Angela DeNiro & Ron Aprea

WHEN: March 4, 2016 @ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
WHERE: Trumpets Jazz Club
6 Depot Square, Montclair, NJ 07042, USA

If you love jazz, this is the real thing!   The big band features some of the hottest players in the metropolitan area with  Angela DeNiro (vocals). Angela is one of Trumpets’ favorite vocalists and we are thrilled to have them back.
If you love singers, you have to hear the lovely voice and  interpretation of Angela DeNiro, one of the outstanding singers of our day! - Kristine Massari, owner of Trumpets

Ron Aprea, composer, arranger, producer, saxophonist, clarinetist,and flutist, has performed with Woody Herman, Les Elgart, Tito Puente, Frank Foster, Buddy Morrow, Billy May, Charlie Persip, Nat Adderley, Lionel Hampton, and Louis Armstrong.

 While with Hamp’s band, some of the highlights were a Ramsey Lewis television special, and a recorded concert at the Smithsonian Institute, where Ron’s solos were taped and put into their Archives. Ron was the featured soloist and arranger for performances with Nat Adderley at the world-famous Apollo Theatre, and he also performed at the Paramount Theatre with King Curtis’ Big Band. Ron has played shows for literally hundreds of stars, including Clint Holmes, Rita Moreno, Robert Merrill, Chita Rivera, Rich Little, and Billy Eckstine.

 In 1974, Ron recorded with John Lennon and Elton John on the album entitled Walls and Bridges. The all-star horn section included Howard Johnson, Frank Vicari, and Steve Madeo. Ron was a featured soloist on the jazz-gospel album Free to Be Free. He also wrote, arranged, and produced his own album, Ronnie April’s Positive Energy Volume 1. Ron had his own TV special on WNYC, and was a featured soloist on Broadway’s Song of Singapore.

Ron’s compositions, arrangements, and productions skills can be heard on Angela DeNiro’s first CD,Just For the Fun Of It, as well as her second  release, Angela DeNiro…Swingin’ With Legends, featuring Lionel Hampton, Frank Foster, and Lew Tabackin.

read more: http://www.trumpetsjazz.com/event/ron-aprea-angela-deniro-quintet-in-a-holiday-concert-4/?instance_id=3217

Ron Aprea and his Jazz Ensemble Perform Music of John Lennon....

Photo Credit:  Rasheem Morris

PRLog (Press Release) - Jan. 28, 2014 - NEW YORK -- Ron Aprea: composer, arranger, producer, saxophonist, clarinetist, and flutist, has performed with Woody Herman, Les Elgart, Tito Puente, Frank Foster, Buddy Morrow, Billy May, Charlie Persip, Nat Adderley, Lionel Hampton, and Louis Armstrong, among many others.

While with Hamp's band, some of the highlights were a Ramsey Lewis television special, and a recorded concert at the Smithsonian Institute, where Ron's solos were taped and put into their Archives. Ron was the featured soloist and arranger for performances with Nat Adderley at the world-famous Apollo Theatre, and he also performed at the Paramount Theatre with King Curtis' Big Band. Ron has played shows for literally hundreds of stars, including Clint Holmes, Rita Moreno, Robert Merrill, Chita Rivera, Rich Little, and Billy Eckstine.

In 1974, Ron Aprea recorded with John Lennon and Elton John on the album entitled, Walls and Bridges. The all-star horn section included Howard Johnson, Frank Vicari, and Steve Madeo. Ron was a featured soloist on the jazz-gospel album, Free to Be Free. He also wrote, arranged, and produced his own album, Ronnie April's Positive Energy Volume 1. Ron had his own TV special on WNYC, and was a featured soloist on Broadway's Song of Singapore.
Read more: http://www.prlog.org/12273310-ron-aprea-and-his-jazz-ensemble-perform-music-of-john-lennon-on-the-gingernewyork-tv-show.html

Ron Aprea: Remembering Blakey

Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com

If you're going to record a tribute to drummer and hard-bop boss Art Blakey, you'd better come to burn. Alto saxophonist Ron Aprea and the band he assembled do just that on Remembering Blakey (Early Autumn)—one of the strongest small group albums of the year. Instead of miming songs recorded by Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Aprea wisely lined up 12 tracks that have almost nothing to do with the legendary bandleader.

For example, six of the songs are by Paul Brusger, a self-taught bassist who is a shrewd jazz composer. Two of the tracks are by Aprea, who arranged all of the material on the album. There are standards, of course—My Foolish Heart, Goodbye, Cherokee and Lover Man. And there's Oliver Nelson's Latino.

The Ron Aprea Sextet features Joe Magnarelli (tp) [pictured above], Ron Aprea (as), Jerry Weldon (ts), Cecilia Coleman (p), Tim Givens (b) and Vince Cherico (d)—with George Hooks on percussion on two tracks and Jerry Sokolov on trumpet on one.

So why does this album work so well? For one, the individual playing is ferocious and swinging. Aprea is a lyrical alto saxophonist with a Gene Quill-like timbre who plays like he wants the job. Magnarelli knows how to fire-up the horn and tenor saxophonist Weldon can dig in and groove. You even get hooked on Givens' insistent bass work. For another, this sextet is compact and well-rehearsed—like six laborers working furiously on a coal pile in tight quarters without ever hitting each other with a shovel. [Photo above of Art Blakey by Herman Leonard/CTSImages.com]

But the true surprise here is Aprea's arranging skills. His ear for what made Blakey's Jazz Messengers special—tearing across songs like jets in formation only to have individual soloists break off and roll—never lets up. Drummer Cherico [pictured above] could have mimed Blakey but instead does his own thing, adding just enough Blakey thunder to remind us of the album's namesake.

Each track is a joyous surprise. In a Minor Funk feels like Bobby Timmons' Dat Dere but never goes there completely. Or the fierce Andrea's Delight, which is like listening to alligators wrestle. Or Cherokee, which is pure fireworks thanks to Aprea's novel arrangement. Nothing is as it seems here and everything is remarkably as it should be, including the stunning quality of the CD's fidelity.

Remembering Blakey is a perfect tribute album in every way—precisely because Aprea [pictured above] and his band never make the fatal mistake of trying to be the Jazz Messengers. Instead, they created a singular personality and seasoned all of their tunes with the muscular feel and harmony that made Blakey and the Jazz Messengers stand out. Best of all, there isn't a flat track on the entire album. This CD is like opening a fresh pack of matches—every stick ignites.

JazzWax tracks: You'll find the Ron Aprea Sextet's Remembering Blakey (Early Autumn) here.

JazzWax clip: Here's Andrea's Delight. And yes, everything on the album has this sensibility, even the ballads...

Andrea's Delight

Wall Street Journal alert: In today's paper, I profile Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers. As I write in my article: "Mr. Isley and the Isley Brothers hold a special place in the evolution of rock and soul with one of the longest continuous careers of any group in the rock era—and Billboard hits in every decade since 1959, including 40 on the Hot 100 chart and 79 on the R&B chart. Unlike most top artists who recorded for established labels, the Isleys started their own—T-Neck—in 1964." Please pick up the paper or go here.

- See more at: http://www.jazzwax.com/2013/07/ron-aprea-remembering-blakey.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Jazzwax+%28JazzWax%29#sthash.a3QwxCTK.dpuf

Used with permission by Marc Myers