Violinist DIANE MONROE & Vibraphonist TONY MICELI
To Release Exploratory Duo Album, Alone Together,
Available August 19 on Dreambox Media
Album Celebrates Three Decades of
Philadelphia-Based Pair's Collaboration
Repertoire Spans Jazz, Classical, Standards,
Spirituals and Original Compositions
"[Diane Monroe's] technique is impeccable and her
improvisations rich and imaginative." - All About Jazz
"[Tony
Miceli] is a vibraphonist of astonishing virtuosity, musical
resilience, and inventiveness. His vibes playing is nothing short of
phenomenal."
- All About Jazz
Two of Philadelphia's most revered jazz artists unite for an intimate, exploratory duo session on Alone Together, due out August 19. Violinist Diane Monroe and vibraphonist Tony Miceli
have been playing together since the mid-1980s, and the fruits of that
three-decade relationship are evident throughout their debut
collaboration. The album's thirteen tracks encompass the wide range of
the pair's mutual interests, from jazz to classical, standards to
spirituals, originals to classics, and even an unexpected TV theme song.
"I've
always been fascinated by how two instruments can play together and
make a complete picture," says Miceli. "A duo is very personal. It's
about as personal as you can get. It's just the two of you, and every
note one plays is going to effect the other."
"It's all about blending," Monroe adds, "finding a sound that works individually as well as collectively."
Both
Monroe and Miceli have long histories of forging rich collaborations in
Philadelphia and beyond. Monroe has bridged the jazz and classical
traditions for most of her career. She studied at Oberlin Conservatory,
Philadelphia Musical Academy, Michigan State University,
and
the Curtis Institute ofMusic. She toured for more than a decade with
the Max Roach Double Quartet and the Uptown String Quartet and performed
extensively as a member of the String Trio of New York, all ensembles
which fused classical virtuosity with jazz improvisation. Over the
course of her career she's played with such renowned artists as Percy
Heath, Steve Wilson, Dave Grusin, Joe Lovano, Reggie Workman, Wycliffe
Gordon, and Uri Caine, and is currently a member of saxophonist/composer
Bobby Zankel's Warriors of the Wonderful Sound big band.
Miceli
has been a force on the Philly jazz scene since 1980 while touring the
world and mentoring young players as an educator. In 1990 he co-founded
the group Monkadelphia, dedicated to playing the music of Thelonious
Monk. He is also a member of the PhilOrch Jazz Ensemble, a quartet
featuring members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has worked with
countless jazz luminaries as both a leader and a sideman, including
David Liebman, Jimmy Bruno, Ken Peplowski, John Blake, John Swana, Joe
Magnarelli, Steve Slagle, Larry McKenna, and many others.
The
two first joined forces in the '80s, when Miceli enlisted Monroe to
work on jazz arrangements he'd made of classic rock songs - an ongoing
interest most recently manifested in his latest group, The Jost Project,
which has recorded songs by the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Led
Zeppelin, and Aerosmith. They continued to reunite sporadically over the
ensuing decades, finally forming a quartet in the mid-2000s. By 2009
they'd begun discussing the possibility of playing duo, but both found
the prospect daunting.
"We
were kind of scared," Monroe admits. "I was coming from playing with
pianists where the whole range of the keyboard was covered, so I was
used to hearing all those harmonies. I knew that Tony is such a
wonderful harmonizer. He was a great harmonizer, but the issue was that I
knew that the vibraphone was also limited, but he had trepidations too.
Finally we just said, 'We're gonna do this,' but it was a slow
process."
Over
the course of the next year the two developed a sound together, and by
2010 began a series of live webcasts from Miceli's basement. These
virtual concerts not only placed the pressure of a live situation on the
duo's shoulders, but allowed them to gradually accrue a loyal fanbase.
"I always felt like we had an audience with the webcasts," Monroe
recalls. "I have a very active imagination, so as soon as I get on stage
I get scared, no matter where it is. I play differently, hence that's
where the growth comes in."
"Over
that year, I learned so much about music," Miceli continues. "We really
stuck together through thick and thin and finally felt like we could
cover all the bases of the music."
