Song:Available In Blue
Album:Force of Four
Along with Stefon Harris, Joe Locke is one of today's top jazz vibraphonists. There aren't that many vibraphonists out there so Locke has been getting plenty of work as a sideman since the 80s and he has been recording as a leader since the 90s. Available In Blue is from his 2008 CD Force Of Four. He was born Mar. 18, 1959 in Palo Alto, CA and grew up in Rochester, NY. His father was a music teacher. Locke started playing the vibraphone as a teen and he studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. He moved to New York City in 1981 and his big break came when he joined Eddie Henderson's band in the late 80s. Henderson recorded for the Danish jazz label Steeplechase and Locke first recorded as a leader for that label in 1991. He also recorded for Milestone in the 90s and was a sideman for Kenny Barron and others. He was also a member of the Mingus Big Band and he met a lot of guys there he would work with later. He started recording with Sirocco Music in 2000 and worked a lot with former Mingus Big Band pianist Geoff Keezer. They recorded as Storytelling and Storms/Nocturnes. Available In Blue is from Locke's 2009 CD Force of Four on Origin Records. Musicians are Robert Xavier Rodriguez on piano, Ricardo Rodriguez on bass and drummer Jonathan Blake from the Mingus Big Band. Sax player Wayne Escoffery and trumpeter Thomas Marriott make guest appearances. Locke is currently signed to Motema Music and his latest CD Lay Down My Heart: Blues and Ballads was released May 2013. Jazz fans should check out Joe Locke. He just returned from a European tour and it looks like he has a live recording scheduled for April. And he does a lot of music seminars and teaching. Here's Joe Locke with Robert Xavier Rodriguez, Ricardo Rodriguez and Jonathan Blake performing Available In Blue at JazzBaltica in Germany July 2009.
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