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The Joe Locke Trio
Joe Locke is regarded by many to be the most gifted vibraphonist of his generation. In addition to his strengths as an instrumentalist, the recent recordings and live performances by his current quartet, 4 Walls of Freedom, offer evidence of his ever-growing stature as a band leader, composer and conceptualist. 4 Walls of Freedom began not as a band, but as a suite in six movements for quartet. The title is based on a quotation from Thomas Merton. In his famous autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain , Merton recounts the spiritual journey which led him to become a Trappist monk, calling his new home in the monastery, "the four walls of my new freedom". The past year has been a busy one for Locke. Besides his work with 4 Walls of Freedom, he premiered new music for big band and voices with Jazz Band Classic in New York City, commissioned by The Commission Project. He was a guest soloist with the Jeff "Tain" Watts expanded ensemble for 3 nights at Lincoln Center's Stanley Kaplan Penthouse, and performed a 3 night engagement in duo with piano master John Hicks, also at the Penthouse. Another highlight for Locke was a week-long engagement at the Village Vanguard in NYC, playing alongside Al Foster and Buster Williams, as a member of the Renee Rosnes Quartet, performing original music by this brilliant pianist/ composer. New recordings this year find him guesting with Russell Malone, Geoffrey Keezer, Eddie Higgins, Vic Juris, The New York Quartet (featuring Billy Childs, Idris Muhammed and Cameron Brown) and Tim Garland's Storms/Nocturnes chamber trio. While maintaining a busy touring schedule, Locke also found time to work with students. An educational tour of Texas, culminating in a concert with the Texas Lutheran University Big Band, gave him the opportunity to share his knowledge and love of music with younger musicians and band directors alike. A concert in Rochester, NY with the School of the Arts jazz ensemble (through The Commission Project) proved to be a memorable and rewarding experience. "I worked with the students for several weeks leading up to the concert, and real friendships were forged in that time. The name of the event was Pass it On! - the implication of the title being that I was passing on my knowledge and experience to a new generation of musicians. But it was such a mutual exchange... I learned as much from them as they did from me. The experience put me back in touch with one of the reasons I fell in love with music in the first place, namely, the sense of community that comes from creating something with others. |
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