Marker - Roadwork 1 / Roadwork 2 / Homework 1 (3CD Box Set) CATALYTIC SOUND 2018

On July 16th, Audiographic Records will officially release its first Special Edition: 140 copies of a 3 CD boxset by the band Marker, called "Roadwork 1 & 2/Homework 1." The material was recorded at three concerts during the group's tour of the Southeast, in New Orleans, Atlanta, and Chicago. Catalytic Sound is now taking advance orders for this $30 collection, which will also be on sale at the shows held on Marker's upcoming Midwest tour, from July 6th to 13th (see kenvandermark.com for listings).

These recordings will be made available through Audiographic's Systems vs. Artifacts imprint as digital download albums, also on July 16th. The ensemble's first album, "Wired For Sound," received 5 stars from the Free Jazz Collective, as well as other accolades. With this new collection from Marker listeners will be able to hear how far the band has come since that initial album was released."

Ken Vandermark

CD 1: ROADWORK New Orleans (for Ed Blackwell, Irma Thomas, and Allen Toussaint) 

Track listing: 

1. Accordéon (15:47) 

2. French Dress (20:51) 

Recorded by Danny Kadar and Joe Stolarick at The Mint during The Instigation Festival, New Orleans on January 25, 2018. Mixed and mastered by Dave Zuchowski at One Room Studio. 

CD 2: ROADWORK Atlanta (for James Brown, Marion Brown, and Mary Lou Williams) 

Track listing: 

1. Shunpike (15:50) 

2. Deguchi (21.04) 

3. Salida (19:39) 

4. Detour (15:58) 

Recorded by Andrew Wiggins at The Earl, Atlanta on January 31, 2018. Mastered by Dave Zuchowski at One Room Studio. 

CD 3: HOMEWORK Chicago (for Muhal Richard Abrams, Curtis Mayfield, and Dinah Washington) 

Track listing: 

1. B Movie (23:16) 

2. Series B (13.47) 

3. Película B (14:24) 

4. B Eiga (19:45) 

Recorded by Dave Zuchowski at The Hungry Brain, Chicago on February 18, 2018. Mixed and mastered by Dave Zuchowski at One Room Studio. 

Compositions by Ken Vandermark (Twenty First Mobile Music/ASCAP-Cien Fuegos)

Endangered Blood - Don't Freak Out (SKIRL RECORDS 2018)

1. Passion Fruit Birthday Cake 03:41

2. Koreana 04:12

3. Easy Blues 04:53

4. Varmints 07:59

5. Waiting For Marni 05:12

6. Complimenti 05:29

7. Diego Partido 05:53

8. Bella V 04:33

Mattson 2 Play "A Love Supreme" (SPIRITUAL PAJAMAS August 17, 2018)

Identical Twins Jared & Jonathan Mattson Create a Bold, Modern Reimagining of John Coltrane’s Revered Masterpiece A Love Supreme 

On Mattson 2 Play “A Love Supreme,” out August 17, 2018 via Spiritual Pajamas, the brothers translate the iconic saxophonist’s spiritual vision into a thrilling 21st-century electric exploration 

John Coltrane’s 1965 magnum opus A Love Supreme is one of the most revered and influential recordings in the history of jazz, widely regarded as the iconic saxophonist’s masterpiece. It might seem audacious at the very least to undertake a new recording of such a foundational album, but twin brothers Jared & Jonathan Mattson are nothing if not sonic risk-takers. 

With their new release Mattson 2 Play “A Love Supreme,” the duo reimagines Coltrane’s avant-garde epic through a 21st-century lens, creating a new interpretation that remains faithful to the questing spirit of the original while pushing the music into bold new territory – which itself is fully in keeping with the composer’s forward-looking vision. The album, due out August 17, 2018 via Spiritual Pajamas, translates the Coltrane Quartet’s acoustic jazz explorations into a modern language swathed in a haze of analog synths, ecstatic guitars, transcendent grooves and enveloping atmospherics. 

