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Arch Stanton Quartet To Release Egypt-inspired Second Album On Oct. 25 In Albany

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Arch Stanton Quartet to Release Egypt-Inspired Second Album on Oct. 25 in Albany

ALBANY, NY: The Arch Stanton Quartet will release a nine-song second album of original music, Blues For Soli, on October 25 at the Parish Public House in downtown Albany (formerly Red Square, at 388 Broadway).

The performance starts at 9 p.m. A $10 cover charge includes a free copy of the new CD for all attendees.

The newly opened Parish Public House now serves Louisiana food, and the kitchen will be open before and during the show.

Media wishing to join the guest list and/or receive an advance copy of Blues For Soli should contact Roger Noyes at [email protected] or (518) 275-6961.

About Blues For Soli

Released on WEPA Records, Blues For Soli features a suite of four new songs inspired by the band’s U.S.-Embassy-sponsored tour of Egypt last year, along with five other original pieces.

It begins with the “Lady Egypt Suite,” named for the bus company and its driver, Soli, who escorted the band between performances in Cairo and Alexandria. The suite includes: a quirky take on Middle Eastern cuisine (“Kofta”); a hard swingin’ ode to the swanky Zamalek neighborhood of Cairo (“Zamalek”); a freeform composition inspired by traditional Egyptian melodies the band overheard at a hotel wedding in Alexandria (“Groovin’ At The Azur”); and a blues number (the title track) honoring the band’s indefatigable driver throughout the tour (“Blues For Soli”).

“Soli, as the very sound of his name suggests, was in many ways the soul of our trip,” says guitarist Roger Noyes. “He spent hours with us on the bus, escorting the band from venue to venue, and he kept us laughing the whole time, even though he spoke very little English. It seemed fitting that we name this collection of songs for him since he was such a major, abiding part of our journey and a real window into Egyptian life and culture.”

The album features several other new songs that build upon ASQ’s catalog of hard-charging original jazz, including a smoky ballad in the “St. James Infirmary” mold (“Aphorisms”); a swampy funk- groove tune with lots of twists and turns (“Dungoode Bayou”); the propulsive “Floodgills”; the rock-funk and swing of “Striped Water”; and a dreamlike waltz to close out the record (“Convection Zone”).

From March 20 to March 26, 2013, ASQ embarked on a tour of Egypt, performing at the Cairo International Jazz Festival, the American University in Cairo and for high school students in Cairo and Alexandria. The trip was sponsored by the U.S. Embassy, the American University in Cairo, and AMIDEAST/Egypt, an educational organization.

The new album features a short essay by James Ketterer who was instrumental in organizing the trip in his position as Director of AMIDEAST/Egypt. Mr. Ketterer is currently director of international academic initiatives at Bard College, where he also teaches Middle East politics and is a senior fellow.

About ASQ

The Arch Stanton Quartet are: Roger Noyes (guitar), Terry Gordon (trumpet, flugelhorn and pocket trumpet), Chris Macchia (bass), and Steven Partyka (drums).

Described as having a “knack for clever, intuitive interpretations as well as smart, original compositions" (Times Union), the band was named “Best Local Jazz Band" in the Metroland 2013 reader's poll — the same year the band performed at the Cairo International Jazz Festival in Egypt and the Albany Riverfront Jazz Festival in New York State, opening for Charlie Hunter and Oleta Adams. Their debut album, Along For The Ride, was also released on WEPA Records, in November of 2012.

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