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Drum extraordinaire and composer Sinclair Lott delivers a thoughtful straight-ahead jazz album with a modern twist. Featuring Bob Sheppard (saxophones), Tigran Hamasyan (piano), Danny McKay (bass), and Sinclair Lott (drums). This ten song album titled, "Long Story Short" features seven original compositions and three cover tunes by Dizzy Gillespie, Dave Brubeck and Ornette Coleman. Fans of traditional jazz will enjoy listening to Sinclair's Story of music with this uplifting collection of compositions and performances.   “Essência is a joyful romp through the musical landscape of the Americas guided by master pianist Otmaro Ruiz and exciting new guitar virtuoso, Bruno Mangueira. Their musical partnership is informed by their Venezuelan and Brazilian heritages fused with their deep love and understanding of American jazz and the European classical tradition. Otmaro and Bruno flawlessly navigate this landscape with a program of eight original compositions and two standards. Each song feels like a suite, taking us through a wide range of dynamics and emotional territory. Impressively, their original compositions sound like they could be standards. They evoke the timeless feeling of classic songs by Tom Jobim, Hermeto Pascoal, and other Brazilian masters while maintaining the vibrancy of the present. There are hints of Bach, Chopin, and lush harmonic passages that will send music theory students racing for their notepads.  I love the program’s intelligent balance of composition and improvisation. In the Brazilian tradition, one might expect the balance to be weighted toward composition and jazz, toward improvisation. Essência has managed to marry the two in a cohesive and natural way. The song construction is airtight while the performances and improvisations take us for a wild and exciting ride. Neither Otmaro nor Bruno shy away from taking chances. The gorgeous yet sometimes unexpected harmonies are constantly shifting and it takes a skilled improviser to make their way through this treacherous terrain and arrive safely on the other side. Otmaro and Bruno are our able guides.  Duo playing demands an extraordinary level of musicianship. Every note, every gesture is exposed. The musicians must breathe together and have an almost telepathic connection. Each player must fully grasp the entirety of each piece, as their constantly shifting roles require them to alternately supply melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic support for one another. It’s a daring high wire partnership calling for empathy and a deep commitment to the music and to one another. Otmaro and Bruno embody these qualities throughout. Essência celebrates the joy of two master musicians as they explore the essence of their beloved musical traditions in this intimate setting and guide us to new landscapes and possibilities.” - Russell Ferrante (YellowJackets), August 2019  “Reflections from Dave Pope”  This project, which is my first commercial recording, has come to fruition much too late in life in life but better late than never. Juggling family life, a career in banking, and a music career on multiple instruments has been quite an endeavor but one I would not trade for anything. I made a conscious decision in my early twenties to choose a dual career path, knowing the challenge would be to do justice to both. Since then, I have committed to being the best musician I can be under the circumstances and have worked very, very hard at being able to “hang” with musicians at the level on this record. There are several special aspects of this record worth mentioning. It is the debut recording of my brother Mike on piano, which is actually his “second”instrument. Primarily known as a virtuoso bass player, this record gives Mike the opportunity to make a musical contribution as a pianist and as you will hear, the contribution is remarkable. Also, it joins Mike with his mento on bass, John Patitucci of whom I have always been a big fan and am honored to have on the record.  This recording was tracked in two half-day sessions at Mike’s studio with virtually no pre-session planning. It was also mixed and mastered by Mike with the kind assistance of our brother Peter during tracking. The project was intentionally loose, spontaneous, and not overly produced. My objective was to have fun and document what was happening musically in our lives in the moment. More importantly, I hope you will have fun listening. - DAVE POPE
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