Chris Pasin and Friends "Baby It's Cold Outside" CD Release Show Saturday, December 2nd 8 pm @ Maureen's Jazz Cellar

Chris Pasin and Friends

"Baby It's Cold Outside"

CD Release Show

Saturday, December 2nd 8 pm

@ Maureen's Jazz Cellar

2 N Broadway

Nyack, NY 10960

(845) 535-3143

Tickets & Info

Featuring

Chris Pasin - trumpet

Patricia Dalton Fennell - vocals

Armen Donelian - piano

Ira Coleman - bass

Jeff Siegel - drums

The following weekend with the same personnel...

12/9@Hudson Hall (Hudson Opera House) 7 pm

12/10#Ossining Public Library 2 pm

with special guest Eric Person - saxophone and flute

New Christmas Jazz CD

From Chris Pasin and Friends

"Baby It's Cold Outside"

Jazz trumpeter Chris Pasin spreads warm holiday spirit with his new CD

of seasonal classics, Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Artist: CHRIS PASIN AND FRIENDS

Title: BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE

Label: Planet Arts

Artist Website: www.chrispasin.com 

Release Date: OCTOBER 6, 2017

UPC Code: 820428301714

Track listing w/ track time

1. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 5:44

2. Santa Claus is Coming to Town 5:21

3. We Three Kings of Orient Are 6:31

4. Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel 6:34

5. Baby It’s Cold Outside 4:22

6. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear 4:41

7. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 4:48

8. Greensleeves 4:10

9. Christmas Time is Here 4:24

10. I’ll be Home for Christmas 3:24

11. The Christmas Song 7:18

Musicians:

Chris Pasin - trumpet, flugelhorn, vocal

Armen Donelian - piano

Ira Coleman - bass

Je Siegel - drums

Rich Syracuse - bass

Peter Einhorn - guitar

Patricia Dalton Fennell - vocal 

From subtle to sexy to swinging, Chris Pasin and friends'

shine a brilliant light on the best yuletide favorites

Nothing gets music lovers in a celebrating mood like listening to their favorite carols, and this brand-new CD, Baby, It’s Cold Outside, delivers a whopping dose of holiday cheer. On 11 of the most-beloved sounds of the season, trumpeter Chris Pasin and friends show they have a real gift for making such familiar material their own, while maintaining the spirit and warmth that’s such a major part of the yuletide celebrations.

Equally comfortable on both trumpet and flugelhorn, leader Chris Pasin has proved himself among the most versatile of musicians. Besides fronting his own bands, he’s been a mainstay of ensembles led by the likes of Buddy Rich, Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin, George Russell, and Brother Jack McDu . Pasin has also appeared with legendary gures including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme and Ray Charles, to name a few.

For Baby, It’s Cold Outside, Pasin has assembled a stellar ensemble of some of the most in-demand musicians on the New York jazz scene. Among them: pianist Armen Donelian (Sonny Rollins, Chet Baker, Paquito D’Rivera); bassists Ira Coleman (Freddie Hubbard, Betty Carter, Herbie Hancock) and Rich Syracuse (Mose Allison, Bernard Purdy, Kurt Elling); drummer Je Siegel (Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette, Sheila Jordan); singer Patricia Dalton Fennell (Dave Holland, Giacomo Gates, Pete Levin); and guitarist Peter Einhorn (Joe Lovano, Placido Domingo, Jim Hall).

Highlights from Baby, It’s Cold Outside include:

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”: Here’s a subtle, sensitive and understated version of a classic that steers clear of the overly sentimental, right from Donelian’s heart-felt piano opener. “We Three Kings”: Uptempo and bursting with energy, the band brings great drive and brilliant feeling to this beloved carol, which features an excellent solo from leader Pasin. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”: Check out the sexy and playful collaboration between Pasin and vocalist Patricia Dalton Fennell. The twosome demonstrate their wit and camaraderie as they work their seductive skills on the lyrics. “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”: A very welcome new take on a traditional tune turns it into a cooker; the great rhythmic drive makes it downright danceable. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”: Pasin and Einhorn shine on solos in this unique treatment of a 1940s-vintage hit.

Pasin and friends' fresh take on the greatest songs of the season celebrate the beloved classics in an original and vastly appealing style. Listeners will enjoy old favorites in a new way this holiday season, thanks to the great renditions performed by this talented and creative ensemble.

