. Twelve years ago I became the Friday, Saturday, Sunday Night Bartender. Needless to say, I’m a little upset about losing my job, but I’m still healthy and I’ll find a gig somewhere. However, there is something deeper troubling me. You know it’s true that some people tell their bartender their troubles; I’ve been listening for years so I figure it’s only fair that I get my turn. I always thought that the true value of a neighborhood was more than just the amount of rent or property taxes you had to pay. I always thought that the people had something to do with it. If that was the case, then the places where those people got together mattered too. I loved my job because I worked in a place like that. I worked in a place where people from all over the neighborhood and all over the world came together. It seemed like there was no limit to the variety of people that sat next to each other. I worked in a place where people met their future husbands and wives. I worked in a place where people celebrated the births of their children and grieved over the loss of their loved ones. I worked in a place that overflowed with joy when the home teams won. I worked in a place that stayed open through blizzards and blackouts. On that horrible day in September when hundreds of thousands of people walked north, we were there. On that day and the days following we needed places like the P & G more than ever. We needed places to be together, to cry, to get angry, to get drunk, to get sober, to figure out what we could do to move forward. I always knew that I worked in the “Service Industry,” but it was during that time that I truly understood what the scope of that meant. I understand that it is just a bar and that I’m just a bartender and things go on. I took pride in my job and I took pride in the service we provided for our customers and for our neighborhood. It’s just that it needs to be said that we were the REAL thing. We were a real neighborhood joint where everybody really did know your name. Those Bar/Restaurant chains that you find near malls all over the country, the ones that all look alike and are filled with the same prefabricated nostalgia, they are trying to look like us. The stuff on our walls is real. We are old school and we are closing. I’m not really sure why I’m telling all this. Maybe it’s the fallout of making me read “Death Of A Salesman” in High School. In my head, I keep hearing Linda from near the end of Act One say, “He’s not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must be finally paid…” I feel like that. Maybe I’m hoping for some kind of unforeseen public ground swell that will save my place. I’m not too optimistic on that count. If CBGB’s or the Bottom Line couldn’t be saved, I don’t give us much of a chance. Hey, look on the bright side, now we can get our new music from TV shows like American what ever it’s called. In the end, I feel pretty fortunate to have been part of something that meant a great deal to a great many people. I guess I wouldn’t be worth my apron if I didn’t end this with an appropriate story. A few years ago, average guy walks into my bar on an average Friday Night. I could tell by how he greeted me, ordered his drink, etc. that he was a good guy. I gave him a buy-back (one on the house) early. For those of you who may not know, buy backs are how New York bartenders show customers that they are welcome. He stayed for a few more then went home. Sure enough he comes in the next night. Now this time I really want to make him feel at home so I introduce him to one of my regulars who also happens to be a good guy. Part of the bartender’s art is to put people who you think will get along together. Now these two are having a very pleasant conversation and getting along great. Before you know it they are buying drinks for one another. As the evening wore on, their conversation got around to the “what do you do, where are you from” part. Turns out they both come from the same part of the world. They both came from the Middle East. One was from Egypt, the other from Israel. Turns out they were both in their respective militaries years back. It is still difficult for me to describe what it was like as their conversation led towards the realization that they were both on the same part of the same battlefield at the same time. I hope you are all fortunate enough to get to experience at least one truly profound moment in your life. Here, in my little corner of the world were two people who some time in their past were literally trying to kill each other, but now here they were, talking to each other, buying each other drinks, forming a friendship that has lasted to this day. People sometimes ask me what the biggest tip was I ever got in my 18 plus years as a New York Bartender. Hands down, no doubt… Hope. They tell me it’s going to be a bank. . August 26, 2006
Interview on Jason Crane podcast. - 2006-09-15
http://www.thejasoncraneshow.com/
The Annual 55 Bar Sextet gigs and WKCR radio - 2006-09-03
Hello All, It's that time of the year again where I do my Sextet gigs at the 55 Bar. 5th year in a row. The Sextet is:Me,Chris Potter,Craig Taborn,Adam Rogers,Scott Colley and Brian Blade. The dates are Sept.8,9,10. 3 sets a night. I am also doing my usual quartet gigs on the 5th and 12th. I will be on WKCR (89.9 in NYC and they are probably on the web too.) this coming Wed. Sept.6th from 6pm-9pm. The Musicians Show. I'll be playing music that i love. If you are listening, call in and say "hi". Thanks, Dave
Nice interview up on All About Jazz - 2006-09-02
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=22909
Latest Balance gig now available for download - 2006-08-28
The latest Balance gig at the 55 Bar is available.
Some new charts up and the Duo concert with Tom Rainey - 2006-08-14
Duo concert with Tom Rainey live at John Zorn's The Stone in NYC a few days ago is now up for download.There are also some new charts up. Check the Scores section.
"Out Beyond Ideas" chart up for download. - 2006-08-01
Finally!
7/25/06, 55 Bar gig up for download - 2006-07-31
Real nice gig. Donny McCaslin joining us on 2nd set.
More charts - 2006-07-25
The charts for: "New York Nature" from South, "Cochise" from Luxury of Guessing and "Ask the Dust" (One of my personal favorites) from Fiestas de Agosto are now up and avaiable for purchase.
"Home" chart uploaded - 2006-07-21
The chart for Home from Out of Airplanes has now been uploaded for purchase.
Without You and Instant Distance charts uploaded - 2006-07-21
Without You from Luxury of Guessing and Instant Distance from Out of Airplanes charts have now been uploaded for purchase.
New charts uploaded - 2006-07-19
Charts for: Jalama and Oddman from Free to Dream (Oddman is also on A Small Madness), Remembrance from Afinidad, South, Traveler, Von Joshua from South, are now available on this site. Thanks!
7/11/06 gig uploaded. - 2006-07-16
The most recent 55 bar gig is now available on this site. Inspired gig. I am in Quebec City for the next few days.Nice here. Always love it. Just a short note. Be back with more in a week or so. D
Back in NYC and new gig and chart downloads - 2006-06-15
Hey All, First of all, there are some new downloads up. A couple live gigs including the latest 55 Bar gig with Adam Rogers, Tim Lefebvre, Dan Weiss and Mark Turner. We were just improvising as it was a gig that Craig and Thomas couldn't make. As it turned out it was one of my favorite gigs. All of us were completely into it. Very electric and loud but also very ambient at times. I immediately put it up on the site as a download. (Find live gigs in the "Gig Download" area of this site.) Also there are two new chart downloads: "Moment in Memory" from "South" and "Out of Airplanes" the title track from the new cd. ("Scores" area of the site) Also note that there are a few of my Alto solos to be found in the "Scores section" also. I am finally back in NYC after a month on the road. Played a great concert in Germany with the Nguyen Le Group. I mixed my next cd for Criss Cross with my group (Dan Weiss, Craig Taborn,Thomas Morgan and Mark Turner). It will be called "Cities and Desire" and will be out in September. In the meantime "Out of Airplanes" (Bill Frisell,Craig Taborn,Eivind Opsvik, Kenny Wollesen) is doing well as a download. thank you all who have downloaded it so far! This will be in CD form for you "old schoolers" in a about a month and a half. But remember, it will have one less compostion than the download. I also went to India for 2 weeks. Bangalore and Mumbai. I had never been before and it was a trip. I enjoyed it immensely but it was an assualt on the senses for someone who grew up on the beach in California and lives in this "small town" of New York City. I came back to NYC for 1 day before going out on the road in the Midwest U.S. and to Toronto. NYC seriously felt like a small, sleepy town after coming directly from India! India is a whole conversation so i'll just menti0on the highlights for me. The music obviously. I played 2 gigs and did a recording with some traditional Carnactic musicians. Really fun. I also bought about 50 cd's at Planet M in Bangalore. Just starting to listen to them all. They are amazing. I stocked up on Nikhil Banerjee who i already know and love. I am now listening to Pandit Vishmohan Bhatt amazing acoustic guitar player. I also highly recommend Ustad Rashid Khan a great vocalist. I'll report more as I listen... The food was amazing and spicy as hell which is just the way