To say Donovan Mixon has had an interesting career is an understatement. Coming from humble beginnings in Newark, New Jersey, from an early age he set his sights upon a career in music. His talent has brought him from Atlantic City to Boston, Milan to Istanbul and now to Chicago; his determination has earned him a Master of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music and an NEA for jazz composition.
After seven years on the faculty at Berklee College of Music, he moved to Italy and lived as a freelance musician, performing at clubs and festival around Europe. During this period his first two CD recordings, Look Ma, No Hands!, And Language of the Emotions was published. By 2000, his text Performance Ear Training was published and he’d joined the music faculty at Istanbul Bilgi University in Turkey. While in Istanbul he recorded his most recent CD, Culmination. Culmination earned critical acclaim and landed upon jazzchicago.net’s list of Top Chicago Recordings of 2010. His current activities include teaching, conducting jazz education clinics, and performing.
Donovan describes his music as being melody driven and not dependent on a specific harmony, key, or form. Listening to his most recent album, Culmination, I was struck by how so many diverse sounds and approaches work together to create a unified sound. The music draws one in with its perfect balance and approach. And present throughout the recording is Donovan Mixon’s superb guitar playing.
On a recent cold Sunday, I had the opportunity to watch Donovan and his most recent project, The Donovan Mixon’s Hybrid Project, perform at the iconic Green Mill in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. The Green Mill is a musician’s bar and Donovan appeared more than comfortable in that setting. The Hybrid Project was performing as part of the Chicago Jazz Composers Collective. One Sunday a month Kathy Kelly, the Green Mill’s artistic director, hosts a showcase for original jazz compositions. This Sunday Kathy opened the performance by performing with her band, Tudo de Bom. The music was light and reminiscent of Henry Mancini and I particularly enjoyed their piece Po as well as Imaginary Twilight.
When it was Donovan’s turn to perform, he and his band mates confidently took the stage. What struck me about the Hybrid Project was how each member of the band complemented the other. Five pieces were performed with the first, The Dance of Life, decidedly the sweetest. Tony Barba played the flute and bantered beautifully with the bass (Cory Biggerstaff) and the drums (Ares Biskas). Donovan joined with the music in pieces and complemented their music effortlessly with masterful guitar work. Together they created a decidedly nuanced and complex work that easily engaged the audience.
Donovan then introduced his next piece, Quando il Lupo Annusa I Fiori (When the Wolf Smells the Flowers) with a short story relating how he came to compose the song. Again his band performed beautifully with Donovan creating a space for each of the musicians to perform in. Open, which was composed by Dave Onderdonk (guitar), was performed next and had a whimsical, upbeat feel. The last two numbers, Summer of ’78 and Giochiamo Quando Suoniamo (We Play When We Play) were both composed by Donovan Mixon. The latter piece (Giochiamo) was later reinterpreted by Donovan while in Turkey and was retitled Rough Translation. It was that piece that most enthralled me with its decidedly eastern flair. Tony Barba complemented the piece nicely with his play of the bansuri, a wind instrument more closely associated with music from India.
After the performance I had a chance to briefly talk with Donovan Mixon. I complemented him on his masterful work and asked him how long this project had been together. Donovan laughed and replied “four hours.” I assumed he meant four hours of rehearsal a day for several months. No, he said, maybe four total hours of rehearsal and a lot of emailing. Amazed, told him that I would very much like to see what Donovan Mixon’s Hybrid Project would be capable of after a few more gigs together.
