Dave Stryker and Mel Bay Records Release Big City
by Julia Crowe
Last month jazz guitarist Dave Stryker released his recording, Big City with Mel Bay Records with a gig at Manhattan's Sweet Rhythm, located in the West Village. Stryker has previously recorded 17 CDs as a leader with his own group, The Stryker/Slagle Band on the SteepleChase label, but this is his first with Mel Bay; Appropriately enough, Mel Bay has published many of Stryker's original compositions, including "Big City," "All Night Long," "Feelin' Good," and "Biddy Fleet"-all of which can be heard on this new album, recorded live to two-track this past autumn at Systems II Studio in Brooklyn, New York. These particular pieces will be available soon in book form through Mel Bay's music catalog.
Stryker opened his set with the eponymous piece from his album, Big City, a sprightly homage to New York City performed in clean, mellow guitar lines, joined by David Kikoski's elegantly expressive piano in a delirious fusion with Victor Lewis' percussive brush-work and the authoritative bass of Christian McBride. McBride was filling in for Ed Howard this particular evening, as Howard had an engagement to perform at the White House.
Stryker, who had first moved to Los Angeles from Omaha in 1978, describes finding his niche in New York City:
[In L.A.] I got to hang out with Billy Rogers, a great guitarist and mentor who also happens to be from Omaha. I visited New York in 1980 for two weeks and wound up staying for four months, mainly because I saw what I had been missing. The jazz scene in New York is so much stronger, so I moved and have been here ever since. The title Big City is my personal tribute to the Big Apple and hopefully it captures some of the energy of the city.
When asked to describe how the New York jazz scene has evolved since 1980, Stryker says:
Manhattan is still the place where musicians congregate if they are serious about playing jazz, because this is where most of the great players are. When I first moved here, there were more jam sessions going on in people's lofts and that helped build a community of players and work. Great music is still being created here because of the great energy that makes up this city. If there is any difference between Los Angeles players and New York players, I'd say- because of the lifestyle- some of the LA players go for a less aggressive, smooth style of playing by comparison.
New York has a lot of great new stuff going on and always will. It's where the most creative and strongest players gravitate; I stay inspired by playing with people of this caliber and by having the opportunity to create in the moment, by documenting my music, by traveling, and by the life I lead with my family.
Stryker's intent with this album was to make a jazz recording with a pianist.
A lot of my playing lately, as well as my recordings, have been without piano. I picked David Kikoski because he is a great player. Ed Howard is both a friend and great bassist whom I'd worked with on Big Room (SteepleChase). And Victor Lewis, who has recorded with Dexter Gordon and Woody Shaw, happens to be from my hometown. What we did was record in 'New York style' with mostly one take, and then recorded live to 2-track.
In the intimate, angular space of Sweet Rhythm, Stryker paced the stage with his black studio Gibson with gold hardware glistening under the bright lights as he performed a standout, joyful nine-minute long improvisatory rendition of the Sinatra classic, "It Was a Very Good Year." Of this tune, Stryker says, "I've recorded other Sinatra tunes but I liked this particular arrangement on a Bob Berg CD entitled, Another Standard. It has a Coltrane approach to it, plus Kikoski and Ed Howard played with Bob in his group and they happened to be on that recording. I met with Bob when we played with Elaine Elias. He was a great person once you got to know him-and a strong musician, too."
Stryker's playing has a way of resonating with ease through a traffic jam of notes, careening toward a liquid-smooth expression in his lines that makes his guitar converse with the other players. Victor Lewis' percussive style is filled with an astonishing array of color and tonal variety and with David Kikoski's piano and Christian McBride's eloquently swinging bass, the audience at Sweet Rhythm was dazzled by the effortless exchange.
Big City also includes the Cole Porter ballad, "Every Time We Say Goodbye" and Lerner & Lowe's "If Ever I Would Leave You," which Stryker included as a nod to his love of the Sonny Rollin's bossa-nova version with guitarist Jim Hall. Stryker's original piece, "All Night Long" conveys slinky blues riffs while "Biddy Fleet," offers a beautiful bebop tribute to guitarist William "Biddy" Fleet's 1939 jam session with Charlie Parker on the tune, "Cherokee."
For all his obvious talent and experience as an active player on the city's jazz scene, Stryker remains humble and circumspect.
There is an adage that says what you have lived comes out in your playing. So the struggle of trying to make it in New York City combined with the intensity and energy of the place and a need to make a mark with all the heavy players here has helped me develop my own voice.
This August, Dave will be teaching and performing concerts at the Outreach Workshop in Schwaz, Austria in addition to holding another release party for Big City, August 18th at Smoke at 2751 Broadway (at 106th Street) in New York.
For more details, please visit http://www.davestryker.com.
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