Basso, Guido - Lost in the Stars

Tracks

		Track Name	Length
	1	Lost in the Stars (Kurt Weill)	06:08
	2	I Can't Give You Anything But Love (Jimmy McHugh)	05:11
	3	Time On My Hands (Vincent Youmans)	06:25
	4	The Continental (Con Conrad)	06:00
	5	Some Other Time (Leonard Bernstein)	04:57
	6	Besame Mucho (Consuelo Velazquez)	05:15
	7	Portrait of Guido (Phil Dwyer)	05:48
	8	Don't Know Why (Jesse Harris)	05:05
	9	Waters of March (Antonio Carlos Jobim)	05:25
	10	'Round Midnight Overture (Phil Dwyer)	02:41
	11	'Round Midnight (Thelonious Monk)	03:45
	12	Tour de Force (live) (Dizzy Gillespie)	06:42
	13	Yesterday When I Was Young (live) (Charles Aznavour)	04:51

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Information/Write-up

PROGRAMME NOTES
by Phil Dwyer

I have known Guido Basso since 1989, and have been aware of him since the mid-seventies, mainly through CBC Radio, which was my cultural lifeline during my upbringing in rural British Columbia. His was a name spoken with great respect by my parents, and as I became more familiar with Guido’s work, on the great Boss Brass records especially, my respect for his musicianship grew accordingly. Meeting him, and watching him work up close over the years has only increased my regard for his abilities as a musician and his warmth and generosity as a man. I have learned a tremendous amount from Guido about music, business, and carrying one's self with dignity and class. For these lessons I will always be grateful.

It has always seemed to me that the pairing of Guido and a string orchestra would be a natural one, and now, thanks to CBC Radio-Music producer Mark Steinmetz, this musical marriage has been consummated. We have come up with a recording that has many old favourites, some newer material, and a special piece which I composed for this CD.

Lost in the Stars was the title song of Kurt Weill’s final completed musical production. Set in South Africa, the story tells of the friendship between two families, one white and the other black, and of the cruel twists of fate which befall them. The song's beautiful melody lends itself particularly well to treatment by Guido’s sumptuous flugelhorn style.

I think it was Louis Armstrong's version which introduced me to I Can’t Give You Anything But Love. The recording by Sonny Stitt with the Oscar Peterson trio exemplifies for me many of the best aspects of jazz music. Now we have this wonderful performance by Guido, with a dazzling contribution from the great Michel Donato. Michel combines all the essential elements, time, sound, and beautiful melodic sense into a savoury musical stew.

Time on My Hands and The Continental are two classic Broadway show tunes, a genre of which Guido has an encyclopedic knowledge. Taking on Guido in a game of the ‘stump the band’ can be very humbling. One interesting fact is that The Continental was the first song to be awarded an Academy Award, and was debuted in the Astaire/Rogers movie The Gay Divorcee.

Leonard Bernstein possessed a dazzling facility for music which manifested itself in many ways. He seemed equally comfortable and accomplished as a conductor, pianist, television host, or a composer of ‘serious’ and theatre music. It was this last talent which left us with the wonderful Some Other Time, from the show On The Town.

Besame Mucho is a song which I have played on dozens of gigs, and probably wouldn’t have thought of it for this project until I heard a recording by Artie Shaw which offered some new ideas. I wrote this arrangement to showcase the wonderful string section which we had on this date. They sound great throughout the CD and were a pleasure to work with. One other thing which I appreciated was their patience as I worked through a steep learning curve vis-à-vis the world of conducting.

My piece, A Portrait of Guido, is based almost entirely on Guido’s solo on A Portrait of Jenny composed by J. Russell Robinson from the Boss Brass Jazz Album—one of the highlights of his illustrious career. Portrait of Guido is my musical salute to two of the greats.

As the date of the recording neared, I found myself looking for one last tune to round out the repertoire. I wanted something a little different, and the solution presented itself as I watched the 2002 Grammy Awards, in which Norah Jones’ recording of Don’t Know Why won several awards. After hearing the song played several times on the broadcast, I began to imagine it played by Guido and the orchestra. Lorraine Desmarais delivers a creative and articulate solo on this tune, as she does throughout the recording.

Antonio Carlos Jobim has created a vast body of brilliant work, and was in no doubt largely responsible for the infiltration of Brazilian music into North American consciousness. The cryptic lyrics of Waters of March make it a favourite of musical detectives, but even without the words it stands up as another classic contribution from one of the great composers of our time.

The 'Round Midnight Overture reminds me of an Italian movie, and as such is dedicated to Bernardo Bertolucci. It resolves into Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight, which is arguably one of the most famous jazz compositions ever. I have, however, never heard it in 3/4 time. Drummer Paul Brochu is well-known for his work with the Montreal fusion band UZEB, but he can swing with the best of them as this track demonstrates. It was great to have Paul on the date, as his professionalism and consistency made things so easy for me.

From a live concert done as a warm-up for the CD recording with the same group at Glenn Gould Studio, in Toronto, come two small group performances. The first being Tour de Force, a Dizzy Gillespie concoction based on the harmony of Jeepers Creepers. Try singing along, it works. As an encore that evening we played Charles Aznavour's Yesterday When I Was Young, which gave the audience a chance to hear Guido’s masterful harmonica playing. Now you have a chance as well.

