Interconnection
NEW DUET RECORDING BY GUITARIST BOB SNEIDER & PIANIST
PAUL HOFMANN
Carrying on the tradition of Bill Evans and Jim Hall
“[Sneider has] one of the most refreshingly
original jazz guitar styles you’re likely
to hear.”
— David R. Adler, All Music Guide
“[Hofmann is] swinging, rock-solid; inventive
and technically masterful...”
— Mike Metheny, Jazz Ambassadors Magazine
New York, NY – Sons of Sound proudly announces
the April 6, 2004 release of Interconnection (SSPCD019),
a recording that pays tribute to the classic Bill
Evans and Jim Hall recordings of the 1960s: Undercurrent
(United Artists) and Intermodulation (Verve). Interconnection
is deeply inspired by Hall and Evans as well as
other classic jazz duos, such as Nat Cole-Oscar
Moore and Chick Corea-Gary Burton. Sneider and
Hofmann have created tightly-knit arrangements
and ensemble sections to give this recording its
beauty and intensity.
Both players contribute first-rate writing, instrumental
technique, and improvisation to the ten tracks,
which include Hofmann’s four-part “Jazz
Suite for Guitar and Piano” among six other
originals by the artists. The three standards represented
are Ellington’s “Mood Indigo,” also
known as “Dreamy Blues,” first popularized
in 1930; Jobim’s “Desafinado,” arranged
with the composer’s original vocal phrasing;
and George and Ira Gershwin’s “Bidin’ My
Time” from 1930’s Girl Crazy, the same
show that provided the more often recorded “I
Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You” and “But
Not For Me.”
In the liner notes for the release, Bob Blumenthal
writes: “The first thing to notice about
Interconnection is just how seamlessly Bob Sneider
and Paul Hofmann do connect. Pianists and guitarists
often find it difficult to coexist in an improvisational
setting, and piano/guitar duos are rare; but check
out the pairs that have worked in this context
(Bill Evans and Jim Hall, Gil Goldstein and Pat
Martino, Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass, Benny Green
and Russell Malone) and you find that their empathy
extends beyond technique and harmonic intelligence
to attitude. Each player does not merely follow
the other; he is inclined by temperament to do
so. Ditto Sneider and Hofmann.”
Guitarist/Composer Bob Sneider is a Chuck Mangione
tour veteran and two-time winner of the DownBeat
Outstanding Performance in Jazz award, both at
the high school and college levels. He has performed
with Nat Adderley, Houston Person, Etta Jones,
Nnenna Freelon, Lou Donaldson, Stanley Turrentine,
Fred Wesley, Steve Gadd, Freddie Cole, Jon Faddis,
Keeter Betts, Jay Leonhart, and frequently appears
with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Pops.
Pianist/Composer Paul Hofmann has written music
with Kevin Mahogany, as well as touring, recording,
and appearing with the vocalist on PBS. He has
also performed or recorded with Karrin Allyson,
The Smothers Brothers, Ron Carter, Steve Gadd,
Richie Cole, Ralph LaLama, Fred Wesley, Steve Turre,
Joe Magnarelli, Joe Romano, Claude ‘Fiddler’ Williams,
Rod Fleeman, and Mike Metheny.
Interconnection is Mr. Sneider’s third as
leader, a follow-up to 2001’s Out Of The
Darkness (Sons of Sound SSPCD010), a recording
that received four stars and the following review
from David R. Adler in the All Music Guide: “Bob
Sneider may not be widely known, but he’s
developed one of the most refreshingly original
jazz guitar styles you’re likely to hear. …he
displays a woody, acoustic tone reminiscent of
Jim Hall, Martin Taylor, and John Pizzarelli. He
possesses tremendous technical facility and a truly
inventive vocabulary — odd intervallic combinations,
timbres, and turns of phrase crop up everywhere,
all in the service of an impeccable lyricism.” Frank
Rubolino of Cadence added: “...the guitarist
plays with ringing clarity and a joyous nature.” And,
from Dr. Judith Schlesinger in All About Jazz: “Sneider
is a classy player with a honeyed tone and smooth,
melodic lines. …like taking a springtime
ride with the top down. …pianist Hofmann
[is] consistently first-rate.”
In addition to Mr. Sneider’s Out Of The
Darkness, Mr. Sneider may also be heard on Rodgers & Leonhart
by Jay Leonhart (Sons of Sound SSPCD015), a disc
recorded in tribute to the Richard Rodgers Centennial
in 2002. Mr. Hofmann has previously recorded ten
discs for his own label, MHR Records.
Sons of Sound is an independent jazz label founded
in 1997 to support musicians who support music
education. Mr. Sneider is the professor of jazz
guitar at the Eastman School of Music, where Mr.
Hofmann is also on faculty. Mr. Sneider is also
an annual participant in Swing ‘N Jazz, a
three-day celebration of music education with workshops,
concerts, and a fund-raising golf tournament for
the benefit of The Commission Project, a music
education nonprofit in Rochester, NY.
For additional information see the label’s
web site at http://sonsofsound.com/. For more about
The Commission Project, see http://tcp-music.org/
and http://swingnjazz.org/.
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