Bottom Line: Donovan Mixon maintains the following website which includes performance information http://donmixon.com/. The Green Mill’s Chicago Jazz Composers Collective occurs one Sunday a month. Click here for more information http://www.greenmilljazz.com/
All photos taken by Noel Schecter
Donovan Mixon: Press
Donovan Mixon —
"Culmination"
Guitarist Donovan Mixon lived and taught in Italy and Turkey for many years before relocating to Chicago where he now teaches at Harold Washington College. OnCulmination Mixon presents nine original compositions recorded in Istanbul with some of the best jazz players in Turkey. Despite the obvious Middle-Eastern influences, this album is not what I would call your usual "world music," but rather combines Western jazz and classical music with Eastern melodic touches. One important and unique aspect is made immediately apparent on the very first track — "Summer of '78" when Turkish ney master Ercan Irmak's ney (wooden flute) makes its first appearance over Mixon's Mediterranean-flavored classical guitar. Engin Gurkey's percussion and Caner Kaptans' acoustic bass and Ferit Odman's drums all soon enter the mix and Mixon takes a delightful breezy solo. Later, Senova Ulker adds his majestic flugelhorn to this number — which sets the stage for the album. "The Dance of Life" follows — showing Mixon's masterful guitar work in a waltzing number that brings cellist Jeff McAuley into the mix. The title track is perhaps the highlight of the recording — a complex mixture of jazz, classical and Mediterranean styles that move across an ever-changing rhythmic landscape. But perhaps the most enjoyable number is the light-hearted Latin-flavored "We Are Yo' Kids" which includes a bouncy baritone sax by Serhan Erkol. "Mist" and "Mercury" explore Mixon's modern classical directions with the latter nearly exploding into an exuberant Turkish celebration. Dueting with cellist McAuley on the opening of "Eddi & Daniela" — Mixon's sliding rapid picking is reminiscent of fellow Chicago world music traveler Fareed Haque. Kaptan takes a pleasing solo turn on the bass to open up "Quando Il Lupo Annusa i Fiori" (Italian for "When the Wolf Smells the Flowers") - and this 10:31 composition also showcases Ulker's burnished horn and Mixon on bluesy/jazzy electric guitar. The hard rocking and interesting "Rough Translation" ends the recording on a high note, but is only 1:56 long and this brief taste leaves me wishing for more of this direction from Mixon. Culmination is a highly engaging release from a guitarist/composer with a distinct style who I hope to hear much more from in the future.
http://www.jazzchicago.net/reviews/2010/QuickHits21.html
"Culmination:" Mixon's Jazz Journeys“Culmination:” Mixon’s Jazz Journeys Having lived in Italy for eight years and Turkey for almost a decade, guitarist/composer Donovan Mixon has let the Mediterranean seep into his American soul in interesting ways. His music, definitely downscale and contemplative, yet with plenty of pulse, often feels like a Fellini film score or an Antatolian-influenced ballad that ruminates about the quality of time, the sting of a last kiss, or even spiritual matters. His compositions wade in those famous blue waters with bare feet, while tugging at his tag team of shell-collectors on a Sunday afternoon at the shore. It’s not ambient fare at all, but jazz with the proviso that you never know what’s coming next and it will definitely not hurt you. It’s billed as “global jazz” but it’s not world music in the current sense -- it’s Mixon’s personal take on his own jazz journeys and how they’ve shaped him. Mixon works here with some of Istanbul’s best musicians: ney players Ercan İrmak and Ayça Ergin; Serhan Erkol on alto and baritone saxes; Caner Kaptan on acoustic bass; Engin Gürkey and Ferit Odman on percussion and drums; and Şenova Ülker on trumpet and flugelhorn. The lone other American is cellist/composer Jeff McAuley, who lends some attractive and energized playing. If Mixon seems somnolescent in “Summer of ‘78,” with the lazy, hazy sounds of the Turkish ney (vertical flute) lulling us alongside his guitar and Ülker’s flugelhorn, he wakes us up at the end with a siren resembling a large bird on the horizon, signalling the next track: “The Dance of Life.” There, the unpredictable mayhem of Rome and Istanbul waltz us through a docu-dream that’s equal parts romantic and exasperating. “Culmination” follows with an almost classical chamber music texture with the