Gerald Clayton -][- BOND: The Paris Sessions [Emarcy / Pgd]

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Gerald Clayton, Jazz, New Releases, Piano

Gerald Clayton, BOND (The Paris Sessions)

Gerald Clayton -][- BOND: The Paris Sessions – [Emarcy / Pgd, 2011]

A quarter of the age of Jazz, Gerald Clayton stakes his claim in the history and the present of this vital music with the following words, “Tradition and innovation can peacefully coexist.” In libraries and on drawing-boards around the country this statement might be true, but with Gerald behind the piano this coexistence is anything but peaceful.

His dynamic and award-winning sound has been praised in print by the Jazz Times and Los Angeles Times. The New York Times has saluted his “Oscar-Peterson like style” and “huge, authoritative presence” and Down Beat Magazine’s 2008 Readers’ Poll named him one of the top up-and-coming pianists to watch. As a composer, his work has been commissioned by the Jazz Gallery in New York City and performed overseas by the BBC Orchestra. He has been honored with a Level 1 award by the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (NFAA), the title “Presidential Scholar in the Arts,” and second place in the Thelonious Monk Institute Jazz Piano Competition. Dodging early pressures to emerge as a prodigy, Gerald instead honed his talents and his resolve to ensure that this next generation is never lacking for intricate, swinging pieces and performances that are steeped in tradition while always facing the future. —BIOGRAPHY | Gerald Clayton

BOND: The Paris Sessions coming this May, 2011.

..:: SOURCE: Gerald Clayton.com ::..

Brian Lynch ][ UNSUNG HEROES Vol1 [Hollistic MusicWorks]

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Brian Lynch, Jazz, Trumpet

Brian Lynch - UNSUNG HEROES

Brian Lynch ][ UNSUNG HEROES Vol1– (A Tribute too Some Under-appreciated Trumpet Masters) – REVIEW

Jazz as we know is conceptually a brilliant art form, captured and cultivated properly it can sonically take you places that you may never go otherwise. In this case, we have Grammy winning trumpeter/flugelhornist Brian Lynch. With emphasis based on remnants of cool bop and swing he taps into this wide-open space of tradition to pay homage to a core of what he deems as “UNSUNG HEROES (A Tribute to Some Underappreciated Trumpet Masters).” On his latest album, Lynch honors these relatively unknown figure(s) in jazz in a way that enthusiast can savor these exquisite compositions for years to come.

Out of the gate, Lynch and company swings with authority on “Terra Firma Irma” pen by trumpeter Joe Gordon. As expected, the musicians switch gears relentlessly by trading their infallible solos with grace, precision and compassion to play great music.

Artist Ann Tanksley’s “Watching God”

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African American, Ann Tanksley, Art

Greetings art connoisseurs, as always it’s a pleasure to be with you. Today, I’m honored to share with you a distinguish, intuitive yet thought provoking piece by artist Ann Tanksley. She views her work through the lens of a “visual interpreter /social commentator,” in the spirit and influence of Zora Neal Hurston one of our beloved pre-eminent writers of African-American literature.

Ann Tanksley -][- WATCHING GOD (1992) – [Oil on Canvas]

Ann Tanksley, WATCHING GOD

..:: SOURCE: Avisca Fine Art.com ::..

Chico Freeman & The Fritz Pauer Trio -][- The Essence of Silence [Jive Music (Austria)]

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African American, Chico Freeman, Jazz, Saxophone

Chico Freeman & The Fritz Pauer Trio - THE ESSENCE of SILENCE

Chico Freeman & The Fritz Pauer Trio -][- THE ESSENCE of SILENCE –MP3– [Jive Music (Austria)]

Two CDs full of good atmospheres by the great soprano and tenor sax of Chico Freeman with the excellent austrian Trio of Fritz Pauer (p) with Hans Strasser (b) and Joris Dudli (d). Mainly new compositions by Freeman and Pauer, full of easy grooving and full of nice harmonies.

I was asked to play at the Vienna Jazz Festival as a special guest with whom I was told were some of the best musicians that Austria has produced. It was the Fritz Pauer Trio. I did not know Fritz Pauer or his trio at that time so I asked my agent Ilse Weinmann, who had arranged the engagement, who exactly Fritz Pauer was. She told me he was one of the best pianist/musicians she knew and she knew him from his work with the great saxophonist Johnny Griffin (a Chicago native just like me), who was also a client of hers. Needless to say I was pleased and excited to meet Fritz but not as much as when it actually happened on the first day of rehearsal at Jazzland Jazz Club in Vienna. Not only was Fritz an incredible musician, he was also one of the nicest and warmest people I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet. We became instant friends. In addition his trio, which consisted of Johannes (Hans) Strasser (bass) and Joris Dudli (drums), were also incredibly talented musicians and wonderful human beings as well. We bonded instantly and thus began our journey to the recording of this CD.

The chemistry was instantaneous and undeniable. We recorded for the radio the first night and I knew I wanted to work more with these guys and to document our future journeys together. This is the first of what I hope will be many more of those documentations. Chico Freeman (saxophone). —Album Notes | CDbaby

..:: SOURCE: CDBaby.com ::..