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Relentless

by Russ Nolan

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  • Full Digital Discography

    7
    releases

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    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Sin Fronteras, Sanctuary From The Ordinary/Live at Firehouse 12, Call It What You Want, Relentless, Tell Me, With You In Mind, and Two Colors. , and , .

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1.
Relentless 05:25
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2.
Cassa Cerrado 05:18
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3.
Not While I'm Around 05:54
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4.
It Ain't Child's Play 06:34
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5.
Solitude 04:31
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6.
Mr. Moore 04:48
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7.
Limbo 07:14
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8.
Abakua 05:56
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about

About the Music:
I chose the title Relentless for this new CD because it is a vital trait required for anyone pursuing a career in the Arts today. As the name implies, the melody is intense and consuming; requiring the musician’s complete focus in order to make it happen. The underlying chord structure borrows from Wayne Shorter’s Fall. Cassa Cerrado (not to be confused with the colorful Latin American TV Show Caso Cerrado) was penned at the conclusion of my organ trio’s 7-month tenure at a Midtown hotel. Borrowing from Afro-Cuban and African influences (6/4 time) with an angular melody, this tune has some serious angst.
The darker, pensive, non-Broadway style treatment of Sondheim’s Not While I’m Around (Sweeney Todd musical) was another great suggestion by my good friend and singer Audrey Lee. References to Herbie Hancock’s Speak Like a Child underlies the frantic mood of It Ain’t Child’s Play, volleying between rhythmic superimpositions and a Samba. It’s an appropriate title for anyone attempting the chord changes.
My ethereal ‘de-rangement’ of Duke’s Solitude was written one week before the recording date. Sometimes it works out better that way. Manuel’s eloquence over the bridge sections are some of my favorite moments on the record. Mr. Moore, a funky Bomba groove in 9/4 that found its home in a quasi-Boogaloo, was written for a music-loving and amicable bartender named John Moore, who often requested John Coltrane’s Cousin Mary (also a Blues in the key of A-flat).
Limbo depicts two separate voices competing for the listener’s attention, keeping one guessing which to follow. This introspective and complex composition resolves in a unified phrase, signaling a moment of clarity. Finally, Abakua is not a reference to the Secret Society, but to the Afro-Cuban body movement class I have enjoyed taking from NYC dancer Frankie Martinez, founder/principal of the Abakua Afro-Latin Dance Company. My Latin dancing (almost 7 years!) has continued to have a profound impact upon my music.
Thank you, Manuel, Michael, Brian, and Yasuyo for your amazing musicianship. 8 tunes in 5 hours is no small potatoes! Special thanks to Master Recording Engineer Paul Wickliffe for your technical knowledge, musical taste, lightning-fast editing, and fine French-pressed coffee! Four records and counting!
Most of all, thank You--the Listener-- for continuing to share in my love of Music.

credits

released January 15, 2014

Russ Nolan- Tenor and Soprano Saxophones
Manuel Valera- Piano and Fender Rhodes
Michael O’Brien- Acoustic Bass
Brian Fishler- Drums
Yasuyo Kimura- Congas/Percussion (Tracks 2, 4, 8)

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Russ Nolan New York, New York

Consistently voted onto DownBeat magazine’s Rising Star Annual Critics Poll, NYC Touring Jazz Saxophonist Russ Nolan’s music is often described as High-Energy Modern Jazz that both satisfies the intellect of its musical peers and speaks to everyone on a soulful level. His 2016 release of Sanctuary from the Ordinary-Live@ Firehouse 12 was voted onto DownBeat’s Best of 2016. ... more

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