Recording Projects

A new cd by the late great Joe Beck. Should be out after the first of the year (2012) on Whaling City Sound.  It was recorded live at Anna's Jazz Island and features Joe telling a few stories too. Peter Barshay plays bass on this disc and sounds phenomenal. Joe was Miles Davis first guitarist, playing with his classic quintet on Circle in the Round. He also played with Gil Evans for many years and just about every other jazz great over the past five decades.He was also a great arranger arranging for Sinatra, Esther Phillips, Gloria Gaynor and many others. He was a studio guitarist and arranger for the famed CTI label .Sadly, Joe died of lung cancer in July of 2008. He left behind his wife Marsi and two teenage twin boys. Any income generated from this disc will go to them. A new cd by the Saint Michael Trio featuring pieces by Claude Bolling rearanged for piano, violin, cello, bass and drums. This trio has an amazing ensemble connection.They're also joined by Pat Klobas on Bass. A new cd with inspirational songstress Karen Drucker , produced by guitarist/bassist extrordinaire John Hoy, featuring John R. Burr on keyboards recorded at Fantasy Studios A new cd with the Klobas/Kesecker Ensemble featuring guitarist Terrence Brewer recorded at Fantasy Studios A new cd of originzal jazz tunes by classical flautist Laurel Zucker recorded at Skywalker Studios featuiring Jim Martinez on Piano and Paul Klempau on bass A fantastic new record called Catch Your Breath by jazz pianist Debbie Poryes. This is a follow up to her critically acclaimed trio cd A Song In Jazz on Jazzschool Records .(There are a few reviews on this website and lots of reviews on Debbie' s site). The new cd again features myself and bass legend Bill Douglass playing in a trio setting as well as some quartet tunes featuring New York Sax player, Bruce Williamson . The disc features mixture of Debbie's original tunes as well as her unique arrangements of standards, recorded beautifully by Bruce Mishkit . The cd is due out in March of 2010 on Origin Records . Origin was voted Jazz label of the year for 2009 at the Jazz Week awards.This is certainly one of the best Jazz recordings that I've ever been a part of. I really feel that this recording is a gem. I think that even people who don't normally listen to jazz will be able to appreciate the soundscapes that she's created. . Debbie is a true uncompromising artist. I feel very fortunate to be a part of her group.  Five tunes for the new kids cd by The RubinoosThe Rubinoos are Jon Rubin, Tommy Dunbar, Al Chan, and Suzy Davis. Individually, these folks are amazing performers. Together, they're even greater than the sum of all of their parts (kind of like the Beatles, only funnier). A couple of tunes on the upcoming Pamela Rose cd .Pamela is a soulful veteran San Francisco singer who lives in that musical world on the border of R&B and Jazz. It's a fun place! The disc, recorded at Skywalker studio, is being produced by Leslie Ann Jones , with arrangements by Matt Catingcub . The tunes I play on include Matt on piano and saxophones, Mike Olmos on Trumpet, Doug Beavers on Trombone, Danny Caron on guitar, Ruth Davies on acoustic bass, Dewayne Pate on Electric bass, and Wayne De La Cruz on Hammond B3 organ. The other tracks feature many other great players. This is a good one! Four tunes for a new cd by multi instrumentalist, and smooth baritone singer Tony Marcus Six new tunes for TV and Film composer Joel Evans featuring Larry Dunlap on piano and Dan Fieszl i on bass A couple of tunes on new cd with Mike Dewall produced by Oakland producer Pete Elman Two new cd's with amazing singer/actress/writer Carla Zilbersmith. The music features John R. Burr and Jon Evans among others. One is a jazz cd and one is her original music. These recordings are in addition to the cd Extraordinary Renditions that we recorded in in '07 and '08. Carla was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) while we were in the midst of working on that project. We started the next group of songs with the knowledge that she had this terminal disease and that time was running out for her, and for us as a musical unit. I don't think that I can adequately express how important doing her projects have been to me. She is a great artist and still writes a blog that is often poignant, intelligent and hysterically funny. She continues to be an inspiration to countless people. Please check out her music and her blog. New cd with inspirational songstress Karen Drucker. Jazz trio CD with pianist extraordinaire Debbie Poryes featuring bass legend Bill Douglass. recording project with the Klobas/ Kesecker ensemble featuring special guest Zakir Hussain cd with Bay Area Bass Master Seward Mcain and his soulful singing wife Wendy cd with Jazz Singer Extraordinaire Maye Cavallero Calvin Keys new cd: Hand Made Portrait The new cd for Jazz singer Sony Holland New cd with Broadway show singer Clark Sterling New concert DVD with the Calvin Keys Trio New Concert DVD with Jazz singing legend Mark Murphy as well as a new documentary DVD with Mark Record tracks for new CD by pianist/composer Brian Kelly