Way Out Northwest Mike DiRubbo

• 1 Way Out Northwest 06:25
• 2 Striking Distance 07:03
• 3 Song For My Queen 05:23
• 4 Jimbo 06:27
• 5 Late August 08:06
• 6 A Star For Chick 06:08
• 7 Timing Is Everything 05:49
• 8 One For Mabes 06:11
• Total Runtime 51:32

Info zu Way Out Northwest

I met Mike DiRubbo for the first time at The Jazz Record Center in New York City around 2007. He hipped me to a recording he had in the can called New York Accent featuring the late great pianist, Harold Mabern. I agreed to put it out on the label and that was the beginning of a life-long friendship.

DiRubbo performed in Vancouver with Mabern and would return a few more times, first with trombonist Steve Davis, where he met Tilden Webb, Jodi Proznick, and Jesse Cahill, and later he appeared with the late pianist Larry Willis.

A lot has changed since we first met. Cellar Music has grown into a full-fledged jazz label with a substantial catalog and while Mike and I stayed in touch over the years, the opportunity to record never materialized. Simply put, I can’t record everything. Often it comes down to timing rather than planning.

In the summer of 2024, Mike booked some West Coast dates, so we set up a weekend at Frankie’s Jazz Club with Tilden. During that weekend we discussed the possibility of recording in further detail. While recording in New York might have been the obvious choice it was Mike who floated the idea of recording with the Vancouver rhythm section that he played with. One of the things I’m most proud of is showcasing Vancouver musicians. Sometimes New York players come in, play, then head home. Other times, real connections form—leading to lasting collaborations. Documenting this music in Vancouver says a lot about how Mike feels about these musicians.

The rhythm section—Jodi, Tilden, and Jesse—was an easy choice: musicians connected not just by years of playing together, but by deep trust and respect. As Mike puts it, there’s “a family vibe”—built over decades, going back to The Cellar. “Individually they are world-class musicians,” he says, “and also kind, generous people—and that comes through in the music.” That connection is evident throughout the album, recorded quickly and organically after three nights of live performance. “We recorded the entire album in about four or five hours on the Monday after the gigs,” he recalls—a testament to both preparation and chemistry.

The album is deeply personal, with tributes to mentors and close musical companions. “Jim was like a musical big brother to me,” he says of Jim Rotondi, whose sudden passing left a lasting impact. The composition “Jimbo” serves as both tribute and gratitude, acknowledging not only their relationship but also Rotondi’s early support—particularly through the Criss Cross recording Reverence, which led to Mike’s own recording contract.

“One for Mabes” honors Harold Mabern, another pivotal figure. “My first trip to Vancouver was with Harold,” Mike recalls. “I’m blessed to have spent so much time around him.” That sense of lineage continues with “Song for My Queen,” by pianist Hotep Galeta, an often overlooked but deeply influential mentor during Mike’s time at the Hartt School.

Despite these reflections, the music itself is firmly rooted in the present. All the compositions are original, shaped through an intuitive process. “Early on as a student, Jackie McLean urged me to write my own music, way before I understood harmony the way I do now. You grow into it like you grow into everything else in life if you are blessed to be around long enough.” Of his process he explains “A lot of what I write comes from the piano, and then I develop melodies on the saxophone.” Ideas are gathered over time— “bits and pieces.”

His influences span from John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, and Joe Henderson to Duke Ellington, while also drawing from contemporaries like Steve Davis and Kurt Rosenwinkel. Still, his approach is guided less by theory than by instinct: “I try to let my ear be the judge.”

What emerges from this recording is more than a collection of compositions—it’s a document of connection: between musicians, past and present, intention and spontaneity. It captures a moment shaped by trust, experience, and the simple but profound act of listening.

As you might imagine, I spend many hours each week listening—to artist submissions, rough mixes, final masters, and, of course, music for enjoyment. When I received the final mixes for Way Out Northwest, I immediately knew it would become one of my favorite releases on the label. I’ve listened to it more than most. There’s something special here—and I hope you feel it too. (Cory Weeds)

"Alto saxist Mike DiRubbo displays a gloriously strong and rich sound on this album of mostly originals in this quartet setting with Tilden Webb/p, Jodi Proznick/b and Jesse Cahill/dr. He sounds comfy and relaxed on the warm easy boppers like the title track and the soft swinger “Jimbo” featuring Webb in lounge lizard fashion, while the reed is sweet o n” Late August”. He also shows he can bear down a bit, getting urgent on the more modal “A Star For Chick” and dark on the hefty “Striking Distance”, simmering over Cahill’s high hat on “One For Mabes” Following a good direction." (George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly)

Mike DiRubbo, alto saxophone
Tilden Webb, piano
Jodi Proznick, double bass
Jesse Cahill, drums

Recorded at Will & Norah’s in Vancouver, BC, Canada on October 13th, 2025
Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Sheldon Zaharko
Produced by Cory Weeds & Mike DiRubbo
Executive Producer: Cory Weedds

Mike DiRubbo
For three decades, the New Haven-born, New York City-based alto saxophonist, bandleader and educator Mike DiRubbo has reigned supreme as a master of his instrument, as evidenced by his forthcoming recording Way Out Northwest, Recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia. A pun on the title of Sonny Rollins’ epic 1957 LP, Way Out West, Way Out Northwest showcases DiRubbo with a Vancouver rhythm section, swinging on the 8 tracks of no-nonsense, straight-ahead jazz, featuring original compositions by DiRubbo, which include his tributes to pianist Harold Mabern and trumpeter Jim Rotondi.

Honoring Jazz ancestors while moving the music forward has been DiRubbo’s stock-in-trade, ever since he studied at Jackie McLean’s Institute of Jazz of the Hartt School, University of Hartford, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Music in 1992, and earned a Master of Music in 2018 from SUNY College at Purchase. DiRubbo has been a teaching artist at the Litchfield Jazz Camp for 30 years, and more recently at the Stanford Jazz Workshop.

DiRubbo moved to New York City in 1997 and quickly established himself as a leader and a valued sideman with Al Foster, Jim Rotondi, Steve Davis, Cecil Payne, Tony Reedus, Joe Farnsworth, David Hazeltine, Steve Nelson, Peter Washington, Carl Allen, Mike LeDonne, Dwayne Burno, Larry Willis, Harold Mabern, Jimmy Cobb and many others.

DiRubbo’s 10 recordings as a leader from 1994 to 2023 include: From the Inside Out, Keep Steppin’, Human Spirit, New York Accent - Live at Kitano, Repercussion, Chronos, Four Hands, One Heart, Threshold, Mike DiRubbo Quartet – “Live at Smalls” and Inner Light.

DiRubbo has been featured in magazines such as Jazziz, Hot House, JazzTimes, Down Beat and JazzWise. He’s also a perennial presence in The Down Beat International Critics Poll in the Rising Star: Alto Saxophone category.

Dieses Album enthält kein Booklet