Theo Saunders and Intergeneration
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Theo Saunders and Intergeneration

Los Angeles, California, United States | SELF

Los Angeles, California, United States | SELF
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"Review"

FRINGE PRODUCTS, CONT.: For several years, Santa Barbara (and Ojai and Oxnard before that) had the pleasure of musically knowing keyboardist Theo Saunders, a New Yorker who played with Carla Bley and many another jazz scene notable before heading West to seek his … well, peace, and his fortunes of the soulful sort. Saunders played around town in various settings and could always be counted on to summon up chops, soul, and humor, and to generally bring it, even if the gig was on the casual side.

Saunders has lived in Los Angeles for many years now, and once or twice returned to these old stomping grounds to play, at SOhO and such. Anyone interested in hearing what we’re missing should listen to the wonderful new album Intergeneration, by the Theo Saunders Sextet, on his own TSM (aka Theo Saunders Music) label. Leading a band including some of the better L.A. jazz folks, with saxists Chuck Manning and Zane Musa, trombonist David Dahlsten, bassist Jeff Littleton and drummer Tony Austin in the fold, Saunders is putting forth some of the more recommended jazz coming from the West Coast at the moment. As for the leader, Saunders’s piano work is stellar and musical, to suit the setting, and his voice as a composer sometimes resembles Dave Holland’s medium-size band writing, in an intricate but tasteful modern jazz mode.

Saunders shows the proverbial firm but freeing role as leader-composer for his ensemble. The album opens with the “Top Hat Shaman Stroll”—with alternating currents of complexity and buoyancy fitting the contrasting implications of the playful mutant title. Other high points include the medium-swinging amble of “Laria’s Bounce,” the coolly glowing introspection on “Queen of Tangents” and “Jürmala,” and the restlessly energetic “Trapeze for Two Atoms.” Percussionist Ray Armando joins the sextet for the tangy “Free South Africa,” with its simple, catchy head and geo-cultural colorations ranging from the South African vibrancy of Dollar Brand to Afro-Cuban pulsations. Saunders takes on and gives fresh new flair to the familiar turf of an uptempo “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and—from a less expected corner of the cover song omniverse--“Sixteen Tons,” a slow creep thang to end the album on an after-hours note.

Sure was nice to hear Saunders up close and personal in the 805 back when, and nice to hear him now down there in the big, bad naked city, in person or in one’s recorded music format of choice. It ain’t necessarily impossible that he could bring his charges up this way for a gig again one day. (Hint, hint.) - Santa Barbara Independent


"Review"

By CHUCK KOTON, Published: August 3, 2011

Born into the cultural vortex that is New York City's Upper West Side and raised by Broadway theater-performing parents, Theo Saunders was destined for the creative life. By the time he graduated from New York's prestigious High School for the Performing Arts, Saunders knew his future would be made seated in front of a piano playing jazz. But that future would not be in New York; at a certain point, Saunders knew he had to get out of the city, so he made the difficult decision to reverse the jazz musician's traditional west to east migration, eventually landing in the City of Angels, where he has been a vital musical presence for nearly twenty years. On Intergeneration the veteran pianist, composer and arranger has assembled a sextet of fellow LA-based musicians to help animate his compelling original compositions, as well as his hip arrangements of two classics.

On Saunders' crazy, New Orleans-inspired "Top Hat Shaman Stroll," the pianist unleashes the band's big sextet sound. Tenor saxophonist Chuck Manning slowly yet inexorably builds his funkily restrained solo, while Zane Musa blows a searing gust of notes on alto sax. Saunders follows the saxophones, his Monk-ish solo sparse, playful and emphatic, while Jeff Littleton's bass thumps like a cardiac patient with a robust arrythmia.

Saunders arranges "It Ain't Necessarily So," the operatic jewel by Dubose Heyward/George and Ira Gershwin},} to {{Mingus-like effect, with harmonic complexity and powerful rhythms. Manning and trombonist David Dahlsten alternate triplet patterns under Musa's bluesy statement of the familiar melody before the band, propelled by Tony Austin's scintillating drum rhythms, takes off on its improvisational journey. On the balladic "Queen of Tangents," dedicated to the pianist's effervescent "better half," Saunders displays his instrumental sensitivity as he delves deeply into his heart and soul for dreamy musical inspiration.

