Connie Han - Crime Zone (MACK AVENUE RECORDS October 12, 2018)

22-Year-Old Pianist Connie Han

Brings Jazz into Neo-Noir Territory On

Mack Avenue Records Debut CRIME ZONE 

Album Available October 12

With her debut Mack Avenue Records album CRIME ZONE (available October 12), next generation Los Angeles pianist Connie Han has created an edgy blend of modern and traditional jazz. Han’s parents, both practicing classical musicians, instilled an appreciation for music and a strong work ethic in Han very early on, enrolling her in piano lessons at the age of five. 

“Learning the piano as a child was a gift. By the time I became interested in jazz at the age of 14, I had great technical proficiency on my instrument allowing me to focus all of my energy on the more sophisticated elements of jazz music. More importantly, I was able to tackle the social equation of learning how to play with others. It takes a lot of time and patience to internalize the essence and heartbeat of jazz.”

The 22-year-old’s connection to jazz began at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts where she met and was mentored by drummer Bill Wysaske, who produced CRIME ZONE and has also become the musical director of her trio. Han shares her LACHSA alumni status with several major players in the entertainment industry such as Josh Groban, Jenna Elfman, Christina Milian and GRAMMY® Award-nominated jazz pianist and composer Gerald Clayton. After a three-week stint at UCLA, Han immediately began her professional piano career at 17-years-old; a step that Han believes gives her an overall edge against most players her age.

“Because I never received training from a formal jazz piano teacher, most of my musical perspective actually came from interacting with a professional drummer when I was just a youngling, trying to hang on for dear life. I think that experience has given me a unique edge which informs the heavily percussive elements of my playing.”


CRIME ZONE features Han’s in-the-groove working trio which includes Wysaske on drums and Edwin Livingston on bass. She’s also enlisted the considerable talents of guest players tenor-saxophonist Walter Smith III and trumpeter Brian Swartz for the album.

Recently signed to Mack Avenue Records after her independently produced 2015 album, The Richard Rodgers Songbook, Han has seized this opportunity: the pianist’s upcoming release highlights a powerful statement that is a mix of respect and knowledge of the past, combining an exciting and innovative vision for her musical future.

CRIME ZONE opens with “Another Kind of Right,” a tune Han wrote in tribute to the Freddie Hubbard tune, “One of Another Kind.” Han states, “the bridge is a very tough, swaggering Freddie Hubbard style of playing. Bill Wysaske arranged and curated a lot of what goes on there. It was his idea to transition from acoustic piano to Rhodes at my solo, giving the music a breath of fresh air. It’s definitely inspired by that post-bop, pre-fusion sound straight out of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.”

The expansive title track featuring the swinging sax accompaniment of Smith III, which winds to a stoop midway through before restarting with a lively interplay between Han, exemplifies much of the style and aesthetic thrust that the pianist wants her debut to embody.

“This record is really meant to be a statement about being rebellious but within the tradition,” Han explains. “It’s provocative and fresh in its own way, while still having one foot in the past and honoring the jazz tradition. The title, CRIME ZONE, reinforces how I hope to brand myself as an artist, which in the end is being a provocateur of creative music.”

The title track demonstrates the futuristic visual and aesthetic element that Han has brought to the zeitgeist surrounding CRIME ZONE, one that draws its inspiration from films like Blade Runner and the 1988 Japanese animated film, Akira. “Not only does jazz capture the rebellious spirit of cyberpunk culture,” says Han, “but also the forward-thinking essence of science fiction. These traits are important to my musical philosophy as well as my style as an artist and person.”

The up-tempo “Southern Rebellion” is a Han original in C minor that features the pianist’s speed and stamina. It’s a tune she wrote which was focused on challenging herself to not think like a piano player. Han explains, “I had been listening to a lot of early ’70s Elvin Jones with Dave Liebman and Steve Grossman, where the harmony is more free since there isn’t any piano to dictate the harmony. That concept heavily guided my melodic inspiration for ‘Southern Rebellion,’ while my tough post-bop piano influences like Kenny Kirkland and McCoy Tyner informed it’s rhythmic angularity and aggressiveness.”

