Virtuoso Trombonist ERIC GOLETZ's Large Ensemble "A NEW LIGHT" featuring Randy Brecker, coming January 31, 2022 on CAP Records

ONCE AGAIN, TROMBONIST ERIC GOLETZ BRINGS A 30-YEAR DREAM TO LIFE WITH HIS NEW RELEASE

A NEW LIGHT

Out January 21, 2022 on Consolidated Artists Publications

Virtuoso trombonist ERIC GOLETZ is releasing A NEW LIGHT, his second CD as a leader. After a 30-year career as a studio musician and first-call horn player in New York City, Goletz released his debut CD, Into the Night, in March of 2021. Reviewer Bill Donaldson says, “You have to give Eric Goletz credit for perseverance. And for virtuosity. And for creating music that reaches out to listeners while providing inimitable improvisational excellence. Into the Night is an uplifting, joyous album.”

Brimming with ideas and unstoppable energy, Goletz started working on A NEW LIGHT before his previous project was officially released. And like his previous release, A NEW LIGHT is an exciting, eclectic mix of musical styles that creates an infectious pastiche of sounds and textures.

Goletz’s multifarious background, experiences, and taste imbue his compositions and arrangements with a joie de vie enriched by his stellar musicianship. He began studying the piano when he was just six years old. His father was a pianist and big band arranger who wanted to share the gift of music with his children, so Goletz’s brother and sister both picked up an instrument at an early age and played with him in his band.

Goletz began studying classical piano, guitar, and music theory from the age of six with private teachers, but at the age of 14, he fell in love with the sound of the trombone in his father’s band, and he knew from then on that music was going to be his life’s work.

Goletz also began composing music at a young age and was soon writing and arranging music for the various groups he was involved with both in and out of school. Although his main focus was jazz, his tastes run the gamut of musical styles. Goletz says, “I think of music as having endless possibilities. It’s a journey where you can never be absolutely sure where it will lead. Although my background is in jazz and classical music, I spend much time listening to other forms of music such as pop, rock, Country, Motown, funk, Latin, and even Heavy Metal. There’s always something new to learn, and I try to keep an open mind to the simple joy of listening to music.”

Goletz grew up in Denver but moved to New York City to pursue his career, where he quickly found work composing and arranging for radio and TV commercials, soundtracks for independent films, album projects for many different singers and ensembles, and as a freelance jazz musician, notably with pianist Mike Longo’s State of the Art Jazz Ensemble, and with Sal Salvador, who was Stan Kenton’s former guitarist. Goletz played and wrote for Salvador’s album, Lorinda’s Kitchen.

Although he had a busy career as a sideman and studio musician, Goletz was brimming with his own creative ideas. He became intrigued with the sound of jazz fused with other styles of music, with the trombone as the lead instrument. There have been many great trombone recordings, but Goletz wanted to incorporate the traditional sound of the trombone in his own original, non-traditional musical setting.

In the ’90s, Goletz began to realize his vision by fronting a group led by both a tenor and bass trombone, that featured his original music and arrangements. He honed and developed his sound over several years, eventually releasing a sampler CD. Based on that release, Jazziz Magazine hailed him as one of the top 10 unsigned jazz artists in the country. The magazine also released a compilation CD that included Goletz’s original composition, “Night Child.”

Goletz wrote Into the Night with concepts that he had been developing for 25 years. Once the floodgate of ideas was opened, he had a torrent of creativity and wrote the arrangements for the new project in less than three months. On A NEW LIGHT, Goletz expands his original ideas with more complex arrangements, an expanded horn section, and a string section.

Goletz also made some changes to the core band. HENRY HEINITSH on guitar, STEVE JOHNS on drums, and JOE MOWATT on percussion appear on both albums. New additions include JIM RIDL on piano, ALLEN FARNHAM on keyboards, and MARCO PANASCIA on bass. A NEW LIGHT also features special guest RANDY BRECKER on trumpet and flugelhorn. Drummer Johns is a regular in Brecker’s band and introduced him to Goletz’s music. Brecker was very happy to participate on the new recording and appears on three compositions, “Dig,” “Greene Street Groove,” and “Don’t Gimme That.”

