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| Emma Alabaster Releases Her Debut Release Proliferate Music announced their debut release, Emma Alabaster's In the Third Generation the Daughter's Are Free. The release is being distributed digitally through popular online retailers such as iTunes, eMusic, Amie Street, Amazon, and others. Alabaster's album represents a unique voice in New York City's underground jazz community. Coming across like an autobiographical concept album for the downtown scene, the compositions presented here are focused around Alabaster's bass playing, singing, and spoken word writing. However the album is also grounded in the forward thinking improvisational work displayed by Emma and her sympathetic band, which features Jim Bertini on drums, Alex Carter on tenor saxophone, and Jonathan Nocera on electric guitar. In addition, the band is joined by Ian Turner on two tracks, who contributes vocals and laptop manipulations. Proliferate Music is a self-proclaimed 'independent record label for the fringe.' While this first release seems to fall somewhere in the 'downtown' jazz scene, the label intends to release music across a wide variety of genre's; Alabaster's soon-to-be label mates will include Squiggle, an electronic experimentalist, and StickLips, a quirky acid-folk band. Emma Alabaster performs frequently in New York City with her band and other projects. The record release was celebrated with a show at Brooklyn's IBEAM. About Emma Alabaster Emma Alabaster works in New York City as a musician and an educator. She is happy playing in many genres and settings, but most comfortable as an improviser. Emma grew up in Brooklyn with lots of music in the house... as a fetus listening to John Coltrane (through headphones on her mother's belly); as a kid singing alto in public school and camp choruses, performing Broadway musicals and jazz standards with her father at the piano, belting Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro, and Donny Hathaway with her mother in her car and dancing to Earth Wind and Fire and Stevie Wonder in front of their kitchen window; and as a teen at Laguardia High School where she made the crucial decision to study bass. Emma continued her bass-immersion at Bard College under the auspices of Erica Lindsay, John Esposito, Ira Coleman and Kenny Davis. She has experience playing jazz, blues, gospel/ r&b, open improvisation, rock, "world music" (Desi music, Tango, Calypso, Afro-Cuban music), folk, and western classical music. Emma also has experience collaborating with other art-forms and teaching music from many different angles to many different ages. write your comments about the article :: © 2009 Jazz News :: home page |