Alexis With One For All Cole - You'D Be So Nice To Come Home To (Phantom )
Amiri Baraka - Black Mass (Son Boy )
Art Pepper - Holland (Amj )
Bill Charlap Trio - I'm Old Fashioned (Phantom )
Billie Holiday - Forever Lady Day (AAO Music )
Bing Crosby - Essential Early Recordings (Primo )
Cedar Walton (Trio) - Song Of Delilah (Phantom )
Champian Fulton Trio - Sometimes I'm Happy (Phantom )
Chet Baker (Trumpet / Com / Vocals - Silence ( )
Dan Nimmer Trio - Modern Day Blues (Phantom )
David Caceres - David Caceres (Sunny Side )
Duke Ellington - Original Album Classics (Sony/Bmg )
Frankie Laine - I Believe ( )
Fred Hersch Trio - Everybody's Song But My Own (Phantom )
Gil Scott-Heron - Original Album Classics (Phantom )
Hakuei - Trisonique (Universal Japan ) - SACD
Hakuei Kim - Trisonique ( ) - SACD
Hampton Hawes - On Vantage Plus 2 (Amj Jap/Zoom )
Harold Harris - Bluesville Revisited Plus 3 (Amj Jap/Zoom )
Harold Vick - Steppin' Out! (Cobra )
Inge Brandenburg - All Of Me (Bear Family )
Jimmy Smith - Essential Early Recordings (Primo )
Marcel Kanche - Vigiles De L'Aube (Phantom )
Marcus Miller - Night In Monte Carlo (JVC Japan/Zoom )
Maysa - Very Best Of Maysa (N-Coded )
Nate Harasim - Rush (Trippin & Rhyth )
Nina Simone - Original Album Classics ( )
Nina Simone - Nina At Newport (Phantom )
Nina Simone - Legendary First Recordings, Nyc (Doxy )
Paul Hardcastle - Desire (Trippin 'N' Rhythm )
Rippingtons - Cote D'Azur (Concord Jazz )
Romantic Jazz Trio - Moliendo Cafe (Phantom )
Ron Westray & Thomas Heflin - Live From Austin (BLUE CANOE )
Shanti Snyder - Romance With Me (Columbia )
Simone & Her Hawaiian Jazz Band - Alomas Of Hawaii (Phantom )
Steve Cole - Moonlight (Artistry )
Steve Kuhn Trio - I Will Wait For You-The Music Of Michel Legrand (Phantom )
Vienna Art Orchestra - Big Band Years (Phantom )
Zack Cross Trio - Up/Under (Self Produced)
Zoot Sims - Rasvegas (Amj )
Concord Jazz is proud to announce the release of I Feel You, the new album from music legend Herb Alpert and Grammy award winning singer Lani Hall. I Feel You is a thrilling collaboration that blends Alpert and Hall’s vocal and instrumental gifts to perfection. The songs cover several reinterpreted classics spanning four decades. Recorded in Los Angeles, it is the duo’s first studio album in almost ten years.
Alpert and Hall are scheduled to tour several venues in support of the release with additional dates to be confirmed in the new year. They will be accompanied by the versatile band who worked on I Feel You which includes Michael Shapiro (drums), Bill Cantos (keyboards) and Hussain Jiffry (bass). “I Feel You” was co-produced by Alpert and Hall along with the band members.
The songs selected by Alpert and Hall include such classics as Van Morrison’s “Moondance” and Peggy Lee’s “Fever” as well as two Beatles tunes “Here Comes The Sun” and “Blackbird.” All the songs on I Feel You are filled with unique and innovative arrangements along with skilled improvisations which breathe fresh life into them. Also on the CD is a reinvented version of the Tijuana Brass hit, “What Now My Love.”
“Each song is like a flower opening up, exposing new color and fragrance, strength and fragility,” commented Hall. “I think the key to a great song is always the melody and Lani thinks it’s an equally expressive lyric which is one of the reasons we’re a good team. The songs on I Feel You reflect honesty and our mutual commitment to all the songs we do together is to make them sound fresh,” added Alpert.
