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Ray Reed Hollywood Bebop Quintet Ray Reed Hollywood Bebop Quintet - "Plays Ray Reed"
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TRACKS

The Pirates
Pretty Special
Only In Spring
Carl's Bad Tavern
I Wished For A Waltz
Shining Armor
Steal This Song
Ray-Diation

 

This all-star bebop jazz quintet with Don Menza (alto sax), Ron Stout (trumpet), Tom Garvin (piano), Jim Hughart or Putter Smith (bass), and Roy McCurdy (drums) premiers eight fresh new original straight ahead compositions written and arranged by Ray Reed, jazz master instrumentalist, composer, artist and author.

Each tune features soaring solos as accompanied by this rock solid in-the-pocket rhythm section and produces a sound reminiscent of the great quintets led by Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Golson and others during the 50's, 60's and 70's.

These compositions cleverly incorporate send-offs and smooth transitions between Latin and swing times, breaktime solos and other techniques seldom found in today's contemporary jazz. The listener will find themselves singing and humming these tunes after hearing them for the very first time. A must-own collector's album for the true jazz connoisseur.

 

Listen to Vintage Stonejazz The Gene Stone / Vince Wallace / Kent Glenn Musical Ensemble
with the Great Ray Reed
- "Vintage Stonejazz"
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TRACKS
(MP3 sound samples)

Flossie the Floozy
Ballad of Belmont
Magic Waltz
Notions
Tilton Turns Left
Spansulation
Mariposa
Shuga

 

"Vintage Stonejazz" was originally produced and recorded during early January 1980 by drummer Gene Stone with a jazz ensemble under the musical direction of pianist/composer Kent Glenn. The ensemble was comprised of some of the finest and most-in-demand jazz musicians on the west coast; including Ray Reed - alto sax, Vince Wallace - tenor sax, Bob Maize - bass, Al Mahafee - bass, and Johnny Conga - percussion.

After the music was allowed to age like fine wine for over 20 years, the original tapes were converted to .WAV files and subsequently re-mixed and re-mastered in order to preserve this great music and to prepare the CD for commercial issue and airplay.

"Vintage Stonejazz" provides the listener with eight original, straight-ahead, classic jazz tunes performed by world-class musicians that have totally dedicated their lives to this great American art form.

The creative and powerful music by these jazz artists make "Vintage Stonejazz" a must-own collector's item for the true Jazz connoisseur.

 

Listen to Christian Mostert Christiaan Mostert - "Midnite Breeze"
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TRACKS
(MP3 sound samples)

On the Street
Stephanie
Lie to Me
Hit & Run
Midnite Breeze
Con el Viento
Eyes for You
Move It
Slinky
Rain
Tease
Bluezz

 

 

West coast sax player/composer Christiaan Mostert, member of the touring bands of the Eagles, Glen Frey, and Don Henley, steps out front as a leader for his first solo CD, "Midnite Breeze" for Rhombus Records.

Christiaan has performed or recorded with: The Joe Walsh Band, Peter Cetera, Smokey Robinson, Dr. John, Ray Charles, Michael Bolton, Greg Allman and Bruce Willis, to name a few, as well as numerous TV commercials and soundtracks. "Midnite Breeze" is Christiaan's first solo effort into Jazz, Smooth Jazz, and R&B Instrumentals.

This all-original set of tunes features some of the best musicians in L.A. including guitarist Jeff (Skunk) Baxter, organist Mike Flannigan, drummers Rick Marotta and Burleigh Drummond, percussionist Michito Sanchez, along with additional drum and percussion tracks on "On The Street" and "Tease", courtesy of Steve Gadd.

"Midnite Breeze" is radio-friendly and coming to a radio station near you. If you are not familiar with Christiaan Mostert, you will be soon.

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Listen to Sam Rivers Trio Sam Rivers Trio - "Celebration"  Live at the Jazz Bakery in LA
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TRACKS
(MP3 sound samples)

Recognition
Commemoration
Observance
Clarion
Declaration
Currents
Dedication
Effusion
Laudation
Glimpse
Heritage
Appreciation

 

Few, if any, free jazz saxophonists have approached music with the same degree of intellectual rigor as Sam Rivers; just as few have managed to maintain a high level of creativity over a long life. Rivers plays with remarkable technical precision and a manifest knowledge of his materials. His sound is hard and extraordinarily well-centered, his articulation sharp, and his command of the tenor saxophone complete.

