Daniel A Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 (edited) Many years ago, while still a student, I led a short-lived band dedicated to playing jazz versions of Burt Bacharach tunes, called 'Young, Shy & Handsome'. We got the band name from a 60s instrumental Bacharach LP where Burt himself was described in those words, despite being around 45 years old by then. After a couple of gigs the band evaporated, mostly because I was unable to get anyone to hire us. Since then I've been playing infrequently with other bands (not so much these days because most of my time goes into my office job), but I was hoping that some day I would be able to put together a band of my own once again. Earlier this year I was discussing this with a couple of former band members and we decided to give it a try. I booked a studio for one single day of recording; only one day because I felt I could not invest more money in the project at that point. However, the results turned out good enough to make me decide to release it on a label of my own. The release party will take place next Tuesday at a hotel in Stockholm. I'm a bit nervous since the CDs haven't been delivered from the factory yet, but I hope everything will get settled before the gig. Most of the band members have countless other projects going on, but we're hoping that by using the CD for promotion we'll get enough of gigs to keep us going (playing a couple of times a year, maybe). Myself, I'm looking at this as hobby because I won't make much money from it, but I want to keep the guys in the band happy and I'm willing to spend a lot of my free time to make it work. I've made all of the arrangements for the 7-piece band which includes trumpet, alto saxophone, trombone, bass trombone, bass and drums. I'm playing the piano myself. So far, I'm planning to handle the distribution of the CD on my own. It will hopefully soon be available from CD Baby and digitally from iTunes, eMusic and a few other services. Not many people are buying CDs these days and most of them will probably just be used for promotion, but of course anyone interested is more than welcome to order it directly from me; the price will be around 11 Euro or 12 USD plus postage. Some may note that the price to the US is cheaper; that is because I only need to add VAT inside the EU. A couple of tracks from the album may be sampled at our MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/youngshyandhandsome Our website is still in Swedish only (and in reality it's still just an ad for our release gig. However, I hope to be able to update it with some more pictures, English text and an order form for the album soon. Track listing: 1. Manteca (Gillespie) 2. The Look of Love (Bacharach) 3. Someday (George Duke) 4. Pensativa (Clare Fischer) 5. Lady in Cement (Montenegro) 6. Upstairs (Bacharach) 7. What the World Needs Now (Bacharach) 8. Do you Know the Way to San José (Bacharach) (p)&© D-Disk, 2008 Edited December 25, 2008 by Daniel A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Congratulations Daniel! Alot of holiday expenses for me right now, but I hope to order a copy after the new year some time. Good luck with the gigs, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTMX Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 I just listened to the songs on Myspace. Really nice arrangements and performances. You guys did great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papsrus Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Very exciting. Congratulations. Will check it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Congrats, Daniel! Will have to listen to the samples later... and order a disc, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewHill Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 What a great accomplishment! Great album cover too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind-blake Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 (edited) Love the samples!! Thanks man, and best of luck! Edited December 8, 2008 by blind-blake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 WOW! Really nice stuff! Congrats on both the release AND your superb taste in music! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted December 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Thanks for your enthuastic comments! I know I'm not the greatest pianist in the world, but the players in the band are really making the best out of my arrangements and I'm trying my best to keep pace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcy62 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Congrats! BTW you should post this in http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=33019, a dedicated thread Jim created under my humble suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted December 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 OK, will think of that next time! You others may still discuss it here, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Congratulations Daniel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcy62 Posted December 8, 2008 Report Share Posted December 8, 2008 Of course, we will do. The thread I suggested is a user-friendly tool for our analphabet music lovers to have all the music you, blessed musicians, create in one place, instead of those unfriendly semi-tones discussion you have on musicians forum. It's a bit frustrating for a guy like me who can play only few Dylan's songs on a crappy guitar! (well, maybe some Kaukonen' finger picking to). BTW Thanks for your passionate effort, I'll get the cd, you can bet about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 All the best with your belated venture. It ain't easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Thanks for your enthuastic comments! I know I'm not the greatest pianist in the world, but the players in the band are really making the best out of my arrangements and I'm trying my best to keep pace. Your arrangements are GREAT! Jobim may not have been the best piano player in the world either, but I NEVER tire of listening to him. Taste is very important, and you clearly have that! This is a VERY cool project! Bonus points for covering HUGO MONTENEGRO!