"Free South Africa," a joyous celebration of Nelson Mandela's victorious leadership over apartheid, swings with unrestrained vigor. Saunders infuses this tune with Latin flavor, a taste he acquired during his high school days in Manhattan and which continues to be an important influence on his music. Saunders' guest, Latin jazz great, conguero/percussionist Ray Armando, adds a dash of especially spicy Caribe sabor, while Dahlsten's solo and Manning's soaring soprano sax elevate this tune's skyward flight.

Saunders closes with an inspired reworking of "16 Tons," the old country and western hit recorded years ago by Tennessee Ernie Ford. In Saunders' musical vision, the tune becomes a Coltrane-esque minor blues, with Musa's plaintive alto leading the way. This mournful blues, an appropriate anthem for today's beleaguered workers, hits right in the gut.

Saunders' multihued, musical artistry is boldly displayed on this welcome recording.

Track Listing: Top Hat Shaman Stroll; It Ain't Necessarily So; Queen of Tangents; Laria's Bounce; Free South Africa; Trapeze For Two Atoms; Jurmala; Sixteen Tons.

Personnel: Theo Saunders: piano; Chuck Manning: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone (5}; Zane Musa: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone (4, 6); David Dahlsten: trombone; Jeff Littleton: bass; Tony Austin: drums; Ray Armando: congas, percussion.
- All About Jazz


"Review"


By ROBERT BUSH, Published: July 24, 2011
Theo Saunders Sextet
Saville Theatre, San Diego City College
San Diego, CA
July 5, 2011

Pianist Theo Saunders has an incredible resume. Growing up in NYC, he played with Pharoah Sanders in the 1960s, and in 1971 (at age 24), at the Village Vanguard with the likes of Jimmy Garrison and Jack DeJohnette in a group led by guitarist Sonny Greenwich. Appearing on more than 40 recordings as a sideman, he has accompanied everyone from Sonny Fortune and Charles Lloyd to Freddie Hubbard and Ray Mantilla, and has six recordings as a leader.

The sextet Saunders brought to the Saville Theatre was wisely assembled with a view toward balance. Jeff Littleton on bass, David Dahlsten on trombone and Chuck Manning on tenor all have years of working experience at the highest level. Part of the pianist's genius, though, was in recruiting Zane Musa on reeds and Tony Austin on drums, two guys in their early 30s who are both alumni from the Cal Arts music program and burning with the fire of youth.

Musa has recently scored a gig with Cuban expatriate trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, and it was easy to see why—he's got a similar sense of manic, muscular energy. Drummer Austin played with a relaxed, but explosive verve, and it was impossible not to think of Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette as he propelled the group forward on his highly charged engine.

The band led off with Saunders' unique arrangement of country music legend Merle Travis' "16 Tons." It was Tennessee Ernie Ford meets Oliver Nelson, as there was a strong dose of "Stolen Moments" in this adaptation.

After dispensing with the sumptuously voiced melody, Musa attacked the changes with a barely contained energy. His ideas came out with such bold alacrity, it was like they were chasing each other out of his alto saxophone. Manning followed with the opposite idea: ever patient, his calm, centered tone belied the increasingly coiled, scalar repetitions that built toward a quiet climax.

Saunders' solo began with incremental melodic gestures that grew in length while being supported by perfectly placed chordal accents. He built tension with right-hand trilling that eventually erupted into two-handed block chords that brought the spirit of McCoy Tyner to mind. Littleton's spot was groove-centered as he broke up long chromatic phrases with steady bits of walking bass, sticking primarily with the low, meaty tones.

Cole Porter's "It Ain't Necessarily So" was next, featuring the pianist's light, inventive comping behind Musa's animated soloing. Suddenly the band dropped out and Austin emerged with a thunderous, roiling drum solo. By the time he had wrapped it up, the audience was roaring its approval.

Other highlights included the lush ballad "Queen Of Tangents" Saunders dedicated to his wife, who was in attendance. A title like that might have sparked some marital discord, but the tune was so lovingly performed that another outcome was far more likely. Manning's honey-toned tenor hush rolled over Littleton's huge whole notes, which sang out in a rich baritone. The other horns drew long drawn pitches that wrapped around the melody and Saunders' perfectly placed chords.

"Free South Africa" utilized the three horns in a joyously voiced harmony, then somewhere in the middle, the band slipped into a rock-solid mambo type groove that reminded the listener that Saunders has got tons of Latin music experience under his fingertips.

The Les Brown standard, "Comes Love" was done in a semi-reggae arrangement, a well deserved opportunity for Dahlsten's trombone to shine as he delivered the melody in a gruff staccato, then unwrapped an exquisite solo that felt like Roswell Rudd meeting Frank Rosolino in a Jamaican nightspot.

