Jazz Attack
Saturday July 21, 2012
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Jazz Attack
Featuring Peter White, Rick Braun and Kirk Whalum
For nearly 20 years, Peter White has made the acoustic guitar a dynamic and expressive voice in the soundscape of contemporary jazz. Since his first recordings in the early 1990s, he has infused pop standards, and his own original material with a sense of innovation and energy that rivals the abilities of many of his electric guitar counterparts. In a career that spans two decades and a dozen solo recordings, he continues to surprise seasoned fans and newcomers alike with his willingness to push the preconceived parameters of his instrument to new places. Peter was recently nominated in three categories of the Oasis Contemporary Jazz Awards 2011 - Guitarist of the Year, Song of the Year for "Bright" and Artist of the Decade!
A native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, trumpeter Rick Braun first surfaced as a member of the jazz-fusion outfit Auracle, formed while he was a student at the prestigious Eastman School of Music. After two LPs the group disbanded, and Braun turned to songwriting, scoring a hit with REO Speedwagon's "Here with Me"; in time he directed his focus to contemporary jazz, issuing his solo debut Intimate Secrets in 1993. After touring with Sade, he returned in 1994 with Night Walk as well as the seasonal release Christmas Present. With 1995's Beat Street, Braun's popularity continued to snowball, with 1996's smash Body and Soul launching the NAC chart-topper "Notorious." A two-time winner of the Gavin Report's Smooth Jazz Artist of the Year award, he returned in 1998 with Full Stride. He also collaborated with Boney James on the 2000 release Shake It Up. Kisses in the Rain followed a year later, and Braun continued issuing albums throughout the decade of the 2000s, including Esperanto in 2003, Sessions, Vol. 1 in 2004, Yours Truly in 2005, RnR (a duo set co-led by saxophonist Richard Elliot) in 2007, and All It Takes in 2009. Braun offered up a change-of-pace recording in 2011 with the self-explanatory Sings with Strings, an album of standards featuring string charts by Philippe Saisse. Jason Ankeny, Rovi
Gerald Albright's contemporary and straight-ahead collections have established the Los Angeles-based musician as one of the most prominent artists. Indeed, Albright was one of the ten featured saxophonists who performed at President Clinton's inauguration. He was also featured at the Presidential Summit, as well as several private functions for the President. Albright had sold over 1,000,000 albums in the U.S. alone. His self-produced music features him on bass guitar, keyboards, flutes, drum programming, and background vocals. Gerald has definitely earned the reputation as the "musician's musician."