Silver Lining by The Pete Petersen Quartet

The first thing you notice on hearing Pete Petersen is that he is not afraid to use the full range of expression on his horn. The second is how deftly Pete Petersen-the saxophonist is complemented by Pete Petersen-the composer. His original tunes span a prodigious musical and emotional range. There are the twistingly boppish themes of "Absolutely" and the caffeine-loaded "Tall Triple Latte", balanced by the mellow loping swing of "Silver Lining" with its Wayne Shorter-ish harmonies, and the percolating "We Think Alike", which tips as hard as anything in the Frank Foster book. Then there is the lyrical "Printemps Bleu", A melancholy 32 bar main theme hints at the blues structure, but then sets a different course in the 16 bar interlude which follows, adding a taste of optimism to this "blue spring". Silver Lining also features choice interpretations of some jazz classics. On Juan Tizol's "Caravan" from the Ellington book, the quartet is joined by trombonist Stan Bock. The rhythm section has an obvious good time with the funky afro-cuban groove during melody statement before settling down to some hard swinging on the solos. Stan and Pete burn for a few choruses before the out head and a return to the afro-cuban vamp for some collective improvisation. The Meredith Wilson classic "Till There Was You" is played with intimacy and the usual Petersen expressiveness. The opener "Remember The Time" is a bluesy swinger by Pete's mentor Marvin Blackman. Here Pete shows the boss tenor at its best, stretching out and laying back from the firrst note and then driving the band to a honking, shouting climax. Silver Lining gives notice that Pete Petersen, Boss Tenor, is here to stay." -Darrell Grant A Portland, Oregon native, Pete Petersen graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music in 1993. He has been featured on NPRís JazzSet program and has worked with jazz greats Kevin Mahogany, Jack Walrath, Stefan Karlsson, Ron Miles, and many others. He is currently one of Portlandís top call saxophonists and regularly works alongside many of the area's A-list jazzmen. He is a former member of the award-winning swing ensemble Lily Wilde and her Jumpiní Jubilee Orchestra, in addition to fronting his own jazz quartet, leading the Porkpie octet, and co-leading a 17-piece big band. His talents as an arranger are showcased on Pennies From Heaven, a soon-to-be-released CD by vocalist Howard Crosby, nephew of the legendary Bing Crosby. He also currently has one original quartet CD release, Silver Lining, and the soon-to-be-released CD 'Hats Off' from Porkpie. For Booking information: www.petepetersen.com jazz@petepetersen.com

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