Title: Resolution
Artist: Edwards, Chad
Label: CD Baby
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 659057123127
Genre: Jazz

One not-too-distant New Year's Day, pianist and composer Chad Edwards made a New Year's resolution - to get in the studio and record a few of his original jazz compositions. The resulting CD, Resolution, his first solo release, is receiving critical acclaim: 'One of my favorite releases this year. A serendipitous pairing of rhythm and melody by an intuitive quartet of players, it is small-group jazz at it's finest, relaxed yet cooking.' Paul Anderson, LA Times/San Gabriel Valley Weekly, Friday, November 24, 2000 For this session, Edwards put together a stellar band featuring three of LA's young lions and longtime friends: Andy Suzuki on saxes, Dean Taba on acoustic and electric basses, and Kendall Kay on drums and percussion. Edwards's writing represents a fresh voice in modern jazz. His songs combine a strong melodic sense with original harmonic settings and plenty of room for the spontaneous interplay of the band to find it's voice. Check out the title track, Resolution, with Edwards laying down a strong thematic motif behind Suzuki's forceful melody line, followed by a smoldering soprano sax solo and then inventive synth and piano explorations by Edwards, all the while with Taba and Kay driving the action on bass and drums. Or listen to the lyricism in the poignant composition Elegy, combining a unique modal ostinato with a soaring melody that inspires powerful improvisations from Suzuki, Edwards, and Taba. Next up, Tempest plows new ground with a 24-bar line that sprinkles some dissonant chaos over your traditional blues changes, with all four players offering up vigorous solos. Other original compositions include Sweet and Pungent Dreams, a beautiful lullaby dedicated to Edwards's two young children, Stutterstep, an up-tempo burner with a syncopated twist, and Bodacious Kumquats, an adventurous contemporary jazz journey. Sprinkled among these originals, Edwards pays homage to some of his jazz influences with fresh interpretations of three classic jazz standards. The disc opens with a new reading of the Miles Davis classic Nardis, with great ensemble playing in both the head and the solos. Edwards's original reading of the Horace Silver classic Song for My Father features a modal, Latin flavor. And the CD closes with a warm rendition of the Gershwin melody They Can't Take That Away From Me, opening with a flowing rubato piano introduction by Edwards, and culminating in a warm tenor sax performance by Suzuki. Pianist Chad Edwards has been active in the LA area jazz scene for two decades, having performed with jazz greats Phil Upchurch, Lee Konitz, Bill Watrous, and many others. He played with guitarist Stanley Jordan while both were attending Princeton University, and then co-founded and toured with the fusion band Slow Burn after moving to LA. You can hear his work with the retro-jazz quintet Zen Dadio in the Academy Award-winning motion picture American Beauty. When he's not playing music, Chad holds down the 'NASA day gig' at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, figuring out how to talk to spacecraft at Mars and beyond. Saxophonist Andy Suzuki has played with such artists as Chick Corea, John Patittucci, Alex Acuna, and Don Was, and has recorded and toured with the jazz band Kilauea and with pianist David Benoit. He is also a prolific composer, leading and recording with his own acoustic/electric jazz band in the LA area. Bassist Dean Taba hails from Hawaii. An accomplished electric and acoustic bassist, he has played with a wide array of artists since coming to LA. He has performed and recorded with the jazz band Kilauea and has toured Europe with guitarist Jeff Richman. He currently tours with pianist David Benoit. Percussionist Kendall Kay began his musical career in South Africa, coming to the US in 1983, where he studied jazz at North Texas State. Since his arrival in LA in 1987, he has been playing and recording with such artists as Poncho Sanchez, Bob Sheppard, Kenny Drew, Jr., Alan Broadbent, and Ricki Lee Jones. If you're interested in discovering an original new sound, if you value strong composition and inspired musical performance, and if you welcome the musical interplay of four musicians speaking with one mind, check out this new CD, Resolution, by Chad Edwards. For further information, please contact by e-mail: Chad-edwards@sbcglobal.net.

Tracks:
1.1 Nardis
1.2 Resolution
1.3 Elegy
1.4 Tempest
1.5 Sweet and Pungent Dreams
1.6 Song for My Father
1.7 Bodacious Kumquats
1.8 Stutterstep
1.9 They Can't Take That Away from Me