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George Garzone/Peter Erskine/Alan Pasqua/Darek Oles: 3 Nights in L.A.
Any jazz cat will tell you that the art of improvising is the primary contributing factor in what sets jazz apart from other genres. It is the artists' ability to continuously and freely explore a composition. As they expand the notes and the feel, they expand and open our minds along with them. One of the finest examples of that process can be heard on 3 Nights in L.A.. Tenor saxophonist George Garzone, drummer Peter Erskine, pianist Alan ...
read moreDaniel Szabo: Visionary
It takes maybe ten full seconds to be intrigued by Visionary. Pianist, composer, and arranger Daniel Szabo presents a kaleidoscope view of futures integrating a woodwind sextet, string quartet, and a jazz rhythmic section. There is no meeting somewhere in the middle to be found here. Instead, they sublimely merge as an ensemble for an intriguing ride. The subtle nuances of chamber music joined with jazz sensibilities creates a pallet of new colors placed gracefully just in, and ...
read morePeter Erskine New Trio: In Praise of Shadows
Expecting the delicately brooding pastel hues of his piano trio recordings for ECM Records, my socks were pleasantly knocked off from the git-go by Peter Erskine's New Trio. In Praise of Shadows opens with a slyly sweet, reggae-infused rendition of “Sukiyaki," a Japanese folk tune that became a surprise novelty hit for Kyu Sakamoto back in 1963. Erskine's version, featuring guest Judd Miller on electronic whistling, hints at the deeper meaning of the song, whose title--literally translated--means “I Look Up ...
read moreBob Mintzer: All L.A. Band
Even though saxophonist Bob Mintzer's name rests alone atop the marquee, the All L.A. Band is actually a mutual collaboration with acclaimed drummer Peter Erskine, one of Mintzer's colleagues in the Jazz Studies department at the University of Southern California. Besides occupying the drum chair, Erskine produced the album, while Mintzer composed and arranged its ten handsome themes. Among the musical styles closest to Mintzer's heart are Afro-Cuban and funk, and there is plenty of both on ...
read morePeter Erskine: Dr. Um
It would appear that this project has awakened the Peter Erskine of yore, the drummer who became legend while cresting the waves of fusion with Weather Report and Steps Ahead. In recent years Erskine's drumming has been spare, elegant, open, and, in enough instances, lightly swinging. If one word would come to mind to describe that playing, it would be “tasteful." But does that automatically mean that joining forces with some plugged-in players and laying down some ...
read morePeter Erskine / Bob Mintzer / Darek Oles / Alan Pasqua: Standards 2, Movie Music
Standards hold a particular fascination for drummer Peter Erskine, as initiated through his Grammy-nominated Standards(Fuzzy Music, 2008). Unlike that first album--comprised primarily of old jazz standards--Standards 2, Movie Music focuses on songs that are considered standards from the realm of Hollywood movies. Featuring music from Gone With The Wind (1939), considered by many to be one of the best movies ever made, to the main theme from Rosemary's Baby (1968), this unusual collection of songs, by necessity, has to leave ...
read morePeter Erskine / Bob Mintzer / Derek Oles / Alan Pasqua: Standards 2, Movie Music
While the songs featured on Standards 2, Movie Music were given an initial audience through the medium of film, some of them have led a fruitful existence beyond the borders of the silver screen. Some melodies--like Tara's Theme," from 1939's Gone With The Wind--will always be associated with their point of origin, but much of Cole Porter's catalog, including the two inclusions on this album ("Night And Day" and “I Concentrate On You"), is more familiar to current audiences than ...
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