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8-panel Digipak Album
“It’s always a good sign when a studio disc has the unbuttoned verve of a live album. From the first spin on, SPIRITMAN conjures that vibe…Throughout, Turre’s brass mastery sits front and center. Look no further if you want to hear why he’s so respected in the jazz community.”
— Jim Macnie, Downbeat, April 2015
“The constant denominator is a righteous dose of swing…nearly flawless 70 minutes of Turre magic.”
— Jeff Krow, Audiophile Audition, 28 January 2015
“It might be his best album in recent times.”
— C. Andrew Hovan, All About Jazz, 21 April 2015
#1 JazzWeek radio chart
***
SPIRITMAN, Steve Turre’s Smoke Sessions debut, is something of a back-to-basics project. As Turre explains, “It’s the first record I’ve done in a long time that really focuses on my trombone playing.” And, he employs a compelling quintet perfectly suited to this back-to-basics approach. Saxophonist Bruce Williams, pianist Xavier Davis, bassist Gerald Cannon, and drummer Willie Jones III are a phenomenal ensemble who excel at swinging standards, classic ballads and everything in between
Turre wrote several new songs for SPIRITMAN including “Trayvon’s Blues” a poignant, moving, jazz tone poem; “Bu” the record opener dedicated to his mentor Art Blakey; “Funky Thing” written for the Saturday Night Live Band; and “Nangadef” written for Senegalese percussionist Abdou Mboup and featuring special guest Chembo Corniel on congas.
His spirited rendition of Miles Davis’ “All Blues” begins with his own mystical “Spiritman” played on shells. It’s a piece he performed to open the UN’s International Jazz Day concert in Osaka, Japan in 2014. This “All Blues” introduction is also the first recording of a newly developed technique where Turre plays into a piano with the pedal down and the strings open. The shell’s sound vibrates the open strings creating an
ethereal, mystical, but acoustic sound.
It’s music designed to make you feel better. As Turre explains about this recording and music in general, “Music is about giving and about searching. Without spirit, music is just notes.” It’s a philosophy of life and music that continues to produce inspired results.
released March 10, 2015
Steve Turre – trombone & shells
Bruce Williams – alto & soprano saxophones
Xavier Davis – piano
Willie Jones III drums
Chembo Corniel – congas on “Nangadef”
Recorded Live at Sear Sound, Studio A,
New York City on June 1, 2014
Produced by Paul Stache
Associate Producer: Damon Smith
Recorded & Mastered by Roman Klun
Studio Assistants: Ted Tuthill & Lim Wei
Mixed by Roman Klun & Paul Stache
Photography by Jimmy Katz
Design by Paul Stache & Damon Smith
Willie Jones appears courtesy of WJ3 Records
Executive Producers: Frank Christopher & Paul Stache
