CHARLIE MARIANO...the master
ZiCheng said:
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I wanted some comments about the alto sound from "Track A Solo Dancer", from the Charles Mingus album "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady." How does the tone sound so wide and flexible? I'm really intrigued by this sound. Hopefully you have the record and can just pop it on and have a listen. It's really something.
That's CHARLIE MARIANO. One of _the_CREATIVE MASTERS.
Marvin Stamm once said- in the 60's Charlie Mariano is to the alto what Trane was to the tenor. ( or something close- I can't remember the exact text )
Anyhow ~Charlie Mariano is my biggest influence and inspiration in music.
I was lucky to study with him when I was 17 at Berklee.
< That was a true blessing >
Charlie Mariano's music is singular and yet it reaches beyond his personal
vision. This is music that speaks to the collective spirit of all mankind. Mariano is a consummate creative saxophonist of the highest order.His repertoire covers the waterfront from Euro-open style compositions to indian ragas & scales to hard driving funk and some of the very best jazz standard playing. He is one of our legendary contemporary players ...a singular intelligence of remarkable purity and consistency.
Mariano's playing... streches the mind without destroying the ears !!!
As Ernie Watts said of Charlie Mariano to me many times .." Charlie Mariano is a timeless character." Just listen to his intensity!!! His passion!!
Check out - Charlie Mariano
Deep in a Dream
2003 Enja Justin Time
With these standards!!!!!!
1 You Better Go Now (6:24)
2 Dew Drops (7:01)
3 Spring Is Here (6:38)
4 I'm a Fool to Want You (9:09)
5 I Only Miss Her When I Think of Her (7:12)
6 Touch of Your Lips (6:42)
7 Etosha (4:20)
8 Close Enough for Love (9:31)
9 Yours Is My Heart Alone (4:37)
10 Deep in a Dream (5:12)
Or some of these ;Artist: Charlie Mariano and the Karnataka College of
Percussion
Album: Jyothi (1983, ECM 1256)
Personnel: Charlie Mariano (sax, flute), R.A. Ramamani (vocals, tamboura),
T.A.S. Mani (mridangam), R.A. Rajagopal (percussion), T.N. Shashikumar
(kanjira, konakkol)
Artist: Charlie Mariano and the Karnataka College of Percussion, with R.A.
Ramamani
Album: Live (1989, Intuition/VeraBra 2034)
Personnel: Charlie Mariano (sax), T.A.S. Mani (mridamgam), R.A. Ramamani
(vocals, konakkol), T. Shashikumar (kanjira), Ramesh Shotham (percussion)
Album: Nassim (1998, Off The Wall LC 2887)
Personnel: Charlie Mariano (sax), Paul Shigihara (guitar), Chaouki Smahi (oud), Dave King (bass), Hubert Nuss (piano), Jahia Smahi (darabouka, percussion)
Album: Bangalore (1998, Intuition Records LC 8399)
Personnel: Charlie Mariano (sax), R.A. Ramamani (vocals), T.A.S Mani
(mrindangam), Louis Banks (keys), K. Raghavendra (Veena), Dave King (bass), Jacob William (bass), Amit Heri (guitar)
Or click here to find more;
http://www.artistdirect.com/store/artist/album/full/0,,463310,00.html
Mariano, began on sax at 17, played in US Army, attended Berklee, played and recorded around Boston (see Nat Pierce), worked with Stan Kenton '53--5; to LA, working with Frank Rosolino, Shelly Manne, others. LPs '51--7 on Imperial, Prestige, Fantasy, Bethlehem, World Pacific with Herb Pomeroy, Jaki Byard, Rosolino, Manne, others. Mariano was married to Toshiko Akiyoshi; quartet LPs with her on Candid '60 and in Tokyo '63. He played on Charles Mingus LPs on Impulse '63, taught at Berklee c'65--71, worked with Radio Malaysia orchestra for several months, discovering the nadaswaram; lived mostly in Europe from '71, making trips to India to study music.
