Turn Up The Quiet - John Stein / Ron Gill

Vocalist Ron Gill joins guitarist John Stein, as they pair up on "Turn Up The Quiet," recorded at WGBH Radio in Boston in the spring of 2009.

Longtime Downbeat Magazine scribe Fred Bouchard writes "When we need to move on from too much talk (as composer Ivan Lins tells us in his tune Love Dance), there's nothing like quiet music and a warming lyric to shush up our noisemakers (inside and outside) and educe romantic notions from musicians and listeners alike. Ron Gill and John Stein find their love of fine songs turn them to dancing with words, lofting pretty chords, and capturing passionate ideas about togetherness. Collaboration Ð so often a tricky treat, a windy street they negotiate openhandedly with wit and diplomacy."

WCS says This a gem of a recording with fourteen expertly crafted tracks, thirteen distinctive standards and one original that must be heard! Stein's subtle guitar playing and Gill's perfectly executed vocals, along with the addition of Gilad Barkan on piano, is a collaboration that will be enjoyed over and over!

PERSONNEL
John Stein - guitar, acoustic bass
Ron Gill - vocals
Gilad Barkan - piano

TRACKS
1. A Weaver of Dreams
2. Be My All
3. Detour Ahead
4. My Flaming Heart
5. Love Dance
6. Our Love Will See Us Through
7. Medley: If It's Magic/Too Shy To Say
8. Medley: Something In Your Smile/I'll Be Easy To Find
9. So This Is Love
10. Gentle Rain
11. In A Sentimental Mood
12. My Foolish Heart
13. When I Fall In Love
14. Wonder Why
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Inspired collaboration spotlights the simpatico work of intimate jazz singer Ron Gill and acclaimed guitarist John Stein

Taking a brief break from his acclaimed international quartet after Raising the Roof which jumped an impressive 43 spots on the JazzWeek radio chart and peaked at #2, jazz guitarist John Stein has chosen to spend a little quality time with the wonderful jazz vocalist and well-known jazz radio host, Ron Gill. This inspired partnership, enhanced by the presence of pianist Gilad Barkan, plays the material on their new recording Turn Up The Quiet.

Recorded, mixed and mastered by Antonio Oliart at WGBH Radio Studios in Boston, Turn Up The Quiet, illuminates the inspiration behind their longtime musical friendship while also emphasizing each musician's strengths. Stein's exquisite taste and sensitivity really shines in the spare instrumental context of voice and guitar, and his accompaniment brims with subtlety and nuance. In addition, Stein proves to be a fine acoustic bassist, with a warm flexible sound and rock solid rhythm -- able to swing the music without the aid of a drummer on the songs on which talented pianist Gilad Barkan's presence makes the group a trio.

For his part, Gill adapts beautifully to Stein's subtlety with a sensitivity of his own. His hushed, vocal romanticism makes a brilliant couplet to Stein's accompaniment, especially on album highlights like Ellington's ethereal love song "In a Sentimental Mood," the dark and haunting "My Flaming Heart," the wry irony of "Detour Ahead," and the closing Sammy Cahn-composition "Wonder Why." The repertoire here is lovely, but challenging, with technical dexterity combined with lofty chord changes, colorful word play, and enduring melody. Some of the songs are nearly forgotten gems, unearthed by Ron's lifetime study of jazz vocal material. Even the more familiar tunes radiate a quiet power through the intimate and sincere treatment John and Ron have fashioned for them.

"There are things I've learned to expect when I collaborate with Ron Gill," writes Stein in the liners to Turn Up The Quiet. "First, the repertoire will be challenging and distinctive ... Second, his concept for each song will be different and utterly personal. When you listen to Ron he's right there: he looks you in the face, and sings to you directly from the heart."

Though the concept of the album came from Stein, the project is a genuine, down-the-middle collaboration. Their arrangements are balanced and substantive; as both artists search for ways to accommodate the other. In this way, Turn Up The Quiet, is like Gill's own voice and Stein's stellar guitar, music that comes straight from the heart.

Internationally renowned jazz guitarist John Stein was born and raised in Kansas City

Internationally renowned jazz guitarist John Stein was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri USA where he took up his instrument at an early age. His talent for and love of music ultimately earned him a faculty position at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he is an Associate Professor in the Harmony Department.

John has performed as a leader or a sideman with some of America's finest jazz acts. John's compositions and performances cover the spectrum of jazz, from blues to bebop to bossas to swing. John has toured in the United States as well as in Brazil, Germany, France and Switzerland. John has published educational columns in Just Jazz Guitar Magazine for many years. He has compiled the materials into two books that are now available: Composing Blues For Jazz Performance, and Composing Tunes For Jazz Performance.

John's most recent recording, Raising The Roof, Whaling City Sound [WSC 050], was released on January 12th, 2010, and features John along with the superb musicianship of Koichi Sato from Japan, John Lockwood who is originally from South Africa, and Zé Eduardo Nazario from Brazil - truly world music in the best sense! Raising The Roof follows on the heels of John's successful 2008 release Encounterpoint and uses the same musicians.

Encounterpoint, Whaling City Sound [WSC 042], contains an excellent mixture of original compositions and standards, and the recording captures the energy and sophistication that all 4 virtuoso musicians brought to the session. John's recording, Green Street, featuring reed-playing legend David "Fathead" Newman, was originally released in 1999 to critical acclaim. Green Street is a classic organ-jazz recording, and has now been re-released by Whaling City Sound [WSC 039]. It is re-mixed, re-mastered, and features two bonus tracks not on the original release, along with extra liner notes and photographs.

John's recording, Concerto Internacional de Jazz, was released on the Whaling City Sound Label [WCS 031]. Recorded in Brazil during a concert tour, Concerto Internacional de Jazz is a collaboration between John and some of Brasil's most prominent jazz musicians. Flavored by the combined sensibilities of two distinct musical cultures, Concerto Internacional de Jazz features a wonderful variety of musical textures and moods, excellent originals, and an interesting selection of standards.

John's debut CD, Hustle Up! [KFW 172], released in 1995 on Tightly Knit Records a subsidiary of Knitting Factory Works, displays his many talents: as a leader, composer, arranger, producer, soloist, and ensemble performer. John is also featured on the wonderful recording, Ron Gill Sings the Songs of Billy Strayhorn, [WGBH 1001] released in December 1997, by WGBH Radio in Boston. The Ron Gill band, with John on guitar, was videotaped by WGBH television for presentation on its program, Basic Black in 1998, and is regularly re-aired. John's third release, in 2000, Portraits and Landscapes [Jardis Records, JRCD 20029] features Larry Goldings on piano and organ.

Conversation Pieces [Jardis Records, JRCD 20140] released in January 2002, is John's second collaboration with David "Fathead" Newman. Interplay, on [Azica Records, AJD 72226], was released in 2004 and features John with Yoron Israel on drums, and John Lockwood on bass. The trio's telepathic interaction and superb musicianship generates many spontaneous and exceptional moments. "My music is the result of a lifetime's involvement with my instrument, the guitar, and many hours studying theory, composition, arranging, and musical history," says John. His warm and deeply expressive creative jazz performances move and excite audiences wherever he appears.
http://johnstein.com/
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The John Stein Trio, with Frank Herzberg and Zé Eduardo Nazario, live in Pouso Alegre, Brazil.

John Stein, guitar
Frank Herzberg, acoustic bass
Zé Eduardo Nazario, drums