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Jazz at the Loft Beginning on July 3rd, and every Saturday this summer of 2010, Michael Pedicin will be performing at his Jazz Loft @ Sandi Pointe in Somers Point, NJ. Michael is bringing a retrospective feeling of the Club Harlem’s music in the old Atlantic City, the great live music scene of Somers Point’s past, and the current “very alive” jazz scene that is now a part of this community. The Jazz Loft is on the 2nd floor of the Sandi Pointe Coastal Bistro, and will feature Michael’s Organ trio (Michael Pedicin, saxophone; Dan Kostelnik, organ; Doug Martin, drums). Hours: 9-1 There is a great bar and table seating at the Loft, with wonderful food, and drinks of your choosing. Please stop by to check out the only club on the S. Jersey shore offering real jazz every Saturday night! Everyone that comes in gets a FREE Michael Pedicin CD! For more information: 609-927-2759 The Michael Pedicin Quartet/The Brubeck Project … a new jazz ensemble, led by saxophonist, Michael Pedicin….. dedicated to performing the music of Dave Brubeck. The idea for the formation of this group came to Michael, as a respectful alumnus of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. Although Michael played for the Brubeck Quartet in the early –mid eighties, which was at the beginning of Michael’s long and successful career (8 solo CD’s), two of the other band members have been part of Dave’s quartet for many years. Drummer Randy Jones joined the Brubeck Quartet in 1980. Bassist, Michael Moore has been part of the Brubeck Quartet since 1999. Michael talked to these alumni and current band members about putting together a quartet that would honor Dave’s music, i.e. “In Your Own Sweet Way,” “Take Five,” “Blue Rondo a la Turk,” etc., giving it a newer and very exciting jazz twist. We, as the alumni, were very demanding in finding the one and only pianist who could fulfill the musical needs of this music and this quartet. We are fortunate to have enlisted a brilliant young pianist, Dean Schneider. So, we now offer this quartet as a bold musical statement, playing the music of Dave Brubeck in a new and exciting way, while keeping the essence and tradition of his brilliant composing skills….. ….played by three alumni and one new member. A concert you will enjoy and remember forever! Michael Pedicin Jazz Improv Magazine Volume 8, Number 2 EVERY THING STARTS NOW – The Jazz Hut LLC. Pelican; This Way Out; L.A. To Philly; One Of Us; Contours; After The Rainbow Is Over; Concatenation; Another Day; Later; Everything Starts Now. PERSONNEL: Michael Pedicin, tenor sax; Johnnie Valentino, guitar; Mick Rossi, piano; Chris Colangelo, bass; Michael Sarin, drums. By Scott Hockenberry  Like most lovers of jazz, I occasionally have the good fortune to run across a recording that is somehow transcendent in its musical and artistic qualities. These are the types of works that make you reflect, think, and stretch the preconceived ways that you think about or hear in music. These works can be a great learning tool as they can reawaken or invigorate your own creative endeavors. Everything Starts Now, the latest solo release by Philadelphia based saxophonist Michael Pedicin, is one of those recordings. Pedicin has been a well-known icon in the world of jazz in both the east coast and Los Angeles areas for a number of years. He has several prior solo releases under his belt and he has toured and recorded with some of the top names in the business, including Pat Martino, Dave Brubeck and Maynard Ferguson. As well as being hugely talented, working jazz saxophonist, Pedicin has an impressive resume that includes a couple of undergraduate degrees, and several post-graduate degrees such as a Doctorate in Music and a Ph. D. in Psychology. Besides his extensive history touring and recording, he also has managed to work professionally in the field of Psychology, and he has served on the faculties of the music departments at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and at Temple University. Although his work on his earlier solo releases was consistent and quite good, this release shows his musical capabilities and expressive voice have elevated to new heights. Like fellow Philadelphia native Michael Brecker (whom Pedicin grew up with and has been stylistically compared to numerous times), he was strongly influenced by the playing of John Coltrane. Although this influence is evident in Pedicin’s playing, he has a very distinctive style, with a creative depth and sound that surpasses mere technical mastery of his instrument. He exhibits a deep understanding of the musical language, but uses it to forge new ideas. He is one of those rare individuals that is able to create images and convey emotion and meaning through his playing. Indeed, Pedicin truly seems to