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TRACKS: 1. I'll Take Romance (Oakland/Hammerstein) 9:36 2. Joy to the World (Handel/Watts) 7:06 3. Little Locrian Lad (Ries/Moss/Bodley) 9:52 4. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (Coots/Gillespie) 7:48 5. I'll Be Home for Christmas (Gannon/Kent/Ram) 9:28 6. Stella by Starlight (Young) 6:44 7. Waltz for Trane (Moss) 8:25 8. Fungi Mama (Mitchell) 8:55 9. Jingle Bells (Pierpont) 5:33 TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 73:52 PERFORMERS: Joy to the World; Little Locrian Lad; Santa Claus Is Coming to Town; I'll Be Home for Christmas; Stella by Starlight; Jingle Bells: Ed Moss, piano; Bob Bodley, bass; Barry Ries, drums (Special thanks to Paul Ellis for sitting in on drums during "Stella" from the pedal point to the end.) I'll Take Romance; Waltz for Trane; Fungi Mama: Ed Moss, piano; Bob Bodley, bass; Barry Ries, trumpet; Steve Barnes, drums Once upon a time... A highly motivated group of individuals decided to open a "Jazz Club"--not just any jazz club, but one that would spotlight this "Creative American Music" in a strictly concert environment. A suitable wreck of a building, high on a hill, was secured and construction began. The project was to be in three stages; first, a listening room. Second, a first-rate dining area with an open kitchen. And thirdly, an enclosed patio/veranda with a spacious view of, well, a tree-lined parking lot! (all completed by 1974). It was my responsibility, among other things, to find a bass player and a drummer that would commit to a rigorous six-night-a-week schedule. Bob Bodley was my first and only choice for a bassist, but the drum chair presented an enigma. I had heard Barry Ries on trumpet several times, and was impressed by his "rightness" in handling improvisational challenges, but when I heard him sit-in on drums one night, I was blown away and instinctively I knew that Barry was to be the drummer! It took a whole lot of convincing to get Mr. Ries to agree to accept a steady gig on drums when he was already almost a legendary trumpet player. Nevertheless, we began to rehearse and to get a sense of the direction the group might take; and when the club actually opened, our guests responded most enthusiastically to our "experiments" in piano-trio playing. Things really began to cook! It is important to note that at that time (circa 1972) piano trios were modeled on the "Oscar Peterson" approach or the "Bill Evans" approach: that is to say pianist-as-soloist; bass and drums accompanying. Our trio, right from the beginning, rejected both of these concepts as severely limiting--our music had to probe deeper into the concept of spontaneous improvisation: i.e. waaaay outside the conventional notions of meter, melody and harmony. The band slowly developed its own personality, and as the business expanded, other musicians were asked to sit in. The always-creative Sandy Suskind played with us frequently, as did the great tenor saxophonist, Jimmy McGary. The Woody Herman band members stopped by to jam when they were in town. Vocalists Mark Murphy and Earl Coleman had their say as did master guitarists Cal Collins and Kenny Poole. In short, a swingin' session could be found at EMANON just about any night of the week. Incidentally, the name EMANON was coined at least a year after the club opened. In fact, the bank loan payments were addressed to "Bud on Tap". The famous jazz disc jockey Oscar Treadwell suggested a name for the club to me, pointing out a blues tune by Dizzy Gillespie called Emanon that Diz recorded with his big band in the '50s. It also had some personal appeal to me, as it could also be "E.M. anon". In those early frugal times, we actually converted an old Pepsi sign to hang as the shingle. Hot Jazz, Great Food and Whiskey was no idle threat! The club delivered all that (and then some) in terms of friendly service and warm camaraderie. The Emanon Trio (Barry, Ed and Bob) played for over four years of the club's total seven. Two live thirteen-week radio shows in '74 and '75 on Jazz Radio WNOP gave much wider recognition to the band and we soon began to play other engagements. Frequently we travelled to Gilly's in Dayton to back-up the likes of Milt Jackson, Sonny Stitt and other "names"... But alas, all bands (even string quartets!) eventually break up--Bob was now off to New York, where he subsequently played with Art Farmer, Mose Allison and others. Barry shortly thereafter was seen with Lionel Hampton, Gerry Mulligan, Horace Silver, and the Mingus Epitaph Band ad infinitum. And Ed (if Bob Dole can be third-person then so can I!) got deeply mangled (a device for ironing large linen pieces) in a cheffing nightmare. Perhaps chafing?... Many years later... Barry, now based in Miami, was appearing as solist at the Blue Wisp Jazz Club in early December 1995 and subsequently I got a call for a piano-trio party the following weekend. This seemed like an excellent opportunity for an impromptu reunion of the trio. We had such a "good time" and made such "beautiful music" that we decided to record while we were all together in one place and time. Our good friend Lou Lausche was kind enough to relinquish one of his regular Mondays so that we could capture the Christmas spirit, much in the same way that we did twenty years ago for our friends at EMANON. We guarantee that the performances on this CD are authentically "EMANON," and consider this the bottle is the same, but after 20 years the wine has matured! Enjoy, Eduardo Recorded on location by Mike Sharfe and Mobile DAT, December 18, 1995 Additional Recording by Jim Krause, April 6, 1996 Mixed by Bill Gwynne at the Corbett Studio, WGUC Mastered by Bill Gwynne at Group Effort Sound Studios Layout & Design and notes by Ed Moss & Bill Gwynne Highest commendations are due drummer Steve Barnes for truly capturing the spirit of the original trio on the tracks which feature Barry on trumpet. Very special thanks to Marjean Wisby, proprietor of the Blue Wisp Jazz Club, for her continuing support of live jazz in Cincinnati. Without her, this reunion would have been impossible. Contact: Viscosity Records P.O. Box 20127 Cincinnati, OH 45220 telephone: (513) 651-2236 Check out the artist's website: http://home.earthlink.net/~sandrikasaw/edhomealt.html Track List: 1. I'll Take Romance 2. Joy to the World 3. Little Locrian Lad 4. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town 5. I'll Be Home for Christmas 6. Stella by Starlight 7. Waltz for Trane 8. Fungi Mama 9. 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