Republic of Jazz: PIROUET RECORDS

Showing posts with label PIROUET RECORDS. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Kenny Werner - The Space (PIROUET RECORDS November 2018)

Renowned pianist Kenny Werner makes poetic, brilliant music

in the moment on The Space

New solo recording, out November 2 via Pirouet, reaffirms Werner

as one of our great jazz pianists

“Perfection. 360 degrees of soul and science in one human being.”

—Quincy Jones

“Kenny Werner is a total musician. He feeds my heart and brain and pushes me into fresh territories.”

—Toots Thielemans

“Werner owns more chops and brains than most pianists do…Werner hardly raises his voice to make subtle points, couching his logic in neat vamps, sinewy angular lines, dizzying rhythmic double entendres.”

—DownBeat

“Werner has become one of our most literate and visceral pianists.”

—JazzTimes

Pianist Kenny Werner has long been a major player on the world jazz scene. His long-term musical relationships with the likes of the legendary Toots Thielemans, saxophonist Joe Lovano, and the Mel Lewis Big Band, coupled with his recognition as composer and bandleader have propelled him to the forefront of the music. Quincy Jones proclaimed him to be "360 degrees of soul and science in one human being," and Nate Chinen of The New York Times marveled at "Ša pianist who tempers fearsome technique with a questing spiritualism."

Werner is also an acclaimed educator. The title of his new solo recording The Space comes from a chapter in Effortless Mastery, his book dealing with creativity and his approach to playing that has influenced a generation of jazz players. Werner calls The Space "Šthe most important title I've ever had for my music." It's about "Šbeing in the moment, content with what is." The Space will be released November 2, 2018 on Pirouet (PIT3106).

This album is the fourth Werner has recorded for Pirouet. Engineer-artistic director Jason Seizer had actually wanted to do a solo recording with Kenny, but Werner persuaded Jason to record his trio first. After two Pirouet trio albums and one beautiful duo album with the great Brazilian singer Joyce, the time for The Space had come. Pirouet has recorded some of the premier pianists in jazz, including such artists as Marc Copland, Bill Carrothers, and Pablo Held. The new production with Werner continues that tradition.

The album's eight pieces consist of two memorable standards, a classic Keith Jarrett composition, two perceptive pieces by Seizer, and three Werner originals, including the spare, mysterious title piece. In Werner's hands they are transformed into intimate poems of self-discovery. Werner characterizes The Space as "the place where every note I play is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard." With his new album, Kenny Werner makes that space his home.

kennywerner.com

Kenny Werner has been a world-class pianist and composer for over forty years. His prolific output of compositions, recordings and publications continue to impact audiences around the world. In 1996 he wrote his landmark book Effortless Mastery, Liberating the Master Musician Within. Werner has since created videos, lectured worldwide and authored many articles on how musicians, artists or even business people can allow their "master creator" within to lift their performance to its highest level, showing us how to be spontaneous, fearless, joyful and disciplined in our work and in our life. He is currently the artistic director of The Effortless Mastery Institute at Berklee College Of Music.

Kenny was awarded the 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship Award for his seminal work, No Beginning No End, a musical journey exploring tragedy and loss, death and transition, and the path from one lifetime to the next. Utilizing over 70 musicians, Kenny's third album for Half Note Records is an expansive composition featuring Joe Lovano, Judy Silvano, wind ensemble, choir, and string quartet. Born in Brooklyn on November 19, 1951 and then growing up in Oceanside, Long Island, Kenny began playing and performing at a young age, first recording on television at the age of 11. Although he studied classical piano as a child, he enjoyed playing anything he heard on the radio. In high school and his first years of college he attended the Manhattan School of Music as a classical piano major. His natural instinct for improvisation led Kenny to the Berklee College of Music in 1970. There he sought tutelage of the renowned piano teacher Madame Chaloff. Her gracious wisdom and inspiration became a driving force in Kenny's conception: a music conscious its spiritual intent and essence. From Boston, Kenny traveled to Brazil with the saxophonist Victor Assis Brasil. There he met Victor's twin brother, Brazilian pianist Joao Assis Brasil. He studied with Joao, who provided another piece of the puzzle for Kenny's conception that would lead to Effortless Mastery. Kenny has performed and/or recorded with artists including Toots Thielemans, Charles Mingus, Gunther Schuller, Marian McPartland, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Elvin Jones, John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Lee Konitz, Pat Metheny, Randy Brecker, Joe Henderson, Archie Shepp, Dave Liebman, Bob brookmeyer, Kenny Wheeler, Dave Douglas, Chris Potter, Ambrose Akinmusire, Ron Carter, Eddi Gomez, Dave Holland, Rufus Reid, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Hart, Bobby McFerrin, Lou Rawls, and Betty Buckley.