Putting the music together for this record was a rare and wonderful opportunity. Writing musical arrangements, and then having them played by musicians of this caliber is an exhilarating experience. I would like to thank Mark Fewer and the rest of the string players, Lorraine, Michel, and Paul, and especially Guido for breathing so much life into this music. My thanks also go to Mark Steinmetz and Doug Doctor of CBC Radio for their outstanding work on this project.

After listening to this CD, I am sure that you will be left with ‘a song in your heart,’ and with an even greater appreciation for the musical grace and style of one of the world’s great brass artists. Enjoy.

Guido Basso
Guido Basso, C.M., flugelhornist, trumpeter, arranger, composer, conductor, was born and raised in Montreal, Québec. He began playing trumpet at age 9 and quickly moved on to performing in dance bands, show bands, studio bands, and jazz bands while studying at the Montreal Conservatory of Music. Guido then toured throughout North America with Pearl Bailey and her husband, Louis Bellson’s orchestra for a period of three years before taking up residency in Toronto to become a busy studio musician and leader. He worked on many television and radio series for the CBC and CTV, and organized and led big band concerts at the Canadian National Exhibition with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Quincy Jones, Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and many more. He can be heard on hundreds of recordings with many artists, including his good friend, Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass and The Tentet. He also appears as a guest soloist all over the continent with college bands, university jazz bands, and pops orchestras.

Guido Basso was awarded the Order of Canada in 1994.

Phil Dwyer
Musician Phil Dwyer has, in the words of journalist Mark Miller, "been startling jazz audiences with his unprecedented command of both the saxophone and piano" since he arrived on the music scene twenty years ago, while still in his teens. Born and raised in British Columbia, Dwyer received early training at the Banff Centre for the Arts, as well as studying in New York thanks to a Canada Council grant. Since locating to Toronto in 1990, Dwyer has consistently found himself involved with music of the highest level, both as a player and also as a composer and arranger. He has recorded, toured, or appeared in concert with some of the biggest names in music and has also received many prestigious awards for his recordings and compositions.

Lorraine Desmarais
Montreal jazz pianist Lorraine Desmarais is recognized in Quebec and around the world as an outstanding performer and composer. Her original works, performed in solo or trio formations, have earned her invitations to appear at many different jazz festivals and venues around the world. In 1984, her career was launched after she received the Yamaha Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival. The following year, her album Trio Lorraine Desmarais received a Felix award at the Adisq ceremony, and in 1986, she won first prize at the Great Jazz Piano American Competition, part of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival in Florida. In 1991, SOCAN awarded her its Composers Prize for her album Vision, and in 2002, she received the Oscar Peterson Award from the Montreal International Jazz Festival.

Michel Donato
Whether it be performing with jazz greats such as Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass, Bill Evans, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Toots Thielman, and Joe Morello, or as a studio musician for the masters of Quebec song such as Felix Leclerc, Gilles Vigneault, and Ginette Reno, Michel Donato is truly a bassist with an extraordinary career. Excellence and passion are always evident in his playing, whether with his quintet, in duo with James Gelfand, or in experimental pieces with Henri Texier and Charlie Haden. More recently, he toured Quebec with the Roma guitarist Angelo Debarre, one of the greatest ambassadors of Roma jazz.

Donato’s name has become associated with numerous prizes, including the Montreal International Jazz Festival’s Oscar Peterson Award, which he was presented in 1995, twenty years after performing on a world tour with Oscar Peterson himself.

Paul Brochu
Paul Brochu started playing drums at the age of seven, and at sixteen, he enrolled in the Québec Conservatory. Shortly after graduating from the Conservatory with a Master of Music degree in percussion, Paul joined the Montreal-based Jazz-Fusion group UZEB. As a sought-after session player, his artful playing contributed to an impressive number of jingles, albums, television shows, radio broadcasts, and film soundtracks.

He has lent his drumming and musical skills to a who’s who of Canadian and French artists such as Michel Legrand, Charles Aznavour, and Gino Vannelli, to name just a few. Although consistently busy on the performing front, Paul Brochu manages to find the time to share his musical knowledge with students at:

CEGEP (College) of Drummondville
University of Sherbrooke
Université Laval (Quebec City)
University of Montreal
String Orchestra / Orchestre à cordes
Violin I / Premiers violons
Mark Fewer (concertmaster)
Aisslinn Nosky
Parmela Attariwala
Vera Tarnowsky
Violin II / Seconds violons
Adele Pierre (principal)
Lenny Solomon
Elation Pauls
Paul Valikoski
Viola / Alto
Douglas Perry (principal)
Anthony Rapoport
Nicholas Papidakis
Cello / Violoncelle
Karl Toews (principal)
Wendy Solomon
Karina Reeves
Mary Stein
Bass / Contrebasse
Charles Elliott

Guido Basso: flugelhorn
Phil Dwyer: conductor, arrangements (tracks 1 to 6, 8 to 9, 11)
Michel Donato: bass
Paul Brochu: drums
Lorraine Desmarais: piano

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