Visionary drummer/composer Sean Jefferson is proud to announce the September 20th release of Dreamworks, his sprawling new album on Wycliffe Gordon's Bluesback Records.
You may already know Sean from his full-time gig as the hard-grooving drummer in Grammy- nominated organ trio Paradigm Shift, but Dreamworks, Jefferson's second album as a leader, announces his arrival in grand fashion. Consisting mostly of original compositions by Sean, Dreamworks captures him truly coming into his own as a composer.
With Dreamworks, Jefferson was striving for nothing less than a modern-day jazz masterpiece, one that listeners might return to again and again when they feel like going on a journey that carries them to a different place every time they press the play button. That's exactly what listeners are in for with Jefferson's serpentine rhythms, deep-set grooves, soaring melodies, and exhilarating blend of post-bop swing with classical elegance all executed with almost fearsome aplomb by a quartet that features some of the most exciting young players in jazz today: bassist Richie Goods, pianist Harold O'Neal and saxman Marcus Strickland—a group that Rochester's City Newspaper said “very well could have been the greatest group in jazz." on the night of its triumphant 2009 appearance at the Rochester International Jazz Festival (where much of the material on Dreamworks, it should be noted, was debuted just hours after the musicians saw the charts for the first time). In spite of all its technical attributes, though, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more grooving, listenable jazz release from this year. Bluesback Records founder Wycliffe Gordon had this to say: “Bluesback Records was founded to present new original works that set the standard in composition and performance for tomorrow, and Sean has certainly answered the call with Dreamworks." Indeed, Jefferson is hardly content to just keep time. Instead, like his predecessors who left a permanent mark on jazz, he seeks to advance the mindset of his instrument every time he sits down at the kit. And though he is rigorously trained in jazz, clasiscal, and other styles, Sean is perpetually searching for deeper musical knowledge and understanding. He's also an engaging, entertaining speaker with profound insight on a multitude of subjects.
FOR INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
[email protected]
(585) 260-5285
THE PLAYERS:
Marcus Strickland—Named 'Rising Star, Soprano Saxophone' in Downbeat Magazine's 2008 Critic's Poll, Marcus Strickland has played with has played with Roy Haynes, Mos Def, Jeff 'Tain' Watts, Christian McBride, Will Calhoun, The Carnegie Hall Big Band, The Mingus Band, Milt Jackson Big Band, and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. JazzTimes' Thomas Conrad describes his tone as “liquid and luminous, yet forceful and exact," and he plays with a fiery, almost other-wordly intensity that is perfectly suited for the emotional range required of him on Dreamworks.
Richie Goods—The youngest musician ever inducted into the Pittsburgh Jazz Hall Of Fame, Richie Goods now plays bass for the world-famous Headhunters. Equally at ease liquefying boundaries on an electric waxing traditional on a standup or vice-versa, Goods studied with bass giants Ray Brown and Ron Carter. His sideman credits range from Stanley Turrentine to Christina Aguilera, and he can be heard on a slew of recordgings, including Grammy-winning albums by Alicia Keys and Common. His outstanding fluidity—his ability to go from a reedy traditional style and extend outwards towards more progressive horizons on the acoustic bass, to roll seamlessly from, say, classical lines to hip-hop grooves—arguably provided the glue for the rest of the Dreamworks quartet to gel into a cohesive whole on the recording.
Harold O'Neal—Having played with the likes of Elvin Jones, Kenny Garrett, Roy Hargrove, Jeff “Tain" Watts, Wynton Marsalis, Marvin Smitty Smith, Paquito D'Rivera, Greg Osby and others, pianist Harold O'Neal's lyricism made him the ideal player to express Jefferson's transcendent melodic ideas. Like the rest of the quartet on Dreamworks, O'Neal is able to glide between jazz, classical, and other modalities “with impeccable agility." (City Newspaper, 2009). He brings a distinct flavor to the music with lines that criss-cross the other players in a way that endows the music with an intangible but unmistakable beauty.
