The jazz pianist known as Eric
Shenefield has released his latest LP record, “Southwest.” The
record contains 11 original tracks for an approximate total listening
time of one hour, bringing “Southwest” closer to the length of a
double LP than that of a traditional long-play album alone. It has
proudly been published as an independent release without support of
the corporate music industry. Mainly focused on the imaginative and
liberating principles of jazz fusion, “Southwest” is an
especially colorful example of complexity expressed through
simplicity, and one of the most inventive collections of original
jazz songs to be released in the new millennium.
Shenefield cites as main artistic
influences George Duke, Chick Corea, Joe Sample, Oscar Peterson, Jeff
Lorber, Elton John, Tribal Tech, the Crusaders, and Steely Dan. Many
of the traits which slated these for the annals of music history are
present in Shenefield's “Southwest,” but his own creative
motivations don't play solo on this LP. The composer is quick to
point out that this new record showcases some of the jazz scene's
finest instrumentalists at the zenith of their game.
“This album is for people who want to
listen to music that is artfully crafted and sonically mixed to hear
the contribution of every musician,” Shenefield writes. “It
represents the efforts of many very gifted people. I want to share
that message with all who hear it.”
Neither is his goal merely
collaboration for collaboration's sake, either.
“It is my hope that people will hear
something new and exciting each time they listen. I have written the
music, but it is the collaboration of the musicians and engineers
that makes it special.”
Pianist Eric Shenefield has been
playing for nearly forty years. He considers his current group to be
the culmination of a life spent performing music. Having begun at
home at the age of eight, his skills honed and polished at the
university level, Shenefield now provides services as a keyboardist,
band leader, composer and arranger. He has performed in top-40 and
jazz bands all over the United States.
“The whirring of a fan or the hum of
tires as we travel down the road represent the possibility of
inspiration,” he writes. “We can create music by what we feel and
hear if we are open to those possibilities. Music is everywhere.
Being willing to hear it is the gateway to a whole new world of
sound.”
“Southwest” by Eric Shenefield is
available online worldwide 1 September 2014. Get in early,
jazz-fusion fiends.
-S. McCauley
Lead Press Release Writer
www.MondoTunes.com
“Southwest” by Eric Shenefield –
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