BREV SULLIVAN AND BLUE ROAD RECORDS BAND PAY TRIBUTE TO FATHER AND MENTOR IRA SULLIVAN WITH
IRA THE TRIBUTE ALBUM
Coming February 25, 2022
Although IRA SULLIVAN performed with jazz luminaries like Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Roland Kirk, and Art Blakey, his music is not as widely known among general audiences; however, as a master on the saxophone, flute and trumpet he had a reputation among his peers as an ou tstanding bebop soloist. Trumpeter Brad Goode called Sullivan one of the greatest soloists in the history of the music. A regular on the Chicago music scene, Sullivan moved to Miami to teach at the esteemed Frost School of Music. Although he continued to perform in the Miami area, he decided to limit his touring performances and instead chose to focus on teaching. He became one of the leading jazz educators in the U.S. mentoring several generations of up and coming musicians.
Sullivan passed away in 2020 at the age of 89, but his musical legacy lives on in a new recording project titled IRA THE TRIBUTE ALBUM by THE BLUE ROA D RECORDS BAND The band is the house band of Blue Road Record s Studio, a Miami institution founded in 2019 by MIRIAM STONE who plays acoustic and electric lead and rhythm guitar on the album.
Stone and her family came from Cuba in 1959 during the Cuban revolution and settled in Miami when she was very young. Her family was very musical. Her grandmother played classical piano, and her father, who played guitar and percussion, was friends with musicians like Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaría. Mongo and his bandmates would visit her home and jam until the early morning hours. Music had always been Stone’s passion, and in 2010, she began studying with Miami jazz guitarist Leo Quintero. It was a pivotal time in her life, and she began to write and record her own music, releasing her first two CDs, The Rainbow Album and Arcoíris. She and her husband, Howard Stone, opened Blue Road Records Studio in South Miami and began assembling musicians to record her music.
The Blue Road Records Band, which recorded the IRA THE TRIBUTE ALBUM is made up of some of the sterling musicians who have made a home in South Florida, including lead guitarist LEO QUINTERO, who hails from Venezuela, as does bass player JAVIER ESPINOZA. Also in the band are drummer and percussionist KEVIN ABANTO, who came to the U.S. from Peru, and keyboardist and sax player YAINER HORTA, another Cuban ex-patriot. The one native-born musician in the band is BREV SULLIVAN, the other lead guitarist and son of Ira Sullivan.
Brev Sullivan is proficient in multiple genres and currently tours with several rock groups. He was also the touring guitarist for his father’s band. He has been featured in Guitar Player Magazine and has appeared as a guest soloist with the Miami Symphony Orchestra.
Stone first heard Brev play guitar when he auditioned at Blue Road Records Studio. She was impressed by his mastery of the guitar, and he soon became a member of The Blue Road Records Band. Stone later heard Brev accompany his father and band in what was a memorable night of music at Gables Stage, a popular Miami jazz club.
Sullivan passed away while Stone and Brev were working together, and they decided to record a tribute album to Sullivan. Brev relates, “My father had so many families, not only his actual family, but also his touring family as well as his family of students. I wanted to make this album to not only preserve his legacy but also preserve the memory of those moments that are dear to me when I performed with him on stage.” Stone agrees and says, “I was privileged to have met Ira at one of his concerts. The band was exquisite, and Brev was with him. I felt that Ira and I had formed a personal connection. I knew making this album would be challenging because the music is so complex, but it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had as a musician.” Indeed, the music is complex because Brev brought his father’s charts to the recording sessions. A bebop player at heart, Sullivan embraced a younger generation of musicians, like Pat Metheny and Jaco Pastorius, whom he mentored and who learned from Sullivan’s iconocla tic approach to music. The charts reflect the later period of Sullivan’s life when his music touched on the sounds and harmonies of fusion.
Sullivan surely would have approved of the new direction of his music by the Blue Road Records Band. Brev was at the helm of the recording sessions, but each musician imbued the music with his or her own style and personality. The album opens with “I Get a Kick Out of You,” which was one of Sullivan’s favorites. The band plays it at a blistering tempo featuring a flamboyant drum solo by Abanto. “Monday’s Dance” was written by Sullivan. It’s a beautiful, soulful piece that Sullivan used to perform regularly with young musicians at a near-by church. ”Circumstantial” is another Sullivan composition. The tune features Brev, Quintero, and Abanto trading fours at lightning speed. Sullivan wrote “Multimedia” to capture the sounds he heard as he walked down the hallway while listening to all the music played by the students in their different practice rooms. The tune moves between fusion, rock, and jazz, showcasing Horta’s considerable chops on the tenor sax and Stone’s electric lead guitar.
“Icarus” is a departure from Sullivan’s usual bebop sound. The combination of three guitars, keyboards, and sax give the composition a rich, mystical, almost psychedelic vibe. “Ninevah” was released on Sullivan’s Horizons album. Brev says, “I think I loved how my father played the soprano more than any of the other instruments he played. For me, this song is almost like a rock song written by John Coltrane.”
“Our Delight” is the most standard tune on the album. When Sullivan originally recorded it, he played all four instruments. “The Little Train of Caipira” has a lovely melody that opens with classical guitar. Written by Heitor Villa-Lobos, the tune suggests a train chugging along through the countryside. “Espresso Bueno” is written by Brev and often performed by Sullivan. With its happy, Latin dance feel, the song has always been a crowd favorite in live performances. Sullivan was deeply religious and would close his sets with “Amazing Grace.” The band honors his memory with a stirring yet gentle interpretation featuring Brev as the sole guitarist on three tracks.
IRA THE TRIBUTE ALBUM is a fitting tribute to the iconoclastic multi-instrumentalist who has influenced so many lives through his teaching and music. Brev sums it up best, “All the musicians that worked with Ira regarded him as such a strong mentor in their lives and careers. While Miriam and her husband Howard were the only Blue Road musicians who had the chance to meet him, I know he would have loved that they took on the challenge of recording his music. I’m most grateful that the mentoring continues through his tunes.”
IRA THE TRIBUTE ALBUM is set for release on February 25, 2022 and will be available everywhere.
1. I Get a Kick Out of You 6:49
2. Monday’s Dance 7:01
3. Circumstantial 5:17
4. Multimedia 8:16
5. Icarus 7:10
6. Nineveh 8:20
7. Our Delight 6:34
8. Little Train of Caipira 6:18
9. Espresso Bueno 4:46
10. Amazing Grace 3:41
Brev Sullivan lead guitar
Leo Quintero lead guitar
Miriam Stone acoustic & electric guitar
Javier Espinoza bass
Yainer Horta keyboards & sax
Kevin Abanto drums & percussion
