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Sax on the Web Forum Archive / Baritone Saxophone / ronnie cuber or gary smulyan

Next 20 Messages

jmarshall83
User ID: 7761613 Feb 12th 12:46 AM
With the recent passing of the great nick brignola
that leaves Ronnie cuber and Gary smulyan. Who do you think takes the crown.
i know both of them personally and I still can't choose.
fyi: ronnie -Selmer six low a, francois louis piece 8*, rico 3.5
gary- Conn low Bb,link 9* piece,vandoren 3

RS
User ID: 9614573 Feb 12th 11:47 AM
I'm not familiar with Gary Smulyan but Ronnie Cuber is definitely in the same league with Nick Brignola.

saxilla
User ID: 2958184 Feb 12th 11:47 AM
They are all great and I believe to emphasize that, the three of them made a cd together "Three Baritones play Mulligan" Make your own decision.

MojoBari
User ID: 1320554 Feb 12th 12:45 PM
I dont wanna pick another. I want Nick back.

Adam
User ID: 9572103 Feb 12th 12:48 PM
I've studied with both of them, and they are both great players. I couldn't say one is better than the other, they are very different players and each have their strong points (and er, none too many weak ones....). That was one of the best things about the Mulligan tribute album, all three of those guys had something very different going on.

Adam
User ID: 9572103 Feb 12th 12:50 PM
I want Pepper Adams back too....

RS
User ID: 9614573 Feb 12th 12:56 PM
And Leo Parker. Fortunately Cecil Payne is still going at 79. Saw him a few months back and he was playing great. And not even taking into account his age.

Screech
User ID: 9753653 Feb 12th 3:34 PM
Saxilla: Got the CD used a few years back. Its fantastic!

Merlin
User ID: 8931733 Feb 12th 4:01 PM
I feel very fortunate, in that I saw Nick live just before he got sick. I also saw Pepper in his prime, and I've seen Gary live w/the Vanguard band.

Now, if I could have seen Harry Carney live...that woulda been really cool.

MojoBari
User ID: 1320554 Feb 13th 9:40 AM
I guess Dennis DiBlasio is my new favorite.

Screech
User ID: 9753653 Feb 13th 10:22 AM
Merlin my dad (78 yr. old) told me just a few weeks ago that he saw Harry Carney live in the 40's. He did the circular breathing thing at the end of the show. He said he was walking around NY and just happened to hear about it and walked into a club where the Duke was playing. People on the street were making a big deal about his band being there.

saxilla
User ID: 2958184 Feb 13th 1:31 PM
Denis is great. I have a few of his CDs. I find it amusing when he does scat;-)

MojoBari
User ID: 1320554 Feb 14th 8:03 AM
His scat at a live performance is very entertaining. He does Italian and Yiddish and some really original sounds.

MPL
User ID: 0122954 Mar 13th 12:06 AM
I saw Smulyan a couple of weeks ago with a small group. It's rare to hear a band where the baritone drowns out the trumpet! I like his playing for sheer quantity of ideas, but I'd have to say he doesn't leave much "breathing room."

He doesn't do as much poking around in the altissimo range as Brignola did, and Nick made it sound like those notes are actually on the horn somewhere - they're that flawlessly executed. I was fortunate enough to hear Brignola at the IAJE conference in '95.

The only Cuber I have is on the Three Baritone Saxophone Band recording, and you can hear a heavier blues influence in his playing, more so than Brignola or Smulyan. The beauty of that recording is that each player really did bring a different bag to the gig!

MojoBari
User ID: 1320554 Mar 13th 8:05 AM
Gary does tend to use too many notes for most peoples tastes. I saw him live once with a big band. He only had one extended solo and it seemed at times he was in his own world... ignoring the rhythm section. You can hear hints of this on the TBS CD.

Ron and Nick both have nice seamless altissimo. I'm not sure, but I think Ron does most of the altissimo work needed on the TBS tunes. He was the arranger.

Greasehonkey
User ID: 9635043 Mar 15th 4:38 PM

I love to listen to both,plus all the others mentioned. I really like Cuber in a blues context,ie with Dr. John. Makes the tenor sound very wimpy by comparison.
No one ever mentions Bluett though, my favorite.
Totally unique concepts of phrasing ,note choice,tone ,the whole thing. Sometimes he does lose me on those sopranino altisimos ,but mostly I`m just awed.
Does no one else dig the dude ? Really ,we have so few heroes ,and one of the greats has just passed.

MojoBari
User ID: 1195644 Mar 16th 5:35 PM
I only have one CD by Bluett. I tried to like it, but it seems at times that he is swearing at us through his sax. I think he has jazz chops, but his choice to play sloppy advant garde does not entertain me.

greasehonkey
User ID: 9635043 Mar 16th 5:50 PM
Yes, i can understand that. I hear it differently myself. Gutbucket avant garde ?

I should at least have spelled his name right,though. Bluiett ,Bluiett.

greasehonkey
User ID: 8046873 Mar 18th 4:58 PM
Mojo,which recording do you have ? I suggest you
check out "With Eyes Wide Open " ,released in 2000. As straight ahead as he gets,with a fine guitar quartet . Or at least listen to samples at Amazon or wherever. The guy is worth a second try ,IMO ,of course.

MojoBari
User ID: 1320554 Mar 19th 2:28 PM
I purchased "Young Warrior, Old Warrior" from amazon.com because a review said something like "if you only get one Bluett CD, this is the one". I realize the risk of judging a cat based on one CD. But if I like a player, I usually like all their stuff.

