My Ship

my ship

wj3 all-stars

MY SHIP - The New Album from the WJ3 All-Stars

Featuring Willie Jones III (drums/bandleader), Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Wayne Escoffery (tenor sax), Steve Davis (trombone), Isaiah Thompson (piano), and Gerald Cannon (bass), My Ship includes nine contrasting tracks that each convey their own unique emotion.

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  1. 01 – Willie Jones III – Can’t Buty Me Love 0:30
  2. 02 – Willie Jones III – God Bless The Child 0:30
  3. 03 – Willie Jones III – My Ship 0:30
  4. 04 – Willie Jones III – Broadway 0:30
  5. 05 – Willie Jones III – Taking A Chance On Love 0:30
  6. 06 – Willie Jones III – Star Eyes 0:30
  7. 07 – Willie Jones III – Wave 0:30
  8. 08 – Willie Jones III – I Should Care 0:30
  9. 09 – Willie Jones III – Christmas Time is Here 0:30

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THE WJ3 ALL-STARS

Willie Jones lll
Drums

Isaiah Thompson
Piano

Jeremy Pelt
Trumpet

Wayne Escoffery
Tenor Sax

Steve Davis
Trombone

Gerald Cannon
Bass

Old New Borrowed and Blue

OLD

NEW

BORROWED

& BLUE

the new album from night is alive

Old New Borrowed & Blue is the new jazz album from Night is Alive that merges the musical artistry of new songs with jazz classics. 

  1. 2 Degrees East 3 Degrees West 30s 0:30
  2. Blue and Sentimental 30s 0:30
  3. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 30s 0:30
  4. Hudson River Wind 30s 2 0:30
  5. Jimmy, Mini and Me 30s 0:30
  6. Please Don’t Go 30s 0:30
  7. Tell Me Why 30s v2 0:30
  8. The Gypsy 30s 0:30
  9. Tune for Mr T 30s 0:30

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THE BAND

John DiMartino • Musical Director & Piano
Joe Magnarelli • Trumpet
Wayne Escoffery • Tenor & Alto Sax
Lonnie Plaxico • Bass
Willie Jones III • Drums

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THE MUSIC

HUDSON RIVER WIND
TELL ME WHY
BLUE AND SENTIMENTAL
TUNE FOR MR. T
JIMMY, MIMI & ME
PLEASE DON’T GO
THE GYPSY
GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN
2 DEGREES EAST, 3 DEGREES WEST

Studio Photography by the amazing Chris Drukker. 

ABOUT THE ALBUM

Night is Alive Album Release January 5, 2022: Old New Borrowed & Blue

Night is Alive, under the leadership of Managing Director/Producer Kathy Salem, is thrilled to announce the release of Old New Borrowed & Blue.

It isn’t an easy time to be in the music industry, and it’s especially difficult to record new music. That is why Ms. Salem wanted to produce an album that featured new compositions by Night is Alive musicians in addition to classics. She said, “This album, in particular, is special to me. With a heightened awareness of how jazz compositions are really created, I produced this new CD with originals by Night is Alive band members John [DiMartino], Wayne [Escoffery], and Joe [Magnarelli]. Of course, there are also the old and the borrowed for your more classic playlist.”

Featuring Night is Alive musicians John di Martino (musical director & piano), Joe Magnarelli (trumpet), Wayne Escoffery (saxophones), Lonnie Plaxico (bass), and Willie Jones III (drums), Old New Borrowed & Blue includes nine instrumental tracks that merge the musical artistry of new songs with jazz classics, such as old favorite “The Gypsy”.

You can find this album and more on Night is Alive’s website, www.nightisalive.com

Cryin In My Whiskey

The New Album featuring Janis Siegel and John Di Martino

A Jazz Take on Country Classics

Available Now!

"This album turns Country Classics into Jazz Standards"
  1. 1 – 30s Whenever You Come Around 0:30
  2. 2 – 30s Always On My Mind 0:30
  3. 3 – 30s I Fall To Pieces 0:30
  4. 4 – 30s Are You Alright 0:30
  5. 5 – 30s Where Do I Put His Memory 0:30
  6. 6 – 30s Hard Candy Christmas 0:30
  7. 7- 30s He Stopped Loving Her Today 0:30
  8. 8 – 30s Break It To Me Gently 0:30
  9. 9 – 30s Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue 0:30

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WHERE TO BUY

Cryin’ In My Whiskey isavailable NOW on the Night is Alive Store.

