Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Saxophonist, Sonic Explorer Casey Benjamin Dies at 45
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
Fresh Sound Records has issues Breathing Room, the debut
recording as a leader by trumpeter David Weiss. Weiss came to the
attention of Fresh Sound Records as the co-leader of the critically
acclaimed New Jazz Composers Octet, who recently collaborated with
trumpet legend Freddie Hubbard for the album New Colors (Hip Bop
Records). In addition, Weiss recently won the Chamber Music America
Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project: Creation and Presentation grant for
his compositions.
For Breathing Room, Weiss called on his New Jazz Composers Octet co-leaders pianist Xavier Davis and bassist Dwayne Burno and introduces a pair of talented and young musicians, tenor saxophonist Marcus Strickland and drummer E.J. Strickland. The music has its roots in the ’60s Blue Note sound with the inclusion of a few lesser-known Wayne Shorter compositions and a variation on the classic Joe Henderson composition “The Kicker.” While obviously influenced by Shorter, his compositions for sextet prove he has his own unique and distinct voice.
Apr 2, 2024 12:59 PM
Casey Benjamin, the alto saxophonist, vocalist, keyboardist and producer who stamped his distinctive sounds on the…
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“I might not have felt this way 30 to 40 years ago, but I’ve reached a point where I can hear value in what people…
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Albert “Tootie” Heath, a drummer of impeccable taste and time who was the youngest of three jazz-legend brothers…
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“There are a few musicians you hear where, as somebody once said, the molecules in the room change. Geri was one of…
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Big Ears, the annual four-day music celebration that first took place in 2009 in Knoxville, Tennessee, could well be…