Discography:Other Performances
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BRAND NEW RELEASE:
"GET HAPPY" - Delmark Records #592
Rich Corpolongo - Tenor Saxophone
Dan Shapera - Bass
Rusty Jones - Drums
1. Chi Chi
2. Mangoes
3. Body And Soul
4. Without A Song
5. The Boy Next Door
6. Get Happy
7. Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
8. Lullaby Of The Leaves
9. Dewey Square, 5:57Listen To Entire Track
Reviews:
Rich Corpolongo sounds like the archetypal journeyman, with complete command of his instrument and nothing left to prove. Even when the tempo is bouncy as it is on Charlie Parker's opening "Chi Chi," Corpolongo sounds like he's in no hurry to say his piece. Fronting a trio and concentrating on tenor, he takes his time, stretching all but one song over five minutes and relishing the interplay with bandmates Dan Shapera and Rusty Jones. With that playful interchange and a real-time recording approach, Get Happy comes as close to capturing a working band on the job as it gets in studio. The only drawback is that Shapera's bass sometimes gets swallowed up by Corpolongo's broad-shouldered sound, while Jones' drums can get a bit too resonate in the live room."
by James Hale
The album title gives appropriate orientation: these guys sound like they're having fun and listeners will too. Tenor saxist Rich Corpolongo has been a fixture on the Chicago scene for years and has contributed deeply to the city's jazz culture. On this nine-track CD, he, bassist Dan Shapera and drummer Rusty Jones display a relaxed rapport that facilitates an easy in-and-out movement between straight-ahead chordal improvisation and freer playing that always remains melodic and accessible. A mix of standards and bebop is the trio's modus operandi. Tunes like Bird's "Chi Chi," delivered at a comfortable mid-tempo, and "Body and Soul," played a tad faster than usual, all sound warm and user-friendly. Echoes of Sonny Rollins' trio work are everywhere, especially in the staccato phrases. Coming from a city that spawned tenor greats like Joe Daley and Von Freeman, Corpolongo upholds a noble musical tradition. His Get Happy delivers on the promise of its title. (Delmark)
By Glen Hall
"Just Found Joy" - Delmark Records
#489
Rich Corpolongo - Alto &
Soprano Sax, Clarinet
Larry Luchowski - Piano
Eric Hochberg - Bass
Mike Raynor - Drums
Jeff Czech - Violin
Paul Wertico - Percussion
1. "Valse"
2. "Time Impulse"
3. "La Blues"
4. "Hey, What's Happening?"
5. "Just Found Joy"
6. "Try To, If You Can"
7. "Time Sense", Entire Track 7:13Listen To Entire Track
8. "The Way It Is"
Reviews:
"Over the course of "Just Found Joy", Corpolongo demonstrates a dazzling array of talents from his approach on clarinet and soprano to his willingness and ability to juxtapose straight ahead, classical and third Stream influences. Overall, this album is a sleeper hit, and a wake-up call about a brand-new longtime talent."
Larry Blumenfeld: editor-in chief of JAZZIZ Magazine
"There's a breath of fresh air and a breadth of musical knowledge on this debut from Chicagoan Rich Corpolongo. Equally skilled on soprano sax, alto sax and clarinet, Corpolongo has written eight pieces designed for ensemble discovery more than soloing and he has an able ensemble to perform them. Larry Luchowski shines on piano, Eric Hochberg is a solid bassist and Mike Raynor keeps the time tight. Particularly nice are "Valse" and "La Blues."
Walter White: The Victory Review, Seattle Washington
"Smiles" - Delmark Records
#502
Rich Corpolongo - Alto &
Soprano Sax, Clarinet, Piccolo
Larry Luchowski - Piano
Eric Hochberg - Bass
Mike Raynor - Drums
Larry Luchowski - Piano
Eric Hochberg - Bass
Mike Raynor - Drums
1. "Expressivo"
2. "Experiment"
3. "Nancy's Blues"
4. "Tone Row"
5. "Margin Of Space"
6. "Different Blues"
7. "Smiles", 12:19Listen To Entire Track
Reviews:
"As Chicago listeners have known for years, Corpolongo is a profound improviser-composer who is fluent in everything from standard swing to avant-garde languages. In "Smiles," Corpolongo addresses both idioms, and most points between. Throughout, it's the creativity of Corpolongo's lines and the urgency of his tone on various reed instruments that give direction, purpose and coherence to his stylistically free-ranging work".
Howard Reich: Arts & Entertainment Critic, Chicago Tribune
"Spontaneous Composition" - Spoco
Records (LP's and CD's are now available)
Alto & Soprano Sax, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Piccolo, Flute, Alto Flute, Maestro Woodwind System and Echoplex.