Listen on Apple Music

Listen on Google Play

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MEET THE BAND

JANIS SIEGEL VOCALS
JOHN DI MARTINO PIANO, HAMMOND B3, KEYBOARDS
AARON HEICK SOPRANO & ALTO SAXOPHONES, CLARINET, FLUTE, ALTO FLUTE
HARRY ALLEN TENOR SAXOPHONE
JESSE LEWIS ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC GUITARS
LONNIE PLAXICO ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC BASS
ROSS PEDERSON DRUMS & PERCUSSION
AMY CERVINI BACKUP VOCALS

That Time of Year by Bill Cunliffe

That Time of Year by Bill Cunliffe

That Time of Year Album Cover
  1. Angels from the realms of glory Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  2. God rest ye merry, gentlemen Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  3. On Christmas day Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  4. Dance of the sugar plum fairy Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  5. Lo, how a rose e’er blooming Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  6. O little town of Bethlehem Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  7. O Christmas tree Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  8. We three kings Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  9. ‘Tis the season Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  10. Coventry carol Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  11. Jingle bells Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  12. Silent night Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  13. Carol of the bells Bill Cunliffe 0:30
  14. I’ll be home for Christmas Bill Cunliffe 0:30

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That Time of Year – Bill Cunliffe

Following review from All About Jazz

There’s always the danger of getting all schmaltzy with Christmas music, but jazz people are hipper than average and can usually come up with something appropriately cool to spin around holiday time. That’s exactly what pianist/composer Bill Cunliffe has done with That Time of Year.

Cunliffe is a versatile artist who is comfortable in any size ensemble—from his Blues and the Abstract Truth, Take 2 (Resonance Records, 2008) to his Grammy-winning arrangement on Resonance Big Band’s Plays Tribute to Oscar Peterson (Resonance, 2009)—but the Christmas mood finds him going it alone, showcasing his considerable piano chops on a set that opens with a contemplative and tranquil turn on “Angels From the Realms of Glory” which, rather than sounding hip, has a feeling of deep reverence.

It’s the second cut, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” that announces the jazz tinge to the music, with a bluesy, rollicking take on this familiar tune. “On a Christmas Day” brings in a stately atmosphere, a religious hue to the sound, leading into the crisp and jaunty “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.”

Cunliffe opens up that most familiar of Christmas tunes, “Jingle Bells,” as a ballad, before shifting into a jazzier gear, a high-RPM workout as cool as the Bill Evans Trio’s rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” from Trio 64 (Verve Records, 1964). “Silent Night” is simply beautiful in Cunliffe’s hands, at a slower tempo that allows the savoring of every resonant note, while “Carol of the Bells” is edgy and dark-toned, until it slips into a bouncy stride piano groove.

The set closes with vocalist Denise Donatelli sitting in on “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” It is a wistful, soulful and hopeful late night close to an excellent Christmas set.

Christmas in the Dog House by Bill Cunliffe

CHRISTMAS IN THE DOG HOUSE
THE NEW ALBUM BY
THE BILL CUNLIFFE TRIO
OUT NOW!

WELCOME TO THE DOG HOUSE

WHERE TO BUY

Christmas in the Dog House is available on Night is Alive’s website as well as all major online music platforms.

BILL CUNLIFFE, COMPOSER, ARRANGER, PIANIST

Jazz pianist, composer and Grammy-winning arranger Bill Cunliffe is known for his swinging and lyrical pianism and for his agility and inventiveness in melding jazz with the classical and pop genres. He performs around the world as a leader and sideman as well as a soloist with symphony orchestras.

Renowned New Zealand classical pianist Michael Houstoun recently recorded Cunliffe’s jazz arrangement of the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3, first movement, on the album “Concerti,” with the Rodger Fox Big Band (Rattle, 2015). Cunliffe served as co-producer, musical director and arranger of legendary singer Freda Payne’s jazz album “Come Back to Me Love” (Mack Avenue, 2014). His choral piece “She Moved Through the Fair,” commissioned for L.A. professional choir the Golden Bridge, received its premiere in September 2015.

Cunliffe wrote the score for the 2011 film “On the Shoulders of Giants,” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s homage to the Harlem Rens basketball team of the 1920s and ’30s. The movie received a 2013 NAACP Image Award for Best Documentary. Cunliffe’s soundtrack was nominated for Best Album.

His own recent recordings include the trio album “River Edge, New Jersey” (Azica, 2013) and his solo-piano take on traditional Christmas tunes, “That Time of Year” (Metre, 2011), described as a “tour de force” in the Los Angeles Times. Cunliffe received a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement for his “West Side Story Medley,” on the album “Resonance Big Band Plays Tribute to Oscar Peterson” (Resonance, 2009). His four other Grammy-nominated works include his concerto for trumpet and orchestra, “fourth stream … La Banda,” performed by Terell Stafford as soloist with the Temple University Symphony Orchestra (BCM+D, 2010).

Cunliffe was the 1989 winner of the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition. He is a professor of music at Cal State Fullerton and also teaches at the Vail Jazz Workshop and the Skidmore Jazz Institute.