http://rarwriter.com/
Smart Stuff from the Flat Irons
RAR NOTE: Signel-Z is the brainchild of bassist/guitarist Steve Ignelzi, who has recently released his jazz collective's first CD io Rise, available on iTunes and elsewhere.
The techie allusion within the title of the CD should be a tip-off to what you are dealing with here, which is stuff too smart for some rooms. (It is not, however, the sort of electrical switch open/switch closed product implied by the title - it is all real musicians on real instruments.) This is a jazz fusion, which won't appeal to those who don't appreciate that form, but for those who do this is a real pleasure. It is a series of wonderful original compositions, performed with a live energy, feel and sound that is unusually anarchic for a form that really exists as a tribute to the traditional jazz forms that came before. There is a thing going on with East Coast underground jazz that seems to be captured in the horn work of this band from Boulder, a sort of revolutionary vibe played out through the bleat of sculpted brass and the peppery accents of 16th-note bursts of jazz guitar.
Steve Ignelzi is one of the more interesting artists at work anywhere today, in part because he does so much. Rather like a model for Buckaroo Bonzai, Ignelzi is a chemist by day - a discipline he has now maintained for decades - and a working musician by night, playing in Signel-Z, the adventurous Martian Acres, Girls on Top, and from time to time a big show band with horn section. And somehow he has raised a family, and sent a kid to college, while another son performs on drums with Signel-Z. He has maintained a long marriage, often working with his wife Chris, who is an excellent vocalist. And Ignelzi does all this with a disarming charm, a sort of low profile boyishness that seems outwardly void of any personal obsessions, other than enjoying the most minute details of musical expression, production and engineering. Just read the marketing promo below and you'll get a good feel for the Steve Ignelzi approach, which is smart without pretension.
"Signel-Z has been evolving as a band, as composers and players. The ability to listen hard is valued as highly as the ability to play dramatically. The balance between structure and improvisation is the playing field upon which the original compositions are expressed at each live performance. The album was tracked live with very little use of modern studio trickery in order to capture the human element and the artists performance. Several of the band members provided original music compositions for the album. The compatibility of the composers and players really comes across nicely in the progression of the sound from the start to the finish of the CD lending greater depth and diversity to the music than what would have been possible with a less collaborative approach.
"The approach to the mixing and mastering was meant to emphasize the complexity of the sounds and to couch them in a full bodied mix that describes the perfect live soundstage. Perhaps an evening concert in the desert, the Arcosanti amphitheater or the Red Rocks amphitheater in Colorado. A sensual sound that would be ideal if driving or meditating late at night results. The group can perform jazz, funk and other genres, but prefers to develop each piece as distinct from the others such that a distinct character is achieved in each piece as well as a great progression of the overall set."
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Signel-Z / Blog
Jazz Could Make You Life Complete
Look at the old film of Charlie Parker and the boppers of the time jammin'. And tell me that there is anything today that can compete.
Let's get down!
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Just In - A Review of Signel-Z Io Rise!
http://rarwriter.com/
Smart Stuff from the Flat Irons
RAR NOTE: Signel-Z is the brainchild of bassist/guitarist Steve Ignelzi, who has recently released his jazz collective's first CD io Rise, available on iTunes and elsewhere.
The techie allusion within the title of the CD should be a tip-off to what you are dealing with here, which is stuff too smart for some rooms. (It is not, however, the sort of electrical switch open/switch closed product implied by the title - it is all real musicians on real instruments.) This is a jazz fusion, which won't appeal to those who don't appreciate that form, but for those who do this is a real pleasure. It is a series of wonderful original compositions, performed with a live energy, feel and sound that is unusually anarchic for a form that really exists as a tribute to the traditional jazz forms that came before. There is a thing going on with East Coast underground jazz that seems to be captured in the horn work of this band from Boulder, a sort of revolutionary vibe played out through the bleat of sculpted brass and the peppery accents of 16th-note bursts of jazz guitar.