NATIONAL PRESS CAMPAIGN

Jim Eigo Jazz Promo Services

Ph: 845-986-1677 / jim@jazzpromoservices.com

www.jazzpromoservices.com

"Specializing in Media Campaigns for the music community, artists, labels, venues and events.”

Didier Lockwood – Open Doors (2017)

Dix ans qu’on attendait un disque de Didier Lockwood sous son nom ! Et quel disque ! Un quartet international luxueux, avec le swinguant Dédé Ceccarrelli à la batterie, le bouillonnant pianiste Romain Antonio Farao, et le solide Darryl Hall à la contrebasse. Un vrai disque de Jazz, sortie internationale chez Sony, et un projet qui prendra la route dès le printemps prochain. L’événement de cette rentrée musicale !

01. Open Doors

02. Good Morning Lady Sun

03. Quark

04. The ballad of Pat & Robin

05. Positive Life

06. The One Shot Duet

07. Little Bossa

08. Mathilde and the Ghost

09. Blues Fourth

10. Ballad for Four

11. Now I Really Got the Blues

12. Time to Time

Thollem | Mazurek - Blind Curves and Box Canyons (RELATIVE PITCH RECORDS 2017)

Thollem McDonas and Rob Mazurek met for the rst time in January 2016 in Marfa, Texas to record and perform a concert for the closing of “Marfa Loops Shouts and Hollers,” an exhibition of visual works by Mazurek. The recording, scheduled for release in April 2017 on New York record label Relative Pitch Records, offers listeners a front row seat at this electric rst encounter.

This duo reaches out into the desert for endless possibilities. The results are coherent and deliver a constant driving force that urges the collaboration to continue into uncharted territories.

1 Shouts 18:54

2 Hollers 20:48

3 Howls 6:19

Thollem McDonas: modified electric piano; analog effects

Rob Mazurek: cornet, voice, bells, modular synth, sampler

Trevor Watts and Stephen Grew Duo - All There Is (DISCUS MUSIC 2017)

It’s been said on quite a few occasions after concerts of  this duo, that it  sounds as though there’s a real affinity within the  playing. This comes through very much so in their new recording “All There Is”. Within it they use the full spectrum of dynamics and techniques that  have been developed individually over their differing careers. Watts’ roots go back to the very beginnings of improvised music as a founder member of the SME in the 1960’s and Stephen Grew has been part of the Improvised Music scene since 1994 and has played consistently on the national and international circuit, both as a soloist and in numerous collaborations.

The combination of their playing styles leads for a very potent and visceral experience, but also has interludes of great tenderness.  The music has both a relaxed, and “on the edge” feel at the same time, as all truly improvised music has. Relaxed because that’s the way the play it, and on the edge because nobody, let alone the musicians, knows where it’s going. But the previously mentioned affinity is the glue that makes it all work ever so well together!

1 Shepherd's Return

2 Contours

3 All There Is

4 Tunnels

5 Bird's Eating

6 They're All Home

7 Sea Evidence

Trevor Watts - alto and soprano saxophones

Stephen Grew - piano

Francesco Cusa Trio Meets Carlo Atti - From Sun Ra to Donald Trump (CLEAN FEED RECORDS 2017)

With the kind of humouristic approach characteristic of all things Italian, drummer Francesco Cusa turned the band he founded to play jazz standards into a project dealing, through his original compositions and orchestrations, with the search of the existing possibilities to «re-evoke an epoch and transpose it into the contemporary». And here are the first consequences, maintaining the «identity process» of the «fervid creative moment in black culture» which was defined 50 years ago by Sun Ra. For this endeavour, he invited Carlo Atti, a tenor saxophonist with an acclaimed career in the mainstream of Italian jazz. The music is less funny, or crazy, than the titles of the pieces suggest (for instance: “Fiscal Regime in the Life of a New York Taxidriver-Jazzman” or “Keynes and the Macro-Theory of the Structural Implosion of the Standard”), but the FCT Trio and their guest manage to surprise us, subverting the most obvious aspects of the standard jazz format (or the fake of it, because there’s no “real book” on sight). There’s an overall idea that music can change what nowadays is politically, socially and economically wrong, backing off to more happy days, but if the concept is debatable, because of the nostalgic element and because it gives to much responsability to the art of sounds, the result is a marvelous record. In this case only, the means amply justify the purposes.

