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The Jim Self / John Chiodini Duo: Hangin' Out
by Jack Bowers
Hangin' Out is the third album by the unlikely duo of Jim Self on tuba and John Chiodini on guitar. This time around, they hang out on five of the thirteen numbers with special guests--trombonist Scott Whitfield, tenor saxophonist Tom Peterson, baritone saxophonist David Angel and flugelhorn player Ron Stout, each of whom has a feature number before joining the leaders for a full-fledged jam on the lyrical finale, Johnny Burke/Jimmy Van Heusen's enduring standard, “It Could Happen to You," ...
Continue ReadingDavid Angel: Out on the Coast
by Jack Bowers
David Angel, one of the West Coast's best-kept secrets, earns a long-overdue hour or three in the sun and makes every moment count on Out on the Coast, a superlative three-disc anthology that bundles fifteen of his luminous original compositions with seven jazz standards in an invariably pleasurable and charming package. When not teaching, writing or arranging, at home or abroad, Angel has led a Los Angeles-based rehearsal band for more than half a century. A list of alumni reads ...
Continue ReadingDavid Angel Jazz Ensemble: Out on the Coast
by Troy Dostert
Every now and then one runs across musicians or composers who are well-known by their peers, or who have carved out loyal followings regionally, but who at the same time have for whatever reason escaped the notice of the wider jazz community. Los Angeles-based saxophonist/bandleader David Angel would certainly fall into that category, despite a career going back to the 1970s, not only in jazz but in film, television and studio work, in addition to his regular participation in various ...
Continue ReadingJim Self and the Tricky Lix Latin Jazz Band: Yo!
by Jack Bowers
A tuba in a Latin jazz band? Jim Self, what were you thinking? No matter. Whatever you were thinking, the end result is far more agreeable than even you could have imagined. Yo! (sorry, we can't handle the upside down exclamation point) is a generally delightful album by Self's well-bred nonet, due in no small measure to his full-bodied tuba and a series of bright and pleasing charts. The album's subtitle reads “Featuring the Music of Francisco Torres" (who also ...
Continue ReadingThe Hollywood Tuba 12: 'Tis the Season TUBA Jolly!
by Jack Bowers
As would be anticipated, there's a lot of huffin' and puffin'--as well as a surprisingly wide range of color and modulation--on 'Tis the Season TUBA Jolly!, a delightful holiday album by tuba maestro Jim Self and the Hollywood Tuba 12. Its name notwithstanding, there aren't a dozen tubas present on any given track but a mere half- dozen, complemented by six of their close kinsmen, the euphonium, with percussionist Brian Kilgore and drummer Bernie Dresel raising the group's total size ...
Continue ReadingJim Self: InnerPlay
by Michael P. Gladstone
Jim Self has been an accomplished tuba player for many decades. Despite the fact that he spent several years in the Don Ellis Orchestra and his recorded history dates back to the early-1960s Jon Hendricks Evolution of the Blues session, most of his work has been on Hollywood sound stages. He has appeared on over 1,300 film scores, including his memorable appearance as the “voice of the Mothership" in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In addition to taking the ...
Continue ReadingJim Self: Innerplay
by AAJ Italy Staff
Non sono solo i musicisti come Anthony Braxton o Roscoe Mitchell a sorprenderci con strumenti insoliti impiegati in veste solista. Anche in ambito mainstream si introducono nuovi strumenti per eseguire le melodie conosciute. Jim Self ci prova con la fluba, una via di mezzo fra la tuba ed il flicorno, da lui suonata con notevole perizia tecnica su un tappeto di ben venticinque archi più il gruppo! Anche con la tuba padroneggia tutti i registri rivelandosi un solista fantasioso che ...
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