"Ingram and his band consistently get it right on The Road Ahead, an impressive debut by a leader and group that one expects will continue to make great music for years." --All About Jazz
“...if there's one thing the Rob Garcia 4 has plenty of, it's personality. Perennial pulls no punches, takes no prisoners and thoroughly satisfies." --All About Jazz
BROOKLYN JAZZ UNDERGROUND RECORDS CD RELEASE CELEBRATIONS:
RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED!
Tues, Nov 10 @ The Cornelia Street Cafe: Randy Ingram with Noah Preminger (saxophones), Matt Clohesy (bass) + Joechen Rueckert (drums)
Wed, Nov 11 @ The Cornelia Street Cafe: Rob Garcia 4 with Noah Preminger (tenor saxophone), Dan Tepfer (piano) + Drew Gress (bass)
Friday, Dec 11 @ Nublu: Andy Cotton's “Dutch" with Gintas Janusonis (drums), Adam Klipple (keys), Kris Bauman (sax) + Andy Cotton (bass)
BJURecords to Release New Recordings From: Andy Cotton, Rob Garcia, Randy Ingram + ACT
Digital Release Date - November 10, In Stores - November 17
Following the immensely successful 3rd Annual BJU Festival held at Smalls this past January, and the release of its second wave of recordings (from Arthur Kell, Daniel Kelly & Guilherme Monteiro), Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records is set to release the third wave of new recordings on the artist run label: “Last Stand at The Havemeyer Ranch" from bassist/composer Andy Cotton, “Perennial", from drummer/composer Rob Garcia, “The Road Ahead", the debut recording from pianist/composer Randy Ingram, and the debut recording from ACT - featuring Ben Wendel, Harish Raghavan and Nate Wood. These recordings will be released digitally on November 10, and in stores on November 17.
Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, a sister company to the Brooklyn Jazz Underground collective, was launched in the Spring of 2008 with three critically-acclaimed recordings of all original music from BJU members Alexis Cuadrado, Anne Mette Iversen and Benny Lackner. The label grew out of the entrepreneurial, do-it-yourself spirit that gave birth to the BJU in January of 2007. BJURecords is proud to expand its catalog with four new recordings from a diverse group of Brooklyn-based artists that in their own unique way define the Brooklyn Jazz Underground scene, Andy Cotton, Rob Garcia, Randy Ingram and ACT.
Andy Cotton - Last Stand at The Havemeyer Ranch (BJUR 009): Coinciding with a stressful eviction by real estate developers (as part of the gentrification of Williamsburg), bassist/composer/producer Andy Cotton was busy recording countless hours of music in his loft/studio on Havemeyer Street (nicknamed The Havemeyer Ranch). In the spirit of the sessions for Miles' Bitches Brew, Cotton had the record button down during marathon sessions with many of his fellow Brooklyn artists that were relatively open improvisations, using reggae, Afro-Cuban and R&B rhythms as their base camp. From these sessions Cotton cherry-picked improvisational and unedited moments that became the basic tracks used for the album. “Recording in this way, without time constraints or production schedules, was a great luxury that allowed the songs to develop organically in ways that can never be duplicated," explained Cotton. “The room also had everything to do with the sound and feel of these recordings, allowing for the musicians and their instruments to sound open and unhindered, allowing each of them to bring as much of themselves as possible in to the music". Under the influence of King Tubby, Fela Kuti, Appalachian fiddle music, The Police and Sly Stone, Andy Cotton has created an album that captures a sound that's been in his head for many years and one that uniquely represents the definition of Brooklyn Jazz Underground. “It has finally come together on this recording and can start to reach like minded folks," said Cotton.
