Almost from the moment Jim Self picked up his first tuba at 13 and was “that kid” playing the huge horn in his junior high band back in Oil City, Pennsylvania, he’s been on a mission to buck his instrument’s usual stereotypes. Over the course of his multi-faceted, several decade career--which has included seven jazz and two classical albums and over 1,300 film score dates
for Hollywood’s top composers—he has not only shown the kinder, gentler, more lovable side of the tuba, but has also developed a unique tuba-flugelhorn hybrid memorably called
the “fluba.”
In his heartfelt liner notes to InnerPlay, his inviting new jazz oriented recording on Bassethound Music (on which he plays both instruments to perfection), Self makes an honest assessment of people’s usual perceptions: “The tuba is often caricatured as a loud, comical and ponderous instrument. I like to think that it is also soft, sensitive, fluent and classy.”
Collaborating on the ten song collection of well known and more obscure covers and two originals with longtime friend and top Hollywood arranger/conductor Brad Dechter, Self finds the perfect way to explore this side of the tuba: surrounding himself with the familiar warmth and majestic power of strings. Recorded in a live ensemble setting at O’Henry Studios in Burbank, InnerPlay was produced by Self and engineered by Shawn Murphy, another Hollywood legend best known for his many scores with multiple Oscar winning composer John Williams. Together, the three create what can only be described as a true sonic masterpiece.
Hardline jazz critics who thought they had heard everything under the sun have been overwhelmed since the album’s release. Jazz Times listed InnerPlay as one of The Top 50 jazz CDs of 2005--by vote of their CD reviewers and writers. That magazine’s Doug Ramsey says, “Although his instruments may belong in the miscellaneous category in polls, Self’s playing does not. He solos with focus and purpose….an entertaining and musical album.” In All Music Guide, Scott Yanow writes: This has to be the first "tuba with strings" jazz recording…straightahead modern mainstream jazz. Self's interaction with the other horns is delightful.”
“I want people who listen to this album to really feel the tuba, to experience the beauty of it in a jazz setting that inspires them to feel the depth of the music”, he says. “I’m really proud of the way the arrangements and sound came out.”
But Self does not travel by tuba and fluba alone. The magical sounds on InnerPlay come from the true chemistry and solid ensemble interplay between the big horn and the saxophones of three of contemporary music’s most notable veteran jazz, record and film score session players: Gary Foster (Natalie Cole, Barry Manilow, Manhattan Transfer), Dan Higgins (John Mayer, George Duke, The Pussycat Dolls) and Pete Christlieb (legendary Tonight Show bandmember, Queen Latifah). Foster and Christlieb have appeared on several of Self’s previous recordings. The tuba great calls Higgins “a new giant on the level of the other two.”
Ron Modell of The Instrumentalist writes, “InnerPlay (is) an awesome combination of jazz tuba and strings, plus three of the best reed players in L.A.: Gary Foster, Pete Christlieb and Dan Higgins. With these musical greats, we have one of the finest projects ever recorded.”
“One of the most enjoyable parts of making InnerPlay was getting to work with each of these three incredible performers on different songs, based on the way the mood and vibe of the song fit each one’s individual style,” says Self. “All three are immaculate jazz players, but they each have special characters in their playing. I consider Gary to be a very elegant player, while Pete is more bluesy and Dan is more contemporary.
“I was, of course, the resident tuba player, trapped happily in my own skin,” he adds, “making music on my instruments and playing off of the other musicians. I’ve always been a much better musician when I can play with great musicians, and I love when unexpected things happen that take my original ideas to the next level.”
The selections include lush, easy swinging versions of Herbie Hancock’s “Speak Like A Child” and Isham Jones’ “There Is No Greater Love,” Clare Fischer’s elegant yet quirky “Pensativa,” a tender medley of Gershwin’s “I Loves You Porgy” and “Bess, You Is My Woman”, a whimsical romp through Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “No More Blues”, a bold, brassy twist on Horace Silver’s “Strollin’” and originals by Self, “That Morning in May” and Dechter, “The Underdog has Arisen”. InnerPlay concludes with a poignant, especially timely take on the song Louis Armstrong made famous, “Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?”
Looking back over his 30-plus year career, Jim Self—a self proclaimed “musicholic” and pilot who sometimes flies planes to his own live gigs--often marvels at the wonderful diversity that has marked his unique artistry with the tuba. Since l974, he has worked for all the major Hollywood studios performing for over 1300 motion pictures and hundreds of television shows and records.
His solos in major films include John William's scores to Jurassic Park, Home Alone and Hook, and his tuba was the “Voice of the Mothership” in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Other solos can be heard in James Horner's Casper and Batteries Not Included, Marc Shaiman's Sleepless in Seattle and in Jerry Goldsmith's score to Dennis the Menace. Recent films include Troy, Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius, Robots, Lemony Snicket, The Legend of Zorro and War of the Worlds, King Kong, Firewall and Eight Below. His 2006 film score dates include Cars, Lady In The Water, Ice Age: The Meltdown and X Men 3.
Performing everything from opera and symphony music to ballet, rock and jazz, Self has recorded with, among others, Neil Diamond, Mel Torme, Leon Redbone, Maynard Ferguson, Randy Newman, Bette Midler, Barbara Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Don Ellis, the L.A. Philharmonic, the Pasadena and Pacific Symphonies, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He holds principal tuba positions with the Pacific Symphony, Pasadena Symphony and Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and principal tuba/cimbasso in the Los Angeles Opera and Opera Pacific orchestras.
Self was three times voted the Most Valuable Player
Award for Tuba by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) and named Emeritus winner in l987. In addition to being the string bass and tuba player with Jon Hendricks in his long running L.A. production of “Evolution of the Blues,” he is also a past president of T.U.B.A, was on the faculty of the University of Tennessee, and is a former member of The United States Army Band in Washington, D.C., his first gig out of college.
“I think the diversity that characterizes my career speaks of the rich, warm and peaceful, enveloping sound of the tuba,” says Self. “I always like to play it as beautifully as I can. My favorite part of recording InnerPlay was doing just that, being in the moment, creating a rich live experience with some of my favorite friends and musicians. Making music with these great artists is an honor and privilege.”
For more information log onto: jimself.com.
|
