I recently completed three new charts – two arrangements and one original - for pianist Frank Kimbrough and the University of Minnesota’s Jazz Ensemble I. Frank is the guest artist for their Jazz Festival in the beginning of March. I will be traveling to Minneapolis for rehearsals and to conduct my music (plus one of Maria’s pieces) on the concert. Frank is one of my favorite pianists and I can’t wait to see what comes of the music.
The concert is Saturday March 7th at 7:30pm in Ted Mann Concert Hall. Click here for more info.
I recently submitted two of my tunes to Todd Coolman for his newest ArtistShare Project, The Learning Community Quintet, and was happy to learn that my tune, Pastorale, was chosen to be included on the group’s recording! The album, Perfect Strangers, was just released and is now available through Todd’s website and iTunes.
In addition to Todd on bass, the group is Eric Alexander (tenor), Brian Lynch (trumpet), Jim McNeely (piano), and John Riley (drums). It is such a thrill to have my music played by such great musicians. I am happy with the outcome and invite you all to explore this CD and Todd’s project further.
CLICK HERE to hear a clip of Pastorale on the Music Page.
CLICK HERE to visit Todd Coolman’s site and purchase the album or check it out on iTunes.
I have finally posted photos from the Maria Schneider Orchestra tour this last July. It was a lot of work, but we saw some really great places and had many amazing concerts!
We visited 12 cities in 7 countries in 19 days: Vienne, France; London, England; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Mulheim and der Ruhr, Germany; Brussels, Belgium; Girona, Torrent, and Vitoria, Spain; Perugia, Pescara, and Ginova, Italy; Nice, France. It was a tough, but amazing tour and believe it or not, they are talking about doing another tour this summer. We’ll have to see about that…
CLICK HERE to see pictures from the tour on the Gallery Page.
Back in December, I applied for a composition competition through the New York Youth Symphony and just recently learned that I was selected!! I am commissioned by the New York Youth Symphony to write a new work for its Jazz Band Classic as part of their First Music program’s 25th season. It will receive its world premiere on May 28, 2009 at the Allen Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. This is a great honor! I’m really looking forward to writing for and working with this group.
I am excited to share with you that the 2008 Grammy nominations were released this morning and Maria Schneider’s album, Sky Blue, received two nominations! The categories were:
Best Large Jazz Ensemble
Best Instrumental Composition (for her piece, Cerulean Skies).
Winners are announced on February 10, 2008 - cross your fingers!!!
Over the past year, I have had the great opportunity and pleasure to co-produce Maria Schneider’s newest album, Sky Blue. This is my second time being involved in the recording process of one of Maria’s albums–I was the production assistant for Concert in the Garden. It was an incredible experience to work in such a hands-on capacity as co-producer with Maria, engineer Joe Ferla, and all of the amazing musicians! Working with Joe Ferla was a particularly educational and inspirational experience. The sound that Joe captured on this album is unbelievable and he was a joy to work with!
Please check out the Gallery Page to see photos from the Sky Blue recording session. If you haven’t heard the album yet, or are unfamiliar with Maria’s music, please visit her site and check out the new album today. Click here to purchase a copy of Sky Blue.
