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Joseph Daley Earth Tones Ensemble

“Music stimulates the mind as it nourishes the soul” After nearly 40 years of recognition as one of the consummate sidemen on the adventurous music scene – with remarkable artists like Sam Rivers, Carla Bley, Gil Evans, Charlie Haden, Taj Mahal and so many more – Joseph Daley stunned musicians and fans alike with his brilliant CD, The Seven Deadly Sins, released in 2011. The album also received rave reviews and made several Best of 2011 lists. Featuring his Earth Tones Ensemble (a full Jazz orchestra augmented by six additional low-toned horns, and including a seven-member rhythm section and four special guests), this powerfully innovative music mines the same rich vein of musical expression as that of immortals like Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington and George Russell. Whether performing with his large ensemble; with his evocative Ebony Brass Quintet; or in the sparer solo, duo or trio contexts; sheer musicality, deeply-hewn emotion and jubilant innovation are always at the core of Joseph’s most singular musical expression. Best known for playing the tuba, Joseph also plays euphonium and valve trombone; but these days his growing reputation as a visionary composer is bringing him worldwide acclaim. Born in New York City’s Harlem, Joseph began his musical studies in elementary school and received high honors and recognition throughout his school years (including the renowned High School of Music and Art), and was a member of the most prestigious ensembles in the New York City school system. During his high school years, he began performing on the Latin music scene – well-known as one of the most powerful foundations of higher musical learning – performing alongside such fine musicians as Rene McLean, Monquito Santamaria, Andy Gonzalez, Alex Blake and many others. A scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music resulted in his Bachelor’s degree in Performance and a Master’s degree in Music Education and led to a career as an educator in the New York and New Jersey school systems from 1976 until his retirement in 2005. Heavily dedicated to the education of young people to the highest values in musical understanding and expression, Joseph balanced his extensive educational commitments with recording and performing in the ensembles of some of the most provocative musicians on the contemporary jazz scene. In addition to those mentioned above, Joseph contributed heavily to groups led by other major artists including Muhal Richard Abrams, Makanda Ken McIntyre, Jason Hwang and Dave Douglas, and was an original member of Howard Johnson’s groundbreaking tuba ensemble, Gravity.

