Ronnie Cuber sounds great [Archive]

kevvieg

04-29-2003, 07:50 PM

I travelled from toronto to Montreal to see Ronnie Cuber and it was
worth the drive! He was playing with a local organ trio and, while
they were good, he was smokin'. The material covered a lot of the old
George Benson stuff and Ronnie was tearing it up. I really wish we
could get some bari players up here in Toronto (no offense to our
great local players).

It's nice to hear these guys in big bands, but that is a poor substitute for hearing them in a small group where they can create over an extended of time.

He was playing on his Francois Louis and it seemed like a bright
piece, though that could just be Ronnie's sound. Are these pieces
small or large chamber? It's obvious that they are high-baffle, but I
was wondering about the bore and chamber.

Thanks to "Tonehole" for giving me the heads-up on this concert!

Merlin

04-29-2003, 09:34 PM

Geez...wish i coulda gone too Kevin.

Though I DID have a great weekend in Halifax! :twisted:

Tonehole

05-04-2003, 11:23 PM

The place was sure a rockin Kevie.. Hey so to the point does anyone know what his set up is? What is the deal on these mouthpieces? I can find a listing for his FL ligatures and caps but how do you get a mouthpiece? Is it by invitation only? What kind of coin do these pieces cost?

melvyng

06-06-2003, 09:51 PM

My understanding is that Francouis Lois has a shop in Brussels, his pieces are custom made to order and the one Ronnie is blowing on cost him $2000.

Mel

jmarshall83

06-08-2003, 01:58 PM

I am a personal student of ronnie's and I would like to know who told
you that his FL pieces cost two grand each.

BTW he does sound great though

melvyng

06-08-2003, 04:24 PM

Hmm, I can't remember now who told me that. Is it incorrect? How lucky you are to be studying with Ronnie Cuber. I think he's vastly under rated and wish he had more recordings under his own name.

Mel

Big Nick

06-10-2003, 11:37 PM

Anyone suggest any recordings where he's featured?

MPL

06-10-2003, 11:43 PM

I've been listening to "In a New York Minute" for several weeks now. Ronnie Cuber is one of the most passionate players there is. Highly recommended!

melvyng

06-10-2003, 11:58 PM

I love that recording, it's overproduced but it has that passionate Cuber sound that just turns my crank. "New York Cats" and "In a New York Minute" are more straight ahead and have some great moments as well. "Cubism" isn't bad either but harder to find. I burned my favorite tracks from those 4 albums onto a cd and listen to them constantly in my car. I can sing along with all the heads now. When I get some time I want to learn them on my horn.

kevvieg

06-11-2003, 04:10 AM

In a NY Minute is the only one I haven't got. You can't get Steeplechase in Canada. I keep hoping I'll see it on Ebay. There are two CD's called Cubism, I believe. One is on Fresh Sound and has Ronnie on tenor for a tune, the other features a more mature Ronnie. maybe it's the same CD with different packaging.

spinj

11-05-2003, 05:48 AM

Air Play - Steeplechase - go the Steeplechase web site
Love For Sale - KOCH - Barnes & Noble web site

kevvieg

11-05-2003, 02:28 PM

Airplay and In a New York Minute are both fantastic CDs

MojoBari

11-06-2003, 05:43 PM

Maybe the 2 Gs includes travel.

Tim Price

11-10-2003, 03:13 PM

Those mouthpieces Cuber got from F.L in Brussles.

I know they are costly but not 2 thou each. lol-

Who sounds better than Cuber. NOBODY!!!!!!!!!!

11-10-2003, 03:25 PM

I played lead on a gig with Bruce Johnstone last week with the Dave Stevens Band out of Erie PA, and he told me he has a steady 1 night/wk gig in Buffalo but did not say where. It ain't Toronto but a lot closer to you than Montreal if you don't mind going 'round the lake. You might email him at the SUNY Fredonia Music Dept. for more info.

Tim Price

11-10-2003, 03:50 PM

dd- Bruce is fantastic. What a sound-

He should record..I love his way of playing.

