“…The late Whitney Balliett dubbed jazz as "the sound of surprise". Well, Jack Walrath surprises us here on every selection. He deals in the unexpected and delivers it to us with a flowing flourish - and no concessions.” (Mark Gardner- from the linernotes) “Jack Walrath not only displays tremendous trumpet playing, a rich and varied approach to composition and wonderful band, he also puts something into this fantastic CD that's missing from too much new jazz: a sense of fun and humor. That's not to say that it isn't sensitive and touching at times—"An Hour Blessed" is arguably as gorgeous as anything ever recorded…” (Francis Lo Kee – allaboutjazz-New York)

Stephen Riley’s new album stands out as his first ever ensemble with piano. Riley, a true individualist with an amazing, warm and soft sound selects the classic jazz repertoire to assemble this outstanding display of personal statement. “Stephen is an impressive player, with his own approach, his own sound and the conviction to keep it that way: he shows that it's possible to create something unique at this time. 5 Stars." (Lew Tabackin / Downbeat Blindfold Test April 2009 )

Richard Doron Johnson, making his jazz debut album here, is an accomplished artist with degrees from Berklee School of Music, Boston Conservatory and Thelonious Monk Institute. Johnson has appeared on several of Christian Winther's CDs for SteepleChase. On this trio set he showcases his great talent both as performer and composer.

Bassist/composer Scott Lee has been leading a group of close musical friends and associates, including the three creative sidemen on this session, to experiment in different forms and with new ways of improvising at intensive workshop sessions for the past decade in New York. Bill Smith of JazzTimes comments on Lee’s previous release “One Thought” (SCCD 31649),”Leader and bassist Scott Lee offers simple yet thought-provoking music on the aptly titled One Thought… . Those who feel that jazz is losing its creative edge should hear this album and other basically mainstream offerings of the last few years.”

Andrew Rathbun’s fourth leader album on SteepleChase reflects his musical ideas inspired by fellow Canadian Glenn Gould and looks into the implication of his homeland Canada on his music. “… he displays his growing maturity as a player and more of his acclaimed talents as composer/arranger.” (Mark Corroto, Allabout Jazz–NY on his previous release SCCD 31665 Where We Are Now) “The result is consistently thoughtful, well-crafted music in a mature idiom.” (Ken Dryden, Allabout Jazz–NY on SCCD 31589 Shadow Forms)

A sequel to the highly successful SCCD 31588 “Oatts & Perry I”, on which Thomas Conrad of JazzTimes commented, “…Harold Danko played with Oatts and Perry in the Thad Jones–Mel Lewis Orchestra and always wanted them in his own band. This album is a true sleeper, a blowing date on which the blowing is epic and the date is beautifully planned and recorded.” "Rich Perry is that rarest of tenor saxophonists — a complete musician." (Donald Elfman , Allabout Jazz–NY) "… Dick Oatts is an uncompromising jazz musician, one who possesses monster chops without trumpeting them… " (Owen Cordle, JazzTimes)

Dick Oatts, as shown in his “Standard Issue” (SCCD 31439) and its squeal “Standard Issue volume 2 (SCCD 31482), cherishes tunes from the great American songwriters of the 20th century. For this new album Dick Oatts compiles a collection of evergreen “love songs” mostly written in the 40s. “….Longtime lead alto man with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Oatts comes from the Paul Desmond-Lee Konitz school of saxophone playing. But a sweet sound and a cerebral approach to improvising comprise only part of his style. There's also a trim muscularity in his tone and lines. And the lines can be quite angular and oblique at times. I don't hear any other alto man playing with all these qualities these days.” (On SCCD 31511 “South Paw” / Owen Cordle – JazzTimes)

Peter Zak has chosen for this his sixth album a quartet format for the first time. Saxophonist Walt Weiskopf who works regularly with Peter Zak enhances Zak’s imaginative and intelligent approach to music. Karla Cornejo Villavicencio wrote for AllAboutJazz-NY, “For Tomorrow (SCCD 31592) is chameleonic to the point of being startling. It is organic and tight, with no loose chords and no loose strings. It's the sort of satisfaction for pure spontaneity that setting your iPod on shuffle would never justly accomplish. You find yourself tapping your foot long after the last note is played, and the resonance is as striking as the music.”

