Jeff Hamilton 'Merry & Bright' – Nov. 19 on Capri Records

Acclaimed jazz drummer Jeff Hamilton delivers a swinging holiday album Merry & Bright

 

Available November 19, 2021 via Capri Records

Revered jazz drummer Jeff Hamilton reunites with his trio, featuring bassist Jon Hamar and pianist Tamir Hendelman, for Merry & Bright, a recording of Hamilton’s favorite Christmas tunes. The album will be released November 19, 2021 via Capri Records. “I’ve always enjoyed holiday music and have been planning on doing a Christmas project for many years. I finally did it during the pandemic and got my trio into the studio to record it direct to 2 track, like I used to. We were very happy with the outcome. We put together these arrangements and got the recording done in only a few hours.”

The tunes were selected from Hamilton’s memories growing up in a family where everyone gathered around the piano and sang Christmas tunes in four-part harmony. It was a time when Andy Williams’ version of “It’s the Holiday Season” was on the radio and turntables were everywhere in America. Two of the pieces, “Caroling Caroling” and “Bright, Bright the Holly Berries” he learned from The Singers Unlimited, whose textured vocal harmonies were reminiscent of Hamilton’s evenings singing with the family.

Hamar and Hendelman open “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in the spirit of the original, somewhat melancholy version sung by Judy Garland in “Meet Me in St. Louis.” Of course, Frank Sinatra’s version is one best remembered, as well as Mel Tormé’s, who wrote a beautiful new verse for the tune.

The traditional piece “O Tannenbaum” is played thoughtfully by Tamir. “Santa Baby” was a bit of a naughty song when Eartha Kitt sang it in 1953. Her version is still the most popular even though it was later covered by Michael Bublé, and most recently Ariana Grande.

Many people may not know it was Gene Autry who wrote and first performed “Here Comes Santa Claus.” The up-tempo Brazilian version delivered by Hamilton’s trio is sure to become a classic.

From Hamilton’s trademark brush stylings on “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” to his down-home treatments of “It’s The Holiday Season” and “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” these tunes were arranged to be listened to year-round.  

“We hope people enjoy listening to these tunes as much as we enjoyed putting the recording together,” says Hamilton. “There’s a combination of all the things we do that has become the trio’s signature style and what it’s known for.”

It's The Holiday Season

Caroling Caroling

The Little Drummer Boy

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Bright Bright The Holly Berries

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Here Comes Santa Claus

Santa Baby

O Tannenbaum

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Jeff Hamilton on drums

Tamir Hendelman on piano

Jon Hamar on bass

Jeff Hamilton Website

Capri Records Website

PREORDER

Graham Dechter - Major Influence (September 21, 2021 via Capri Records)

Guitarist Graham Dechter gives a nod to his Major Influence

on his first new album in nearly a decade

Major Influence, out September 17, 2021 via Capri Records, reunites Dechter with all-star rhythm section Jeff Hamilton, John Clayton and Tamir Hendelman

“Los Angeles guitarist Graham Dechter wowed listeners with his 2009 debut as a leader, Right On Time, and he hits it out of the park again with his sophomore release, Takin’ It There.”

– Jennifer Odell, DownBeat

 

“Dechter should be on the scene for many years to come. Only in his twenties, he shows both a skill and maturity that many players don’t find until middle age.” 

– John Heidt , Vintage Guitar Hit List

One of the most original and tasteful straight ahead jazz guitarists to emerge in recent years, Graham Dechter has distilled his myriad musical inspirations into Major Influence, his third release as a leader. Available September 17, 2021 via Capri Records, the album reunites Dechter with his dream team rhythm section from his earlier recordings: Tamir Hendelman on piano, John Clayton on bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums. The album was recorded prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the release was delayed until the group could return to touring and live performances.

 

The guitarist wrote and arranged all but one of the tunes. “After completing seven originals and co-arranging the classic ‘Pure Imagination’ with Mr. Hamilton, I came to the realization that every song on this recording, whether consciously or subconsciously, was dedicated to and/or directly influenced by one or more of my musical heroes.” The album is reflective of his journey through jazz from an early age with some of the most influential musicians to play the music. “I consider myself to be an eternal student of the music. And as long as my ears can detect sound and my mind is able to comprehend it, I’ll always have an appetite!”

 

Some of the inspirations were jazz guitar luminaries like Herb Ellis and Wes Montgomery, but Dechter has plenty of contemporary influences as well. The track “Moonithology” was influenced not just by Charlie Parker, George Shearing, Montgomery, and Hank Mobley, but also Louis Cole and Genevieve Artadi of the synth-heavy avant-pop duo KNOWER. Another composition, “Minor Influence,” was inspired by both Art Blakey and Larry Goldings.

 

Drummer Hamilton also produced the session. “When I first met 9-year-old Graham Dechter, I didn't imagine that we would one day be working together. His passion and conviction of the music have taken him where he wants to be. He set goals and attained them by working hard. For this, his third recording as a leader, he asked me to produce it. I suggested that he compose most of the material, since he is so talented in that area. What you hear on this recording are mostly his originals, and by the end of each song, you would bet they were standards.”

 

At the age of 19, Graham Dechter was hired by Hamilton and John Clayton to join the Clayton–Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. He was the youngest member in the history of the band. He was only 22 when Right On Time, his first recording as a leader, was released. His second release, Takin’ It There, spent 22 weeks on the Jazz Week chart, including 12 weeks in the top five and two weeks at #1. In addition to keeping a busy schedule on the jazz circuit appearing with the likes of Wynton Marsalis and Freddie Cole, Dechter has also performed on recordings by pop and rock stars like Michael Bublé, Leon Russell, Charles Aznavour. He’s also featured on the soundtrack of the hit film La La Land. 

Orange Coals

Reference

Major Influence

Moonithology

Minor Influence

Pure Imagination

Bent On Monk

Billy's Dilemma

Graham Dechter on guitar

Tamir Hendelman on piano

John Clayton on bass

Jeff Hamilton on drums

PREORDER

Sheila Jordan - Comes Love: Lost Session 1960 (September 17, 2021 Capri Records)

Capri Records releases a never-before-heard 1960 recording by legendary vocalist and NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan

Comes Love: Lost Session 1960, due out September 17, 2021, captures the singular vocalist on her earliest known session, two years prior to her Blue Note debut

 

"Cheeky, importunate and canny, [Sheila] Jordan’s voice is one of the great standard-bearing instruments of midcentury jazz… she still has that mix of sagacity and ingenuous charm that endeared her to discerning

listeners in the 1960s."

– Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times

 

“Sheila Jordan is a one-of-a-kind artist who possesses the power to captivate audiences, inviting all to join her on a magical mystery tour of jazz history.” 

