Program notes for Essex Jazz Ensemble's "Flowers in Autumn" recording

About the Compositions of Michael G. Finegold
Inspired by my diverse music background, I’ve been interested in creating music that reflects classical, jazz, Latin, and pop styles in a hybrid or “fusion” style. Third Stream and Fusion music have influenced me. The flute and cello elements of classical music, with a rhythm section, were my preferred instrumentation to relate to the classical style
Compositions on the "Flowers in Autumn" album were composed in 1970 and have continued for recent years. The CD title Flowers in Autumn is a metaphor for opposites in life. It is a koan- a paradoxical anecdote or riddle, used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate logical reasoning inadequacy and provoke enlightenment. We associate Spring with the blooming of flowers, not Fall. A few flowers, however, do bloom in autumn as leaves turn colors. Photos of Fall flowers appear on the album cover. 1. The title cut, Flowers in Autumn, starts with a folks-type melody, moves to a Chopin-like harmony, and then into a bluesy jazz waltz. It is followed by what I characterize as a Medieval-Renaissance dance. After the “head” or composed part, improvisations occur on the extended form. The composition moves through sections of various moods. 2. The title Way Would is a play on the word “wayward,” moving from a relative pejorative connotation to a positive one. It is a later composition of mine. It begins in a driving jazz vein that moves to a Latin jazz style, all cheerful and upbeat. 3. The music of French Impressionist composers Debussy and Ravel influenced Impressions and Revelations. The rhythm of the third section, related to a part of Debussy's La Mer, was first imagined as words for my 4-year-old daughter Joni playing nearby: “Love you, I love you, I love you with all of my heart, I love you.” The chord progression at the beginning relates to the well-known ostinato bass and harmony rooted in Western music's Renaissance period (1400-1600). It remains prevalent in many styles and genres of music today. The composition is dedicated to Joni, who passed away at age 42 from lung cancer, leaving behind two children and a husband. 4. Dance Piece was created in mind with flutist/singer Jethro Tull’s version of the Bourré from Bach’s Suite in E Minor for Lute, adding a familiar music strain from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and a Greek/Latin odd meter montuno to improvise on in septuple meter (1-2-3, 1-2, 1-2). 5. Somber in the Night expresses the quiet, somber mood of the night in a slow samba style. In my teenage years, I would take the subway at Sheepshead Bay station in Brooklyn to play dance gigs throughout NYC. I would come home late at night, walking in the still, lonely street light-lit darkness of the night carrying my combination sax, clarinet, flute case, and sax combo stand back to the apartment house we lived in. This piece was initially written for my Performance Ensemble class to perform at Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, Massachusetts. Later, it was extended for EJE
Michael G. Finegold