“The purpose of our reinterpretation of A Love Supreme was to lean into the spirit of exploration and transformation that’s embodied in jazz.” says Jonathan Mattson. “We don’t claim to be traditional jazz musicians, for us it’s about creatively adapting the art form, decontextualizing it, and exploring the genre in new ways. Jazz has been confined to such a narrow definition over the years and we want to make sure the genre continues to grow and evolve. It should be a living, breathing thing.” 

That mission certainly fits with Coltrane’s own intentions for the piece, which is less a set composition than a framework for spiritual communion through improvisation. The Mattson brothers have a particular advantage when it comes to achieving that level of communication: the unique telepathy that exists between identical twins, an unspoken empathy that they refer to as “twinchronicity.” In A Love Supreme, the Mattsons saw a way to channel that rare connection into expansive new horizons. 

The duo undertook an intensive study of the original composition, Coltrane’s notes, and every available recording by the Coltrane Quartet as well as later versions by the likes of John McLaughlin, Branford Marsalis and Alice Coltrane. They used that vocabulary to create their own take, which they honed through invaluable live performances before audiences largely unfamiliar with the original. “It was so incredible to see the way that a rock fans connected with the music,” Jonathan recalls. “There was yelling and crying, people getting really stoked and devouring every note we were playing. Seeing people’s minds getting blown by Coltrane’s music, was an inspiration for us.” 

Those visceral reactions attest to the continuing impact of Coltrane’s bold vision. Mattson 2 Play “A Love Supreme” channels that vision with both reverence and inventiveness, creating a vibrant and electrifying new interpretation that will resonate with new generations of open-minded listeners.

1. Acknowledgement

2. Resolution

3. Interlude

4. Pursuance

5. Psalm

Original compositions written by John Coltrane

Mattson 2 is:

Jonathan Mattson - Drums, Percussion, Vocals

Jared Mattson - Electric Guitar, Loops, Electric Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Vocals

Texas Singer-Songwriter VINCE BELL Reading & Performance w/ RATZO HARRIS and VINNY GOLIA Sunday, August 12th 7 PM

Tickets & Info

Please join us for a Rare Evening with Texas Singer-Songwriter VINCE BELL. He will be reading from his original show, One Man's Music, and performing songs from his recent, critically-acclaimed album, Ojo (Produced by Bob Neuwirth, Dave Soldier, Patrick Derivaz). Accompanying Vince Bell are beloved New York bassist RATZO B. HARRIS, who plays on Ojo, and VINNY GOLIA - an award-winning composer, bandleader and celebrated multi-woodwind performer.

Singer-Songwriter MASON SUMMIT, already with 4 records released by age 21, opens the evening. Also featuring a reading by Playwright/Poet/Essayist LEON MARTELL, widely produced + most recently, the author of the hit play ICE, a commission by LA's 24th Street Theatre. $10 Admission includes dessert. Free Parking. Tickets available NOW @ www.ruskingrouptheatre.com. 

Library Girl is now in its 9th Year. Created, Produced + Curated by Susan Hayden. Managing Director: Mike Myers. Production Support: William T Ensley, Nicole Millar + Paul Denk. All proceeds will be donated to Ruskin Group Theatre.

About Vince Bell's album, T Bone Burnett writes: "Ojo is shamanism." Bell's songs have been performed and recorded by such diverse talents as Little Feat, Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith, and both a ballet and musical have been set to his work. Along with five critically acclaimed CDs and a live performance DVD, he is the author of an autobiography, One Man’s Music: The Life and Times of Texas Songwriter Vince Bell and one-man performance piece, One Man’s Music: A Monologue with Song. "Vince is a poet," said the well-loved late Townes Van Zandt. Vince Bell has been a stalwart of the Texas singer-songwriter scene since he emerged in Houston in the early 1970s. A rising star, until a devastating car accident in 1982 which resulted in a serious brain injury and a 10 year-recovery. “His determined rehabilitation and subsequent comeback is a personal journey that ends triumphant in the here and now," from Joe Nick Patoski, author of Willie Nelson: An Epic Life. 

