With a roster that includes saxophonist Dave Binney, pianist John Escreet, and trombonist Steve Davis, the Los Angeles based label underscores a commitment to documenting what’s happening on the ground in today’s jazz scene. Donald Elfman of All About Jazz recently commented in a May label profile that “Posi-Tone Records is an extraordinary anomaly in these times, an independent, thriving jazz label that continues to find new and established musicians and works continually to improve each aspect of production to release a final product of superior quality.”
Catching fire on the West Coast, alto saxophonist Sarah Manning was recently reborn from the ashes onto the New York scene. According to Grammy nominated pianist Jessica Williams, “If there is to be jazz in our future, it'll be because of musicians like saxophonist and composer Sarah Manning. She’s a player to listen to, starting right now.” This young artist has produced two albums of her original compositions and headlined top venues from Yoshi’s in Oakland, California to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz. On occasion, she can also be found busking in underground train stations. Manning’s last release, “Live at Yoshi’s: Two Rooms Same Door” (ArtistShare), led to a June 2007 profile in Down Beat Magazine. In the liner notes to her first album Nat Hentoff commented, “Sarah Manning can swing as naturally as she breathes…Manning plays – and writes – in what is unmistakably her own voice.”
More information about Posi-Tone records can be found at www.posi-tone.com. Manning will be at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola for the After Hours set on September 8th at 11PM. The club is located in the Time Warner Center in NYC’s Columbus Circle. On September 9th, Manning will be playing a double-bill with saxophonist Sean Nowell at the Cornelia Street Caf, 29 Cornelia Street in the West Village, at 8:30PM.