Vincent Herring
The DAYS Of WINE AND ROSES
1. Star Eyes (Don Raye, Gene DePaul)
2. Body and Soul (Johnny Green)
3. Dearly Beloved (Jerome Kern)
4. Here's That Rainy Day (Jimmy Van Heusen)
5. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (Jerome Kern)
6. Come Rain Or Come Shine (Harold Arlen)
7. The Days Of Wine And Roses (Henry Mancini)
8. Triste (Antonio Carlos Jobim)
9. We'll Be Together Again (Frankie Laine, Carl Fisher)
VINCENT HERRING, Alto & Soprano Saxophone
CYRUS CHESTNUT, Piano
JESSE YUSEF MURPTTY, Bass
BILLY DRUMMOND, Drums
DANIEL SADOWNICK, Percussions (on tracks 6 & 8)
I believe over the course of my life I have been truly blessed. I have the most wonderful family and friends. I travel all over the world playing music that I love, and in general, I am a happy man.
I grew up in Northern California, between San Francisco and Napa Valley in a small town called Vallejo. I started playing saxophone when I was eleven years old. I signed up for advanced band even though I could not play. My thoughts at the time were, "I am sure I will have this horn mastered by the end of the day, so I should start in advanced band". Needless to say, I was thrown out of advanced band in about 15 minutes. In addition to the musical instruction I received in school, my mother enrolled me in a private music school, Dean Fredericks Academy Of Music. This is where my love affair with music began to blossom. As my musical education developed, my taste in music changed. I started to appreciate the variety of music my mother played at home. Coltrane, Miles, Adderley, Ornette Coleman and Art Blakey, right through to James Brown, Al Green, Esther Phillips, Dinah Washington. Quite often she would listen to classical music in the car or on the radio at home. By the time I reached high school I was a true jazz fan. I would
listen to and read everything I could on important musicians and jazz events. All of this reading led me to one important fact, New York is where everything was happening. It took me a few years but in 1983 I came to New York with the goal of becoming a good musician and dreams of working with my heroes and later my band.
New York is a funny place, it is different from the rest of the United States: The attitudes, and variety of people and industry. The level of competition and achievement in every field seems to be higher here than anywhere else in the world with few exceptions. Coming to New York can be a shocker for most people. My first day in town I heard Cindy Blackman, Billy Johnson, George Braith & Larry Smith playing music on the street and it was shocking. I could not believe musicians of this caliber were playing on the street. Before the move to New York, I thought of myself as a good player. After coming here I realized that was not the case and that I had a lot of hard work ahead of me. At that point my only concern in life was to become a better musician. In order to support myself I sold computer software for Penton Software. After work I would sit in with bands on the streets. It was here that I
had the opportunity to play with musicians everyday.
After years of study and practice, I started to realize some of my goals and dreams. This recording is the result of my hard work. It is also a tangible part of my dream.
Vincent Herring
Vincent Herring uses Yanagisawa saxophones & Vandoren reeds.
SONGS
1 Star Eyes
Every time I hear this song, it brings back memories of my childhood. I remember listening to this song and playing along with Charlie Parker on the Verve recordings. It was one of the first Bird solos I learned. l never thought about recording it until Dave Berkman came up with this unusual arrangement.
2 Body And Soul
I am glad Satoshi Hirano suggested this song. It turned out to be one of the highlights on this CD. At first I thought this song had been recorded so many times, "what can we do with it". The feeling that the band projects shows how much fun we were having with this song.
3 Dearly Beloved
Jesse Murphy arranged this one. His arrangement brings new life to this song. It also brings to light his level of talent and mature creativity.
4 Here's That Rainy Day
When Satoshi Hirano asked me to record a CD of my favorite standards, this song was one of the first on the list. The melody is so beautiful, and inspiring it is definitely one of my favorites.
5 Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
I have always had a romantic side to my personality and my music. This song is a classic example of a very old love song that stands the test of time. Even today the melody is fresh and meaningful.
6 Come Rain Or Come Shine
This soulful Latin arrangement has the kind of energy that reminds me of the days I played on the street. Danny Sadownick is the percussion player that adds spice. The way the band holds the groove made this song a lot of fun to record.
7 The Days Of Wine And Roses
We were recording this CD the week that Henry Mancini died. We decided to record
this song as a tribute to Mancini, "one of the greatest standard song writers of our time".
8 Triste
This is one of the first songs I learned. The melody has always moved me. Cyrus Chestnut came up with a few things in his arrangement of this song to make it very special.
9 We'll Be Together Again
One of my favorite ballads. I love this song. The melody of this song is one of the most passionate and beautiful songs on this recording.
Musicians
Billy Drummond (drums): Billy is one of my favorite drummers in the world. His great time, imagination and dynamics added inspiration to everyone in the band.
Cyrus Chestnut (piano): Cyrus is one of the most exciting voices to arrive on the scene in a while. He has more heart and soul, and a true passion for playing than anyone I know. ,He is a great player, and a wonderful friend. His drive and passion for creating music added so much to this date. (Appears courtesy of Atlantic Records)
Jesse Yusef Murphy (bass): Jesse is new to New York. I chose him for this recording because of his solid time, beautiful sound and upbeat personality.
Daniel Sadownick (percussions): Danny is a great musician. We played together on the streets of New York for 2 1/2 years, and there we developed a great musical and personal relationship. I use him every chance I get. He always adds spice and inspiration to the music.
I owe a great deal of thanks to the musicians on this record. Each one of them helped to make this special. I must also thank Satoshi Hirano & Kyoko Aikawa of Alfa Music, Jeffrey Nissim of MusicMasters, Jake Mori of Swing Journal and Dale Fitzgerald of Hardgroove Enterprises for believing in me.
Thanks to: Bob Katz, Dave Berkman, Ilse Weinmann, Orrin Keepnews, Yoichi Kobayashi, Richard Nakano, Mr. K. Sakurai and The Yanagisawa saxophone company.
Special Thanks: The Herring family, the Schelle family, the Adderley family, the Kornblatt brothers, Carl & Devida, the Pettus family and to my wife and son, Anne and James.
Produced by: Big Apple Productions, lnc.
Executive Producer: Satoshi Hirano & Carl Allen
Recorded at: Master Sound Astoria: Astoria, NY, June 17-18, 1994.
Recording Engineer: Bob Katz
Assistant Engineer: David Merrill
Original design and layout: Shinya Isshi
Design and layout: Audrey L. Verso Made in the USA
WARNING: All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.
