Grant Geissman -][- Bop! Bang! Boom! – [Open All Nite Entertainment/Futurism Records, 2012] –

Tags

Albert Lee, Amazon.com, Grant Geissman, Larry Carlton, Mike Finnigan, Open All Nite Entertainment/Futurism Records, Russell Ferrante, Tom Scott, Van Dyke Parks

Grant Geissman, Bop! Bang! Boom!

Grant Geissman -][- Bop! Bang! Boom! – [Open All Nite Entertainment/Futurism Records, 2012] –

The powerfully eclectic new recording from jazz guitarist Grant Geissman. With special guests Tom Scott, Larry Carlton, Albert Lee, Russell Ferrante, Mike Finnigan, and Van Dyke Parks.

”From loping funk to boogaloo to earthy blues shuffles, with a haunting ballad, a beautiful samba and an urgently swinging post-bop romp thrown into the mix-along with touches of classical, flamenco and zydeco – Grant Geissman covers all the bases with authority on BOP! BANG! BOOM! –Bill Milkowski (from the liner notes).

Bob Mintzer Big Band’s “For the Moment”: New MCG Jazz CD Due June 19

Tags

Alex Acuna, Bob Mintzer, Chico Pinheiro, MCG Jazz, Peter Erskine, Russell Ferrante, Saxophonist

Big bands and the music of Brazil: For Bob Mintzer, these two limitless creative reservoirs have fed his musical imagination since he was emerging as a prodigiously gifted teenage saxophonist. His latest MCG Jazz album, “For the Moment,” combines these formative forces with an ingenious program of Brazilian jazz for the Grammy Award-winning Bob Mintzer Big Band.

Bob Mintzer Big Band, FOR THE MOMENT

Richmond, CA (PRWE May 29, 2012)- The Grammy Award–winning Bob Mintzer Big Band has explored diverse styles of music in its illustrious 25-year recording history—from New York and Afro-Cuban to Count Basie and John Coltrane. On the band’s new MCG Jazz CD, “For the Moment,” which is scheduled for release June 19, saxophonist/composer/arranger/bandleader Mintzer puts the spotlight on Brazilian music.

AVAILABLE TODAY: YELLOWJACKETS CELEBRATE 30 YEARS TOGETHER WITH THE RELEASE OF TIMELINE

Tags

Bob Mintzer, Jazz, Jimmy Haslip, Mack Avenue Records, New Releases, Russell Ferrante, Will Kennedy, Yellowjackets

AVAILABLE TODAY ON MACK AVENUE RECORDS

Yellowjackets - TIMELINE

In music, time flies, styles unstoppably evolve, and bands come and go. But there are also rare stable, forward-moving forces on the scene, one prime example in jazz being the Yellowjackets. As of 2011, this beloved eclectic, electro-acoustic jazz band that keyboardist Russell Ferrante and bassist Jimmy Haslip built celebrates the ripe young, deep age of 30, a milestone commemorated with another powerful and heartfelt album, fittingly named Timeline.

In fact, Timeline is a special occasion on more than just the 30th anniversary front, also being the first step in a new relationship with the respected jazz label Mack Avenue Records, and the first new album with an important alumnus back in the ranks, the dynamic and flexible drummer Will Kennedy. Kennedy, who worked with the group for ten years and appeared on half its discography to date, returns to the ranks after a dozen years away. He fits seamlessly into the band, alongside Ferrante, Haslip and the multi-talented saxophonist-composer Bob Mintzer, whose critical role in helping define the group’s current sound goes back to 1991.

THE YELLOWJACKETS CELEBRATE 30 YEARS TOGETHER WITH THE RELEASE OF TIMELINE ON MACK AVENUE RECORDS

Tags

Jazz, Jimmy Haslip, Russell Ferrante, Yellowjackets

LABEL DEBUT TO BE RELEASED ON MARCH 15

Yellowjackets - TIMELINE

In music, time flies, styles unstoppably evolve, and bands come and go. But there are also rare stable, forward-moving forces on the scene, one prime example in jazz being the Yellowjackets. As of 2011, this beloved eclectic, electro-acoustic jazz band that keyboardist Russell Ferrante and bassist Jimmy Haslip built celebrates the ripe young, deep age of 30, a milestone commemorated with another powerful and heartfelt album, fittingly named Timeline.

In fact, Timeline is a special occasion on more than just the 30th anniversary front, also being the first step in a new relationship with the respected jazz label Mack Avenue Records, and the first new album with an important alumnus back in the ranks, the dynamic and flexible drummer Will Kennedy. Kennedy, who worked with the group for ten years and appeared on half its discography to date, returns to the ranks after a dozen years away. He fits seamlessly into the band, alongside Ferrante, Haslip and the multi-talented saxophonist-composer Bob Mintzer, whose critical role in helping define the group’s current sound goes back to 1991.