One of the things that sets Han apart from most of her contemporaries is her skill on the always distinctive Fender Rhodes. As the title suggests, another Han original “Grüvy,” she playfully taps into that super tasty, laid back Rhodes flavor, one that recalls the playing of Bob James, but also nods again to Han’s musical education. “It’s an instrument that has always been a part of the consciousness of my piano heroes, like Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. I wouldn’t say it has a pop vibe but it’s definitely more mainstream,” says Han.

She acknowledges the influence of another one of her heroes, Joe Henderson, by covering his “Shade of Jade” which was originally recorded on his Mode For Joe album. Han explains, “The concept for the entire arrangement is actually based on just four bars of Joe Chambers’ polyrhythmic comping on the head of the original recording.”

On CRIME ZONE, Han has staked her claim as a fresh new voice on jazz piano, one whose sense of visual style might even draw audiences who normally wouldn’t listen to straight-ahead jazz. “Even though jazz is meant to be fearless in its creative limits, I strongly believe in preserving the musical foundation,” Han states. “As a new artist, I want to show that it is possible to create infinite fresh ideas without having to deconstruct the building blocks of the jazz language. To me, that language is universal.”

1 Another Kind of Right

2 Crime Zone 7:34

3 By the Grace of God

4 Pretty Women

5 Southern Rebellion

6 Grüvy

7 A Shade of Jade

8 Member This

9 Is That So?

10 Extended Stay

www.conniehan.com

Joanne Tatham - The Rings of Saturn (2018)

“A memorable jazz vocal excursion. It doesn’t matter what the groove of the song is, Joanne makes it come fully alive, most impressively…”

--Dick Metcalf, Contemporary Fusion Reviews

Music has been part of JOANNE TATHAM’S life ever since she was a child in New Jersey, listening with her parents to songs from the Great American Songbook on WNEW, the legendary AM radio station in New York. She was captivated by singers like Sinatra, Peggy Lee, and Jack Jones, their beautiful voices finding the heart and soul of the story of a song. Now, on THE RINGS OF SATURN, Tatham’s new CD, she continues the tradition -- laid down by the great vocalists of past generations -- of finding first-class material to sing and swing with a contemporary sensibility enhanced with hip, new arrangements. 

THE RINGS OF SATURN is Tatham’s fourth CD. It’s the follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2015 release Out of My Dreams, which debuted at #26 on the JazzWeek radio chart, solidifying her position as a top vocalist on the L.A. jazz scene and establishing her as an important jazz artist to watch. Jack Goodstein of Blogcritics said, “Out of My Dreams is as fine an album of jazz vocals as you’re likely to hear this year.” Christopher Loudon of JazzTimes said, “Blessed with impeccable phrasing and a meticulous sense of time, Tatham projects a West Coast effervescence yet also conjures the long shadows of Manhattan.” 

Tatham is a versatile singer who moves effortlessly between swing tunes, Latin music, and jazzed-up pop songs. She acquired her facility with different styles through many years of performing in various musical situations. Her vocal talents first emerged when she was a youngster in Catholic school, where she was chosen to lead the children’s choir and then the full Saturday night folk choir. She honed her ear training during her teen years as a member of an all-girls vocal group that sang standards with tight harmonies in performances at The Garden State Arts Center (now the PNC Bank Arts Center), but probably most foundational was the time she spent on weekends during high school as the girl singer in a standards band doing weddings, bowling banquets, and New Year’s Eve parties. Working the bandstand, calling tunes, taking requests -- all came to inform her musical confidence and chops. 

Tatham continued her musical education at The Hartt School, a performing arts conservatory at the University of Hartford. She also holds a graduate degree from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School. After graduation, she moved to New York City, spending ten years living in Manhattan, singing and working as a theater actress. 

