Saxophonist
Chris Potter began his musical
journey in the late 1980s with bebop veteran Red Rodney and laid the foundation
for his current position as a leading light in jazz, sharing the studio and the
bandstand with a staggering list of major artists including Paul Motian, Herbie
Hancock, Dave Holland, Jim Hall, Pat Metheny and the Mingus Big Band, to name
just a few. From his star-studded debut forward, Potter has shown a singular
focus and growth as a composer and improviser, moving deftly from acoustic
post-bop to the fringes of experimentalism. For his new CD, “Imaginary Cities,” Potter
leads the Underground Orchestra, an expanded version of his supercharged
funk-fueled band Underground augmented by a string quartet.
Al Muirhead has long been an iconic figure on the
Canadian jazz scene. His career has included work with legends such as Dizzy
Gillespie, Guido Basso, Rosemary Clooney and Diana Krall. He’s been a
first-call player for recordings, concerts, shows, studio, film,
and television orchestras. He’s a much-sought-after arranger and musical
director for undertakings of all sorts. The fact that it has taken this long
for a recording to be made with his name at the top is due in the main to the
fact that he has been so busy producing, writing, and playing for other artists’
recordings that he simply hasn’t taken the time do his own. That situation has
been rectified with his debut release, aptly titled “It’s About Time.”
Also this
week, Grammy winning composer and pianist Billy
Childs and an all-star cast of singers and musicians reinvigorate the
musical legacy of songwriter Laura Nyro on “Map to the Treasure,” featuring
Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, Dianne Reeves, Chris Botti and others; acclaimed
Mexican pianist and composer Alex
Mercado is joined by bassist Scott Colley and drummer Antonio Sanchez on “Symbiosis”;
and one Australia’s finest jazz musicians, multi-instrumentalist Adrian Cunningham, is joined by world class trombonist Wycliffe
Gordon in tribute to composer/arrange Neal Hefti on “Ain’t That Right!”
No comments:
Post a Comment