– Roseanna Vitro, JazzTimes

At the age of 92 and still going strong, singer-songwriter Sheila Jordan has been one of the most revered and utterly unique voices in jazz for decades. Beginning with her debut album, 1963’s Portrait of Sheila on Blue Note Records, she pioneered a bebop-inflected approach to singing accompanied only by solo bass (in that case, a duet with Steve Swallow on one of her signature tunes, Bobby Timmons’ “Dat Dere”). Following the release of that album, however, Jordan retreated from the scene to concentrate on raising her daughter, working as a typist for the next two decades and not recording as a leader again for more than a dozen years.

 

The never-before-released Comes Love: Lost Session 1960 thus adds a crucial new chapter to Jordan’s remarkable story. Recorded on June 10, 1960 at New York’s Olmsted Sound Studios for the little-known Chatam Records, the recently discovered studio date presents the singer in nascent but instantly recognizable form on a set of standards. Due for release by Colorado-based Capri Records on September 17, 2021, the album is otherwise shrouded in mystery: Jordan has no recollection of the date or the names of her accompanists, a nonetheless deftly attuned trio.

 

The music that comprises Comes Love was unearthed by record dealers Jeremy Sloan and Hadley Kenslow of Albuquerque’s SloLow Records, who purchased it among a large collection of acetates several years ago. Knowing of Capri Records owner Tom Burns’ acquaintance with Jordan, they forwarded the surprise discovery to the Capri founder. 

 

The 1960 recording predates Portrait of Sheila by more than two years, making it the earliest representation we have of the singer at the dawn of her storied career. At the time Jordan was working regularly at the Page Three Club in Greenwich Village, often with pianists John Knapp or Herbie Nichols, bassists Steve Swallow or Gene Perlman, and drummer Ziggy Willman. It’s possible that some of these musicians can be heard on Comes Love, though there’s no way of knowing for certain at this point.

 

“Whoever is playing on it is really good,” attests Burns. “The group seems to have an empathic relationship with her; I don't think it was just some pick-up band. But while it’s troublesome that I can't distinguish the musicians, I really thought this was a recording that should be out there because there's so much good music on it.”

 

Even without the identifying label on the acetate (and the haunting headshot of the singer that accompanied it, also included in the album packaging), the voice inside is unmistakably that of Sheila Jordan. Her mature style is not yet fully formed, but the jaunty scat that opens Duke Ellington’s classic “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” the playful, sassy flexibility of her time feel on the Gershwins’ “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” or the wry world-weariness that imbues Rodgers and Hart’s “Glad To Be Unhappy” reflect qualities that would remain and deepen over the next sixty years.

 

“My first reaction was, ‘Wow, does she sound young!’” recalls Burns of his initial impression of the music – a reaction that he reports was shared by Jordan upon hearing the session. “Even though it's only a couple of years before Portrait of Sheila, she’d obviously developed more as a singer by then. But the way she dealt with a session of standards [at that stage in her career] impressed me. Most of the tunes aren’t your typical songs – there are a couple of well-known tunes, but most of them are kind of obscure even for that time.”

 

The album opens with James Shelton’s wistful “I’m the Girl,” which Sarah Vaughan had recorded four years earlier on Sassy, though Jordan’s rendition emphasizes a naïve melodrama shared by “When the World Was Young,” perhaps the clearest indication that this is such an early effort. The winsome opening verse of “Sleeping Bee” takes on a sprightly tone also present on a brisk “I’ll Take Romance.” A stark “Ballad of the Sad Young Men” is followed by a brassy take on the title tune and a sultry version of Billie Holiday’s “Don’t Explain” that reflects the iconic singer’s influence. 

 

“She’s bending notes and singing the way a horn would play,” Burns points out. “[Jordan is] really trying different things out on this session. It’s an interesting look into her evolution as a performer.”

I’m The Girl 4:05

It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) 1:38

Ballad of the Sad Young Men 4:46

Comes Love 2:12

Don’t Explain 3:00

Sleeping Bee 2:37

When the World Was Young 4:28

I’ll Take Romance 1:41

These Foolish Things 3:59

Glad To Be Unhappy 3:21

They Can’t Take That Away From Me 2:25

PREORDER

The Mark Masters Ensemble – Masters & Baron Meet Blanton & Webster (June 18, 2021 via Capri Records)

Arranger/Bandleader Mark Masters enlists Duke Ellington Orchestra veteran Art Baron to reimagine the music of the iconic bandleader’s most revered era

 

Masters & Baron Meet Blanton & Webster, due out June 18, 2021 via Capri Records, transforms Ellington classics through a contemporary lens with Masters’ virtuosic ensemble and special guest trumpeter Tim Hagans

 

"Mark Masters is an accomplished arranger who comes up with hip, unusual ideas for jazz concerts and recordings."

– Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes

 

“Masters paints complex, intricate, detailed jazz landscapes, and he has always invited some of the most adventurous and innovative players into his ensemble.”

 – Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

Duke Ellington was one of the most iconic and influential composers in the history of jazz, crafting indelible music that continues to be revered and revived to this day. Arguably the pinnacle of his artistry occurred between 1940 and 1942, when his revered Orchestra featured the groundbreaking bassist Jimmie Blanton and the tenor saxophone master Ben Webster. For a genius composer who famously wrote for musicians rather than instruments, this era of the Duke Ellington Orchestra – now known as the Blanton-Webster Band – proved especially inspirational to both Ellington and his frequent collaborator, composer Billy Strayhorn.

 

That inspiration is carried forward by the brilliant arranger and bandleader Mark Masters, who revisits the music of the Blanton-Webster Band on his latest album, reimagining these classic compositions with his own unique interpretation. In addition to his own virtuosic Mark Masters Ensemble, the project spotlights the legendary Art Baron, the last trombonist hired by Ellington himself in 1973. Baron occupied the plunger trombone chair, a standout element of the Ellington Orchestra, for the final year of the bandleader’s life, and continued with the band under the baton of the founder’s son, Mercer Ellington.

 

Masters & Baron Meet Blanton & Webster, due out June 18, 2021 via Capri Records, is a generation-spanning summit meeting that offers a fresh perspective on some of jazz’s greatest compositions. In contrast to Baron’s direct link to Ellington’s storied past, special guest Tim Hagans adds a decidedly contemporary twist with his bold, modernist approach to the trumpet.

