Anna Laura Quinn - Open the Door (February 18, 2022 Outside in Music)

With a voice rightly praised as a "well-worked instrument" whose stylings and energy "bring new vitality to classic tunes by the likes of Cole Porter and Duke Ellington," (Holly Devon, ANTIGRAVITY Magazine), vocalist and arranger Anna Laura Quinn steps forward boldly with Open the Door, a selection of nine deeply emotive, introspective, and textured arrangements that stand as landmark tributes to how music - and the musicians and experiences she has encountered - has profoundly shaped her into the person, musician, and creator that she is today.

New Orleans-based vocalist Anna Laura Quinn is rapidly gaining notice for her particular blend of contemporary jazz, well-loved tunes from the American Songbook, French and Brazilian music, and more, and delivered with style, emotional power, and sensitivity, and a joie de vivre that recalls the charm and mystique of a bygone era. A self-proclaimed "jazz acolyte," Anna uses her voice to convey her deep regard for the legacy of jazz music to audiences of all ages, backgrounds, and musical proclivities.

1. Talking to the Sun

2. Comes Love

3. Speak Low

4. Very Good Advice

5. Love for Sale

6. Cry Again

7. Open the Door

8. The Single Petal of a Rose

9. Wouldn't It Be Lovely

Anna Laura Quinn - Vocals

Ed Barrett - Guitar

Ben Fox - Bass

Brad Webb - Drums

Kate Campbell-Strauss - Tenor/Bari Sax

Brent Rose - Tenor Sax

PRE-ORDER

Byron Asher & Brad Webb - Little Bigby (November 2021 ears & eyes Records)

Little Bigby is the debut duo recording from New Orleans-based clarinetist and saxophonist Byron Asher and drummer Brad Webb. Born out of a many years-long relationship of performing and recording together in each other’s projects as well as a 4-year long stint as next door neighbors in New Orleans’ 7th ward (resulting in countless listening sessions and wanders to the coffeeshop), Little Bigby explores their friendship through improvised composition and free improvisation confined by the technical limitations of their direct-to-cassette recording medium.

Putting the time away from active performing during the pandemic to good use, in January 2021, Asher began experimenting with a busted 4-track cassette recorder he purchased off Craigslist for $40, recording onto blank cassette tapes found in a “free box” on the side of the street. With only three working tracks on his Tascam recorder and a single direct microphone input, he and Webb began trading free improvisations back and forth, overdubbing takes on top of each other, improvising against already recorded material, and developing the tracks released here in a sort of long-form call and response.

Given the medium of the recording project, the performers felt a cassette and digital only release was ideal. The album artwork features a photograph shot by Asher himself, depicting a container ship floating down the Mississippi River from the vantage point of the French Quarter, New Orleans.

1. Dawn Patrol

2. Muffin Tin

3. Les Printemps Perdu 04:12

4. Come Over Red Rover 03:35

5. Narrows

6. I Like This More Than You Do

7. My Uncle Sam Is Dead

8. Tranquillo

9. All By Ourselves

Byron Asher - saxophones and clarinets, synthesizer

Brad Webb - drums, pots and pans

Recorded direct to cassette by Byron Asher and Brad Webb in New Orleans, LA

Mixed by Byron Asher and Jeff Albert

Mastered by Jeff Albert

Produced by Byron Asher and Brad Webb

Music by Byron Asher BMI and Brad Webb My Music Faces BMI except 3 and 7 by Asher

Photo by Byron Asher

Design by Matthew Golombisky

PREORDER

Brad Webb - Making Faces (BREAKFAST FOR DINNER RECORDS 2018)

"Brad Webb has a vibrancy to his nature that translates well to his style of play at the drums."

– Anthony Dean-Harris, Nextbop.com

"His tunes have an energy and place for his band to make them their own, and that makes for a fine record that any modern-jazz fan will appreciate."

– Dave Kunian, OffBeat.com

"Brad Webb plays drums like a wind-up Freddie Mercury Doll. That is a compliment." 

– Jason Crane, The Jazz Session