Featured soloists: Carl Saunders, trumpet; Wayne Bergeron, trumpet; Pete Christlieb, tenor sax; Scott Whitfield, trombone; Rusty Higgins, saxes and flute; Christian Jacob, piano

The follow-up to Pillow’s critically acclaimed 2018 release contains an added section of French Horns to bring different colors to yet more relatively unknown 70’s era Miles’ music. The band features soloists from a who’s who of NYC musicians including tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene, trombonist Alan Ferber and trumpeters Scott Wendholt, Tim Hagans and Clay Jenkins as well as a stellar rhythm section.  As in the previous release, “Electric Miles”, this set of music comes from a particular period in Miles’ oeuvre; 1969-75. Some of these titles were represented merely as bass lines, and Miles would, in live performance, segue from one to the next by musical gestures from his trumpet. The band would follow him this way. His music from 1972 forward became somewhat chaotic, yet focused on energy and intense playing from the band. Players such as Chick Corea, Steve Grossman, Mtume, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland, John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Billy Hart, Dave Liebman, and many others were the driving force behind this mostly mis-understood music that helped usher in a new direction in jazz.

Featuring world-class violinist, Ben Powell, with Christian Jacob, Peter Erskine and Kevin Axt, the sixth volume in the New Jazz Standards series accomplishes several ambitious goals. Like the previous releases, it’s a striking affirmation that Carl Saunders possesses a deep, varied and exceptionally rich catalog of tunes ripe for interpretation by some of jazz’s most eloquent improvisers.

Vocals, Alto Sax, Piano – Matt Catingub

Fanfare – Five Stars: “…An excellent disc that offers a fine introduction to the multifaceted music of Joshua Nichols.”

Right out of the gate, the Monk-esque melody of the opening track, “Hubub” gets your attention. The rhythm section is poppin’ and swingin’ with truly great solos!

Nashville based, composer/bassist, Chris Mondak has played with some of the best across the globe – here he ‘lights it up’ with a quintet that is built to shine on an impressive playlist of originals!  Before moving to Nashville, Chris studied at the renowned New England Conservatory (B.M. 2020) working with Cecil McBee, Dave Holland, and Bob Moses. Prior to that, Chris trained with Larry Gray.

The Shakespeare Project – Deborah Shulman

The English Chamber Orchestra is the most recorded chamber orchestra in the world, its discography containing 860 recordings of over 1,500 works by more than 400 composers.

‘Of the recorded performances I know of the Mozart…I would pick the new Gateway Chamber Ensemble out of the pack, not only for its refined playing, but for finding that elusive balance between the music’s high-spirited playfulness and its sensuous soulfulness. Merriment and melancholy mix in matched measure in Mozart’s masterpiece…For wind playing par excellence, this release receives the strongest recommendation.’ -Fanfare

In one remarkable recording, pianist Robert Hamilton has gathered works by Ravel and Rachmaninov that not only show each composer at his best, but illustrate the heretofore unexamined relationship between them! Enclosed 4,400-word program notes explore the subject, including the inspirational and personal similarities between these two ostensibly dissimilar geniuses.The notes also reveal many little-known facts and unravel some longstanding mysteries surrounding these exciting and superbly executed compositions.