|
Marsalis Music releases all-acoustic albums by Doug Wamble & Harry Connick Jr
Marsalis Music, the Cambridge-based record company which began operations in August, 2002, is set to release all-acoustic albums by guitarist Doug Wamble on June 17 and pianist Harry Connick Jr. on July 15. The label also plans on a forthcoming album in January 2004 by Puerto Rican saxophonist Miguel Zenón. The album, a quartet project, is Zenón¹s first effort on Marsalis Music and was produced by Branford Marsalis in New York.
Wamble¹s Country Libations features an eclectic mix of jazz, delta blues, country and gospel music. Backed by longtime James Blood Ulmer collaborator Charlie Burnham on violin, plus Roy Dunlap on piano, Jeff Hanley on bass, and Peter Miles on drums, Wamble and his working ensemble have created a debut disc featuring nine stunning original songs and instrumentals, plus a cover of Sting¹s ³Walking on the Moon.²
Raised in Memphis, Tennessee, and now a fixture on the New York jazz scene, the guitarist, singer and composer has recorded and performed with Wynton Marsalis and Cassandra Wilson among others. He will be part of an upcoming Acoustic Guitar feature on guitarists who have collaborated with Norah Jones, and has performed with his working quintet in New York at the Jazz Standard (May 21), and will also perform at the Jazz Gallery (July 27), and as part of a Solo Monk project at Lincoln Center¹s Stanley Kaplan Penthouse (December 4-6).
Harry Connick Jr.¹s Other Hours features a program of original music interpreted by a quartet drawn from his touring orchestra including tenor saxophonist, Charles ³Ned² Goold, bassist, Neal Caine and drummer, Arthur Latin II. States the effusive pianist, ³The quartet offers something different and more intimate, both musically and socially. It provides the chance to go places I can¹t go as a pianist in other formats, and allows a more intensive look at my approach to the instrument.² The all-instrumental 12-track album represents the first time Connick Jr. has recorded a small group project in this manner.
Zenón who just finished his forthcoming as yet to be titled album at Systems II in Brooklyn, utilized his working band of pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Antonio Sanchez. Popular among the New York cognescenti, Ben Ratliff in The New York Times remarked of a recent Jazz Gallery engagement, ³what one retained most was his own saxophone sound; once you hear it, you want to go back for more.²
Marsalis Music is the creation of Branford Marsalis, one of the most celebrated jazz musicians of the past 20 years. In a recent Jazziz cover story the saxophonist, composer and bandleader mused, ³My record label is called Marsalis Music not Marsalis Jazz.² Marsalis recognized the need to form a label that will allow a diverse array of musicians to document their best efforts. The label €s focus is primarily but not exclusively on jazz, with a roster featuring promising new artists, established stylists, as well as Marsalis himself. The label receives marketing and distribution support from Rounder Records. In addition, Marsalis Music sponsors educational and cultural initiatives including Marsalis Jams, a program designed to present jazz ensembles in performance/jam session settings on college campuses.
|
Linear Mode