Yellowjackets -][- Run for Your Life [GRP Records]

Tags

Bob Mintzer, Jazz, Jimmy Haslip, Russell Ferrante, William Kennedy, Yellowjackets

Yellowjackets - Run for Your Life

Yellowjackets -][- Run for Your Life – [GRP Records, 1994] –Review–

At any given moment, it seems more often then not I’m ushered into what or not to listen too. After all, time is precious. Recently my ears have been itching to hear the upcoming debut by the Yellowjackets on Mack Avenue Records. In the meantime, it was inevitable that I had to dive into something that would temporarily sustain my hunger so why not spin “Run for Your Life” their 1994 recording on GRP Records.

As the distinctive flavors of “Jacket Town, The Red Sea, Muhammed, Ancestors, City of Lights and Wisdom” wait in que I’m suddenly moved to press play. Within seconds the music begins to slowly bleed through the speaker system to unleash one by one an unbridled soundscape of melodies clothed in a expansive fabric of acoustic and electric textures exudes with a twist of unstrained emotions. The intricacies of these melodies summoned me into a deeper chromosphere to explore the unyielding details of African influences swelling from within the body that’s firmly anchored to the rhythmic and complex voicing’s underneath explodes into an infallible stream of infectious grooves. Meanwhile as time passes, I’m reminded as a self-proclaimed jazz enthusiasts I simply can’t ignore the fact that this project (among many by them) by this seasoned ensemble is worth recommending to virtually anyone I meet along the way that claims to love jazz.

… The weekend spin, features the Yellowjackets -][- Blue Hats

Tags

Jazz, Russell Ferrante, Yellowjackets

Regardless of genre, style or sound I would be hard pressed to do without the Yellowjackets infectious groove. In fact, from what I’ve witness the Jackets probably ranks well within the top of most contemporary jazz enthusiasts lists of favs that I personally know. “Blue Hats,” their 1997 album just happens to be in close proximity to my desk. Of course, this allows me to indulge in a sample their timeless and vivacious antics anytime I get ready. —Rob Young | The Urban Flux

Yellowjackets - Blue Hats

Yellowjackets -][- Blue Hats – [WEA, 1997]

In typical yellowjackets fashion, Blue Hats takes the listener on a surprise journey of what seems like mainstream pop/jazz, but what is really much more well-crafted than the usual fare. The album mixes relatively easy-listening tunes with a few hard-driving ones where both Ferrante and Mintzer are able to branch out. Russell Ferrante’s piano improvisations are at once sparse and lucid-his use of space allows his melodic genius to be appreciated by the attentive listener. Bob Mintzer is a marvelously talented reed man. His playing ranges from the mellowest of tones in a ballad-like setting to the power and intensity of his tenor and bass clarinet improvisations, showcasing his dynamic range and harmonic cleverness. Kennedy and Haslip are two talented players that create the undercurrent without which the group could not shine.

Just when you think Yellowjackets have gone to a cheezy commercial sound, they completely surprise you with a power piece in the tradition of Coltrane or McCoy Tyner. For diversity of musical ideas, Yellowjackets continue to delight not just with the first listening, but with repeated ones when one hears more and different aspects of their total sound. Blue Hats is a very tight and not over-produced album, and though their style must fit under the jazz umbrella, it is really much broader and more diverse in its musicality, making Yellowjackets a more creative and eclectic group than most can appreciate. —Peter Oberg /Amazon.com

Gabriel Alegría & The Afro-Peruvian Sextet Fuse Music From The Coast Of Peru With Modern Jazz on Forthcoming August 6 Release, Pucusana

Tags

Afro-Peruvian, Arturo O'Farril, Gabriel Alegría, Jazz, Russell Ferrante, Trumpet

Album Features Keyboardists Russell Ferrante and Arturo O’Farril

Gabriel Alegría & The Afro-Peruvian Sextet - Pucusana

The growling clarion call evokes old jazz, Louis Armstrong, and New Orleans, but the cries in Spanish, the percussion, and the gentle, looping groove takes us to a different place. Both familiar and fresh, those first bars on Peruvian trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Gabriel Alegría’s Pucusana, are also a declaration of principle of Afro-Peruvian jazz music.

“Taita Guaranguito,” is a traditional Afro-Peruvian folk song, smartly reinterpreted as a jazz piece. In fusion, the sum is often less than the parts. Here, it’s a celebration of a common spirit. “What we discovered over the years working in this music, is that there is a certain similar energy between pre-1940s jazz and Afro-Peruvian music,” says Alegría. “There is a connection, something about their spirit, so when you [bring them together], it feels really natural. We don’t play in a traditional jazz style, but it’s not about harmonies or a certain rhythm. It’s about the intention in the playing. There is a joy, a positive energy, that is present in the jazz esthetic of musicians like Louis Armstrong. This same esthetic is also present in Afro-Peruvian music.”