Brooklyn-based
Red Piano Records has announced the release of Shadows and Reflections
from pianists/composers Frank Carlberg and Leo Genovese. The recording sessions
for this album came about in an atmosphere of friendship, common musical
interests, and in anticipation of great fun. Carlberg (also a partner in Red
Piano Records) commented, "I've known Leo for many years and have always
admired his playing and attitude. Playing with him is very easy and always
fun!" Genovese added, "Frank Carlberg is one of my favorite players
and composers. I learned so much music when I had the chance many years ago to
study with him at Berklee, and every time I hear him play I learn lots of
music."
Genovese
and Carlberg are two artists who possess very open personalities that embrace
everything around them. "The session was so fun and deep as we got a
chance to play music from our hearts and to be able to reach higher spiritual
ground through the act of listening and playing together," said Genovese. Carlberg
added that, "Leo radiates positivity and helps make others reach further.
This for me was very inspiring; and when the inspiration threatened to run out
we had some claret libations from Mendoza and Patagonia to help steer us right
back in to the playing. It is simply so much fun to play with Leo!"
The duo
entered into the studio with the notion to accept whatever was happening in the
moment, and not impose an agenda or specific direction for the music. "We
had not really even decided what instruments we were going to play but made
impulsive decisions about that as the session unfolded," said Carlberg.
The repertoire was dominated by their mutual interest and love of Monk.
"Playing Monk together was like speaking about an old friend while still learning
new things about him. A truly exhilarating experience! Both Leo and I seem to
have maybe a somewhat cinematic bent to our music so I had also sketched out a
few things for us to elaborate on that I suspected would take us on little
journeys. Finally, there was the music of the Argentine songwriter Cuchi
Leguizamón. Leo knows many of Cuchi's songs while I know only a couple so we
decided to play Zamba Para La Viuda, a song that I learned through my
association with the great Argentine singer Roxana Amed. Leo helped me see
facets of this song that I could only have dreamed of before," said
Carlberg.
"Recording
Shadows and Reflections was a truly delightful experience and I am grateful to
Leo for sharing this music with me." - Frank Carlberg
"I
feel so happy and honored to be able to explore sound and textures with Frank
in this setting of piano, electric piano and organs. The recording was a very
magical night. With a little malbec friend, we became music and sound." -
Leo Genovese
Originally
a native of Helsinki, Finland, Frank Carlberg has carved himself quite a niche
in the New York City jazz community. As a leader, he has released almost twenty
albums, and his groups include the Frank Carlberg Quintet (performing settings
of a wide variety of texts including poetry), the Tivoli Trio (a classic jazz
piano trio playing an eclectic mix of Carlberg's compositions drawn from
cinematic and circus inspirations), and the Frank Carlberg Big Band (performing
original compositions as well as arrangements and re-compositions of standards
and folk materials), Monk Dreams, Hallucinations and Nightmares (a large
ensemble project with the music of Monk as its central source both in terms of
reinterpretations of Monk's music and inspiration for new original
compositions), as well as recent collaborations with Argentine vocalist Roxana
Amed, and the Dutch Clazz Ensemble.
In
addition to his own bands, the Brooklyn-based pianist has been involved in many
crossover projects throughout the years, and some of his most notable
collaborations have included performances and recordings with the likes of
saxophonist Steve Lacy, trombonist Bob Brookmeyer and trumpeter Kenny
Wheeler. Carlberg has been commissioned
to compose music for big bands, small ensembles, symphony orchestras as well as
modern dance companies. In addition to his playing and composing activities the
pianist also serves on the faculty at the New England Conservatory. He is also
a member of the Douglass Street Music Collective and a partner in Red Piano
Records, an artist run cooperative label in Brooklyn, NY.
Early on
Carlberg came under the influence of jazz masters such as Paul Bley, Ran Blake,
Geri Allen and Jimmy Giuffre. The music
and thinking of these musicians had a profound impact on Carlberg and set him
on a path in search of a personal expression.
Leo
Genovese was born in Argentina in the farmlands of Venado Tuerto, Argentina.
His first encounters with music and freedom where in the Genovese family band,
where the spectrum of sonic possibilities is as wide you want to imagine and
without limits, if you wish. Leo was, and is, a student of music in history,
ecology, politics and economics around the clock and around the world. Genovese
went on to study at the Berklee College of Music where he learned from masters
such as Hal Crook, Frank Carlberg and Danilo Perez. He has also had the
opportunity to make some noise and go crazy with some amazing people on the
scene today, such as Esperanza Spalding, Wayne Shorter, Jack DeJohnette, Milton
Nascimento, Herbie Hancock and many others.
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