 

The Mark Masters Ensemble brings together a supremely gifted group of musicians to conjure Masters’ distinctive palette: four saxophones (Kirsten Edkins and Jerry Pinter splitting Webster’s tenor duties along with Danny House on alto and clarinet and Adam Schroeder on baritone); three trumpets in addition to Hagans (Scott Englebright, Les Lovitt and Ron Stout); trombonists Les Benedict and Dave Woodley alongside Baron; bassist Bruce Lett filling Blanton’s role; and drummer Mark Ferber.

 

“All eras of Ellington interest me,” Masters says. “But the Blanton-Webster Band represents a really remarkable period of time. Jimmie Blanton is credited with revolutionizing the role of the bass in the jazz orchestra, making it a melodic contributor instead of just keeping time and laying out basic harmony. And Ben Webster was quite simply a giant. It just so happened that the two of them were in the band at the same time, and then you add all the great Ellington and Strayhorn compositions to that.”

The project’s inception can be traced back to 2013, when Masters invited Baron to perform at an Ellington Brass Encounters concert in Southern California. “Art is one of a kind as a player and as a person,” Masters explains. “He’s a great student of the music and knows all the history, plus he’s an original with a unique sound. It was a joy to be able to craft my writing specifically for him and that plunger mute specialty.”

 

Hagans’ inventive sound introduces a singular element all its own to several pieces, including a stunning muted solo on Masters’ deconstructed “Take the ‘A’ Train.” As Masters describes, “Tim is another one of a kind. I’ve introduced him at concerts as ‘an improviser who has created his own language,’ and there aren't many people that do that. His language is so unique, and I thought it would be interesting to include an element that you wouldn't normally associate with Ellington.”

 

The material on Masters & Baron Meet Blanton & Webster include some of the most familiar and oft-revisited titles in the Ellington-Strayhorn canon, including “Ko-Ko,” “In a Mellotone,” “A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing,” “I Got it Bad (And That Ain’t Good)” and of course, “Take the ‘A’ Train,” among others. Discovering a new angle on such well-worn repertoire might prove daunting to most arrangers; but for Masters, who specializes in recomposing music – taking the composition as raw material to be reworked to sometimes unrecognizable degrees – the familiarity proved freeing. In many cases his transformations required only the most tenuous resemblance to the originals in order to evoke their spirit while becoming an entirely new piece of music.

 

“All of the tunes are so well known that there would be no point in just going ahead and doing another arrangement of, say, ‘Take the ‘A’ Train,” he says. “I feel like I left enough that people can hear the tunes, but recomposed them enough to make them something of my own and something worth recording again. These classic Ellington compositions have been recorded countless times over the last 25 years, and some people don't want to touch them because they are such classics. But I always want to use the source material to do something dramatically different.”

Mark Masters

Long recognized as one of the great jazz arrangers of the last few decades, Mark Masters formed his first ensemble in 1982. He’s gone on to found the non-profit American Jazz Institute and has recorded tributes to Jimmy Knepper, Clifford Brown, Dewey Redman and other greats. The vehicle for his transformative orchestrations, The Mark Masters Ensemble, has featured some of the music’s most revered performers, including Billy Harper, Tim Hagans, Gary Smulyan, Peter Erskine, Steve Kuhn, Ray Drummond and Oliver Lake. His most recent album, Night Talk, delved deep into the catalogue of composer Alex Wilder, whose sophisticated approach blended jazz, classical and American popular song influences. Prior to that Masters reimagined works by Gerry Mulligan and Charles Mingus on 2017’s acclaimed Blue Skylight and assembled an all-star band of creative musicians to perform his own original works for Our Métier (2018). He has been named a Rising Star Arranger in the annual DownBeat Magazine Critics Poll on numerous occasions.

All Too Soon

Duke's Place

I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)

A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing

What Am I Here For?

Jack The Bear

Perdido

Passion Flower

The The 'A' Train

Ko-Ko

Introduction To A Mellotone

Mellotone

Kirsten Edkins, Jerry Pinter (tenor and soprano saxes)

Danny House (alto saxophone and clarinet)

Adam Schroeder (baritone saxophone)

Scott Englebright, Les Lovitt, Ron Stout, Tim Hagans (trumpet)

Les Benedict, Dave Woodley, Art Baron (trombone)

Bruse Lett (bass)

Mark Ferber (drums)

The Mark Masters Ensemble – Masters & Baron Meet Blanton & Webster

Capri Records – Capri 74166 – Recorded Oct. 7–8, 2019

Release date June 18, 2021

Pre-order

Keith Oxman and Frank Morelli - The Ox-Mo Incident (May 2021 Capri Records)

Tenor saxophonist Keith Oxman and bassoon virtuoso Frank Morelli find unique common ground on their new jazz-meets-classical quintet album

The Ox-Mo Incident, due out May 21, 2021 via Capri Records, pairs the Denver jazz great with the Juilliard bassoon professor for an unprecedented outing featuring pianist Jeff Jenkins, bassist Ken Walker and drummer Todd Reid

"If anyone still needs convincing that outstanding jazz players live and work in places other than on the East and West Coasts, they should check out Denver-based Keith Oxman... an excellent improviser with a fine sound, agile technique and sure harmonic sense. He also exhibits a thorough knowledge of the hard bop language and can swing like crazy." 

–  David Franklin, JazzTimes

“Morelli coaxed the most exquisite tones from his instrument. They were at times husky, gruff and growling, and at others sweet and soaring across three octaves, but always mellow and elegant, like a fine, mature red Burgundy.”

– John Farnworth, The Register Guardian

Jazz and classical music have crossed paths myriad times over the decades, but rarely is the meeting as unconventional yet congenial as this unlikely partnership between Denver-based tenor saxophonist Keith Oxman and bassoon virtuoso Frank Morelli. On their debut release, The Ox-Mo Incident, the two gifted instrumentalists turn the novel conjunction of two strange bedfellows into an intoxicating sound and a charming conversation between like-minded souls.

The pairing is a first for both Oxman and Morelli, and perhaps for jazz itself (if not, it’s beyond doubt a true rarity). Due out May 21, 2021 via Capri Records, The Ox-Mo Incident marks Morelli’s initial venture as a soloist into the world of jazz, a step he takes with swinging grace and agility. It proved challenging for Oxman in different ways, who had to darken his sound to share the frontline with such an unfamiliar partner. The two are expertly accompanied by three of Oxman’s Denver compatriots – pianist Jeff Jenkins, bassist Ken Walker and drummer Todd Reid, who also joined the saxophonist for his 2018 album Glimpses with sax legend Dave Liebman.

The album’s title makes a playful reference to Walter Van Tilburg Clark’s 1940 western novel The Ox-Bow Incidentand its cinematic adaptation starring Henry Fonda. But where that dark story finds a pair of drifters meeting a lynch mob in pursuit of suspected cattle rustlers, this chance encounter ends with decidedly happier results.