cello’s sustain and guitar arpeggiations and Kurt Weill-like trumpet declarations before it breaks out into free-form. Then it finds itself in an jaunty hopping rhythm using repeated saxophone riffs reminiscent of John Kirby’s little band arrangements of the 1930s. “Culmination” is a little masterpiece that I think reveals Mixon’s total musical kaleidoscope throughout. I’m thrilled and not surprised that it won a prize from the National Endowment for the Arts. “We Are Yo’ Kids” has serious commercial hit potential. An upbeat groove with just a tinge of inner-city Latin flavor, it sports good ol’ major mode all the way with a light-hearted melody harmonized in thirds. It’s a “winnah,” as New Yorkers would say. The short “Mist” that follows is a totally different corner of Mixon’s mind: a surreal afterthought. “Mercury” mixes it up like a grab-bag of sounds and tempos, with the ney’s breathy quality (and its near-Eastern tuning) and Western instruments. McAuley’s pretty cello solo appears in the beginning, then returns as an improvised dance that sets everybody else in motion. Sometimes it all works, but sometimes it feels like a patchwork quilt strained at the seams; maybe it’s juxtaposition of too many elements competing for a turn at the mic. “Eddi & Daniela” is another chamber-style piece given a unique character by the lyrical cello part and the sexy sound of the ney along with guitar, bass and drums. The constantly changing rhythmic motifs are like a whirlwind romance that tries to find its footing, then decides to call it quits. The pizzicato bass intro to “Quando il lupo annusa i fiori,” then Mixon’s ominous sustained electric guitar notes, and Ülker’s boozy trumpet solo take us directly to a Chet Baker reverie in the back room for a perfect film noir setting that evokes Robert Mitchum’s heavy-lidded nonchalance in “Farewell My Lovely.” The title means “when the wolf smells the flowers,” so we know the protagonist is up to something. Though “Quando...” is the longest tune (over 10 minutes) on the disc; its totally engrossing, painterly qualities make the listener want much more. “Rough Translation” feels like a fragment that kind of leaves us before its time. No problem. Sometimes the culmination of everything is just that simple. Drummer Ferit Odman’s subtle and clever choices at every moment, never overpowering, only enhancing as he goes, deserve special notice. --Alexandra Ivanoff Music journalist in Istanbul for “TIme Out Istanbul” magazine, “Today’s Zaman” newspaper, “Andante” and “Jazz” magazines. email: 089qwe@gmail.com
Istanbul is still a city of wonders. Behind the great metropolis with his fumes and traffic jams, its noble profile defaced by urbanistic crimes and its unique memories apparently under attack from all sides, there's still a spirit fueled by the traditions that met – and fought – there over the centuries.
There's unmistakably a buzz in today's Istanbul, a vibe generated by young generations eager to be open to the outside world, and often brought to reconsider their country's recent and ancient history. Artists are stimulated by the atmosphere, and among a group of musicians currently tapping the energy of the Bosphorous town is guitar player and composer Donovan Mixon. Tall and athletic, Donovan could be an ex-basketball player, and his serious face is ready to open in a sweet smile – his students say he's pretty good at frowning too, but I haven't experienced that. What I know is that of the American jazz musicians that I've met, and they are a fair number, Donovan is among the most receptive to European culture.
He lived in Italy for many years, we had in Istanbul pleasant conversations in Italian, and his attitude is not a “transatlantic” one anymore.
Don is thoroughly schooled in jazz and contemporary music, but in view of subsequent developments, his early connection with guitarist Dennis Sandole is especially intriguing. “Modern Music from Philadelphia” by the Sandole brothers, of Italian descent, was a landmark of the 50's “new music” and contained compositions like “The boys from Istanbul”! After extensive studies, Donovan played professionally on the road for several years, and his activity as a teacher reflects a practical approach to the needs of a working musician. He recorded with the likes of Lee Konitz, George Garzone and Eddie Henderson, and distilled his experiences into a personal style of relaxed elegance, where notes are carefully placed in a uncluttered, transparent texture.