It all came to an end with a 21st Century take on the Dixieland aesthetic—all three horns soloing at once over the martial, snare drum second-line grooving of Austin on the pianist's nod to post-Katrina New Orleans, "When The Saints Go Out."

90 minutes of scorching post-Trane expressionism, definitively performed by a perfectly balanced ensemble—extremely satisfying.
- All About Jazz


"Review"

" But the high point for us is Theo Saunders again, fronting his own sextet. He's collected some exceptional players: tenor Chuck Manning and alto Zane Musa, his longtime trombonist David Dahlsten, and the powerful team of bassist Jeffrey Littleton and drummer Tony Austin. Saunders is an underrated composer; his pieces can be difficult, if beautiful, and are rhythnically complex, and his solos are always surprising. For some reason, we really dig his unpredictably right-on-the-money comping best of all........this just might be the recession busting gig of the week."-Brick Wahl (LA Weekly) - LA Weekly


"Review"

"Saunders plays with such unobstructed passion and pulse that he seems to become the blood pumping through this ensemble's veins"- Cadence Magazine
- Cadence Magazine


"Review"



"Pianist Theo saunders plays laudably in both jazz and Afro-Cuban styles and can mix them nicely." - Harvey Pekar (Jazziz)
- Jazziz


"Review"

"Theo Saunders has a talent for constructing elegant solos in which linear melodies melt seamlessly into rich, two-handed chords" - Alexander Gelfand (Jazziz)
- Jazziz


"Review"

"Saunders provides shimmering backdrop and some sparkling lead efforts of his own. Saunders excites you with deliberate thematic development which builds to climatic resolution." - The Portland Journal"
- The Portland Journal


"Review"

"Pianist Saunders' powers of interpretation and invention are forces to be reckoned with; on an average night he's provocative, on a good night he's mind-bending." - Joseph Woodard, LA Tim - Los Angeles Times


"Review"

"A rhythm team composed of Theo (Ted) Saunders on piano...provided blistering support on the up-tempos, with exemplary solos." -Leonard Feather, LA Times
- Los Angeles Times


"Review"

"...the real solid values of Saunders' writing, along with his playing, constitute the album's chief virtue." - Downbeat
- Downbeat


"Review"

"Musician Theo Saunders never fails to amaze and to satisfy his listeners with his pianism. His virtuosity at the keyboard, his creative programming and selection of players usually results in a superb evening of entertainment."
--Bob Agnew (L.A. Jazz Scene)
- LA Jazz Scene


Discography

As Leader:

*Intergeneration- The Theo Saunders Sextet (TSM Records)

*Theo Saunders Trio Live! with Jeff D'Angelo and Mark Ferber.(TSM Records)

*Three for All (Blue Chip Jazz) with Mike Stephans, Chris Symer.

*Sueblue (Discovery) with Charles Owens, John Heard, Dick Berk, Gary Barone, and Carl Burnett

As Co-leader:

*High Standards (Polydor) with Mike Stern, Steve Slagle, Victor Lewis and Harvey Swartz

*Live at Charlie O's (TSM) with Benn Clatworthy, Chris Colangelo and Jimmy Branly

As Sideman:

*Living Time (Columbia) with George Russell & Bill Evans (co-leaders) with Tony Williams, Joe Henderson , Ron Carter, Snooky Young, Garnett Brown, Sam Rivers, Jimmy Guiffre, Stanley Clarke.

*Blues & Other Happy Moments with Barone Brothers (leaders with Tom Scott, Dick Spencer, John Heard, Shelly Manne, Alex Acuna.)

*The Two Quartets (Discovery) with Charles Owens and John Heard, Carl Burnett.

*Light Year (Inner City Records) with David Pritchard.

*Nuances (Gateway Records) with Hal Gordon and the Hollywood Jazz Quintet

*Jazz Antiqua (RCA Red Seal) with Frederic Hand and Jane Ira Bloom.

*Alive In LA (Catalyst) with Pat Britt, Henry Franklin, and Ron Jefferson.

*Let's Face The Music (BCM Records) with Benn Clatworthy, JimPaxon, and Christoph Luty.

*Free Association (Household Ink) with Headless Household, Dave Binney and Jeff Elliott.

*The Beautiful Never (JB Records) with John Burgess, Henry Franklin, and Willie Jones III.

*Bass Encounters (Resurgent Records) with Henry Franklin.

* Peligroso (Cubop Records) with Dave Pike.

