PIANIST-COMPOSER EZRA WEISS RELEASES NEW CD THE SHIRLEY HORN SUITE

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Ezra Weiss, Jazz, Piano

“Don’t be fooled. He’s only playing a few notes, but boy are they the right ones.” – Neil Tesser, Listen Here!

Ezra Weiss (Album Cover Coming Soon)

With his new album, Ezra Weiss reaffirms his status as one of the premier young jazz pianists and composers. The Shirley Horn Suite, an admirable addition to the 21st century jazz piano canon, finds the Portland-based musician heightening his sense of elevation and refinement in a trio format with up-and-coming string bassist Corcoran Holt and veteran drummer Steve Williams (who served as Shirley Horn’s drummer for 23 years). The special guest vocalist is Shirley Nanette, a Pacific Northwest jazz legend.

The Shirley Horn Suite, set for release on April 5, 2011 on the Roark Records label, is Weiss’ fifth album. He’s earned wide critical acclaim for his previous CDs: 5 A. M. Strut (2003), Persephone (2005), Get Happy (2007), and Alice in Wonderland (2009).

SAXOPHONIST STEVE COLE DEBUTS ON MACK AVENUE RECORDS/ARTISTRY MUSIC

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Jazz, Saxophone, Steve Cole

RELEASES MOONLIGHT ON FEBRUARY 1,
HIS DEBUT ON MACK AVENUE RECORDS/ARTISTRY MUSIC

STEVE COLE - MOONLIGHT

Saxophonist Steve Cole is one of the most celebrated players in contemporary jazz, having sold hundreds of thousands of albums worldwide and scored four #1 R&R Smooth Jazz hits. With five CDs in his catalog for Atlantic, Warner Brothers and Narada Jazz, Cole kicks off a new multiple-album deal with Mack Avenue Records/Artistry Music by releasing Moonlight, a collection of classic pop songs and standards set against an orchestral backdrop. The project includes such iconic songs as Burt Bacharach’s The Look of Love, the classic torch song Cry Me a River, Lennon/McCartney’s The Long and Winding Road, the Guess Who’s Undun and James Taylor’s Close Your Eyes.

With his gorgeous, classically trained tone and an ear for lyrical melody, Cole most closely resembles a vocalist, emphasizing interpretive phrasing and direct emotion. On Moonlight, he has found the perfect setting for this bel canto technique-a symphonic orchestra playing inspired arrangements by Michael Cunningham, making his splashy major-label debut as an orchestral arranger. In addition to the strings, the arrangements include tastefully placed harp, woodwinds and tempered brass. The supporting rhythm section is composed of Mike Logan (Will Downing) on keyboards, Russell Ferrante (Yellowjackets) on piano and Steve Rodby (Pat Metheny Group) on bass.

Carl Bartlett Jr. -][- HOPEFUL [Carl Bartlett, Jr.]

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African American, Carl Bartlett Jr., Jazz, Saxophone

Carl Bartlett Jr. - HOPEFUL

Carl Bartlett Jr. -][- HOPEFUL – [Carl Bartlett, Jr., 2011]

Carl Bartlett Jr.’s Hopeful is a treat for anyone who enjoys the smoke-filled, traditional, and contemporary style of Jazz. Although the first six tracks on Hopeful are original works, they resonate with the eloquence and spirit of John Coltrane. With the assistance of his band, including Sharp Radway on piano, Eric Lemon on bass, Emanuel Harrold on drums, Charles Bartlett on trumpet, and Ron Jackson on guitar, Bartlett, Jr. and crew deliver a well-balanced blueprint for success.

The first and arguably finest track of the group, “Hopeful,” touts Carl’s exuberant yet original alto saxophone play. Reminiscent of a backdrop to a film-noir soundtrack, “Hopeful” displays the strength and confidence of an accomplished artist. The song is complete, as a tour-de-force alto saxophone solo highlights Carl’s skilled range and sensitivity in his approach to Jazz. Next, “Fidgety Season” begins as an upbeat and well-orchestrated track complete with an apt piano introduction that embraces the depth of Carl’s jazz ensemble. “Fidgety Season” showcases a traditional jazz tune filled with lively piano and drum solos culminated by Carl’s vibrant alto leads throughout.

Nicholas Urie -][- MY GARDEN [Red Piano Records]

Tags

Charles Bukowski, Composer, Jazz, Nicholas Urie

“Urie does not simply blow off the dust of the large jazz ensemble, he sandblasts it off with Uranium.” Ø C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz

Nicholas Urie - MY GARDEN

Nicholas Urie -][- MY GARDEN – [Red Piano Records, 2011]

Composer Nicholas Urie is back! In his new CD “My Garden” Urie honors Charles Bukowski’s postmodern American poetry by wedding it to some of the most intriguing, scintillating and innovative big band music in the contemporary jazz landscape.

The CD features Jeremy Udden, soprano saxophone; Douglas Yates, alto and clarinet; Kenny Pexton, tenor; and Brian Landrus, bass clarinet; Albert Leusink, Ben Holmes, and the amazing John Carlson on trumpets; trombonists Alan Ferber and Max Seigel; Frank Carlberg, piano; Michael Sarin, drums, John Hebert on the contrabass; and vocals by the incomparable Christine Correa.

Bukowski is best known for his “fratboyesque” musings on love and life that have branded him as a kind of chauvinistic literary bad boy. The poems in this cycle highlight a more personal and less veiled side of a very complicated and diverse figure in American literature. These works are more introspective and touch on the author’s feelings of abandonment, depression, isolation and insecurities in the world as both a man and a writer.

For more info, please visit http://www.nicholasurie.com/bio/bio.html

..:: SOURCE: BKMusic PR ::..