With this Cd a distinctly Turkish element enters in his music, not in a heavy concoction of “typical” sounds: the rich tradition of colors and sounds in Turkish music yields some selected ingredients – the unique tone of ‘ney’ (a Turkish wooden flute), some special scales and rhythms – but the agenda is not dictated by anything external to Donovan's idea of music.
“Summer Of 78” slowly grows from acoustic guitar to a “chamber” sound before introducing the sound of Ercan Irmak's ney. Ercan is one of the most important and in demand players of this instrument, central to the mystical and classical tradition; he guested on this track because he especially liked the composition. His improvisation combines traditional technique with the modern feeling of the theme, and the breathy sound of the ney integrates smoothly with the ensemble in a sequence of variations and permutations. The trumpet countermelodies at the end theme played by Senova Ulker, a guest and respected soloist both in classical and jazz circles in Istanbul, seem to be improvised but they are in fact written parts.
On the wistful “The Dance Of Life”, Senova Ulker carries the theme with authority before entertaining an improvised dialogue with the guitar. Aptly entitled, this composition possesses a highly capricious quality perhaps due to the asymmetric construction of the main theme, harmonic rhythm and phrases. Performed with an exquisite 3/4 swing by the ensemble.
“Culmination” - awarded a jazz composition prize by the National Endowment for the Arts - is Donovan's take on the never-ending fascination of jazz players with the contrapunct of Baroque music, in a dramatic growing complexity of voicings, sharp tempo changes, fast, articulated lines and a question at the end, it's most aptly the centerpiece of the Cd.
"We Are Yo' Kids” - a special kind of nursery song, has a definite Latin feel: listen to the drums on this one. Ferit Odman, like Billy Higgins, is a smiling drummer, but he's listening too. This bright young man, whom I had the pleasure to have as a student in my classes, is putting under his belt an extraordinary amount of serious work, having fun while learning all the time from different sources. His light, airy swing carefully follows the indications of the composer without losing relaxation. “He lets loose in the duet with fellow percussionist Engin Gurkey, while Serhan Erkol provides rhythmic drive with his bari riffs.”
“Mist” is not an impressionistic piece, in fact it's the closest Donovan gets on this Cd to contemporary music with a dramatic exploration of dynamics and dissonance at once.
"Mercury" opens and prominently features Jeff McAuley, an American cello player with a taste for adventure in music and life. Jeff is a classical musician, but we don't hold this against him, since he's getting more and more intrigued by the idea of improvisation. Mixon's concept of music, with his emphasis on light but well-connected structures establishing a dialectic with improvisation is the perfect point of entry for Jeff's cello, with its careful intonation and melodic phrasing.
The atmospheric, suspended prelude of “Eddi & Daniela” features Ayça Ergin on ney: a girl, quite a startling sight on a predominantly male instrument, who studied with the most important masters before starting her own career. Her performance is largely responsible for the feel of this piece that eventually concludes with a trio with the guitar and cello.
“Quando Il Lupo Annusa i Fiori” - a humorous title, “When the wolf smells the flowers” in Italian – features in the intro Caner Kaptan on bass: another musician in his 20's who shows great promise. The rich tone of Ulker's trumpet can be fully appreciated in the development of the piece, at times almost alone in the acoustic space: Donovan then gets to play his electric guitar, and his proportioned, sometimes blues-tinged solo is a model of restrained intensity built through crisp, full-attacked tones, generating an equally inspired repartee by Senova.
Fading in already in full swing, “Rough Translation” is the most overtly Oriental theme, limited to a quick impression of Donovan and his band passing by in their quest, giving an appointment for some further stage of the travel – this listener only hopes the next installment will come soon.