Steve Ignelzi is one of the more interesting artists at work anywhere today, in part because he does so much. Rather like a model for Buckaroo Bonzai, Ignelzi is a chemist by day - a discipline he has now maintained for decades - and a working musician by night, playing in Signel-Z, the adventurous Martian Acres, Girls on Top, and from time to time a big show band with horn section. And somehow he has raised a family, and sent a kid to college, while another son performs on drums with Signel-Z. He has maintained a long marriage, often working with his wife Chris, who is an excellent vocalist. And Ignelzi does all this with a disarming charm, a sort of low profile boyishness that seems outwardly void of any personal obsessions, other than enjoying the most minute details of musical expression, production and engineering. Just read the marketing promo below and you'll get a good feel for the Steve Ignelzi approach, which is smart without pretension.
"Signel-Z has been evolving as a band, as composers and players. The ability to listen hard is valued as highly as the ability to play dramatically. The balance between structure and improvisation is the playing field upon which the original compositions are expressed at each live performance. The album was tracked live with very little use of modern studio trickery in order to capture the human element and the artists performance. Several of the band members provided original music compositions for the album. The compatibility of the composers and players really comes across nicely in the progression of the sound from the start to the finish of the CD lending greater depth and diversity to the music than what would have been possible with a less collaborative approach.
"The approach to the mixing and mastering was meant to emphasize the complexity of the sounds and to couch them in a full bodied mix that describes the perfect live soundstage. Perhaps an evening concert in the desert, the Arcosanti amphitheater or the Red Rocks amphitheater in Colorado. A sensual sound that would be ideal if driving or meditating late at night results. The group can perform jazz, funk and other genres, but prefers to develop each piece as distinct from the others such that a distinct character is achieved in each piece as well as a great progression of the overall set."
Reply
Great Design Will Help Your Project!
Many thanks to Jack Hadley Design; Jack has been great to work with and has made the Signel-Z CD, posters and graphics pop! I highly recommend working with Jack if you have the chance (and he is a great song-writer, guitarist and vocalist too)! http://jackhadleydesign.blogspot.com/
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Signel-Z Io Rise CD; About The Group and the Music
Signel-Z has been evolving as a band, as composers and players. The ability to listen hard is valued as highly as the ability to play dramatically. The balance between structure and improvisation is the playing field upon which the original compositions are expressed at each live performance. The album was tracked live with very little use of modern studio trickery in order to capture the human element and the artists performance. Several of the band members provided original music compositions for the album. The compatibility of the composers and players really comes across nicely in the progression of the sound from the start to the finish of the CD lending greater depth and diversity to the music than what would have been possible with a less collaborative approach.
The approach to the mixing and mastering was meant to emphasize the complexity of the sounds and to couch them in a full bodied mix that describes the perfect live soundstage. Perhaps an evening concert in the desert, the Arcosanti amphitheater or the Red Rocks amphitheater in Colorado. A sensual sound that would be ideal if driving or meditating late at night results. The group can perform jazz, funk and other genres, but prefers to develop each piece as distinct from the others such that a distinct character is achieved in each piece as well as a great progression of the overall set.
Signel-Z sincerely hopes that you deeply enjoy the album. This project represents an effort to put aside preconceptions and assumptions about the music and to create and perform the music in the way that each artist has grown to value and with the hopes that the music will capture the imaginations of many listeners who may have been deprived of a great musical experience by commercial preconceptions and conventional dogma.
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Great New Signel-Z Recordings In The Works!
Signel-Z (the 5-piece instrumental version thereof) got together on 02 and 03Apr11 and tracked 8 original tunes. These will be featured on a new CD release soon! Kind regards, Steve
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Two sets of all new material, featuring Chris Ignelzi/Vocal will be unveiled at The Old Louisville Inn this Friday night (9 - 11 pm). Tate is killing on the drums. We would love to see you there!