Bios of Essex Jazz Ensemble Musicians
Michael G. Finegold - flutist/composer
Michael is a “diversified” musician experienced in classical, jazz, Latin, dance, and show music. As a professional musician, he plays flute, Indian Bansuri, saxophones, and clarinet. He is a classical and jazz composer and artistic director of the Essex Chamber Music Players and the Essex Jazz Ensemble. As an educator who taught at Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, MA, he was the Music Professor/Music Coordinator for 33 years until retirement. He is now NECC Music Professor Emeritus. His diversification began as a high school student playing flute in the All-New York City High School Orchestra while a symphonic band clarinetist concertmaster and saxophonist/student leader of the dance band at Abraham Lincoln High School, Brooklyn, NY. Michael took lessons with saxophone and clarinet teacher Buddy Geier, learning improvisation, chord knowledge, and sax section playing. The sax section included the young, well-known saxophonist Eddie Daniels. Michael made friends with Eddie and bass player Herb Mickman, who had bebop jam sessions at his house where we all jammed. A native New Yorker, Michael spent time going to jazz clubs- Birdland, the Half Note, Village Vanguard, and Five Spot. Michael organized a jazz group that played on the Sunday afternoon amateur hour at Birdland. The band included Eddie Daniels and Herb Mickman. In high school, Michael played with the famous rock ‘n’ roll singer/composer Neil Sedaka. Michael and Neil were friends at Lincoln High. He joined Neil’s performances playing tenor saxophone and classical flute for the Lincoln High School assemblies, school dances, and an appearance on the Ted Steel dance show. Michael spent every summer as a teenager playing shows and dance music in the Catskill Mountains. He played for social events the rest of the year in NYC. During the school year, he studied flute with Samuel Barron and classical music theory at the Juilliard School of Music preparatory division in New York. He studied flute with a Broadway show, woodwind musician, and contractor, Mel Rodman. While attending Brooklyn College as a pre-dental student and then a music major, Michael played with NYC Latin bands Pete Terrace, Bouffatique, Alfredito, Jose Curbelo, and Randy Carlos for five years, excelling in the Cuban Charanga style flute playing. Michael began composition studies with well-known composer Joseph Manieri, learning serial technique composition. After graduating from Brooklyn College, Michael took a year off and played shows at the Concord Hotel in the Catskill, NY mountains while studying with principal flutist James Polites of the Metropolitan Opera in NYC and composition with Jan Meyerowitz in New Jersey. In 1965, Michael began graduate studies at the Yale School of Music, coincidently studying flute again with Samuel Barron, later with Thomas Nyfenger, and composition with Gunther Schuller, Richmond Brown, and James Drew. At Yale, Michael studied contemporary classical music performance and orchestra playing. He met up with a fellow grad student, the gifted composer and phenomenal jazz player William Thomas McKinley (Tom McKinley.) They played jazz gigs, and Michael premiered Tom’s contemporary classical pieces in Yale’s Sprague Hall. After graduating from Yale with MM and MMA degrees, Michael moved to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1969 with his wife Sondra and newborn child Joni to study with Doriot Antony Dwyer, principal flutist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra whom Michael was mentored by while a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. Through New England Conservatory, he studied composition and the Lydian Tonal Concept with jazz composer George Russell and played flute in Russell’s workshop jazz ensemble. Michael’s professional career took root in Boston at first playing dance gigs with the various music contracting offices, then summer theater at the Cape Cod Melody Tent, Northshore Music Theater, Chateau DeVille dinner theaters, and the Shubert and Colonial Theaters. Michael enjoyed long employment with the Bill, Bo, and Ed Winiker Orchestras, playing saxophone, clarinet, and flute on classic swing charts and show tunes, pop, and rock for dance parties. In 1972, Michael became a full-time music faculty member at Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, MA, for over 33 years. Michael developed the music curriculum and music facilities. In 1975, Tom McKinley became a faculty member of the composition department at the New England Conservatory of Music. Michael and Tom had a milestone reunion playing jazz, and Michael performed Tom’s contemporary classical music at NECC and in Boston. The group Tom and Mike formed and played together in 1972 was the Essex Jazz Ensemble. Michael recorded flute and orchestral works, chamber music, and jazz for Tom’s company, Master Musicians Collective, “MMC,” now Parma Recordings. In 2000, Michael formed Essex Chamber Music Players, which played concerts throughout the Merrimack Valley of Massachusetts and recorded four to-date CDs. Regrettably, William Thomas McKinley passed away before Flowers in Autumn was recorded. https/:www.ecmp.org

Sebastian Bäverstam, cello
A dual citizen of Sweden and the USA, Sebastian Bäverstam is a cellist, pianist, composer, librettist, improviser, and conductor. In his spare time, he is passionate about gaming of all kinds, including board games, video games, card games, archery, physical training, and the outdoors. Sebastian grew up in Newton, MA, and studied music intensely from a young age. He performed extensively in Boston with his family of musicians who called themselves “The Bäverstam Chamber Players.” As a teenager, Sebastian focused exclusively on the cello. He toured with his youth orchestra under the direction of Benjamin Zander in South America and China, performing Dvorak’s cello concerto and Strauss’s Don Quixote. Bäverstam attended the New England Conservatory, where he studied with cellist Paul Katz. After winning the 2010 Concert Artists Guild competition, he moved to New York to pursue a soloist's career. During this time, Bäverstam officially debuted at Carnegie’s Weill recital hall in 2012, where The Strad magazine praised his playing for its "consummate instrumental mastery." After several short tours throughout the United States, Sebastian shifted his focus to study composition full-time. He studied privately for several years and then briefly at the Royal Conservatory of Stockholm in 2019. Sebastian has now made his foray into a double career as a performer and composer. The premiere of his cello concerto in Boston was described by the Boston Musical Intelligencer as "radically new, speaking on its own, “never heard before but understood by all” idiom of emotion.” Bäverstam recently released a new CD album titled “Settling Old Scores” with his long-time duo partner, pianist Constantine Finehouse, which can be found on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify. https://sebastianbaverstam.se/

