[TR24][OF] Jim Snidero & Jeremy Pelt - Jubilation! Celebrating Cannonball Adderley - 2018 (Post-Bop, Mainstream Jazz)

For his 90th birthday, 'Jubilation!' celebrates the genius of Cannonball Adderley. Beloved veterans Jim Snidero (Downbeat critics' poll) and Jeremy Pelt create a formidable front line while David Hazeltine, Nat Reeves and Billy Drummond form an incomparable rhythm section. It's an all-star lineup celebrating a true jazz giant.
Cannonball Adderley is considered to be one of the all-time greatest jazz musicians; one whose playing projected depth and command. But, he also possessed the rare ability to connect and uplift the listener, shouting out "joy" in every phrase. For his 90th birthday, "Jubilation!" celebrates the genius of Cannonball Adderley. Beloved veterans Jim Snidero (Downbeat critics' poll) and Jeremy Pelt create a formidable front line while David Hazeltine, Nat Reeves and Billy Drummond form an incomparable rhythm section. It's an all-star lineup celebrating a true jazz giant.

Saxophonist Jim Snidero is an adroit jazz improviser, composer, and educator with a bent toward acoustic post-bop. An author of several books on jazz improvisation, Snidero is an in-demand clinician who has taught at the Jazz and Contemporary Music Program at the New School University, Indiana University, and Princeton. Born in Redwood City, California in 1958, Snidero actually grew up in Prince George's County, Maryland where he first began playing saxophone at age ten. However, it wasn't until junior high that he became interested in jazz. While playing in his school concert and jazz ensembles, Snidero also fell under the influence of hard bop saxophonist Phil Woods, with whom he was able to study. After high school, Snidero enrolled in the University of North Texas music program. During his summer vacations, Snidero spent time in New York studying with saxophonist David Liebman, and after graduating in 1981, he moved to the city. By 1982, he was touring the country with organist Jack McDuff, with whom he also recorded three albums. From there, he found work with such established outfits as the Mingus Big Band and the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra, of which he was a member from 1983 to 2003. Snidero has also performed with a bevy of names including David Murray, Frank Wess, Mel Lewis, Jim Rotondi, Maria Schneider, and many others. As a solo artist, Snidero made his debut with On Time in 1984. Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio, the album included fellow Akiyoshi bandmate and trumpeter Brian Lynch, pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist George Mraz, and drummer Billy Hart. From there, he delivered several more albums for the Criss Cross and Red labels, including 1987's Mixed Bag and 1989's Time Out. The '90s were also a fertile period for Snidero, who began branching out creatively, playing with legendary singer Frank Sinatra from 1990 to 1995, and authoring several jazz pedagogy books. During this period, he continued to release a steady stream of hard bop-influenced albums including 1990's Storm Rising, 1991's Urban Tales with trumpeter Tom Harrell, and 1997's Standards + Plus, his first largely standards-oriented recording. He rounded out the decade with a tribute to saxophonist Joe Henderson with 1999's The Music of Joe Henderson on the Double-Time label. At the turn of the millennium, Snidero began refocusing his work on his own original compositions with albums like 2002's orchestral Strings, featuring pianist Renee Rosnes, and 2004's Close Up, with saxophonist Eric Alexander. Beginning with 2007's Tippin', Snidero developed a fruitful relationship with Savant Records, returning with albums like 2009's Crossfire and 2011's Interface, both of which featured guitarist Paul Bollenback. Subsequent Savant albums, like 2013's Stream of Consciousness and 2015's Main Street, also found Snidero continuing to push himself creatively, collaborating on new material with bassist Linda Oh and drummer Rudy Royston. In 2016, Snidero released MD66, which found him drawing inspiration from Miles Davis' second great quintet of the '60s, backed by a stellar ensemble featuring Royston, trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, pianist Andy Laverne, and bassist Ugonna Okegwo.
~ Matt Collar

Trumpeter Jeremy Pelt is a firebrand jazz artist in the tradition of Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard. Born on November 4, 1976 in Southern California, Pelt first began playing the trumpet in elementary school, focusing on classical studies. However, it was not until joining his high school jazz band that he became strongly interested in changing directions and pursuing jazz full-time. This led to studying jazz improvisation and film scoring at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he earned his B.A. in professional music. Since graduating from college, Pelt has performed and/or recorded with some of the jazz world's most high-profile players, including Roy Hargrove, Ravi Coltrane, Greg Osby, Cassandra Wilson, and the Mingus Big Band, among others. He released his solo debut, Profile, for Fresh Sound in 2002. A year later, Pelt returned with Insight on Criss Cross. From 2003 to 2008, he released several albums for Maxjazz, including Close to My Heart, Identity, Shock Value: Live at Smoke, and November, all of which showcased his growing facility on the trumpet and penchant for progressive, harmonically adventurous post-bop and modal jazz. In 2010, Pelt moved to High Note and released the mid-'60s Miles Davis-influenced Men of Honor. Sticking with the same ensemble, Pelt released the similarly inclined The Talented Mr. Pelt in 2011, followed by Soul in 2012. The album was celebrated by several magazines and music websites as one of the finest jazz albums of the year. Pelt then returned with two funk, Brazilian, and electronic-infused releases with 2013's Water and Earth and 2014's Face Forward, Jeremy. In 2015, Pelt delivered his 12th studio album, Tales, Musings, and Other Reveries, which featured his two-drummer quintet with percussionists Billy Drummond and Victor Lewis. For 2016's #Jiveculture, Pelt returned to a more straight-ahead acoustic quartet format featuring Drummond, pianist Danny Grissett, and legendary bassist Ron Carter. Small group acoustic jazz and Afro-Latin rhythms were were also the focus for 2017's Make Noise!, featuring pianist Victor Gould, bassist Vicente Archer, drummer Jonathan Barber, and percussionist Jacquelene Acevedo.
~ Matt Collar