Last Stand at The Havemeyer Ranch features Yuval Lion (drums), Matt Ray, Nico Georis & Borahm Lee (keys), Kris Bauman (sax), Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Mayteana Morales & Chauncey Yearwood (vocals), Brian J (guitar, vocals), John Lee (guitar), Trip Henderson (harmonica), Elizabeth Dotson-Westphalen (trombone), Alicia Jo Rabins & Ron Hecht (fiddle), Luz Fleming (bass clarinet), Andy Cotton (bass, guitar)
Rob Garcia 4 - Perennial (BJUR 012): “Rob Garcia wields his sticks like a quill, drumming like a discerning composer. Which he is." - Jeff Potter; Modern Drummer. On his third recording as a leader (following Place of Resonance - Consolidated Artists and Heart's Fire - Connection Works Records), drummer/composer (and sometimes pianist) Rob Garcia delivers nine compelling originals and a modern version of Ray Noble's “Cherokee" (in thirteen!), that he has been hearing in his head for about ten years. Perennial “pertains to cycles of nature, which we reflect in being human and being an artist", explains Garcia. “Many of the song titles are named after things that grow and things found in nature", however they were chosen much in the same way he chose his first-rate sidemen, and the notes and arrangements of his compositions - simply because they sound good to his ear. Garcia, who has worked with a startling array of top jazz artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Joseph Jarman, Anat Cohen, Woody Allen, Brad Shepik, John Benitez, Chris Cheek, Joe Lovano, Myra Melford, Dave Binney, Ben Monder, Diana Krall, Reggie Workman, Bob Berg, Bill McHenry, Howard Johnson, Sonny Fortune, Bruce Barth, Wycliffe Gordon, Chris Potter, among others, is very much a musician confident in his intuition and highly attuned instinct, as evident in his powerfully engaging drum solos on the CD, and the fact that much of the music on Perennial was composed in a stream of consciousness way.
Garcia, who majored in psychology at NYU, and has studied yoga, meditation, holistic healing and spirituality, describes his creative aim and music's healing power, “music can go beyond the intellect and touch people on a very deep level," Rob explains, “I strive to integrate all the aspects of my being into everything I do." Naturally the music on Perennial is informed by the journey and exploration he has embarked on in these areas. The opener “Joe-Pye Weed" (a wild flower) uses a progression of pentatonics, giving it a country feel and “Seasons of Stone" reflects on the deep untouched elements of the human psyche. The title track is a cyclical tune that was written by “just getting my mind out of the way and letting things come", explains Garcia. “A Flower For Diana", and the entire recording, is dedicated to Garcia's late mother.
Perennial was born and raised in Brooklyn. The recording is a superb addition to the ever growing Brooklyn jazz canon and a new valuable piece of the multi-faceted soundtrack to this vibrant scene. It features Dan Tepfer (piano), Noah Preminger (tenor saxophone), Chris Lightcap (bass), Rob Garcia (drums, & piano on track 10)
Randy Ingram - The Road Ahead (BJUR 010): “Randy Ingram is among the vanguard of young jazz pianists on the New York scene. He plays with finesse, thoughtfulness and passion." - Fred Hersch. On his brilliant debut album the “incredible pianist" (composer George Russell) Randy Ingram comes flying out of the gate with “Rock Song #3", a modal tour-de-force for the trio, or the result of what the pianist chalks up to “when Zeppelin comes up on shuffle too often on one's iPhone. But I think we convey the best sense of what it means to rock out a bit. As for the title, it's pure Rothko." Ingram's take on Lennon/McCartney's “For No One" follows, revealing his long time Beatles addiction. He delivers pure beauty here and shows that when a song is “meaningful to you, then you can make it your own and really make it work. I used the original bass line from the bridge of the tune as an intro; just pretend my left hand and Matt's bass are really a Rickenbacker! I think as a trio we really capture the spirit of this tune - a great ballad vibe but still a good bit of energy underneath," said Ingram.
Originally from Laguna Beach, CA, and a recipient of the 2007 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer's award, Ingram has received scholarships to the University of Southern California (where he apprenticed with Tierney Sutton, Joe LaBarbera and the great Billy Higgins), and the New England Conservatory, where he studied with his two mentors, Fred Hersch and Danilo Perez, and received his Masters. Ingram moved to Brooklyn in the Fall of 2003 and has since become a much in demand sideman and a creative force on the scene, working with Ben Monder, Joel Frahm, Joe Locke, Mike Moreno, Kendrick Scott and many others. These artists' compositional influence is evident on Ingram's “Dream Song", which is meant to evoke surrealism and the nocturnal side of NYC, musically speaking", said the pianist.
