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David Smith
His debut album as a leader, “Circumstance”, was released in October of 2006 on the Fresh Sound New Talent label (FSNT 267), and features his original compositions and an outstanding quintet featuring Seamus Blake on tenor, Nate Radley on guitar, David Ephross on bass and the ubiquitous Mark Ferber on drums. While the roots of his music are in classic jazz, he combines elements of classical harmony and counterpoint resulting in a very original compositional style. His approach to the trumpet is also unique, intervallic and harmonically sophisticated yet lyrical and emotional.
In addition to his own recording, he is featured as a sideman on a number of other recordings for Fresh Sound New Talent (Alan Ferber Nonet, Delphian Jazz Orchestra) Steeplechase (Kim Bock Quartet, Russ Spiegel Sextet) and Interplay Records (Cecilia Coleman Quintet) as well as several independent releases (Paul Carlon Octet, Sarah Lynch, Numinous). He has also recorded for national broadcasts on CBC Radio in Canada and Denmarks Radio in Denmark. He has played in many of New York’s finest jazz clubs including the Blue Note, the Jazz Standard, Smalls, Cornelia St. Cafe and 55 Bar, as well as clubs in Canada, France, Denmark, Sweden and Haiti. David has a Master of Arts Degree in Jazz Performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music in New York, and is an adjunct faculty member at CUNY Staten Island..
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Earl MacDonald: Consecrated
by Dan Bilawsky
The searching spirit that drives the work of composer and pianist Earl MacDonald is both a reflection on musical curiosity and, to a deeper extent, a statement of faith. Bringing both of those identity-shaping aspects to the fore like never before, MacDonald uses Consecrated to work toward a higher purpose. Reshaping and resetting a series of traditional hymns in sophisticated yet accessible fashion, he conveys the core values of his Christian beliefslove, kindness, charitywith class and creative purpose.
read moreMike Fahie Jazz Orchestra: Urban(e)
by Dan Bilawsky
There's a rocky history surrounding jazz-classical hybrids. But, in truth, that has little to do with any potential incompatibility. Instead, it's usually misguided maneuvering and/or an excessive show of dominant traits from one side or the other that mars said unions. When done right a wedding of those worlds can truly birth brilliance. Just listen to Urban(e) for proof. Noted trombonist, composer, arranger and educator Mike Fahie's unabashed love for classical music and jazz is clear and ...
read moreArturo O'Farrill: Four Questions
by Jerome Wilson
Surprisingly this set marks the first time Arturo O'Farrill has recorded a set of solely his own compositions. It was worth the wait because this music, played by his Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, really demonstrates the cinematic sweep and variety of his writing. The set is constructed around two topical extended works. The first, Four Questions," is based on four questions about the struggle for human rights and personal dignity first posed by African-American author W.E.B. DuBois in ...
read moreMike Fahie Jazz Orchestra: Urban(e)
by Jack Bowers
Most Western music, irrespective of its origin and premise, inhabits the same harmonic, chordal and rhythmic universe. So it should not be surprising that classical music, in the hands of a skilled arranger, can be readily recast in a jazz idiom, even one that is housed within a big-band framework. On Urban(e), trombonist Mike Fahie's New York-based Jazz Orchestra braves that challenge, quickening Fahie's translations of works by Frederic Chopin, Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Bela Bartok, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and ...
read moreArturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra: Four Questions
by Jack Bowers
The Four Questions addressed by composer / pianist Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra on its latest album were first posed in 1903 by W.E.B. DuBois in his book The Souls of Black Folk and are answered herein by the esteemed educator / historian / social activist Dr. Cornel West. For the record, the questions are what does integrity do in the face of adversity and oppression, what does honesty do in the face of lies and deception, what does ...
read morePeter Hum: Ordinary Heroes
by Edward Blanco
Canadian jazz pianist Peter Hum has been a fixture and mainstay on the Ottawa jazz scene for three decades. A journalist by profession, covering education, crime and city hall for the Ottawa Citizen, a social conscious and music, have always been driving forces in his life. His third album as leader, Ordinary Heroes contains ten original compositions all inspired by his social and political concerns in today's society and, as such, is dedicated to those to whom we all owe ...
read morePeter Hum: Ordinary Heroes
by Dan Bilawsky
The ideals of promise and hope, and the desire to create a better world and drive out the darkness, need not be fueled or forwarded by the extraordinary. As George Takei, the legendary actor-cum-activist once noted in referencing the individuals who provided succor during the horrors of the Japanese-American internment camps of World War II, it's often the ordinary heroes" who light the way. Taking inspiration from Takei's words, pianist Peter Hum uses his third album as ...
read moreBrooklyn Jazz Underground Records to Release Anticipation, the New Recording from Trumpeter/Composer David Smith
Source:
Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity
BROOKLYN JAZZ UNDERGROUND RECORDS To Release ANTICIPATION, The New Recording From Trumpeter/Composer DAVID SMITH (Available May 25 on, digital release date is May 4) Featuring Kenji Omae (sax), Nate Radley (guitar), Gary Wang (bass) & Greg Ritchie (drums) CD Release Celebration - May 4 @ The Cornelia Street Cafe! David Smith's lyricism and sincerity of line and inflection combines well with his expanded sense of intervallic melodic construction. The result is a style rich in content, engaging emotionally and rich ...
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Music
Be Still, My Soul
From: ConsecratedBy David Smith
Spare Hearts
From: Ordinary HeroesBy David Smith