7/11/08

Hey everybody,

Hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer, complete with the requisite amount of cold, frosty adult beverages. All is well out here in the land of Gotham.

It’s been a busy 2008 so far. Lots of cool projects and trips. Some of the highlights have included concerts with Bill Reichenbach and our Bonetown band in Austin and Houston, a guest solo spot with the Central New York Jazz Orchestra in Syracuse (this band absolutely rocks!) and a performance last night at Colgate University where my 12 year old son/budding bass star Cole sat in with me. What a treat!

I’m heading to Europe next week for performances in Amsterdam, Malta and Slovenia. Should be a whirlwind 5 days. I recently heard the final versions of a couple CDs I played on that are coming out next month. Both are spectacular and highly recommend them. The first is Bob Mintzer’s Swing Out. As many of you know, I’m a huge fan of Bob’s writing and extremely fortunate to have been a member of his big band for the past 15 years. Everything about this new project is superb. Bob’s writing, his playing, the ensemble playing, solos, production, etc. This CD was recorded at the Manchester Craftman’s Guild in Pittsburgh, PA at the end of a 10 day Midwest tour last February. It gave the band a chance to get comfortable with Bob’s music and I think it shows in the recording. The second CD is David Sanborn’s Here and Gone. We recorded this project last fall and I think it’s terrific. David is at his usual best, as is the entire band comprised of Steve Gadd, Christian McBride, Russell Malone, Gil Goldstein and a first call horn section. I ended up playing quite a bit of bass trombone on this project, as well as tenor, which was a nice change.

Thank you all for your continued support of Hip-BoneMusic. Hope your summers continue to be fun.

Best,

Michael