L to R - Steven Soles, T Bone Burnett, Dave Mansfield, Tony Gilkyson, Bob Neuwirth, Bob Thiele, Jr. at McCabes.

July 15, 2018

In 1975 and 1976, T Bone Burnett toured with Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue; when the Revue ended, Burnett and two other members of Dylan's band, David Mansfield and Steven Soles, formed The Alpha Band, which released three albums: The Alpha Band (1976), Spark in the Dark (1977), and The Statue Makers of Hollywood(1978).

Vince Bell

Rachel Caswell "We’re All in The Dance" CD Release Jazz at Kitano: Saturday, September 15, 2018

Rachel Caswell

CD Release Concert

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Set Times: 8pm & 10pm

Jazz at Kitano

66 Park Ave. @ E. 38th St.,

New York, NY 10016

Reservations (212) 885-7119

www.kitano.com

Featuring

Rachel Caswell - vocals

Sara Caswell - violin

Dave Stryker - guitar

Glenn Zaleski - piano

Matt Aronoff - bass

Johnathan Blake - drums

There’s no mistaking the message of “We’re All in The Dance,” the title track of singer Rachel Caswell’s latest album. It’s a lovely waltz that pairs the dance of life with the dance of music and somehow, through her purity of tone, intelligent phrasing, and flowing time feel, Caswell—cosigned by an ascendant solo by her younger sister, Grammy-nominated violinist Sara Caswell—navigates an alternate, bespoke pathway through a song whose simplicity and elegance pose a challenge to a singer steeped in the complexities of jazz expression.

She addresses the subject of love head-on throughout the proceedings, comprising ten songs culled from a long timeline and a panoply of stylistic genres. Caswell tells each story with equivalent levels of individualism and interpretive mojo, imparting a continuity and identity from the first track (an inflamed, incantatory reading of Sting’s “Fragile”) to the last (a mesmerizing meditation on Jon Hendricks’ bittersweet-yet-optimistic lyric to Thelonious Monk’s “Reflections”).

Along the way, Caswell puts deep blues inflections on “Drown in My Own Tears,” the Ray Charles classic, followed by a soulful guitar declamation by master blues practitioner—and album producer—Dave Stryker. She channels her inner Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan on “A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening,” eschewing a balladic approach for a well-wrought, lightly swinging delivery of the lyric. She renders the late Bob Dorough’s “Devil May Care” with apropos vertiginous flair, developing her rhythmic ideas on an instrument-like improvisation. She applies a spacious Latin feel to Henry Mancini’s “Two for The Road,” and showcases her broad registral range and deep pocket in conveying Tom Lellis’ evocative lyrics to Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me A Bedtime Story.” Dave Stryker’s arrangement of Rodgers & Hart’s American Songbook classic “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” plays on the title, shifting odd meters with finger-popping swing. And Rachel scats the melody of Charlie Parker’s “Dexterity” with an idiomatic bebop feel, giving her A-list partners full autonomy to play it in their manner and responding to their postulations with a pithy scat.

Another of the record’s great pleasures is an opportunity to hear how deftly each world-class member of the kinetic rhythm section locks into their task of reimagining and reconfiguring “standards.” Hopefully, Stryker’s imprimatur and this cutting-edge band will induce gatekeepers from radio and the press to listen closely to this superb album. If they do, and respond accordingly, Caswell may be moving to another level of visibility in the not so distant future.


Edited from liner notes by Ted Panken

“Rachel Caswell is that rara avis who is truly a jazz vocalist. Her intonation is impeccable, her diction precise, her jazz sensibilities above reproach, and she swings like mad!... Few improvisers – vocal or instrumental – have better ears than she possesses and she has an exceptional instrument that is immediately identifiable among a sea of other vocalists.”

David Baker, NEA Jazz Master & jazz education pioneer

1. Fragile – Sting – 7:05

2. A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening – Harold Adamson/Jimmy McHugh – 5:16

3. We’re All in The Dance – Will Jennings/Christophe Monthieux – 5:11

4. Devil May Care – Bob Dorough/Terrell P. Kirk Jr. – 6:46

5. Two for The Road – Leslie Bricusse/Henry Mancini – 5:42

6. Drown in My Own Tears – Henry Glover – 4:58

7. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was – Lorenz Hart/Richard Rodgers – 6:06

8. Tell Me A Bedtime Story – Tom Lellis/Herbie Hancock – 6:05

9. Dexterity – Charlie Parker – 6:01

10. Reflections (Looking Back) – Jon Hendricks/Thelonious Monk – 5:16

Rachel Caswell, vocals

Sara Caswell, violin

Dave Stryker, guitar

Fabian Almazan, piano & fender rhodes

Linda May Han Oh, bass

Johnathan Blake, drums

rachelcaswell.com

NATIONAL PRESS CAMPAIGN

JIM EIGO, JAZZ PROMO SERVICES

jim@jazzpromoservices.com • www.jazzpromoservices.com

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

Porta-Jazz ao Relento | pLoo - 4 de Agosto - 22:00 - Jardins do Palácio de Cristal

Em Agosto a Porta-Jazz volta aos jardins do Palácio de Cristal com mais um  Porta-Jazz ao Relento, apresentado em parceria com a Porto Lazer.

O Porta-Jazz ao Relento é uma oportunidade para ouvir ao vivo alguns dos projectos editados com Carimbo da Porta-Jazz.

Concertos sempre aos Sábados às 22:00, com entrada livre.

pLoo

Sábado 4 de Agosto   22:00 

Jardins do Palácio de Cristal

PELE DE PAPEL, o segundo disco dos pLoo pretende uma convivência multicultural dentro do mesmo espaço, um local onde o jazz, a música do mundo, a música improvisada livremente e a música contemporânea possam coabitar.

Daniel Dias - Trombone

José Soares - Sax

Eurico Costa - Guitarra

Diogo Diniz - Contrabaixo

Paulo Costa - Bateria

Rebecca Angel - What We Had (TIMELESS GROOVES RECORDS August 3 2018) + SHOWS

REBECCA ANGEL AT RIVER SPIRIT MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL

September 8, 2018

@ 80 Washington Ave, Hastings-On-Hudson, NY 10706

Purchase tickets here

REBECCA ANGEL AT BARNES AND NOBLE IN EASTCHESTER, NY

September 26, 2018

@ Eastchester

680 White Plains Rd

Scarsdale NY 1058

Rebecca Angel's voice makes the difference. With her refined charm, she gives the songs on What We Had the overwhelming splendor.

- Hans-Bernd Hülsmann www.smooth-jazz.de

Jason Miles' work playing, producing, arranging, and guiding some terrific musicians in support of this must-hear chanteuse brings a real sense of warmth to the work. WHAT WE HAD is a real treat, and Rebecca Angel's voice and writing are superb evidence of an artist with a very bright future ahead of them.

- Chris Gibson Broadway World

Talented young singer Rebecca Angel has released her first EP the memorable “What We Had”, an innovative set of fresh and heartfelt music.

The 22 year-old vocalist has an appealing and captivating voice. Using jazz as her base to explore different grooves, she collaborated with Grammy-winning Jason Miles, who produced recordings of celebrity artists including Miles Davis, Grover Washington Jr., Luther Vandross, etc. Jason is producer and arranger of “What We Had”, her debut EP, Miles and other top-notch musicians accompany her with a variety of backgrounds that showcase her soothing and distinctive voice at its very best.

