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| Upcoming Release Alert February 5th, 2021 | Randal Despommier "Dio C’è" Alto saxophonist and composer Randal Despommier grew up in Metairie just outside New Orleans, with some of his first public performances at Mardi Gras parades alongside his dad, a trad-jazz drummer who studied with Crescent City icon James Black. The saxophonist was a punk-and-grunge-loving kid in his teenage years, while still playing funk, R&B and jazz gigs in New Orleans. Later, Despommier would direct church choirs and play organ for services in Boston, and he eventually earned his D.M.A. at the New England Conservatory. Now 38, and based in New York City since 2013, he recorded and toured a 2018 duo album with kindred-spirit keyboardist Jason Yeager, All at Onceness ("compelling, " according to the Boston Globe; "sumptuous, " said KUCI-FM). Now, Despommier has encapsulated his many-faceted musical world with his debut album as a leader, Dio C'è. Co-produced by the altoist alongside famed Yellow Jackets bassist Jimmy Haslip, Dio C'è showcases Despommier's original compositions as well as an improv-laced re-imagining of the Stone Temple Pilots grunge hit "Big Empty, " which features fiery guest guitar by Ben Monder – the renowned avant-jazz figure who played on David Bowie's final album, Blackstar. Dio C'è will be released via CD, download and streaming by Outside in Music on February 5, 2021. More About The Artist: Likened to a "Rimbaud hipster" (The Rest is Jazz), Randal Despommier's music imageis a genres-and -centuries spanning amalgam of jazz, blues, and western classical idioms, resulting in a distinct twenty first-century compositional voice. Since moving to New York City in 2013, Despommier, a native of Metairie, Louisiana, has become a part of the New York jazz scene, performing in the Williamsburg Music Center, Cornelia Street Café, The Cell Theater, and other NYC jazz havens. write your comments about the article :: © 2020 Jazz News :: home page |