Goletz wrote all the compositions except for Miles Davis’ “Dig,” “Sunrise, Sunset” by Jerry Bock from Fiddler on the Roof, and “Song for Elizabeth” by Jonathan Butler. All the arrangements are by Goletz.

Goletz opens the album with “Prelude: Before the Light,” a lush jazz/classical composition that is somewhat reminiscent of George Gershwin. The “Prelude” introduces the melody of the opening number and title tune “A New Light,” a high energy, toe-tapping, big band number featuring Goletz’s melodic, beautifully articulated trombone sound. “The Edge of Night” has a driving jazz/rock feel. Goletz turns “Dig” into an up-tempo, Latin influenced number featuring a searing piano solo by Ridl and Brecker’s always hip, always tuneful trumpet playing. “Enchanted” is a romantic tune featuring the full band, while “Greene Street Groove” has a bluesy, funky groove. Goletz manages to keep the nostalgic, tender quality of “Sunrise, Sunset” while featuring a rock guitar solo by Heinitsh. Goletz takes down the temperature a bit on “Song for Elizabeth,” gentle love song, but kicks it into high gear again on “Don’t Gimme That,” featuring solos by Goletz, Brecker, and Farnham on keyboards. “The Mirror,” the penultimate tune, is a highly textured funk/jazz/rock number. Goletz closes the CD with “Postlude: After the Light,” which wraps up the CD with melodies and themes from all the other tunes on the disc.

Goletz’s arrangements are unique. With his solid chops as a musician and decades of working as a composer and arranger in a wide variety of musical venues and situations, it’s no wonder that his music is overflowing with a macrocosm of ideas. You can almost feel his rush of joy as he picks up his pen to get it all on paper.

1. PRELUDE: BEFORE THE LIGHT 0:41

2. A NEW LIGHT 7:12

3. EDGE OF NIGHT 7:27

4. DIG 9:02

5. ENCHANTED 7:06

6. GREENE STREET GROOVE 8:36

7. SUNRISE, SUNSET 10:19

8. SONG FOR ELIZABETH 4:00

9. DON’T GIMME THAT! 6:16

10. THE MIRROR 8:21

11. POSTLUDE: AFTER THE LIGHT 4:36

Eric Goletz trombone, keyboards | Randy Brecker trumpet, flugelhorn

Jim Ridl piano | Allen Farnham keyboards | Henry Heinitsh guitar

Marco Panascia bass | Steve Johns drums | Joe Mowatt percussion

The Horns

Trumpets: Tony Gorruso, Freddie Maxwell Kent Smith

French Horn: Will DeVos

Alto Sax: Bob Magnuson

Trombones: Erick Storckman, Chris Rinaman

Bass Trombone: Jonathan Greenberg

Tuba: Matt Ingman

The Strings

Violins: Robin Zeh, Paul Woodiel

Violas: Michael Roth, David Gold

Cello: Sarah Hewitt-Roth

All compositions by Eric Goletz except Dig (M. Davis), Sunrise, Sunset (Bock/Harnick) & Song for Elizabeth (J. Butler)

Eric Goletz Website    Facebook

Influential Vocalistc / Multi-Instrumentalist / Composer / Arranger PAUL JOST's Double-Disc LIVE Release, "WHILE WE WERE GONE"

INFLUENTIAL VOCALIST/MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST/SONGWRITER/ ARRANGER PAUL JOST RELEASES DOUBLE-DISC LIVE ALBUM

WHILE WE WERE GONE

“A creative force that deserves to be added to the list of great male jazz vocalists of all time.”

-Peter McClaren, Jazz in Europe

PAUL JOST’s newest album, WHILE WE WERE GONE, is a double disc album recorded live at the Soapbox Gallery, an art and performance space in Brooklyn, NY. Jost and his band, which comprises some of the top New York area musicians, includes JIM RIDL on piano, DEAN JOHNSON on bass, TIM HORNER on drums, and LORIN COHEN and MARTIN WIND subbing on bass on several tunes.