The outcome of their complementary philosophy is 14 songs on I Feel You that marry the essence of their shared gifts.
1. Moondance 3:20
2. Cast Your Fate To The Wind 4:18
3. There Will Never Be Another You 2:51
4. Fever 3:50
5. Viola (Viola Fora De Moda) 4:40
6. Something Cool 3:12
7. What Now My Love 3:42
8. Here Comes The Sun 3:31
9. Blackbird 3:32
10. Clube Esquina (Clube Da Esquina) 4:28
11. Berimbau 4:10
12. I Feel You 3:10
13. Call Me 3:48
14. 'Til There Was You 2:39
Visionary Japanese Instrumentalist Keiko Matsui Releases Her
Twenty-Second Album Via Shanachie Entertainment
Album Features Special Guests Kirk Whalum, Richard Bona And Vinnie Colaiuta
Affirmation[.mp3] feat. Kirk Whalum
With over a million and a half albums sold and sold out concerts around the globe, keyboardist Keiko Matsui is a citizen of the world and one of the brightest stars in instrumental music. On January 25th, Shanachie Entertainment will release The Road…, Keiko Matsui’s first new recording in four years and a follow-up to her acclaimed 2007 South African inspired Moyo.
This new self-produced opus (and 22nd album released in the U.S.) exhibits Matsui’s profound affinity for melody while effortlessly transcending boundaries; borrowing from such diverse idioms as jazz, classical, rock, blues, traditional music of the world and beyond.
From the elegant opener “Secret Pond” to the impressionistic “Falcon’s Wing,” which shines light on the pianist’s classical influences, to Keiko’s co-writing collaborations with revered Cameroonian bassist/guitarist/vocalist/producer Richard Bona (Pat Metheny, Bobby McFerrin, Zawinul Syndicate) on both the spirited dance-inducing “Nguea Wonja” (which means to ‘take pride in the road you are traveling on your journey’) and the divine ballad “Touching Peace,” The Road… is artfully sublime.
Over the course of nine heartfelt songs, Matsui majestically creates a distinct listening enlightenment that permeates one’s consciousness. Augmenting the intimate journey are veteran drummer Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock) and saxophonist Kirk Whalum on the deeply moving “Awakening” with Whalum also contributing sax to the album’s lead single “Affirmation”.
The Road… stands tall as another exquisite achievement in Keiko’s masterful career. Over the course of three decades, her free spirit and creative genius have afforded her the luxury to share the stage with everyone from Stevie Wonder and Miles Davis to Hugh Masakela and Bob James.
Aside from performing worldwide, Keiko (pronounced Kay-Koe means ‘happy celebratory child’ in Japanese) is an activist by nature, using her music to speak to the world while also lending her voice to causes championed by organizations like The United Nations World Food Programme, Be The Match Marrow Registry and The National Donor Program and Marrow Foundation.
