The Pace Report: "Not A Minimal Inner Circle" The Greg Osby Interview
Recently, Birdland Theater celebrated the 106th birthday of pianist and composer Thelonious Sphere Monk which featured some of the jazz world's prominent musicians. The Misterioso Quintet Plays Monk featuring Steve Smith on drums, Greg Osby on alto saxophone, Jon Irabagon on tenor saxophone, Ben Allison on bass, and Aaron Goldberg on piano. The quintet played some of Monk's iconic compositions that include "Ruby My Dear", "Little Rootie Tutti", and "Round Midnight".
Alto saxophonist Greg Osby has been a fixture in the international jazz scene for well over 40 years. The St. Louis, Missouri native has recorded and toured with the likes of The Grateful Dead, Andrew Hill, Jack DeJohnette, Jim Hall, Jaki Byard, Dizzy Gillespie, Jason Moran, Terri Lyn Carrington, and Andrew Cyrille.
During the 1980's Osby was one of the founding members of the legendary M-Base Collective that featured musicians Cassandra Wilson, Steve Coleman, Gary Thomas, and pianist Geri Allen. He recorded close to 20 albums on the famed Blue Note Records label under the vision of the late Bruce Lundvall.
In 2007 Greg started Inner Circle Music, a jazz record label dedicated to releasing musicians and composers that produce their own recordings as well as allowing them to own and control their masters. The label has released over 100 recordings by artists from all over the world.
I sat down with Greg at Birdland to reflect on the legacy of Thelonious Monk, his thoughts on mentors Jack DeJohnette and Andrew Hill, the importance of transcribing music, and the success of Inner Circle Music.
For more info on Greg's upcoming tour dates or to order his latest album "Minimalism", please visit him online at www.GregOsby.com. To order music from Inner Circle Music visit their website at www.InnerCircleMusic.com
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