1 Adam Smith Counts Every Penny (feat. Carlo Atti) 10:58

2 Economic Boom and Stasis in the Capitalistic Illusion (feat. Carlo Atti) 15:55

3 Deficit in the Economies of the Black Jazzman in the 'Sixties (feat. Carlo Atti) 5:53

4 Delivering a Load of Musical Boxes to Wall Street (feat. Carlo Atti) 8:20

5 Fiscal Regime in the Life of the New York Taxidriver–jazzman (feat. Carlo Atti) 8:29

6 Keynes and the Macro-Theory of the Structural Implosion of the Standard (feat. Carlo Atti) 5:27

7 Sun Ra vs Donald Trump (Wrestling Bout, Refereed by Roland Barthes) [feat. Carlo Atti] 11:09

8 Accelerating: From the Global Society to the Foamed Society (feat. Carlo Atti) 5:55

Carlo Atti  tenor sax

Simone Graziano  piano

Gabriele Evangelista  bass

Francesco Cusa  drums

Gianni Lenoci / Francesco Cusa - Wet Cats (AMIRANI RECORDS 2017)

Stunning interplay, sound consciousness, colour palette of the richest kind. A musical exploration driven through expressive depths, textures delights and complex pixeling sparks, by two cutting edge musicians who really master their instruments in the most flexible way without losing a solid, bodied sound. Lenoci and Cusa, already bold presences on Amirani catalogue, really play a pregnant interaction on this Wet Cats album where everything moves fluidly through eccentric creative circles of inspired music. Don’t miss it!

Ultimissimo titolo Amirani pubblicato in catalogo (siamo al numero 52), “We Cats” sancisce l’incontro al vertice tra Gianni Lenoci (piano, anche preparato, e flauto in legno) e Francesco Cusa(batteria).

Il musicista pugliese e quello siciliano hanno in verità background piuttosto dissimili ma in questa registrazione effettuata in studio a Monopoli si concedono l’uno all’altro al meglio delle loro capacità, conseguendo in modo facile ed esemplare un risultato finale degno di applausi. Qui il loro dialogo prende forma in un unico brano improvvisato per cinquantuno minuti di musica avvincente e proteiforme.

La coppia parte in sordina, in modo circospetto, attendendo una scintilla creativa che non tarda ad arrivare. Cusa stuzzica nervosamente i piatti mentre Lenoci agisce tra tastiera e cordiera. Dopo il sesto minuto i due sono già a bordo, nella cabina di comando di un aeroplano che lentamente decolla tra accordi pieni, acciaccature, sfregamenti, note percussive e sbattimenti ritmici. Raggiunta una certa quota il volo resta orizzontalmente sospeso nel vuoto, cullato da una lieve inerzia microtonale.

D’improvviso, al quindicesimo minuto, si affronta una moderata perturbazione atmosferica generata dal frenetico sovrapporsi timbrico e ritmico dei rispettivi strumenti. Un paio di minuti dopo torna la quiete. L’atmosfera è tersa, neoclassicamente rarefatta. Arriva quindi un pindarico crescendo di piano accompagnato da un intenso rollio percussivo. Il velivolo prende velocità ma segue una rotta folle e irregolare, rischiando a tratti di precipitare. I due piloti se ne accorgono e riprendono il controllo sui tempi pressanti di moderne variazioni impro-jazz.

Dopo il trentesimo minuto spengono inspiegabilmente i motori, facendo vibrare il suono con labili rintocchi. Il viaggio riprende su motivi prima ripetitivi e poi istericamente sconnessi. La tastiera di Lenoci arde note su note, la batteria di Cusa accelera la loro combustione. 

Al quarantacinquesimo la conversazione diventa concitata, il velivolo risale in quota un’ultima volta. Il viaggio però volge al termine, la meta è all’orizzonte. Si plana e atterra dolcemente, cullati dall’infantile e impercettibile soffio del flauto. File under: impro aerodinamica. Sound Contest / Olindo Fortino

1 Wet Cats 51:36

Gianni Lenoci Piano, Flute, Producer

Francesco Cusa Drums, Producer

Paula Shocron / William Parker / Pablo Díaz - Emptying The Self (NENDO DANGO RECORDS 2017)

Paula Shocron is a pianist, composer, improviser, performer, music activist, and educator. 

Born in the city of Rosario, she gained great exposure at the local media since she was nominated and won the Jazz Revelation Award in 2005. 

Her debut album ‘La voz que te lleva’, Blue Art Records; had excelent reviews in national and international press. 

