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| Josh Nelson - 'Let It Go' For his Native Language debut, Let It Go, Los Angeles-based pianist-composer-arranger-bandleader Josh Nelson assembled a stellar crew of respected New Yorkers (drummer Matt Wilson, tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake) and fellow L.A. jazz musicians (bassist Darek Oles, guitarist Anthony Wilson) to help him interpret several of his evocative originals. A wealth of influences can be heard on this ambitious outing, from classical to rock to jazz with subtle touches of Keith Jarrett, Brad Mehldau, Michel Petrucciani, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Greg Osby and The Bad Plus creeping into Nelson's playing and composing here. Conceptually, it's an incremental leap from the 28-year-old's self-produced first outing as a leader, 2004's Anticipation. "On that recording, the tunes are all originals but they're more in a Bill Evans-David Kikoski, -Kenny Kirkland kind of vibe", says Nelson, a semi-finalist in the 2006 Thelonious Monk Piano Competition. "It was a bit more straight ahead with more time and effort spent on soloing. With this new project I was trying to paint a little bit more of a picture compositionally." While there are flashes of soloistic brilliance throughout Let It Go, particularly by Blake and Nelson, it's the scope of Josh's fully-realized pieces and his attention to dynamics within each tune that most impresses here. "This recording showcases my writing style and the different avenues that I like to explore and not just 'play it safe' by making a record of just standards", says the accomplished composer-arranger who has also been the musical director for singer Sara Gazarek for the past three years. Born in Long Beach, he grew up around Los Angeles and soon became immersed in the L.A. jazz scene. During his high school years, Nelson received the Louis Armstrong Award, the John Phillip Sousa Award, as well as numerous "Outstanding Soloist Awards" at music competitions around the country. He attended Long Beach State University, where he studied with Cecilia Coleman. "She's probably my biggest influence as far as just getting going with my jazz playing", says Josh. "I studied with her for about five years and she taught me a lot of stuff. I still consider her my main mentor." While enrolled at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, he studied with Neil Olmstead, Tiger Okoshi and Kim Steiner. Nelson's other important mentors during his formative years in jazz were pianists Bill Cunliffe and Alan Pasqua. "Bill is coming from a place of compositional exploration, though he's still a very traditional player. He's also got quite a classical and film score appreciation and tries to bring that into his playing. And Alan was a huge influence as well. Some of his records like Milagro, where he used a larger ensemble on some stuff, made a big impression on me." Josh keeps a busy performance and recording schedule in Southern California, playing regularly with his own group around Los Angeles while also working as a highly sought-after accompanist for a number of vocalists, including Sara Gazarek, Annie Sellick, Natasha Miller, Susan Sinner and Rhiannon. He is currently a guest clinician for the Thelonious Monk Institute After School Jazz Program and a guest instructor for the UCLA Music Program. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |