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Gary Funk releases his 'Such Is Love' Jazz Album

Gary Funk's interpretations of jazz songs by Eric Funk and Paul Turner are now available on: http://cdbaby.com/garyfunk. The players include Eric Funk on piano, Alan Fauque on saxophones and Kelly Roberti on upright acoustic bass.

ABOUT THE SONGS. The music tracks are in vocal and instrumental pairs:Your Image (tracks 1 and 2) - It's about loveliness that you admire from a distance on a regular basis at a train station, bus stop or ice cream stand. Next season, she or he may be elsewhere. Come Take Me in Style (tracks 3 and 4) - If we could get away together from our day to day, we could ruin the day. Ruby Days (tracks 5 and 6) - It's all about love in college, with broad horizons. Stake Out (tracks 7 and 8) - Where is commitment that leaves before the middle of our days? Résumé Love (tracks 9 and 10) - It's all about falling in love with a résumé. Bounding (tracks 11 and 12) - It's about finding the love of your life.

Gary Funk's elegant stylings are always evident in his jazz performances. In 1975 Gary recorded an album of his vocal jazz arrangements, "A Vocal Jazz Reunion", on which he performs. For many years, he has mentored young jazz singers in jazz ensembles at universities throughout the United States.

Gary is currently an Associate Professor of Music at The University of Montana where he serves as conductor of the Jubileers, the institution's only vocal jazz ensemble. As part of his teaching responsibilities over the years, Gary has conducted, composed and arranged music that largely involves the classical genre but also represents significant involvements with vocal jazz.

All true loves are represented on this album: Afro-Cuban rhythms, ballads, bossa novas and swing tunes.

Praising Eric Funk and Alan Fauque in the December 2007 supplement of Le Jazz Hot (France), who are members of the quartet Backburner, Michel Bedin wrote about the Backburner album Azure: "Backburner plays a rhythmical, classical, yet contemporary jazz. Eric Funk, the pianist has an intricate and studied approach that is anything but funk, in spite of his name ... The bassist, Eddie Tsuru, is the glue for this ensemble and enables the alto sax player, Alain Fauque, to move in and out freely." (translated by Christopher Pinet) For more information about Eric Funk, visit: http://www.ericfunk.com

Kelly Roberti's prodigious and virtuosic bass performance has been heralded as both tenacious and groundbreaking. He performs in group settings and solo outings. Listeners applaud his playing as "... an original and soulful improviser with chops almost unheard of until now ..." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) "... earthy and meticulous bassist whose lines underpin the ensemble with roots and flair ... an heir apparent to the late Charles Mingus." (LA Reader). For more information about Kelly Roberti, visit: http://www.kelly-roberti.com

Lyricist Paul Turner has also collaborated with Alan Dickson, Paula Diehl, Stephen Feigenbaum, and Larry Alan Smith. Composer Eric Funk has written, "I can't exactly say what it is about Paul's writing - its illusiveness and buoyancy, perhaps ... the writing is 'rare', which speaks to the fact that Paul's work is singular, poignant, targeting the affective domain of the brain.



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