In addition to Miles’ keyboards, the six selections (plus two remixed performances) utilize such fine musicians as soprano-saxophonist Hailey Niswanger, guitarists Ricardo Silveira, Jonah Miles Prendergast and Christian Ver Halen, bassists James Genus, Reggie Washington and Adam Dorn, drummer Brian Dunne, percussionists Mino Cinelu and Cyro Baptista, cellist Sebastian Stoger, flugelhornist Dennis Angel and flutist Gottfred Stoger. Rebecca excels at singing heartfelt lyrics and showcases her innovative scatting.

Rebecca’s version of the rarely performed Hoagy Carmichael gem “Winter Moon” features interplay between the singer and Niswanger on saxophone, catchy Latin rhythms and a haunting melody.  

Rebecca co-wrote the minor-toned and nostalgic “What We Had” with her father Dennis Angel and guitarist Prendergast, a celebratory look at the past. 

The Brazilian vocalese “Agora Sim” puts the focus on her instrumental ability in unison with Jonah’s guitar.

“Feel Alive”, which was also co-written by Rebecca, is a superior pop tune that is both funky and infectious.

Leiber and Stoller’s “Stand By Me”, heard in both radio and electro mixes, has a tight bass-drum rhythm, dynamic keyboards, a bluesy vocal by Rebecca and some natural and creative scat-singing.

The program closes with the first-ever vocal recording of Marcos Valle’s 2005 instrumental hit “Jet Samba” which is given both a radio and an electronic Ipanema mix.

Rebecca Angel has loved music all of her life. She remembers her father introducing her to the recordings of Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Elvis and the Beatles, Astrud Gilberto and Sade, all of whom became inspirations in her eclectic style.  She graduated with a degree in Vocal Jazz Studies from Ithaca College and has performed at the Iridium, The Metropolitan Room and CaféNoctambulo in New York.

Rebecca Angel creates consistently memorable musical statements throughout “What We Had”, with her substantial talents, a very impressive debut.

1 Winter Moon

2 What We Had

3 Agora Sim

4 Feel Alive

5 Stand By Me - Radio Mix

6 Jet Samba - Radio Mix

7 Stand By Me - Electro Mix

8 Jet Samba - Ipanema Remix

Rebecca Angel, vocals

Jason Miles keyboards, Fender Rhodes, Moog bass, pads, and percussion

Dennis Angel flugelhorn

Gottfried Stoger flute

Hailey Niswanger soprano saxophone

Sebastian Stoger cello

Jonah Miles Prendergast guitar

Christian Ver Halen guitar

Ricardo Silveira acoustic rhythm guitar

James Genus acoustic bass

Reggie Washington bass

Adam Dorn bass

Mino Cinelu percussion,

Cyro Baptista percussion

Brian Dunne drums

rebeccaangel.net

Media Contact

Jim Eigo

Jazz Promo Services

272 State Route 94 South #1

Warwick, NY 10990-3363

Ph: 845-986-1677 

e mail: jim@jazzpromoservices.com

www.jazzpromoservices.com

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

Jack Davies - Colossus (2018)

A mixture of Prog-rock, jazz fusion, electronic, and ambient, Colossus is an immersive, reverberated, descent into the soundscapes painted into each track.

1. Overture 01:27

2. Dying Dance / Dissension 09:45

3. Linear Monarch Valley 03:06

4. Blossom (Live) 04:38

5. Interlude 00:53

6. Temenos 10:02

7. Paradigm Shift 02:07

Jack Davies - Bass, keys, drum programming, guitars, vocals, harmonica, synths, production

Joe Narducci - Guitar (Track 4)

Daniel Clemenzi - Drums (Track 4)

Jack Davies - Live Trios (2018)

1. Footprints (Live at SAC, 2018) 05:35

2. Greensleeves / My Favorite Things (Live at RTH, 2017) 03:46

3. Summertime (Live at SAC, 2018) 03:52

4. Delightful Children Setlist (Demo, 2016) 31:24

Tracks 1, 2, & 3:

