The Mobius Fourtet

About the Barnstormer Concert

This was a private concert at a wonderful venue in Gilroy. Sound is taken straight from the mixing console, so the mix is odd - too much piano and the sax is in the next room - but the music is smokin'!

This is the first mixing pass, using the live feed and some convolution reverb to add the room back in. The sax is a bit off-mike and the keys are too loud, but we're working on it, check back in a couple weeks to see if we've been able to improve the mix.

Stu's Attitude

by Heath Proskin, for the inimitable Stu Reynolds...

Padiddle

by David Kempton. Uses the rhythmical timing of Perdido with the funky bite of hip-hop to create a masterpiece of angular improvisational.

Do You Know What It Means

vocal by Dino Vera, check out his soulful, authentic styling.

For Jimmy

by David Kempton. Up-tempo post-bop piece with fluid melodies and structured trading. Written for B3 master Jimmy Smith.

Ita

by Heath Proskin. Pretty composition in 3/4 gives a lift to your spirits.

Four Minutes of Spring

by Stu Reynolds, based on Tad Dameron's Joy Spring.

Hallelujah I Love Her So

vocal by Dino Vera, composition by Ray Charles.

Cameo Menu

by Heath Proskin, another challenging composition by our resident professor of mathematics.

Three Out Of Four

by Stu Reynolds, a fun quicksilver piece, the band takes full advantage.

Nearness of You

Dino's classic slow swinging version of this standard will make your heart melt.

Hold 'Em, Holden

Another fun, funky romp written by Heath Proskin

Co-Heath-Ive

Written by David Kempton for Heath Proskin, this features a single bar of 3/4 time referred to as the "Heath bar"...""

I Thought About you

Another soulful vocal standard by Dino Vera

Mete Beto en Carcel

Bad Spanish grammar, until he fixes the title. By Heath Proskin

Fo' Mo' MoFos

The closer is also by the prolific Heath Proskin, and is another complex and rich bed for improvisation.

Repertoire:

While much of our repertoire is original, we also have a huge body of jazz standards and funk or dancable music to select from. The group can be very flexible to fit the needs of the occasion.

About First Time Around

The very first time the four of us played together as a quartet was at a Carmel Valley jam session. Subsequent performances demonstrated a concordance of concepts, an intentionality of ideas, that works together well as an improvisitory framework. So we decided to take it to the next level and began writing, rehearsing and recording at The Soundsmith. This series of tunes is from that collaboration. We consider this a demo CD, but are offering it for sale for $4 plus shipping. Click here to download the album

Three Out Of Four

by Stu Reynolds

Ita

by Heath Proskin

For Jimmy

by David "Dasher" Kempton, dedicated to Jimmy Smith

Save Your Love For Me

vocal by Dino Vera

About the Padiddle Video

At the Barnstormer Concert, Dino happened to set his iPhone on a nearby ledge. This video is the result (with the audio from the board mix.) Aren't iPhones great?

  Padiddle Video

About the Jam Session Video

This is first time the four of us played together as a quartet. The jam was hosted in Carmel Valley at the home of a gentleman named Peter Paxton. I set up video cameras and let them run, then edited the result. This is the Mobius Fourtet - even before we knew it!

  Blue Monk

   Jam Session Video

About the Personnel

Dino Vera:

Dino Vera, vocalist and drummer, has played with pop icons Jimi Hendrix and James Taylor. He says he "got his Master's in Music on Bourbon Street in New Orleans," playing with such notables as Ellis Marsalis (father of Wynton and Branford Marsalis), the Meters and Fats Domino. Dino's vocal stylings are soulful and personal, filled with warmth and power. These credentials have paved the way for a recently-completed highly successful and acclaimed series of jazz concerts in France.

Stu Reynolds:

Playing the tenor, alto and soprano saxes as well as clarinet and bass clarinet, Stu Reynolds has performed with groups ranging from rock and blues to world beat and straight ahead jazz. He's played numerous festivals including San Francisco's Reggae in the Park, the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Taste of Chicago, the Big Sur Jazz Festival and the San Jose Jazz Festival, and has opened shows for the Yellowjackets, Carlos Santana, Airto, Los Lobos, Branford Marsalis, Jimmy Cliff and many others.

Heath Proskin:

Heath Proskin is a first-call bass player in the Monterey area and has appeared at the Monterey Jazz Festival as well as numerous venues throughout the area. Raised in New York, He received a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music and worked with many of the finest players in the Boston area. After six months gigging in the Caribbean, he moved to California, completed a doctorate at UC Santa Barbara and relocated to Monterey, where he resides today.

David "Dasher" Kempton:

David 'Dasher' Kempton has made music all his life. He has played Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, Montreux, the Northsea Festival, the Playboy Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Monterey Blues Festival, among others. He has performed and recorded with luminaries like Dizzy Gillespie, Lou Rawls, Willie Bobo and Sonny Simmons. His original jazz compositions range from big band avant-garde romps to solo piano explorations. Major influences include Joe Sample, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Jimmy McGriff.