Werner has composed for orchestras around the world, and taught at The New School, Berklee College of Music, the Banff Center, New York University, and other schools. He has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey Council of the Arts, and the Guggenheim Foundation, as well as a 2001 Grammy nomination.

Monday, May 7, 2018

Kathrin Pechlof Trio - Toward the Unknown (PIROUET RECORDS 2018)

The harp has never had a major role in jazz, but then again, harpist Kathrin Pechlof’s music encompasses more than jazz. Her success in both traditional and contemporary classical music, her venture into a jazzy version of Bavarian folk music and the Avant-pop of Cosmic Groove Orchestra led to her consequent turn towards contemporary jazz and work with such players as Pablo Held, Niels Klein, and Sebastian Gille. Such a background lends a depth and breadth to Pechlof’s play that places her in the forefront of the new generation of innovative musicians. Pechlof’s trio of like-minded musicians alto saxophonist/composer Christian Weidner and bassist Robert Landfermann has been testing musical borders for some seven years. Jazzthing depicted their first PIROUET album, Imaginarium, as “chamber music worlds of quiet beauty and understated elegance”. On their new PIROUET CD, the three guide the listener towards the beauty and challenge of the unexpected.

Silence Is A Looking Bird

Fuge

Elegie

Feldfolge

Thema und Variation

Earth

Toward The Unknown

Versuch

Made Up Animals

Kathrin Pechlof - harp

Robert Landfermann - double bass

Christian Weidner - alto sax

Pablo Held - Glow II (PIROUET RECORDS 2018)

When he recorded Glow with his 10-piece ensemble in 2010, “German piano wonder Pablo Held was only 23 years old…, but he had already earned his place in the pantheon of modern day piano trio leaders… As good as Held’s earlier albums are, they don’t hold a candle to ‘Glow’.” (Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz). Other critics declared that Held had created a “masterpiece” and praised Held for such “enthralling contemporary jazz”. On “Glow II” Held and company continue their incandescent musical explorations.

Terra

Pinatubo

Smaragd

Longstreth Blues

Tausendschön

Chiffre

Pablo Held (piano)

Robert Landfermann (bass)

Jonas Burgwinkel (drums)

Henning Sieverts (bass)

Hubert Nuss (harmonium, celeste, pocket organ)

Ronny Graupe (acoustic guitar)

Niels Klein (tenor & sopran saxophone, clarinet)

Philipp Gropper (tenor saxophone)

Claus Stötter (trumpet)

John Schröder (acoustic guitar)

Christian Weidner (alto saxophone)

Larry Goldings / Peter Bernstein / Bill Stewart - Toy Tunes (PIROUET RECORDS 2018)

Larry Goldings - Peter Bernstein - Bill Stewart

Take to the musical playground with Toy Tunes

Available via Pirouet Records

"The best organ trio of the last decade." - The New York Times

"unusual camaraderie of world-class players Three of the world's best players in the current jazz scene..." - Jazzstation

Larry Goldings, Peter Bernstein and Bill Stewart possess a special place within the rich history of organ trios; with their adventurous eclecticism, they progress beyond the bop-influenced soul jazz of the likes of Jimmy Smith, Brother Jack McDuff and Shirley Scott and into their own singular musical realm.

Larry Goldings has collaborated with the "who's who" of soul, pop and jazz, from Maceo Parker, Tracy Chapman, and James Taylor to Jim Hall, Herbie Hancock, John Scofield, and Charlie Haden, and is in demand as a composer for film and TV. Peter Bernstein has been called "the most universally respected and admired jazz guitarist of his generation", and his work with such greats as Sonny Rollins, Jim Hall, Joshua Redman, and Brad Mehldau backs up the claim. Known for his melodicism and polyrhythmic complexity, drummer Bill Stewart has played with Joe Lovano, Dave Holland, and, like Goldings, Maceo Parker, and has had a long-time collaboration with John Scofield. All three are recognized composers.

Toy Tunes marks the trio's twelfth album since their first release in 1991. It's their second recording with PIROUET. The press greeted their first PIROUET CD, 2014's Ramshackle Serenade, with "It doesn't get much better than this" (All About Jazz), and "Another memorable outing from one of current jazz's finest small groups" (JazzTimes). Goldings states that, "Our approach has never been dictated by the 'organ trio' format but rather by our individual personalities, our broad range of musical interests, our desire to be highly interactive, and to grow together as musicians."

Goldings' relaxed, lyrical Fagen was named for Steely Dan's Donald Fagen, whose records "introduced me to a whole new world of harmony and song structure." Larry comments that Stewart's Don't Ever Call Me Again "possesses Bill's unmistakable combination of craftiness and wit." The piece sports a funky fusion feel, and the three keep the communication going as they converse with Stewart's talkative drums. Bernstein wrote the dreamy Lullaby For B for his oldest son. Goldings says it "unravels like a novella, and, due to its rich harmonies and unexpected structure, is a joy to play." The standard I'm In The Mood For Love is a variation on the arrangement Goldings wrote almost 25 years ago for the great Jim Hall. "The three of us knew and loved Jim, and he inevitably pops into our consciousness when we play this." Goldings calls Carla Bley's And Now the Queen "a gem of a composition. I still can't fathom how she can say so much in four bars. Carla's pieces invite the interpreter to dive right in and explore. She gave us her own handwritten chart from which to work!" As for Toy Tune, Goldings says that improvising on Wayne Shorter's pieces "is akin to playing with a Rubik's Cube." The trio takes a slightly more relaxed stance than Shorter's original version, playing delightful games over the changes, with Stewart wailing over the fading riff at the end.

Bernstein's Calm is a beautiful mood piece with a serene church-like quality, and with Maybe, Goldings recounts that, "When I was in elementary school my mom took me on a train from Boston to New York to see my first Broadway musical, Annie. Charles Strouse wrote the music, and his song Maybe has always stuck with me. With its timeless melody and shifting key centers, it seemed like a natural fit for us to interpret." Depth, lyricism, complexity - it's all here, as three of the strongest musical personalities of their generation, join hands to play music that is pure joy.

Monday, November 7, 2016

Jorge Rossy - Stay Here (PIROUET RECORDS 2016)

The Rossy Vibes Quintet release new album “Stay There” (Pirouet Records 2016)

Renowned drummer Jorge Rossy lays down his sticks and picks up the mallets as he displays his love of melody on the vibraphone and marimba. Jorge has brought along three old friends, contemporary jazz masters tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, guitarist Peter Bernstein, and bassist Doug Weiss. Add to the mix legendary drummer Al Foster of Miles Davis fame and you have a potent musical elixir. Modern jazz at its melodic best.

Jorge Rossy vibes, marimba

Mark Turner tenor saxophone

Peter Bernstein guitar

Doug Weiss bass

Al Foster drums

1. Who Knows About Tomorrow 5:49

2. Portrait 4:32

3. Artesano 4:05

4. Blessed 5:17

5. Mark's Mode 2:01

6. The Newcomer 5:49

7. W Waltz 6:19

8. Pauletta 4:24

9. Mmmyeah 7:05

10. Stay Here 6:16

Friday, October 28, 2016

Frank Kimbrough - Solstice (November 25, 2016 PIROUET RECORDS)

Frank Kimbrough · piano / Jay Anderson · bass / Jeff Hirshfield · drums

"The art of listening soars to its very highest expression with this recording. Solstice offers brilliant playing by three of today's most exceptional artists, speaking clearly to all of us who are starved for sonic beauty, space, heart and deep artistic intelligence." - Composer and multiple Grammy winner Maria Schneider

Solstice: exploring the boundaries of darkness and light

Frank Kimbrough counts among a handful of New York-based pianists who have been refining and expanding the language of ensemble playing over the last few decades (this November he marks 35 years in New York and his sixtieth birthday). Declared a "a near-visionary whose piano-improvising, composing, and band-leading skills seek out the dark corners of untrod jazz terrain" by The New Yorker, Kimbrough is noted for his exquisite ensemble, trio and solo recordings as well as his duo work with Lee Konitz, Scott Robinson, Joe Locke and Paul Bley, his work as a sideman in Dewey Redman's quartet, and his long-term involvement with the Jazz Composers Collective and the Maria Schneider Orchestra. On Solstice, acclaimed players and longtime musical companions, bassist Jay Anderson and drummer Jeff Hirshfield join Frank to explore the music of some of the jazz masters who have left a personal imprint on his life.

