Anthony Branker & Ascent - Together - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Anthony Branker compositions are luxuriously packaged in both classical and jazz forms, blending and intermingling to the point of no longer knowing what planet we are on, except for that of an exceptional composer... Musical beauty in the service of thought, or perhaps the reverse Paris-Move. Composer Anthony Branker's ninth album for Origin Records is a re-issue of his debut recording for Sons of Sound Records in 2006. This was Branker's first recording as a composer/bandleader writing specifically for his ensemble, InchAscentInch the first of his three collectives that would establish him as an important emerging writer and a force to be reckoned with in the world of modern post-bop jazz. Spirit Songs is a bold, spacious recording that showcases Branker's earlier compositions, rooted in modal harmonies, displaying a unique sense of lyricism and full of highly rhythmic grooves, based in the world of jazz but blended wit Album Tracks 1. Chant for Peace Eternal 2. Parris in April 3. Spirit Song 4. Sketches of Selim 5. Imani (Faith) 6. In God's Hands 7. Mentor 8. J.C's Passion

The music of composer Anthony Branker stands firmly on jazz traditions while simultaneously pushing the boundaries in bold and beautiful new directions. For his seventh for Origin Records, Branker features brilliant new works as performed by longtime collaborator & saxophonist Ralph Bowen, guitarist Pete McCann, pianist Fabian Almazan, bassist Linda Oh, and drummer Rudy Royston. Branker's new ensemble, Imagine, takes his expansive compositional vision and infuses it with passionate performances drenched with lyrical flow and dexterous rhythmic interplay. Truly a fascinating and exceptional recording from an imaginative composer.InchHoning a hybrid of freewheeling postbop and social commentary, abetted by judicious dollops of funk, fusion, spoken word, clave and polyrhythmic percussion Branker incorporates these elements in broad, bold strokes, like a muralist. He has yet to make a bad record.Inch - JazzTimes Album Tracks 1. Joy 2. Beauty Within 3. Loving Day (June 12) 4. Prelude to Wisdom (Fabian's Improvisation) 5. (We Are) What We Are Not Yet 6. Many Roads Beneath the Sky 7. Grace 8. People Everywhere 9. (God's) Wisdom

While addressing such themes as intolerance, hate and prejudice, composer Anthony Branker's InchUppityInch strives to remind US of the power and resiliency of the human spirit as we continue the struggle for a truly tolerant and color-blind society. With saxophonist Ralph Bowen, trombonist Andy Hunter, trumpeter Eli Asher, pianist Jim Ridl, bassist Kenny Davis, drummer Donald Edwards, and vocalist Charmaine Lee, Branker has created a thoroughly musical work that will certainly be considered one of his more important projects to date.... a serious composer who does a lot more than write tunes... his music is steeped in the deeper sources of jazzInch - All About Jazz. Album Tracks 1. Let's Conversate! 2. Dance Like No One Is Watching 3. Three Gifts (From a Nigerian Mother to God) 4. Across the Divide 5. Uppity 6. Ballad for Trayvon Martin