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Awake

Featuring:
Vinson Valega - Drums
Terell Stafford - Trumpet
Anton Denner - Alto Saxophone, Flute, & Piccolo
Chris Bacas - Tenor & Soprano Saxophones & Clarinet
Jon Cowherd - Piano
Josh Ginsburg - Bass

Recorded:
5/26/05 & 5/27/2005 at Bennett Studios, Englewood, NJ.
Recording, Mixing, and Mastering
Engineer - Frank D. Fagnano

Read Vinson's "Awake" essay

Read the excerpt from Walt Whitman's, "Leaves of Grass," which appears in the insert.

Read the press release

MP3s

Reviews

Streaming MP3s:

1) Luftmenschen (Anton Denner)
2) Awake (Vinson Valega)
3) Fog (Sheryl Bailey)
4) This is What Democracy Sounds Like [Part I]     (Vinson Valega)
5) Undertow (Josh Ginsburg)
6) Ed Blackwell (Vinson Valega)
7) This is What Democracy Sounds Like [Part II]     (Vinson Valega)
8) Stacked Sienna (Vinson Valega)
9) Sputnik (Chris Bacas)
10) This is What Democracy Sounds Like [Part III]        (Vinson Valega)
11) The Trend is Your Friend (Vinson Valega)
12) Take Time for Love (James Williams)

Free MP3s:

Vinson Valega Trio (featuring Anton Denner & Gary Wang): "Live" at Blues Alley (Washington, DC, April 2005).

The Best Thing For You Would Be Me (Irving Berlin) - with Andrew Adair on piano [5.8 mb]
Jiminy Cricket Goes To The Go-Go Dance (Vinson Valega) [5.1 mb]

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Vinson Valega Trio (featuring Anton Denner & Gary Wang):
"Live" at the Cape May Jazz Festival  (April 2005).

Jackie-ing (Thelonious Monk) [7.7 mb]
Georgia (Ray Charles) [9.0 mb]

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Vinson Valega Trio (featuring Anton Denner & Matt Hughes):
Recorded in New York City with one Sony Microphone. (Summer 2006)

How Deep is The Ocean (Irving Berlin) [9.3 mb]
Darn That Dream (Jimmy Van Heusen) [7.7 mb]
I'm in the Mood for Love (Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields) [8.7 mb]

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Vinson Valega Trio (featuring Chris Bacas & Joe Fitzgerald):
Recorded in New York City with one Sony Microphone. (Summer 2006)

Segment (Charlie Parker) [10.7 mb]
Ask Me Now (Thelonious Monk) [8.8 mb]
I'll Take Romance (Ben Oakland) [11.4 mb]

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Vinson Valega Quartet (featuring Anton Denner (alto sax), Dimitri Moderbacher (tenor sax) & Josh Ginsburg (bass):
Recorded Live at The Garage in New York City with a single microphone direct to an Apple laptop  (12/22/06).

Long and Wrong (Vinson Valega) [7.6 mb]
Always (Irving Berlin) [8.4 mb]
Gab (Dimitri Moderbacher) [8.8 mb]
Where or When (Rogers & Hart) [8.7 mb]
Funk Underneath (Roland Kirk) [4.5 mb] {features Dimitri on bass}

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Vinson Valega Radio Interview
Alisa Clancy, DJ from KCSM, 91.1 in San Francisco, interviews Vinson and Anton in July 2004

Part I [8.6 mb]
Part II [12.7 mb]

Reviews:

"Valega is still one of the most swinging drummers around, with snappy trap-work, and an ear for compositions that carry a sense of cool freedom, bringing to mind the 1960s modal sounds in a contemporary setting."
~~ AllAboutJazz - 5/27/07 (.pdf) ... by Mark F. Turner

============================

"This is a lively session that demands repeated listens. The arrangements start with tight voicings of the heads with just enough of a modernist twist to make them sound fresh. This is particularly true of the leader's short interludes titled, 'This is What Democracy Sounds Like' which are interspersed throughout the session. The soloing is all solid, with a deft sense of ensemble balance."
~~ Cadence Magazine - June 2007 (.pdf)

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"Valega's website indicates deeper intentions of progressive activism and open communication on political topics, though the swinging music is in no way didactic."

~~ Philadelphia Daily News - June 1, 2007 (.pdf)

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"With a superb sextet of confident players, Valega's newest effort has plenty of melody, subtlety and depth. He's explicit when discussing the affinities between creative music and a participating society -- and mirrors that with the egalitarian push-and-pull of the group on Awake."

~~ SongWithOrange, by Kellen Yamanaka, 6/14/07

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"An album of unquestioned elegance, spunk and rich melodies, Awake is an engaging collection of music bound to capture your attention, hold your interest and never, never put you to sleep."

~~ eJazzNews.com, by Edward Blanco, 7/2/07

=============================

"Valega is a spectacular drummer, delivering just what each track needs without over-powering or taking center stage at the expense of musicality. He is obviously much more than a drummer. He is a composer, able to invent interesting and engaging melodies and harmonies which provide the perfect vehicle for extended improvisations. He is a band leader with the considerable skills to know how to pick the musicians that will make his music as effective as possible."

~~ Jazz Improv NY Magazine, by Dave Miele, October 2007 (.pdf)

~~ Mentioned in Jazz Times column about political activism, by David Adler, September, 2008:
"Playing Changes for Change" (.pdf)

 

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