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After several appearances as a guest with guitarist Dave Stryker’s Organ Trio, saxophonist Bob Mintzer, who serves as the principal conductor for the WDR Big Band of Cologne, Germany, had the idea to arrange some of Dave’s music to feature him with the ensemble. Bob thought Stryker’s hip take of ‘70s pop tunes from his Eight Track series as well as his originals would be a good fit for the dynamic big band. In March of last year, Dave was invited to Germany for a week of rehearsals, recording and performing with the WDR Big Band, the result of which is the new CD, “Blue Soul.”
The United States has been in the midst of foreign military engagements nearly every year since guitarist and composer Joel Harrison’s birth in 1957. This endless state of war has had lasting impacts on the country’s well being, and far reaching repercussions on generations of soldiers and their families. Harrison’s new large ensemble recording, “America at War,” is a musical meditation on a lifetime of armed conflicts conducted by the United States.
Also this week, saxophonist and composer Alexa Tarantino offers up her second release as a leader for Posi-Tone Records, “Clarity”;
the trio La Lucha is joined by special guests Ken Peplowski on clarinet, Chuck Redd on vibes, and saxophonists Melissa Aldana and Houston Person on “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”;
and “Look for the Light” marks the first release for bassist Jeff Reed as a leader, a collection of standards and original material inspired by the birth of his son in 2011.