get what Coltrane taught us, and that is the idea that the instrument can be true medium to channel what is in your musical soul. The disc includes nine original tunes written by the session’s guitarist, Johnnie Valentino, along with one tune penned by Eric Bazilian, titled “One Of Us.” Each of the original compositions is very well written and they include crafty, catchy, and memorable melody lines with interesting chord changes. The pieces range from serene ballads with flowing lines, to darting numbers in the vein of Jerry Bergonzi, to jagged straight-ahead pieces that sound like they could have come from the Monk Library. The musicians on the recording were all well chosen for this date, as they display a very symbiotic blend and a unified direction. All of these musicians are sought-after sideman with numerous solo credits of their own, and they all provide terrific improvisational efforts throughout the recording. Guitarist Johnnie Valentino and pianist Mick Rossi compliment each other quite well and never step on each other’s toes. The playing of bassist Chris Colangelo and drummer Michael Sarin ranges from relaxed grooves to complex intensity, and they continually drive and propel each other. All of the tunes make great individual statements and there are dynamic solos throughout. Pedicin’s magnetic technical chops are immediately evident with his fiery adventuresome solo in the tunes bright opener, “Pelican”. All of Pedicin’s improvisations are strong and he is often sublime. On “This Way Out” and “L.A. To Philly”, he swaggers and skips along using just the right amount of well placed harmonics as he colors and coaxes each note, so they each have a purpose in his overall scheme. In the ballads “One of Us”, and “Another Day”, he is more tenor. Those fans that are familiar with Pedicin’s muscular, technically driving playing exhibited in his earlier releases, won’t be disappointed here. That ability is still quite strong, and it is shown alongside a more subtle level of creative insight that comes with the wisdom and knowledge of experience. The playing of guitarist Johnnie Valentino, who wrote most of the tunes on the album, goes far beyond traditional comping and a few nice solos. His presence sets the underlying tone for the date, and he provides exceptional mood and texture. At times his work reminds me of the ethereal playing you often hear from guitarists like Abercrombie or Frisell, but with a style that is definitely all his own. The tune “Everything Starts Now” very much reminded me of the feel of the work that Abercrombie and Brecker did together in the mid 80’s. It seems that Valentino had an overall concept in mind when writing these pieces as there is a unifying musical message heard throughout the album. Pianist Mick Rossi, with whom Pedicin has worked numerous times over the years, provides some terrifically intriguing comping, counterpoint, and soloing throughout the entire program. Rossi, like Pedicin and Valentino, has the ability to conjure up some really thought-provoking improvisational lines that often catch you off guard. His chord choices, voicings, and rhythmic interpretations are unique and always appropriate. Bassist Chris Colangelo stands out as well, displaying some adept technique with a fantastic woody and centered sound, and he provides an exceptional solo effort on the aloof and bouncing “This Way Out”. Drummer Michael Sarin proves that he is a percussionist that is able to go far beyond the role of simply providing a rhythmic foundation. He listens closely and becomes an integral part of the harmony and texture of the music and improvisation. This is a recording that I am truly thankful to have had the opportunity to hear. It is completely satisfying and it holds its own with the greatest of the contemporary post-bop recordings. It has everything going for it and it is the total package, which includes very creative writing, excellent production quality. It truly deserves, and furthermore needs, to be heard as much as the band is committed to playing. Michael Pedicin Jr. Written By: Bill Milkowski for JazzTimes
Such was the case with this gig featuring the underrated Philadelphia-based tenor saxophonist Michael Pedicin Jr. A ubiquitous session man for decades on the Philly jazz and R&B scene, the 60-year-old saxophonist has released seven recordings as a leader since 1980, the most recent being Everything Starts Now (Jazz Hut), which he dedicated to his Philly tenor colleague, the late Michael Brecker. Accompanied by Mick Rossi on piano, Gerry Hemingway on drums, Kermit Driscoll on bass and the Philadelphia native and current Los Angeles resident Johnnie Valentino on guitar, Pedicin (pictured) dug in with his bold tenor tone, slashing attack and post-Coltrane flow of ideas on several tunes from his excellent latest offering.
