Meet Dennis Gonzalez

[Ron Thorne]

It's official! Our friend, Dennis Gonzalez, will be joining us soon.

[Dennis Gonzalez]

Thank you guys for opening up this new site, and for the invite to join in.

Life is wonderful, and a bit complicated, just now. With the arrival of my son, Aaron's, new daughter (my first grandchild) Isabella Anaïs Sisk González, and with the release of two new CD's, it's an exciting time. It's been 16 days since the child came into the world, and the newness still has not worn off.

The 2 new CD's are "Colorado At Clinton", with Yells At Eels featuring alto saxist Aakash Mittal, on Stéphane Berland's Ayler Records (Limours, France); and "Shaman", with the Wojtek Mazolewski/Dennis Gonzalez Quintet, on For Tune Records out of Warsaw, Poland. Mittal is a childhood friend of my son, Stefan, who moved away from Dallas as a kid and went on to study with Rudresh Mahanthappa, Vijay Iyer, and Ravish Momin...badass player on alto. Mazolewski is arguably Poland's current best-known bassist, and leader of the "Yass" group Pink Freud.

The two CD's are decidedly very different from each other, and they showcase different sides of my playing. I think they're both very strong recordings and seriously recommend them for your collection. If you are so inclined, I'll come back and post a link to my ordering page.

[Mike Schwartz]

Congrats again Grandpa!

[Ron Thorne]

Glad to see you here, Grandpa Gonzalez. Congratulations, again! Don't expect the newness to wear off anytime soon.

By all means, feel free to post links to your projects, website, etc. You can also post YouTube or Vimeo videos here by clicking on the respective buttons just below the B and i buttons above this window. Cut and paste the url between the blinking [youtube][youtube] brackets. I'll ask my son about the video codes for MySpace.

[pig pen]

Hey Dennis! Great to see you here. Congrats on becoming a grandpa.

I look forward to hearing these two recordings, they sound great.

[Blue Train]

Congratulations, Dennis!

[Dennis Gonzalez]

It's been a long, long time since I have visited. Life is intense and good, and there's always something to take up my time. So I am not at all bored. Tired, yes. But nicely tired. Yells At Eels just keeps on going and gigging, and we are stronger than ever. The only problem at the moment is Aaron's back. It is mightily, jaggedly painful and out of whack. His mom is taking him to the third specialist today to see if anything can be done, especially because tomorrow we have a rather important high-visibility gig, and all bass players for 180 miles around are busy with gigs.

Our granddaughter, Isabella, is wonderful, a real blessing to us. And 9 months old. She's been out as long as she was in!

[pig pen]

Hey Dennis!! Great to see you around here.

I was just thinking of you this morning while I was exercising with my iPod on random play and Scape Grace came on. I'm finding myself drawn to the duo format for improvised music lately and this was an especially nice example of that.

Any new releases?

[Ron Thorne]

It's wonderful to see your presence here again, Dennis! And, Isabella's, too! What a joy she must me. She can come up north and pick dandelions in our yard all day.

All best wishes for Aaron's back issues to be solved soon.

I've been thinking of you lately, so am glad that you stopped by. Please don't be a stranger.

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[ValerieB]

welcome, Dennis! have missed your presence for quite awhile but glad to hear about some of your activities, both professionally and personally. big congrats on the grandchildren.

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[Ron Thorne]

By Jonathan Patrick Wed., Jul. 30 2014 at 6:14 AM



In a new series, Choice Cuts, Jonathan Patrick talks with artists - both local and international - about their favorite records.

Most jazz musicians fall into one of two avenues. They either approach their performances with the instincts of a sculptor or with those of a bulldozer. Dallas' Dennis Gonzalez, however, does both. I've been captivated by Gonzalez since the very first moment I witnessed him play. And I've yet to be anything but dazzled by the trumpeter's offerings, both live and on tape.

There's no question, Dallas jazz is synonymous with the name Gonzalez. For over three decades, and with over 55 recordings, this musician, visual artist, writer and educator has been adding much-needed girth to our ever-thirsty jazz community. Not to mention, his style speaks of an artist who has thoroughly internalized the musical traditions and uniqueness of the Dallas arts scene.

In addition to performing in festivals and concerts throughout the globe, Gonzalez has hosted a slew of radio programs, including the 21-year-run of Dallas KERA jazz broadcast "Miles Out." The point being, no one in Dallas knows Jazz like he does.

