Daniel Smith Be Bop Bassoon CD Release Event Tues. July 11th 8PM at St. Peter's Church

$15.00 - $10.00 for students

“BeBop Bassoon"
Daniel Smith - Bassoon
with the Don Friedman Trio
Don Friedman - Piano
Ron McClure - Bass
Tony Jefferson - Drums

Celebrating the release of his new CD Bebop Bassoon Zah Zah ZZCD9820 (Street Date June 1, 2006)

On Bebop Bassoon, Daniel Smith introduces the jazz world to his unique sound on the first ever compact disc recording of straight ahead bop classics on the deep voiced horn. The most recorded bassoon soloist in the history of music, Smith has spent a lifetime bringing his challenging instrument to the fore--stretching the boundaries of the bassoon's repertoire beyond classical and into ragtime, jazz and contemporary music on recordings like Bassoon Bon Bons, Bravo Bassoon and The Swinging Bassoon, along with performances of crossover works such as Steve Gray's Jazz Suite for Bassoon and Orchestra, Gunther Schuller's Concerto for Contrabassoon and Orchestra and the late Robert Farnon's last composition, “Romancing the Phoenix," a concerto for solo bassoon with rhythm section and full symphony orchestra written specifically with Smith in mind.

In the traditional European classical music idiom, Smith's unprecedented historic recordings of the complete 37 Vivaldi bassoon concertos was selected by the Music Industry Association as Best Concerto Recording of the Year and chosen for inclusion in The Penguin Guide To Compact Discs. The critically acclaimed set has become a continual best seller with the Musical Heritage Society.

A virtuoso soloist, Smith has assembled an equally talented rhythm section to accompany him on his journey into bebop and beyond. Pianist Martin Bejerano and bassist John Sullivan are best known as one half of the legendary Roy Haynes quartet, while drummer Ludwig Afonso is widely recognized for his impressive work with the innovative fusion group Spyro Gyra. Smith proves himself to be very much at home in a jazz quartet - his earliest musical influences were Benny Goodman and Charlie Parker when he played clarinet, saxophone and flute before settling on the bassoon. The ease with which he expresses himself in the jazz setting on the difficult horn promises to do for the instrument what Eric Dolphy did for the bass clarinet and Howard Johnson has accomplished on tuba - bringing its expressive voice to a wider appreciative audience.

For Daniel Smith it doesn't matter what instrument you're playing or what idiom you're playing in--what is important is the feeling and an ability to communicate with an audience. During his illustrious career Smith has done more than any other musician to champion the bassoon in classical music and bring its sound to a wider audience. On BeBop Bassoon he takes his mission a giant step further and ushers his unique sound into the world of modern jazz. With a talent as great as his, it is most assuredly a sound listener's will be hearing a lot more of in the future.

The #1Free Download at AllaboutJazz.com (week of July 1st):
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownload.php?id=1453