I like food. The people were great. I could go on and on. Now I am back in NYC for a month and most of the Summer actually. Very good to be home. Besides the Indian music i have been listening to: Gomez - How We Operate Bobby Previte - The Coalition Of The Willing ("Anthem for Andrea" kills me.) Gentle Giant - The Power & The Glory Joe Bonner - Impressions of Copenhagen Jesu - Silver Ralph Towner - Time Line The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton - Irony Is A Dead Scene Freddie Hubbard - The Love Connection Benoit Delbecq-Phonetics Karsh Kale - Broken English Until next time, I wish everyone well and please pick up "Out of Airplanes" if you haven't yet. There will be some new charts up on the site soon also. D
Website updated and New cd "Out of Airplanes" - 2006-05-16
Hello People, So there are more and more things going up on the site. Charts for many of my compositions, some solos and live gigs and the release of Out of Airplanes the new cd featuring Bill Frisell, Craig Taborn, Eivind Opsvik and Kenny Wollesen. There will be much more to come. Many more live gigs soon. Keep checking in! Thanks, Dave
New CD "Out of Airplanes" Released - 2006-05-07
Hello All, The new cd Out of Airplanes featuring Bill Frisell,Craig Taborn,Eivind Opsvik,and Kenny Wollesen is now available here as a download. It will not be out in cd form for another couple of months. There is also a bonus track, that will not be on the cd, which comes with the download. Find it in the "cds" section of this site. Enjoy!
News from the road - 2006-05-03
Hello All, I am in Rome on the road with my Quartet. Tonight is the last night of what has been a nice short tour where we also played in Edinburgh and at the Cheltenham Festival. (Thanks to all in Birmingham for the nice clinics too and to Fima Ephron for his nice record date in London.) The site is going well as it seems that you are downloading the content. I have not announced the site being up yet as I wanted to give it a "test" period. It is all working great and I will soon put up more content. I am sorry the new cd "Out of Airplanes" featuring Bill Frisell has taken so long to go up but the only thing holding it back is that I don't have a cover yet. I will try and take care of this in the next few days. Thanks, David
Updated Site - 2006-04-21
This is the updated site. It has room for a lot of content. There is not much here yet as I have been just too busy to get it together but there will be new things added every day so keep checking. THE "ADD" BUTTONS AND SHOPPING CART WILL BE WORKING APPOX. TUEDAY OF NEXT WEEK 4/25. You will then be able to shop and download. My new cd "Out of Airplanes" feturing Bill Frisell,Criag Taborn,Eivind Opsvik and Kenny Wollesen will be up within days. It's completely done and is just awaiting a cover and upload. It will be available here first as a download. It will become a cd but not for a couple of months. You can also use the Forum now. Hope you enjoy the site. Thanks, Daid Binney
Update - 2006-01-10
Hello All, Just an update of some things that have been going on…. Finished recording Scott Colley's new cd for the Italian label CAM Jazz. (I am the producer and played on 5 tunes.) Came out really nice. We are now preparing for the mix in February. Musicians besides Scott and I were: Antonio Sanchez on Drums, Ralph Alessi on Trumpet, Craig Taborn on Piano, Jason Moran on Piano, and Gregoire Maret on Harmonica. Donny McCaslin's cd, (which I produced), will be out on Sunnyside in March. Great cd. My website is coming along and will soon be up with lots of things to download. It will cost but things will be fairly inexpensive and you will be able to use a credit card. I have been listening to: A lot of those old Eddie Harris records on