Then she married Chuck Tatham and her whole life changed.  Her husband is a successful television writer, so the couple moved to Los Angeles for his work. Tatham says, “After living in New York for many years, I really wanted a change, though I didn’t think I would wind up in L.A. But once I got here, I found my musical home.  The musicians were fabulous, and the club scene was really thriving back then. My first L.A. gig was at the old Cinegrill, in The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Soon I was playing The Baked Potato and Spazio, and driving out to the Desert for gigs. I happen to live nearby where Herb Alpert was building his Vibrato Grill and Jazz. I can’t believe I had the nerve, but I actually walked up to him one day when he was there checking on construction, and gave him a copy of my first CD. I began playing there almost from the day it opened!”  

The songs Tatham selected for THE RINGS OF SATURN are not your usual fare. The CD comprises lesser-done jazz tunes as well as one original, “Catch Me If You Can,” composed by Eli Brueggemann with whom Tatham worked before he became the current musical director for Saturday Night Live. Lyrics are by MARK WINKLER. Winkler, a popular vocalist and songwriter, produced both this CD and Out of My Dreams and also brought the title tune to Tatham.  “The Rings of Saturn,” a Latin-inflected number with a very modern feel, was written by Bill Gable, who’s known for his ability to combine exotic musical elements. That tune also features the guitar work of MARCEL CAMARGO, the Brazilian guitarist and composer. Camargo, who also appeared on Out of My Dreams, has most recently been playing guitar and singing back-up for Michael Bublé. Together, he and Tatham arranged Jobim’s “Jazz ‘n Samba” as a swinging duet for voice and guitar. Camargo and Tatham also perform a soli together on a sexy, wistful version of Jobim’s “If You Never Come to Me.” 

There’s no shortage of top-shelf musicians in Southern California, and Tatham brought on board some of the best. MAX HAYMER, who has recently been touring with Arturo Sandoval, plays piano and arranged most of the tunes. Tatham has known Haymer for many years, ever since he was a very young man and gave piano lessons to her sons. Tatham considers him almost part of the family.  

Michael Franks’ song, “Summer In New York,” evokes memories of the Big Apple. It features the unique sound of guitarist LARRY KOONSE, one of the most respected musicians in LA. The CD also features woodwinds virtuoso BOB SHEPPARD and trumpet master BRIAN SWARTZ, both of whom have national reputations and extensive recording and performing credits. The rhythm section is rounded out with the talents of DAN SCHNELLE on drums, LYMAN MEDEIROS on bass, and KEVIN WINARD on percussion -- all mainstays on the Los Angeles jazz scene. 

From standards “Love Me or Leave Me” and “It Could Happen to You,” to re-imagined pop tunes like Todd Rundgren’s “Can We Still be Friends” and Phoebe Snow’s “Poetry Man,” to a musical theater classic like “Anyone Can Whistle” by Stephen Sondheim, a notoriously difficult composer to sing in a jazz idiom, THE RINGS OF SATURN is an eclectic project that showcases Tatham’s musicianship, beautiful voice and aptitude for lyric interpretation. She is a performer unafraid to take risks. Her perfect diction and nuanced readings, combined with a flexible voice that is by turns gentle and inviting and then throaty and robust, demonstrates an artist in full control of her diverse material.

1. Love Me or Leave Me (3:45)

2. Summer in New York (5:23)

3. Catch Me If You Can (4:09)

4. Poetry Man (4:07)

5. The Rings of Saturn (5:05)

6. Can We Still Be Friends (4:35)

7. If You Never Come To Me (5:43)

8. Anyone Can Whistle (4:47)

9. Nice To Be Around (3:52)

10. Jazz ‘n’ Samba (Só Danço Samba) (2:11)

11. It Could Happen To You (3:56) 

Joanne Tatham  vocals

Max Haymer  piano

Lyman Medeiros  bass

Dan Schnelle  drums

Marcel Camargo  guitar (5, 7,10)

Larry Koonse  guitar (2)

Kevin Winard  percussion

Brian Swartz  trumpet

Bob Sheppard  sax

Arranged by Max Haymer, Eli Brueggemann (6),  Marcel Camargo & Joanne Tatham (10)

Produced by Mark Winkler