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| Severn Records Set To Re-release Two Albums From Jimmy Earl Severn Records announces a March 20 date for the re-release of two albums from exciting jazz fusion bassist Jimmy Earl: his self-titled CD and Stratosphere. Severn Records is distributed nationally by City Hall Records. Currently the bassist in the house band on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" TV show, Jimmy Earl has played and recorded with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Robben Ford and Italian vocalist/guitarist Pino Daniele. He's also played with The Crusaders, Lonnie Liston Smith, Ramsey Lewis, Gato Barbieri and Jonathan Butler. Originally released in 1995, Jimmy Earl features the bass player backed by such stellar musicians as Frank Gambale (guitar), Mitchel Forman (piano), David Batteau (vocals), Deron Johnson (electric piano), Gary Novak (drums), Rique Pantoja (electric piano), Randy Roos (guitar) Steve Tavaglione (horns) and Dave Weckl (drums). In addition to many original songs, Jimmy Earl includes the great Steve Swallow's "Falling Grace, " along with Earl's solo bass rendition of Maurice Ravel's "Pavane Pour une Infante Defunte." According to Jimmy Earl, "I first heard this song on a classical guitarist Julian Bream record when I studied classical guitar as a kid. I constructed this arrangement on bass while I passed the time during long days on the road with various funk bands." On Stratosphere, Jimmy Earl creates a sonic tapestry of sounds, using his love of computers and electronic music while mixing them with jazz and the sounds of techno as well as drum and bass. Originally released in 1999, Stratosphere features several of the musicians from his earlier CD, as well as such players as renowned British drummer Simon Phillips, singer Josie Aiello and John Beasley on Fender Rhodes piano. Among its 10 mostly original tracks is the song "For Joe (Sample), " a salute to the iconic keyboardist of The Crusaders. Jimmy Earl was born in Boston and attended Berklee College of Music as well as the New England Conservatory of Music. In 1986, Earl moved to New York City, where he joined the Jazz Explosion, which backed up Gato Barbieri, Angela Bofill, Tom Browne, Stanley Clarke, Freddie Hubbard and Stanley Turrentine. Legendary bass player Stanley Clarke would become his friend and mentor, and asked Jimmy to join his "Three Bassists" tour of Brazil, with Clarke and Larry Graham. An invitation from another legend, Joe Sample, resulted in his being asked to tour with The Crusaders in the U.S., Europe and Japan in 1986-87. In 1988, Earl relocated to Los Angeles and recorded on two acclaimed Stanley Clarke albums, If This Bass Could Talk and East River Drive (an album on which Earl is also credited with helping to compose the song, "I'm Home Africa"). In 1990, he recorded on two albums with the Mark Varney Project alongside guitarists Allan Holdsworth and Frank Gambale, also adding his arranging and production skills to the second album, Centrifugal Funk. 1993, Earl replaced John Patitucci in Chick Corea's Elektric Band, touring, recording and composing on several albums, including Elektric Band II: Paint the World, which was nominated for the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. That was followed with other collaborations on albums with such celebrated artists as Italian superstar singer/guitarist Pino Daniele, guitar wizards Steve Vai and Pat Metheny and vocalists extraordinaire The Manhattan Transfer. As a later member of Robben Ford's band, Earl toured and recorded on several albums, including Truth, which not only was nominated for the 2008 Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album, but also became the number one album on the Billboard blues chart. When he's not performing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!, " Jimmy Earl can often be heard playing at a number of L.A. area clubs such as The Baked Potato. write your comments about the article :: © 2012 Jazz News :: home page |