On August 2, Gonzalez will be traveling to Minnesota to play in a concert series whose theme centers on his hymn cycle -- a string of compositions, 30 years in the making, that he composed in dedication to his most beloved influences (Don Cherry, Albert Ayler and King Sunny Ade included). In celebration of this honor, I caught up with Gonzalez to discuss his favorite jazz records.




Big Fun - Miles Davis

Many of my listeners suppose that I listened predominantly to jazz trumpet players during my formative years. But, actually, I didn't decide to play jazz until 1974, which is when Big Fun by Miles Davis came out. I played rock and roll before I played jazz, and this came along at a time when I was looking for a new direction... It was a huge revelation.

Was Big Fun the first jazz LP you really got into?

When I was a sophomore in high school, I was having a lot of trouble concentrating on learning to play band music. The assistant director approached me one day near the beginning of summer break, and said that he felt my frustration and disinterest. He told me that I sounded like I had been listening to avant garde jazz. I had no idea what he meant. So, the next day he brought me his personal copy of Sam Rivers' Contours. After several weeks of listening to it over and over, I began to understand the patterns, the improvisations, just how amazing these musicians were. So Contours was really the very first modern jazz record I got into.




Solstice - Ralph Towner

Listen to the last 40 seconds of "Oceanus," by acoustic guitarist/pianist/French hornist Ralph Towner, and you will understand the intertwining of timelessness and the fleeting nature of beauty that pervades this poetic music.




Brown Rice - Don Cherry

Like Miles' Big Fun, Brown Rice brings together a rich rhythmic sensibility with screaming saxophone, exotic chants and great explorations in (pocket) trumpet glossolalia. He always brought back treasures from his famed world travels, and the ones he displays on this album are the most magical of all.




Balladyna - Tomasz Stańko

As I said before, I didn't listen much to trumpet players before 1974, but this guy is one of my great influences. Polish trumpeter Stańko's apprenticeship with the great film composer Krzysztof Komeda in his early years comes to fruition on this piano-less quartet session that swings mightily. A sense of folk music and foreboding fill the album with sorrow and celebration.




Nice Guys - Art Ensemble of Chicago

I had heard about the legendary Art Ensemble for a long time, but they had taken a break in recording for five years. When they finally released Nice Guys, they exploded into my consciousness and onto the international music scene, all at once. I then had to go back and dig up their earlier stuff, which involved their own distillation of many traditions: theater, shamanism, storytelling, humor, ritual and roots music.




Catechism - Dennis Gonzalez Dallas-London 6tet

Here we have the saxophonist from Soft Machine (Elton Dean), King Crimson's pianist (Keith Tippett), the South African expatriate drummer Louis Moholo, Brazilian bassist Marcio Mattos and two Dallas trumpeters. And yes, it's my own CD as a leader, but you asked for my 10 favorite jazz albums, and this is one of them.




Lord of Lords - Alice Coltrane

The godmother of the Santana/Coltrane/Mahavishnu axis here with an orchestral work of intense spirituality. My wife actually turned me on to this. It features Thelonious Monk's drummer Ben Riley and the bassist Charlie Haden -- who just passed -- along with a 23-piece string ensemble. Alice Coltrane, who was John Coltrane's wife and bandmate, plays harp, piano, and Hammond organ. It's breathtaking.




Caravanserai - Carlos Santana

With this, along with Welcome, Love Devotion and Surrender, Illuminations, Lotus, Borboletta and Oneness, Santana opened up his heart and music to the influences of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane and his playing partner John McLaughlin. This is the strongest, in my opinion, of the string of jazz records he made. This is Santana at his most compassionate.




Nan Madol - Edward Vesala

My interest in openly orchestrated jazz and the study and use of sound itself came from the music of Finnish percussionist/drummer/composer Edward Vesala, specifically his LP Nan Madol.




Gateway - John Abercrombie/Dave Holland/Jack DeJohnette

The music of this power trio is constantly shifting from Country blues to almost Hendrixian acid-guitar jazz. It's a complete and elegant statement from beginning to end...a precursor to people like Bill Frissell and Nels Cline.

[Ron Thorne]

I certainly can't argue with these kind remarks. They're well-deserved.






