 Bob Rockwell © Santiago Tolman
Rockwell's latest release,
Bob's
Ben is a tribute to tenor titan Ben Webster was one of the giants
of the tenor saxophone. The album also features pianist Ben Sidran (who
performs at the Artists' Quarter August 11th and 12th), our own Billy
Peterson on bass, and drummer Leo Sidran (Ben Sidran's son). For the
project, Bob found as many of Webster's original charts as he could
find, and he decided to use Webster's choice of keys and tempi, also
utilizing the same chord substitutions. Rockwell used Webster's
arrangements, not with a view toward imitation, but rather for
inspiration. The result is a fitting tribute and a solid performance.
 Bob Rockwell © Don Berryman
Bob Rockwell was born in May 1945 in Miami,
Oklahoma and grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a teenager he
performed in Rock , R & B & Big Bands. He toured the states
extensively from this age to his early 20's. He was the founder of the
seminal fusion group, Natural Life, boasting band mates like the late
Bobby Peterson, Eric Kamau Gravatt, Billy Peterson and Mike Elliott.
He moved to New York in 1978 and became a member of the Thad-Jones/Mel
Lewis Orchestra. This ensemble toured Europe extensively. From 1979 he
was engaged in performances with The Mel Lewis Orchestra, Tito
Puente,Ben Sidran, Freddie Hubbard, Ray Drummond, Billy Hart, Rufus
Reid, Victor Lewis, Ron McClure, Tom Harrell, Chuck Israels, John
Hicks, Al Foster, Anthony Cox, Bill Dobbins, Keith Copeland, Clint
Houston, Richie Bierach Etc.
Since 1983 Rockwell has lived in Copenhagen working in Scandinavia and
beyond with artists such as Ernie Wilkins, Kenny Drew, Alex Riel,
Marilyn Mazur & Kenny Wheeler. He has performed and tour with the
Danish B3 organ group, the Organizers with organist Kjeld Lauretsen, He
has forged special relationships with Danish pianist Jan Kasperson
& bass player Jesper Lungaard. His two duet albums with Kasperson
are classics. Rockwell also has been featured significantly in the
Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra's touring, broadcast and recording
schedule. Rockwell has made many recordings, many have not been
available in the
US for a long time, now you can get most of his work online:
Click
here for a listing of Rockwell's recordings on Amazon.com.
A word to the wise - Bob Rockwell starts on time, so show up early
to hear all the great music! Sets start at 9:00 PM August 9th and 10th.
Artist's Quarter is located at 408 Saint Peter, Saint Paul, MN (651)
292-1359. www.artistsquarter.com.
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Twin Cities, MN 
Thursday, 08 January 2009
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