Jeff "Siege" Siegel Quartet - London Live (2018)

I will never forget the day or night of November 3, 2010. Having left our last destination on tour in Europe (Marktoberdorf, Germany – Bavaria), my quartet and I took the train to Munich – flew to London, made our way into the city, got lost, had a taxi adventure and eventually found our way to our hotel. As things sometimes happen, the tube or metro went on strike shortly after our arrival, meaning that many people who would have come to our concert that night at Pizza Express Jazz Club couldn’t make it out of fear of not having a way home. Nevertheless, we played our final concert of our tour that night in London after two weeks in Germany and Austria. We were able to have this concert recorded and videoed and we hope you enjoy the experience of hearing a band after performing several nights on tour. The luxury of working every night together is unfortunately a rare thing these days so we were grateful for this opportunity for our 4th European tour as a band (with the new addition of Uli).

I am indebted to the fine musicians who performed and traveled with me and who I present to you here. Erica Lindsay, one of the unique voices on tenor saxophone and a composer to be reckoned with. Francesca Tanksley, a pianist’s pianist – unshakable musicality and spirit and a wonderful composer herself. Lastly, Uli Langthaler on bass, a fabulous bassist from the tradition of great bassists from Vienna, Austria. He and I became friends from when we met and performed together in Riga, Latvia back in 2008.

Featured here are eight compositions; six originals, a beautiful ballad by John Coltrane (“Peace on Earth”) and a traditional Negro spiritual (“I Want Jesus to Walk With Me”).

“Meet Me at the Station” is Erica’s composition reflecting life on a typical Jeff Siegel “Gym Tour” (I guess my tours are notoriously strenuous!). “Peace on Earth” is a wonderful song introduced to me by master saxophonist Dave Liebman, which I got to perform with 100 musicians back in 2009 in The Hague, Netherlands at the IASJ. “I Want Jesus to Walk With Me,” arranged by the late, great multi-instrumentalist Arthur Rhames (whom I worked with upon my entrance to New York City in the early 1980s) is performed here in a Latin style as opposed to rubato/swing as we performed it in the Arthur Rhames Quartet. “Crescent Sound” is my own ode to John Coltrane – inspired by the tuning and drum solo of Elvin Jones from the composition “The Drum Thing” on the record “Crescent.” “M Song” is a ballad I wrote in honor of my lovely wife Myra, my rock of stability through 34 years of marriage. “A New Freedom” is a moving piece written by Francesca Tanksley that, in her words “..offers a sense of freedom – a freedom of the spirit.” “Art’s Message” is a song that I wrote that reminded me of the Jazz Messengers, led by the esteemed drummer Art Blakey. Lastly, “First Movement” by Erica Lindsay is a piece that first drew me in to her writing when I heard it on her debut record back in 1989.