The Paula Shocron Trio was one of her most important groups, between 2007 and 2013. It has gained recognition nationally and internationally, having played in different festivals in Argentina and abroad including Festival Casa de Teatro in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 2009; Jamboree Barcelona, Terrassa Jazz Cava, The Concert series in Contrabaix, Catalunya, Spain and Buenos Aires Sur Scene, Paris, France. 

Among her most important recordings works are “Homenaje” (2009, Sony Music) dedicate to the pianist and composer Andrew Hill; “El Enigma” (2010, Aqcua Records) with saxophonist Pablo Puntoriero; four recordings under the argentine label Rivorecords  “Our Delight” (2011), “Warm Valley” (2012), “Serenade in Blue” (2012); “See See Rider” (2013), a piano solo; “Gran Ensamble” (Aqcua Records, 2011) and her first independent release “Surya” (digital version by Kuai Music). 

She manages the independent label Nendo Dango Records in collaboration with Miguel Crozzoli and Pablo Diaz. It includes all her last works: “Anfitrion” , by SLD Trio with Germán Lamonega on bass and Pablo Díaz on drums. “Sono-Psico-Cósmica” , a two piano live recording with pianist and cornetist Enrique Norris. “Cooperative Sound ” , with Matt Lavelle​, Ras Moshe​, Daniel Carter​, Hilliard Greene​ and Pablo Diaz. 

In 2016, SLD Trio was offered by Werner Uehlinger (hatOLOGY/Hat Hut Records) to record a second cd, “Tensegridad” , released in 2017.

She has been working as artist and currently as Artistic Director with “Creatividad en Movimiento” , a non-profit organization focused on the sustainable development of the creative arts. 

In 2012 she began to develop her main project, “PROYECTO IMUDA” , in order to investigate the relationship between music and movement. The aim was to find common codes to both artistic disciplines and work in spontaneous situations through improvisation. Over the years, these experiments began to mix with other artistic activities like painting, literature and performing arts. This group performed in different places in Argentina and abroad. 

Since 2006 she teaches piano and ensamble at Jazz Career of The Manuel de Falla Music Conservatory. She also coordinates a regular workshop which main purpose is to explore the relationships between music and movement.

1. The Eye 05:21

2. Fifty five 23:45

3. Independence day 09:56

4. Buenos Aires 05:20

Paula Shocron, piano

William Parker, bass

Pablo Díaz, drums

www.paulashocron.com.ar 

www.williamparker.net 

www.pablodiaz.com.ar

Gordon Grdina Quartet - Inroads (SONGLINES RECORDS 2017)

“Grdina continues to passionately explore the depths of jazz improvisation, cross-cultural fusions and the fun that comes with cutting loose. Lately, he’s been tearing it up in a new combo from New York City.” – Stuart Derdeyn, Vancouver Sun

This wild, eclectic project combines intricate counterpoint with the ebb and flow of dynamic yet focused improvisation. Grdina takes inspiration from the complexity of Bartok, the freedom of Ornette Coleman, the energy and logical construction of ideas in Soundgarden, and the delicacy of Webern.

Grdina’s debut recording, Think Like the Waves, was a trio with his mentor Gary Peacock and Paul Motian, and there is something of that group’s deep improvised jazz roots at work here, along with the compositional, classical music bent of his East Van Strings project (The Breathing of Statues). It’s also a reaction to his rock playing in recent years in Dan Mangan’s band and his own instrumental duo Peregrine Falls. Says Grdina, “I felt a strong inner urge to write music that was more unexpected, that didn’t repeat itself so much and was more challenging than what I had been playing. Forms can sometimes feel like you’re being strangled and talked down to. I wanted the music to continually move, feeling free but clearly directed.

“Compositionally this also came out of the work I’d done with Gary Peacock but in a very different way. We worked a lot on composition being a distilled idea that is the germ that sparks improvisation. I wanted to see what would happen if I composed the development of the ideas, keeping the same focused writing style, asking the same questions…The process of writing was similar to what I went through with East Van Strings, which was informed by listening to a lot of Webern and the second Viennese school.  Ornette always being present is a given but Soundgarden came up while on the road with Dan Mangan. When I was young I was a fan but didn’t really dig into it, as I was too interested in jazz at the time. I started listening to them again and was really excited and inspired by the energy and careful construction of ideas, intricate yet logical. I was also listening to a lot of Tim Berne and started to feel a connection between the two. So there was something between that intricacy and energy that I was really inspired by.”