While their warm, casual rapport makes Oxman and Morelli seem like old friends, they in fact barely knew each other prior to the 2019 session that yielded The Ox-Mo Incident. The saxophonist’s wife, visual artist Susan Oxman (who provides the album’s liner notes) had studied bassoon with Morelli at the Hartt School and Manhattan School of Music. The two, whose birthdays fall just one week apart, would call each other each year during their respective celebrations. It was during one of these phone conversations that Morelli cracked a half-joking remark about the possibility of recording with her husband.

“Frank is just an unbelievable musician,” Oxman enthuses. “So I was really excited when he suggested this. Even though jazz might not be his musical field, good musicians are good musicians. And when somebody's as good as Frank, there's got to be something there.”

In choosing material for the session, the duo devised a clever way to find middle ground between their respective comfort zones. Many of the tunes selected were penned by songwriters familiar from the jazz repertory – Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe – but the particular pieces represented here were, in many cases, derived from classical compositions.

For instance: an old favorite, “Baubles, Bangles and Beads,” written by Robert Wright and George Forrest for the 1953 musical Kismet and performed by everyone from Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim to Sarah Vaughan to Gerry Mulligan, is based on a theme from Alexander Borodin’s String Quartet No. 2. The sultry version here borrows the bossa feel from the Sinatra-Jobim rendition. The same source yields the classic “Stranger in Paradise,” its enticing melody essayed by Morelli with stunning charm and dexterity.

“Full Moon and Empty Arms,” best known for Sinatra’s 1945 version but also explored by countless artists from Erroll Garner to Freddie Hubbard to Bob Dylan, is similarly based on a classical composition, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and is given a swooning, romantic treatment by Oxman and Morelli. “Three for Five” is a take on Brahms’ Third Symphony that eloquently showcases Morelli’s expressive suppleness on his instrument as well as Oxman’s emotional range, while “Poor Butterfly” takes flight from Puccini’s opera into smoky noir balladry. Gabriel Fauré’s well-known “Pavane” shines another spotlight on Morelli’s mesmerizing virtuosity, as he flawlessly renders the melancholy melody before yielding to Oxman’s soulful interpretation.

“I think we both had to endure each other's teaching a bit,” says Oxman with a laugh. “I'm not a classical player and Frank didn't see himself as a heavy jazz guy, so between the two of us we were like the blind leading the blind in some ways. But we were both thrilled with the results.”

For the remainder of the non-original material, the pair delved more into the jazz songbook. The album opens with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Happy Talk,” a spirited jaunt that sets the upbeat tone for the project as a whole. The same songwriting team contributes “Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” echoing the classic Miles Davis version. The album closes with the wistful “I Could Have Danced All Night,” which seems to look excitedly forward to another meeting.

Oxman also contributes two original tunes to the setlist. The title track was written for the occasion and makes ideal use of the singular tonal pairing, while “A Wasp in Search of a Hart and Lung” sticks to the jazz-meets-classical theme, albeit in a more tongue-in-cheek fashion. The eyebrow-raising title pays homage to Oxman’s one-time violin teacher, Sarah Hart, and her husband, Eric Lung. “I wasn't a very good violin player, but I practiced every single day,” Oxman explains. “My family endured it, but you can't pick that instrument up in your 50s and do much.” During one lesson, a wasp flew into the studio; Hart called out to her husband for help, who simply responded, “Just tell Keith to start playing – it'll leave!”

With all of the challenges that Oxman and Morelli faced in recording The Ox-Mo Incident, the major factor in their favor was the warm chemistry that they forged together, one that they hope to revisit soon. “The friendship that developed was so special,” Oxman concludes. “I've suddenly got this friend who I feel like I've known my whole life. We worked really hard, but in the end I was just excited to be working with somebody who I admired that much.”

Keith Oxman’s burnished tenor sound is born of a love of classic players like Sonny Stitt and Charles McPherson, with both of whom he’s played, along with greats like Art Blakey, Buddy Rich, Jack McDuff, Phil Woods and Dave Brubeck. Having learned directly from these masters, Oxman passes that torch along to his students at Denver’s East High School. In recent years he’s collaborated with the likes of Curtis Fuller, David Liebman and Houston Person and reunited with his iconic Denver band the Jazz Worms to release the quintet’s first new album in nearly three decades.

Bassoon soloist, chamber musician and teacher Frank Morelli studied at the Manhattan and Juilliard Schools of Music and was the first bassoonist awarded a doctorate by the Juilliard School. A member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the woodwind quintet Windscape, he has also made nine appearances as a soloist in Carnegie Hall. He serves on the faculties of The Juilliard School, Yale School of Music, Manhattan School of Music, SUNY Stony Brook and was recently named Distinguished Lecturer in Woodwinds at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, CUNY.

Happy Talk (6:57)

Full Moon and Empty Arms (5:14)

The Surrey With the Fringe on Top (5:16)

Baubles, Bangles and Beads (6:08)

The Ox-Mo Incident (5:38)

Three for Five (6:30)

Strangers in Paradise (7:46)

Poor Butterfly (6:10)

A Wasp in Search of a Hart and Lung (5:54)

Pavanne (6:01)

I Could Have Danced All Night (5:52)

Keith Oxman - tenor saxophone

Frank Morelli - bassoon

Jeff Jenkins - piano

Ken Walker - bass

Todd Reid - drums

Pre-order

Jazz WORMS - Squirmin’ (March 19, 2021 via Capri Records)

Denver-based jazz quintet Jazz WORMS reunites for their long-awaited second album, 30 years after their acclaimed debut

Squirmin’, due out March 19, 2021 via Capri Records, reconvenes all five original members: pianist Andy Weyl, saxophonist Keith Oxman, drummer Paul Romaine, cornetist Ron Miles and bassist Mark Simon

" Twenty-five years later and still Denver’s best jazz band." –Jazz @ Altitude review of Dazzle reunion concert

More than 30 years after the release of their acclaimed debut album, Denver-based quintet the Jazz WORMS make their belated return with Squirmin’, due out March 19, 2021 via Capri Records. Well worth waiting for, the thrilling new session reconvenes all five original WORMS – pianist Andy Weyl, saxophonist Keith Oxman, drummer Paul Romaine, cornetist Ron Miles and bassist Mark Simon – on an invigorating set of all-new material that picks up where the band left off three decades earlier.

More than 30 years after the release of their acclaimed debut album, Denver-based quintet the Jazz WORMS make their belated return with Squirmin’, due out March 19, 2021 via Capri Records. Well worth waiting for, the thrilling new session reconvenes all five original WORMS – pianist Andy Weyl, saxophonist Keith Oxman, drummer Paul Romaine, cornetist Ron Miles and bassist Mark Simon – on an invigorating set of all-new material that picks up where the band left off three decades earlier.