Pedicin's sax had them from the start By David R. Adler For The Inquirer On April 19, when Terence Blanchard played the movie music of Spike Lee at the Kimmel Center, Michael Pedicin conducted the orchestra. The evening's best-kept secret was that Pedicin, 60, is a fine tenor saxophonist with seven albums to his credit. At Chris' Jazz Cafe on Saturday, Pedicin took his turn in the spotlight, fronting a quintet and playing material from a new album, his eighth, Everything Starts Now. All the music was original, but interestingly, it was not Pedicin's. Guitarist Johnny Valentino wrote almost the entire album, and he played his modern compositions with a clean, pointed articulation, strongly influenced by Pat Martino, but with an ethereal drift more reminiscent of John Abercrombie. Pedicin, a practicing psychologist, is a muscular player in the post-Coltrane vein, with something of Joe Henderson's warm timbre and an ability to turn packed phrases into clear thoughts. He began with the marvelously haunting, out-of-tempo "Everything Starts Now," a risky step in a noisy club but just the thing to draw in sensitive listeners. There were two poles to the quintet's language: stately themes and evocative harmony on the opener, "Another Day" and "Pelican"; and a freer, more fragmented, rhythmic approach on "L.A. to Philly," "Concatenation," and "Later." Pianist Mick Rossi was more than capable of bridging these worlds, excelling most of all on a sparse, darkly lit ballad solo. In the rhythm section were two players not heard on the album: bassist Kermit Driscoll, a solid presence; and drummer Gerry Hemingway, an exceptional avant-garde artist in his own right, who lacked Michael Sarin's finesse on the walking tempos. The very essence of "L.A. to Philly" is a rolling, slippery swing feel that harks back to the great Elvin Jones, but that was not in Hemingway's comfort zone. With Valentino's unaccompanied passage during "Later," and the country-funk vamp that ended "Concatenation," the band discarded the rule book altogether. But the calmer, picturesque numbers featured Pedicin and his cohorts in the best light. Everything Starts Now by Michael G. Nastos, allmusic.com Tenor saxophonist Michael Pedicin has produced more than his share of commercial and crossover jazzgoing back to the ‘70s. Here Pedicin pays tribute to fellow Philadelphian and good friend, the late Michael Brecker. His phrasings, sound, stance and compositional style echo Brecker, as do many post-John Coltrane saxophonists of the fusion-to-neo-bop persuasion. Not so much an update as a revitalization, Pedicin depends on Los Angeles based guitarist Johnny Valentino to write the music, and it falls within the early Impulse recordings Brecker did with Pat Metheny. Drummer Michael Sarin, pianist Mick Rossi and bassist Chris Colangelo fill their roles quite well, playing steadily without much fanfare or pyrotechnics. The breezy, Latin flavored "Pelican" and "This Way Out" typify Brecker's fleet vibrato and legato stance perfectly, while the hard charging "Later" is the hottest track, a hard charging modal number that signifies the New York City neo-bop the Brecker Brother promulgated in the ‘80s. The quirkiest cut "Concatenation" (don't ask what it means) gives Rossi an opportunity to extrapolate harmonically ala Thelonious Monk. The loping "L.A. To Philly" mirrors Coltrane's "Equinox," and the march beat of "Contours" or "After The Rainbow Is Over," with Pedicin and Valentino playing together, contemporizes the Brecker-Metheny connection. Some languid ballad playing evokes the loss of Brecker on the title track and the waltz "One Of Us," the only non-Valentino composition. Many like Bob Berg, Bob Malach and to an extent Chris Potter or Donny McCaslin have followed Michael Brecker's saintly path. Pedicin is assuredly in that number.