Atlantic. He was such an amazing player. Paul Desmond "Pure Desmond", "Take Ten" Sonny Rollins "The Bridge" Damn that never gets old. Jim Hall...wow. (Speaking of which... Chris Potter, Joe Lovano and I all sat in with Jim at the same time at the Vanguard a few weeks ago. We played "St. Thomas" and Lovano's "Blackwell's Message". One of the greatest evenings. So fun.) The new Paul McCartney cd. Really great. Dave Liebman's new solo saxophone cd on Hat Hut. Killing! A lot of Rickie Lee Jones. Chick Corea, Tap Step. Old cd that I re-bought. Frank Sinatra "Only the Lonely" One of the great cd's of all-time. Telefon Tel Aviv, "Immediate Action". Great Electronica. Yo Yo Ma playing the Bach Cello Suites. What can I say?.. AutoLux-"Future Perfect". Very nice rock band from L.A. Imogene Heap-"Speak for yourself"- Singer from Frou Frou which is some of my favorite shit. Pop/Electronica Steve Reich- "Different Trains". A new version by the Symphony of Lyon. Such a great piece from one of the most original classical composers. And I am anxiously awaiting the release of Duncan Sheik's new cd (Jan 24th) One of my favorite songwriters. Films: Rented "Fidel" a documentary about Fidel Castro. It's all about money, folks. Check out the PBS show Frontline's "Wal-Mart. Good or Bad for the U.S. economy". Trade agreement with China completely failing our small towns and workers. Wal-Mart's bosses are getting richer and richer though. Sorry James! (A fan of mine in Dublin who completely disagrees with my political rants but stays a faithful fan anyway. Much to his credit!) Talk to you all soon here. Soon there will be a forum on my website where you can all talk and put your "two-cents" in. David
On the road... - 2005-11-05
We are in a bus (one of those rock and roll busses that has taken every pop star you can name around Ireland judging by the stickers plastering the interior) on the way to Belfast for the last gig of our 2 ½ week European tour. It has been great. Favorite gigs: Whelans in Dublin (Thanks Dublin! Always fun.),Belfast,Sevilla, and the first night in Porto. There weren’t any gigs that I disliked but some were special. This has been a great tour in terms of travel also. Nothing difficult, really and a fun “hang”. So thanks to Mark Turner, Scott Colley, Craig Taborn, Brian Blade, Dan Weiss and Adam Rogers for playing great and being as fun “hang’ as ever, I recorded all of the gigs although I missed Salamanca because I forgot my recorder…. and it was one of the best gigs…. damn. If anyone out there was at Salamanca and recorded the gig, please send me a copy. It was a very quiet gig. The music was intense but in a very quiet way. Dublin, our next gig was virtually the opposite. It was intense in a loud, hard way with the exception of a couple of tunes. The music has been completely different every night which is a beautiful thing. We never know what to expect and yet it’s always fun. I usually report what I have been listening to at this point but to be honest, I haven’t been listening to anything. Sometimes you just want quiet during your down time.
iTunes - 2005-10-13
South, Balance and Luxury of Guessing now available on iTunes
On the road... - 2005-10-03
On the train between NYC and Washington D.C. for the start of a week long Joel Harrison Southern U.S. tour, listening to Bob Dylan (Freewheelin’). An amazing man is Bob Dylan. He was guy I always said I couldn’t stand (musically, politically I always liked him.) But people told me for years that I should re-check him out and, damn, lately I can’t stop listening to him. Incredible. So nice to always be discovering things, especially if it is older stuff. There is a never-ending wealth of music to listen too. This is always such an exciting realization. A re-realization.