Just as their 1987 debut, Crawling Out, made species-appropriate reference to the emergence of five new voices on the jazz scene, so Squirmin’ captures the sense of eager anticipation and urgency that marks this long-overdue sophomore effort. Both the continuity and the passage of time are reflected by the album cover, which replicates its predecessor with a bit more gray hair and an updated fashion sense.

“I think Crawling Out made a mark of some sort,” says Oxman with a fair degree of understatement. “I run into people all the time who say, ‘I still have that original vinyl,’ or ‘I used to love hearing you guys play.’ So it feels marvelous to be together again.”

The long hiatus can be chalked up to the fact that each of the WORMS has enjoyed a busy and fruitful career in his own right. Oxman is a mainstay of the Denver scene who has recorded albums with such legends as Charles McPherson, Dave Liebman and Houston Person in addition to being a highly influential educator at the city’s East High School. Miles has become one of the most acclaimed artists on the current jazz scene, recording his own albums for Blue Note while forging meaningful collaborations with greats like Bill Frisell, Jason Moran, Brian Blade and Joshua Redman. Weyl has toured the world with the vocal group Rare Silk and crossed paths with such artists of note as James Moody, Tom Harrell, Benny Golson and Eddie Harris. Romaine and Simon co-founded the Colorado supergroup Convergence. 

But when they first joined forces in the early 1980s, the WORMS (the name is an acronym for their respective last names) were simply five rising stars on the Denver jazz scene eager to find opportunities to craft an original sound. “We all grew up together,” reflects Oxman. “We were all young guys coming up at the same time who had similar ideas about music and just enjoyed playing together.” After a few years, however, each found himself on a separate path until a 2014 reunion concert at the revered Denver jazz club Dazzle revealed that the old chemistry was intact.

Squirmin’ not only fulfills the band members’ long-held desire to recapture the magic, it also marks the realization of a dream for Capri Records founder Thomas Burns, who was himself in the early stages of a remarkable career as a label owner, promoter, photographer, writer and entrepreneur. “I really wanted to record their first album, but [vocalist and label owner] James Van Buren beat me to it,” Burns recalls. “The Jazz WORMS had such a different sound for that period of time, when most jazz musicians in Denver were still looking back at the classic jazz of Ben Webster and Coleman Hawkins. To hear a group of young guys at the time just blowin' their asses off was really exciting.” 

That sound still feels vital and current today, realized through eight captivating new compositions. The album kicks off, appropriately enough, with Simon’s sizzling “Launching Pad,” on which he and Romaine lay down a muscular groove punctuated by knife-edged horn lines. Simon also contributed the jaunty “What If All?” which spurs graceful melodic flights from Weyl and Miles. Romaine’s two pieces were inspired by his pet birds – and, in the case of “Wheaty Bowl,” one iconic Bird: Charlie Parker, who Wheaty can apparently chirp along to and whose memorable compositions are quoted throughout the piece. “Bu’s Box,” meanwhile, reference Bu’s cardboard home, which supplements Romaine’s percussive arsenal on the tune itself.

Oxman’s new compositions are both dedications. “Joaquin” is something of a companion piece to an earlier tune, “Elena,” recorded with Charles McPherson. That piece was written for a close friend’s granddaughter; “Joaquin” is for the same friend’s grandson, and captures the sense of wonder and tenderness evoked by a newborn. “The Chimento Files,” which closes the album, is a simmering blues dedicated to one of Oxman’s East High colleagues, Alan Chimento. Weyl’s pair of offerings range from the blistering “Lickity-Split” to the wistful, self-explanatory “Balladesque.”

The results of this welcome rebirth exceeded expectations. “It was magical,” Burns says. “I love the way these guys interact. They seem symbiotic: they speak as one, they listen to one another, all the stuff that they teach about jazz musicians – they have it. They always shine as a group.”

“I'm thrilled about this album,” Oxman says. “I think it’s even better than the first one. I think that’s mostly due to the fact that we all truly love each other and love playing together, even though it's sometimes been difficult to get us all in one room.”

Pre-order

Keith Oxman with Dave Liebman in Glimpses, Sept. 21 on CAPRI RECORDS

Tenor saxophonist Keith Oxman partners with legendary sax man David Liebman for new Capri Records release Glimpses

Oxman's working trio with pianist Jeff Jenkins, bassist Ken Walker, and drummer Todd Reid backs the Coltrane-inspired saxophonists in standards and originals

"Keith Oxman is a young man of great consequence. He has learned to function with one foot in the present and the other in the future, while leaning quite heavily in the direction of the future."

- Benny Golson

"Keith Oxman's abilities as a writer make him a force to be reckoned with."

- Ken Dryden, AllMusic

"OxmanŠleans towards bop, but he also throws in a bit of funk and knows how to swing." His tone on the tenor breathes a warm, coaxing fire that he molds into each composition with flair and imagination."

- Jerry D'Souza, All About Jazz

When acclaimed Denver saxophonist Keith Oxman joined forces with the legendary David Liebman, magic happened. Glimpses, out September 21, 2018 on Capri Records, offers listeners more than just a few quick looks at the musical partnership between the two saxophonists. On eight meaty tracks the pair demonstrates virtuosic technique, remarkable musicality, and an astonishing camaraderie.

For more than four decades Oxman listened to and transcribed solos from many jazz greats like Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. Among his first transcriptions was one of Liebman's recordings. Through a former student he was able to connect with Liebman's daughter, then the man himself. The two developed a mutual respect, rapport, and friendship that shines brightly on Glimpses. With Oxman on tenor sax and Liebman on soprano and tenor, the artists approach the music with intelligence, sensitivity, and joy. They are ably backed throughout by Oxman's working band with pianist Jeff Jenkins, bassist Ken Walker, and drummer Todd Reid.

Both Oxman and Liebman are devotees of the late, great John Coltrane, a connection which cements their combined sound. "I really enjoyed Keith's compositions that have challenging and interesting harmonic twists and turns, always framed with lyrical, melodic content." says Liebman.

The conversational, musically sensitive relationship between Oxman and Liebman is established on the record's opening track, Oxman's "Shai," in which the horns interact with solo licks and unison statements before breaking off in hard swinging solos. The exquisite ballad "Lenny," another Oxman original, follows with Liebman's smoky soprano saxophone joined by Oxman's sweet tenor. Oxman's "Trane's Pal" pays homage to the inspirational John Coltrane with a punchy head followed by wailing, bop-inspired solos.