“The musicians came together over a two-year process of getting more involved in the NY scene. Oscar [a member of Berne’s Snakeoil], Russ and Satoshi are all amazing, incredibly well rounded, multi-faceted musicians with unique voices. They are also master improvisers, but the chemistry of the band wasn’t apparent at the start. We had a lot of short rehearsals, a gig and then not seeing each other for two months. We did that for about a year. We then went on the road for a string of dates and everything changed. The band just solidified, everyone’s unique voice began to shine and the compositions started to click. It’s not easy music to grasp fully while you’re playing it, as it is very contrapuntal. Each instrument is focused on their own part and it takes a while before you hear it click with the other lines and the logic becomes apparent.”

“Over the course of the last few years I’ve started to connect some disparate directions musically. The oud and the guitar are starting to become interchangeable in a way…How I’m approaching each instrument is becoming more and more similar. I’m moving further away from the original Arabic sound of the oud and starting to push my own voice through its history. “Fragments” is a departure for me and is a path I would like to further develop with this band. Oud and piano in particular work so well together but are fundamentally opposed instruments. It really is like the meeting of two completely different worlds. The clash of ideologies is exciting to me.”

“I hear so many connections to so many genres in this music and from these musicians that I feel it has an extremely broad appeal…I’ve gotten compliments from folk, jazz and classical music fans both young and old, as well as fans of Soundgarden…What it demands though is deep listening. There are moments where it is energetic and in your face, bringing the music to you, but it always goes back in, requiring the listener to come closer and bring their own experience to it.”

1 Giggles  04:00

2 Not Sure  11:37

3 P.B.S.  08:06

4 Semantics  02:31

5 Fragments  09:34

6 Casper  05:44

7 Kite Flight  01:56

8 Apocalympics  09:34

9 Giggles II  04:24

Gordon Ordina, guitar, oud

Oscar Noriega, alto sax, clarinet, bass clarinet

Russ Lossing, piano, Rhodes

Satoshi Takeishi, drums

All pieces composed by Gordon Grdina except 4 and 7 by Gordon Grdina and Oscar Noriega

Joran Cariou Trio - The Path Up (UNIT RECORDS 2017)

This recording is the accomplishment of a long process. A few years ago I started a personal journey of introspection, which undoubtedly influenced my creativity, bringing out the best of myself into this record. My first special thanks go to Stéphane and Damien, two amazing friends, musicians and riding partners, who came of great help in the realisation of this project. I also want to express my warmest thanks to Pierre Perchaud for his musicality, his invaluable advice and his easy-going personality. I thank as well not only Tony Paeleman and Clément Garriel for their work, their musical ear and their understanding of my project, but also Guillaume Hugonnard for his graphic and visual input, Sanjy Ramboatiana and Stéphane Remus-Borel for their inspiration, and Thierry Girault who gave me a taste for making my own music.

I wish to express my profound gratitude to my family and friends who never failed to help and support me, and my heartfelt thanks to Harald Haerter for his precious contribution.

01. Way-Out 06:28

02. Voyage onirique 05:45

03. La fin justifie les moyens 07:13

04. Catharsis 05:42

05. Spirit of Our Masters 04:03

06. A Hint of Casualness 06:39

07. Share 03:59

08. Ambivalence 08:16

09. Mala Rueda 06:23

Joran Cariou : Piano, Rhodes, Synthesizer

Damien Varaillon - bass

Stéphane Adsuar - drums

Pierre Perchaud - guitars

EXTENDED! 30%. Off. Everything. CHALLENGE RECORDS

EXTENDED! 30%. Off. Everything.

Because of the amazing respons we've got on the Black Friday discount we decided to extend the discount on our website during the whole weekend! So you can still buy the greatest albums today with a 30% discount on challengerecords.com! Order your holiday presents this weekend with this special discount.

* The discount is available on selected labels

Challenge Classics

Challenge Records

Challenge Jazz

CuGate Classics

Double Moon Records

Buzz

Epr-classic

Berthold Records

Retrieval

Between the Lines

Lawo Classics

Fondamenta

Globe

V-Flow

Daybreak

Andrey Klemm Productions

Timeless Jazz Legacy

TCB The Montreux Jazz Label

A Records

JJ-Tracks

Piano 21

PineHill

Phaedra

Van Dyck Records

Signum Classics

Supertracks Records

Drukplaten

Fineline

SunnyMoon Records

Antoine Marchand

Alex Sipiagin / Donny McCaslin / Dave Kikoski / Boris Kozlov / Donald Edwards – Machaut Man and a Superman Hat: Music of Dave Lisik (SKYDECK MUSIC 2017)

Composer/arranger, Dave Lisik can always be relied upon to put together colorful, unpredictable and creative jazz projects. The music on Machaut Man and a Superman Hat is no exception, featuring a world-class quintet interpreting seven of his originals along with an unusual version of “Georgia On My Mind.”

