I grew up in Newark, New Jersey where such great artists as James Moody, Sarah Vaughan, Walter Davis Jr., Hank Mobley were my neighbors and Wayne Shorter was my dear friend. Wayne and I went to grammar school and Arts High School together. I was very influenced by Wayne in every way and knew at young age that he was a genius. But I could not tolerate the cold winters, so I decided to move to Los Angeles. It was 1960. In 1961, I received a call from Jules Chaikin, a young contractor that I worked for, who knew my playing and asked if I wanted to go on the road with Stan Kenton. I was overwhelmed since this was one of the bands I dreamed of playing with. Nine months later we ended the tour at Capitol Records. I recorded three albums with the band, including “Adventures in Jazz” which won a Grammy for Stan and “Adventures in Blues” which Stan said was my album since it featured the bass walking predominantly through the whole album.

The music you are going to listen to is in the image of Ugo Lemarchand. A tidal bore. It takes you from one end of the work to the other with mixed sensations of power and softness. Voluble, sincere and fair, between vibrant standards and personal compositions, the heart which speaks for Thalia, without being overwhelmed by emotion, Ce22, who reasons like an affirmation, the intriguing One Shot, the notebook describes a long journey including All the steps appear clearly to us from the first listen. As if the doubts of the man with the pen and the saxophone vanish as the notes become anchored. No doubt you will sometimes hear the colors of John Coltrane or Joe Henderson, his first inspirations.