End of summer update - 2005-09-04
Hello All, Well it has been an eventful summer. I have been on the road most of it and when not touring I was in California taking care of my Mother. My Mother died on August 11th after a long battle with Cancer. It was an incredibly hard time for me. I had to jump right back into touring and working on my projects though which is exactly what she wanted me to do. This helped immensely in the grieving process.I will be dedicating a project to her and will write about this more here in the future. Latest news: There is a lot going on this month. I have my usual Quartet gig at the 55 Bar on Tuesday and then it is that time of year again: the 5th annual Sept. gig. Sept.9,10,11 at the 55 Bar with: Chris Potter (9/9 ,9/11) Mark Turner (9/10), Craig Taborn, Scott Colley, Adma Rogers and Brian Blade. Also the plan is to finish mixing the new cd featuring Bill Frisell,Kenny Wollesen,Craig Taborn and Eivind Opsvik to be available on my Mythology Records label.. Nov. or Dec. release. I will also be finishing the latest cd from the project I have with Edward Simon. This features Brian Blade, Scott Colley, Adam Rogers, Luciana Souza, Pernel Santurnio, Shane Endsley. It will be released next year on Criss Cross. Mythology will also be releasing Donny McCaslin’s new cd which I produced. I love this cd. It’s beautiful. This features Antonio Sanchez, Scott Colley, Orrin Evans, Ben Monder, Pernel Saturnino, Luciana Souza. Some future things include a new recording of my Quartet for Criss Cross possibly in January. I will also be producing and playing on Scott Colley’s new cd for CAM Jazz to be recorded in December. This will feature Craig Taborn, Antonio Sanchez, Ralhp Alessi, Gregoire Maret, Jason Moran, and myself. Listening to: Isley Bros “Favorites”, Andy Bey “American Song”, Arcade Fire “Funeral”, Djavan “ Coisa De Acender”, Nikhil Banerjee “India's Maestro of Melody”, Wayne Shorter ‘ Beyond the Sound Barrier”.
Note/Update - 2005-08-09
Hello All, This is just a short note to say that I am sorry I haven’t written anything here for a long time. I have been on the road almost constantly and when I haven’t been traveling for music I have been in California attending to my Mother who is very ill. A lot of "Life" has been happening lately. "Welcome to Life" applies more now than I could have imagined when I titled the cd. I have missed a number of gigs lately, which is very hard for me as I love to play so much. I will be back soon. In the meantime I hope you all will check out the cd’s if you haven’t already. I am still working on the newest cd featuring Bill Frisell,Craig Taborn,Eivind Opsvik and Kenny Wollesen.It will be done in the next couple of months. I will also finish the new one with Edward Simon (featuring Brian Blade, Scott Colley, Adam Rogers, Luciana Souza, and others) soon too. By the way, if you do know my cd’s, and already own them, you may also be interested in the two “Lan Xang” cd’s that we recorded a number of years ago. Lan Xang is (Myself, Donny McCaslin, Scott Colley and Kenny Wollesen) They are available on Amazon, The Jazz Loft and other online stores. I will also be writing here again in the near future as, as usual, I have a few things I’d like to say! A few of the things I have been listening too lately: Lucinda Williams "World without Tears" and "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" (never can get enough of her). A lot of Samuel Barber, Foo Fighters "In Your Honor"(Cd 2, great),Battles, Takemitsu, Matthew Garrison "Shapeshifter", Coldplay "X and Y", Gary Thomas "Pariah's Pariah", Luigi Nono, Keith Jarrett "Radiance", Nine Inch Nails "With Teeth", and Wayne Shorter's new one. Thank you all for your support. Best, David
"Bastion of Sanity" available now! - 2005-03-09
Hey All, My newest cd, Bastion of Sanity on Criss Cross Records featuring Chris Potter, Jacob Sacks, Thomas Morgan and Dan Weiss has been released. It is out now worldwide. Thanks, D Enjoy!!!