Kimbrough has had an uncanny ability of meeting the right person at the right time. Shortly after his move to Washington, DC in 1980 Frank met the exceptional singer/ pianist Shirley Horn, who became his friend and mentor. The next year he migrated to New York where he came under the tutelage of one of his heroes, pianist Paul Bley. Around the same period Kimbrough met the ground-breaking pianist Andrew Hill whose music "...literally changed my life. Andrew was an enigma, an inspiration, a mentor, and a dear friend." With the Big Apple as his base, the next years were ripe with tours and recordings. In 1992, Kimbrough helped found the Jazz Composers Collective, an entity that lasted for 13 years, resulting in a concert series, a score of recordings and frequent tours by many of its groups.

In1993 the acclaimed American composer Maria Schneider invited Kimbrough to join her orchestra. This ongoing musical relationship has resulted in Frank's participation in a slew of Grammy award-winning projects as well as in Maria's collaborations with soprano Dawn Upshaw and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and with David Bowie. Schneider marvels, "He wraps himself around each soloist and takes care to go in the direction they're going. I hear things he plays and think Oh God if only I could write that." Add to these impressive credentials his resume of residencies and workshops on 5 continents, an ongoing nine-year stint teaching at the Juilliard School, and some 20 critically acclaimed albums under his own name.

For Solstice, Kimbrough chose two musicians "whose judgment I trust completely." Bassist Jay Anderson has more than 400 recordings under his belt; he has played and recorded with an incredible diversity of musicians, including Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Frank Zappa, and Celine Dion (1997 Record of the Year Grammy). He and Kimbrough have been playing together for some 20 years in Maria's band, the Gil Evans Project and various other groups, as well as on two of Frank's previous albums. Drummer Jeff Hirshfield and Frank also go back 20 years, including several tours together in trio. Hirshfield's and Anderson's musical connection began in the early 80's, and over the years they have often worked and recorded together in a variety of contexts, including Paul Bley's highly regarded album Notes On Ornette. It all intertwines into an enticing spiral of connections between the three.

Kimbrough says that, "I selected compositions that speak to me in ways that are unique and personal. Jay and Jeff didn't know what we were going to play and didn't see the music until we arrived at the date. There was almost no discussion and no rehearsal - we simply began to play." Most of the pieces are first takes.

About the tunes, Frank says:

"The simplicity of Seven by Carla Bley shows her genius. I've loved her tunes since first hearing them as a teenager.

Shirley Horn was a magical pianist and vocalist who really knew how to cast a spell. Her recording from a concert in Paris inspired me to play Gershwin's Here Come the Honey Man.

Solstice was composed by Maryanne de Prophetis, the composer/poet/lyricist and vocalist who is my life partner and constant inspiration.

The Sunflower was composed by Paul Motian, a singular drummer/composer, and one of the most unique person- alities in jazz. I enjoyed every moment we spent together both on and off the bandstand.

Annette Peacock's Albert's Love Theme was written for Albert Ayler. Annette's pieces are very personal and spe- cific, yet open, like a landscape.

The only original on the disk is Question's the Answer, as in "the question IS the answer". It has a strong connection to the blues and the bassist has many "root" options.

From California with Love was composed by Andrew Hill in the '70's. I love the mysterious beauty and humanity of his compositions-so modern and free, yet rooted in the tradition.

El Cordobes was written by Annette Peacock for the flamboyant Spanish bullfighter Manuel Benítez Pérez. Like Albert's Love Theme and Seven, I first heard it played by Paul Bley's mid-60's trio.

Walking by Flashlight is from Maria Schneider's song cycle Winter Morning Walks. Maria is a national treasure, and I feel very fortunate to be a part of her musical world."

On their first CD together the trio's philosophy was simply to listen, trust, and respond to one another; in so doing, they have created a gradated musical atmosphere that envelops the enigmatic and the translucent, the mysterious and the artlessly elegant.