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| Pianist Chris Rottmayer is joined by Rufus Reid, Russ Johnson and Matt Endres Rottmayer is a freelance jazz artist, composer, and jazz educator who calls Madison, WI his home. Two of his previous releases, So in Love and Sunday at Pilars, both spent considerable time on the Jazzweek jazz albums chart, reached #1 on the Roots Music Report's jazz album chart, and Sunday at Pilars was the #1 overall jazz album on the RMR chart's 2021 year end jazz album chart. Besides his freelance jazz work, Rottmayer is also a Lecturer of Music Theory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Being is a collection of original music, written as part of a study of the jazz pianist Mulgrew Miller and his recordings with the Woody Shaw Quintet. Detailing the narrative, Rottmayer says "I transcribed Miller's playing and used his and Shaw's language as inspiration for the creative work behind Being. With the help of my mentors Peter Dominquez (Professor of Bass, UW-Madiosn) and Johannes Wallmann (Director of Jazz Studies and Professor of Jazz Piano, UW-Madison) I was able to connect with Rufus Reid. Reid collaborated often with Miller, and recording with Reid has helped me to connect with Miller on a level deeper than I could through listening to recordings or through personal study." Being contains five compositions that are part of the Miller study and five of Rottmayer's previously unrecorded originals written about the city of Paris. "On The Street Where Woody Lives" is a contrafact of a contrafact. Shaw wrote "Green St. Caper" as his own version of the standard "On Green Dolphin Street." Rottmayer's tune is inspired by Miller's language and Shaw's harmony. "Re-United" takes the Wayne Shorter tune "United, " famously recorded by Shaw and Miller, and places it in 4/4 time and with a new melody. Some formal elements are borrowed from Shaw's arrangement as well. "Autumn Evening" is an homage to Miller's beautiful ballad playing. "Song of Modes" plays off of Shaw's "Song of Songs" and explores more of Miller and Shaw's modal and harmonic concepts. "Ballerina Dance" is inspired by Shaw's "Katerina Ballerina" and is evocative of the exotic nature of Miller and Shaw's harmony and modality during this period of the Shaw quintet. The other five compositions are reflections of the city of Paris, France. "Pigalle" examines the famous former red-light district famous for its theater and entertainment. "Châtelet" attempts to recreate the chaotic nature of one of the busiest stations of the Paris Metro. "La Seizième" reflects the beautiful peaceful feeling of one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Paris, the 16th arrondissement. The beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower from the "Pont Neuf" was the impetus for the Rottmayer bossa nova of the same name. Finally, "Rue des Lombards" is one of the most famous streets for jazz music in Paris, home to several of the most famous French jazz clubs. TRACKS: 1.On The Street Where Woody Lives 6:37 2.Re-United 8:35 3.Pigalle 9:36 4.Châtelet 5:14 5.Autumn Evening 8:19 6.Song of Modes 8:15 7.Ballerina Dance 10:56 8.La Seizième 4:41 9.Pont Neuf 6:46 10.Rue des Lombards 7:18 Run time: 76:22 All compositions by Chris Rottmayer, Rottmayer Music, ASCAP PLAYERS, INSTRUMENT, TRACKS: Chris Rottmayer - piano Russ Johnson - trumpet and flugelhorn Matt Endres - drum set Rufus Reid - acoustic bass Tracking and Mixing: Audrey Martinovich, Audio for the Arts, Madison, WI Mastering: Justin Perkins, Mystery Room Mastering Art: Zacc Harris, Shifting Paradigm records Photography: Spencer Porter write your comments about the article :: © 2024 Jazz News :: home page |