Sunday, August 15, 2010

RIP Abbey Lincoln




I can't remember exactly how I found my way to Abbey Lincoln's music, but I know that she was the first living jazz singer to stop me in my tracks and make me want to hear a song again and again. I vaguely remember rummaging through the used CD bins at the local record store and seeing a record with Stan Getz (her 1991 release You Gotta Pay the Band, also with Hank Jones and Charlie Haden) and buying it based on Stan's presence... Regardless, I was hooked as soon as I heard the first notes of the song Bird Alone. Later on, I picked up other albums, including Abbey is Blue, which to this day is a desert island album for me.

The rawness and nakedness of her style and power of her conviction is almost unparalleled in the jazz tradition. She had nothing to prove about her voice or musicianship - it's simply there for us to take in, pure, honest, and timeless. Listening to her early records now, it's so hard to conceive that it's the voice of somebody in her twenties and thirties that is singing - it's so developed and full of feeling and sorrow.

Besides her singing, she had an exquisite choice of sidemen (just look at the roster of people on her Riverside albums of the fifties and sixties), unique taste in songs and and a totally adventurous approach to them. Although her own compositions were never my favorite things that she did, I do admire her desire to bring contemporary material to the jazz world that dealt with things other than romance, and I'm sure many of these songs will be sung by other singers for years to come.

I did see her perform once at Yoshi's in Oakland. She sounded great, and was just such a beautiful person to be in the presence of. She possessed a rare gentleness, style and grace that I will always remember. I only wish I had taken advantage of other opportunities to see her.

I put a few of my favorite songs of hers below. Read the New York Times obituary here.



Etudes II



I'm pleased to announce that my second book of clarinet etudes is now available at Amazon.com and www.Earspasm.com.

Bass clarinetist Michael Lowenstern will be recording the etudes over the next year or so in order to eventually sell them in PDF form at Earspasm. Right now you can purchase the hard copy of the book from his website.

This is what the critics are saying:

Sam Sadigursky's etudes are a significant and welcome addition to the clarinet study repertoire. These marvelous etudes combine traditional technical exercises with a contemporary flare and vocabulary. They are challenging for the serious clarinetist and are a wonderful tool to increase not only virtuosity but musicianship as well! I have started to use them with my students at Michigan State with much success! - Caroline Hartig, acclaimed soloist and recording artist


I love these etudes! They’re obsessive, concentrated, and right on point. They grip onto important musical and technical issues without ever letting go. They’re challenging, but the real challenge is mastering the musicality in them. If the familiar clarinet etudes are the meal, Sadigursky has just given us the espresso….
- Andrew Sterman, Phillip Glass Ensemble

Sam Sadigursky's characterful etudes are so well crafted and musically creative
that they make me want to practice them! My students at the University of
Delaware love them, and they target many problem areas in clarinet technique.
A great addition to the etude repertoire!
- Marianne Gythfeldt, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Zephyros Winds

These etudes are essential for the advancing clarinetist. The greatest bore in an etude is laboring and solving a problem of technique without a satisfying musical result. . . Sam's etudes manage to reveal the wonderful possibilities in reaching new levels of ability. The pieces are harmonically compelling, lyrical, and often witty. Concise but never narrowly conceived... This one's staying on the stand; I can't recommend it highly enough. - Peter Hess, Balkan Beat Box, Slavic Soul Party

Clarinetists will delight in these charming, graceful études, filled
with unexpected harmonic twists and turns
. - Derek Bermel, clarinetist/composer/conductor