Equatorial Seattle

Since childhood I've associated the very distinctive supple rhythms of Rio deJaneiro with intelligence and beauty . I realize now , that I was lucky that my childhood coincided with a time when the airways and film where relatively flush with musical sophistication ; Jobim , Sergio Mendez , Mancini , Legrand , Brubeck , Vince Gauraldi , and quite a few others .The Shadow of jazz, on pop culture was much more apparent in the mid 60s .
At Cornish School for the Arts in my mid 20s, I started using common tones as a basis for harmonic organization in very chromatic environments . This tune (Equatorial Seattle) is one of results . This piece has 3 systems (each system itself is highly chromatic) with its own common tone ; each system a 1/2 step apart . In this composition I dispensed with the common tones once I had a basic framework although they appear in the melody of course . Happily the result of all of this harmonic engineering flows quite gracefully . That all this essentially invisible underlying architecture should end up as happy little Bossa Nova also seemed quite natural .

Jim Knapp trumpet
Chuck Bergeron Bass/Producer
Charles Pillow Sax
Bob Rockalam Moses Drums
Jeff Bush Auxiliary Percussion
Steven Pax Wallace Piano/Composer

PS Regarding the video ; I remember in 1982 when I hitchhiked into town being surprised and a little disappointed by the relatively mild winters of coastal Washington . I wasn't trying to depict Seattle as a frozen wasteland compared to Rio deJaneiro . I was just fascinated by those photos : I thank those photographers whoever they are . Also I didn't try to be too strict with clip sync I see these images as melodic phrases not bar lines . I have never been to Rio by the way .

Видео Equatorial Seattle канала paxwallacejazz