Featuring Willie Jones III (drums/bandleader), Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), Wayne Escoffery (tenor sax), Steve Davis (trombone), Isaiah Thompson (piano), and Gerland Cannon (bass), My Ship includes nine contrasting tracks that each convey their own unique emotion.
Listen now on your favorite streaming service!
Purchase information coming soon!
Willie Jones lll
Drums
Isaiah Thompson
Piano
Jeremy Pelt
Trumpet
Wayne Escoffery
Tenor Sax
Steve Davis
Trombone
Gerald Cannon
Bass
Old New Borrowed & Blue is the new jazz album from Night is Alive that merges the musical artistry of new songs with jazz classics.
John DiMartino • Musical Director & Piano
Joe Magnarelli • Trumpet
Wayne Escoffery • Tenor & Alto Sax
Lonnie Plaxico • Bass
Willie Jones III • Drums
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
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
CHRISTMAS
AIN’T LIKE
IT USED
TO BE
John Di Martino
Andromeda Turre
Wayne Escoffery
Lonnie Plaxico
Willie Jones III
Studio: Teaneck Sound Studio – June 8, 2021
Engineer: Dave Kowalski
Mixed and Mastered: Bass Hit Studio – June 21 and 22, 2021
Engineer: Dave Darlington
Produced by: John Di Martino
Executive Producer: Kathy Salem
Studio Photography: Chris Drukker
Album Design and Photography: Benjamin Lehman
On the Cover: Jeffrey Swan
Visit www.nightisalive.com for the best in Jazz music
Night is Alive Productions, LLC
Cryin’ In My Whiskey isavailable NOW on the Night is Alive Store.
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
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.
Colors of Jazz will be available THIS SPRING on Night is Alive’s website as well as all major online music platforms.
Lovers and Love Songs is the soundtrack to a love story for the modern age. Two people with a long and stormy relationship that takes them from the deserts of the Rio Grande, to the fictitious river banks of the Cry Me A River, to the very real, jazzy streets of New York City. With a history of passing and colliding, will their ships ever set sail together for a final voyage, or are they locked in a spiral that will never culminate? The story is for you to tell, and the music is the backdrop to your imagination.
It all started with an obscure card found in many strange places across many different locations; bar tops, tables, bathroom sinks, bus stops, and hotels, from California to New York, this little card traveled endlessly and found it’s way into people hands. The little note on the back? Well, that was up to you to figure that out, and boy did you ever.
For those who did decide to go down the rabbit hole, their first stop was at an obscure website for The Rio Grande Diner, who boasted, “The Best Food In The Middle Of Nowhere.”
Not much is known about the RGD other than it was a place two young lovers would frequent.
If you waited long enough, a small hint would appear on the Rio Grande website that lead you to our female protagonist’s Instagram: Neverbeeninlovebefore.
Here is where we got to know our first actor a little better. Roberta is a young, vibrant woman who has ever known only one true, great love in her life. A man named Colin, who loved her the same. For whatever reason, however, their romance never seemed to coalesce.
After following the Instagram account for several weeks, you would have been filled in with some of the backstory which would culminate in a new revelation: a hotel confirmation. What exactly did this mean? Those who studied the image closely would be able to discern a new web address and that address led them to the Cry Me A River Hotel. Here users could even sign in and watch some of the events unfold as the check in date grew closer.
Our last step sent users trekking through forests, investigating audio files and decoding binary and base64 snippets. The end result would lead them to the twitter profile of our Male protagonist. Colin, a young man from the west with commitment issues, would soon regret his decision to leave our stranded at the Cry Me A River Hotel. Inundated with his own second guessing, he goes back online to locate the woman he stood-up.
Following Colin’s trail, the user ends up in the music forum, “From This Moment On.” This is a place where industry insiders and newbies discuss all things songful. Colin reaches out to the folks on the forum to see if they know the where-a-bouts of the lady he left behind. It’s not long before someone recognizes the person he’s looking for and point him in the right direction.
Connected again through social media, Colin and Roberta, attempt to work things out. One more chance is given and a date is set. The question is, how does it end? Is love eternal without bonds, or can it be forgotten and left to history?