A little background is in order for those who might not be familiar with Dave’s history. Born in Canada, he earned a Master of Music degree in Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Northern Iowa in 1998. After working as Director of Bands at Murdoch MacKay Collegiate in Winnipeg, Canada during 1998-2003 (which included recording three CDs and collecting quite a few awards), he earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Composition with a Jazz Emphasis at the University of Memphis, where he taught and directed jazz ensembles. He worked as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Jazz Studies at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, where he created the LeMoyne-Owen Records label and the African Drumming Ensemble. 

Lisik now lives in New Zealand, where he works at the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington (teaching jazz composition, arranging, theory and pedagogy), co-directs the New Zealand Youth Jazz Orchestra, founded and produces the NZSM Jazz Festival, and is a trustee of the New Zealand Jazz Foundation. In addition, he has worked as a trumpeter (playing with big bands, his own quintet, and symphony orchestras) and he has written over 400 works.

It has made for quite a busy life, which fortunately includes a regular series of recordings. For Machaut Man and a Superman Hat, Lisik was able to utilize trumpeter Alex Sipiagin’s quintet. “When players of this caliber are willing to share their amazing musicality, it is quite a remarkable experience,” says Lisik. “Alex Sipiagin came to the first New Zealand School of Music Jazz Festival as a guest artist in 2011 and we have worked together numerous times since then.” A superb trumpeter, Sipiagin has recorded with Lisik on his jazz orchestra suite Walkabout – A Place For Visions and on two other projects that will be released in the near future: an electroacoustic album with Seamus Blake (Students In Exile) and a set with a jazz orchestra (Origin Of Species). 

“Donny McCaslin was a featured soloist on my first jazz orchestra recording project, Coming Through Slaughter - The Bolden Legend. He is one of my absolute favorite musicians, and is beautiful to listen to. Dave Kikoski, Boris Kozlov and Donald Edwards are all regular players in the rhythm section of the Mingus Big Band, and in Alex's quintet with Seamus Blake, Opus 5. These are some of the best jazz musicians anywhere. They know each other very well, play together all of the time, and have a real group thing happening.”

Although Lisik’s music is consistently challenging, the five musicians sound relaxed and effortless throughout this set, coming up with interpretations that clearly pleased the composer. The music is as colorful and offbeat as the song titles.

“Steal Bryan’s Laptop” serves as an excellent introduction to the quintet with lengthy and passionate solos by Sipiagin, McCaslin and Kikoski, and tight work by the rhythm section that often seems to think as one. Its unusual title refers to hypothetical pranks that Lisik and members of his college faculty fantasized about playing on the representative from Bryan College. “When a particular Memphis college was facing imminent bankruptcy, other colleges and universities were invited to participate in a recruiting fair of sorts to give students other study options once their dying college was closed. I was with a few colleagues representing my school, and we were set up directly across from the lone, male representative of the small religious, Bryan College. It seemed logical to us that Bryan himself was likely manning the recruiting table. Over the course of a long day, in order to pass the time, we came up with jokes to play on “Bryan” including sabotaging his chair in various ways, having him continuously paged to the central office, slipping something into his beverage and … stealing his computer.”

“Hooptie on the 405” has a melody that recalls early Ornette Coleman. This performance, one of the strongest on the CD, includes a fine solo by Kikoski, a hard-swinging improvisation from Sipiagin, and some raging tenor by McCaslin.

“Au Chien Qui Fume,” named after a Paris restaurant, is a sensitive ballad with a melody in two different keys. McCaslin’s soprano playing, which displays his original voice, is lyrical and beautiful.

“The Disgruntled Plagiarist” has a funky feel reminiscent of Herbie Hancock in the 1960s, warm statements from flugelhorn, tenor and piano, and a prominent role for drummer Donald Edwards. As for its title, Lisik says, “it is either about the moment when a college student realizes that the internet contains a vast amount of information that can easily be copied and pasted into a research document, when a deadline is looming, or the moment, after the paper has been handed in, that the student realizes that finding the plagiarized content is even easier for the person grading the paper than it was to copy and paste it in the first place.”