Francesco Martinelli
fmartinelli@tin.it
Cadence Magazine ReviewDONOVAN MIXONLANGUAGE OF THE EMOTIONS, PHILOLOGY 173.October(Regret) / Giochiamo Quando Suoniamo (Playfulness) / Cara Clara (Affection) / I’ve Been Missing You (Nostalgia, Longing) / Mixdown (HappyGo Lucky) / Eddi & Daniela (The bittersweet feeling of need and gratitude) / Slickquence (The desire to have one’s way) / Pensively (Introspection) / Aldonia (Of being loved through encouragement) / Aldonia (Of being loved through encouragement and criticism) / Per S.R. (Passion) / Very Springish (Happiness, personal celebration of being alive). 54:28.Mixon, g; Eddie Henderson, tpt, flgh; Bruno Cesselli, p; Dario Deidda, ac b, el b; Enzo Zirilli, d, perc. 6/98, Modena, Italy. These endeavors by composer-instrumentalists all ply the waters of the mainstream. None of the artists are well-known, though a couple are well established in their particular niches. Guitarist Donovan Mixon covers the mainstream waterfront on the Language of Emotions (1) his sophomore release (1/94, p.102).Donovan, an American living and teaching in Italy, conveys a different emotional quality on eachtrack. The subtitles of each work, all Mixon originals, accurately reflect the qualities he evokes. In doing so he draws on the resources of both acoustic and electric guitar, including some lightly processed work on “Pensively”. Other times he draws on a rich-toned acoustic guitar for “Eddi & Daniela”. The tunes range from Latin numbers like the opener; fusion, including a nod to Miles on “Giochiamo Quando Suoniamo” and the more pop “I’ve Been Missing You”; a waltz, “Per S.R.”; and some adventurous straight ahead Jazz on “Mixdown”, which sounds like a variation on Coltrane’s “Countdown”. Mixon offers engaging solos throughout. As is usual when Eddie Henderson appears, he lights up the proceedings.David Dupont© (copyright) Cadence Magazine 2000. Published by CADNOR Ltd. All rightsreserved. Reproduction or use of contents prohibited without written permission from publisher (except use of short quotes, please credit Cadence.).LANGUAGE OF THE EMOTIONS, PHILOLOGY 173.October
Eddie Henderson, tpt, flgh; Bruno Cesselli, p; Dario Deidda, ac b, el b; Enzo Zirilli, d, perc. 6/98, Modena, Italy. These endeavors by composer-instrumentalists all ply the waters of the mainstream.
Donovan, an American living and teaching in Italy, conveys a different emotional quality on eachtrack. The subtitles of each work, all Mixon originals, accurately reflect the qualities he evokes. In doing so he draws on the resources of both acoustic and electric guitar, including some lightly processed work on “Pensively”. Other times he draws on a rich-toned acoustic guitar for “Eddi & Daniela”. The tunes range from Latin numbers like the opener; fusion, including a nod to Miles on “Giochiamo Quando Suoniamo” and the more pop “I’ve Been Missing You”; a waltz, “Per S.R.”; and some adventurous straight ahead Jazz on “Mixdown”, which sounds like a variation on Coltrane’s “Countdown”. Mixon offers engaging solos throughout. As is usual when Eddie Henderson appears, he lights up the proceedings.
Look Ma, No Hands!
Mixon's style is directly connected to that of Wes Montgomery and conjugates rhythmical effervescence and melodic fantasy with a warm and mellow sound rich with shading. The expressive boundaries are those of modern mainstsream based upon solid rules, but the work is pleasant and often keeps your attention, thanks to the merits of the leader.
Helped by a precise and effective rhythm section, the guitar player has the opportunity of showing off his very rich phrasing, both with single notes and chords, giving prominence to a peculiar narrative intimacy in slow tunes, as in the delicate version of Monk's Ask Me Now.
In the two pieces composed by the guitarist, Look Ma, No Hands! and The Comet and Room 608 by Horace Silver, George Carzone, the exuberant saxophone player of the Fringe trio, adds to the quartet.