He was always open to new ideas, preferring Europe because experimentation there was less subject to commercial pressures. [/B
]He was a member of the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble (on six LPs), Eberhard Weber's Colours ( 4 LPs on ECM). Other LPs incl. three with Japanese musicians in Tokyo '67--8, incl. reedman Sadao Watanabe (b 1 Feb. '33; LPs on Inner City, Columbia; Parker's Mood on Elektra and Good Time For Love on WEA, both '86; in 90s on Denon); octet Cascade and Solos And Duos with Philip Catherine on Keytone '74; Reflektions '74 on Finnish RCA with Finnish musicians (and Sabu Martinez); The Door Is Open '75 by group Pork Pie with Catherine, Jaspar van't Hof, others, and Helen Twelvetrees '76 with Jack Bruce, Jan Hammer, others, both on MPS; sextet October on CMP/Inner City; Crystal Bells '79 on CMP, Tea
For Four '80 on Finnish Leo, Some Kind Of Changes '82 on German Calig, Jyothi '83 on ECM with the Karnataka College of Percussion, The Charlie Mariano Group '85 on Mood. CDs incl. two vols of It's Standard Time with Tete Montoliu and Portrait Of Charlie Mariano on Fresh Sound, celebration Mariano & Friends: 70 '93 on Intuition with guests incl. van't Hof, Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Aldo Romao, J. F. Jenny-Clark, many more.
His recent book published thru Advance Music...
"An Introduction To South Indian Music" by Charlie Mariano is excellent.A must have for the open minded.
There are very few musician that play alto saxophone that have this kind
of feel and intensity.Check his playing out....he is an innovator of the
highest level.
Thank god I was able to study with him as a teenager at Berklee, he changed my life.This was in about 1969- thru- 1971 etc.
Charlie sold me a spare nadaswaram he had while studying in India. ( BTW-The reeds are (((((((VeRy HaRD ))))))) let me tell ya. They are one solid hunk of cane and , it's either you or the reed.:shock: 
Charlie had me chew beetle-nuts , which is like an Indian candy ...almpost walnut or chesnut like , and coated with a sugarish coating. The beetle nut....made the reeds for nadaswaram more vibrant and...helped them regain hardness.
THE SIDE EFFECT , those beetle - nuts made you really HIGH !!!!!! LOL
Charlie and I had a lot of laughs on reeds ! It really to be honest , did a number on my chops at first. It was easy to play , just to get a sound out of. But- to actually play the Ragas and India based studys requires
EXTEREME endurance. It tunes an Augmented 4th and you learn how to bend the pitch with your chops. Also half holes. Charlie taught me this instrument in a very special way. Lessons would be hours and fun. Sometimes Joe Viola would pop in to listen and check it out. Charlie was 50 then & a timeless character.
* Oh yea* , I just remembered-
Mariano wrote a killin' sax quartet composition- that had no bar lines....and
was semi- india music based. Charlie played soprano -
Viola- alto and John LaPorta- tenor...and Gary Anderson -bari.
I can still hear THAT rehearsal in my head !! ( damn where are the f#@k&*+ record companys when you need em')
- Back to Charlie for #1....he DID NOT...like to
teach private lessons at Berklee due to cats not applying
what he said. So at this time.....I was his only private student. The
nadaswaram really helped me understand the music of India and
how it related to jazz. The nadaswaram is oboe like but not really
in it's sonic properties. It IS...an instrument for out door musics
in INDIA !!!! At the time Mariano was playing it in a Raga-rock band-
OSMOSIS. ( They recorded for RCA !!!! ) ASk David Woodford-this
band kicked [email protected]@ in the way it sounded.
Ain't nobody like Charlie on alto. PERIOD !! He's amazing. What a sound
and in his 80' s as we speak now.... and playing his heart out in Europe, and leading a way better life than if he stayed in the States.
Listen to ELVIN JONES " Dear John C "...on IMPULSE records.
This was a Trane homage....and Elvin picked Mariano to do it while Trane was_STILL_ with us. That sais volumes- IMHO.
Anyhow- sorry to ramble- but there's NOBODY like Charlie. What a innovator and great great inspiration to all.
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