Fans of jazz, rock, and funk unite! Built on the foundation of the Blue Note jazz tradition of the 60's, this album adds the best of hard hitting funk and gritty rock n' roll to bring the timeless jazz tradition to whole new audience.
Album Notes
A debut album is a daunting experience for any artist regardless of age. But guitarist/composer PJ Rasmussen’s first CD – Adventures in Flight on Third Freedom Music – shows a young man brimming with musical confidence and leadership qualities of a seasoned professional. A truly outstanding composer, PJ has assembled a remarkable sextet for a highly diverse, but totally cohesive set of Rasmussen originals.
Over the past 25 years, many artists have tried to re-create the substance of the classic 1960’s Blue Note era. But what is usually missed is that the music of that era was utterly entrenched in the times it was created – an essential component of the Jazz tradition.
While PJ and his cohorts have feet solidly planted in that legacy, the music on this CD is vividly contemporary.
Born in 1990, PJ cut his musical teeth on the rock and blues spirit of men like Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan, and has brought his love of those forms to his serious commitment to Jazz. Combining these elements into a unified musical vision has resulted in carrying that timeless Blue Note recipe of funky hard-bop, soulful lyricism, passionate swing and innovative exploration smack dab into 2013.
With one exception, all of the musicians are contemporaries of the guitarist; and that is the remarkable drummer Steve Johns, whose experience and mastery of a wide variety of styles contributes heavily to the unified thrust of this album. All of the other musicians – tenor saxophonist Nate Giroux, Danny Reyes on trumpet and flugelhorn, Chris Pattishall on piano and Adrian Moring on bass – are superb, performing with youthful vigor and with a sense of urgency that has become increasingly rare. A most surprising element is that this group, after only a few rehearsals, sounds like an ensemble that has been performing together for years, particularly highlighted by the seamless interplay and nearly telepathic interaction between Moring and Johns, who anchor each track emphatically.
A major element of the success of this album is the extraordinary compositional skill of Rasmussen. Eschewing the complex harmonics and rapidly jagged unison lines that young composers often employ to demonstrate compositional and performing virtuosity, PJ strives for lyricism, rhythmic variety and depth of mood, offering both the opportunity for rich musical exploration and the adventurousness of innovative excitement.
Each composition is fully thought out and the music is well-planned, but still open enough for the elements of surprise and spontaneity that are essential to the best Jazz expositions. The arrangements are finely crafted to fit both the compositional structure and the musicians who play them. And two of the pieces, Waxing and Wayne-ing and At Long Last have the added spice of the lovely voice of Kelly Green wordlessly enhancing the melodic line.
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