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Frank Macchia Releases "Folk Songs for Jazzers" - Download Five Free MP3s!

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Now Available - Folk Songs for Jazzers, Frank Macchia's latest CD is a 13 piece band that wails on Frank's original arrangements of classic Folk Songs Gone Wild!

CD Release Party at Vitello's Jazz Club on Jan. 11, 2010!

Frank and the whole band will be doing a very special one night only show at Vitello's Jazz & Supper Club in Studio City, CA on January 11, 2010 for the release of his new CD Folk Songs for Jazzers. The entire ensemble will be performing, including special guest vocalists Tierney Sutton, Ellis Hall and flautist Valarie King. The band includes Wayne Bergeron, Peter Erskine, Grant Geissman, Trey Henry, Alex Iles, Sal Lozano, Jay Mason, Kevin Porter, Tom Ranier, Bill Reichenbach and Bob Sheppard. It'll be one show only at 8 PM and the cover is $20, with a $13 minimum. This is a rare chance to see an all star group like this and this may be their only performance for a while, so make your reservations early!

Vitello's is located at 4349 Tujunga Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604 and the phone number for reservations is 818-769-0905.


I've Been Working on the Railroad
Frank Macchia
Folk Songs for Jazzers
5:36
Air Mail Special
Frank Macchia
Saxolollapalooza
3:06
Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
Frank Macchia
Landscapes
4:37
Elegy
Frank Macchia
Emotions
3:57
Lions
Frank Macchia
Mo' Animals
5:44


More About Frank Macchia



Born and raised in San Francisco, CA., Frank started on the clarinet at the age of ten years old. Soon afterward he began studies on bassoon, saxophone and flute. By the age of fourteen he began studying composition, writing jazz and classical pieces for his high school band and orchestra and for jazz ensembles that rehearsed at the local union hall, including trumpeter Mike Vax's Big Band.

In 1975-76 Frank wrote jazz/classical hybrid works that were performed by the San Francisco Symphony and local professional jazz musicians at the Summer Music Workshop Programs, and he composed and conducted an orchestral overture for his high school graduation ceremony. During this time period he also performed and arranged music for contemporary dance bands in the Bay Area.

In 1976 Frank attended Berklee College of Music, studying woodwinds with Joseph Viola, Joe Allard, Steve Grossman and composition/arranging with Herb Pomeroy, Phil Wilson, Greg Hopkins, Tony Texiera, and Ken Pullig. From 1976-80 he performed and composed for the top student ensembles as well as performing with his own ensembles. He received a National Endowment Grant for the Arts to compose a 90 minute continuous jazz/ classical suite for large ensemble. He also won Down Beat magazine's DB award for original big band composition in 1979.

After graduating with a degree in traditional composition, Frank taught at Berklee at the tender age of 20, as well as performed throughout the New England area with his 8-piece fusion group, 'Booga-Booga'. In 1981 Frank moved back to the San Francisco area where he continued working as a musician and composer/arranger over the next ten years, performing concerts with such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Rita Moreno, Tony Bennett, Jack Jones, Clare Fischer, Chuck Mangione, and the Temptations, to name a few. He performed with local groups such as The Bay Area Jazz Composers Orchestra, Mike Vax's Great American Jazz Band, Royal Street, the Dick Bright Orchestra and the Melotones. He also led his own original groups, including The Gleets, Desperate Character and The Frankie Maximum Band. In 1989 he recorded Introducing Frankie Maximum, an eclectic CD that showcased original material in a variety of styles, from new wave to polka. He followed that with the CD Frankie Maximum Goes Way-er Out West, a wild romp through traditional cowboy folksongs, done with new treatments (Ringo as a hip-hop jazz tune!?). This 1991 album received much critical praise including being named one of the top ten albums of the year by the Oakland Tribune

In 1991 Frank toured Germany performing in productions of West Side Story and 42nd Street, and when that tour was over, he found himself in Los Angeles, where he has remained ever since. Since 1992 he has worked as a composer/orchestrator on many films and television projects, including Superman Returns, Pirates of the Carribean 3, Fantastic Four-Rise of the Silver Surfer, Transformers, Miracle, X2-Xmen United, Men of Honor, Eight Legged Freaks, Ghosts of the Abyss, Austin Powers:Goldmember, The Contender, The Apt Pupil, Santa Clause 2, and television shows Night Visions, Nickelodeon's Oh Yeah Cartoons,Disney's Oliver Twist, and the Tonight Show. In 2003 he completed his latest CD, The Galapagos Suite, a six movement suite based on the animals of the Galapagos Islands, where he and his wife Tracy visited. His next CD, “Animals" was released in Fall 2004, featuring Frank on multi-woodwinds and a roster of some of Los Angeles best musicians. His follow up CD called “Mo' Animals" was released in 2006. He released the CD “Emotions" featuring The Prague Orchestra in January 2007 which received a Grammy nomination for Best Arrangement (for “Black Is the Color..."), and a Blue Chip Award from Dr. Herb Wong for “best of" jazz and released a follow up CD with the Prague Orchestra entitled “Landscapes", which also garnered a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Arrangement for “Down In the Valley". His 2009 project “Saxolollapalooza" is for six saxophonists and drums and features Eric Mareinthal, Bob Sheppard, Gene Cipriano, Sal Lozano, Jay Mason and Peter Erskine on drums. In January 2010 he will release the CD “Folk Songs for Jazzers" featuring an all star 13 piece band featuring Wayne Bergeron, Peter Erskine, Ray Frisby, Grant Geissman, Trey Henry, Alex Iles, Sal Lozano, Jay Mason, Kevin Porter, Bill Reichenbach, Bob Sheppard and also features guest vocalists Tierney Sutton and Ellis Hall. The band is doing crazed re-imaginings of traditional folk songs in funk, swing, fusion, latin, odd-metered and ballad jazz styles! Frank currently lives in Burbank, CA with his wife Tracy and son Charlie.

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Track Listing

I've Been Working on the Railroad; Red River Valley; Skip to My Lou; Oh, Susanna; Did You Ever See Lassie?; Polly Wolly Doodle; Tom Dooley; The Arkansas Traveler; Amazing Grace; The Erie Canal; Hush, Little Baby; The Bluetail Fly; Kumbaya; On Top of Old Smoky.

Personnel

Frank Macchia
composer / conductor
Additional Instrumentation

Sal Lozano: alto sax; flute; bass flute; clarinet; bass clarinet; Bob Shepard: soprano sax, tenor sax, piccolo, flute, bass flute, clarinet, bass clarinet; Frank Macchia: tenor sax, piccolo, alto flute, bass flute, contrabass flute, clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet; Jay Mason: baritone sax, bass sax, flute, bass flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, English horn; Wayne Bergeron: trumpet, flugelhorn; Alex Iles: trombone, baritone horn, tuba; Kevin Porter: trombone, bass trombone, baritone horn, tuba; Tom Ranier: acoustic and electric piano; Grant Geissman: electric guitar, banjo;Trey Henry: bass; Ray Frisby: percussion; Tierney Sutton: vocal (2); Ellis Hall: vocal (9).

Album information

Title: Folk Songs For Jazzers | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: Cacophony

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