| Paul Bollenback — Portraits in Space and Time |
Paul Bollenback — Portraits in Space and Time
Born: June 6, 1959 in Hinsdale, IL
Location: USA
Album release: September 23, 2014
Record Label: Mayimba Music
Duration: 78:09
Tracks:
01. Call Of The Spirits 1:51
02. Homecoming 7:45
03. 3 Days 9:07
04. Collective 2:06
05. Sunset 8:24
06. Jungle 1:16
07. Little Island 7:24
08. Bird In The Sky 6:00
09. Open Hand 9:48
10. Dance Delicious 4:26
11. Joseph 1:31
12. Dance Of Hands 5:48
13. Lights 5:27
14. Swingin' At Capones 7:23
Personnel:
•• Paul Bollenback: electric guitar, acoustic guitar;
•• Joseph Lepore: bass;
•• Rogerio Boccato: drums, percussion.
Credits:
•• Tom Tedesco Engineer
•• Dave Darlington Mastering, Mixing
Written by:
•• Rogerio Boccato / Paul Bollenback / Joseph Lepore 1, 4
•• Paul Bollenback 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
REVIEW
By DAN BILAWSKY, Published: September 5, 2014 | SCORE: ****
≠Ξ≠ Guitarist Paul Bollenback is valued by listeners and musicians alike for his incisive and inventive guitar work, wholly in the tradition while simultaneously branching out beyond the same old same old. His playing has been a key ingredient — in some cases, the key ingredient — in much of organ kingpin Joey DeFrancesco's recorded output, saxophonist Jim Snidero's highly praised Savant dates, vocalist Chris McNulty's post–millennial releases, and elsewhere, but it's his own albums that truly provide a full picture of his talent(s). Bollenback doesn't subscribe to the churn–out–an–album–per–year philosophy, and he's never had to since he's remained extremely busy as a sideman and educator, so he makes each and every record count; this one, for example, comes seven years after his previous album — Invocation (Elefant Dreams, 2007) — and it's a doozy.
•• Portraits In Space And Time finds Bollenback in the company of bassist Joseph Lepore and drummer/percussionist Rogerio Boccato, spinning out everything from starry night music to Brazilian–tinged constructs. High–level communication is on display throughout, whether these three are delivering sophisticated sounds of the wild ("Jungle"), a winner in five ("Little Island"), a light touch John Scofield–ish jam number ("Open Hand"), or a slow moving waltz ("3 Days"). There's plenty of life and lift in this music ("Homecoming"), but it's sensitivity and a gentle(r) bearing that carry the day; background–foreground alternation between Bollenback and Lepore, the delightfully deft drumming of Boccato, and the marriage of all three personalities make the ears stand up and take notice.
•• Hints of everybody from Bill Frisell to John Abercrombie to Jim Hall to Vinicius Cantuaria come out at times in Bollenback's playing, but his work is never really derivative; it's simply in tune with so many different aspects of jazz language(s), so there's bound to be some crossover in vocabulary. Add to that the taut and focused bass work of Lepore and the inimitable drumming of Boccato and you have something truly special: three who play as one, listening, moving, and creating with the spirit of cooperation. By DAN BILAWSKY •• http://www.allaboutjazz.com/
Artist Biography by Linda Seida
≠Ξ≠ Award–winning jazz guitarist Paul Bollenback developed a taste for the exotic over the course of a three–year period when his family lived in India. He was 11 years old when the family traveled to New Delhi, and years later the sounds and experiences of that early journey found their way into his first album from Challenge Records, Original Visions. His next release, Double Gemini, continued to stir up a buzz among critics, and it drew honors as CD of the Month from both WBGO, a Newark jazz station, and 20th Century Jazz Magazine. Bollenback remained with Challenge for his next project, Soul Grooves.
•• The guitarist first got his hands on an instrument with nylon strings when he was seven years old. The guitar was a gift from his dad, who adored music as much as the younger Bollenback and also played the trumpet. At the age of 14, the budding guitarist headed home to the states with his family, where he discovered the delights of rock & roll. Around this time he started to play the electric guitar, another gift from his dad. When he discovered Miles Davis, it was a major turning point in his musical development.
•• Bollenback's education includes music studies at the University of Miami. He continued his studies with eight more years of private instruction under the tutelage of Asher Zlotnik in Baltimore. In 1993, the year that he embarked on a European tour, he received a National Endowment for the Arts grant, in conjunction with the Virginia Commission on the Arts, for "New Music for Three Jazz Guitars." The Washington Area Music Awards dubbed him Musician of the Year in 1997, the same year that he joined the music faculty at American University. SESAC honored two of his original pieces, "Romancin' the Moon" and "Wookies' Revenge," both of which were included on the album Reboppin' by Joey DeFrancesco, who returned the favor by appearing on Bollenback's Soul Grooves.
•• The Litchfield Jazz Festival Summer Music School installed Bollenback as artist—in–residence. He also is a featured artist on the bill of the Summer Guitar & Bass Workshop offered by Duquesne University. The guitarist has performed on numerous television programs, among them Entertainment Tonight, The Tonight Show, The Today Show, Joan Rivers, and Good Morning America. He has shared the stage with a long list of musical artists, including Charlie Byrd, Arturo Sandoval, Herb Ellis, Stanley Turrentine, Spyro Gyra's Scott Ambush, and Della Reese.
≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠
| Paul Bollenback — Portraits in Space and Time |
Born: June 6, 1959 in Hinsdale, IL
Location: USA
Album release: September 23, 2014
Record Label: Mayimba Music
Duration: 78:09
Tracks:
01. Call Of The Spirits 1:51
02. Homecoming 7:45
03. 3 Days 9:07
04. Collective 2:06
05. Sunset 8:24
06. Jungle 1:16
07. Little Island 7:24
08. Bird In The Sky 6:00
09. Open Hand 9:48
10. Dance Delicious 4:26
11. Joseph 1:31
12. Dance Of Hands 5:48
13. Lights 5:27
14. Swingin' At Capones 7:23
Personnel:
•• Paul Bollenback: electric guitar, acoustic guitar;
•• Joseph Lepore: bass;
•• Rogerio Boccato: drums, percussion.
Credits:
•• Tom Tedesco Engineer
•• Dave Darlington Mastering, Mixing
Written by:
•• Rogerio Boccato / Paul Bollenback / Joseph Lepore 1, 4
•• Paul Bollenback 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
REVIEW
By DAN BILAWSKY, Published: September 5, 2014 | SCORE: ****
≠Ξ≠ Guitarist Paul Bollenback is valued by listeners and musicians alike for his incisive and inventive guitar work, wholly in the tradition while simultaneously branching out beyond the same old same old. His playing has been a key ingredient — in some cases, the key ingredient — in much of organ kingpin Joey DeFrancesco's recorded output, saxophonist Jim Snidero's highly praised Savant dates, vocalist Chris McNulty's post–millennial releases, and elsewhere, but it's his own albums that truly provide a full picture of his talent(s). Bollenback doesn't subscribe to the churn–out–an–album–per–year philosophy, and he's never had to since he's remained extremely busy as a sideman and educator, so he makes each and every record count; this one, for example, comes seven years after his previous album — Invocation (Elefant Dreams, 2007) — and it's a doozy.
•• Portraits In Space And Time finds Bollenback in the company of bassist Joseph Lepore and drummer/percussionist Rogerio Boccato, spinning out everything from starry night music to Brazilian–tinged constructs. High–level communication is on display throughout, whether these three are delivering sophisticated sounds of the wild ("Jungle"), a winner in five ("Little Island"), a light touch John Scofield–ish jam number ("Open Hand"), or a slow moving waltz ("3 Days"). There's plenty of life and lift in this music ("Homecoming"), but it's sensitivity and a gentle(r) bearing that carry the day; background–foreground alternation between Bollenback and Lepore, the delightfully deft drumming of Boccato, and the marriage of all three personalities make the ears stand up and take notice.
•• Hints of everybody from Bill Frisell to John Abercrombie to Jim Hall to Vinicius Cantuaria come out at times in Bollenback's playing, but his work is never really derivative; it's simply in tune with so many different aspects of jazz language(s), so there's bound to be some crossover in vocabulary. Add to that the taut and focused bass work of Lepore and the inimitable drumming of Boccato and you have something truly special: three who play as one, listening, moving, and creating with the spirit of cooperation. By DAN BILAWSKY •• http://www.allaboutjazz.com/
Artist Biography by Linda Seida
≠Ξ≠ Award–winning jazz guitarist Paul Bollenback developed a taste for the exotic over the course of a three–year period when his family lived in India. He was 11 years old when the family traveled to New Delhi, and years later the sounds and experiences of that early journey found their way into his first album from Challenge Records, Original Visions. His next release, Double Gemini, continued to stir up a buzz among critics, and it drew honors as CD of the Month from both WBGO, a Newark jazz station, and 20th Century Jazz Magazine. Bollenback remained with Challenge for his next project, Soul Grooves.
•• The guitarist first got his hands on an instrument with nylon strings when he was seven years old. The guitar was a gift from his dad, who adored music as much as the younger Bollenback and also played the trumpet. At the age of 14, the budding guitarist headed home to the states with his family, where he discovered the delights of rock & roll. Around this time he started to play the electric guitar, another gift from his dad. When he discovered Miles Davis, it was a major turning point in his musical development.
•• Bollenback's education includes music studies at the University of Miami. He continued his studies with eight more years of private instruction under the tutelage of Asher Zlotnik in Baltimore. In 1993, the year that he embarked on a European tour, he received a National Endowment for the Arts grant, in conjunction with the Virginia Commission on the Arts, for "New Music for Three Jazz Guitars." The Washington Area Music Awards dubbed him Musician of the Year in 1997, the same year that he joined the music faculty at American University. SESAC honored two of his original pieces, "Romancin' the Moon" and "Wookies' Revenge," both of which were included on the album Reboppin' by Joey DeFrancesco, who returned the favor by appearing on Bollenback's Soul Grooves.
•• The Litchfield Jazz Festival Summer Music School installed Bollenback as artist—in–residence. He also is a featured artist on the bill of the Summer Guitar & Bass Workshop offered by Duquesne University. The guitarist has performed on numerous television programs, among them Entertainment Tonight, The Tonight Show, The Today Show, Joan Rivers, and Good Morning America. He has shared the stage with a long list of musical artists, including Charlie Byrd, Arturo Sandoval, Herb Ellis, Stanley Turrentine, Spyro Gyra's Scott Ambush, and Della Reese.
≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠≠Ξ≠