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Joseph Daley Earth Tones Ensemble: The Seven Deadly Sins (2011) By RAUL D'GAMA ROSE, Published: April 3, 2011 Joseph Daley Earth Tones Ensemble: The Seven Deadly Sins The Seven Deadly Sins comprises some of the most monumental music to have been composed and recorded in quite some time. Significantly, this does not only refer to the seven-part suite of the title, but also the second track "Ballade of the Fallen African Warrior," another extended piece with multiple sections. Joseph Daley, master of the tuba and composer extraordinaire—who wrote and arranged all of this music—has been a member of the brass sections of several important bands, including those led by Muhal Richard Abrams, Bill Cole, Charlie Haden, Howard Johnson and Sam Rivers. Now, as creator of these magnificent suites, he virtually invites comparisons with others in contemporary music that have written extended works and presented them for broad appreciation. Certainly Daley's work recalls to mind many of Duke Ellington's suites and some of Wynton Marsalis' longer works, such as From the Plantation to the Penitentiary (Blue Note/EMI, 2007), perhaps even to Charles Mingus' Epitaph (Columbia, 1990). Daley's work is more in line with Duke and Mingus, who employed somewhat larger ensembles than Marsalis. Daley was moved to compose this music by Wade Schuman's paintings, also depicting The Seven Deadly Sins. Surely Daley must have been faced with a singular conundrum, one that had to do with the eternally dark nature of sin and the paintings themselves, done in a style somewhat reminiscent of the Northern Renaissance work of the great Albrecht Durer. Daley has resolved this by scoring the music for a complete range of brass and woodwinds—from the high register of the trumpet to the deep voices of the tuba and bass and baritone saxophones. Such is the gravitas of the voices that Daley has managed to capture, in one fell swoop, the dark nature of his subject, as well as give voice to his individual musicians, who annunciate the varying nature of each of the sins. What follows is a superb panoramic journey into the depths of the soul, covering the full range of tonal color and timbral expression, from the blinding colors of "Invidia (Envy)" and "Avarita (Avarice)" to the towering flights of "Superbia (Pride)" and the searing rage of "Ira (Anger)" and the slovenly glissandos of "Desida (Sloth)." The other piece on the album, "Ballade for the Fallen African Warrior" is elementally different from the other suite in that it has a definite beginning, middle and a dénouement, something that each of the pieces of the title suite have only in themselves and not as a whole. It contains a lilting, elegiac quality that turns heroic at the end its narrative becoming joyful, albeit beginning with elemental sadness. Although the works are meant to be ensemble exercises, baritone saxophonist Howard Johnson ("Avarita"), French hornist Mark Taylor ("Superbia") and bass saxophonist Scott Robinson ("Desida") give excellent accounts of themselves. The real hero of the work is, of course, Joseph Daley. Track Listing: Invidia (Envy); Avarita (Avarice); Gula (Gluttony); Superbia (Pride); Lechery (Lust); Ira (Anger); Desida (Sloth); Ballade of the Fallen African Warrior. Personnel: Joseph Daley: composer, conductor, euphonium, tuba; Marty Ehrlich: soprano saxophone; Jimmy Cozier: alto saxophone; Bill Saxton: tenor saxophone; Robert DeBellis: tenor saxophone; Howard Johnson: baritone saxophone, contrabass clarinet, tuba; Scott Robinson: bass saxophone, sarrusophone, contrabass saxophone; Lew Soloff: trumpet; Stanton Davis: trumpet; Eddie Allen: trumpet; Reggie Pittman: trumpet; Stephen Haynes: trumpet; Gary Valente: trombone; Alfred Patterson: trombone; Craig Harris: trombone; Earl McIntyre: bass trombone, tuba; Bob Stewart: tuba; Vincent Chancey: French horn; Mark Taylor: French horn; Onaje Allan Gumbs: piano; Benjamin F. Brown: contrabass, electric bass, tuba; Warren Smith: vibraphone, marimba, percussion; Buddy Williams: drum set, percussion; Satoshi Takeishi: Asian drum set, percussion; William "Beaver" Bausch: timbales, percussion; Richard Huntley: percussion; Steve Elson: saxophone; Reut Regev: trombone; Pamela Fleming: trumpet; Bill Barrett: harmonica. Record Label: JARO Style: Modern Jazz Downtown Music Gallery Review January, 2011 Over the past couple of years I have been concentrating recordings by large jazz ensembles from the past and present. Nowadays these ensembles are pretty rare, although it is great to see Maria Schneider, Darcy James Argue, Dave Liebman and Steve Bernstein get some well deserved recognition. The disc below contains some of the best large jazz ensemble writing and playing I've heard in recent memory... [JOE] JOSEPH DALEY EARTH TONE ENSEMBLE With MARTY EHRLICH/HOWARD JOHNSON/LEW SOLOFF/GARY VALENTE/CRAIG S HARRIS/BOB STEWART/VINCENT CHANCEY/ONAJE ALLAN GUMBS/WARREN SMITH/SATOSHI TAKEISHI et al – The Seven Deadly Sins [CD + DVD] (Jaro 4302/03; Germany) "Joe Daley is a low-end brass specialist who plays tuba & euphonium and is a fine composer. As a leader, his albums are few although he has worked with other large ensembles of Carla Bley, Gil Evans, Sam Rivers & Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra. This is Mr. Daley first recording in many years and it is a most ambitious endeavor. The Earth Tones Ensemble features 23 members plus a handful of guests. The soloists include Marty Ehrlich, Howard Johnson & Scott Robinson on reeds, Lew Soloff, Stanton Davis & Eddie Allen on trumpets, Bob Stewart, Vincent Chancey, Craig Harris & Reut Regev on low-end brass plus a most impressive rhythm team of Onaje Allan Gumbs on piano, Benjamin Brown on basses and Warren Smith, Satoshi Takeishi and others on percussion. When I finally got a chance to listen to this entire disc earlier this week, I was completely knocked out. All of the music was composed &conducted by Joe Daley and inspired by The Seven Deadly Sins paintings by Wade Schuman, as well as another long piece called "Ballade of the FallenAfrican Warrior". "The Seven Deadly Sins" is a seven part suite. The music is warm with well-conceived autumnal colors. The harmonies for the reeds and brass are rich and often breathtaking. A number of solos stand out, like Howard Johnson's luscious & haunting bari sax on "Avarita" or Mark Taylor's French horn on" Superbia". Since Mr. Daley is a low-end specialist his writing for those low-end horns like tuba, sarrusophone, contrabass clarinet & bass trombone is extraordinary. Another highlight is the five man percussion section which is often utilized for their orchestral colors and textures, not just rhythmic capabilities. Mr. Daley has a great way of combining the past with the present as far as the sound of this ensemble and the legacy they have drawn from. On "Lechery" those growling horns reach back to the early days of Ellingtonia which has got to bring a smile to our faces. Pianist Onaje Allan Gumbs is a name I've heard in many years (since the seventies) and he is in especially fine form here interacting impressively with Warren Smith's inventive vibes. The final suite is called "Ballade for a Fallen African Warrior" and it is dedicated to Joseph's late brother Winston. This piece involves complex layers of brass, reeds and rhythm team work, as well as some especially elegant sections. Considering it is only the first week of the New Year (2011), we are already have an early (best of) winner for this splendid masterwork." - Bruce Lee Gallanter,

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