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“Nothing beats musicians of this caliber working on a strong program of original material and innovative arrangements.”
— C. Andrew Hovan, All About Jazz
“This trumpeter’s new album, DARK BLUE, may put you in mind of a Freddie Hubbard recording from the early seventies—a mighty compliment in an era when far too many brass players value braininess over full-throttled passion.”
— Steve Futterman, The New Yorker
“Rotondi’s style is a fusion of flash and depth. He’s got chops for days but never turns them into a crutch. One minute, he’s whipping through a glittery solo on the firm-grooving ‘BC’; the next, his horn embraces the introspective last-call melody of the title track.”
— Matt R. Lohr, JazzTimes
#1 JazzWeek radio chart (2 weeks)
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Jim Rotondi’s DARK BLUE is an album that proves again that when you hear him for the first time, you aren’t likely to forget it. For 20+ years, Rotondi was one of the leading trumpet heroes of the New York City jazz scene and a musician whose fiery playing and daring solos firmly established him as a torchbearer of the Lee Morgan-Freddie Hubbard-Woody Shaw trumpet tradition.
Like so many jazz greats before him, he’s based in Europe now, but he’s still blowing with the same intensity, if not more. But, he returned to New York for this recording and assembled a spectacular quintet that brings together hard-bop stalwarts David Hazeltine on piano, Joe Locke on vibraphone, David Wong on bass, and Carl Allen on drums. Rotondi uses the importance of place as a central theme for much of this program and features music inspired by pivotal locations in his career from Europe to New York and beyond.
released March 4, 2016
Jim Rotondi – trumpet & flugelhorn
Joe Locke – vibraphone
David Hazeltine – piano & Fender Rhodes
David Wong – bass
Carl Allen – drums
Recorded Live July 15, 2015
at Sear Sound, Studio C, New York City
Produced by Paul Stache
Associate Producer: Damon Smith
Recorded & Mastered by Roman Klun
Studio Assistants: Ted Tuthill & Grant Valentine
Mixed by Roman Klun & Paul Stache
Photography by John Abbott
Artist interview edited by Damon Smith
Design by Damon Smith & Paul Stache
Joe Locke appears courtesy of Motéma Music
Executive Producers: Frank Christopher & Paul Stache
