News

Rich Halley

The 2008 Penofin Jazz Festival is on Saturday, May 17 in Potter Valley, California

1:00 PM - Dottie Grossman and Michael Vlatkovich
1:45 PM - Rich Halley Quartet w/ Bobby Bradford, Clyde Reed and Carson Halley
3:15 PM - Ben Allison & Man Size Safe w/ Michael Blake, Ron Horton, Steve Cardenas and Michael Sarin
4:45 PM - Dan Raphael w/ Rich Halley and Carson Halley
5:30 PM - William Parker Quartet w/ Louis Barnes, Rob Brown and Hamid Drake

The 2008 Music for Powell Butte Concert is at 7:00 PM on Saturday, July 19 on top of Powell Butte, east of Portland off SE 162nd and Powell.

The Outside Music Ensemble

Rich Halley - tenor & soprano saxophone, wood flute
Michael Vlatkovich - trombone
Jim Knodle - trumpet
Troy Grugett - alto and baritone saxophone, percussion
Dave Storrs - percussion
Carson Halley - percussion

The most recent recording by the Rich Halley Trio is available on Louie Records. It's called "Mountains and Plains" and features bassist Clyde Reed and percussionist Dave Storrs. "Mountains and Plains" includes a mix of new compositions and freely improvised pieces and expands the Trio's music with a new textural and emotional palette.

"The desolate, rugged landscapes in the cover snapshots are a fitting analogue to the deliberate articulation of Halley's tenor sax in this bare bones trio. Based in Oregon and trained as a field biologist with previous records about Saxophone Animals and Coyotes in the City, Halley obviously comes at free jazz from far afield. And he's collaborated with Dave Storrs and Clyde Reed for so long that they get the balance just right. A Minus"

-Tom Hull, The Village Voice

"While Halley's tenor technique is all-inclusive, occasionally breaking out with more jagged screeches, honks and multiphonics, he's equally concerned with space, thematic development - even groove. Proof that free jazz can be accessible, even though many of Halley's compositions are loose sketches to be used as jumping-off points, the album is surprisingly listenable - surprising, that is, if you haven't already heard the trio's earlier recordings. "

-John Kelman, allaboutjazz

"Halley and company's carefully crafted aesthetic really works. There is nice interplay, superb tenor, memorable pieces, and a variety of grooves, soundscapes and textures. Don't miss this one if you can help it!"

-Grego Applegate Edwards, Cadence

""Mountains and Plains" works well on many levels. Creative writing, great sound, and seasoned musicianship add up to a session filled with beauty and wonder"

-Randy McElligott, jazzreview.com

"Halley has a most robust brawny tone with an innate sense of (real/implied) swing, which frees-up bassist Clyde Reed and drummer Dave Storrs to be on an equal footing with him. While not immediately "catchy' in the usual sense, the nine tracks on "Plains" are rhythmically and melodically engaging, the results of actual compositions with plenty of room for expression, not collective blow-outs or improv-frameworks. Halley's sound is his own, in the continuum of David Murray, Don Byas and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, heartfelt without sentimentality..."Mountains and Plains" is edgy "mainstream" now to the future jazz primed for the mind, body and soul."

-Mark Keresman, Signal to Noise

"Saxophonist Rich Halley communicates with a whispered tone that moans softly like the wind one moment and roars violently like falling rocks the next. The key is spontaneity. He steers his trio through adventures the same way a trailblazer would lead his party over unsettled terrain. Directions change often, and the three veteran artists converse cohesively through a wide array of impressions."

-Jim Santella, allaboutjazz

Louie Records:
In a garage/studio away from big city traffic, Louie Records is crafting sounds that come from years of playing, listening and just plain living off the beaten track. Louie Records is a creative voice from the back roads of the Pacific Northwest.