*Mallet Hands (Cubop Records) with Ray Armando.

*The Music of Eric Von Essen Vol. 3 (Cryptogramophone Records).

*Noche (Sea Breeze Records) with Jerry Kalaf.

*Gertie, (Mainstem Records) Theo, Phil and Me-Benn Clatworthy.

*Carla Bley-Live in Montreal (DVD) .

*Acknowledgment (LifeForce Records) with Bobby Matos

*All God's Children (Skipper Productions) with Henry Franklin

*Two for the Road (Cougar Records) with the Estrada Brothers

*Charanga Chango (Lifeforce Records) with Bobby Matos

*'Tis the Season ( clethompson.com) with vocalist Cle Thompson

*Real Life Real Live Vol. 1 (Tea-Eye Music) with Tony Inzalaco

*Real Life Real Live Vol. 2 (Tea-Eye Music) with Tony Inzalaco

*If We Should Meet Again (SP Records) with Henry Franklin

*Gratitude (LifeForce Records) with Bobby Matos

*About Time! (Arabesque Records) with Eric J. Morones

*O, What a Beautiful Morning! (SP Records) with Henry Franklin

*I'm Glad I Thought About You (JimmerJazz) with Jimmer Bolden

*Have a cup with Richard Reid & Friends-Richard Reid (Roughhouse Productions)

* Unity-Bobby Matos Afro-Latin Septet (Life Force Records)

*Home Cookin-Henry Franklin (SP Records)

* Live at St. G-Father Norm Freeman

* Clatworthy Music-Benn Clatworthy (BCM 109)

* Home- Putter Smith Quintet (SP Records)

* Beautiful as the Moon- The Bobby Matos Afro-Latin Ensemble (Life Force Records)

*Soul of The World- The Henry Franklin Quartet with special guests (SP Records)


Major Festivals, Concert Halls and Clubs
JVC Jazz Festival - NYC

Antibes Jazz Festival - Juan-Les-Pin, France

NOS Jazz Festival - Amsterdam

North Sea Jazz Festival - Den Hague, The Netherlands

Sarasota Springs Jazz Festival - Sarasota Springs

Montreal Jazz Festival, Montreal

Palais D"Europe - Le Touqet, France

Canada Jam II - Toronto, Canada

Montreaux Jazz Festival - Montreaux

Avery Fischer Hall - NYC

Carnegie Hall - NYC

Greek Theatre - Los Angeles

Riga Sports Palace - Latvia

Montmarte - Copenhagen

Metropol - Berlin

Village Vanguard - NYC

Sweet Basil - NYC

Ojai Jazz Festival - Ojai, CA

UCLA Jazz Festival

Santa Monica Jazz Festival

Santa Barbara Jazz Festival

Catalina's - Los Angeles

Jazz Bakery - Los Angeles

Sonoma Jazz Festival

San Jose Jazz Festival

New Haven Jazz Festival

Temecula Jazz Festival

Barranquilla Jazz Festival

Medellin Jazz Festival

Central Avenue Jazz Festival-Los Angeles



Compositions

Musical Score for Waterside - Plexus Dance Theatre, Venture, CA.

Musical score for Vincent - A Passionate Journey Into The Life Of Van Gogh, a play by Leonard Nimoy.

Music for Chekhov Short Stories, a series for Public Radio.

Music for The Wood Demon, a Chekhov play produced by the Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, CA.

Musical score for the Sequoia National Park Centennial Multimedia Presentation.

Original Music for Verse of Fortune, a musical theatre piece currently in development that is based on the life of Charles Baudelaire

Over One Hundred jazz & rock compositions.



Musical Director

Musical Director (MD) for the play Peace Child, produced in both the US & USSR.

MD for Trio, an opera by Noa Ain - performed at the Berkshire Music Festival; first American Music Theatre Festival, Philadelphia; and at Carnegie Hall.