“Simply breathtaking.” Jazz Review
“Keiko is a brilliant performer, arranger and composer.” Bob James
“Her road, is laced with melodies and imagination that make for quite the splendid journey.” The Smooth Jazz Ride
KEIKO MATSUI
TOUR DATES
Feb 11 Boston, MA – Scullers Jazz Club
Feb 12 Boston, MA – Scullers Jazz Club
Feb 13 Londonberry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
Feb 14 Warren, MI - Andiamo Celebrity Showroom
Feb 17 Orlando, FL – The Plaza Theatre
Feb 18 Largo, FL – Largo Cultural Center
Feb 19 Austin, TX – One World Theatre
Feb 20 The Woodlands, TX – Dosey Doe
Feb 24 Agoura Hills, CA – The Canyon Club
Feb 25 San Juan Capistrano, CA – The Coach House
Feb 26 San Diego, CA - Anthology
Feb 27 San Diego, CA - Anthology
Mar 10 San Diego, CA – Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards
Mar 11 San Diego, CA – Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards
Mar 12 San Diego, CA – Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards
Mar 13 San Diego, CA – Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards
May 05 Seattle, WA - Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley
May 06 Seattle, WA - Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley
May 07 Seattle, WA - Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley
May 08 Seattle, WA - Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley
May 12 Washington D.C. – Blues Alley
May 13 Washington D.C. – Blues Alley
May 14 Washington D.C. – Blues Alley
May 15 Washington D.C. – Blues Alley
May 20 Harrisburg, PA – Whitaker Center
May 21 Bay Shore, NY – Boulton Center
Alpha Blondy - Jah Glory (VP )
Andre / Klaus Kugel / Mark Tokar - Varpai: Pabar I T ( )
Beegie Adair - I Love Being Here With You: A Jazz Piano Tribute To Peggy Lee (Green Hill Productions )
Bernard Wright - Nard / Funky Beat ( )
Bernard Wright - 'Nard/Funky Beat (Cherry Red )
Bill Frisell - Beautiful Dreamers (Savoy Jazz )
Cafe Jazz 2 - Cafe Jazz 2 (Phantom )
Carlo De Rosa's Cross-Fade - Brain Dance (Cuneiform )
Carlo DeRosa - Brain Dance (Cuneiform )
Cyro Baptista - Caym: The Book Of Angels, Vol. 17 (Tzadik )
David Linx - Follow The Songlines (Naive Classique )
Deodato - Prelude ( )
Diana Krall - Doing All Right-In Concert (Phantom )
Dianne Reeves - New Morning ( )
Donny McCaslin - Perpetual Motion (Koch )
Duke Ellington - Jubilee Stomp (Monk )
Duke Ellington / Adrain Quesada / Graham Reynolds - Duke: Three Portraits Of Ellington ( )
Duke Ellington / His Orchestra - Jubilee Stomp ( )
Eddie Harris - Swiss Movement (Atlantic )
Ella Fitzgerald - Great Ladies Of Jazz (United Multi Consign )
Eric Comstock / Randy Napoleon - Bitter / Sweet ( )
Ernestine Anderson - Nightlife (Highnote Records, Inc. )
Ex - Catch My Shoe (Phantom )
Fred Hersch Trio - Everbody's Song But My Own (Pony Japan/Zoom )
Fred Ho & Green Monster Big Band - Year Of The Tiger ( )
Gary Wilson - Electric Endicott (Western Vinyl )
George Benson - White Rabbit (Sbme/Masterworks )
Jacques Coursil - Trails Of Tears (Sunny Side )
Jaimee Paul - Melancholy Baby (Green Hill Productions )
Jamaaladeen Tacuma - For The Love Of Ornette (P-Vine )
Jeremy Pelt - Talented Mr. Pelt (Highnote Records, Inc. )
Joachim Kuhn - Soundtime ( )
John Coltrane - John Coltrane Quartet Plays (Verve )
Johnny Hartman - Voice That Is! (Analogue Productions )
Keiko Matsui - Road (Shanachie )
Krzysztof Komeda / Adam Pieronczyk - Innocent Sorcerer ( )
Led Bib - Bring Your Own (Cuneiform )
Marc Van Roon - Solo Ballad Project (Pony )
Maria Joao / Laginha / David Linx / Wissels - Follow The Songlines ( )
Mark Tokar - Varpai: Pabar I T (Nemu )
Marlena Shaw - Sweet Beginnings ( )
Marlena Shaw - Take A Bite ( )
Mathias Allamane / Chazarenc / Manuel Rocheman - Tribute To Bill Evans ( )
Planeta Imaginario - Optical Delusions (Cuneiform )
Randy Napoleon - Bitter/Sweet (Harbinger )
Rat Pack - Very Best Of Rat Pack (Sinatra Audio )
Rat Pack - Very Best Of The Rat Pack (Sinatra Audio )
Ron Carter - All Blues ( )
Roy Ayers - Hot (Ronnie Scott's )
Sun Ra - Mayan Temples (Black Saint )
Sun Ra - Reflections In Blue: Complete Studio Sessions ( )
Toshiko Akiyoshi - Fukkatsu Akiyoshi Toshiko Jazz Orch (Pony Japan/Zoom )
Vinicius Cantuaria - Bill Frisell & Vinicius Cantuaria (Entertainment on Disc )
Weasel Walter - Electric Fruit (Thirsty Ear Recordings )
Reissues
Jim Hall - Concierto (Sbme Special MKTS. )
Milt Jackson - Sunflower (Sbme Special MKTS. )
Paul Desmond - Pure Desmond (King)
Concord Jazz is proud to announce the release of I Feel You, the new album from music legend Herb Alpert and Grammy award winning singer Lani Hall. I Feel You is a thrilling collaboration that blends Alpert and Hall’s vocal and instrumental gifts to perfection. The songs cover several reinterpreted classics spanning four decades. Recorded in Los Angeles, it is the duo’s first studio album in almost ten years.
