Paul Kreibich was born May 24, 1955 in Los Angeles. As a kid, he made his own drum set out of a cardboard barrel and coffee cans. By the time he was a junior at Costa Mesa High School, he was working five nights a week at a local club on Balboa Island. Following a stint at Berklee College of Music in Boston, he returned home to attend Orange Coast College and study with renowned percussionist Forrest Clark. In 1979 at the age of 23 he got his first major jazz gig with the great singer Carmen McRae. Later, he toured with the Ray Charles Band for 4 years. Returning to Los Angeles, his home base, he became first call drummer for many touring artists such as Mose Allison, Red Rodney, The Woody Herman Band, Anita O'Day, Scott Hamilton, Joe Pass, Charles Brown, Rosemary Clooney, Lee Konitz, and others. In 1995, Paul joined the Gene Harris Quartet where he toured and recorded with the group until Harris' untimely passing in January 2000. Paul is now on the music faculty of Cal State Fullerton and teaches privately. Visit Paul's website: www.paulkreibich.com/paul/home.html
"Smokin' at the Half-Note" -Wynton Kelly, Wes Montgomery, Paul Chambers, Jimmy Cobb. Incredible grooves, solos, interplay, funkiness. "No Blues" is 12 minutes of swingin' heaven. Wes' great Four on Six, If You Could See Me Now, etc. It's live.
If your feet aren't tappin', better see a doctor!
"Milestones" - If you don't have it, get it right away. The best of Miles' late fifties band with Cannonball, Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones. This is like a Magna Carta of how modern jazz works. All players and the band itself are in top form. The trio track with Red Garland of Billy Boy is probably one of my all time favorite cuts. Check out the fours with Philly Joe...perfection!
"Lester Young Trio" - This is with Nat Cole and Buddy Rich (no bass, but you never miss it.) Sure it's a little old-school, but timeless. Nat Cole's comping and soloing are sublime. Late period Lester - not his prime, but the group works so well. Check out Buddy's smooth brushwork and modernistic uptempo solos and trades. He's a simpatico sideman here. I'm in the mood for this one anytime!
Jazz is a music that really allows a person to express his deepest self, his most personal self -- Africa being the primary source of jazz. Naturally, improvisation and swing are a part of jazz, improvisation being the key.
– Harold Land
Bar line: what musicians form after a concert.