The up and down scalar piece (and Rolling Stones tribute) “Wet Chihuahua” is catchy, features some powerful trumpet and heated tenor, and has exciting interplay by the two horns at its conclusion.

The menacing strut “Machaut Man and a Superman Hat” has some fairly free ensemble playing, a tempo that accelerates gradually a la Charles Mingus, and plenty of dramatic moments. “Guillaume de Machaut was a French poet and composer of the 1300s who was the subject of one of the hits of the disco era Village People.”

Hoagy Carmichael’s “Georgia On My Mind” was drastically re-harmonized for this version, and the results sound like a brand new song. The final track of this continually fascinating program is “Katafuzees”, a Lisik original based on John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps.” The two horns battle it out for a time before the rhythm section eventually joins in. The piano, bass and drums solos are outstanding, bringing this set to a fiery end.

Dave Lisik may be a significant educator in New Zealand but, as this and his previous CDs show, he is obviously a major composer with an original style and conception of his own. All of his recordings are well worth exploring and savoring.

Scott Yanow is the author of 11 books including The Great Jazz Guitarists, The Jazz Singers, Jazz On Film and Jazz On Record 1917-76.

1. Steal Bryan's Laptop 09:52

2. Machaut Man and a Superman Hat 06:50

3. Au Chien Qui Fume 07:27

4. (You Can't Always Get a) Wet Chihuahua 09:42

5. Hooptie on the 405 08:21

6. Georgia On My Mind 11:59

7. The Disgruntled Plagiarist 07:05

8. Katafuzees (Giant Steps) 07:14

Alex Sipiagin (trumpet and flugelhorn)

Donny McCaslin (tenor and soprano saxophones)

Dave Kikoski (acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes)

Boris Kozlov (bass)

Donald Edwards (drums)

Alex Sipiagin & Dave Kikoski - Bonnie and Clyde (SKYDECK MUSIC 2017)

Bonnie And Clyde, a set of original music inspired by ten unique pairs of characters, is the latest accomplishment in the very productive and creative career of arranger-composer-trumpeter Dave Lisik. A Canadian who taught high school in Winnipeg, Canada and college in Memphis, Tennessee, Lisik has been a resident of Wellington, New Zealand since 2010 where he teaches at the New Zealand School of Music and has been a very active part of the jazz and creative music scene.

While Lisik has written for many larger ensembles, symphony orchestras and his own quintet in his career (with over 450 compositions), Bonnie and Clyde features the duo of trumpeter Alex Sipiagin and pianist Dave Kikoski interpreting his music. Sipiagin, along with Bob Sheppard, had been the principal soloist on Lisik’s 2011 jazz orchestra record Walkabout – A Place For Visions. In 2014, Lisik’s quintet recording Machaut Man and a Superman Hat featured Sipiagin and tenor-saxophonist Donny McCaslin along with the rhythm section of the Mingus Big Band which included Dave Kikoski.
“Alex and Dave are both incredible players, technical masters and artists on a really high level,” says Dave Lisik. “As a trumpet player I have a particular appreciation for Alex's ability on the instrument but his inventiveness really stands out for me, even when compared to some of the other top trumpeters playing today. Music just flows out of both of these guys. Alex was in New Zealand for the national jazz workshops in January 2016 and he was already planning some duo gigs with Dave Kikoski. Rather than just writing random tunes for them, it seemed more interesting, given the two-player format, to create a collection of new tunes based on famous pairs from history.”

The adventurous music on Bonnie and Clyde was a challenge for the two players but they quickly came up with fresh and inventive ideas that perfectly fit the pieces. “A few of the tunes start with chord progressions like standards, others are more modern harmonically, and a few are based on ostinatos with melodies and no harmonic progression. It is easy to worry about there not being enough variety with only two instruments but then, as always happens with players at this level, they took the music to places that I had not imagined. The improvisations and interplay are so interesting that it is fun for me to hear what they did with my pieces.” 

Bonnie and Clyde begins with “Kourke ‘N Spock,” named after Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock from Star Trek. “The odd spelling of Kourke is a nod to the way that Alex, with his Russian accent, pronounces Kirk. It’s identical to how the Russian Star Trek character Pavel Chekov said it, which I found humorous.” The wide intervals played by Sipiagin somehow sounds effortless and relaxed, giving this piece a futuristic feel.