Jack Davies - Bass

David Kyle - Piano

John Richardson - Drums

Track 4:

Jack Davies - Bass

Joe Narducci - Guitar

Daniel Clemenzi - Drums

John Dikeman / George Hadow / Dirk Serries / Martina Verhoeven / Luis Vicente - Ideal Principle (RAW TONK RECORDS August 13, 2018)

1. Ideal 15:50

2. Infinite 02:41

3. Motion 15:59

4. Principle 08:01

5. Substance 05:50

John Dikeman: tenor & alto saxophone

George Hadow: drums

Dirk Serries: electric guitar

Martina Verhoeven: double bass

Luis Vicente: trumpet

Performed, recorded and mixed at Sunny Side Inc. Studio, Anderlecht (Belgium) on February 20th 2016.

Mastered by Dirk Serries.

XOL: XOL plays X​.​EN (CHANT RECORDS August 13, 2018)

XOL is a quartet of veteran improvisers on the vibrant European free music scene, with Guy Bettini on cornet, trumpet and fluegelhorn, Harri Sjöström on soprano sax, Luca Pissavini on bass and Francesco Miccolis on drums and percussion. Going beyond traditional structures and tonalities and composing collectively in the moment, they take the listener on a sonic journey to the outer reaches of the universe. XOL has toured extensively with the legendary Peter Brötzmann, and members have worked with other luminaries including Derek Bailey, Cecil Taylor, Gerry Hemingway and Tiger Okoshi.

1. still water has no mind

2. to receive the image

3. of the migrating geese

4. the whole moon

5. and the entire sky

6. are reflected in one

7. dewdrop on the grass

Guy Bettini: cornet, trumpet, fluegelhorn

Harri Sjöström: soprano sax

Luca Pissavini: double bass

Francesco Miccolis: drums, percussion

Recording, mix and master by Eliyah Reichen - Beyond Groove Studio – Switzerland 

Photo and graphic by guy bettini 

Playing Band Photo by marx@photomusix 

Produced by guy bettini CircoRu, www.circoru.org 

Label: chantrecords.com New York City

Makaya McCraven - Where We Come From (CHICAGOxLONDON Mixtape) INTERNATIONAL ANTHEM RECORDING 2018

1. Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia - Halls 03:49

2. LeFtO (feat. Soweto Kinch) - McCraven On The Mic 03:09

3. Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia - Ox Tales 06:22

4. Don Leisure (Darkhouse Family) - Suite For Artis Gilmore 03:02

5. Earl Jeffers (Darkhouse Family) - Jupiter Jawn 03:15

6. Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia, Kamaal Williams - The Oracle 03:18

7. Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia - The Bounce! 02:53

8. Ben LaMar Gay - King Drive, '86 Cutlass, No Plates 03:38

9. Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia - Run 'Dem 07:27

10. Emma-Jean Thackray - Too Shy 03:02

11. Quiet Dawn - Drums&Bruk&FeelTheVibe 03:03

12. Makaya McCraven, Joe Armon-Jones, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia - Birthday Solo 01:21

13. Lexus Blondin - TRC Thank You Outro 00:43

14. Makaya McCraven, Soweto Kinch, Kamaal Williams - Where We Come From 01:11

Recorded live at Total Refreshment Centre 18 & 19 October 2017 (CHICAGOxLONDON).

Live recordings mixed at Total Refreshment Studios 20 & 21 October 2017.

Remixed live at Total Refreshment Centre 22 October 2017 (FRESH ROASTED: Live Beat-Making & Battle).

Performed by Makaya McCraven - drums; Soweto Kinch - saxophone, voice; Theon Cross - tuba; Joe Armon-Jones - Rhodes piano; Nubya Garcia - saxophone; Kamaal Williams - keys.

Remix Production & Additional Overdubs by LeFtO; Don Leisure & Earl Jeffers (Darkhouse Family); Ben LaMar Gay; Emma-Jean Thackray; Quiet Dawn; Lexus Blondin.