Jost and the band began performing live just one day a month at the Soapbox Gallery when the Covid-19 lockdown started easing up in New York City. The venue recorded the performances, and after five months, Jost had enough material to fill two CDs. He originally intended to release a few tracks digitally, but after a recent performance in Los Angeles, Dan Davilla, a jazz fan who has been an executive producer for several vocal jazz albums, convinced him to release the music on CD.

The hallmark of Jost’s appeal is his extraordinary ability to connect with his listeners on an emotional level. He is a passionate storyteller who interprets lyrics and melodies in ways that reveal the beating heart within a song. He says, “I like to present songs in ways that perhaps no one has heard before. It’s not that I’m just trying to be different, but I have my own perspectives that I try to present truthfully and honestly.”

He did not set out to make a political album, but he feels so deeply about certain social issues, that as an artist who always tries to get at a deeper truth, many of the songs inevitably take on a moral hue. He opens Disc 1, which he titled “Poetic Justice,” with a sequence of songs and poetry, starting with a soulful version of “Shenandoah.” Jost says, “I truly love this country, which is why I open with the melody of “Shenandoah” that ends with a phrase from "The Star Spangled Banner." I know how lucky I am to be born here and to have the opportunities afforded me, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of room for improvement.” Shenandoah” moves into “Lies of Convenience,” a spoken piece he wrote about the lies we sometimes tell ourselves because it’s easier than facing the truth. “Lies of Convenience” segues into “Forever,” a short piece he wrote in memory of George Floyd and those never truly silenced by hate, and concludes with an excerpt of a tune he wrote called “Who Says?” Jost then transitions to his reimagined arrangement of “Bye Bye Blackbird,” by Ray Henderson and Mort Dixon, that touches more overtly on racial injustice.

Disc 2, titled “Appeal to Reason,” opens with a spoken piece about the January 6 insurrection, which he ends with a touching version of “If I Ruled the World.” Jost always has a unique take on the meaning of songs, as he does on “Ev’rybody’s Talkin’,” the Fred Neil tune that made its debut in the movie Midnight Cowboy. In a languid, stirring performance, Jost reconstructs this piece to express the initial awareness of confusion and anguish of recognizing one's own unraveling mind.

Though these CDs include some Classic Rock, Pop and a few originals, many of the titles may be recognized as "standards," but there is nothing standard in the approach Jost takes. Randy Newman is one of Jost’s favorite composers, and he covers two of Newman’s -- “Feels Like Home” and “Marie.” Jost is also a formidable and prolific songwriter. He has written over 40 CDs for major music libraries, and his music is heard daily in over 750 markets throughout the United States. He is also a four category Billboard Song Contest Winner and two of his songs, "A Book Faded Brown" and "Half The Time," were recorded by The Band (Jubilation ), Carl Perkins (Friends, Families and Legends) and Rick Danko (The Last Waltz ). Jost wrote “Livin' in the Wrong Time” in 1995 and is included here on WHILE WE WERE GONE. It first appeared on his album, Simple Life, at his wife’s urging because the song remained relevant to today’s social and political climate.

He is drawn to musicians who approach music with the same guiding principles and sensitivities. He and Jim Ridl have been friends and cohorts for 27 years. Jost says, “Jim can play anything. He has incredible facility, fantastic ears, and boundless creativity.” Jost worked as a drummer with bassist Dean Johnson over 30 years ago and says he immediately fell in love with his approach after playing just a few bars together. Jost paid perhaps the highest compliment one musician can pay another when he first heard Tim Horner and said to him, “I want to play just like you.” For Jost, the band is more than a group of musicians. It is a brotherhood of like-minded souls, where serving the music always comes first.

Jost has performed on numerous albums over his long career. WHILE WE WERE GONE is his fifth album as a leader and follows Simple Life (2019), Peace and Love (2017), Breaking Through (2014), and Can't Find My Way Home (2013). Jazz in Europe has called Jost “a modern-day oracle of jazz vocals” and All About Jazz says, “Paul Jost makes every song so personally his own that it's easy to forget anyone else ever sang them.”

