jazz2love

  Album:  Passionata: The Music of Gregg Hill  Artist:  Technocats Label: Cold Plunge Records Release Date: August 28, 2026 Website:  www.gregghilljazz.com www.coldplungerecords.com  The Technocats is a contemporary jazz ensemble rooted in Michigan’s fertile jazz community.  Their 2026 release Passionata: The Music of Gregg Hill shows them exploring the jazz language through improvised exchanges and melodic phrasing, using the music of Gregg Hill as their source.  Led by bass trombonist Chris Glassman, alongside guitarist Nathan Borton, the group brings together a motley crew of performers, arrangers, educators, and improvisers, who develop their harmonic concepts from the straight-ahead jazz marketplace, merged with contemporary influences and individual expression. The ensemble’s arrangements are cultivated by each player contributing to the compositions progression, creating a collaborative environment where written material evolves through in...

  New Release  Found in Space:  The Music of Gregg Hill from Michael Dease Label: Origin Records Release Date: September 20, 2024 Website:  https://www.michaeldease.com https://www.gregghilljazz.com Balancing lyricism with dynamic harmonic formations, trombonist-saxophonist Michael Dease pays homage to the work of Gregg Hill with his project Found in Space:  The Music of Gregg Hill.  His reimagination of a handful of Hill's material keeps the basic motifs in tact while encouraging spirited explorations in the open spaces.  The sci-fi motifs opening "The Last Pop Tune" are filled with circling woodwinds and brass instruments as trumpeter/arranger Matt White incorporates frilly counterpoints by Bill Cunliffe on piano keys, and soft flails from Sharel Cassity's flute.  The band sails tightly, maneuverimg through various turns, rhythmic changes and chord dynamics along the course, keeping the track in a continued flux of motion.  "One for Rodney,...

  Wake Up Call from Rick Roe Label: Cold Plunge Records Release Date:  December 19, 2025 Websites: https://www.gregghilljazz.com https://www.roejazz.com Pianist, leader and arranger Rick Roe, while in the company of Nate Winn on drums, Robert Hurst on bass, and Marcus Elliot on tenor and soprano saxophones, has cultivated a nouveau straight-ahead jazz style on his newest addition Wake Up Call:  The Music of Gregg Hill .  Roe and company make alternations to jazz composer Gregg Hill's compositions that set these tracks along a path of spiraling aerials and stimulating improvisations.  The main course of the album is the window brightening hues of "Sunspiration," escalated by the swinging fluctuations throttling the title track, and then rolling into the stargazing harmonies of "Wide River."   The bopping beats of "The Return of Mr. Pea" propel Roe's jutting keys and Elliot's zigzagging tenor into a nouveau stratosphere.  For the dessert, Winn...

Album: Puppets, The Music Of Gregg Hill Artist: Randy Napoleon Label: Origin Arts/OA2 Website: randynapoleon.com A musical depiction of imaginary figures coursing along a continuous journey is expressed in Greg Hill's assortment of hot-bop, country folk and sonic pop fusions presented by guitarist Randy Napoleon on his 2022 release Puppets, The Music of Gregg Hill .  Accompanied by the stirring vocals of Aubrey Johnson and woodwind player Seth Ebersole, the recording has a rhythm section consisting of Rick Roe on piano, Rodney Whitake and Brandon Rose on bass, and drummers Quincey Davis and Will Crandell.  The outcome is a joyful ride, overflowing with uplifting sensations. Opening with “Andy’s Lament,” Johnson's soft vocal tones enhance the cheery mood created by the playful ringlets of Napoleon's guitar strings in conjunction with the bowing lines of Whitaker's bass.  “Fan-O-Gram” boasts a hot-bop frenzy that enlivens the recording with Aubrey's scatting, then rec...