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Dominican Jazz Project

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My Jazz Story

Described as a "national pride" (Dominican Republic Jazz Festival), as "vibrant, passionate music" (JAZZIZ), and as "full of creative energy and the joy of musical discovery" (All About Jazz), the Dominican Jazz Project, Desde Lejos CD won two awards at the 2023 Premios Indie Dominicanos (Dominican Indie Awards) in the categories of Best Jazz Album and Best Jazz Song (for Anderson's, Fuera de la Oscuridad). The Desde Lejos CD represented Summit Records on the 64th Grammy and 21st Latin Grammy Awards ballots, and the self-titled Dominican Jazz Project debut CD likewise represented the label on the 59th Annual Grammy and 17th Annual Latin Grammy Awards ballots. Un Cambio de Ritmo, from the Desde Lejos CD, was recognized on the All About Jazz "Popular Jazz Songs: 2021" list of most downloaded songs. In May 2022, pianist and composer, Stephen Anderson was formally distinguished by the Ministra de Cultura, Señora Milagros Germán, on behalf of the government in the Dominican Republic "for his research and contributions to the national musical heritage" whose compositions and rhythms "have traveled with [their] seal of identity." In April 2022, the DJP was invited to the Palacio Nacional for the condecoración (e.g., formal “decoration”) ceremony of bandmate, Guillo Carias, by President Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona, President of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Jazz Project began when Dominican-born jazz artist, Guillo Carias, invited American jazz pianist and composer, Stephen Anderson, to perform with him and jazz artists living in the Dominican Republic for the 2014 Jazzomania Jazz Festival in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic that was hosted by Tony Dominguez and Carlos Francisco Elías. The concert and associated clinic went beautifully, and the drummer, Guy Frómeta, invited Anderson to return to Santo Domingo to perform with him in his group for the Casa de Teatro Jazz Festival a few months later. It was there that Anderson met Sandy Gabriel, a nationally renowned tenor saxophonist. Their collective friendship grew further with that experience, and following the festival, they agreed to record together. The result was their 2016 self-titled CD release, The Dominican Jazz Project, that was recorded in the days following the UNC Summer Jazz Workshop where the artists served as guest faculty and where Anderson serves as director. Soon after, renowned Dominican percussionist, David Almengod, joined the group. What intrigued Anderson when he first visited the Dominican Republic is that while Dominican musicians are very much at home playing Afro- Cuban/clave-based music, their traditional music has a variety of other lesser-known grooves that are not commonly played in Latin jazz today outside of the Dominican Republic. While the Dominican piano tumbao patterns may sound similar to Cuban montuno patterns, they are constructed differently harmonically and rhythmically. Anderson was also surprised that these Dominicans were so interested in modern American jazz, and that Sandy Gabriel’s compositions, in some ways, were very similar to the aesthetic that he had been developing in the Stephen Anderson Trio recordings at the time. Sandy is an entirely self-taught saxophonist, having no formal training. When asked how he learned to play so well, Sandy relayed that he learned from transcribing Michael Brecker's solos, responding affirmably, “He was the best.” After returning home, Anderson spent several months deeply researching Dominican music, transcribing various piano tumbao patterns, as well as other traditional grooves, like the Mangulina, Pambiche, Ga-Ga, and the Palo. Based on these and other grooves, he composed five new charts for the project, and Sandy Gabriel, Guillo Carias, and Carlos Luis contributed to the other six compositions found on the recording. Since 2014, the DJP has performed at numerous festivals in the Dominican Republic and has toured performing at universities and jazz clubs across the United States. ​ The Dominican Jazz Project CD, Desde Lejos, was recorded remotely during the 2020-21 pandemic with members of the band living in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and North and South Carolina. Tragically, the longtime bassist for the DJP, Jeffry Eckels, unexpectedly passed away on July 3, 2020, right as the band was preparing to record. The band then experienced hospitalization or death of close family members during the pandemic, and the recording demonstrates how the group worked together (from "far away") daily using different home or professional studios to produce a new CD during that challenging time. Renowned Caribbean bassist, Ramon Vázquez, joined the group in 2020, soon after Jeffry's passing, and he has contributed a wealth of knowledge and experience to the band.