Subtone Sam

11-10-2003, 06:51 PM

I've been listening to Cuber's "Love For Sale",he plays bari backed by strings and big-band.Great stuff,shows clearly that in right hands bari is a wonderful solo horn;Ronnie sounds absolutely great,clear and solid sound..now I'll go and practice some long tones on bari.. :idea:

melvyng

11-10-2003, 10:09 PM

The Cuber cd "Airplay" kicks *** too, check it out, dude can wail.

Mel

Tim Price

11-10-2003, 10:20 PM

In any case......I am wondering WHY Cuber is not
in a better stature as an artist.
For example...IMHO...he should be as popular and known as Chris Potter and Mike Brecker but hes not. And- that is no slam on Mike or Chris whom I dig very much. Ronnie just makes the bari so accessiable.
Guess business/ music is something that will always make me wonder why.
Ever hear Cuber on those Benson records-YIKES%!@##%!@!#%

melvyng

11-10-2003, 10:34 PM

Tim, can you recommend some good George Benson recordings that Cuber plays on?

Mel

Subtone Sam

11-11-2003, 12:51 AM

Does anyone know about the FL mpc Cuber uses? Is it a high-baffle piece,what about the tip-opening? I read somewhere he uses Rico 3 1/2s.

melvyng

11-11-2003, 12:59 AM

Why don't one of you guys that live in the NYC metro area interview Ronnie Cuber sometime and get the answers to all of our questions :)

Mel

shmuelyosef

11-11-2003, 01:08 AM

This reissue is great!!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005IBGM/qid=1068512789/sr=8-4/ref=sr_8_4/104-0379462-8572716?v=glance&s=music&n=507846

melvyng

11-11-2003, 01:32 AM

Allright!! I'm ordering it, thank you, thank you 8)

Mel

Bergertone

11-11-2003, 10:13 PM

Tim Price did a interview with Ronnie for Saxophone Journal, back when Cuber played on a slant signature hard rubber Otto Link. I can't recall the date. Phil Barone told me he worked on his Link.

kevvieg

11-12-2003, 04:52 AM

I got a look at a Louis MP on Ebay, but it was an alto piece. It looked a lot like an old bullet chamber Berg on the inside, but I'm sure there were modifications on that concept.

I also love Bruce Johnstone. In fact I just bought "Stay Loose With Bruce" to play in a local big band. That was my first exposure to altissimo bari and it messed me up. I met him in Toronto a few years back when he was performing with Don Menza.

Tim: As always you are keeper of the gospel and spreader of the word. The reason people aren't as hip to Cuber as they are to Brecker and Potter is that Ronnie plays baritone, and that axe only gets respect from the guys who know how hip it is. Pepper Adams never received the recognition he deserved outside of jazz circles and he was, IMHO, the most individual baritonist ever. (Which is not to say that I don't love a gazillion bari players). I was listening to "10-4 at the 5 Spot" and "Urban Dreams" recently. I don't like Pepper's sound on that Duck-off, but he solos brilliantly. I'm so glad to see this available on CD, but it's a drag that there is no extra material.

spinj

11-13-2003, 05:32 PM

The Baritone, in the right hands, has the most dynamic sound of all the
Saxophones. I am a Tenor player and I listen to Ronnie, Pepper, Nick, Gary, Gerry, Cecil and Charles Davis more then Tenor players. To me, Ronnie has the ability to bend the sound as no other Baritone player ever has. It may have to do with his long involvement with R&B and Latin music. Even in those settings he still plays a lot of Bebop and the mixture
is one of the best sounds in all of Jazz. When I play I find myself bending
the sound and hearing the things I've heard Ronnie do. There are recordings of Ronnie playing Alto and Tenor and when compared to the Baritone, they are not as special. Don't get me wrong, Ronnie on any horn is one of the Jazz Greats. If you want to hear something, check out Randy Brecker's CD - 34th and Lex - it features Michael Brecker, David Sanborn and Ronnie playing together. At one point Michael and Ronnie trade 4's.
I have decided to sell my Alto and get a Baritone.

dolphyo

12-22-2003, 06:25 AM

just a tip guys. ronnie cuber is on larry harlow's latin jazz all stars group recorded live at the nyc blue note. i think around 2001. what you call a sleeper! mac gollhegan on trumpet is on fire. cuber steals the show with ideas,latin,jazz,bop,trane,r/b. makes the rest of the band sound PUNY...... and to kick it in your face plays flute on one tune,that's is charanga style and sounds truly latin on it? i remember years ago he use to have a wheezing upper register that was really annoying!?! 80's bad rubber berg he played or just a phraseing thing because he did it constantly. look up from early 80's any of vibes berklee grad nyc homeboy bobby paunetto. did four albums now on cd.cats like ronnie,sam burtis,billy drewes,todd anderson,et... and etc... tim price knows the deal. ask him. don't sleep on cuber's latin side. did tons of studio work for all the latin greats with the rhythm done correctly.did better work with the latin monk;eddie palmieri :!:

12-25-2003, 07:11 PM

RC is scheduled for the first hour of Katie Malloch's "Jazz Beat" program on CBC Radio 2 at 8:00 pm EST on 12/28/03 with Vanessa Rodriguez on B3. Internet accessable. http://www.cbc.ca/jazzbeat/schedule/december.html

kevvieg

12-29-2003, 05:09 PM

Of course I'm reading about Jazz beat now *DAMN*. If anyone taped it (CD'd it ) I'd love a copy. THAT is the concert I was talking about when I started this thread.

male_saxist at yahoo.com

shmuelyosef

12-30-2003, 04:51 AM

just a tip guys. ronnie cuber is on larry harlow's latin jazz all stars group recorded live at the nyc blue note. i think around 2001. what you call a sleeper! :!:

Is this the album???

Live at Birdland
Larry Harlow's Latin Jazz Encounter
out in 2002...only live in nyc that I could find

barisaxplayer

01-02-2004, 04:25 AM

Come to think of it I have heard Cuber play, he was with Mingus Big Band for a few songs including Moanin' and Moanin' Mambo, which are by far, my favorite songs =)

Of living bari saxes he's probly the best out there... of all bari saxes Gerry Mulligan is still the best. never heard anybody as good as him and haven't heard anybody come close to his ideas. He wrote for miles and played with Chet but nobody really came close to what he could do. =) Maybe I'm biased I donno but I think Mulligan's the best, always will be the best.

kevvieg

01-02-2004, 05:42 AM

There is no such thing as "the best". I have over 125 recordings of Gerry Mulligan and I would say he was a wonderful writer and arranger, as well as being an original and expressive player. Comparing Mulligan to Cuber is like comparing Getz to Brecker: apples and oranges. You can compare Mulligan to Lars Gullin but, even then, it is pointless. Once one hits a certain level of proficiency, there is just a standard that has been reached, but no "best". I enjoy Getz and Brecker and Rollins equally, but for different reasons. The sames goes for Pepper Adams, Brignola, Cuber, Mulligan etc. For my money, Pepper Adams had the most unique harmonic vocabulary of the bari players.

barisaxplayer

01-03-2004, 10:51 PM

that's true I'll admit it you can't really compare 2 people because they play different styles. I prefer Mulligan over all as a bari player tho because I just can't get into other people's recordings as much.

Pepper's recordings are good but the only cds I can get of the guy are when he's with mingus and even then the stuff's kinda limited. Guess same goes for a lot of bari work.

kevvieg

01-04-2004, 05:39 AM

I love Mulligan, but I never felt like he played the baritone like a baritone, having more of a tenor quality. I still love his writing and playing but he never embodied the characteristic tone of the bari. Pepper's best work is to be found on Muse or Enja in a quartet setting or with Donald Byrd. I was not a fan of the Conjuration album with Kenny Wheeler (just too much of a contrast in styles)

barisaxplayer

01-05-2004, 08:31 AM

nah if you want a bari that sounds like a tenor get "sophisticated lady/mood indigo" by Ellington. I was fooled for the first 3/4 the song into thinking the solo was a tenor sax...

as for anything by mulligan he does keep himself up the the higher octaves rather than hittin down low a lot of the time, but I know a lot of people that stay away from the lower register just because it can knock them off. I think Mulligan just went for the smooth sound which was used by a lot of tenors around his time, which creates a lot of contrast from other baris.