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FEATURING:
David S. Ware, saxophones
Other musicians, TBA |
David S. Ware was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, on November 7, 1949. His early love of music was nurtured by some dedicated teachers at the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School. He began his saxophone career on alto, and then switched to baritone, before finally settling on the tenor. "I had played in all the school bands, the whole way through junior high and high school : marching band, concert band, dance band and orchestras." As a teen David was an ardent admirer of Sonny Rollins and struck up a relationship with the elder tenor player after seeing him countless times in the mid-'60s at the Five Spot and the Village Vanguard. The two practiced together intermittently in the '70s in Rollins' Brooklyn apartment; it was Rollins who taught young Ware the art of circular breathing in 1966.
By the late-'60s, David was attending music school in Boston and playing on the local scene with Stanton Davis, Cedric Lawson, Art LandeWhile in Boston, David met drummer Marc Edwards and pianist Gene Ashton (Cooper-Moore), and together they formed a group called Apogee.
David moved to New York in 1973 and became a member of the Cecil Taylor Unit in a group that included Marc Edwards, trumpeter Raphe Malik, and alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons. He performed with Taylor’s legendary Carnegie Hall large ensemble, toured with the Cecil Taylor Unit throughout Europe, the U.S. and Canada, and recorded Dark To Themselves (Enja). Beaver Harris replaced Edwards on drums, which led to David joining Harris' 360 Degree Music Experience ensemble. It was also at this time that David joined Andrew Cyrille's group Maono.
By 1981 he had recorded three albums with Maono, it was also the year that David's first album Birth of a Being was released, a trio date with Marc Edwards and Gene Ashton, for Hat Hut. In the early ‘80s, he collaborated with drummer Milford Graves. His trio toured Europe in 1985 with bassist Peter Kowald and either drummer Louis Moholo or Thurman Barker. Later, David served in trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah's Solomonic Quintet which recorded one self titled album on Silkheart.
In 1988 David formed a trio with Marc Edwards and William Parker and recorded Passage To Music for Silkheart. In 1989, he put out the word that he was looking for a pianist. William Parker and Reggie Workman both recommended Matthew Shipp.
In 1989, the David S. Ware Quartet was born. From that time to 2007 the only personnel changes have been the drummers: Whit Dickey replaced Marc Edwards in 1992, followed by Susie Ibarra in 1996, and Guillermo E. Brown in 1999. "I'm seeing more and more the value of keeping a group together," says Ware. "Rather than freelance with different bands, you make the group an institution. Looking at jazz over the decades, I feel this is how the music grows the most. Musicians get a chance to be thorough, to know the material and be involved ». He also refused to do sideman gigs. "Working with other musicians doesn't work for me. Philosophically, I find it difficult to be under someone else's umbrella."
The '90s saw the full-on actualization of this group, and the recognition of David S. Ware as a true saxophone collossus. A series of ground-breaking albums by the David S. Ware Quartet were released on the Silkheart, DIW, Homestead, AUM Fidelity, and Columbia Jazz labels. Perhaps the most highly acclaimed group of the last decade, David's efforts were rewarded by being one of the very few Jazz musicians whose work was appreciated by an audience outside the narrow confines of the Jazz World. In an unprecedented coup, the 'Cryptology' album garnered the Lead Review slot in Rolling Stone Magazine.
The band that David meticulously assembled and has kept together in order to actualize this very special music is composed of: WILLIAM PARKER--himself a cornerstone of the new music, and one of the most brilliant bass players in the world, MATTHEW SHIPP--the most consistently compelling, inventive and provocative pianist to arise in this day. Drummer GUILLERMO E. BROWN was added to the lineup in February of '99. David was quick to recognize the fire and passion of this rapidly growing musical talent.
The second album for Columbia Jazz, 'Surrendered,' was recorded in October 1999 and released in May 2000. It featured interpolations of Charles Lloyd's “Sweet Georgia Bright” and Beaver Harris' “African Drums,” as well as four beautiful new compositions by Ware. Overall more gentle in spirit than anything before in his now vast oevre, 'Surrendered' fully showcased the deep sense of swing that has always been at the root of the Ware Quartet's music. Once again, the new album was hailed by elated critics and fans. The Quartet played this material live throughout the year, including performances at each of the four Bell Atlantic Jazz Festivals, culminating in a free outdoor performance at Columbia University in NYC. 10,000 attendees were held enraptured by the power, grace and melodic invention of the David S. Ware Quartet in full force.
After making two albums for Columbia, things floated there the way they floated, and ways were parted in December 2000. Wasting no time, Ware brought his Quartet into the studio in February of 2001, with yet another expansion of the sonic template. The sessions yielded the epic 'Corridors & Parallels' album, which features Matthew Shipp on synthesizer for the first time, and showcases the improvisational mastery of this tremendous group. Summer of 2001 yielded two more tours of Europe, and a very successful tour of the U.S. West Coast. The September 2001 release of 'Corridors & Parallels' was prefaced by a debut engagement at the Blue Note in NYC. Rave reviews of the summer's performances, and the new album itself, were par. 'C & P' was chosen as among the Year's Best Jazz Releases in the Village Voice, Jazz Times, Boston Globe, LA Weekly, Seattle Weekly, and the Washington City Paper. |
