Search - Rick Crittenden, Paul McCandless, Art Lande :: Passages

In 1988, Rick was invited to accompany the band, Oregon on a tour through Europe. As an artist as well as a musician the opportunity was a tremendous chance to expand the breadth of his repertoire. Rick came back to the states and within a short time had assembled the music and paintings for this project. Working closely with producer, friend, colleague, and mentor, Glen Moore, the musicians were selected and songs honed. Rick and Glen wanted to show more depth than the typical fare for ?bass player leaders?. This album is filled with sophisticated compositions with understated bass roles allowing the music to prevail. The players include Paul McCandless, Art Lande, and Chris Lee with help from Nancy King, Glen Moore and Roger Hadley. On July, 29th the musicians learned and rehearsed the material. On the following two days the tracks involving the band were recorded in a Joiner - Rose designed room with a Solid State Logic board with the excellent ears of Doug Durbrow and Glen Moore behind the console. This CD is sonically beautiful. And the players were so happy to be playing together that there is a beautiful energy present. Swiss Bell- While in Switzerland, the band stayed over a Saturday night in Bern to be awakened by church bells from at least 10 churches at once. The convergence of the various tones created overtones sounding like a soprano sax soloing along with the bells. The bells are represented in the opening piano line of this song. The Place Between- A melancholy ballad. The place between love and loneliness; an inner longing, ready to reach out. A place in the middle of the standing stones where the youth is sacrificed and the psyche?s urges sublimated. Crittendude- Post-bop unison romp with free interludes; as in no chord changes, just listening. Ralph Towner thought there were changes based on the bands playing. Touching the Stone- A solo bass and Tabla vehicle...actually three identical bass tracks played one on top of the other. Yes, this can be played without overdubs. The title refers to touching the stones that make up San Damiano in Assisi; the small chapel hand-built by Francesco Bernardone in 1206. Transparent Child- Arco bass with bass melody inspired by Trilok Gurtu and the movie Salaam Bombay. Now That You?ve Gone... This piano trio piece was first conceived after the death of Arlene Crittenden, Rick?s mother. When Art Lande first read through the chart he played it up tempo and sounded so great that it became... ...I See You More Clearly Uffizi- A walk through the famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy for an artist is like heaven and hell rolled into one day. The piece starts out with a sort of fanfare, evolving into the pondering of the artists mind and eventually into a reprise of the fanfare environment with free playing representing the beautiful sensual chaos of ideas. Body and Soul- One wouldn?t think it possible to find a fresh interpretation of this standard, yet Nancy King and Rick with a basic arrangement by Ralph Towner make this truly memorable. Amongst some musicians, this recording has become infamous with musicians around the country even before it was released.