Why this tune?
I wrote “Alternative Facts” in 2017, responding to a now-famous comment I heard on the news that year from a member of the then-Presidential administration. At the time I was working for a journalism non-profit, focusing on the challenges of disinformation around the world. With that issue on my mind, I was inspired to write a musical response to that incident, turning indignation into inspiration. One of the things I had in mind when writing the tune was the Charles Mingus classic “Fables of Faubus.” I think I captured some of that 1960s protest energy in my tune.
I recorded the tune on my 2018 album “Making Up For Lost Time,” featuring the powerful Baltimore sax player Lionel Lyles. Lionel delivered a fiery performance on the album, and was so impressed by the tune that he recorded it on his own album “Simplistically Complex,” with a more elaborate arrangement for three horns.
Lionel performed his version of the tune in his September 6, 2024 show at Westminster Church in SW Washington, DC, a long-running venue for the best in jazz from the DMV. It was a thrill to hear his take on my tune, and I’m honored that he included it in the repertoire of his band.
Lionel’s band: Lionel Lyles, tenor sax, Michael Fitzhugh, trumpet, Darent Polk, trombone, Darius Scott, piano, Mike Graham, bass, Phil Thomas, drums
Tunes On Tuesday Reel
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from “Making Up For Lost Time”
Lionel Lyles Quintet, from “Simplistically Complex”
Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter 