 Improvisatory Observatory: Live and Raw at The Baked Potato, Exhibit 4 Out August 29th, 2025 Los Angeles, CA – GRAMMY® Award-winning composer, trumpeter, and visionary bandleader John Daversa returns with the fourth installment of his dynamic live series, Improvisatory Observatory: Live and Raw at The Baked Potato, Exhibit 4, available everywhere on August 29th, 2025 via Blue Canoe Records. Recorded at the legendary World Famous Baked Potato in Los Angeles, this raw and unfiltered live performance captures Daversa’s celebrated big band in full swing—pushing sonic boundaries and redefining the big band idiom in real-time. “I’m ever grateful to this amazing band that continues to grow and push musical boundaries every night,” says Daversa. “And a big thank you to The Baked Potato for providing us a home these past decades.” The album features three genre-defying tracks that explore humor, heart, and high-octane improvisation:
Personnel Highlights:
Produced by John Daversa, the album showcases the ensemble’s technical mastery, fearless improvisation, and unmistakable camaraderie.
About John Daversa A multi-GRAMMY® Award winner, John Daversa is known for his genre-blurring approach to big band and modern jazz. His work consistently reflects deep musical curiosity, profound humanity, and a relentless desire to innovate.  Alan Pasqua. Photo Credit Weimin Hwang. Legendary pianist and composer Alan Pasqua returns with New Hope, a deeply personal and introspective solo piano album available April 11, 2025, via Blue Canoe Records. A Steinway Artist, Grammy nominee, and Professor of Jazz Studies at USC’s Thornton School of Music, Pasqua delivers a masterful collection of original works and timeless standards — all captured in the purity of solo performance. New Hope is not a grand statement — it’s a personal one. No frills, no flash — just Alan at the keys, in his own creative space. "This is simply the music I wanted to make right now," Pasqua reflects. The result is a strikingly honest album that draws from a lifetime of musical exploration, from jazz and classical to film scoring and pop. The album features original compositions including the title track “New Hope,” alongside “Contemplation,” “Agrodolce,” and “The Folks.” Pasqua also offers intimate renditions of beloved classics such as “There’s a Small Hotel,” “Our Love Is Here to Stay,” “Lullaby of Birdland,” and “Star Crossed Lovers.” With a storied career that has taken him from Carnegie Hall with Tony Williams to the recording studios of Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Elton John — Pasqua’s musical legacy is as deep as it is diverse. He’s composed for major film scores, co-wrote the CBS Evening News theme, and recently contributed original improvisations for Bob Dylan’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech. New Hope follows a series of critically acclaimed solo and trio recordings, including the Grammy-nominated Standardswith Peter Erskine and Dave Carpenter, and the elegant Twin Bill, Northern Lights, and Day Dream albums. With New Hope, Pasqua returns to the essence of his artistry — one piano, one voice, one moment at a time.  Critically acclaimed trumpeter, composer, conductor, and arranger John Daversa joins the roster of Blue Canoe Recording Artist's with the release of his newest project titled "Improvisatory Observatory: Live and Raw at the Baked Potato, Exhibit 1" as well as the re-release of 4 other album's: * Live At Catalina's Vol. 1 * Live At Catalina's Vol. 2 * The Art of Duo, Vol. 1 (featuring Tal Cohen) * The Official Bootleg: live at bluewhale   Guitar phenom Dan Baraszu creates a twenty-song solo guitar album titled, "Lone Guitar" featuring multi-genre interpretations of the American SongBook from jazz to rock, pop, and in-between.   For the past several years, former Yellowjackets bassist and prolific producer Jimmy Haslip has enjoyed an ongoing working relationship with the Bremen, Germany-based jazz fusion keyboardist and composer Michael Schmidt (aka MSM Schmidt). While Haslip played on Schmidt’s 2007 album Transit and 2009’s Destination, he ended up co-producing 2012’s Evolution, 2015’s Utopia and 2017’s Life. They take their chemistry to new heights on ARCeology: The Music of MSM Schmidt. This dynamic offering finds Haslip and members of his ARC Trio (keyboardist Scott Kinsey and Hungarian drummer Gergö Borlai) joining forces with the GRAMMY® Award-winning John Daversa Big Band on greatly expanded versions of previously recorded Schmidt material, along with two brand new pieces composed by Kinsey and Schmidt. The result is a powerhouse collection of polished, swaggering big band fusion along the lines of the Jaco Pastorius Big Band or The Brecker Brothers’ 2003 collaboration with the WDR Big Band Köln on Some Skunk Funk. “I wanted to see if I could make this a big band record but somehow make it different,” said Haslip. “I didn’t think it should sound like a vintage big band recording. I wanted it to sound modern and have more of an edge, which is what led me to include guest soloists like Nguyên Lê, Mike Miller, Steve Khan, Oz Noy and others. They bring progressive elements into the big band setting and add compelling ideas to each song.”  Out of the eight songs that appear on ARCeology, six were previously recorded on other Michael Schmidt records. The two brand new compositions here are Schmidt’s “Mirrors” and Kinsey’s “Quartet.” And as Haslip noted, “In approaching this project, there was the thought that if you’re going to redo songs that have already been recorded, what can be done to make them sound like new compositions? And I think with Scott’s rhythm arrangements and John’s input on the horn parts, we came up with some creative solutions.” Haslip also credited Kinsey, who became de facto co-producer of ARCeology. “Originally, I was the point producer on this whole thing, but as time went on I just knew that Scott needed to be a part of the production team,” he recalled. “We weren’t far into the project when I approached Scott and said, ‘I want you to be my co-producer on this because you’re contributing so much great work and it’s only fair that we do this together.’ He was up for that, so I am happy to say that Scott and I co-produced the record. I can’t take full credit for what’s happened here, as Scott was the real workhorse. He played most of the keyboard and synth parts and did all the keyboard solos, of course. Also, Scott’s rhythm arrangements had a big hand in influencing John’s horn arrangements. There was a lot of cool stuff already in place for John to just embellish. But then again, John has his own unique voice for orchestration. Everything he wrote after the fact was fantastic." 
Tennessee-born jazz trumpeter Thomas Heflin delivers a remarkable new collection of songs, titled, “Morning Star”. This dynamic modern jazz, R&B, CrossOver album features eleven original compositions and one cover song by the late great James Williams.
Thomas Heflin is a virtuosic trumpeter, composer, arranger, educator and all of his talents are on full display with his latest release. Jazz and music fans will welcome this creative output from the bright star of Mr. Heflin. |
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