Peter Erskine - Side Man Blue - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Maitena (1909) was a further step towards achieving the ideal of Basque opera linked to that of it's own lyric theatre. For the critic and musicographer Francisco Gascue InchColin has written a score that is as far from Wagnerian complications as it is from orchestral poverty; it is accessible without being poor or rudimentary. Colin has shown the same exquisite taste in the handling of the orchestra as in the choice of melodiesInch. He also singles out the duet between Domingo and Maitena at the beginning of Act I, the tenor and baritone duet that follows, the quartet in Scene VI, the melody sung by Chaadiñ at the beginning of Act II, Batista's couplets and for it's effect and simplicity the Angelus scene. He ends by noting the appropriate treatment of the chorus.

A towering cultural figure throughout the second half of the 20th century, Leonard Bernstein mediated between different musical worlds, borrowing freely from jazz, blues and popular music, eventually shaping a InchclassicalInch sound that became his deeply influential signature. From his decades of working alongside Austria's most illustrious musicians, Vienna's JAM Music Lab University was inspired to celebrate his music & legacy. With the addition of drumming great Peter Erskine as a Visiting Artist in 2021 - bringing along his own decades of contributions to blending popular musics at the highest levels - they handed him the task of shaping the ambitious project. With this live recording, Erskine, JAM students and faculty, and pianist/musical director Danny Grissett, honor Bernstein's genius and fulfill JAM's chief mission - inspired by the jazz masters, educate and nurture jazz's next generation - and on this night, Peter Erskine, and Leonard Bernstein, led the charge.

(2-CD set) InchOn CallInch is the 3rd album by Peter Erskine & The Dr. Um Band, a double-CD package with six studio and five 'live' tracks, featuring keyboardist/arranger John Beasley, saxophonist Bob Sheppard, bass phenom Benjamin Shepherd and legendary drummer Peter Erskine. With an album cover that recalls Weather Report's InchNight PassageInch album (which featured live & studio cuts), the Dr. Um Band realizes the musical potential of fusion and completes a picture that Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter began painting 50 years ago. From the first track's uncanny and authentic evocation of WR to it's thrilling concert cuts, InchOn CallInch is the album fusion fans have been waiting for. Plus, it swings & sounds great.