Victor Christensen Posted October 16, 2011 Report Posted October 16, 2011 Nick is an underrated player, I think he is better than Pepper Adams and almost at par with Serge Chaloff and Mulligan. Got to think of Nick playing "Raincheck" on Resorvoir. He swings like mad with a very gutsy sound on his Baritone and is so gentle on Clarinet playing "Tenderly". I have more or less all his recorded stuff. Any opinions ? Vic Quote
thedwork Posted October 16, 2011 Report Posted October 16, 2011 On 10/16/2011 at 10:21 PM, Victor Christensen said: Nick is an underrated player, I think he is better than Pepper Adams and almost at par with Serge Chaloff and Mulligan. Got to think of Nick playing "Raincheck" on Resorvoir. He swings like mad with a very gutsy sound on his Baritone and is so gentle on Clarinet playing "Tenderly". I have more or less all his recorded stuff. Any opinions ? Vic i'd agree with you Vic. Brignola was a killer player and he is sorely missed. he's a local hero where i'm from and i was fortunate to see him a few times. he played frequently here with another local hero - guitarist chuck d'aloia. i have a somewhat rare cd from the band they co-lead: Endangered Species. good stuff. Nick was the man... Quote
Tom in RI Posted October 17, 2011 Report Posted October 17, 2011 I have only heard a few of his Reservoir releases, have several earlier lps and a couple of the Reservoir cd's. I like Nick Brignola alot. There is a very nice video around that he did for a public tv station. It seems he chose to be a big fish in a small pond. Quote
John Tapscott Posted October 17, 2011 Report Posted October 17, 2011 On 10/16/2011 at 10:21 PM, Victor Christensen said: Nick is an underrated player, I think he is better than Pepper Adams and almost at par with Serge Chaloff and Mulligan. Got to think of Nick playing "Raincheck" on Resorvoir. He swings like mad with a very gutsy sound on his Baritone and is so gentle on Clarinet playing "Tenderly". I have more or less all his recorded stuff.Any opinions ? Vic Me too, so obviously I think he's a great player, a giant of the baritone, actually (and many other reed instruments, too) Certainly all of his Reservoir dates are very consistent. But here's two that I think are really outstanding. This one has Nick has no less than 10 reed instruments, overdubbing in various combinations to provide ensembles and backgrounds for solos. On 10/16/2011 at 11:45 PM, thedwork said: On 10/16/2011 at 10:21 PM, Victor Christensen said: Nick is an underrated player, I think he is better than Pepper Adams and almost at par with Serge Chaloff and Mulligan. Got to think of Nick playing "Raincheck" on Resorvoir. He swings like mad with a very gutsy sound on his Baritone and is so gentle on Clarinet playing "Tenderly". I have more or less all his recorded stuff. Any opinions ? Vic i'd agree with you Vic. Brignola was a killer player and he is sorely missed. he's a local hero where i'm from and i was fortunate to see him a few times. he played frequently here with another local hero - guitarist chuck d'aloia. i have a somewhat rare cd from the band they co-lead: Endangered Species. good stuff. Nick was the man... Here are two with D'Aloia on guitar - a fine player. Quote
DukeCity Posted October 17, 2011 Report Posted October 17, 2011 I've been a Brignola fan for a long time. In addition to the sides mentioned already, some of my favorites (and the first ones I got) are on the Beehive label. Baritone Madness with Pepper Adams, andBurn Brigade with Ronnie Cuber and Cecil Payne That's a whole lotta Bari playing, right there! Sadly, I don't think either of those titles was ever released on CD. Quote
thedwork Posted October 17, 2011 Report Posted October 17, 2011 On 10/17/2011 at 1:17 AM, John Tapscott said: Here are two with D'Aloia on guitar - a fine player. yup. got those as well. it's a shame the Endangered Species recording of his and Nick's isn't available anymore. good to know someone outside of Albany knows about Chuck! Quote
JohnS Posted October 17, 2011 Report Posted October 17, 2011 On A Different Level is one my favourite cds. Gets a lot of plays. Brignola did a short tour of the UK some years back, on the night I saw him he played to a disappointingly small audience. Quote
Peter Friedman Posted October 17, 2011 Report Posted October 17, 2011 I too am a big fan of Nick Brignola and have most of his recordings. Though I prefer Pepper Adams, who is my favorite of all baritone sax players. Quote