Everything Starts Now... by J. Hunter, AllAboutJazz.com ”To my friend, Michael Brecker, the ruler of it all.. I miss you.” That is the last line of Michael Pedicin's dedications on Everything Starts Now... and it is the key to the whole date. Although Coltrane runs deep, the Philadelphia tenor man's formative years (Pedicin studied with Denis Sandole, an instructor of Coltrane's), the love Pedicin has for Brecker and Brecker's sound is palpable throughout the disc. It's a coin flip as to what Brecker's greatest accomplishment was: the signature sound that has inspired so many young players; or his ground-breaking work with bands as diverse as the Brecker Brothers and Steps Ahead. Brecker, who was born in Philly and raised in nearby Cheltenham Township, effortlessly integrated non-jazz influences into his music, serving consistent helpings of tasty post-bop jazz that never shied away from rock or R&B. Pedicin—with the help of Johnnie Valentino, who wrote all but one of the tracks here—takes that recipe and cooks up a delightful disc that values texture and nuance. “Pelican” is soft but urgent, a subtle tune that has elements of surprise. That pattern repeats itself throughout the date. This band doesn't want to blow you out; it wants to lure you in. There are moments where the players seem to splinter off, as in the slightly fractured trade-offs on the urban “L.A. to Philly” or Rossi's Monk-like solo on “Concatenation.” However, the accessible, welcoming groove that the unit establishes early is a constant companion on Everything, and Pedicin's evocative tenor becomes an old friend very quickly. Valentino's guitar has just enough steel to remind you of John Abercrombie, especially on the funky-but-steady “Contours.” He can dial it back, though, which brings an antique feel to the bopping “Later”; his writing never dials back though, giving the rest of the band fertile ground from which to grow some outstanding music. Rossi's comping is almost as intriguing as his solos, and he makes a fine counter-voice when Pedicin and Valentino are flying formation on “L.A. to Philly.” Drummer Michael Sarin keeps the electricity steady, whether its his autumn-leaves brushwork on the suite-like “After the Rainbow is Over,” or the martial drumbeat on “Contours,” that the rest of the band climbs on like ivy around a building; bassist Chris Colangelo puts a thick groove on the march, and he's a great foil for Sarin on every track. Pedicin's soulful moments are as effective as his crackling ones: He takes total command of the spiritual “One of Us” (written by Eric Bazillion, another product of the Philadelphia music scene), “Another Day” is a soulful ballad that combines the feeling of loss with the need to keep on going, and the meditative title track carries that theme further, evoking the 1970s chestnut, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” In the end, even with the sadness inherent in Michael Brecker's passing, the fact that sharp, dedicated players like Michael Pedicin still keep that sound going is a gift Brecker gave to us all. Visit Michael Pedicin at All About Jazz
Michael Pedicin Quintet - Everything Starts Now from SaxShed.com
Review by Skip Spratt
Michael Pedicin Quintet - Everything Starts Now by Doug Wallen, On the Record - Philadelphia Weekly Online
Guitarist Martino blazes into Southland from the LA Times
Live From Zanzibar Blue: The Pat Martino Quintet Review by Victor Schermer, AllAboutJazz.com
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from The New York Times
from Downbeat Magazine
from Downbeat Magazine
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The intimate room Cachaca, a recent and welcomed addition to the Greenwich Village club scene, has become the place to catch promising young talent and lesser-known jazz veterans deserving of wider recognition. While you won’t see the kind of big names here that regularly headline at the Blue Note just a couple of blocks away (with the exception of a recent appearance by Brazilian guitar great Toninho Horta), the level of musicianship at this 8th Street club is consistently high, often yielding pleasant surprises.