Notes and thoughts from the road… and home - 2005-03-08
On the road once again. This time with the Joel Harrison “Free Country” group in the “Mid-West” of the U.S. Ohio,to be exact. Which really isn’t west at all. It is mid-east. No offense to the many fine Ohioans I know but it is very bleak here as far as I can tell. Especially at this time of the year. It is snowing like crazy and the traffic is backed up. We just had an absolutely terrible meal in Toledo where we played to a few clueless people last night. We are on our way to Detroit where we will play at Bakers Keyboard Lounge tonight.(My parents are both from Detroit and I still have many relatives there). Every time we leave NYC and go somewhere else in this country we have culture shock. That, of course, is because we are so isolated in NYC. It is more than just a geographical island. I don’t want to be a NYC snob about things. I know how obnoxious that can be (and how naive) but there are few things you gain when you travel as much as we do in this business and THAT is a fairly balanced overview of what the hell is going in this country and other parts of the world,("other parts" being Europe in my case). The U.S. just appears to be lost and in a deep fog for the most part. One thing that is an obvious observation is that people are eating terribly. I know that this is nothing new but when you are not around it often it can be shocking. In general,people eat a little better in NYC, L.A., Miami,et al and in Europe, for instance. The problem is that in a country (the U.S.) of what often appears to me to have too many choices, there is a huge lack of choice when it comes to food. I don’t mean kinds of food, there are many different ethnic varieties of food in the States,I mean of "fresh" food. Food comes in the form of “fast food” in the U.S. for the most part other than in the major cities where you have both "real" food and "fast" food. There is an enormous lack of “Fresh” food. Watching what people eat and eating it myself out of sheer lack of choice at “Tango’s” Mexican restaurant in Toledo,Ohio, for example, (already an obvious “red flag” place when they mix cultures in the name!), is stunning. The food is horrible. Pre- packaged, overly salted sh*t. And people eat this way every day in most of the country. I even notice this trend in Europe in the 14 or so years I have been traveling there. The reason I bring this up is not just because of the sheer fact that people are eating poorly but the obvious corporate involvement. It is obviously done on purpose. It is about profits. Now…… I could get into this in a deep way and compare it to what is happening in other areas of our lives but I think, just by my bringing this up, it should spark some realization and recognition to the fact that what has happened to food is a metaphor for everything else and has a direct correlation to business and greed and to the way companies have chosen to do business. So in closing, in an effort to make this rant brief, realize that the next time you choose to be convenient and take a bite of a McDonalds hamburger, or get your DVD from Blockbuster or Coffee from Starbucks you might as well pick up the new Boney James cd instead of that Chris Potter one that you didn’t hear about anyway! (ClearChannel wouldn't dare play something "un-demographic") We are in a battle with a somewhat anonymous, evil enemy. The “evil empire” is right here outside our front doorsteps though. Take notice. It is a conscious choice and it takes some effort to seek and find the best, the worthy,the inspiring. Choose wisely. DB RECENT LISTENINGS AND RE-LISTENINGS: Telefon Tel Aviv- “Map of What Is Effortless” and Fahrenheit Fair Enough” Frou Frou- “Details” Thomas Ades’- “America: A Prophecy” Julien Arguelles-“As Above..” Nikhil Banerjee- “Hemant” Quincy Jones- “Smackwater Jack” Greg Osby – “Season Of Renewal” George Duke – “A Brazilian Love Affair” and “Feel” And some rare un-issued Coltrane: Live- One Up, One Down from radio broadcast and Live in Austria.
Mythology to davidbinney.com - 2005-03-07
Hello All, In case you got to this site via trying to get to www.mythologyrecords.com, this is now my primary site. Mythology is still in existance. As a matter of fact it is stronger than ever, but it is just too much work for me to keep two separate sites going at the moment. CD's can be purchased via: www.amazon.com, www.55bar.com, www.jazzloft.com, www.jazzos.com (Europe) as well as from Cadence North Country, Downtown Music Gallery and Tower Records downtown NYC. This site will have all Mythology info and will house downloadable cd’s, charts, lesson’s, etc..very soon. And tour info is always up to date here. Keep an eye on the site. Thanks, David
NEWS FROM THE ROAD - 2004-11-05