Liebman takes the reins on the Ellington classic "In a Sentimental Mood," showing off his masterful musicianship and sense of fun in a duet with pianist Jenkins, whose wistful, extended piano solo leads into Liebman's expressive, searching rendition of the time-honored melody. "Afreaka" by Cedar Walton has Oxman and Liebman trading eights and grooving to a world beat. On Oxman's upbeat "Louminus," the pair exploit the range of their instruments with guttural low notes and wailing altissimo. Oxman alone is featured on the deep catalogue standard "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman" by Leon Rene, and his expressive horn sings on the gorgeous melody. The album closes with the title track "Glimpses," a Liebman original that delivers a powerful double-barreled saxophone tour de force.

Glimpses is a remarkable achievement, bringing together one saxophonist and his trio with a horn legend who remains as receptive to and excited about the music as ever. "I love this process and the ensuing bond that develops so quickly when jazz musicians interact," says Liebman. That bond is evident all over Glimpses, which brims with lyrical melodies, surprising harmonics, fantastic solos, and masterful horn playing.

From the tender age of 12 when he first picked up a tenor sax given to him by a cousin, Denver native Keith Oxman spent his musical career studying jazz greats like Sonny Stitt, Mel Torme, Louis Bellson, Phil Woods, Buddy Rich, Tom Harrell, Jack McDuff, Joe Bonner, and many others. This is Keith's 10th album on the Capri over the last 24 years.

NEA Jazz Master David Liebman is considered a renaissance man in contemporary music with a career stretching nearly fifty years. He has played with masters including Miles Davis, Elvin Jones, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, McCoy Tyner, and others, authored books and instructional DVDs which are acknowledged as classics in the jazz field, and recorded as a leader in styles ranging from classical to rock and free jazz.  He has performed on over 500 recordings with over 200 as a leader/co-leader featuring several hundred original compositions.

caprirecords.com

Mark Masters with Andrew Cyrille, Oliver Lake, Tim Hagans, Mark Turner and more - Sept. 21 on CAPRI RECORDS

Composer and arranger Mark Masters paints compelling jazz landscapes for eight original works on new Capri Records release Our Métíer

With Andrew Cyrille, Oliver Lake, Mark Turner, Tim Hagans, Gary Foster,

Dave Woodley, Putter Smith, Anna Mjoll and more

"Masters' arrangements allow the freedom for solos that are creative in the extreme."

- Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz

"Masters' arrangements are, no pun intended, masterful."

- Scott Albin, JazzTimes

With his Capri release Our Métíer (September 21, 2018), Mark Masters applies his prodigious talent for painting brilliant, complex, and satisfying jazz landscapes.  The eight Masters compositions featured on the album showcase some of the most adventurous creative improvising musicians in jazz today: Andrew Cyrille, Mark Turner, Oliver Lake, Tim Hagans, Gary Foster, Dave Woodley and Putter Smith. In addition, Masters incorporates the unique voice of Anna Mjoll as an orchestral color, mixing with the instrumental waves in wordless swirls of sound. 

The ensemble that supports these improvisers includes Scott Englebright and Les Lovitt (trumpet), Stephanie O'Keefe (French horn), Les Benedict and Ryan Dragon (trombone), Jerry Pinter, Kirsten Edkins and Bob Carr (woodwinds), Ed Czach (piano), and Craig Fundyga (vibes). The group's big band sound is augmented by bass clarinet and vibes giving the project, at times, an ethereal personality.

In his ten previous projects for Capri Records, Masters has reimagined the music of Lee Konitz, Gary McFarland, Dewey Redman, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (Steely Dan), Grachan Moncur III and Clifford Brown.

With Our Métíer, Masters has produced a classic "free-bop" large ensemble statement.  One key to the success of the recording is the combination of improvisers completely simpatico with the compositions. In fact, the music was conceived and written specifically for these soloists. The music itself is an artist's canvas filled with all the hues and textures that flow from Masters' creative core.

The opening track "Borne Towards the Stars," inspired by the conclusion of Malcolm Lowry's novel "Under the Volcano," shimmers with atmospheric gravity and features explosive solos by Lake and Hagans.  In "51 West 51st Street," drummer Cyrille establishes the groove after an opening steeped in funk featuring Mjoll and Carr's bass clarinet.  When Hagans and Foster boogaloo into the musical space you can close your eyes and imagine being in Toots Shor's legendary New York City bar.  "Lift" is an understated blues featuring Mjoll's exquisite voice and solid solo work from Mjoll, Lake, Smith and Fundyga.  The harmonically engaging "Ingvild's Dance" with Foster and Turner brings to mind the classic pairing of Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh. "A Précis of Dialogue" is the first of two collective improvisations demonstrating clear textures and sparkling musical interplay with Turner, Foster, Cyrille and Smith.  Foster, Smith, Woodley, and Turner deliver emotionally charged solo statements on the heartbreakingly gorgeous ballad "Dispositions of the Heart."  "Obituary" is Masters' tribute to friends and teachers no longer living.  Far from a dirge, the composition is an up- tempo, celebratory romp that shows off the ensemble in top form.  From the haunting opening and trombone clusters aided by Mjoll to the sophisticated tenor sax and trumpet solos that follow, "Luminescence" brings you the blues in an entirely different way. "In Our Time," the second of two collective improvisations is wildly exploratory, conversational and always compelling.  The title track closes the recording with a powerful, quintessential "free-bop" statement.

Mark Masters Biography

Mark Masters (b. 1957) has earned wide acclaim as an inventive and prolific composer and arranger. All About Jazz calls him "one of the great jazz arrangers of the late 20th and 21st centuries."  Born in 1957 in Gary, Indiana, Masters studied jazz at California State in LA. He organized his first ensemble in 1982 and has never looked back.

"A strikingly creative spirit," (Jim Santella, All About Jazz), Masters has led numerous recording sessions, almost all for Capri Records. Among them are Priestess (Capri, 1990) that Masters wrote to feature Billy Harper and Jimmy Knepper.  A subsequent recording with Knepper, The Jimmy Knepper Songbook (Focus, 1993), featured arrangements by Masters of Knepper's compositions.

Masters' most recent recording Blue Skylight (Capri, 2017), features his innovative ensemble writing and unique approach to the music of Gerry Mulligan and Charles Mingus.  Farewell Walter Dewey Redman (Capri, 2008) features Masters' "in and out" approach and re-casts Dewey Redman's music while retaining its substance.  The project features Oliver Lake, Tim Hagans, Dave Carpenter, and Peter Erskine. Other recordings include Wish Me Well (Capri, 2005) with Steve Kuhn, Gary Smulyan, Gary Foster, and Tim Hagans, Exploration (Capri, 2004) with Grachan Moncur III's octet arranged by Masters, One Day With Lee (Capri, 2004) featuring alto saxophonist Lee Konitz, and The Clifford Brown Project (Capri, 2003) featuring Jack Montrose, Gary Smulyan, Tim Hagans, Cecilia Coleman, and Joe La Barbera. In addition, in 2013 Capri released two recordings, Ellington Saxophone Encounters and Everything You Did: The Music of Walter Becker & Donald Fagen.