The one thing that is certain is the music, the sound track to our love story, is very real. Crafted by truly legendary jazz musicians, the WJ3 All-Stars, the album Lovers and Love Songs provides the perfect backdrop for any evening when romance is either within arm’s reach, or a million miles away.
You can buy the album directly at the Night is Alive Online Shop. The new album is also available on streaming and online retail services such as Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon Music, Spotify, and many more!
Christmas in the Dog House is available on Night is Alive’s website as well as all major online music platforms.
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.
Colors of Jazz will be available THIS SPRING on Night is Alive’s website as well as all major online music platforms.
Lorca Hart grew up with a musical family in Taos, New Mexico. In high school, he started to perform and focus on jazz. He attended the California Institute of the Arts from 1992-96, studying with Albert “Tootie” Heath, Joe La Barbera, Charlie Haden, and many others!
Since his school days, Hart has made a name for himself as being one of the West Coast’s featured jazz drummers. He has performed with the likes of storyteller/radio personality Joe Frank, actor/musicians Jeff Goldblum and Peter Weller, Ronald Muldrow and so many more!
When he’s not performing, Lorca Hart is also teaching drums at Mt. San Antonio College and ensemble classes at both the Healdsburg High School and Junior High School.
Edwin Livingston has earned his reputation as being one of the best bassists on the West Coast. He has played alongside notable artists like Justo Almario, Leni Stern, Kevin Toney of The Blackbyrds, the Dave Slonaker Big Band (Grammy-nominated large ensemble album) Vince Mendoza, Bob Mintzer (Grammy-nominated large ensemble album) and SO many more!
In addition to his on-stage career, Livingston is on the faculty at the USC Thornton School of Music, where he teaches bass & small ensembles in the jazz studies department. He is also part of the faculty of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts.
Edwin has even appeared in several feature films, including Ray, Dreamgirls, Dolemite Is My Name and Low Down. He has also performed with Seal on The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Today Show, LIVE with Regis and Kelly and the A & E show Private Sessions with Queen Latifah.
He has two CD’s as a leader performing original music, The Edwin Livingston Group, and Transitions.
Josh Nelson rose to jazz stardom through his 2007 album, “Let it Go”, which was hailed by Jazz Times, All About Jazz and Jazz Review as a “fully-realized” breakthrough album. Nelson has even toured with legendary vocalist Natalie Cole for six years and continues to tour with vocalists Gaby Moreno, Freda Payne, Alicia Olatuja, accordionist Richard Galliano, clarinetist Eddie Daniels, saxophonist Tom Scott, multi-instrumentalist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and violinist Christian Howes.
In 2006, Nelson was a semi-finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. When he’s not touring, Josh Nelson is also hard at work on his ongoing project titled “The Discovery Project.” This creative endeavor, according to Nelson himself, is an “immersive multi-media presentation combining video, performance art, light, and art installations.”
Few musicians have the history and experience as tenor saxophone great Ralph Moore. He has been a heavy-weight in the jazz world for decades. His early influences such as John Coltrane can be heard in his tenor sax tone and styling.
Born in London, Moore’s life has always been culturally rich. Moving to the U.S. in 1970’s, Moore became a dedicated musician as a teenager. After attending Berklee College of Music in Boston, Moore began the life of a jazz musician. He later received the Lenny Johnson Memorial Award for outstanding musicianship.
Moore has played and recorded music with an amazing list of musicians like Dizzy Gillespie, Horace Silver, Freddie Hubbard, Ray Brown, Roy Haynes, J.J. Johnson, Cedar Walton, Bobby Hutcherson, McCoy Tyner, Roy Hargrove, Oscar Peterson, Kenny Baron to name a few. His passion and life-long study of the tenor sax can be felt in his music.
Notably, Moore spent fifteen years playing tenor saxophone in the The Tonight Show Orchestra with Jay Leno. During that time, Moore collaborated with many musicians, jazz quartets and quintets. One in particular, aptly named “Escape from New York,” featured some of his Tonight Show band members, drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith and bassist Bob Hurst.
Moore has released several albums for the Landmark (now 32 Jazz), Criss Cross, Concord, Reservoir and Savoy labels. He can also be heard playing sideman on many other great jazz albums. Ralph Moore has a solid, straight-ahead and inspiring style that puts him out front where he belongs.
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