Roseonvibes Quintet

Description

If any one word were to describe this CD, you might say cross-cultural (which also hints at the band leaders quot;otherquot; life as an immigration attorney). Jazz, African, and Latin meld together. The CD includes ten smooth tracks, a compilation of jazz standards with kick, African music jazzed up, contemporary music, and vocals. With Linda Rose on vibraphone, gyil (traditional xylophone from northern Ghana, Africa), hand percussion, and vocals, the band also includes Kevin Sanders on piano, Matt Murdock on trumpet and hand percussion, Stephen Lewis on acoustic bass, Kevin Knapp on electric bass, and Tom Kozlowski on drum kit. This jazz CD grooves; its upbeat and easy listening — and as one listener said: It swings and will carry you away. Heres a cut-by-cut: Moonglow. This is a smooth arrangement of Moonglow that introduces all members of the band with solos and trades. A Night In Tunisia. This is a tight and bold interpretation of the Dizzy Gillespie classic. Its one of our signature tunes. Cold Duck Time. This is an Eddie Harris groove tune. Listen for the surprise ending: just when you think its over . . . . Besame Mucho. Here, the music relaxes a bit with this classic Latin tune. The vibraphone motor adds to the elegant mood. Im Beginning To See The Light. The band swings with this Duke Ellington classic. Bernies Tune. Put your seat belt on for this very upbeat version of Bernies Tune. You can tell the band is having a fun time — listen for some tune-quoting on the solos. Ja Da. Heres a vocal of a not-often-heard tune. Youll hear flirty interplay between the vocals and the trumpet, and on the bridge, youll hear simultaneous vocals and vibraphone comping (not dubbed). Theres also a cool arrangement of trades between trumpet and piano, followed by bass and drums, with vibraphone sweetly comping the bass. Afro Blue. Our creative arrangement of Afro Blue makes this another of our signature tunes. Background African hand percussion includes the axachte (shaker) and gankogui (cow bell). Then, as the tune fades out, youll hear the African xylophone — the gyil — calling out to Ghana. The deep beat of the gyil serves as the segue to the next track – Kpanlogo. Kpanlogo. You wont hear this tune on many recordings because its a traditional song of the Dagara tribe from Northern Ghana, Africa. Kpanlogo is a song of celebration, and it will make you wanna dance — at least thats what the audience usually does. The tune begins with solo gyil — the left hand keeping the bass, and the right hand playing the melody. Then the tune jump starts as the full band comes in. Like Afro Blue, this tune demonstrates the bands uniqueness and originality of incorporating African instrumentation into contemporary jazz. Softly As in A Morning Sunrise. The CD ends with this jazz standard, played not as a classic swing tune, but instead as a bolero. It will carry you away and bring you back to earth.