After regretfully missing Wayne Shorter's 70th birthday concert at Carnegie Hall, Ingram nonetheless awoke the next morning with a weighty optimism in his heart, and the title track, “The Road Ahead", at his fingertips, pretty much written in his sleep. Ingram explains further, “Wayne has always been pretty much my biggest influence compositionally (especially harmonically), and I think this tune reflects that. I feel like the melody lends itself to a certain sense of optimism and feels like a bit of an anthem, so it makes a lot of sense to me that it is the musical representation of the phrase 'the road ahead' - my arrival on the scene as a bandleader and composer, and in a sense it serves as the soundtrack to my journey going forward."
The Road Ahead is the first recorded offering from a pianist with boundless talent, and the wisdom to use it to the listener's benefit. Ingram is a thoughtful, versatile young pianist, composer and improviser. Many players have chops to spare; Ingram's are laced with an expressive touch and a keen imagination. The heavenliness that he conjures up, whether playing his own compositions or those by Monk ("Think Of One"), Ornette Coleman ("Round Trip") or Cole Porter ("So In Love"), can remind us why jazz is so loved around the world, and why its present and future is so bright in the hands of this gifted artist and his contemporaries. The Road Aheadfeatures Randy Ingram (piano), Matt Clohesy (bass), Jochen Rueckert (drums), John Ellis (tenor & soprano saxophones)
ACT - Act (BJUR 011): The debut recording from ACT brings together the minds and music of saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist Ben Wendel (Ignacio Berroa, Tigran Hamasyan, Snoop Dogg, Daedelus, Kneebody), bassist Harish Raghavan (Ambrose Akinmusire, Eric Harland, Mark Turner, Aaron Parks, Greg Osby, Vijay Iyer, Billy Childs, Kurt Elling, Benny Green, Terrell Stafford, Mike Moreno, Gerald Clayton) and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Nate Wood (Chaka Khan, Richard Stekol, Wayne Krantz, John Tesh, Billy Childs, Tigran Hamasyan, Taylor Eigsti, The Black Plums featuring Richard Stekol and Adam Benjamin, with whom Nate plays drums and bass simultaneously).
Ben Wendel explains the making of ACT: “the three of us have known each other for quite some time - we've played in a lot of different groups together but always gravitated towards the trio, so making this album has been something we've wanted to do for quite a while. We ended up with two free days last year and tracked the music down at Steve Wood's private studio (Steve is Nate's father and one of the best engineers on the West Coast)." The title track “Act" was composed quickly by Wendel in the studio just prior to recording, and finds Wood and Raghavan burning underneath Wendel's ominous melody line. “What Was", a meditative, introspective piece, is based on a sketch that has eventually turned into a movement of a jazz suite that Wendel is writing for the Chamber Music of America “New Works Grant." On Raghavan's “Break" this trio reaches the pinnacle of interplay, sounding like a three-headed, conservatory-trained musician, who also happens to be a really great improviser. The “standards" they chose (Sonny Rollins' “Pentup House" and Elvis Costello's “Shamed Into Love") came naturally out of a few warm up gigs leading to the recording.
With the release of their debut recording, ACT, this trio instantly moves to the front of the line as one of the most creative and fascinating new bands on the Brooklyn scene. Actfeatures Ben Wendel (saxophone, bassoon, piano), Harish Raghavan (bass), Nate Wood (drums)
The Press On The Brooklyn Jazz Underground:
“The Brooklyn Jazz Underground is a coalition of artists united by aesthetics as well as geography." - The New York Times
“Consider this the opening shot in the latest revolution to hit New York's improv scene." - Time Out New York
“Think of it as a mix-tape, a calling card from artists who operate in a small world but like to think big." - JazzTimes
“Brooklyn jazz is happening and those who venture across the bridge will be delighted by the hard-edged ethnically-flavored jazz that they find on the other side." - All About Jazz
“...the spirit of the organization is firmly rooted in Brooklyn. All of the members reside there, and they wanted to give a nod to the vitality of its scene." - The Wall Street Journal
BJURecords Mission Statement:
Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records is an independent and artist-run label committed to creative and adventurous contemporary improvised music. We strive to put out quality recordings that define the shape of today's jazz. BJURecords is a sister company of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground bandleader collective.