Celebration is the title of the latest release by the Sam Rivers Trio, consisting of master musician Sam Rivers, bassist & bass clarinetist Doug Matthews and drummer, pianist & saxophonist Anthony Cole. This 2004 release was recorded before an audience during a two night stint at the Jazz Bakery (Culver City, CA) in 2003.

Each member of the Sam Rivers Trio is fluent on multiple instruments which makes for a broad canvas for Rivers to paint his compositions. The music is pure Rivers - abstract and angular, sometimes funky and sometimes swinging. A particular highlight is the song "Glimpse" with Rivers on piano, backed by bass and drums: starting off with spikey solo piano it grows into a Cecil Taylor-esque torrent of notes and drumbeats, then breaks into a beautiful melody built around McCoy Tyner-type block chords backed by a intensely-swinging rhythm section.

www.samrivers.com

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Listen to Rick Holland-Kerry Strayer Quartet Rick Holland-Kerry Strayer Quartet - "Speak Low"
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TRACKS
(MP3 sound samples)

Bernie's Tune
KAS's Blues
3625 Central/Out of Nowhere
Count's Place
Speak Low
Mr. Jones
Three and One
In a Sentimental Mood
Swing House


 

 

Trumpeter Rick Holland and baritone saxophonist Kerry Strayer team up in the tradition of the Gerry Mulligan/Chet Baker quartet on Speak Low.

Rick is the Professor of Jazz Studies at the State University of New York in Oswego, New York. Kerry is a professional saxophonist, composer/arranger and band leader from Kansas City, Missouri. The two met while teaching at the annual Great Plains Jazz Camp at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas several years ago and have been making music together ever since.

The five piano-less tracks feature Mulligan/Baker staples Bernie's Tune and Swing House, Count's Place by Count Basie, Mr. Jones - a minor blues by Keiko Jones (the wife of legendary drummer Elvis Jones), and a Kerry Strayer original, 3625 Central. The band is at its best on the closer, Swing House, taken at breakneck speed.

Frank Mantooth joins the quartet on four numbers including the title track, a Latin version of the Kurt Weill standard, Speak Low - which alternates between 6/4 and 4/4 time signatures, the Kerry Strayer original, KAS's Blues, Duke Ellington's In a Sentimental Mood, and Three and One by Thad Jones.

www.rickholland.net | www.kerrystrayer.com | Booking Info

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Listen to Kerry Strayer Septet The Kerry Strayer Septet - "Mentor"
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TRACKS
(MP3 sound samples)

Saturday 10AM
Gaviota
A Flower is a Lovesome Thing
Sweet Lips
Siempre Me Va Bien
Don't Ask Why
Yardbird Suite
In Your Own Sweet Way
The Peacocks
I Hadn't Anyone Til You
Warne-ing


 

 

Mentor is the fourth self-produced CD release for Kansas City-based baritone saxophonist, composer/arranger, band leader Kerry Strayer and his first effort for Rhombus Records. Further documenting Kerry's exploration and expansion of the septet sound that he established with Why Not Now? and the acclaimed Jeru Blue: A Tribute to Gerry Mulligan (Palmetto Records), this recording satisfies Kerry's long standing ambition to record with his mentor, first call Los Angeles studio musician and jazz soloist extraordinaire Gary Foster, with whom Kerry studied while earning a Master's degree at the University of Missouri's Kansas City Conservatory of Music.

Tracks include three Foster originals: Saturday 10 AM (an up-tempo blues), Sweet Lips (featuring Gary Foster on clarinet), and Warne-ing (Gary's tribute to Warne Marsh). Other highlights are Gaviota (a Latin tune by Clare Fischer featuring Gary on flute), Billy Strayhorn's A Flower is a Lovesome Thing (featuring Kerry on baritone sax), the Charlie Parker bebop standard Yardbird Suite, and Alan Broadbent's Don't Ask Why (featuring Gary on alto sax with an acappella opening featuring the horn section). All arrangements are by Kerry Strayer.

The band also features Barry Springer on trumpet and flugelhorn, Earlie Braggs on trombone, Frank Mantooth on piano, Bob Bowman on bass, and Todd Strait on drums.

www.kerrystrayer.com | Booking Info

 

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