Masters' 2005 recording Porgy and BessŠRedefined! (Capri) is a more harmonically adventurous approach to Gershwin's classic folk opera than what has come before.  John Kelman, writing for All About Jazz said "ŠMasters' score is the real star here.  From the opening fanfare he introduces two contrasting elements that, to a large part, define the approach to the whole suite-vibrant swing and some surprisingly free passages.  He clearly proves that it's possible to take a piece that has been approached from a variety of angles and still find a new way in."

Since 1998, Masters has been president of The American Jazz Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to the enrichment and enhancement of the appreciation of jazz. Under Masters' direction, the AJI supports activities that educate and expose the public to jazz through live performance and an oral history project, as well as by supporting charitable endeavors that advance jazz music. One such endeavor is the AJI's Find Your Own Voice mentoring program that takes professional musicians to middle and upper school campuses to present clinics and master classes to student musicians. 

Masters served as a guest lecturer at Claremont McKenna College (1999 - 2006) where he was involved with the History of Jazz class, overseeing an oral history project, and writing for and producing a series of concerts that brought such notable artists to the college as Billy Harper, Billy Hart, Bennie Maupin, Rufus Reid, Sam Rivers, Andrew Cyrille, Mark Turner, Gary Foster, Lee Konitz, Jack Montrose, John La Porta, Tim Hagans, Gary Smulyan, Ray Drummond, Steve Kuhn, Peter Erskine, Joe La Barbera, Ted Brown, Grachan Moncur III, Henry Grimes, and Dewey Redman.

Masters has been named a Rising Star Arranger in DownBeat Magazine's Annual Critics Poll multiple times.

caprirecords.com

Ernie Krivda and Swing City - A Bright and Shining Moment (CAPRI RECORDS 2018)

At the helm of his Swing City septet, Ernie Krivda – Cleveland’s tenor saxophone titan – creates A Bright and Shining Moment

The album – released on Capri Records June 15, 2018 – features his creative compositions and arrangements alongside enduring standards

“One of the finest mainstream/modern players we have.” – Robert Iannopolio, Cadence Magazine

“It takes a special talent to be able to convey not just the human spectrum of emotions, but a sense of history.“ – Chuck Yarborough, The Plain Dealer

A local hero who has gone on to become a national treasure, Cleveland’s Ernie Krivda is one of the great tenor saxophonists of present day jazz. Listeners familiar with his many recordings and who’ve been lucky to witness his instrumental magic live can attest to Krivda’s creativity and outsized virtuosity. His new recording A Bright and Shining Moment, available June 15 via Capri Records, allows us a satisfying glimpse of Krivda’s wider range of musical talents. In addition to his superb saxophone stylings we have a chance to appreciate Krivda’s skills as an inventive composer and arranger and an inspired bandleader of a mid-sized ensemble. For those who know the Cleveland polymath mainly as a charging improviser, A Bright and Shining Moment will be a revelation.

As Krivda explains in the album’s detailed liner notes, the original septet’s mission was to reflect a broad swath of jazz styles, touching on milestone eras of the music. “The band would be called Swing City,” Krivda relates. ”The name would identify the rhythmic groove that the band’s musical stories would ride on, and our respect for its place in the pantheon of jazz. We valued freedom of spirit with a commitment to feel and melodic clarity as sources of beauty and a way to connect with each other and the audience. With a fresh perspective, we heard a jazz culture that would use skill, craft, and individuality to create a people’s music.” A Bright and Shining Moment captures recordings from the ensemble’s prime period shortly before it disbanded in 2002. 

Swing City’s very reason for being was to produce driving, lusty and accessible jazz. Whether digging into durable Eliingtonia including “Mood Indigo,” “Caravan” and “The Mooche”; such standards as “Summertime” and “The Man I Love”; a gathering of Hoagy Carmichael gems; or Krivda’s own memorable tunes including the beautiful Strayhorn-influenced ballad “Easter Blue,” Swing City fully lived up to its name. 

As always with Krivda’s projects, there’s plenty of meaty saxophone playing, but one can’t miss the resourcefulness and ingenuity of his arrangements. Brilliantly building on a song’s structure, Krivda spins his own captivating melodic tales, masterfully blending swing era, bebop and other delightful hints of sundry jazz styles. (The drummer John Bacon takes credit for the fine charts on “The Mooche and “Dream of Life.”) Krivda’s scores make sure to feature other talented members of the septet including pianist Joe Hunter, trombonist Chris Anderson, bassist Marion Hayden and trumpeter Steve Enos. (The late local legend Marshall Baxter Beckley is the featured vocalist on a rousing version of “Summertime.”)

Swing City may no long exist as a working unit, but A Bright and Shining Moment ensures that this energized ensemble will not soon be forgotten.

A 2009 recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize award for lifetime achievement in music, the saxophonist, bandleader educator and recording artist Ernie Krivda has been a driving force in jazz since the 1960s. After establishing himself as one of Cleveland’s foremost musicians, Krivda performed with such major jazz artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Buddy DeFranco and David Sanborn. At the helm of his own quartet as well as the Fat Tuesday Big Band, Krivda has firmed up a national reputation as a leading improviser and bandleader. Krivda has also won the Jazz Legends award from the Tri-C Jazz Festival and a Community Partnership of Arts and Culture Fellowship. 

www.erniekrivda.com

caprirecords.com

Jeff Hamilton Trio - Live from San Pedro (CAPRI RECORDS 2018)

Drummer Jeff Hamilton's band with Tamir Hendelman and Christoph Luty

takes its place in the trio pantheon with Live from San Pedro

Mainstream perfection as delivered by three spirited virtuosos

Available February 16, 2018 on Capri Records

"The joy is evident in the music itself.  Hamilton, Hendelman and Luty have a sublime rapport." - Bobby Reed, DownBeat Magazine Editor's Pick

"Joy - unbounded, infectious, irresistible - that's what Jeff Hamilton and his trio deliver." - Geoffrey C. Ward, co-author of Jazz: A History of America's Music

Little did anyone imagine that it would take a masterly drummer to pick up the mantle of the late, great Oscar Peterson as a leader of outstanding piano, bass and drum trios. Still, those with attuned ears will recognize that Jeff Hamilton has assembled one of the most meticulous and exciting small ensembles of present day jazz. With the virtuosic pianist Tamir Hendelman and the redoubtable bassist Christoph Luty working in swinging tandem alongside him, Hamilton-one of the most acclaimed drummers of the past five decades-reasserts his role as an invaluable bandleader. Live from San Pedro, available February 16, 2018 via Capri Records, is proof that the chemistry between these three equally gifted and assertive players remains unabated 17 years into the group's existence. Nodding to the grand tradition that predates them, yet eager to put a fresh face on the musical proceedings, the Hamilton trio stakes its place as a classic ensemble within the hallowed history of piano trios.