"One could make a good case that trumpeter/composer Dennis Gonzalez is the most important avant garde jazzman to come out of Texas since Ornette Coleman and Dewey Redman rewrote the improvisers’ rule book. Certainly no Texas jazz artist is more dedicated or versatile. Gonzalez has been all over the world playing his often lyrical, melodically rich brand of very modern jazz for decades, while also making hay as a visual artist, poet, educator, record label founder and public radio broadcaster. Along the way, he has played with such greats as Andrew Cyrille, Cecil Taylor and Max Roach, plus mainstream Texas trumpeter Roy Hargrove."

—Tom Surowicz/Minneapolis Star Tribune/August, 2014

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[Dennis Gonzalez]

Hello to all during this wonderful Holiday Season!

It's been a tough 7 months for us, but all of your friendships are amazing in their support.
I will be back soon to post more updates.

Peace to all!
DG

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[Ron Thorne]

[Ron Thorne]

Yells at Eels Overcome Family Trauma on New Album "In Quiet Waters"


The González family (Stefan, Dennis and Aaron) have had a traumatic year

By Jeremy Hallock
Wednesday, May 20, 2015


If the Dallas music scene had an official family, it would almost certainly be the González family. Together, Dennis and his sons Aaron and Stefan have spent decades playing jazz and experimental music and making tireless contributions to the community through education and youth programs. Sadly, the past year has been a difficult one for the Gonzálezes, one fraught with health troubles and personal turmoil, but they've dealt with it the only way they know how: by channeling it through their music.

In Quiet Waters, the first new album in years from Yells At Eels, was created during a time when every member of the band was affected by considerable personal peril. The album captures some of that tension. But In Quiet Waters ultimately serves as a shining example of the power of art to triumph over personal tragedy — even as the González family faces yet another crisis.

The anxiety leading up to the birth of his daughter and the emotional growth of becoming a father would have been plenty for Aaron González to deal with. But he also suffered severe back issues that made it difficult to carry his newborn, play bass, or even walk. “I had a slipped disc in my back,” he explains. His condition eventually required lower back surgery and he was semi-bedridden for months.

His younger brother Stefan has also had an assortment of issues. In spite of hosting his Outward Bound Mixtape Session at Crown & Harp virtually every Monday that he wasn't on tour, Stefan has dealt with depression, relationship issues and two car accidents. He was even bit on the lip by a wolf-dog and still has a scar to show from it. He harbors no resentment towards the animal, admitting that he accidentally stepped on its tail, but bizarrely described it as “75-percent wolf.”

But it's father Dennis' troubles that have been the most serious. A public school teacher for decades, he suffered “a heart event” in his classroom. At one point cancer was suspected, but thankfully the test results turned up negative. Despite his own health scares, Stefan describes his father as a “ray of light” during the time this album was made. He helped his sons through their struggles and kept the band from falling apart.

And the results of these personal struggles are beautifully manifested with In Quiet Waters. Labeling this music as free jazz is as lazy as the narrow perception many have of the complex genre itself. But nonetheless, the elements of free jazz are certainly at play on this album. Named after Federico Garcia Lorca, the great enigmatic Spanish poet, the opening track starts things off with a moody, cinematic dissonance. The elements start coming together throughout these first seven minutes, like a scattered mind slowly coming into focus through meditation. The opening track also serves as something of a microcosm for what is to be expected from the nine tracks that follow.

“Hymn For Julius Hemphill” may be the highlight of the album. This exotic song has a Latin flavor and is sultry, even sexy. Achieving a sound that is accessible and pretty by experimental means is no small feat and that is what is achieved here. “Document for Walt Dickerson” is another highlight, probably the rawest number on the album and it certainly has the quickest pace. Stefan is fully unleashed and the sounds of Dennis’ trumpet are rapidly fired. This is one of those jazz tracks where you have to wonder how a bass player can keep up with the pace, but this is no issue for Aaron, who also manages to set himself apart with his own style.

With the album now released, the González family has experienced yet another health crisis. Dennis seems to have pushed himself too hard and put concern for others over concern for his own health. “It’s a very tender situation,” says Stefan. “It has been really upsetting.” Busy with Yells At Eels, the La Rondalla afterschool program, and teaching, he ignored a problem with his foot for a couple weeks. After a minor operation, doctors advised him not to go back to school, but he did not take their advice. After a more serious operation, he is now expected to leave the hospital in the next few days.

But the band plays on. Sitting in a chair, Dennis plans to perform at a Yells At Eels house show at the end of the month, which his sons are comfortable with. He remains in high spirits and La Rondalla will certainly continue. The school year is over and González could have retired 10 years ago, so his future as a teacher is currently up in the air.

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[Ron Thorne]

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