MD for The

Photos

Bio

Theo (Ted) Saunders, a native New Yorker, has lived in California since 1985, but his musical career remains international in scope. Saunders' musical odyssey has taken him to four continents and more than twenty countries.
He has performed in many of the world's most prestigious jazz festivals, concert halls and night clubs, with distinguished jazz artists including:
Freddie Hubbard, Carla Bley, Charles Lloyd, Bob Brookmeyer, Harold Land, Buddy Collette, Eddie Harris,Ted Curson, James Moody, Bobby Hutcherson, Teddy Edwards, Jack Dejohnette, Joe Lovano, Jimmy Garrison, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Fortune, Slam Stewart, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims ,Reggie Workman, Curtis Fuller, Rashied Ali, Mike Stern, Benny Powell, Chris Conners, Morgana King & Roseanna Vitro,David "Fathead" Newman, J.R. Montrose, Brew Moore,Sonny Greenwich, John Klemmer, Mark Egan, Wilbur Ware , Steve Khan, Henry Franklin, Azar Lawrence, Carl Burnett, Jack Wilkins, Steve Slagle, Dennis Irwin, Roy McCurdy, Eddie Gomez, Cecil McBee, Rick Laird, John Heard, Al Grey, Barbara Morrison, Lanny Morgan, Horacee Arnold, Jerry Bergonzi, Harvey Wainapel, Herbie Lewis, Sal Marquez, Hadley Caliman, Putter Smith, Gary Foster, Beaver Harris, Alphonse Mouzon, Benn Clatworthy, Dick Berk, Richie Cole, Garnett Brown, Justo Almario, Mike Richmond, Bob Sheppard, Bennie Maupin, Dave Binney, Bobby Bradford, Frank Morgan, Harvie Swartz, Tierney Sutton, Judi Silvano, Roberta Gambarini, Chip White, Phil Grenadier, Tom Harrell, Rich Perry, Clifford Jarvis, Carl Allen, Phil Ranelin, Pat Britt, Tony Dumas, Steve Swallow, Victor Lewis, John Abercrombie, Joe Diorio, J.R. Mitchell, Calvin Hill, Charles Owens, Richard Reid, , Adam Rodgers, John B. Williams, Ed Neumeister, Terrell Stafford, Wycliffe Gordon, Larry Koonse, Darek Oles, Dave Stryker, Steve Marcus, Don Menza, Bill Watrous, Mon David

His diverse musical activities have included musical director for opera and dance productions, for cabaret singers, and international musical theatre. He has played with many well known Latin, R&B, and rock artists, including Claudio Roditi, Victor Brasil, Ray Mantilla, Willie Bobo, Bobby Matos, Raul De Souza, Ray Armando,Claudio Caribe, Guillerme Franco, Bobby Rodriguez, Gladys Knight, Four Tops, Elephants Memory, and is a former member (Piano) of the Jazz Tap Ensemble. He also has performed in collaboration with poet David Meltzer and assemblage artist George Herms.

As a composer, Theo has numerous jazz & rock compositions to his credit as well as original scores for dance, theatre, radio and multimedia production. His compositions have recently been recorded by Henry Franklin, Ray Armando, Benn Clatworthy, Bobby Matos, and Bruce Paulson. His biographical sketch appears, in "People in Jazz-Jazz keyboard improvisors of the 19th and 20th centuries" by Bill Lee.


"Musician Theo Saunders never fails to amaze and to satisfy his listeners with his pianism. His virtuosity at the keyboard, his creative programming and selection of players usually results in a superb evening of entertainment."
--Bob Agnew (L.A. Jazz Scene)

"...the real solid values of Saunders' writing, along with his playing, constitute the album's chief virtue." - Downbeat

"A rhythm team composed of Theo (Ted) Saunders on piano...provided blistering support on the up-tempos, with exemplary solos." -Leonard Feather, LA Times

"Pianist Saunders' powers of interpretation and invention are forces to be reckoned with; on an average night he's provocative, on a good night he's mind-bending." - Joseph Woodard, LA Times

"Saunders provides shimmering backdrop and some sparkling lead efforts of his own. Saunders excites you with deliberate thematic development which builds to climatic resolution." - The Portland Journal"

"Theo Saunders has a talent for constructing elegant solos in which linear melodies melt seamlessly into rich, two-handed chords" - Alexander Gelfand (Jazziz)

"Pianist Theo saunders plays laudably in both jazz and Afro-Cuban styles and can mix them nicely." - Harvey Pekar (Jazziz)

"Saunders plays with such unobstructed passion and pulse that he seems to become the blood pumping through this ensemble's veins"- Cadence Magazine

" But the high point for us is Theo Saunders again, fronting his own sextet. He's collected some exceptional players: tenor Chuck Manning and alto Zane Musa, his longtime trombonist David Dahlsten, and the powerful team of bassist Jeffrey Littleton and drummer Tony Austin. Saunders is an underrated composer; his pieces can be difficult, if beautiful, and are rhythnically complex, and his solos are always surprising. For some reason, we really dig his unpredictably right-on-the-money comping best of all........this just might be the recession busting gig of the week."-Brick Wahl (LA Weekly)