Mixtape Production by Makaya McCraven

Recorded & Mixed by Dave Vettraino & David Allen

Recording Assisted by Matteo Musetti

Edited by Makaya McCraven

Mastered by David Allen

Photography by Fabrice Bourgelle

Design by Raimund Wong

Associate Production by Alejandro Ayala, Tina Edwards & Lexus Blondin

Executive Production by Scott McNiece

Special Thanks: Will Savery, Steven King, Garrett Shelton, Lauren Kasper, Mark Pallman, David Burkhart, Lori Mendoza, Angel Bat Dawid, Ken Okuda, Simbad, Stella Kun, Emma Warren, Lexy Morvaridi, Oran Maneti, Will Shanahan, Kim Alpert, Junius Paul, Jaimie Branch, Tomeka Reid, Alexander Hawkins, Tina Richard, Aly Gillani, Kristian 'Capitol K' Robinson, and Gus.

Keep Calm, or not...

until July 31

Rafal Sarnecki's new CD Climbing Trees, due out July 27, 2018 via Outside In Music

Polish-Born, NY-Based Guitarist/Composer Rafal Sarnecki Faces and Embraces His Fears on Exhilarating New Album

Climbing Trees, out July 27 on Outside In Music, features Sarnecki's stellar sextet with

Lucas Pino, Bogna Kicinska, Glenn Zaleski, Rick Rosato and Colin Stranahan

"Sarnecki ventures far beyond the bebop and post-bop idioms of the past and into a freer - though still chordal - musical language [that] already shows originality and daring. - Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune

"Sarnecki is a composer with a skillful touch at dramatic tension and pacing within his involved but highly melodic tunesŠ they're laden with dense arrangements, but the underpinning is a light touch of single-note guitar lines that vibe like a piano." - Michael J. West, Washington City Paper

CD Release Concert August 27 at Smalls, NYC

As a young child, Polish-born guitarist/composer Rafal Sarnecki suffered from an intense fear of heights and watched with envy as other kids climbed trees. Eventually he gathered the courage to face his fears, ascending branch by branch until he reached the top. That early triumph was the first of several fears that Sarnecki has faced down throughout his life, some of them directly impinging on his passion for music - stage fright, most pointedly, but also a more nebulous trepidation about pushing his music into ever more challenging territory. On his latest album, Climbing Trees, Sarnecki celebrates the ability to overcome one's most deep-seated anxieties and the exhilaration that can come from those confrontations.

"Once I challenged myself to climb to the top of one tree I felt an urge to climb a higher tree," Sarnecki recalls. "The satisfaction from fighting the fear was very strong and addictive. This memory from childhood resembles many situations in my adult life."

On Climbing Trees (due out July 27, 2018 via Outside In Music), Sarnecki takes his cue from that formative experience, crafting a set of risk-taking original compositions that dare him and his remarkable sextet to scale daunting heights. The stellar group - saxophonist Lucas Pino, vocalist Bogna Kicinska, pianist Glenn Zaleski, bassist Rick Rosato, and drummer Colin Stranhan - not only manages to deftly navigate the composition's knotty turns but finds exhilarating inspiration in its surprising branchings. The result is music that combines attentive focus on fine detail with the euphoria of an adrenaline rush.

What's clear from the chemistry and complexity displayed by the sextet is that this is a true working band, a relative rarity on the modern jazz landscape. In its present form the band has played together for nearly seven years, though many of the relationships stretch back even further. Pino and Zaleski have been a part of Sarnecki's band for the better part of a decade; Rosato and Stranahan joined the band in 2011. Since 2009 the guitarist and Zaleski have been members of Pino's acclaimed No Net Nonet, enjoying a monthly residency at Smalls Jazz Club for the past five years.

