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Ten on Cellar Live
by C. Michael Bailey
That crafty Canadian Cory Weeds was onto something with the creation of his Cellar Live and now Cellar Music label. He reveals himself as a man for all seasons in being a confident saxophonist, music historian, and archivist with his new label Reel to Real (in cooperation with that maestro of the catalog, Zev Feldman. With ECM looming so large on the jazz horizon, it is always nice to know that the mainstream remains solidly represented Trinom3
Continue ReadingCory Weeds Quintet: Live at Frankie's Jazz Club
by Jack Bowers
Yes, this is saxophonist/master of all livelihoods Cory Weeds' quintet, the year is 2018, and the group is beyond a doubt Live at Frankie's Jazz Club in Vancouver, British Columbia. But close your eyes, open your ears and it's the unapologetic re-creation of a quintessential hard-bop session from the historic Blue Note / Prestige years of the 1950s-60s. Indeed, to underscore the point, the quintet's pianist is the venerable Harold Mabern who actually performed and/or recorded back in the day ...
Continue ReadingCory Weeds Little Big Band: Explosion
by Jack Bowers
The size and makeup of a “little big band" depend above all on what the leader has in mind. In this case, leader Cory Weeds patterned his ensemble (four brass, four reeds, three rhythm) after similar groups led by tenor saxophonists Eddie “Lockjaw" Davis and Gene Ammons, and what he had in mind was a mid-sized unit that would generate as much range and power as a full-sized orchestra. Weeds chose the bill of fare scrupulously, as ...
Continue ReadingCory Weeds Little Big Band: Explosion
by C. Michael Bailey
Renaissance Man Cory Weeds has the Midas Touch. Since attaining Vancouver-local escape velocity with his Cellar Jazz Club and then his record label with the same imprint, the musical entrepreneur has parlayed his notice worldwide with excellent recordings of himself and other noted artists. Weeds' Cellar Jazz focus is what would be defined as an “Arbors Jazz for Hard Bop." He is very much the keeper of the flame of the last great jazz genre-period to grab the “mainstream" designation. ...
Continue ReadingSix on Cellar Live
by C. Michael Bailey
Cory Weeds' record label Cellar Live has become a welcome home to straight-ahead mainstream jazz in the same way that Arbors Records has been the beacon for traditional jazz and swing. Think Norman Granz's Pablo label tele-transported deep into the 21st Century. Six recent releases illuminate Cellar Live's importance to jazz as a whole and to the mainstream, specifically. Emmet Cohen Masters Legacy Series Volume 2: Emmet Cohen featuring Ron Carter and Evan Sherman Cellar Live ...
Continue ReadingCory Weeds: Let's Groove: The Music of Earth Wind & Fire
by Jack Bowers
When last heard from, Canadian Cory Weeds was wielding a mean neo-swing tenor saxophone with the superb Jeff Hamilton trio on the albums Dreamsville and This Happy Madness. On Let's Groove: The Music of Earth, Wind & Fire, Weeds moves from tenor to alto (with no loss of merit) alongside tenor and fellow Canadian Steve Kaldestad, Hammond B3 maestro Mike LeDonne, guitarist Dave Sikula, drummer Jason Tiemann and (on four tracks) percussionist Liam MacDonald. This is the ...
Continue ReadingFive on Cellar Live
by C. Michael Bailey
Corey Weeds' Cellar Live label is dedicated to the most organic of jazz: small ensemble acoustic performance. In 2000, Weeds had opened his Cellar Jazz Club, originally located at 3611 W Broadway, Vancouver, BC. A year later followed the inauguration of the Cellar Live imprint. In spite of the club's closing in 2014, the label remains a durable and vibrant outlet for modern mainstream jazz recording, having released more than 120 well received performances to date. Considered here are five ...
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