Don Menza & Sam Noto - Steppin' (2023)

July 1980 —I was in Buffalo, N.Y. visiting family and playing a few gigs when I got a call from Sam Noto who was living in Toronto, Canada. He asked if I was interested in doing a gig at Bourbon St. (180 Queen St.) the jazz club in Toronto. I was very much into it. Sam explained it would be a pianoless quartet— no problem. In the summer of 1963 we had a pianoless quintet at a club in Buffalo (Big Mothers).

It was 4 months of musical expansion and experimentation for all of us I joined Sam in Toronto and we had a short rehearsal. What you hear on this CD is a result of what I feel was a very special week. There is not much that can be said about Sam that hasn’t already been said. His time with Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Louie Bellson and numerous small group recordings are all well-documented and worth hearing. As for the rhythm section, Dave Young and Terry Clarke are both what a jazz rhythm section should be but too often is not. They represent the best of jazz players.

I was and still am proud to be part of this jazz happening. These are truly the things I love.

—Don Menza (February 2023)