A multi-instrumentalist, Paul Jost plays guitar and harmonica, which he does beautifully on live performances and on WHILE WE WERE GONE. But before turning his full attention to singing in 2014, he had a long career as a drummer, recording and performing as a sideman with Billy Eckstine, Mark Murphy, Dr. John, Bucky Pizzarelli, Joe Farrell, Ron Carter, Ann Hampton Calloway, Sylvia Sims, and George Mesterhazy, to name just a few. He performs around the world and is a mainstay on the New York City jazz scene. He had a two-month stint at SMOKE, performing with Orrin Evans, and guest appearances with vibraphonist Joe Locke at Dizzy’s Coca Cola Club at the Lincoln Center. He performs regularly around the city at popular clubs like Mezzrow and Jazz at Kitano, and he currently has an ongoing residency at the internationally acclaimed jazz club 55 Bar. Jost says, “I enjoy playing small clubs and love connecting with the audience and sharing the experience together, and I try to create that same intimate feel when I play larger venues too.”

Many critics, contemporaries, and music fans consider Paul Jost to be one of the best male jazz vocalists since Mark Murphy, who, like Jost, was known for his edgy, unconventional singing and dramatic recitations. The live recordings on WHILE WE WERE GONE are soulful and intimate. It is a journey into the profound, elegant, and moral universe that Jost inhabits.

CD 1: POETIC JUSTICE

1. POETIC JUSTICE 3:19

• SHENANDOAH

• LIES OF CONVENIENCE

• FOREVER (IN MEMORY OF GEORGE FLOYD)

• WHO SAYS?

2. BYE BYE BLACKBIRD 4:56

3. FEELS LIKE HOME 5:28

4. CENTERPIECE 7:54

5. EV'RYBODY'S TALKIN' 8:11

6. GENTLE RAIN 6:41

7. LOVER MAN 5:38

8. A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP 5:08

9. MARIE 3:40

10. MY FOOLISH HEART 5:31

11. SOME OTHER TIME 6:19

CD 2: APPEAL FOR REASON

1. JANUARY 6TH: "AN APPEAL FOR REASON" 2:33

• IF I RULED THE WORLD

2. LIVIN' IN THE WRONG TIME 6:23

3. SUNSHINE SUPERMAN (DRUM INTRO) 1:13

4. SUNSHINE SUPERMAN 7:23

5. IF I ONLY HAD A BRAIN 5:54

6. YOUNG AND FOOLISH 5:27

7. ON THE SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREET 3:41

8. IF I HAD YOU 5:14

9. I THOUGHT ABOUT YOU 7:38

10. THE NEARNESS OF YOU 7:54

11. I DIDN'T KNOW TIME IT WAS 4:11

12. WE'LL BE TOGETHER AGAIN 6:31

PAUL JOST vocal & harmonica

JIM RIDL piano

DEAN JOHNSON bass

TIM HORNER drums

LORIN COHEN bass (CD 1, track 8 & CD 2, track 10)

MARTIN WIND bass (CD 1, track 9 & CD 2, tracks 4,6,9)

All songs arranged by Paul Jost except "An Appeal For Reason" arr. by Jim Ridl, Dean Johnson, Tim Horner

Produced by Paul Jost

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Joe Locke - Subtle Disguise (2018)

“For me, this album is the fruition of a long journey of self-discovery as an artist, where I no longer see the different aspects of my musical personality as separate or at odds with one another. I have discovered my own lingua franca, connecting the seemingly disparate styles I enjoy playing,” 

– Joe Locke

THE BAND 

Joe Locke – vibes

Jim Ridl – piano, fender rhodes, synths

Lorin Cohen – acoustic and electric basses

Samvel Sarkisyan – drums and cymbals

SPECIAL GUESTS

Raul Midón – voice, guitar

Adam Rogers – guitar

David Binney – alto sax

Alina Engibaryan – voice

1. Red Cloud 07:38

2. Who Killed Davey Moore? 06:24

3. Subtle Disguise 09:16

4. Make Me Feel Like It's Raining 09:07

5. Rogues Of America 09:21

6. Motherless Children 08:08

7. Safe And Sound (At The Edge Of The Milky Way) 07:32

8. Blondie Roundabout 07:16

9. A Little More Each Day 03:51