Captured at a single night's performance at the Alvas Showroom in San Pedro, California, the trio dives deep into an imaginative repertoire that includes bop standards ("In Walked Bud"), a beloved ballad ("I Have Dreamed"), reworked show tunes ("Gary, Indiana"), a classic from the Ahmad Jamal playbook ("Poinciana") and a host of original tunes from group members and others including John Clayton and Joe LaBarbera. The set demonstrates the indivisible unity that the threesome has achieved, as well as the individual virtuosity of each distinguished trio member. While not overtly resembling the trios of Oscar Peterson, the Hamilton trio shares the same rigorous adherence to stop-on-a-dime arrangements, careful dynamics and perfectly framed improvisations.

While asserting his leadership through his extraordinary rhythmic control, not to mention his exquisite taste, Hamilton is the opposite of a grandstanding percussionist. As Geoffrey C. Ward has written, "He's a musician first and foremost, always eager to serve the music, not to make the music serve him." One of the great practitioners of the art of brushwork, Hamilton gets to exhibit his mastery throughout the recording; his feature, "Brush This," composed by the bassist John Clayton (Hamilton's cohort in the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra) is a special treat. His equally renowned stick work is also abundantly on display. With Hamilton navigating the trio through its paces, and Hendelman and Luty locking in with communal exactness, the band becomes a well-oiled, yet creatively inspired, swing machine.

One of the giants of mainstream jazz drumming, Jeff Hamilton has been heard with the big bands of Woody Herman and Count Basie, and as a member of the popular L.A. 4, as well as with such icons as Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Brown, Monty Alexander and Oscar Peterson. In addition to his work with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Hamilton has appeared with Diana Krall both in performance and on recordings.  Live from San Pedro is his third Capri Records album with the Jeff Hamilton trio.

The Israeli-born Tamir Hendelman has played with such luminaries as Tierney Sutton, Teddy Edwards and Harry Allen, and is the pianist for the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. Christoph Luty is also a member of the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and has worked with Diana Krall, John Pizzarelli and Milt Jackson, among others.

hamiltonjazz.com

caprirecords.com

Mike Jones & Penn Jillette - The Show Before the Show (CAPRI RECORDS March 16, 2018)

Piano master Mike Jones joins forces with bassist/magician 

Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller for striking new album 

The Show Before the Show available March 16, 2018 on Capri Records

Musical director for the Penn & Teller show joins his boss in a magical jazz duet

“The most remarkable pure technique of any piano player working in jazz today.” – Neil Tesser, Author of The Playboy Guide to Jazz

“Yup, this is Jonesy, our piano player. He’s a monster.” – Penn Jillette

Sometimes jazz can itself seem like magic, its best practitioners spontaneously spinning breathtaking improvised music out of thin air. Mike Jones, one of our most accomplished mainstream jazz pianists, is certainly a wizard of sorts–a technical marvel whose melodic and rhythmic gifts astonish on a regular basis. On The Show Before the Show this beguiling artist is joined by a bassist who, in another capacity, also knows how to dazzle with regularity: Penn Jillette, the internationally acclaimed magician who, for over four decades, has been best known as the verbal half of the renowned magic duo Penn & Teller. The Show Before the Show reveals that Jones retains his status as a spectacularly gifted player, and that Jillette has fashioned himself into an excellent musician who inspires his partner with unerring support. 

That the super pianist and Jillette work so well together is certainly little surprise. Jones has been the musical director for Penn & Teller’s Las Vegas show since early 2002, playing both before the show begins and, when called upon, during the act. As the new millennium began, Jillette, who played the electric bass as a pastime, began to seriously study the acoustic instrument. Joining Jones on stage during the early set (“the show before the show”), Jillette and the pianist would romp through well-loved standards, providing the audience with a taste of first-rate jazz. Nearly twenty years later, the duo still sound like they’re having the time of their lives. 

As Jillette has said, “When you ask Jonesy what kind of music we play, he says, “Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown.” When you ask me, I say, “Oscar Peterson and…a bass player.” I wear a hat and a coat, and even though I’m very recognizable, you just don’t expect the pre-show bass player to be someone important. I’m not lit, and people don’t notice me…I make all the money doing the Penn and Teller show, but the 45 minutes before the show is just wonderful for me. It’s very humbling to play with Jonesy. He’s never wrong.”

Standards make up the bulk of The Show Before the Show, including such imperishable tunes as “Broadway,” “Have You Met Miss Jones,” and “There is No Greater Love” as well as the Bossa Nova classics “Corcovado” and “Manha de Carnival.” (There’s also room for Jones’s own joyful “Box Viewing Blues.”)

Throughout, Jones displays his matchless virtuosity, his prodigious technical gifts and sweeping knowledge of the jazz tradition allowing him to mingle swing, pre-swing and stride idioms effortlessly and with utmost taste. Although he works seamlessly with his duet partner, Jones is also given a chance to demonstrate his one-man-band abilities on the closing track, “Exactly Like You.” A tour de force of dashing pianistics, the performance becomes a showcase for Jones’s two-handed wizardry. For his part, Jillette, the perfect support player, grounds the music with rhythmically sure and harmonically apt playing, even getting off some snappy solos in the bargain.

“I can’t imagine anyone would see my position in jazz and not think it’s the most enviable possible,” Jillette has stated. “I get to play professionally, not need the money and play with the best person in the world. Beat that!”

Graduating from the Berklee College of Music in 1986, Mike Jones remained in the Boston area working with such eminent local players as Herb Pomeroy and Gray Sargent. After significant East Coast performances, appearances at the Floating Jazz Festival on the S.S. Norway and the Queen Elizabeth ll, and a series of acclaimed recordings that established him as a world-class pianist steeped in the pre-bop jazz tradition, Jones relocated to Las Vegas where he caught the eye of Penn Jillette, who in 2002, brought Jones onboard for the nightly Penn and Teller show.  He has released two highly acclaimed albums on Capri Records: 2012’s Plays Well With Others, and 2016’s Roaring. He is a Kawai Pianos artist.