The sextet originally featured a trumpet as part of the frontline, until Sarnecki acceded to a Brooklyn club owner's request to add a singer to the band. Rather than hiring a standards-crooning chanteuse, Sarnecki enlisted Kicinska - a fellow native of Poland who uses her versatile voice and gift for improvisation like an instrumentalist. The addition gave the band's sound an ethereal but urgent quality, and the line-up fell into place.

"It took me a few years to learn how to take advantage of the potential of the musicians," Sarnecki says. "I have absolutely incredible players in my group that do things that are very unique, so as a composer I feel a responsibility to feature their individuality in my music. That can be a little risky, because sometimes I can push it a little too hard, but fortunately, we're a working band so I don't have to be afraid of that. This allows me to come up with ideas that sound really surprising, not the same as every other modern jazz song."

Zaleski's foreboding chords open the album on "Solar Eclipse," which contrasts Kicinska's airy vocal line with Sarnecki's gnarled lines. The leader's probing solo is a standout, exploring every hidden corner and skewed angle of the tune. The title comes not from the recent astronomical phenomenon but from the unusual way the piece was composed: it originated with a particularly tricky bass line, which eventually was dropped as the tune progressed, essentially eclipsing what was once the core idea of the piece. The growling lurch of "Dadaism" doesn't immediately suggest the subversive art movement that gives the piece its title, but it comes from a time when Sarnecki was studying Dada while working on his PhD in Music Composition at the Fryderyk Chopin Music University in Warsaw. Pino and Kicinska take a tandem soar into their upper registers, launching Zaleski into an intricately focused turn.

Sarnecki's shimmering arpeggios open the three-part "Little Dolphin" suite, which, like the elegant, Rachmaninoff-inspired "Zhongguo," reflects on the guitarist's travels to China. He first visited the country in 2013 at the prompting of saxophonist Nathaniel Gao, and has since returned annually to perform and teach. "I just fell in love with the culture," Sarnecki says. "Jazz was banned in China for about 30 years and in smaller towns people have no idea how to react to this music. But in bigger cities like Beijing or Shanghai there's a huge jazz audience and wherever you go, you feel more appreciated. In New York there's so much music that it's hard to impress people, so when you come to a place like China you feel like someone actually needs what you're doing." ("Little Dolphin" is the translation of "Xi_o h_itún" - the nickname given to Sarnecki by his Chinese fans.)

The heartfelt "Write a Letter to Yourself" was inspired by a friend's self-directed missive on Facebook, while "Disappointing Fresh Peach" takes its title from an anecdote in Kenny Werner's influential book Effortless Mastery. The dizzying "Hydrodynamics" is highlighted by a taut tug-of-war between Sarnecki and Stranahan, while closing track "Homo Sapiens" straddles the line between meditative jazz and chamber music, with Pino and Rosato steering through winding curves in perfect synchronicity.

Originally from Warsaw, Poland, Rafal Sarnecki is a jazz guitarist and composer currently living in New York. As a leader of his own projects Rafa_ has toured China, Malaysia, South Korea, Chile, Israel, the East and West Coasts of the U.S. and many European countries. He has shared the stage with top musicians from the U.S. jazz scene including Joel Frahm, Ben Wendel, Ron Blake, Ingrid Jensen, Alex Sipiagin, Willie Jones III and Gary Thomas, to name a few. Rafa_'s debut album, Song From a New Place (2008), was nominated for the 2009 Fryderyk Award, the Polish equivalent of a Grammy.

Rafal's second album, The Madman Rambles Again, was released in 2011 by Fresh Sound New Talent. Dave Sumner from All About Jazz selected the album as among the 12 most interesting jazz releases of 2011. In August 2014 Rafal's third CD, Cat's Dream, was released by Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records. In 2015 a group of jazz musicians in Kyiv, Ukraine started a sextet project dedicated to his music, performing compositions from all of his albums. In addition to his career as a bandleader Sarnecki is performs in a variety of New York based groups and projects such as the Lucas Pino No-Net Nonet, Annie Chen Group and David Bertrand Quartet.

rafalsarnecki.com

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