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| Greg Skaff Releases Instrumental Jazz CD East Harlem Skyline Gregg Skaff brings the harmony of life and expertise to every song he creates. Just as they were on his previous release on Zoho Music, Ellington Boulevard, the spirits of guitar and organ trios of the past are honored with the new release East Harlem Skyline. Skaff creates a bevy of tasteful originals while paying tribute to legendary artists such as Strayhorn, Shorter, and modern day alternative performers as Fionna Apple. The soulful funkiness of the Hammond organ comes pouring through with energy and harkens back to the day that Booker T & The MGs where making the use of the organ more of the standard rather than the added piece of equipment that filled in the holes of a track. Skaff takes the listener on a jazz-blues fusion excursion that is hard to forget. With a crackerjack band to help him push the songs along the musical tracks, all 10 tracks are satisfying slices of instrumental sounds at their finest, drawing inspiration from a wellspring of jazz and blues. A native of Kansas, Skaff picked up the guitar at age 16 after becoming enthralled by George Benson's It's Uptown album. He then studied music at Wichita State for three semesters. With a deep passion for performing jazz, blues, and rock in Wichita clubs, he paid homage during that time to such visiting jazz luminaries as Lou Donaldson, Lonnie Smith, and Jack McDuff and quickly realized his dream of becoming a top-flight jazz guitarist would best be served by leaving the Midwest for the jazz world's capital city—NYC. Upon his arrival in the Big Apple Skaff performed with the legendary R & B vocalist Ruth Brown until her passing in 2006. With this to propel his career it comes as no surprise that Greg Skaff is a success every time he steps into the studio and East Harlem Skyline is no exception. Along with an excellent group of tracks, the East Harlem Skyline CD cover is unique. The cover features the Lenticular Printing process, which gives the eye various pleasing 3-D looks and an illusion of depth effect dependent on which way you hold the CD. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |