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| Miles Okazaki at The 55 Bar In celebration and support of his debut recording, Mirror, guitarist and composer Miles Okazaki will be appearing at The 55 Bar on Sunday, December 3. This will be the first performance in a series of concerts to celebrate Okazaki's long-awaited debut. Okazaki, who was the runner up in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 2005, will be joined on stage by an unbelievable band, featuring Miguel Zenon (alto sax), David Binney (alto sax), Christof Knoche (reeds), Jon Flaugher (bass) and Dan Weiss (drums). "Mirror is a landmark in recorded guitar literature. It represents a unique blending of jazz and world music, flawlessly executed by the best and brightest young jazz musicians of today. Miles' compositions are rich and complex, filling the mind with visions and ideas, while at the same time, they are drenched with soulfulness and feeling through his amazing guitar artistry. Mirror is a must for anyone who wants to catch the musical wave of the future. For musicians, it should be studied as an example of guitar, compositional, and musical genius, woven together in a tapestry of sound. I have found Mirror to be inspiring and motivating as a player and a listener. You will too" --Rodney Jones For the recording of Mirror, Okazaki assembled his quintet which had been rehearsing and performing his compositions for several years, and augmented it with two more musicians, David Binney and Chris Potter. The recording is a fifteen-part suite which represents the first documentation of the unusual musical synthesis that is Okazaki's musical-visual-literary language. "I've been impressed with Miles Okazaki since I first had the opportunity to play with him last year at the Thelonious Monk competition. To me, he represents the essence of why jazz is alive and well. He's thoroughly grounded in the roots & traditions but not afraid to explore the far reaches of new & creative ideas. So I was eager to check out his new CD and was delighted to discover all the fascinating and adventurous new music it contains. Now I'm even more of a fan and highly recommend that you check it out!"--Bob James write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |