Sting Like A Bee [CD]

Mike Longo Trio (Author) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: CD
• Label: Consolidated Artists Productions, Inc.
• Run Time: 73 minutes
• ASIN: B0031BV6DK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,071 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

12-track CD on Consolidated Artists Productions, 2009.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jazz at its best!, December 27, 2009

By 

Mary Katherine Jones "Mary K" (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sting Like A Bee (Audio CD)

I was so excited when I first heard this CD. It is the most authentic, swinging and "feel good" jazz I have heard in a long time. It sounds so effortless, but experienced jazz listeners will appreciate the intricacies of Longo's playing as well as Lewis Nash and Bob Cranshaw. All are masters, and the ensemble work is flawless. It just gets better the more you listen to it.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LATEST MIKE LONGO JAZZ RECORDING FEATURES POLYMETRIC TIME CONCEPTION, January 15, 2010

By 

Jake Williams - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sting Like A Bee (Audio CD)

If you are a jazz lover, do yourself a favor and follow these directions. Get your hands on the jazz piano trio recording STING LIKE A BEE by the Mike Longo Trio, and go to the last track which is the only solo piano piece on the CD. Or purchase a digital download of that tune, "Kush." Now take a listen and study just exactly what Longo is doing on the piano. I guarantee you will be amazed.

Here is the story. Longo, who studied with Oscar Peterson and played with Dizzy Gillespie, loves to explore unusual internal rhythmic variations within the music. He joined Dizzy in December 1966 and the next May they recorded a live album, SWING LOW SWEET CADILLAC, which has become a classic on Impulse Records. They did the song "Kush," written by Diz It has polymetric time conception or more than one meter in different tempos at the same time. Mike says he was playing 3/4, the drummer was playing 6/8, James Moody was in another meter and Dizzy picked up a cowbell and was doing different accent rhythms. Mike bluntly states: "That tune kicked my butt and I just hung on for dear life." Now fast-forward 42 years and Longo says he always wanted to see if a pianist by himself could do that sort of polymetric playing. So for this new album he recorded "Kush" live in the studio with no overdubs. You will hear his left-hand playing a blues-boogie in 6/8 while his right hand plays a counterpoint part starting out in 3/4 waltz and then dipping into a 4/4 swing segment later in the piece. Longo called it a challenge. Other musicians say it is nearly impossible.

Hear for yourself. Then listen to the whole CD and be stunned start-to-finish by this incredible improv album. The rhythms, the interplay, the improvisational passages and the musical ingenuity will make it worth your while.