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 (edited) Congrats, Daniel. That cover reminds me of the Sonny Criss Complete Imperial 2CD Conn ! I've heard the material on this CD and can confirm that it is excellent. I will be ordering a copy, for sure. Maybe the next CD will have the Jazz Crusaders tune on it? My fave ! Edited December 9, 2008 by sidewinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 hey, the samples really sound good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted December 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Maybe the next CD will have the Jazz Crusaders tune on it? My fave ! It is on this CD; 'Upstairs', written by Bacharach for the musical "Promises, Promises", covered by The Jazz Crusaders on 'Powerhouse' but not by too many others. Until now, of course! Your arrangements are GREAT! Jobim may not have been the best piano player in the world either, but I NEVER tire of listening to him. Taste is very important, and you clearly have that! This is a VERY cool project! Bonus points for covering HUGO MONTENEGRO!!! Thank you so much for your appreciative words! This is all about playing tunes we like (or that I like, since I've chosen them all), and while the interepretations are not advanced in any manner I hope they'll bring the good vibe we got going while playing them. 'Lady in Cement' has long been a favorite of mine; I love the time signature shifts! Bacharach was also using time shifts quite often and I've tried to get some of that into 'What the World Needs Now' which alters between 5/4 and 3/4 during the solos. And thanks everyone for your support! I feel very privileged to be able to bring tunes to a band and make music that people find - if not challenging - at least nice to listen to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teasing the Korean Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Isn't it ironic that people frequently consider Burt Bacharach "easy listening;" yet the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic structures of Burt's best tunes can be WAY more challenging to musicians than many of the 32-bar AABA standards that jazz musicians often play? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Goren. Posted December 20, 2008 Report Share Posted December 20, 2008 Congratulations Daniel. I like what I've heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted December 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 The release gig was successful, and one tune (Lady in Cement) is now on YouTube: Not in best visual quality, but the sound is decent. Filmed simutaneously with a laptop webcam and a mobile phone... I'm in the process of making a deal with a distributor, but so far the CD is only available directly from me. Prices: Europe: 11€ + 2€ shipping = 13€ US: $12.50 + 3.50 shipping = $16 If anyone's interested drop me a message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzhound Posted December 22, 2008 Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 (edited) The release gig was successful, and one tune (Lady in Cement) is now on YouTube: Not in best visual quality, but the sound is decent. Filmed simutaneously with a laptop webcam and a mobile phone... I'm in the process of making a deal with a distributor, but so far the CD is only available directly from me. Prices: Europe: 11€ + 2€ shipping = 13€ US: $12.50 + 3.50 shipping = $16 If anyone's interested drop me a message. NICE to see a band properly dressed. All the best! kudos to your drummer, also. Edited December 22, 2008 by jazzhound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted December 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 NICE to see a band properly dressed. All the best! kudos to your drummer, also. Although, he was the only one who didn't wear a suit... But thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claude Posted January 4, 2009 Report Share Posted January 4, 2009 I don't know how many of you have heard the CD, but I got it from Daniel last week (ordered by email, paid with Paypal) and I´m enjoying it a lot. It grows after each listen, like "Kind of blue" The choice of compositions, the arrangements and playing are original but unpretentious. "Manteca" and "The look of love" are standard material, but George Duke's "Someday" and Bacharach's "Do you know the way to San José" (my two favourite tunes from the CD) are rarely performed by jazz groups. What stands out most IMHO are Daniel's clever arrangements and Linus Lindblom beautiful alto sax sound and improvisations. All players except the drummer get some solo space. The presence of two trombones (tenor and bass) gives the group sound an interesting texture. I only would have wished the soloist would have stretched out more. Most tracks are between 4 and 5 minutes long, with one or two rather brief solos. The sound of the CD is flawless. The balance is perfect, and all instruments sound very natural. Only some audiophile labels do better. Great work, Daniel & Co Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted November 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2009 (edited) Hi everybody! I've actually managed to get Swedish distribution through Sony Music, and downloads are now also available from the European Amazon sites, Itunes and a few other places. Those using Spotify may listen to the album there. Of course the album still doesn't sell at all, despite a few positive revews in Swedish daily papers, but at least we're out there. A few jazz club gigs are planned for February/March 2010. I can consider myself lucky to have these great muscians at hand, and although it may not be the greatest musical achievment put on record I'm happy it came out as good as it did. Anyone interested in a copy of the album may of course contact me directly. Edited November 7, 2009 by Daniel A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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