“...if there's one thing the Rob Garcia 4 has plenty of, it's personality. Perennial pulls no punches, takes no prisoners and thoroughly satisfies." --All About Jazz
BROOKLYN JAZZ UNDERGROUND RECORDS CD RELEASE CELEBRATIONS:
RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED!
Tues, Nov 10 @ The Cornelia Street Cafe: Randy Ingram with Noah Preminger (saxophones), Matt Clohesy (bass) + Joechen Rueckert (drums)
Wed, Nov 11 @ The Cornelia Street Cafe: Rob Garcia 4 with Noah Preminger (tenor saxophone), Dan Tepfer (piano) + Drew Gress (bass)
Friday, Dec 11 @ Nublu: Andy Cotton's “Dutch" with Gintas Janusonis (drums), Adam Klipple (keys), Kris Bauman (sax) + Andy Cotton (bass)
BJURecords to Release New Recordings From: Andy Cotton, Rob Garcia, Randy Ingram + ACT
Digital Release Date - November 10, In Stores - November 17
Following the immensely successful 3rd Annual BJU Festival held at Smalls this past January, and the release of its second wave of recordings (from Arthur Kell, Daniel Kelly & Guilherme Monteiro), Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records is set to release the third wave of new recordings on the artist run label: “Last Stand at The Havemeyer Ranch" from bassist/composer Andy Cotton, “Perennial", from drummer/composer Rob Garcia, “The Road Ahead", the debut recording from pianist/composer Randy Ingram, and the debut recording from ACT - featuring Ben Wendel, Harish Raghavan and Nate Wood. These recordings will be released digitally on November 10, and in stores on November 17.
Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, a sister company to the Brooklyn Jazz Underground collective, was launched in the Spring of 2008 with three critically-acclaimed recordings of all original music from BJU members Alexis Cuadrado, Anne Mette Iversen and Benny Lackner. The label grew out of the entrepreneurial, do-it-yourself spirit that gave birth to the BJU in January of 2007. BJURecords is proud to expand its catalog with four new recordings from a diverse group of Brooklyn-based artists that in their own unique way define the Brooklyn Jazz Underground scene, Andy Cotton, Rob Garcia, Randy Ingram and ACT.
Andy Cotton - Last Stand at The Havemeyer Ranch (BJUR 009): Coinciding with a stressful eviction by real estate developers (as part of the gentrification of Williamsburg), bassist/composer/producer Andy Cotton was busy recording countless hours of music in his loft/studio on Havemeyer Street (nicknamed The Havemeyer Ranch). In the spirit of the sessions for Miles' Bitches Brew, Cotton had the record button down during marathon sessions with many of his fellow Brooklyn artists that were relatively open improvisations, using reggae, Afro-Cuban and R&B rhythms as their base camp. From these sessions Cotton cherry-picked improvisational and unedited moments that became the basic tracks used for the album. “Recording in this way, without time constraints or production schedules, was a great luxury that allowed the songs to develop organically in ways that can never be duplicated," explained Cotton. “The room also had everything to do with the sound and feel of these recordings, allowing for the musicians and their instruments to sound open and unhindered, allowing each of them to bring as much of themselves as possible in to the music". Under the influence of King Tubby, Fela Kuti, Appalachian fiddle music, The Police and Sly Stone, Andy Cotton has created an album that captures a sound that's been in his head for many years and one that uniquely represents the definition of Brooklyn Jazz Underground. “It has finally come together on this recording and can start to reach like minded folks," said Cotton.
