Photo courtesy of Karl Denson

Groove jazz saxophonist Karl Denson has rescheduled his show at the Rialto for Nov. 4. Denson is currently on tour with his band, Tiny Universe, and just released his first album on the Blue Note label.

Monday October 1, 2001

Saxophonist Karl Denson said he was hoping to get the Rialto crowd dancing Friday, but he was delayed while traveling and forced to reschedule his performance for Nov. 4.

David Rothschild, the venue's head of promotions and assistant talent buyer, explained the need to reschedule the show.

"(Denson) was coming from Salt Lake City and they got behind schedule," said Rothschild, a University of Arizona political science and history senior. "He is really sorry and loves the Tucson crowd and can't wait to come back to do a show. (The band) has to go on the East Coast to start another tour in a week and a half."

Denson would have arrived in Tucson too late to put on a full two-act show, so the band and the Rialto wanted to do what was best for the public and put it off until he could perform a full show, Rothschild said.

For further rescheduling information, call the Rialto's box office at 740-1000.

Denson said he enjoys playing in Tucson and has established connections here.

"We've played at the Rialto two or three times," Denson said. "We've had some good experiences there and made some good friends, too."

One of Denson's main goals when performing live or recording an album is to get the audience dancing, instead of concentrating on playing a traditional jazz set.

"We try to play dance music; we are definitely not trying to be too heady most of the time," Denson said. "Most of the time we are trying to be more about roots music and styles and danceability than trying to be really academic."

Denson's newest groove jazz album, Dance Lesson #2, follows on the heels of a long touring and recording stretch with Lenny Kravitz and the now-disbanded Greyboy Allstars.

Assisting the saxophonist on the album -Denson's first with the Blue Note label - are bassist Chris Wood of Medeski, Martin and Wood, turntable artist DJ Logic, and guitarist Melvin Sparks, among others.

Growing up in Southern California, Denson picked up the saxophone for the first time at 13 when he joined his school's band.

"It was just something to do, and I liked saxophone players and grew up listening to like Eddie Harris and John Coltrane," Denson explained. "So when it was time to play an instrument in band, the saxophone was the obvious choice."

Past albums such as Blackened Red Snapper (1992), Herbal Turkey Breast (1993) and Chunky Pecan Pie (1994) were inspired by Denson's merging groove jazz with his love of cooking - especially breakfast.

"I like to cook, and so I relate a lot of things to food - so that is where the food titles came from," Denson said. "My favorite thing to cook is definitely pancakes."

Denson said he believes that passion is a key ingredient in his music as well as his cooking.

"I think passion translates in general and I think people who enjoy what they are doing and are really serious about what they do are going to have a bigger effect on people than someone who is just out to make money," Denson said.

Denson sees the world of music as becoming smaller and more interrelated, as his band's name Tiny implies.

"The idea for the name was that we draw from a lot of different musical elements," Denson said. "I think it is kind of becoming more of a world music in a way - I kind of see music in general becoming a big blend."

Creating a new combination of jazz and dance rhythms has been at the core of Denson's recent work, and he predicts a trend towards a collapsing of genres in the future.

"It's going to be an interesting couple of years for music in general because there is just a lot of really cool stuff going on," Denson said. "I think as it starts to blend more and more, it's going to get better and better."

Combing genres may be easy for Denson, but collaboration is not necessarily his forte. He said he prefers instead to write and perform his own work as a solo artist.

"I am kind of a writer and so I tend to have my own ideas about what I'm doing. With guys like that (Dance Lesson collaborators) it becomes a little easier because we kind of speak the same language," Denson explained. "But most of the time there is a little bit of a language barrier, based on where I'm from and what I've experienced and what other people have experienced."

Denson does collaborate effortlessly with a select group of musicians who are able to translate a basic outline of what he wants for an album or performance.

"The higher up the food chain as far as musicians, the easier it is to collaborate, and there is a certain amount of collaboration on the record," Denson said. "I kind of gave everyone a skeleton - the tunes were pretty skeletal compared to what I usually do - and they interpreted them well and fast."

After signing with the renowned Blue Note label, Denson is finally able to tackle bigger and more involved projects.

"I am finally at the point being with Blue Note to have the wherewithal to do a bigger project, and I am really looking forward to it," Denson said. "I have been recording records for 10 years now, and it has always been kind of a quick process because of limited budgets - so that is the main thing I am looking forward to."