Spy Glass Hill by Peter Furlan

Accordingly, the diversity of these musical experiences has served to inform Peter's comprehensive and eclectic creative palette.

Peter's collaborators here include a cross section of some of the finest young players on the New York scene, including two long-time friends, guitarist Saul Rubin, and trumpeter Vinnie Cutro. Each of the compositions has a personal meaning for Peter, as well.

The title track, "Spy Glass Hill," was inspired by a mountain in Tortolla, the Caribbean island where Peter vacations. "It's just a beautiful place," he reports. "My wife Rachelle and I stay with friends, who have a beautiful house down there. We've had some of our best times there and during one trip, I started writing the material for this recording."

"Sleep Talking," with solos by former Jazz Messenger Bryan Lynch, on trumpet, and Andrew Beals "a great alto player who worked with the late Brother Jack McDuff," was inspired by Peter's wife, who sometimes talks in her sleep. "She dreams outloud," her devoted husband reports.

"Echoes of Rachelle," also written for his wife of eleven years, "reminds me of her personality. It's a beautiful sounding melody yet very mysterious and complex," Peter explains. Solos are by the composer, on tenor sax, and Saul Rubin on guitar. "Saul is one of the best accompanists around and his solo style is very unique and different," Peter believes. Saul and Peter, along with the late Thomas Chapin, were students together in Jackie McLean's Jazz program at the Hartt College of Music at the University of Hartford.

When Peter first listened to "The Crawl," he chose that title because the tune's variations, which constantly elongate or shorten, imitated his infant daughter's attempts at crawling. Featured on this compostition is an exciting drum solo by Dave Meade.

"Fall Memories" was written for the deceased father of a close friend and it's a composition that predates the others on this session. Featured soloists include keyboardist Mitch Schecter and bassist Martin Wind, both Furlan favorites. "Mitch is a phenomenal pianist. He plays with his own trio, Jazz Spring. We've worked a lot together. I was also lucky to have Martin Wind on this date. He's a bassist from Germany who already has quite a reputation over there."

"In The Oven," was written while Peter and Rachelle were expecting their first child. "I wrote that right in the middle of her pregnancy, when something was cookin', around the time we saw the first sonogram." The track features a tasty trombone solo from Rick Davies.

"Club Peru Too!" is a "version of a song I wrote years ago," Peter reports. "The bass line theme is from a tune I wrote in college. When I was living in Hartford, I used to play a lot of Latin gigs. Club Peru was a club we played many gigs at. I've always loved that theme and this tune isn't the same, but based on it."

The thoughtful "Einstein's Dreams," was inspired by a short novel Peter read. "It was about Einstein," Peter explains. 'It takes place when Einstein was just a patent clerk and discusses some of his ideas before he became recognized as a genius. I liked the title and decided to use it for this tune." Furlan's fluid tenor, Cutro's tender trumpet and Rubin's sensitive guitar help to set the mood.

"Pentamine" is a "play on words," Peter notes. "Instead of Pantamine, I chose Pentamine because the melody of this one is based on a pentatonic scale."

"Julia Bean" was written when Peter and Rachelle's daughter, Julia, was born. "That was my first nickname for her the proud papa reports. When she came home from the hospital, she looked just like a little bean."

A Rockland county native, Peter gigs with his own group and as a sideman. He also spends quite a bit of time writing and arranging. He recently completed his Masters in Jazz Composition at NYU, while serving as Adjunct Music Professor at Montclair State University in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. Accordingly, this highly talented musician is a very busy man. As for the future, if this music is any indication, we're going to be hearing a lot more from Peter Furlan. And we can't wait!

-Bret Primack

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