Doug Lofstrom
Bass, Bamboo Flute, Percussion and Vocal
Effects.
Bass, Bamboo Flute, Percussion and Vocal Effects.
Paul Wertico
Drums, Percussion (including:) Pressure Cookers, Hub Caps,
Electro-Harmonix Memory-Man, Thunder Sheet, Boo-bam, Pot Covers,
Assorted Gongs, Bells and Toys.
Drums, Percussion (including:) Pressure Cookers, Hub Caps, Electro-Harmonix Memory-Man, Thunder Sheet, Boo-bam, Pot Covers, Assorted Gongs, Bells and Toys.
1. "Prelude"
2. "Bird Dirge"
3. "1+2"
4. "Flutter Wings"
5. "Spirit Play"
6. "Fog Bound"
7. "March Of The Schnatskis", 4:14Listen To Entire Track
8. "And Stay Out"
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Reviews:
Rich Corpolongo - Woodwinds,
ON ITUNES
Joe Daley - Tenor Sax, Maestro Woodwind
System, Echoplex
1. "Verbal Hash"
2. "Cantus Firmus"
3. "Cyclic Lament"
4. "Opposing Forces"
5. "Roller Coaster", 9:08Listen To Entire Track
6. "Pipe Organ Odyessy"
7. "Hooray School's Out"
Rich Corpolongo and Joe Daley have
numerous credits in areas of music such as performing, composing,
recording and teaching. This, along with their abilities as jazz
performers has gained them respect from their peers. Both Joe and
Rich agreed that to express themselves fully, a fresh approach with a
much wider scope of sonorities and thematic material was needed.
Bypassing the traditional elements such as a rhythm section, time
signatures, keys and familiar forms, enabled them to improvise
totally in an original style. It should be emphasized that no
over-dubbing was used to produce the special effects heard on this
record. It should also be noted that all the music was improvised on
the spot without any prior planning or discussion.
Other Recordings That I Have Played On:
As the title suggests, reedman Rich Corpolongo, bassist Doug Lofstrom and percussionist Paul Wertico have produced a series of truly spontaneous performances in which risk-taking is the norm and success is almost constant. Whether or not the mood-setting titles ("Bird Dirge", "Flutter-Wings" and so forth) came before or after the recording date, each piece is a coherent emotional drama - free in purely musical terms yet otherwise tightly focused. On alto and soprano saxophones, clarinet and flute, Corpolongo's transcendental virtuosity has a paradoxical effect, for within the music's intense expressivity, there is an abstract coolness - The blend is intriguing and so is the entire album.
Larry Kart - Chicago Tribune
Electronics play a major part in defining the textures of Spontaneous Composition by Illinois' Rich Corpolongo (as, ss, cl, b cl, fl, picc, elec), Doug Lofstrom (b, bam fl, perc, vcl) and Paul Wertico (d, perc, elec). At their best, the electronically treated passages have a
weighty, dark and cavernous sound. The first flute section of "Flutter-Wings" has some predictable echoplex rhythms and harmonies; but the denser effects, beefing up the sound of a single horn, letting its echo blend seemlessly with an arco bass line, are well-developed and sensitively deployed. (Bassist Lofstrom is especially adept at dovetailing with a treated horn; he can sound electronic without devices.) The way relatively straight ahead freebop
blowing emerges out of the spooky electronic muddle on "No Survivors", only to slip back toward the mire, is quite effective. On the circusy march "Schnatskis", treated clarinet sounds like a sick accordian. The trio doesn't hide behind effect boxes to mask inferior playing; most of the cuts are acoustic. "1 & 2" features akilter soprano over a Braxtonian
stop-gap rhythm. "Bird Dirge" is a free clarinet blues, into which Rich tosses a pick-up-your-ears Gershwin glissando. Drummer Wertico has a good sense of color; his unorthodox percussion kit includes kitchen hardware.
Cadence
"Rich Corpolongo: A veteran of local pit
bands and big bands, the reed player didn't record his first album
until two years ago. Now out with his second, the aptly titled
``Smiles,'' the serenity-spreading Corpolongo solidifies his
reputation as the ultimate stylistic arbitrator in making peace among
'inside' and 'outside' jazz and modern classical music. He is one
scary talent. The dauntingly accomplished, risk-taking saxist bridges
mainstream and free jazz and classical forms."
Lloyd Sachs: Entertainment Critic-Chicago
Sun-Times
Chuck Marohnic - Keyboards
Rich Corpolongo - Alto Sax, Maestro Woodwind System,
Echoplex
