FRESH SOUND/NEW TALENT RELEASES GUITARIST JAMIE STEWARDSON'S EXCEPTIONAL NEW CD JHAPTAL
Stewardson with Tony Malaby, Alexei Tsiganov, John
Hebert and
George Schuller
Contact: Ann
Braithwaite
ann@bkmusicpr.com
Fresh Sound New Talent is pleased to announce the release of Jhaptal, guitarist Jamie Stewardson's second CD as a leader. The CD features Stewardson with his quintet - Tony Malaby on tenor sax, Alexei Tsiganov on vibes, and John Hebert on bass, and George Schuller on drums - in a set of nine originals drawing upon Stewardson's wide interests and experiences in subtle and surprising ways. Mahavishnu's "Vision of the Emerald Beyond", Gustav Mahler's "Kindertotenlieder", Arnold Schoenberg's dodecaphonics, Ornette Coleman's harmolodics, and music of the Indian subcontinent, all echo within the music.
ann@bkmusicpr.com
Fresh Sound New Talent is pleased to announce the release of Jhaptal, guitarist Jamie Stewardson's second CD as a leader. The CD features Stewardson with his quintet - Tony Malaby on tenor sax, Alexei Tsiganov on vibes, and John Hebert on bass, and George Schuller on drums - in a set of nine originals drawing upon Stewardson's wide interests and experiences in subtle and surprising ways. Mahavishnu's "Vision of the Emerald Beyond", Gustav Mahler's "Kindertotenlieder", Arnold Schoenberg's dodecaphonics, Ornette Coleman's harmolodics, and music of the Indian subcontinent, all echo within the music.
Stewardson's interest in Indian music
emerges on "Jhaptal," which uses a 10 beat rhythmic cycle. He says that
Schoenberg's serial music ideas inspired his approach to many of these
compositions. But Stewardson felt free to bend the strict rules
governing tone rows if doing so resulted in a melody, a bass line, or a
harmony he liked. Tunes like "Combinatoriality" and "T Can Shuffle" are
serial music with a human face, in which the needs of the heart count
for as much as the inventions of the mind. The melody of "Dig Muse" is
drawn out to extreme length without ever losing its interest or sense of
direction. In several of the tunes, such as "Bubbles" and "Rest Area,"
he layers lines, creating fascinating internal tensions for the players
to work with as they solo. Stewardson sets the pace as a soloist with
his bold sound and sure sense of spontaneous melody. You can hear his
youthful infatuation with rock and his admiration of John McLaughlin in
his big, bright, assertive tone. It's tempered by his understanding of
jazz interaction and a keen sense of color and dynamics, so he's an
uplifting presence, a goad to more joyful playing.
When he took up the guitar at 15, like most kids that age, Stewardson dreamed of rock stardom. But listening to Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever drew him inexorably into the world of jazz. He pursued his music education at the University of Northern Colorado, Berklee College of Music, the Banff Jazz Workshop (where he studied with John Abercrombie), and later earned his Master's in jazz composition from Boston's New England Conservatory, where Joe Maneri and Mick Goodrick further broadened his horizons. Stewardson is currently a member of the faculty at the New England Conservatory Preparatory School. He also plays guitar and bass with The David Zoffer Differential, performs with his own groups, and cites the influences of Geri Allen, Dave Holland and Maria Schneider in his jazz composition efforts. It says something about Stewardson's innate open-mindedness that he started his performing career aboard a cruise ship backing pop and soul oldies acts such as The O'Jays, The Temptations, Patti Page, and The Drifters, yet he wound up playing with George Russell, Jimmy Guiffre, and Mat Maneri, as well as the musicians on this CD.
The players on Jhaptal include some of the best jazz musicians on the East Coast. Tony Malaby is one of New York's most in-demand saxophonists. He's worked in bands led by Paul Motian, Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, Tim Berne, Mark Helias, and many others, in addition to leading his own groups. Bassist John Hebert is likewise well traveled in New York jazz circles, having worked with Maria Schneider, Andrew Hill, Greg Osby, and Roy Campbell, among others. He is the co-leader along with pianist Russ Lossing and saxophonist Adam Kolker of Change of Time, a trio dedicated to exploring the music of Bela Bartok. Drummer George Schuller was a longtime fixture on the Boston jazz scene before moving to New York in 1994. Since then, he's worked with musicians ranging from Britt Woodman and Mose Allison, to Lee Kontiz, Danilo Perez, and Michael Musillami. Alexei Tsiganov, an awarding winning jazz vibraphonist in Russia, moved to Boston to study with Gary Burton at the Berklee College of Music. He performs regularly in NYC with Norman Headman's Tropique, and has performed with Boston and New York area musicians such as Bob Moses, Bruce Gertz, Dave Clark, Claudio Roditi, Avery Sharpe and Chico Freeman.