Alpert and Hall are scheduled to tour several venues in support of the release with additional dates to be confirmed in the new year. They will be accompanied by the versatile band who worked on I Feel You which includes Michael Shapiro (drums), Bill Cantos (keyboards) and Hussain Jiffry (bass). “I Feel You” was co-produced by Alpert and Hall along with the band members.
The songs selected by Alpert and Hall include such classics as Van Morrison’s “Moondance” and Peggy Lee’s “Fever” as well as two Beatles tunes “Here Comes The Sun” and “Blackbird.” All the songs on I Feel You are filled with unique and innovative arrangements along with skilled improvisations which breathe fresh life into them. Also on the CD is a reinvented version of the Tijuana Brass hit, “What Now My Love.”
“Each song is like a flower opening up, exposing new color and fragrance, strength and fragility,” commented Hall. “I think the key to a great song is always the melody and Lani thinks it’s an equally expressive lyric which is one of the reasons we’re a good team. The songs on I Feel You reflect honesty and our mutual commitment to all the songs we do together is to make them sound fresh,” added Alpert.
The outcome of their complementary philosophy is 14 songs on I Feel You that marry the essence of their shared gifts.
1. Moondance 3:20
2. Cast Your Fate To The Wind 4:18
3. There Will Never Be Another You 2:51
4. Fever 3:50
5. Viola (Viola Fora De Moda) 4:40
6. Something Cool 3:12
7. What Now My Love 3:42
8. Here Comes The Sun 3:31
9. Blackbird 3:32
10. Clube Esquina (Clube Da Esquina) 4:28
11. Berimbau 4:10
12. I Feel You 3:10
13. Call Me 3:48
14. 'Til There Was You 2:39
Acker Bilk - Mr. Acker Bilk & His Paramount Jazzband (Red/Membran )
Acker Bilk - Acker Bilk And His Paramount Jazz Band (Membran )
Afro-Soultet - Afrodesia (Luv N' Haight )
Alex Dean Quintet - At This Point (Phantom )
Americans In Holland - Americans In Holland Vol. 2-Americans In Holland (Timeless -City Hall- )
Andy Cooper - Andy Cooper's Top 8 (Red/Membran )
Art Blakey - Blakey,Art Vol. 1-Holidays For Skin (Cobra )
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Art Blakey!! Jazz Messengers!! (Analogue Productions )
Art Pepper - Intensity (Analogue Prod. )
Arve Henriksen - Cartography (ECM )
Benny Goodman - Goodman,Benny Vol. 4-Afrs Benny Goodman Show (Sounds Of Yesteryear )
Benny Goodman - Afrs Benny Goodman Show, Vol. 4 (Sounds of Yester Year )
Blue Mitchell - Bring Is Home To Me (Cobra )
Bobby Bland - Little Boy Blue ( )
BRZZVLL - Happy Life Creator (Melting Pot )
Bud Freeman & Orchestra - Freeman,Bud & Orchestra Vol.33 (Red/Membran )
Burton Greene - Where We Come From...Where We're Going (Fr�a )
Cannonball Adderley - At The Lighthouse (Essential Jazz )
Charles Mingus - Complete 1960 Nat Hentoff Sessions ( )
Charley Straight - That's What I Call Keen 1926-1928 (Rivermont )
Charlie Straight & His Orchestra - That's What I Call Keen 1926-1928 (Rivermont )
Chet Baker - Lessentiel (Phantom )
Chet Baker (Trumpet / Com / Vocals - Silence ( )
Chris Barber - Chris Barber's Jazzband-Hits From The (Red/Membran )