Last Stand at The Havemeyer Ranch features Yuval Lion (drums), Matt Ray, Nico Georis & Borahm Lee (keys), Kris Bauman (sax), Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Mayteana Morales & Chauncey Yearwood (vocals), Brian J (guitar, vocals), John Lee (guitar), Trip Henderson (harmonica), Elizabeth Dotson-Westphalen (trombone), Alicia Jo Rabins & Ron Hecht (fiddle), Luz Fleming (bass clarinet), Andy Cotton (bass, guitar)
Rob Garcia 4 - Perennial (BJUR 012): “Rob Garcia wields his sticks like a quill, drumming like a discerning composer. Which he is." - Jeff Potter; Modern Drummer. On his third recording as a leader (following Place of Resonance - Consolidated Artists and Heart's Fire - Connection Works Records), drummer/composer (and sometimes pianist) Rob Garcia delivers nine compelling originals and a modern version of Ray Noble's “Cherokee" (in thirteen!), that he has been hearing in his head for about ten years. Perennial “pertains to cycles of nature, which we reflect in being human and being an artist", explains Garcia. “Many of the song titles are named after things that grow and things found in nature", however they were chosen much in the same way he chose his first-rate sidemen, and the notes and arrangements of his compositions - simply because they sound good to his ear. Garcia, who has worked with a startling array of top jazz artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Joseph Jarman, Anat Cohen, Woody Allen, Brad Shepik, John Benitez, Chris Cheek, Joe Lovano, Myra Melford, Dave Binney, Ben Monder, Diana Krall, Reggie Workman, Bob Berg, Bill McHenry, Howard Johnson, Sonny Fortune, Bruce Barth, Wycliffe Gordon, Chris Potter, among others, is very much a musician confident in his intuition and highly attuned instinct, as evident in his powerfully engaging drum solos on the CD, and the fact that much of the music on Perennial was composed in a stream of consciousness way.
Garcia, who majored in psychology at NYU, and has studied yoga, meditation, holistic healing and spirituality, describes his creative aim and music's healing power, “music can go beyond the intellect and touch people on a very deep level," Rob explains, “I strive to integrate all the aspects of my being into everything I do." Naturally the music on Perennial is informed by the journey and exploration he has embarked on in these areas. The opener “Joe-Pye Weed" (a wild flower) uses a progression of pentatonics, giving it a country feel and “Seasons of Stone" reflects on the deep untouched elements of the human psyche. The title track is a cyclical tune that was written by “just getting my mind out of the way and letting things come", explains Garcia. “A Flower For Diana", and the entire recording, is dedicated to Garcia's late mother.
Perennial was born and raised in Brooklyn. The recording is a superb addition to the ever growing Brooklyn jazz canon and a new valuable piece of the multi-faceted soundtrack to this vibrant scene. It features Dan Tepfer (piano), Noah Preminger (tenor saxophone), Chris Lightcap (bass), Rob Garcia (drums, & piano on track 10)
Randy Ingram - The Road Ahead (BJUR 010): “Randy Ingram is among the vanguard of young jazz pianists on the New York scene. He plays with finesse, thoughtfulness and passion." - Fred Hersch. On his brilliant debut album the “incredible pianist" (composer George Russell) Randy Ingram comes flying out of the gate with “Rock Song #3", a modal tour-de-force for the trio, or the result of what the pianist chalks up to “when Zeppelin comes up on shuffle too often on one's iPhone. But I think we convey the best sense of what it means to rock out a bit. As for the title, it's pure Rothko." Ingram's take on Lennon/McCartney's “For No One" follows, revealing his long time Beatles addiction. He delivers pure beauty here and shows that when a song is “meaningful to you, then you can make it your own and really make it work. I used the original bass line from the bridge of the tune as an intro; just pretend my left hand and Matt's bass are really a Rickenbacker! I think as a trio we really capture the spirit of this tune - a great ballad vibe but still a good bit of energy underneath," said Ingram.
Originally from Laguna Beach, CA, and a recipient of the 2007 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer's award, Ingram has received scholarships to the University of Southern California (where he apprenticed with Tierney Sutton, Joe LaBarbera and the great Billy Higgins), and the New England Conservatory, where he studied with his two mentors, Fred Hersch and Danilo Perez, and received his Masters. Ingram moved to Brooklyn in the Fall of 2003 and has since become a much in demand sideman and a creative force on the scene, working with Ben Monder, Joel Frahm, Joe Locke, Mike Moreno, Kendrick Scott and many others. These artists' compositional influence is evident on Ingram's “Dream Song", which is meant to evoke surrealism and the nocturnal side of NYC, musically speaking", said the pianist.
