Gary Bartz

Veteran alto and soprano saxophonist Gary Bartz's debut recording for the Dutch Timeless label is one of his finest efforts as he enlisted the services of pianist Benny Green, bassist Christian McBride, drummer Victor Lewis, and tenor saxophonist Willie Williams on three selections to perform an unusual program of one Bartz composition, three jazz classics, two movie themes, and one radio theme. Bartz's strong tone, sense of swing, and improvisational imagination place him within the ranks of jazz's finest saxophonists, and he proves it throughout this recording. Favorites include the title track, which is actually two Bartz compositions, one medium, one up, joined by an excellent McBride bass solo; John Coltrane's "Song of the Underground Railroad," performed up-tempo, in the spirit of Coltrane all the way down to a blistering sax-drums duet; McCoy Tyner's "Peresina," a medium Afro-Latin number with the melody played by the not-heard-enough combination of tenor and alto sax; and Wayne Shorter's "Children of the Night" where the melody is played over a hip groove by McBride and Lewis and features one of the best Bartz solos on record.

There's early work with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop, work with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln, a stint in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and also one with Miles. There's his groundbreaking and highly influential Ntu Troop albums of the early 70s and his jazz-funk work including two classic albums with the Mizell Brothers, one of which supplied A Tribe Called Quest with a sample that was smooth like butter. That's not to mention appearances on beloved albums by Pharoah Sanders, Donald Byrd, Norman Connors, Roy Ayers, Gene Ammons, Phyllis Hyman, Jackie McLean and many others. This is what Gary Bartz brings to the Jazz Is Dead project and as can be expected, his questing spirit fits the JID style like a glove and has produced an album that's a cutting-edge addition to his immense canon as he effortlessly interfaces with a new generation.

Ntu with Gary Bartz - Singerella: A Ghetto Fairy Tale (1973) {Prestige-BGP Records CDBGPM 219 rel 2010}
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© 1973-74, 2010 Prestige / Concord Music / BGP Records / Ace Records | CDBGPM 219
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Fusion / Saxophone

Digitally re-mastered edition of this 1973 album. Saxophonist Bartz is one of the great post-Coltrane saxophonists. He made his professional name in New York in the early '60s before hooking up with McCoy Tyner later in the decade, and played with Miles Davis in the period immediately after the release of Bitches Brew. He formed his band the NTU Troop at the same time and began to experiment with Funk rhythms, lyrics and Jazz improvisations.

Gary Bartz - Shadows (1991) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series}
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© 1991, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6328
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

Reissue with the latest remastering. Features original cover artwork. Comes with a descripton in Japanese. The 90s were a really wonderful decade for reedman Gary Bartz – a time when he seemed to go back to basics, and find a way to open up whole new corners in his music! This album's a key illustration of that moment – as Bartz blows with a sense of darkly brooding power that we never would have expected a decade or two before – this deep sense of pacing and tone that often has us looking to make sure he's not blowing a tenor, instead of the alto and soprano sax listed in the notes.

In the late 1970s, Gary Bartz's work became quite commercial. But earlier in the decade – when the alto and soprano saxophonist led his Ntu Troop – he was more ambitious. Recorded in 1972, Juju Street Songs is among the risk-taking efforts that came from the Ntu Troop. This ambitious LP finds Bartz drawing on a variety of influences – everything from John Coltrane's modal post-bop to world music to the electric fusion that Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock were providing at the time. The term world music, of course, can mean a lot of different things; for the Ntu Troop, it means a strong Middle Eastern/Arabic influence on the moody "Teheran" and more of an Afro-Caribbean outlook on the exuberant "Africans Unite.".

Gary Bartz - Music Is My Sanctuary (1977) {Blue Note Rare Groove 724358073324 rel 2003}
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© 1977, 2003 Capitol / Blue Note | 7243 5 80733 2 4
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Soul Jazz / Jazz Fusion / Saxophone

A fantastic bit of jazz funk fusion – and one of the landmark 70s albums produced by Larry Mizell! This is Gary Bartz's second (and most amazing) collaboration with Larry Mizell – a studio genius who could focus on the best talent of a jazz artist, then expand it using additional keyboards, percussion, and often a sweet bank of chorus vocals to give the tracks an extra soulful sound! By the time of this album, Larry had already worked to great fame with Donald Byrd, Bobbi Humphrey, and Johnny Hammond – and the record has him turning his talents towards Gary Bartz to unlock a whole hidden side of soulful expression that would never be matched again! The title cut – "Music Is My Sanctuary" – is a jazz fusion classic in anyone's book, and it features characteristic Mizell keyboards alongside Gary's soulful sax, augmented by a deep vocal chorus that's simply fantastic.

Gary Bartz - The Red And Orange Poems (1994) {Atlantic Jazz 82720-2}
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© 1994 Atlantic Jazz | 82720-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Saxophone

Alto veteran Gary Bartz may not have made it as big as originally predicted, but as shown on this 1994 studio date, he developed a sound of his own and was always capable of coming out with exciting yet thoughtful music. Joined by such associates as trumpeter Eddie Henderson, John Clark on French horn, pianist Mulgrew Miller, bassist Dave Holland, drummer Greg Bandy and percussionist Steve Kroon, Bartz is in excellent form on a variety of standards (including "By Myself" and "But Not for Me") and originals.

Alto saxophonist Gary Bartz attended the Juilliard Conservatory of Music and became a member of Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop from 1962-1964 where he worked with Eric Dolphy and encountered McCoy Tyner for the first time. He also began gigging as a sideman in the mid-'60s with Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach, and later as a member of Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers. His recording debut was on Blakey's Soul Finger album…