Tenorsaxofonisten Eric Liftig, född och uppvuxen i Florida, studerat jazz vid Berklee College of Music i Boston, bor och är verksam i Göteborg sedan många år tillbaka. Eric Liftig har haft stor betydelse för jazzscenen i Göteborg med sin djupa kunskap och passionerade engagemang för jazzmusik. Förutom att han är en enastående saxofonist och bandledare så är han också en driven konsert och klubbarrangör som har stor del i att Göteborg har blivit en blomstrande jazzstad. Denna afton tar Eric med sig ett av sina Flaggskepp till UtopiaJazz, Blue Note Tribute Quintet bestående av några av Göteborgs absolut främst musiker.

Eric Liftig - Saxofon // Samuel Olsson - Trumpet // Stefan Wingefors - Piano // Melker Törnqvist - Bas // TBA - Trummor

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About Blue Note (by Eric Liftig)

It’s no secret that some of the hippist music, in any style, has been recorded on the Bluenote record label. Started in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis , Bluenotes first releases focused on tradtional jazz and small band swing music with such musicians as Sidney Bechet, Albert Ammons, Mead Lux Lewis, Art Hodes and Edmond Hall among others, but by the late 40’s the label changed it’s focus and began documenting the bebop revolution, recording artists such as Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Bud Powell, Tadd Dameron,Fats Navarro and others (unfortunately not Bird or Diz).

Now fast forward to the mid 1960’s Bluenote has by this point released so many classic jazz records that it’s beyond belief. Where do you start?!, Ok, how about: Art Blakey and Jazz Messangers ” A Night at Birdland w Clifford Brown , Lou Donaldson on horns( Lou’s solo on The Way You Look Tonight!!!!) Horace Silver-piano and Curly Russell- bass, John Coltrane’s ”Blue Train” Sonny Rollins ” Live at the Village Vanguard” , Cannonball Adderly ” Something Else” w Miles, Hank Jones, Percy Heath and Blakey , Paul Chambers ” Whims of Chambers” and so so so many more. That was the 50’s , now once again forward to the mid 60’’s : Horace Silvers funky bluesy tunes with beautiful bass/piano lines are reflecting newer grooves and styles. Lee Morgan is writing tunes that are so catchy that they are being used to sell cars on tv (but not paying Morgan any money for it !). With recordings being made by genius musicians such as Horace Silver, Grant Green, Herbie Hancock, Hank Mobley, Freddie Hubbard ( to name but a few) Bluenote was laying the groundwork for music that would later on build upon some of these grooves and basslines in the not so distant future.