Guitarist/composer/bandleader Pierre Dørge introduced his New Jungle Orchestra for the first time in Music Café in Copenhagen on September 24, 1980. Since then Dørge has been in the pursuit of “sometimes outlandish adventures” (The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD – sixth edition) for his vibrant, creative almost big band. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of successful, truly global musical group Pierre Dørge presents NJO with each member with a new piece to perform. “So after 30 years, 21 albums, scores of scores (actually upward of 800), hundreds of concerts, countries galore, tens of thousands of miles, Pierre Dørge and New Jungle Orchestra are still going strong; even stronger than ever. A generation of music-making continues to expand for the pleasure of a truly global audience.” (Mark Gardner – from the liner notes)

Since his recording debut (1995) with Activism (SCCD 31382), George Colligan has proven to be a leading instrumentalist / composer of the younger generation, whose prolific outputs since received international acclaim from both critics and public. On this new release – third solo album on the label, Mark Gardner remarks, “…this particular release, to my ears, is of greater significance as it reveals the unalloyed core of his music and the man's ultimate self-reliance.“

The final set of the dazzling live recording of Rich Perry Quartet at New York’s famous jazz lounge at the Kitano Hotel puts slightly more weight on jazz originals. “… a quartet of talented musicians playing well-worn standards can still come up with renditions startling in their freshness and artistic relevance.” ( Matthew Miller of allaboutjazz )

SteepleChase proudly introduces a new trumpet star Jason Palmer, the winner of the First prize of 2009 Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition. Jason makes his SteepleChase debut with his quintet, which has been serving as the house band at Boston’s historical Wally’s Jazz Café since 2001. “…Jason Palmer reveals a singular originality that surely places him among the foremost brass players of his generation.” (Mark Gardner – from the liner notes)

Gregory Tardy comes back to the recording scene with this strong performance after three-year hiatus. On Tardy’s earlier release “Truth” (SCCD 31583), AAJ-NY’s Matthew Miller commented: “Of the many stars to have emerged on the jazz horizon during the '90s, one of the most disciplined, emotive and perhaps underrated is the multifaceted Gregory Tardy .… With this release, his first on SteepleChase, Tardy takes another step toward establishing himself as one of the most important saxophonists of his generation.

As the title of this SteepleChase debut album ”Little Green Men” suggests, vibraphonist Michael Pinto presents us a unique jazz universe hugely inspired by his love of science fiction movie themes. A graduate of Berklee College of Music Michael Pinto, now 29 is a "vital newcomer” (AllAboutJazz) on New York scene. “… Many jazz listeners may not be familiar with the works of Brad Fiedel, Bear McCreary and Wendy Carlos, but their compositions, outside the galactic space they were written for, stand up well beyond their usual comfort zone, and Michael has skilfully adapted these themes to a jazz setting, showing they can serve as a good basis for improvisation.” (Mark Gardner – from the liner notes)

One of the greatest American jazz pianists Stanley Cowell has been more active as a dedicated educator than a recording artist in the last 10 years. Cowell now makes his recording comeback to delight us with his finest works. “ After more than a decade away from the recording studios, that fine and highly-regarded pianist/composer Stanley Cowell returns, and at the same time unveils a shining bright talent in his 20-year-old daughter Sunny, a fresh-sounding vocalist and accomplished viola player ” (Mark Gardner – from the liner notes)

Abercrombie/LaVerne partnership goes back in the 60s when both musicians studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston. The duo released a number of studio sessions on SteepleChase in the past decades but this time their exciting concert from Baruch University, NY is captured live. JazzTimes’ Jim Ferguson commented on their earlier release SCCD 31538 “Timeline”: “Although John Abercrombie has done his fair share of experimentation over the years, at the heart of his work is a musicality-as evident throughout Timeline… pianist Andy LaVerne joins Abercrombie for a musical celebration of the influential, historic collaborations between Jim Hall and Bill Evans,… Abercrombie and LaVerne bring their own values and sensibilities to bear throughout the set .… ”

