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Some innovative musical artists labor in semi-obscurity for much of their lives, yet are still able to invent a fresh, individual, innovative approach to their instruments. Such was the case with Baritone Sax and low reed master, Kurt McGettrick. Kurt was a real artist who was uncompromising and fearless in all musical situations. Kurt McGettrick passed away last Sunday night (5/6/07) due to an aggressive cancer condition.
Kurt was a specialist on the low woodwinds. His advanced techniques on Bari Sax, Bass Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, ContraBass Clarinet, Flute, Alto Flute, and Piccolo were astounding. His sound on Bari Sax was HUGE! He regularly employed double and triple tonguing, an amazing mastery of multiphonics, and a very impressive command of the extreme altissimo of the Bari Sax. Kurt played the bass clarinet very beautifully, with an amazing fluency in the delicate upper range. On tenor, Kurt’s favorite influence was Gene Ammons. He had absolutely zero interest in cloning Mike Brecker or any of the other favorites of the moment. Kurt was not a bebop player. Instead, he developed his own style of thematic improvisation which incorporated techniques which he developed himself. McGettrick was also a fine arranger and composer. Kurt was all about creativity and taking chances in music. He was somewhat of an odd duck in L.A., where precision and stylistic adaptability reign supreme. Kurt was uncompromising when it came to music, and he didn’t work as much as he could have because he stood his ground when it came to selling out.
Tim Price knows about Kurt McGettrick. Tim vividly remembers Kurt’s playing from 30 years ago at the Berklee school. Tim told me today that Kurt struck him as being like an American John Surman. My former roommate on the Lyle Lovett Band, Bobby Eldridge (another monster Bari player), also clearly remembers how incredible Kurt was back when they were playing at Berklee so many years ago.
Kurt was perhaps most notorious for being a member of Frank Zappa’s 1988 touring horn section, which spawned the albums “The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life”, “Make A Jazz Noise Here”, and “Broadway the Hard Way”. During his career, Kurt toured and recorded with Graham Parker, and toured with the “Prez Conference” band. Kurt also recorded with B.B. King, Tom Petty, Patti LaBelle, The Meters, Phoebe Snow, and the Ladd McIntosh Big Band. He played on many movie soundtracks, including The Lion King, and Matchstick Men.
Good places to hear McGettrick’s work are on Ladd McIntosh’s CD’s “Temptation”, and “Ride the Night Beast”. The is the way to play Bari Sax in a modern big band! Kurt’s tremendous Bari Sax sound is heard and felt on every song throughout these discs. Kurt’s presence in Ladd’s band was much like the way in which Harry Carney was such an integral part of the Ellington band’s sound. Kurt went to Berklee many years ago to study arranging and composition, but he said that the faculty kept pushing him to play Bari with all the big bands. Kurt generally didn’t like to play Bari with big bands because he said so few big band writers wrote good parts for Bari Sax. He made an exception for Ladd McIntosh and he played in Ladd’s band for 30 years. Ladd writes exeptional bari sax parts!
You can hear excerpts of the Ladd McIntosh Big Band recordings at the CDBaby.com website. Kurt is featured on "Steak and Beans" on the Ride the Night Beast CD". And on "I Got It Bad' on the "Temptation" CD.
http://cdbaby.com/cd/laddmcintosh1
http://cdbaby.com/cd/laddmcintosh2
To hear fine examples of Kurt’s more ‘outside’ playing in which he really excelled, check out Andre Caporaso’s CD, “Avenue 5”. Yours truly also played on this CD.
http://www.amazon.com/Avenue-5-Andr...8661648?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1178647498&sr=1-1
There are many example of Kurt’s Bari Sax and Bass Clarinet artistry on Caporaso’s CD. McGettrick was really in his element when dealing with a harmonically open ended setting.
On a personal note, I spent many enjoyable hours over the past 17 years playing alongside Kurt in the Andre Caporaso band, in Steve Spiegl’s big band, and in Billy Mintz’s Two Bass Band. Kurt’s playing was a constant inspiration. He brought a ton of musical energy to every situation. Musically, he was his own man. His style was strictly of his own invention. I admired Kurt’s fearless, ferocious flights into the stratosphere. His improvisations were completely unpredictable. You were always going to be surprised and amused by what he played, and you weren’t going to hear any stock licks – ever! His playing made me reach deeper - in an effort to keep up with his tremendous intensity.
Kurt was a real funny guy. His hard boiled outlook was shaped by a career of observing the ridiculousness of the music industry and the recent decline of the studio scene in L.A.. His stories about touring with Zappa were hilarious. Kurt was cynical about many aspects of the business, but he balanced that with his great sense of humor. Kurt McGettrick will be very much missed out here in Los Angeles. Check out the work of this important musician.