Chris Barber - Hits From Chris Barber (Membran )
Clarence Johnson - Have Mercy! (Delmark )
Coleman Hawkins - Wrapped Tight (Analogue Prod. )
Coleman Hawkins & Benny Carter - Americans In Holland, Vol. 2: The Great 1930's Unissued Studio Recordings (Timeless )
Complete Index - Jazz In The Charts (Red/Membran )
Curtis Amy - Katanga! (Cobra )
Dave Brubeck - Brubeck Plays Bernstein ( )
Dave Brubeck / Carmen McRae - Tonight Only ( )
Delfeayo Marsalis - Sweet Thunder (Duke & Shak) (Troubadour Jass )
Delfeayo Marsalis - Sweet Thunder (Troubadour Jass )
Diana Panton - If The Moon Turns Green ( )
Diana Panton Trio + 1 - If The Moon Turns Green (Diana Panton )
Diana Panton Trio + 1 - Pink (Diana Panton )
Dizzy Gillespie - Portrait Of Duke Ellington ( )
Donald Byrd - Cat Walk (EMI Japan )
Eric Dolphy - Out There / Looking Ahead ( )
Eric Dolphy / Freddie Hubbard - Outward Bound ( )
Ernest Dawkins - Prairie Prophet (Delmark )
Ernest Dawkins New Horizon Ensemble - Prairie Prophet (Delmark )
Flip Phillips - Phillips,Flip Vol.32 (Red/Membran )
Francis Coletta - Port Said Street (Origin )
Francis Coletta & Jonas Tauber - Port Said Street (Origin )
Frank Comstock - Changing Patterns ( )
Freddie Hubbard - Open Sesame (Pid )
Funky Frauleins - Funky Frauleins Vol. 2-Funky Frauleins (Phantom )
Gabor Szabo & Bobby Womack - High Contrast (JDC )
Gene Krupa - Guard Sessions (Sounds of Yester Year )
George Russell - Jazz In The Space Age (Ais )
Gerry Mulligan - Concert Jazz Band ( )
Gilles Peterson - Jazz Portrait ( )
Glenn Miller - Glenn Miller Plays Hoagy Carmichael And Vincent Youmans (Sounds of Yester Year )
Glenn Miller Orchestra - Plays Hoagy Carmichael & Vincent Youmans (Sounds Of Yesteryear )
Harry Belafonte - Belafonte Sings The Blues (Blue Moon Import )
His Orchestra / Sy Oliver - Mixed Doubles ( )
Humpers - War Is Hell/My Machine (Cobra )
Italian Instabile Orchestra - Totally Gone (Rai Trade )
Ja - Balls And Kittens, Draught And Strangling Rain (Hubro )
Jabbo Smith - Hidden Treasure ( )
Jack Maheu - My Inspiration (Jazzology )
Jake Fryer - In Good Company (Capri )
Jake Fryer / Bud Shank - In Good Company ( )
Jazzvox - Jazzvox Presents-In Your Own Backyard (OA2 )
Jazzvox - In Your Own Backyard (OA2 )
Joe Cocker - Lessentiel (Phantom )
Joel Harrison - Music Of Paul Motian (Sunny Side )
John Coltrane - Crescent (Universal Japan )
Jon Hassell - Last Night The Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes In The Street (Ecm )
Jurek Lamorski - From CSRDS To Jazz (Red/Membran )
Jurek Lamorski & Lamorski - Lucky (Red/Membran )
Ken Colyer - Ken Colyer's Jazzmen & Skiffle Group (Red/Membran )
Kenny G - Essential Kenny G (Legacy)
Knud Jazz Jorgenson Trio - Teach Me Tonight (Opus 3 (Swe) ) - SACD
Lionel Hampton & His All Stars - Lionel Hampton & His All Stars Vol.35 (Red/Membran )
Lonious Monk - Complete Thelonious Monk At The It Club (Mosaic Vinyl )
Louis Armstrong - Bing & Satchmo (DRG )
Maheu's Quartet, Jack - My Inspiration (JAZZOLOGY )
Marcus Shelby - Soul Of The Movement: Meditations On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ( )
