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Jimmy Greene Makes a "Mission Statement" on New Razdaz CD

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Saxophonist’s 7th CD as a Leader To Be Released on April 7

Critically acclaimed tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene will release a new CD, Mission Statement, on April 7 on Sunnyside/Razdaz Recordz, home to such eclectic artists as Sam Barsh and Amos Hoffman. Razdaz founder, bassist Avishai Cohen, in whose band Greene played during the nineties, says, “Jimmy is one of the most exciting and innovative musicians in the scene today. He continues the legacy of such greats as John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. I’m a fan.”

Mission Statement features Greene’s working band of Xavier Davis (keyboards), Reuben Rogers (bass) and Eric Harland (drums) – a stellar quartet who have performed together since 2002, and who first recorded with Greene on his 2006 Criss Cross release, True Life Stories. Guitarist Lage Lund is featured throughout, and vibraphonist Stefon Harris guests on one track, the spirited “Revelation.” “Playing with Stefon is a joy. His creative energy, attention to detail, and soulfulness are inspirational, to say the least. He sounds great in any context,” enthused Greene.

Greene’s talents as a composer have been acknowledged by Chamber Music America’s New Works: Creation and Presentation Grant Program (which commissioned Greene’s Overcomer's suite); by his winning the prestigious ASCAP / IAJE Commission in honor of Ornette Coleman (resulting in the piece, Anthem of Hope;) and by his being awarded a 2005 Artist Fellowship in Music Composition by the Connecticut Commission on the Arts. Those talents are strongly displayed on Mission Statement, which includes nine original compositions, as well as Greene’s arrangement of Harry Smith’s inspirational “Give Thanks.”

An intensely personal undertaking, Mission Statement musically conveys a sense of who Jimmy Greene is as a man and as an artist. “It deals with the most precious things in my life: love, faith, family, relationships, childhood and dreams,” explains Greene in his liner notes. “Although much is happening musically in many of these tunes, in them, the melodies, themes and improvisational flow seem to express, in a simple way, the joys, the struggles, curiosities and discoveries personal to my life so far.”

Greene has several shows scheduled to support the release of Mission Statement, including the following:

March 16, 2009 Winnipeg, MB (Canada) The Orbit Room

March 27, 2009 New Haven, CT Firehouse 12

April 2-4, 2009 New York, NY Smoke (Official CD release shows)

April 18, 2009 Hartford, CT The Studio @ Billings Forge

May 15-16, 2009 New York, NY Small’s

A Connecticut native, the 34 year old Greene has been playing sax since he was six years old. While still in his teens, he was fortunate to meet and subsequently study with the legendary Jackie McLean at the famed altoist’s community arts school, The Artists’ Collective. Awards and accolades began to pile up for the musically precocious teen, continuing as he pursued further studies at the University of Hartford/Hartt School.

Upon graduation, Greene moved to New York City, and soon became a member of the Horace Silver Quintet. In addition to the legendary pianist's group, Greene has performed regularly with the groups of Tom Harrell, Freddie Hubbard, Steve Turre, Lewis Nash, Avishai Cohen, Claudia Acuña, Kenny Barron, and Ralph Peterson, as well as the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, New Jazz Composers' Octet, and the big bands of Harry Connick, Jr., Jason Lindner and Kendrick Oliver.

As a leader, he has consistently earned critical acclaim for his live shows and six previous recordings. He was honored in the June 1999 issue of Down Beat magazine, which, looking toward the future of jazz into the 21st century, recognized Greene as one of “25 Young Rising Stars in Jazz.”

Maintaining a firm commitment to jazz education, Greene holds faculty positions at the Hartt School and Purchase College, SUNY. For additional information, please visit www.razdazrecordz.com, or contact Cary Goldberg [email protected]; 434-293-6633

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