Free For All Posted October 17, 2011 Report Posted October 17, 2011 (edited) I'm a big fan of Nick Brignola (aka "The Upstate Burner"). I wouldn't say he's better than Pepper though- to me it's apples & oranges. He definitely created his own niche but I think that the precedent of Pepper's style was a point of reference for many modern bari players, whether they chose to acknowledge his influence or intentionally pursue a divergent path. I hear Pepper in Nick, Ronnie Cuber, Bruce Johnstone and Gary Smulyan, to name a few. I sure wish Nick was still around. Edited October 17, 2011 by Free For All Quote
bigtiny Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 I know who Brignola was, had heard many of his records, but didn't know a LOT about him. A couple of years ago I was stunned when browsing at Stereo Jack's, a record was playing featuring a really nice soprano player. I asked Jack who it was and he replied "Nick Brignola'. I had never heard Brignola play soprano....I had never OF him playing soprano, but he had a beautiful sound and concept on the instrument... bigtiny Quote
Kevin Bresnahan Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 On 10/21/2011 at 2:35 PM, bigtiny said: I know who Brignola was, had heard many of his records, but didn't know a LOT about him. A couple of years ago I was stunned when browsing at Stereo Jack's, a record was playing featuring a really nice soprano player. I asked Jack who it was and he replied "Nick Brignola'. I had never heard Brignola play soprano....I had never OF him playing soprano, but he had a beautiful sound and concept on the instrument... bigtiny I saw Nick play at Ryles Jazz Club several times and one time, he had Cecil Payne with him for a two bari front line. On one tune, Nick decided to go toe to toe with Cecil's bari on his soprano. He smoked it! One of the most intense sax solos I've ever seen, no matter the pitch. Nick was one bad mo-fo. Quote
clifford_thornton Posted October 21, 2011 Report Posted October 21, 2011 Sweet. I only know him from a couple (I think) Beehive dates in my collection. Liked what I heard. Quote
cliffpeterson Posted October 22, 2011 Report Posted October 22, 2011 I also live in the capital region of new york where Nick made his home. Saw him numerous times. He usually brought an arsenal of horns to his local gigs, e.g., baritone, soprano, clarinet, alto. A really sweet guy but with an edge to him. Could and would play with anybody. For example, I saw him appear with Tisziji Munoz, the guitarist that played with Pharoah Sanders. (For quite a few years, Tisziji lived in the Capital Region). If Nick appeared with a horn player, there was usually some sense of competition, which for me comes through on those two Beehive sessions. I always imagined that Nick would have done well in one of those old time cutting sessions. Miss seeing him. Quote
Tom 1960 Posted October 22, 2011 Report Posted October 22, 2011 On 10/17/2011 at 7:41 AM, JohnS said: On A Different Level is one my favourite cds. Gets a lot of plays. Another vote for the above title. Also enjoy this one. Quote
cannonball-addict Posted October 22, 2011 Report Posted October 22, 2011 This record is a motherfucker. Buy it. You will not be disappointed. Gary Smulyan, Ronnie Cuber & Nick Brignola. Smokin. Especially "Line for Lyons" and "Walkin' Shoes." I think it was on Dreyfus Records. http://www.amazon.com/Plays-Mulligan-Three-Baritone-Saxophone/dp/B000001ZTK/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_1 Quote
JohnS Posted October 22, 2011 Report Posted October 22, 2011 (edited) On 10/22/2011 at 1:58 AM, Tom 1960 said: On 10/17/2011 at 7:41 AM, JohnS said: On A Different Level is one my favourite cds. Gets a lot of plays. Another vote for the above title. Also enjoy this one. It's a nice one Tom but Different Level sounds so right to me that I don't feel the need to visit the others very often On 10/22/2011 at 9:47 AM, jazzclinic said: This record is a motherfucker. Buy it. You will not be disappointed. Gary Smulyan, Ronnie Cuber & Nick Brignola. Smokin. Especially "Line for Lyons" and "Walkin' Shoes." I think it was on Dreyfus Records. http://www.amazon.com/Plays-Mulligan-Three-Baritone-Saxophone/dp/B000001ZTK/ref=ntt_mus_ep_dpi_1 I can recommend this one too. Edited October 22, 2011 by JohnS Quote
Brad Posted October 26, 2011 Report Posted October 26, 2011 Burn Brigade is outstanding as is Baritone Madness. Of course, Pepper is my favorite bari player Quote
Rabshakeh Posted June 14, 2021 Report Posted June 14, 2021 Only just discovering Brignola after clocking a couple of recentish posts on the Listening To thread. What a player. Quote
Peter Friedman Posted June 14, 2021 Report Posted June 14, 2021 I like Brignola best when he plays Baritone Sax. His soprano sax, alto, tenor, etc. don't really do much for me. He was one of the very best on Baritone Sax, but on those other horns there are many many I consider more interesting players. Quote
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