Steve Hunt, piano
Throughout his career, pianist Steve Hunt has remained true to an uncompromising vision of composing and performing jazz music from the heart. Steve has continued to push himself technically, focusing on a musical style that is both challenging and meaningful… Steve credits jazz greats Keith Jarrett, Joe Zawinul, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Thelonius Monk as solid influences on his jazz style. During his formative years, he studied with concert pianist Albert Hirsh, and jazz pianists Sid Davis and Lyle Mays, who all helped form his lightning-fast technique and unique style. Steve later attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he continued his study of jazz. After recording and performing with top Boston jazz musicians such as Randy Roos and Tiger Okoshi, and leading his jazz fusion band, Steve spent the next ten years on the road with several renowned jazz artists such as Billy Cobham, Stanley Clarke, Angela Bofill, Tom Brown, and Allan Holdsworth. Steve's international touring took him to countries such as Japan, Israel, Austria, France, England, Italy, Sweden, Argentina, Australia, and major cities in the US and Canada. During this time, Steve also served as musical director for the famous touring Jazz Explosion, where he led the trio that headlined artists Freddy Hubbard, Gato Barbaira, Stanley Turentine, Ramsey Lewis, violinist Noel Pointer, Kenny G, and the late Phillis Hyman. The Jazz Explosion performed in major concert venues, including the Circle Star in San Francisco, Beacon Theater in New York, Universal Theater in Los Angeles, and Hammersmith Odium in London. Steve's desire to challenge himself is nowhere more evident than with his long-time association with Allan Holdsworth, whose progressive and innovative style has helped Steve to further his musical development. Holdsworth's more recent CD releases, including Secrets, Wardencliff Tower, and Hard Hat Area, as well as featuring Steve on keyboards, also include Steve's original tunes "Maid Marion," "Joshua," and "Dodgy Boat." While touring with Holdsworth, Steve was featured in the Japanese edition of Keyboard Magazine (July 1991 and March 1993). Other noteworthy recording contributions by Steve include two of Stanley Clarke's CD releases If This Bass Could Only Talk, and East River Drive. Steve reached a major milestone, producing his solo jazz CD, From Your Heart and Your Soul (BMI). For the promotional release tour of his new CD, Steve organized a quintet that included Gregg Bendian, John Lockwood, Ole Mathisen, and Bruce Bartlett. In addition to performing and touring, Steve also serves as an instructor at the renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston and runs his recording studio, The Kitchen (alluding to his excellent culinary talents), which has gained an outstanding reputation for its professional and technical capability. Steve currently resides in Massachusetts with his wife, Gina. http://stevehuntjazzpiano.com/

Bruce Gertz, bass
As an award-winning bassist and composer, Bruce Gertz is the recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Performance Award Grant, the Massachusetts Cultural Council Musical Composition Award, and numerous awards for outstanding Bassist from Boston Music Awards, A.S.C.A.P. Plus Popular Awards, multiple recognition awards from The International Association of Jazz Educators, and the Jazz Education Network; Bruce serves as a Professor of Bass at Berklee College of Music since 1976. He is on the advisory board of the International Society of Bassists and serves as an adjudicator at the Clark Terry UNH Jazzer's Festival. Bruce has performed and recorded with such artists as Gary Burton, Jerry Bergonzi, John Abercrombie, Joey Calderazzo, Kenny Werner, Mick Goodrick, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Billy Hart, George Garzone, Mike Stern, Larry Coryell, Joe Lovano, Cab Calloway, Count Basie and many others. He is the author of six books with play-along and a contributing editor to Bass World Magazine. As a bandleader B.G. has recorded 20+ albums. His latest quartet release received four stars in Downbeat December 2017. https://www.brucegertz.com/