November 4, 2004 Here I am in Jena Paradis in the east of Germany a day after George Bush was re-elected as President of the U.S. I am listening to Alan Jackson’s newest cd “ What I Do” which is ironic because it could be a soundtrack to Bush’s re-election campaign (*Although I have no real idea where Alan Jackson’s politics lie) and I am about as big a fan of Bush as I am of this constant grey weather in the east of Germany… California boy that I am….or was. (I have lived in New York City for more than half of my life now.) The U.S. is a complex mix of people. I love it. I identify with Alan Jackson’s music as much as with Ornette Coleman. These wide choices of styles and ideas abound in the U.S. The amount of choices we have in every aspect of our lives is amazing although overwhelming. The “overwhelming” part is one of the reasons that George Bush gets elected but that is a whole other discussion. I’ll just say, briefly, that the government is very happy that people are so diverted and overwhelmed with work, choices, etc… It makes it very easy for them to get away with all kinds of things that go virtually unnoticed because people don’t have time, energy, or interest to care. I have even noticed this in my own life sometimes and I like to think of myself as being politically caring and aware. We all have our thresholds. There is a lot more to this discussion but this is not my point of this writing. My point is to say that we should embrace the amount of choices we have and be open to everything. This is exactly the problem with Bush and his crew. If they had an openness, they would have an understanding. They lack this and it causes an unbelievable amount of problems not only for we Americans but also for the rest of the world. As a matter of fact, at this point we Americans notice less affect of Bush’s policies than most of the rest of the world but I think this will change in the next 4 years. Yet another long discussion. I have looked at Bush’s policies, have played “Devil’s advocate” with myself and looked at things as “they” do and I come away not agreeing with any of it. My point, again, though is that I think we all should take that time to stop and reflect and run things through our minds. Check all angles and positions before making a decision or taking a stand. I know that this takes a capability that no one in the Bush administration seems to possess but we can all be better than that. I know that this is not a political website and that you didn’t come here for this but it is November 4th and I am traveling with a band of very depressed people right now so it is hard to avoid it. And I think that part of my reason for writing this is to say that it is important that we speak our minds and share opinions. We have become a nation of politically correct, scared people that avoid giving their opinions in almost every form… and forum. This is very dangerous. This is what certain people, and governments want. We play right into their hands when we try to hold back and be so politically correct. I even feel a tendency to avoid these subjects in a forum like this because an artist wants everyone to love there work and there is a fear that a political opinion will scare people off. But I realize that if someone is truly open they will realize that, in most cases, music and art transcend political opinion. This is why I can love “New Country” or Merle Haggard regardless of their/it’s politics. This is important. And it should work in both directions. I started this rant with the idea of talking about open-ness in everything not just politics, but as I said, it’s hard to get away from the politics on this day. We should all listen to all sides, and for the musicians that are reading this, this definitely goes for music. The defining characters in music, for me, should be Honesty, Conviction, and Ability to convey whatever you are trying to say and ultimately, if all of those things are there, if it moves you. This is why, as an example, I can listen to and enjoy Avril Lavigne and can’t stand Britany Spears. (Although, once in a while I can enjoy something by someone like Britany Spears, for instance, on the level of production etc… which in that music is where the talent lies.) All of this to say: take the time to listen and reflect and take everything, as it is the first time you are hearing it before you make a decision. Whether it be politics or art or…. We would all be a lot better off if we took that time to reflect and developed a desire to learn about each other and all of the choices we have. Of course, it is all bit overwhelming but feeling overwhelmed is a consequence that we have to be aware of and recognize. Otherwise we are all going to become more polarized and that ends in war. World War 3 is already happening and it is between Rich and Poor. It is not between nations. It is between the franchised and the disenfranchised. I think a lot of people in the U.S. are the last people to realize it but this will, at least, begin to change in the next 4 years. I’ll remain open and hope for the best but I am not going to remain silent any more. My opinions will, from time to time, be presented here along with other things. Not always politics, hopefully mostly about music and life in general. Politics is a separate thing from making music in my mind. Music transcends politics. For some musicians this is not the case, which is cool, it’s just not the way I create music. Which means that some music is affected by politics. I think that more often that being affected by it though, it affects politics. We have seen this in history many times. Example: the Sixties. Remember that any positive, honest, fair output has an affect just as any negative one does. Music controlled by business people is a disaster. This is what is happening now in most of the music world. Music has the power to lift us all….or if in the wrong hands, lower us to new depths. David Binney, November 4th 2004, on a train in the east of Germany. Next writing: Music in the hands of business people vs. in the artist’s hands. The coming age of the music industry, as I see it. What I am listening too today: Alan Jackson-What I Do Christian Fennesz-Live in Japan