Next 20 Messages

jmarshall83 User ID: 7761613	Feb 12th 12:46 AM With the recent passing of the great nick brignola that leaves Ronnie cuber and Gary smulyan. Who do you think takes the crown. i know both of them personally and I still can't choose. fyi: ronnie -Selmer six low a, francois louis piece 8, rico 3.5 gary- Conn low Bb,link 9 piece,vandoren 3
RS User ID: 9614573	Feb 12th 11:47 AM I'm not familiar with Gary Smulyan but Ronnie Cuber is definitely in the same league with Nick Brignola.
saxilla User ID: 2958184	Feb 12th 11:47 AM They are all great and I believe to emphasize that, the three of them made a cd together "Three Baritones play Mulligan" Make your own decision.
MojoBari User ID: 1320554	Feb 12th 12:45 PM I dont wanna pick another. I want Nick back.
Adam User ID: 9572103	Feb 12th 12:48 PM I've studied with both of them, and they are both great players. I couldn't say one is better than the other, they are very different players and each have their strong points (and er, none too many weak ones....). That was one of the best things about the Mulligan tribute album, all three of those guys had something very different going on.
Adam User ID: 9572103	Feb 12th 12:50 PM I want Pepper Adams back too....
RS User ID: 9614573	Feb 12th 12:56 PM And Leo Parker. Fortunately Cecil Payne is still going at 79. Saw him a few months back and he was playing great. And not even taking into account his age.
Screech User ID: 9753653	Feb 12th 3:34 PM Saxilla: Got the CD used a few years back. Its fantastic!
Merlin User ID: 8931733	Feb 12th 4:01 PM I feel very fortunate, in that I saw Nick live just before he got sick. I also saw Pepper in his prime, and I've seen Gary live w/the Vanguard band. Now, if I could have seen Harry Carney live...that woulda been really cool.
MojoBari User ID: 1320554	Feb 13th 9:40 AM I guess Dennis DiBlasio is my new favorite.
Screech User ID: 9753653	Feb 13th 10:22 AM Merlin my dad (78 yr. old) told me just a few weeks ago that he saw Harry Carney live in the 40's. He did the circular breathing thing at the end of the show. He said he was walking around NY and just happened to hear about it and walked into a club where the Duke was playing. People on the street were making a big deal about his band being there.
saxilla User ID: 2958184	Feb 13th 1:31 PM Denis is great. I have a few of his CDs. I find it amusing when he does scat;-)
MojoBari User ID: 1320554	Feb 14th 8:03 AM His scat at a live performance is very entertaining. He does Italian and Yiddish and some really original sounds.
MPL User ID: 0122954	Mar 13th 12:06 AM I saw Smulyan a couple of weeks ago with a small group. It's rare to hear a band where the baritone drowns out the trumpet! I like his playing for sheer quantity of ideas, but I'd have to say he doesn't leave much "breathing room." He doesn't do as much poking around in the altissimo range as Brignola did, and Nick made it sound like those notes are actually on the horn somewhere - they're that flawlessly executed. I was fortunate enough to hear Brignola at the IAJE conference in '95. The only Cuber I have is on the Three Baritone Saxophone Band recording, and you can hear a heavier blues influence in his playing, more so than Brignola or Smulyan. The beauty of that recording is that each player really did bring a different bag to the gig!
MojoBari User ID: 1320554	Mar 13th 8:05 AM Gary does tend to use too many notes for most peoples tastes. I saw him live once with a big band. He only had one extended solo and it seemed at times he was in his own world... ignoring the rhythm section. You can hear hints of this on the TBS CD. Ron and Nick both have nice seamless altissimo. I'm not sure, but I think Ron does most of the altissimo work needed on the TBS tunes. He was the arranger.
Greasehonkey User ID: 9635043	Mar 15th 4:38 PM I love to listen to both,plus all the others mentioned. I really like Cuber in a blues context,ie with Dr. John. Makes the tenor sound very wimpy by comparison. No one ever mentions Bluett though, my favorite. Totally unique concepts of phrasing ,note choice,tone ,the whole thing. Sometimes he does lose me on those sopranino altisimos ,but mostly I`m just awed. Does no one else dig the dude ? Really ,we have so few heroes ,and one of the greats has just passed.
MojoBari User ID: 1195644	Mar 16th 5:35 PM I only have one CD by Bluett. I tried to like it, but it seems at times that he is swearing at us through his sax. I think he has jazz chops, but his choice to play sloppy advant garde does not entertain me.
greasehonkey User ID: 9635043	Mar 16th 5:50 PM Yes, i can understand that. I hear it differently myself. Gutbucket avant garde ? I should at least have spelled his name right,though. Bluiett ,Bluiett.
greasehonkey User ID: 8046873	Mar 18th 4:58 PM Mojo,which recording do you have ? I suggest you check out "With Eyes Wide Open " ,released in 2000. As straight ahead as he gets,with a fine guitar quartet . Or at least listen to samples at Amazon or wherever. The guy is worth a second try ,IMO ,of course.
MojoBari User ID: 1320554	Mar 19th 2:28 PM I purchased "Young Warrior, Old Warrior" from amazon.com because a review said something like "if you only get one Bluett CD, this is the one". I realize the risk of judging a cat based on one CD. But if I like a player, I usually like all their stuff.