You may already know Sean from his full-time gig as the hard-grooving drummer in Grammy- nominated organ trio Paradigm Shift, but Dreamworks, Jefferson's second album as a leader, announces his arrival in grand fashion. Consisting mostly of original compositions by Sean, Dreamworks captures him truly coming into his own as a composer.
With Dreamworks, Jefferson was striving for nothing less than a modern-day jazz masterpiece, one that listeners might return to again and again when they feel like going on a journey that carries them to a different place every time they press the play button. That's exactly what listeners are in for with Jefferson's serpentine rhythms, deep-set grooves, soaring melodies, and exhilarating blend of post-bop swing with classical elegance all executed with almost fearsome aplomb by a quartet that features some of the most exciting young players in jazz today: bassist Richie Goods, pianist Harold O'Neal and saxman Marcus Strickland—a group that Rochester's City Newspaper said “very well could have been the greatest group in jazz." on the night of its triumphant 2009 appearance at the Rochester International Jazz Festival (where much of the material on Dreamworks, it should be noted, was debuted just hours after the musicians saw the charts for the first time). In spite of all its technical attributes, though, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more grooving, listenable jazz release from this year. Bluesback Records founder Wycliffe Gordon had this to say: “Bluesback Records was founded to present new original works that set the standard in composition and performance for tomorrow, and Sean has certainly answered the call with Dreamworks." Indeed, Jefferson is hardly content to just keep time. Instead, like his predecessors who left a permanent mark on jazz, he seeks to advance the mindset of his instrument every time he sits down at the kit. And though he is rigorously trained in jazz, clasiscal, and other styles, Sean is perpetually searching for deeper musical knowledge and understanding. He's also an engaging, entertaining speaker with profound insight on a multitude of subjects.
FOR INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
[email protected]
(585) 260-5285
THE PLAYERS:
Marcus Strickland—Named 'Rising Star, Soprano Saxophone' in Downbeat Magazine's 2008 Critic's Poll, Marcus Strickland has played with has played with Roy Haynes, Mos Def, Jeff 'Tain' Watts, Christian McBride, Will Calhoun, The Carnegie Hall Big Band, The Mingus Band, Milt Jackson Big Band, and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. JazzTimes' Thomas Conrad describes his tone as “liquid and luminous, yet forceful and exact," and he plays with a fiery, almost other-wordly intensity that is perfectly suited for the emotional range required of him on Dreamworks.
Richie Goods—The youngest musician ever inducted into the Pittsburgh Jazz Hall Of Fame, Richie Goods now plays bass for the world-famous Headhunters. Equally at ease liquefying boundaries on an electric waxing traditional on a standup or vice-versa, Goods studied with bass giants Ray Brown and Ron Carter. His sideman credits range from Stanley Turrentine to Christina Aguilera, and he can be heard on a slew of recordgings, including Grammy-winning albums by Alicia Keys and Common. His outstanding fluidity—his ability to go from a reedy traditional style and extend outwards towards more progressive horizons on the acoustic bass, to roll seamlessly from, say, classical lines to hip-hop grooves—arguably provided the glue for the rest of the Dreamworks quartet to gel into a cohesive whole on the recording.
Harold O'Neal—Having played with the likes of Elvin Jones, Kenny Garrett, Roy Hargrove, Jeff “Tain" Watts, Wynton Marsalis, Marvin Smitty Smith, Paquito D'Rivera, Greg Osby and others, pianist Harold O'Neal's lyricism made him the ideal player to express Jefferson's transcendent melodic ideas. Like the rest of the quartet on Dreamworks, O'Neal is able to glide between jazz, classical, and other modalities “with impeccable agility." (City Newspaper, 2009). He brings a distinct flavor to the music with lines that criss-cross the other players in a way that endows the music with an intangible but unmistakable beauty.