Austin McMahon, drums
Austin performs regularly with Jerry Bergonzi and has recently performed and/or recorded with Sean Jones, George Garzone, Marquis Hill, Lionel Loueke, Ben Monder, Lage Lund, Kate McGarry, Noah Preminger, Jason Palmer and Alexa Tarantino. He has appeared as an opening act for Grammy award-winners Dianne Reeves and Esperanza Spalding. On tour, Austin has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Earshot Jazz Festival, Aspen Music Festival, Discover Jazz Festival, Cape Cod Jazz Festival, Bar Harbor Jazz Festival, Lake George Jazz Festival, Young Jazz in Town Festival (Foligno, Italy), Casa de Teatro Jazz Festival (Dominican Republic), Ballydehob International Jazz Festival (Cork, Ireland), as well as performing at jazz clubs, concert halls and theaters throughout the US, Italy, Germany, Finland, France, China and India. McMahon is the winner of the 9th annual Independent Music Awards for Best Jazz Song and Nominee for Best Jazz Album in the 11th annual IMA's. His debut CD , Many Muses, was selected as a CD Baby Editor’s pick and described as "subtle, reverential to tradition, and thoroughly new." He was recently featured on NPR JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater, WLRN Miami (NPR station), and live on WGBH radio, Boston, MA. A dedicated educator, Austin currently teaches at Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory (Contemporary Musical Arts, Preparatory & Continuing Education Division) and was a Teaching Assistant for Jazz Improvisation at Harvard University for six consecutive years, where he was awarded a "Certificate of Distinction in Teaching." He has given masterclasses at numerous colleges and high schools throughout the US. Additionally, Austin is the co-founder, producer, and recording artist for the burgeoning record label Fractamodi and has recorded on over fifty commercially released albums in the past several years. https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/austin-mcmahon

Other Recordings on ECMP Records, Inc

Classical Contemporary Chamber Music for the 21st Century, Volume 1
The compositions represent a variety of music styles by American composers: the neo-impressionism of J. Windel Brown, the free atonal expressionism of Elaine Erickson, the neo-classicism of Emma Lou Diemer, and the Eastern-Indian-influenced Western music style of Marc
W. Rossi
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Classical Contemporary Chamber Music for the 21st Century, Volume 2
The original music compositions on this enhanced CD are by four composers, three of whom are versed in classical, jazz, and World Music. The three composers and compositions are Michael Finegold—Rave Reflection for Flute, Cello, and Piano, Marc Rossi—Shiva’s 50 Step for Flute, Cello and Pianos, and William Thomas McKinley—Streets of New York for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, and Cello. Marc Rossi is immersed in the music of India. Elaine Erickson has a pure, individual, classical style and sets her poetry to music. Her work is Love Lost, Love Held for Soprano, Flute, Cello, and Piano. Michael Finegold’s work glistens with evocative and exciting textures.

Local Cultural History Through Music Vol. 1: The Merrimack Valley
​David Bennett Thomas: Contemplations: Five Songs on Anne Bradstreet for Soprano, Flute, Cello, and Piano David McMullin: Queen Slipper Serenade for Flute, French horn, Cello, and Piano Ray Loring: June on the Merrimack for Tenor, Flute, Cello, and Piano based on John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem J. Windel Brown: Whittier Sketches for Flute and Cello William Thomas McKinley: A Diary, Growing Up in North Andover 1874-92 by Horace Nathaniel Stevens for Flute, Violin, Cello, Piano, Percussion, and male narrator. Photos of Essex Jazz Ensemble at the premiere of Compositions of Michael G. Finegold, 2022, at Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, MA.