LOW STANDARDS
Steve Shapiro & Pat Bergeson
“Steve Shapiro is a legitimate triple-threat
musician.” — MIX magazine
New York, NY – Sons of Sound proudly announces
the February 22, 2005 release of Low
Standards,
a group project led by vibraphonist Steve Shapiro
and guitarist Pat Bergeson, featuring vocal sensation
Annie Sellick. The band is rounded out by Scott
Kreitzer (Peter Cincotti) on tenor saxophone, Doug
Weiss (Al Foster) on bass, and Jeff Williams on
drums.
Conceived by Shapiro and Bergeson, Low
Standards is a relaxed session of instrumental and vocal
jazz with the laid-back vibe of lounge music, achieved
through instrumental technique, without remixing
or studio gimmickry.
Steve Shapiro, a vibist, producer, arranger, and
programmer, has recorded with Phil Collins, Whitney
Houston, Ornette Coleman, Pat Martino, Regina Belle,
and Spyro Gyra. He appeared on Steely Dan’s
Two Against Nature, which received four Grammy
Awards, including Album-of-the-Year. He is currently
working on television scores for A&E and Fox
and on the upcoming Disney feature, Chicken Little,
having completed promotional work for The Incredibles.
Pat Bergeson has toured with Chet Atkins, Shelby
Lynne, and Lyle Lovett. A versatile guitarist and
harmonica player, he is known for session work
with Lovett, Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton, Bill
Frisell, Suzy Bogguss, Bill Evans, Peter Frampton,
and Michael McDonald. He was named one of Chet
Atkins’ favorite guitarists in the October,
2001 issue of Vintage Guitar magazine, and is featured
on a few of the master’s recordings. Pat
will be profiled in an early-2005 issue of Fingerstyle
Guitar Player magazine.
Low Standards combines familiar repertoire with
original writing. Instrumental tracks include a
dreamy version Ellington’s “Reflections
In D” and a snappy rendering of Wes Mongomery’s “Four
On Six.” Shapiro’s vibes set the band’s
retro-cool sound, as he contributes two of the
collection’s definitive instrumental tracks: “End
Of The Road,” a slinky waltz that Sam Spade
might have chosen when he danced with dames, and “Small
Miracles,” a bossa straight from the beaches
of ‘60s Rio de Janeiro. Bergeson contributes
warm, tasteful jazz guitar playing as well as the
laid-back ballad, “Please Be Early.” Annie
Sellick lends her vocal talents to four standards,
including Irving Berlin’s “How Deep
Is The Ocean,” Raye and DePaul’s “You
Don’t Know What Love Is,” Mancini’s “The
Days Of Wine & Roses,” Adair and Dennis’ “Everything
Happens To Me,” and a cover of Jackson Browne’s “My
Opening Farewell.” She also sings her own “Love
Killing Lies,” a track she co-wrote with
Bergeson.
Recently profiled in the June 2004 issue of DownBeat,
Annie Sellick has earned a devoted following in
Nashville and receives rave reviews in the local
media. Having honed her skills at the Nashville
Jazz Workshop, Sellick enjoyed a four-year association
with guitarist Roland Gresham’s trio and
has since been featured regularly at Nashville’s
main jazz venues, including a sold-out performance
with the Nashville Symphony. Her first record of
jazz standards, Stardust On My Sleeve, is a local
favorite, while her follow-up, No Greater Thrill,
features the organ work of Joe DeFrancesco as well
as Bergeson on guitar.
A Florida native, Scott Kreitzer joined Ira Sullivan’s
band while a student at the University of Miami.
He has also studied with Joe Lovano and Bob Mintzer
and received a grant from the National Endowment
of the Arts to study with Eddie Daniels. With his
quartet of Harvie Swartz on bass, Marc Copeland
on piano and Bill Stewart on drums, Scott won the
1988 Hennessy Jazz Search Contest. The band opened
the Playboy Jazz Festival that year; a review by
Leonard Feather of the LA Times declared Scott “a
talent far beyond his years.” Compared by
Peter Watrous of the New York Times to Dexter Gordon
and Stanley Turrentine, Scott is presently touring
the world with the Peter Cincotti Quartet and has
three solo records to his credit.
Bassist Doug Weiss has been gigging with Al Foster
and Walt Weiskopf, and teaching at the New School
in Manhattan. Drummer Jeff Williams cut his teeth
backing Stan Getz, Dave Liebman and Joe Lovano;
he made his headlining debut in 1994 with Coalescence,
recording Jazzblues the following year, receiving
a four-star review in AMG from David R. Adler.
Low Standards is Steve Shapiro’s second
CD as a leader for Sons of Sound. The first, Xylophobia (2001), features Marc Johnson on bass, Danny Gottlieb
on drums, Tim Ries on saxophones, and Pat Bergeson
on guitar. It is available on iTunes and other
digital music services.
Sons of Sound is an independent jazz label founded
in 1997, with the goal of bringing fine instrumental
jazz to a younger audience. The label supports
music education through The Commission Project,
a nonprofit based in Rochester, NY, through which
it also underwrites residencies at Princeton University,
including Bob Mintzer in 2003-2004 and Jimmy Heath
in 2004-2005.
For additional information see the label’s
website at http://sonsofsound.com. For more about
The Commission Project, see http://tcp-music.org/
and http://swingnjazz.org.
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CDs, full press kits, color and b&w jpgs available
upon request.
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