Ariadne’s Notes:

 The World Poetry Café Radio Show, CRFO 100.5 FM on October 5, 1:35 FM, PST  welcomed the talented Brian Landrus featuring his new CD Generations. This is a wonderful CD , a multilayered tapestry of music that enchants the listeners.  Great detail and care was taken  to create the best possible sound. World Poetry Team : Ariadne Sawyer, Victor Swartzman and Special volunteer Sharon Rowe. Peace poems by Lina Zeron.

LISTEN HERE FOR THE RADIO SHOW!http://www.coopradio.org/station/archives/1707

A Must Hear CD! 

Composer and Baritone Saxophonist Brian Landrus Reveals a Thrilling, Ground-Breaking New Vision for the Jazz Orchestra on Generations   out July 28 via Blue Land Records   The 25-piece Brian Landrus Orchestra makes a stunning debut with sweeping compositions inspired by generations of composers, genres and family  This is really like nothing I’ve ever heard before.  It’s going to be amazing and I can’t wait to hear the final product! Joe Locke . To be part of Brian’s vision is enlightening.  It causes me optimism.”  Billy Hart   CD Release Concert  was Friday and Saturday July 28 & 29 at Cornelia Street Café, NYC.

Monumental in creative ambition, imaginative scope, and artistic achievement not to mention sheer scale – Generations is the breathtaking debut of the Brian Landrus Orchestra, a 25-piece all-star ensemble stocked with some of the most inventive musicians in modern music. These adventurous virtuosos have congregated to realize the extraordinary, sweeping music of composer, baritone saxophonist and low woodwind master Brian Landrus, whose work combines a lifetime worth of wide-ranging listening and playing into an arrestingly bold, radiant and singular vision.   Far from a standard big band project and unlike any orchestral jazz ensemble that come before it, the Brian Landrus Orchestra incorporates inspiration from classical music, hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, reggae and world music with inspiration being the key word. In Landrusa inventive hands these diverse genres are deconstructed and absorbed, emerging in startling and unrecognizable ways to conjure a dramatic and thrilling sonic landscape.   The title Generations carries multiple meanings for Landrus including influences that span centuries from Bach to Ellington to Motown to Led Zeppelin to J Dilla; the family members that inspired Landrus and his music, from his father to his children; and the generations of musicians who have come together to breathe life into these deeply personal compositions. The drum chair alone features a four-decade difference in age, from the legendary Billy Hart to rising star drummer Justin Brown.   The awe-inspiring ensemble also features Jamie Baum, Tom Christensen, Darryl Harper, Michael Rabinowitz, Alden Banta and Landrus himself on woodwinds; Debbie Schmidt, Ralph Alessi, Igmar Thomas, Alan Ferber and Marcus Rojas on brass; harpist Brandee Younger and a string section featuring Sara Caswell, Mark Feldman, Joyce Hammann, Meg Okura, Lois Martin, Nora Krohn, Jody Redhage and Maria Jeffers; vibraphonist Joe Locke; and bassists Jay Anderson and Lonnie Plaxico. The Orchestra is conducted by bandleader JC Sanford, who has also held the baton for the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble and the Alice Coltrane Orchestra. Landrus co-produced the album with fellow composers Robert Livingston Aldridge and Frank Carlberg.   Landrus comes to the project with a wealth of experience both as a leader and as a performer with some of the worlds most distinctive artists from a variety of genres: has toured the world in superstar Esperanza Spalding band and played in Ryan Truesdella  prize-winning Gil Evans Project as well as working with the likes of Bob Brookmeyer, Rufus Reid, Danilo Perez, Frank Kimbrough, Gary Smulyan, Maria Schneider, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Martha Reeves, George Garzone, Bob Moses, Louis Nash, Nicholas Urie, Jerry Bergonzi, Ayn Inserto, Alan Ferber, Uri Caine and Ralph Alessi, among others. Generations is the culmination of a long-held dream for Landrus.

You can find the CD and all the outlets.

Source:  Braitwaite and Katz Communications.