Marcus Roberts Reimagines Watershed LP Deep In The Shed

DEEP IN THE SHED OUT NOVEMBER 13

Jazz pianist Marcus Roberts will revisit and update his seminal composition, Deep In The Shed: A Blues Suite; first written and recorded in 1990, while he was still a member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet.

Considered a classic of Roberts’ catalog, Deep In The Shed has endured. It was the subject of a series of retrospective concerts in 2008, and critics including NY Times’ Ben Ratliff have bemoaned that the original record is out of print.

The new Deep In The Shed, which Roberts will release November 13 on his own J-Master label, was recorded with a nonet of first-call jazz players and closes with a new original piece called Athanatos Rythmos. Marcus restructured the tracklist to reflect the way he had originally conceived the suite, a modulating cycle of keys.

This new CD is much more of a band statement than a compositional statement, says Roberts, whereas the original recording featured a number of different players and two separate bands.

While each piece is structured as a blues, the album weaves through elements of traditional big band, ballads and break-neck bop. The lush arrangements pay service to original iterations of the blues and leave room to breathe for kinetic improvisation.

Marcus is joined by his trio members Rodney Jordan and Jason Marsalis. He also invited friends old and new, from Marcus Printup and Ron Westray to two of his former students, Alphonso Horne and Ricardo Pascal.

Click here to listen to “The Governor”.

The players:
Marcus Roberts – Piano
Rodney Jordan – Bass
Jason Marsalis – Drums
Ron Westray – Trombone
Marcus Printup – Trumpet
Stephen Riley – Tenor Sax
Wess Anderson – Alto Sax, Sopranino
Alphonso Horne – Trumpet
Ricardo Pascal – Tenor Sax

Track list:
1. The Governor
2. Mysterious Interlude
3. E. Dankworth
4. Spiritual Awakening
5. Nebuchadezzar
6. Deep in the Shed
7. Athanatos Rythmos