“Samneric,” the twin boys Sam and Eric from Lord Of The Flies who were so close that they melded into one character. This dramatic performance has Alex Sipiagin and Dave Kikoski engaging in dramatic interplay as they play off of each other’s ideas throughout the piece.

“Antony and Cleopatra,” historic figures who were immortalized by Shakespeare, are musically portrayed by Sipiagin (who hints at the melancholy of Miles Davis on this piece even during his faster runs) and Kikoski, who takes an extended solo filled with twists and turns. 

“Porgy and Bess,” the lead characters in George Gershwin’s famed folk opera, are saluted in a thoughtful piece that is a bit nostalgic.

“Henson and Oz” celebrates the creative partnership of Jim Henson and Frank Oz who together created Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy and Ernie and Bert. This high energy romp has Sipiagin and Kikoski engaging in playful moments and fiery stretches that jump around with the energy of a children’s television show. About this track Lisik says, “Jim Henson and Frank Oz were one of the most important modern comedy duos. Henson passed unexpectedly in 1990 and Frank Oz eulogizing Jim Henson at his memorial service is one of the most touching moments I’ve seen and a wonderful tribute to the relationship between these two men.

“Bonnie and Clyde” is for the Depression era criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow who were depicted in a colorful movie of the same name. Lisik’s music is worthy of a memorable chase scene.

“Arwen and Aragorn” is dedicated to two characters from the Lord Of The Rings, a saga that is particularly popular in New Zealand where the films were shot. The particularly lovely chord progression of this romantic jazz waltz is borrowed from “Fairy Tale” by Bob Washut, Lisik’s former teacher at the University of Northern Iowa. 

The cat and mouse interplay throughout “Holmes and Watson” is perfect for a tribute to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. The whimsical yet mysterious piece conjures up the image of a Sherlock Holmes tale.

“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern” are Shakespearean characters from Hamlet. On this performance and briefly elsewhere, Dave Kikoski is heard on Fender Rhodes, sometimes playing electric and acoustic pianos together with one hand on each. The unisons and general theme on this original are quirky, witty and difficult to predict.

Bonnie and Clyde concludes with “Fred And Ginger,” a warm ballad dedicated to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Too much praise cannot be given to the two musicians who interact spontaneously throughout the ten pieces with the same confidence and relaxed creativity that they would have displayed if they had been stretching out on much more familiar standards. 

Dave Lisik became involved in music early in his life. After playing organ for five years, he switched to trumpet in sixth grade, performing regularly in his school bands. “Both of my junior high and high school band directors were trumpet players so I'm sure that helped me.” Lisik developed quickly and, while still in high school, he performed for two years in the big band at the University of Manitoba. Always interested in writing, he experimented with electroacoustic music while in high school and mostly wrote classical music while in college, but gained experience writing jazz before and during his doctoral study at the University of Memphis. “I wrote for the guest artists who came to the school including Marvin Stamm, Bill Mays, Luis Bonilla, Paul Hanson, Carl Allen, and Kirk Whalum. Once my dissertation was finished, Luis was particularly encouraging and helpful in getting players to record my first big band CD.” Among those jazz composers and arrangers whose music inspired him early on were Bob Brookmeyer, Jim McNeely, Maria Schneider and Thad Jones.

In addition to teaching at the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington, Lisik co-directs the New Zealand Youth Jazz Orchestra, founded and produces the NZSM Jazz Festival, and is a trustee of the New Zealand Jazz Foundation. During the past year he has co-written with Eric Allen the book 50 Years at the Village Vanguard: Thad Jones, Mel Lewis and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. He has also recorded many inventive CDs of his music with several new projects scheduled to be coming out in the near future.

For the future, Dave Lisik says, “I hope to keep writing music for inspiring performers, both in classical music and jazz. I want there always to be some urgency to evolve and keep getting better rather than having my projects be too similar.” Bonnie and Clyde, which is unlike any of Dave Lisik’s previous recordings, succeeds at being fresh, new and full of inventive music.

Scott Yanow, jazz author/historian and author of 11 books including Trumpet Kings and Jazz On Record 1917-76.

1 Kourke and Spock 6:38

2 Henson and Oz 5:40

3 Porgy and Bess 5:02

4 Arwen and Aragorn 6:34

5 Bonnie and Clyde 6:38

6 Antony and Cleopatra 6:28

7 Samneric 7:46

8 Fred and Ginger 6:28

9 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 3:42

10 Holmes and Watson 6:24