The variety is broad and the band itself can blow up a storm!
The charismatic performances that distinguish Outrospection center on the 11 expressive compositions from Gregg Hill, an under-the-radar composer of imagination and emotional depth. Renowned bassist Rodney Whitaker first recognized Hill's music several years ago, and soon after they teamed up for the 2018 release, Common Ground. Warmth and humanity resonate throughout the recording, grown out of their friendship, two men of disparate generations and backgrounds who found each other through the music. "We both know how to listen," Whitaker reflects. "Our common ground is the music. It's really the great neutralizer." The exceptional improvisors joining Whitaker are drawn primarily from the jazz faculty at Michigan State University, the program he has helmed for two decades. Forming quartets and quintets with the rest of the rhythm section, Xavier Davis on piano and drummer Dana Hall, are Etienne Charles on trumpet, trombonist Michael Dease, and saxophonists Diego Rivera and Marcus Elliott. Rockelle Whitaker contributes lyrics and vocals to four of Hill's compositions.
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Rodney Whitaker - bass
Xavier Davis - piano
Dana Hall - drums
Randy Gelispie - drums (1,6)
Rockelle Whitaker - vocals (2,5,7,9)
Etienne Charles - trumpet (3,10,11)
Michael Dease - trombone (1,6)
Diego Rivera - saxophone (2,4,7,8)
Marcus Elliot - saxophone (9,11)
Randy Napoleon - guitar (5)
Produced by Gregg Hill and Rodney Whitaker
Recorded & mixed by Corey DeRuschia at Troubadour Studios, Lansing Michigan
Recorded on August 7-9 2020
Mastered by Jim Alfredson at Lansing, Michigan
Photography by Lynne Brown
Cover design & layout by John Bishop