From Liner Notes

MEAN WHAT YOU SAY not only marks the Brownstone debut of Cecil Bridgewater but the arrival of a journeyman trumpeter, arranger and composer to mastership.

    Bridgewater has crossed many a storied river in his illustrious career.  He is best known for his quarter-century-long association with Max Roach. He also worked with the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and the Horace Silver Quintet, led his own groups as well as toured and recorded with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey and Randy Weston.

    "Mean What You Say" is of course, a response to the call "say what you mean." This is Bridgewater's point of departure. Here is a veteran artist clearly speaking with the intent to be heard, absorbed and understood.

    As a trumpeter, Bridgewater is a horn player devoid of clichés. His playing crackles with energy and excitement. He displays great control with clarity of tone to render melodic ideas that sing. As an arranger, the learned lessons of Jones, Silver and Roach are heard throughout. Bridgewater's originals on this disc include: Cannon's Samba, Louisiana Strut, I Think I Might Try Love Again and Cheeka's Dance.

    For this landmark album, Bridgewater surrounds himself with old friends, who just happen to be some of the most prominent musicians on the New York jazz scene. In the record's liner notes, Bridgewater took the time to write of them: "Mulgrew Miller is one of my all-time favorite pianists and persons...he knows how to get just the right sound for the mood you are trying to create. Kenny Davis is a marvelous bassist, and such a keen observer of what needs to be there at just the right moment. Billy Hart and I met when I first moved to New York. He brings an element of freshness to everything he plays and provides a wide palate of musical colors.

    "Vanessa Rubin is someone I have worked and recorded with over the years on her projects and mine, I admire her ability to get inside a song and give it personal meaning. She gives such wonderful readings to I Think I Might Try Love Again and Like An Old Song. Additional contributions to this project come in the form of her composition No Strings Attached and the lyric to Like An Old Song.

    "Last, but not least, is my brother Ron Bridgewater, who always gives me the right balance musically and personally whenever we perform or record together. He has the ability to make his sound and approach blend with mine so that we seem to speak one voice.

    "It's not always easy to say what you mean," Bridgewater said in closing, "but I find it so very, very important to mean what you say."

Brownstone Recordings · P.O. Box 60163 · Worcester · MA 01606
brownstn@tiac.net

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