After regretfully missing Wayne Shorter's 70th birthday concert at Carnegie Hall, Ingram nonetheless awoke the next morning with a weighty optimism in his heart, and the title track, “The Road Ahead", at his fingertips, pretty much written in his sleep. Ingram explains further, “Wayne has always been pretty much my biggest influence compositionally (especially harmonically), and I think this tune reflects that. I feel like the melody lends itself to a certain sense of optimism and feels like a bit of an anthem, so it makes a lot of sense to me that it is the musical representation of the phrase 'the road ahead' - my arrival on the scene as a bandleader and composer, and in a sense it serves as the soundtrack to my journey going forward."
The Road Ahead is the first recorded offering from a pianist with boundless talent, and the wisdom to use it to the listener's benefit. Ingram is a thoughtful, versatile young pianist, composer and improviser. Many players have chops to spare; Ingram's are laced with an expressive touch and a keen imagination. The heavenliness that he conjures up, whether playing his own compositions or those by Monk ("Think Of One"), Ornette Coleman ("Round Trip") or Cole Porter ("So In Love"), can remind us why jazz is so loved around the world, and why its present and future is so bright in the hands of this gifted artist and his contemporaries. The Road Aheadfeatures Randy Ingram (piano), Matt Clohesy (bass), Jochen Rueckert (drums), John Ellis (tenor & soprano saxophones)
ACT - Act (BJUR 011): The debut recording from ACT brings together the minds and music of saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist Ben Wendel (Ignacio Berroa, Tigran Hamasyan, Snoop Dogg, Daedelus, Kneebody), bassist Harish Raghavan (Ambrose Akinmusire, Eric Harland, Mark Turner, Aaron Parks, Greg Osby, Vijay Iyer, Billy Childs, Kurt Elling, Benny Green, Terrell Stafford, Mike Moreno, Gerald Clayton) and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Nate Wood (Chaka Khan, Richard Stekol, Wayne Krantz, John Tesh, Billy Childs, Tigran Hamasyan, Taylor Eigsti, The Black Plums featuring Richard Stekol and Adam Benjamin, with whom Nate plays drums and bass simultaneously).
Ben Wendel explains the making of ACT: “the three of us have known each other for quite some time - we've played in a lot of different groups together but always gravitated towards the trio, so making this album has been something we've wanted to do for quite a while. We ended up with two free days last year and tracked the music down at Steve Wood's private studio (Steve is Nate's father and one of the best engineers on the West Coast)." The title track “Act" was composed quickly by Wendel in the studio just prior to recording, and finds Wood and Raghavan burning underneath Wendel's ominous melody line. “What Was", a meditative, introspective piece, is based on a sketch that has eventually turned into a movement of a jazz suite that Wendel is writing for the Chamber Music of America “New Works Grant." On Raghavan's “Break" this trio reaches the pinnacle of interplay, sounding like a three-headed, conservatory-trained musician, who also happens to be a really great improviser. The “standards" they chose (Sonny Rollins' “Pentup House" and Elvis Costello's “Shamed Into Love") came naturally out of a few warm up gigs leading to the recording.
With the release of their debut recording, ACT, this trio instantly moves to the front of the line as one of the most creative and fascinating new bands on the Brooklyn scene. Actfeatures Ben Wendel (saxophone, bassoon, piano), Harish Raghavan (bass), Nate Wood (drums)
The Press On The Brooklyn Jazz Underground:
“The Brooklyn Jazz Underground is a coalition of artists united by aesthetics as well as geography." - The New York Times
“Consider this the opening shot in the latest revolution to hit New York's improv scene." - Time Out New York
“Think of it as a mix-tape, a calling card from artists who operate in a small world but like to think big." - JazzTimes
“Brooklyn jazz is happening and those who venture across the bridge will be delighted by the hard-edged ethnically-flavored jazz that they find on the other side." - All About Jazz
“...the spirit of the organization is firmly rooted in Brooklyn. All of the members reside there, and they wanted to give a nod to the vitality of its scene." - The Wall Street Journal
BJURecords Mission Statement:
Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records is an independent and artist-run label committed to creative and adventurous contemporary improvised music. We strive to put out quality recordings that define the shape of today's jazz. BJURecords is a sister company of the Brooklyn Jazz Underground bandleader collective.
For more information contact Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity.