Matija Dedic - M.D. In N.Y.C. (Origin )
Max Roach - We Insist: Freedom Now Suite ( )
Neon Quartet - Catch Me (Edition Records )
Nina Simone - At Carnegie Hall (Pure Pleasure )
Nina Simone - Nina At Newport (Phantom )
Nina Simone - Legendary First Recordings In Nyc (Phantom )
Nina Simone - Legendary First Recordings, Nyc (Doxy )
Noah Preminger - Before The Rain ( )
Papa Bue's Viki - In The Beginning (Red/Membran )
Peter Banjo Meyer - Party All My Troubles Away (Red/Membran )
Qed - Yet What Is Any Ocean... (Origin )
Qed - Yet What Is Any Ocean (Origin )
Quincy Jones - Complete 1960 European Concerts ( )
Ricardo Scales - Go Giants (Bay Sound )
Richard Maltby - Maltby Moods ( )
Ruth Brown - Rock & Roll / Miss Rhythm ( )
Sam Cooke - Soul Heartbreaker ( )
Shirley Bassey - Lessentiel (Phantom )
Stanley Turrentine - Up At Minton's (Analogue Prod. )
Steve Lacy - Straight Horn of Steve Lacy (Candid)
Sun Ra - Mayan Temples (Black Saint )
Sun Ra - Reflections In Blue: Complete Studio Sessions ( )
Supersilent - 10 (Rune Grammofon )
Thelonious Monk & John Coltrane - At Carnegie Hall (Mosaic Vinyl )
Thelonious Quarter With John Coltrane Monk - At Carnegie Hall (Mosaic Vinyl )
Three Sounds - Introducing The 3 Sounds (Analogue Prod. )
Todd Delgiudice - Pencil Sketches (OA2 )
Tom Luer - Project Popular (Origin )
Ton Van Bergeyk - Lulu's Back In Town (Stefan Grossman's )
Tony Pastor - Lets Do It ( )
Toots Thielemans - Soul Of Toots ( )
Two Grands Four Hands-Spectacular & Rare Novelty P - Two Grands Four Hands-Spectacular & Rare Novelty P (Rivermont )
Urbie Green - Slidin' Swing (Membran )
Vic Dickenson & Urbie Green - Dickenson,Vic & Urbie Green Vol. 31 (Red/Membran )
Walter Davis Jr. - Davis Cup (Indies Japan/Zoom )
Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet - To Hear From There (Patois Records)
Wes Montgomery - Montgomery Brothers ( )
Zoot Sims - Zoot Sims:Live In Yamagata (Indies Japan/Zoom )
Reissues
Art Pepper - Gettin Together (Universal Japan )
Duke Pearson - Phantom (Blue Note)
Horace Silver - Cape Verdean Blues (Blue Note)
Jackie McLean - Bluesnik (Blue Note)
John Coltrane - Ballads (Victor)
Modern Jazz Quartet - Pyramid ( )
Nat Adderley - Work Song (Universal Japan )
Sam Rivers - Contours (Blue Note)
Saxophonist Steve Cole Set To Release His Debut recording on Mack Avenue Records/Artistry Music. Watch a great performance of "Angel" live by Steve. HD video: Jazz HQ video on Facebook
Saxophonist Steve Cole is one of the most celebrated players in contemporary jazz, having sold hundreds of thousands of albums worldwide and scored four #1 R&R Smooth Jazz hits. With five CDs in his catalog for Atlantic, Warner Brothers and Narada Jazz, Cole kicks off a new multiple-album deal with Mack Avenue Records/Artistry Music by releasing Moonlight, a collection of classic pop songs and standards set against an orchestral backdrop. The project includes such iconic songs as Burt Bacharach's The Look of Love, the classic torch song Cry Me a River, Lennon/McCartney's The Long and Winding Road, the Guess Who's Undun and James Taylor's Close Your Eyes.
