Phil Kelly

Convergence Zone

Origin 82417



Convergence Zone adds a much needed upgrade to what the jazz orchestras are dealing with today.
Jae Sinnett

After a 40 year career as a composer/ arranger in film & TV (including over 700 national TV commercials), Phil Kelly has "returned to his musical roots as a hobby," and recorded his first big band jazz album. Featuring the very best studio and jazz players in the Pacific Northwest plus several old friends from L.A., New York and Nashville including Pete Christlieb, Andy Martin, Pat Coil, and Gary Smulyan, this album will be of great interest to fans of modern mainstream big band jazz. From Basie and Herman to Tower of Power and the Metropole Orchestra, Convergence Zone displays Kelly's deep love and knowledge of the music and offers a fresh new platform for the big band idiom.


Track Listing:

1 DAMP BROWN PLACES 6:39
2 CUZN BUBBA LUVZ EWE 6:11
3 SUBZTATOOT SHUFFLE 7:32
4 SWEET GEORGIA UPSIDE DOWN 5:15
5 BELLA LUCE 7:05
6 YOU AND THE NIGHT AND THE MUSIC 6:31
7 YADA YADA 5:28
8 O.T.B.S 7:21
9 KATHY'S WALTZ 4:29
10 THE REFRIGERATOR 8:26

Performers:

Phil Kelly Big Band:

Phil Kelly - Conductor

Trumpets/Flugelhorns:
BRAD ALLISON
JAY THOMAS
PAUL BARON - (lead trumpet 3,5,7)
VERN SEILERT
Saxes /Woodwinds:
BILL RAMSAY
TRAVIS RANNEY
PETE CHRISTLIEB
JIM COILE
GARY SMULYAN
Trombones:
ANDY MARTIN
GARY SHUTES
DAN MARCUS - tuba
NELSON BELL - bass trombone
Rhythm:
JOHN HANSEN - piano
CHUCK DEARDORF - bass
GARY HOBBS - drums
Rhythm on "Bubba" and "Refrigerator":
PAT COIL - piano
PAUL LEIM - drums
CRAIG NELSON - electric bass (Bubba)
GERALD STOCKTON - electric bass (Refrigerator)
MARK BALDWIN - guitar
String Programming:
MATT BENNETT

Production Info:

Recorded & mixed August 25/26, 2003 by TOM HALL
at TRIAD STUDIOS, Redmond WA
Except "Bubba" & "Refrigerator" recorded at The Holler in Nashville TN
Engineered by DAVID HALL & mixed by DAVID LANGE
at David Lange Studio, Tacoma WA
Mastered by RICK FISHER, RFI Mastering, Seattle
Cover photography by TODD BISHOP
Band photos by STEVE ROBINSON
Layout & design by JOHN BISHOP


Reviews of Convergence Zone

Earshot (Bill Barton)
Composer/arranger Phil Kelly's new big band CD is truly a convergence zone between "tight" and "loose." Combining a stellar array of first-call studio players and smokin' jazz soloists from the Pacific Northwest with a few of his old friends from the Los Angeles, New York and Nashville scenes, Kelly has come up with a recording that combines consum ...

All About Jazz (Dan McClenaghan)
If you watch any television at all it's a good bet you've heard Phil Kelly's sound. Kelly has worked for forty years as a composer/arranger in film and TV, including over 700 national TV commercials. For Convergence Zone Kelly has assembled some of the finest studio and jazz players in the Northwest for a swinging, sassy set of big band jazz. Th ...

All Music Guide (Adam Greenberg )
From longtime television, film, and commercial arranger Phil Kelly comes Convergence Zone, his first album as a leader. Since a relocation to the Pacific Northwest in 1998, Kelly has worked with a number of regional jazz figures, culminating in the grouping of the NW Prevailing Winds big band playing here. The album is full of works of big-band m ...

Jazz Programmers List (Jae Sinnett )
"Convergence Zone" adds a much needed upgrade to what the jazz orchestras are dealing with today in terms of predictability. The arrangements are challenging, fun and work only because of the quality of these musicians playing them. The sections are cohesive and beautifully in tune. The dynamic range of this band is refreshing. Jay Thomas is one o ...

Jazz Connection (Stephen Fratallone)
Composer and arranger Phil Kelly has written volumes of stuff during the past 40 years for recording artists, bands, symphony pops, film, television, and commercials and now at age 65, he has finally gotten around to write some music for himself. The fruit of his labors are on his debut CD for Origin Records, Convergence Zone: Phil Kelly And The NW ...

All About Jazz (Jack Bowers)
A 'convergence zone' is where winds from all over gather together to blow up a storm, which is an entirely appropriate metaphor for this tempestuous new album by composer/arranger Phil Kelly & the NW Prevailing Winds except that Kelly not only has those formidable winds at his command but muscular brass and rhythm as well. ...

Mainly Big Bands (John Killoch)
I seem to have tapped in to a rich vein of big band music recently.. One of the most spectacular recordings is the one subject of this post. I have been seeing Phil Kelly's name associated with great arrangements for some years. Not the least of these is the impudent reworking of Sweet Georgia Brown, a dream of a swing arrangement re titled SWEET G ...

Jazz Review (Shaun Dale)
Composer/arranger Phil Kelly has some first call help on his latest effort, including Pete Christlieb, Gary Smulyan and Bill Ramsey on woodwinds, Andy Martin and Jay Thomas on brass and pianist Pat Coil, but while they, and others in the ensemble, offer some fine solos, it's really Kelly's behind the scenes and front of the room work that's on disp ...

amazon.com (John Tapscott)
Phil Kelly One of the Best Big Band Jazz CDs of '03 January 19, 2004 Kelly moved to the Pacific Northwest in 1998 and put together a band consisting of the top musicians in that area. Finally, in August 2003, the NW Prevailing Winds (with guests Pete Christlieb, Gary Smulyan and Andy Martin aboard) recorded "Convergence Zone." Both the band and the ...



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