The SGQ (Steve Giordano Quintet)
(1985-1988)
Steve Giordano, guitar; Marc Adler, flutes; Bob Meashey, trumpet/flugel horn; Paul Klinefelter, bass and Joe Mullen, drums.
These recordings are from the 1980’s after I returned to Philadelphia from having lived in NYC when I decided to focus primarily on playing the flute and composition. I had known Steve Giordano for a number of years prior to the formation of this group and was overjoyed when the SGQ was ultimately formed.
The SGQ burned brightly for a while in the mid to late 1980’s. We were a high energy, innovative, creative quartet of dedicated musicians who in addition to having a passion for improvisation also composed most of the pieces we performed. This was a truly magical mix of like minded young musicians eager to stretch out and explore often very challenging and difficult musical terrain. We were well received wherever we played throughout the greater Philadelphia and southern New Jersey areas although most of the venues at which we performed are no longer in existence. These sets of recordings were from sometime in the mid to late 1980’s and still sound as innovative, fresh and inspiring as when first played and performed. They are from two recording studios and for decades were forgotten about until found by Steve. The Ramone recordings were from a recording session at a studio in South Philadelphia and the engineer was Ramone. They were analog recordings on VHS tape before being converted to digial files. The Ferracone recordings were made at the Music Center in Chester Springs, PA with Glenn Ferracone as the engineer. Both sets are from that time period (mid to late 1980’s). Unfortunately, the drummer, Joe Mullen, is no longer with us. He is missed by all of us that recall his brilliance as a musician. He had a good heart and sharp wit and kept the rehearsals from getting too serious. The weekly Monday night rehearsals at Steve’s house in Germantown allowed us to explore our compositions, develop our improvisational skills and our ability to communicate musically with each other to a very high level. We all learned so much from Steve who was always willing and open to share his vast knowledge of music, especially regarding harmony. We constantly challenged each other to dig deeper within to bring forth our very best and not to be complacent. It was the closest thing to tuition free graduate level music classes! The experience will always bring back precious memories of music and friendship. I was deeply moved after hearing these original cast recordings and was particularly struck by how well we all communicated with each other and the individualist approaches each of us took with our improvisations.
Below is one of the posters we used for gigs back then (they were designed the old fashioned way (paper, glue, sissors, etc) by my lovely wife Marlene (we were newlyweds back then).
These recordings are from the 1980’s after I returned to Philadelphia from having lived in NYC when I decided to focus primarily on playing the flute and composition. I had known Steve Giordano for a number of years prior to the formation of this group and was overjoyed when the SGQ was ultimately formed.
The SGQ burned brightly for a while in the mid to late 1980’s. We were a high energy, innovative, creative quartet of dedicated musicians who in addition to having a passion for improvisation also composed most of the pieces we performed. This was a truly magical mix of like minded young musicians eager to stretch out and explore often very challenging and difficult musical terrain. We were well received wherever we played throughout the greater Philadelphia and southern New Jersey areas although most of the venues at which we performed are no longer in existence. These sets of recordings were from sometime in the mid to late 1980’s and still sound as innovative, fresh and inspiring as when first played and performed. They are from two recording studios and for decades were forgotten about until found by Steve. The Ramone recordings were from a recording session at a studio in South Philadelphia and the engineer was Ramone. They were analog recordings on VHS tape before being converted to digial files. The Ferracone recordings were made at the Music Center in Chester Springs, PA with Glenn Ferracone as the engineer. Both sets are from that time period (mid to late 1980’s). Unfortunately, the drummer, Joe Mullen, is no longer with us. He is missed by all of us that recall his brilliance as a musician. He had a good heart and sharp wit and kept the rehearsals from getting too serious. The weekly Monday night rehearsals at Steve’s house in Germantown allowed us to explore our compositions, develop our improvisational skills and our ability to communicate musically with each other to a very high level. We all learned so much from Steve who was always willing and open to share his vast knowledge of music, especially regarding harmony. We constantly challenged each other to dig deeper within to bring forth our very best and not to be complacent. It was the closest thing to tuition free graduate level music classes! The experience will always bring back precious memories of music and friendship. I was deeply moved after hearing these original cast recordings and was particularly struck by how well we all communicated with each other and the individualist approaches each of us took with our improvisations.
Below is one of the posters we used for gigs back then (they were designed the old fashioned way (paper, glue, sissors, etc) by my lovely wife Marlene (we were newlyweds back then).
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