For a photo of Kurt playing his Bass Sax and a partial list of his album credits, go to:
http://www.united-mutations.com/m/kurt_mcgettrick.htm
(I think the date on the first BB.King session must be incorrect.)
Peace everybody,
Steve Marsh
Los Angeles
Kurt was a specialist on the low woodwinds. His advanced techniques on Bari Sax, Bass Saxophone, Bass Clarinet, ContraBass Clarinet, Flute, Alto Flute, and Piccolo were astounding. His sound on Bari Sax was HUGE! He regularly employed double and triple tonguing, an amazing mastery of multiphonics, and a very impressive command of the extreme altissimo of the Bari Sax. Kurt played the bass clarinet very beautifully, with an amazing fluency in the delicate upper range. On tenor, Kurt’s favorite influence was Gene Ammons. He had absolutely zero interest in cloning Mike Brecker or any of the other favorites of the moment. Kurt was not a bebop player. Instead, he developed his own style of thematic improvisation which incorporated techniques which he developed himself. McGettrick was also a fine arranger and composer. Kurt was all about creativity and taking chances in music. He was somewhat of an odd duck in L.A., where precision and stylistic adaptability reign supreme. Kurt was uncompromising when it came to music, and he didn’t work as much as he could have because he stood his ground when it came to selling out.
Tim Price knows about Kurt McGettrick. Tim vividly remembers Kurt’s playing from 30 years ago at the Berklee school. Tim told me today that Kurt struck him as being like an American John Surman. My former roommate on the Lyle Lovett Band, Bobby Eldridge (another monster Bari player), also clearly remembers how incredible Kurt was back when they were playing at Berklee so many years ago.
Kurt was perhaps most notorious for being a member of Frank Zappa’s 1988 touring horn section, which spawned the albums “The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life”, “Make A Jazz Noise Here”, and “Broadway the Hard Way”. During his career, Kurt toured and recorded with Graham Parker, and toured with the “Prez Conference” band. Kurt also recorded with B.B. King, Tom Petty, Patti LaBelle, The Meters, Phoebe Snow, and the Ladd McIntosh Big Band. He played on many movie soundtracks, including The Lion King, and Matchstick Men.
Good places to hear McGettrick’s work are on Ladd McIntosh’s CD’s “Temptation”, and “Ride the Night Beast”. The is the way to play Bari Sax in a modern big band! Kurt’s tremendous Bari Sax sound is heard and felt on every song throughout these discs. Kurt’s presence in Ladd’s band was much like the way in which Harry Carney was such an integral part of the Ellington band’s sound. Kurt went to Berklee many years ago to study arranging and composition, but he said that the faculty kept pushing him to play Bari with all the big bands. Kurt generally didn’t like to play Bari with big bands because he said so few big band writers wrote good parts for Bari Sax. He made an exception for Ladd McIntosh and he played in Ladd’s band for 30 years. Ladd writes exeptional bari sax parts!
You can hear excerpts of the Ladd McIntosh Big Band recordings at the CDBaby.com website. Kurt is featured on "Steak and Beans" on the Ride the Night Beast CD". And on "I Got It Bad' on the "Temptation" CD.
http://cdbaby.com/cd/laddmcintosh1
http://cdbaby.com/cd/laddmcintosh2
To hear fine examples of Kurt’s more ‘outside’ playing in which he really excelled, check out Andre Caporaso’s CD, “Avenue 5”. Yours truly also played on this CD.
http://www.amazon.com/Avenue-5-Andr...8661648?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1178647498&sr=1-1
There are many example of Kurt’s Bari Sax and Bass Clarinet artistry on Caporaso’s CD. McGettrick was really in his element when dealing with a harmonically open ended setting.
On a personal note, I spent many enjoyable hours over the past 17 years playing alongside Kurt in the Andre Caporaso band, in Steve Spiegl’s big band, and in Billy Mintz’s Two Bass Band. Kurt’s playing was a constant inspiration. He brought a ton of musical energy to every situation. Musically, he was his own man. His style was strictly of his own invention. I admired Kurt’s fearless, ferocious flights into the stratosphere. His improvisations were completely unpredictable. You were always going to be surprised and amused by what he played, and you weren’t going to hear any stock licks – ever! His playing made me reach deeper - in an effort to keep up with his tremendous intensity.
Kurt was a real funny guy. His hard boiled outlook was shaped by a career of observing the ridiculousness of the music industry and the recent decline of the studio scene in L.A.. His stories about touring with Zappa were hilarious. Kurt was cynical about many aspects of the business, but he balanced that with his great sense of humor. Kurt McGettrick will be very much missed out here in Los Angeles. Check out the work of this important musician.
For a photo of Kurt playing his Bass Sax and a partial list of his album credits, go to:
http://www.united-mutations.com/m/kurt_mcgettrick.htm
(I think the date on the first BB.King session must be incorrect.)
Peace everybody,
Steve Marsh
Los Angeles
