RECORDED AT BIRDS NEST STUDIOS IN WEST HARLEM NYC
- DEWEY SQ. — This great composition by Bird was written when he was staying at the Dewey Sq. Hotel in Harlem and I arranged it with an extended latin vamp at the end that many forget he in fact started the song with.
- ALIVE—This is our title cut and the first piece we recorded for this session.I kind of re-wrote it for this new trio and feel this is the definitive version,done st take.
- BELIEVER—I wrote this ballad very quickly first on piano and arranged it recently for Joe Lovano’s Nonet which debuted it at Birdland. I like it bare with the trio and it expresses my feelings in these times.
- SISTER—I have daughters and they all have a swagger which is in this song….written when my youngest was first born the refrain is “Hey- Little- Sister!”
- I REMEMBER YOU—We love playing a great old song like this. Intro and all the rest is off the cuff and in true inspiration from the song, to improvise on and on,even the ending….
- BARBARA—The great Horace Silver has always been one of my favorite composers and bandleaders.This one in particular from his ‘late period’ seemed perfect for my flute.
- REDEMPTION SONG—This is my favorite song of this kind. Some called them ‘protest songs’ and the lyrics are really a big part of this great composition. It is the only recording I’ve done with my LOW-A Yanagisawa saxophone, a deep instrument! STEVE SLAGLE
Steve Slagle 