With his gorgeous, classically trained tone and an ear for lyrical melody, Cole most closely resembles a vocalist, emphasizing interpretive phrasing and direct emotion. On Moonlight, he has found the perfect setting for this bel canto technique-a symphonic orchestra playing inspired arrangements by Michael Cunningham, making his splashy major-label debut as an orchestral arranger. In addition to the strings, the arrangements include tastefully placed harp, woodwinds and tempered brass. The supporting rhythm section is composed of Mike Logan (Will Downing) on keyboards, Russell Ferrante (Yellowjackets) on piano and Steve Rodby (Pat Metheny Group) on bass.
At the heart of this project is the title track, which appeared in the 1995 film Sabrina. "I saw the movie a few years ago and heard that song," Cole says, "and it was just delightful-after all, it was written by [legendary film composer and arranger] John Williams, and I thought, 'This has all the elements I'm looking for.' So I just sort of indexed it away, and when I started thinking about this project, I was searching for music that would be warm and enveloping. That's when I remembered this song." (Few others did; this is its debut cover recording).
With Moonlight, Cole comes full circle back to his first success as a young musician, performing with strings and winds. Re-energized by his desire to recapture his roots and impelled by the melody of Moonlight, he has produced a record full of strong emotion and genuine craftsmanship. The interaction of his saxophone with the intimate arrangements has allowed him to create a modern collection of lovely cameos in the classical concerto tradition-while at the same time charting a new direction for the next stage of his career. "For me, it's always a lot more fun when people get what you're doing," says Cole, and in a nutshell that statement describes his approach to music; he has crafted his style with communication foremost among his objectives. Many of the greatest jazz musicians have sought the same goal, from Louis Armstrong to Count Basie to Stan Getz to Miles Davis. And while Cole would not compare himself to any of these giants, he has nonetheless absorbed the basic lesson of their music-reaching beyond his craft to communicate with his listeners.
Steve Cole attended Northwestern University, where he explored modern classical music for the saxophone under the tutelage of internationally recognized educator Fred Hemke. While an undergrad, this gifted musician was a semifinalist in the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts and one of three finalists in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, awarding him the privilege of performing Tableaux De Provence by Paule Maurice with the CSO. Cole went on to earn his MBA, which paved the way in his being appointed to Professor at the prestigious McNally Smith College of Music-a position he maintains today.
"I am so anxious to have the opportunity to present this new project to audiences in live theater settings where I will have the chance to connect with them in an emotional way, providing a memorable night of music for all to enjoy," Steve expounds. "The legacy of popular music in an orchestral setting is timeless and I am quite fortunate to be able to present this collection of timeless songs in this fashion."
The orchestra members tune their instruments, the lights dim, Steve Cole walks onto the stage-and within moments you are immersed in a captivating sonic landscape. "At this point in my career it was important to document something that will be as relevant 10 to 20 years from now as it is today-and it's quite possible we may have accomplished just that."
