Adamson’s quintet features his original compositions; everything they perform is drawn from Adamson’s vast catalogue of original work that teems with exiting polyrhythms and richly contrasted harmonies.
Featuring: Andy Adamson: keyboards Dan Bennett: saxophone Brennan Andes: bass Jonathon Taylor: drums Ross Huff: trumpet
EARLY REVIEWS:
The saxophone solo soars and cries with abandon, and it is as if the other instruments are determined to intensify in their own ways to meet its fervor.
-Dodie Gould, Lemonwire
The band has a virile and muscular sound, while the leader’s full fisted chords charging ahead with Taylor riding on his back on pieces like the snappy “Twilight in the Making” and the loping “First Light.” Bennett’s searing alto is soulful on the latter, while on tenor he howls like late period Coltrane on the ferocious “High Street Roundabout.” Andes’ work on electric bass gives reflections of Jaco Pastorius as he gets funky with Adamson’s keyboard on the bicep flexing “Dived We Stand.” Huff’s trumpet is bright and clear on the Blue Note-inspired “Sunny Side Up” while the rhythm team shows its more mellow side as the leader floats mellow chords on “Once Through the Changes.” Fans of post modern hard
bop will have a field day with this easy pleaser.
-George Harris, Jazzweekly
Adamson likes to get wild and wooly taking the whole thing to places Brian Auger would think were out of bounds in his jazz/rock excursions. Often taking the church basement to the penthouse, Adamson and his gang sound like the kind of crew that soul easily bring the house down in a live setting.
This stuff gets your blood flowing.
-Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Andy Adamson is a self-taught Ann Arbor native composer and musician. Starting his original band journey in sixth grade, Andy has composed music for his all original bands and played keyboards for over 50 years. Influenced by the likes of: John Coltrane, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Chick Corea, Andy has composed a vast catalogue of original modern jazz compositions. Over the years Andy has played many styles of music: jazz standards in solo and trio setting, cuban folk music with Melodioso, rockabily swing with Dick Siegel’s Ministers of Melody, funk with Norma Jean Bell and the All Stars, disco and rock with multiple Detroit based club bands, and rhythm and blues with the Ann Arbor band F.U.B.A.R. Andy’s latest release, First Light, features a collection of his traditional and fusion jazz compositions.
Jonathan Taylor is a Detroit-based drummer, improviser, composer, and educator. A tireless collaborator, he co-leads a number of original projects, including the avant-rock quartet saajtak, the multi-media sound and movement ensemble Legs, the electro-acoustic duo Says Things, and his own trio of original music featuring pianist Michael Malis and master bassist Jaribu Shahid. He has performed alongside such luminaries of creative music as: Wadada Leo Smith, Dave Liebman, Karl Berger, and Michael Formanek, and is a founding member of Polyfold, a musical arts collective. Jon earned a BFA in Jazz and Contemplative Studies from the University of Michigan, where he studied improvisation with Geri Allen and Ed Sarath, composition with Andrew Bishop and Evan Chambers, and performance with Sean Dobbins, Ellen Rowe, and Michael Gould.
Dan Bennett is a saxophonist, and composer. Dan received BFA in saxophone performance/jazz studies from the University of Michigan (2004). Current associations include NOMO (ubiquity records), Colin Stetson’s Sorrow: A reimagining of Gorecki’s 3rd Symphony, the Planet D Nonet’s Sun Ra and Township jazz projects, and many permutations of his own trio/quartet/quintet that plays regularly in Ann Arbor Mi.
Brennan Andes has been a part of the Ann Arbor music community for 18 years. He has pursued music locally, nationally, and internationally. Known for his innovative work on stage and in the studio he has performed with Smokestack, Dick Siegel, George Bedard, Rootstand, Chris Good, Frontier Ruckus, Luke Windslow-King, Seth and May, Chris Bathgate, etc. He has an eight year old daughter and plans to continue his life as an active father and a full time musician
Ross Huff is a composer, arranger, producer, and a performer on the trumpet and flugelhorn. He is a student of piano, guitar, french horn, trombone, percussion & voice. A 2004 BFA graduate with Honors from the University of Michigan School of Music Jazz and Contemplative Studies, Ross has recording credits with the Macpodz, the Tone Farmers, Rhyta Musik, May Erlewine, Friends with the Weather, Darrin James Band, John Latini, Chris Bathgate, Seth Bernard, the Go Rounds, Chris Good, Dave Boutette, Charlene Kaye, the Appleseed Collective, Lindsay Lou & Joshua Rilko and a solo EP (2009) the Muse. Ross has played all over the world the furthest - Haparanda Sweden/Tornio Finland, International Women’s Theater Festival, June 2005, with Josefina Baez at the Ay Ombe Theater (15km from Arctic Circle)! He enjoys baseball, kites, lawn sports, writing, reading & cooking, sitting at sturdy tables eating and drinking, and good talk. Ross is also an occasional freelance journalist & editor.
Adamson’s quintet features his original compositions; everything they perform is drawn from Adamson’s vast catalogue of original work that teems with exiting polyrhythms and richly contrasted harmonies. Listeners will find driving freewheeling precision in his creative pen. Adamson’s current band, featured on his latest album, First Light, includes: Brennan Andes (acoustic and electric bass), known for his innovative bass work with the Macpodz, the Ragbirds, and Vincent York. Drummer Jonathan Taylor, who has studied with pianist Geri Allen and performed with trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, is guided by what he calls a “cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary approach to improvisation.”
Ross Huff (trumpet), known for his hot trumpet work with the Macpodz and the Tone Farmers, joined the band near the end of the recording session and contributed a beautiful solo on Sunny Side Up. In addition to Adamson’s fleet keyboard work, First Light provides a setting for the hard hitting, melodically inventive tenor saxophone playing of Dan Bennett, whose powerful tone and astonishing command of his instrument mesmerizes throughout. This is a tight quintet that has developed an intimate rapport. Adamson’s compositions glow with a joy earned though decades of selfmotivation and hard work. He’s clearly in his element, collaborating with creative young musicians in music that is constantly being reinvented.
1. First Light 5:41
2. Corner Store 6:02
3. Twilight in the Making 5:25
4. Velvet Sunset 5:36
5. Divided We Stand 4:54
6. Once Through the Changes 3:24
7. High Street Roundabout 6:21
8. Transparent Dream 4:12
9. Sunny Side Up 6:28