A long-waited album by pianist/composer Ledgerwood finds her in her most creative music making. “The native of a very small town in Ohio, pianist LeeAnn Ledgerwood is part of an ever growing contingency of extremely talented jazz musicians of the female persuasion … first crack at a piano trio record. Ultimately, it proves to be one of the best of its kind in recent memory. …” (Andrew Hovan – AAJ-NY on SCCD 31468 ”Transition”)

This CD features some of the most distinctive personalities in the contemporary New York scene including the legendary Daniel Carter (sax, trumpet) who has been a leading light in the avant-garde since the early 70s and has featured on well over 100 recordings. Claire DeBrunner is an accomplished bassoonist with a classical as well as jazz training, and is one of very few musicians to play the bassoon in improvisational music. Ken Silverman plays guitar and hand percussion, and bassist Tom Zlabinger is an ever present in the free jazz worlds of New York and Vienna. (Detailed bios: click 'artist profile' above). on this album the quartet aim to create a freely improvised chamber-music-like sound without drums, allowing for total rhythmic flexibility and sonic complexity. Although the music can become intense it's general tendency is towards the delicate, subtle and intimate. A warm sound for warm evenings.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Pierre Dørge and his New Jungle Orchestra are celebrating their 30th anniversary this month. To commemorate this milestone of the NJO history, SteepleChase is proud to announce the special release of this 5-CD set of material recorded originally for Olufsen Records during the period 1988 to 1994. The original tapes were used for re-mastering to improve the sound quality. The set includes 7 previously unissued tracks.

One For Reedus, Dave Stryker’s first recording for the label since the 2003 set “Strike Up The Band” (released in 2008) is also Dave’s return to a format that was so much part of his musical development on moving to New York in the early 1980s - the guitar/organ/drums combination. The Dave Stryker Organ Trio has been a working band for the past several years. This album is dedicated to the band’s great drummer Tony Reedus who passed away early 2009, who was very much involved in this project. “The album has a definite polish: Nils Winther's production is of a very high quality, and each of the four musicians plays with a distinctive and clear sound…..” (Jay Deshpande on Strike Up The Band SCCD31637 – AllAboutJazz)

Trumpeter Marcus Printup focuses on displaying his lyrical side on this latest “Ballad only” album. His full sound which has a vocal quality suits the material perfectly. “In "Ballads - All Night" he reveals yet another facet of his keen musical insight and appreciation. In the process he will delight confirmed fans and listeners new to his art.” (Mark Gardner from the liner notes) SCCD 31679 Dave Stryker Trio "One For Reedus" One For Reedus, Dave Stryker’s first recording for the label since the 2003 set “Strike Up The Band” (released in 2008) is also Dave’s return to a format that was so much part of his musical development on moving to New York in the early 1980s - the guitar/organ/drums combination. The Dave Stryker Organ Trio has been a working band for the past several years. This album is dedicated to the band’s great drummer Tony Reedus who passed away early 2009, who was very much involved in this project. “The album has a definite polish: Nils Winther's production is of a very high quality, and each of the four musicians plays with a distinctive and clear sound…..” (Jay Deshpande on Strike Up The Band SCCD31637 – AllAboutJazz) SCCD 31681 Marcus Printup Quintet "Ballads - All Night" Trumpeter Marcus Printup focuses on displaying his lyrical side on this latest “Ballad only” album. His full sound which has a vocal quality suits the material perfectly. “In "Ballads - All Night" he reveals yet another facet of his keen musical insight and appreciation. In the process he will delight confirmed fans and listeners new to his art.” (Mark Gardner from the liner notes)

Following up the intriguing 2009 SteepleChase debut album “Blue Light” (SCCD 31662) shedding lights on compositions of Gigi Gryce, saxophonist/composer Chris Byars with his quintet features legendary vibraphonist Teddy Charles, in an attractive program including his own compositions together with works by Donald Byrd, a Teddy Charles remake of his classic recording of "Nature Boy", and a unheard composition by Gigi Gryce.