...quietly stunning interplay...each musician establishes his identity firmly through melodic, conversational playing that is the epitome of modern, eclectic jazz.
In 2000, master guitarist John Stowell met with the 8 year-old Seattle trio of drummer John Bishop, bassist Jeff Johnson & saxophonist Rick Mandyck to record the 2001 release Scenes. Soon after, Mandyck retired his tenor for health reasons and the remaining trio carried on, recording five more albums and performing widely over these 20 years. Mandyck's participation on this session marks the first time he has entered the studio on tenor since that 2000 recording, creating a moving moment for the others as he brings along not only his singular musical voice, but five compositions to inspire the core trio, opening up new pathways of conversation. Whether traversing the tumbling landscape of Mandyck's "The Reckoning," or sliding into Claudine Francois' beautifully hypnotic title track, the eclectic quartet glides toward a known destination while discovering the course in the moment. There is history to guide their impulse, intuition to find their way.
"Considerably absorbing...Dynamically astute and rhythmically sensitive, this is very satisfying music..." - Cadence Magazine
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Scenes is:
Rick Mandyck - tenor sax
John Stowell - guitars
Jeff Johnson - bass
John Bishop - drums
Produced by John Bishop, Jeff Johnson, John Stowell
Recorded & mixed by Reed Ruddy at Studio X, Seattle, WA
September 3, 2019
Assistant engineer: Andrew Ching
Mastered by Dan Dean at Dan Dean Productions, Mercer Island, WA
Cover design & layout by John Bishop