The diverse material the duo selected for Alone Together
reflects the breadth of their experiences. "We wanted to find
interesting, different kinds of tunes that would cross over a little
bit," explains Miceli. The album opens with guitarist Ralph Towner's classic "Icarus,"
originally written for the Paul Winter Consort, which Monroe cites as a
longtime favorite. The track exemplifies the beauty of the pair's
collaboration, with Monroe wringing deeply-felt emotion from the melody
over Miceli's rippling vibes.
Miceli's contribution to the repertoire, "Vince Guaraldi,"
pays tribute to the pianist and composer best known for his soundtracks
to the classic "Peanuts" TV specials, including "A Charlie Brown
Christmas" and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." Both Miceli and
Monroe fondly recalled growing up on Guaraldi's indelible themes. "For a
lot of people my age, that might have been their first exposure to
jazz," Miceli says. "He wrote beautiful melodies, and as my musical
taste grew I began to realize more and more how heavy he was. Thinking
of him was a great inspiration for me."
Monroe's original piece, "Fleetin' Blues,"
revisits a composition she originally wrote while in residency at
Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. The piece was inspired by a
series of paintings illustrating blues musicians by artist and Lafayette
professor Curlee Holton that originally incorporated guitar, electronic
loops, and a drum machine but here gets a much more organic treatment.
Both
"Bachianas Brasileiras," by Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, and
Chick Corea's classic "Spain" take advantage of Monroe's classical
background and the ability of both to move freely between the jazz and
classical worlds. Corea's much-loved piece was derived from Spanish
classical composer Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez."
Miceli's
extensive experience in the jazz world inspired the duo to include
three standards: "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," "Here's That
Rainy Day," and the title track, "Along Together". The vibist's deft
playing comes as no surprise, but the three pieces provide a stellar
opportunity for Monroe, whose jazz playing has often leaned toward the
avant-garde, to show off her straightahead chops. Two Monk compositions -
"Eronel" and "Misterioso" - allow both to venture further out.
Both
are also given a single solo spotlight on the album. Miceli chose the
classic country song "Tennessee Waltz," which he places firmly on his
"most beautiful tunes ever list." Monroe plays a harrowing rendition of
the spiritual "Wade in the Water," which evokes the tune's deeper
meaning, a warning to enslaved African-Americans to obliterate their
scent when being hunted by dogs. "The mood at the beginning of the piece
depicts how scary that was," she says. "Then this melody emerges which
is so beautiful and haunting at the same time."
Finally,
the disc ends with its biggest surprise - the theme from the original
"Star Trek" TV series. Both Monroe and Miceli readily admit to being
"Trekkies", but Miceli says that there are more relevant reasons for
performing the tune. "The musician has to find ways to bring something
interesting to people," he says. "It's not like you can go out and play
'Days of Wine and Roses' and people recall the movie anymore. I think
when you play something it's got to move people and invoke memories and
feelings, and if you play 'I Remember April' in front of a
twenty-something crowd, they don't necessarily have a tie to it. A
beautiful melody is a beautiful melody."
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Diane Monroe & Tony Miceli: Alone Together
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Upcoming Diane Monroe & Tony Miceli Duo Performances:
* Thursday, August 21 / Hawthorne Park / Philadelphia, PA
Friday, September 19 / Chris' Jazz Cafe / Philadelphia, PA
+ Wednesday, September 24 / Kitano / New York NY
*with Friends
+ with bassist Tony Marino and drummer Jonathan Blake
Alone Together - Track Listing/Composers
1. Icarus (Ralph Towner)
2. Vince Guaraldi (Tony Miceli)
3. Spain (Chick Corea)
4. Fleetin' Blues (Diane Monroe)
5. East of the Sun (Brooks Bowman)
6. Bachianas Brasilieras No. 5 (Hector Villa Lobos, arr. Tony Miceli)
7. Tennessee Waltz (Pee Wee King/Redd Stewart)
8. Here's That Rainy Day (Jimmy Van Heusen, arr. Diane Monroe)
9. Wade in the Water (Traditional, arr. Diane Monroe)
10. Eronel (Thelonious Monk)
11. Alone Together (Arthur Schwartz)
12. Misterioso (Thelonious Monk)
13. Star Trek (Alexander "Sandy" Mair Courage)
Diane Monroe & Tony Miceli · Alone Together
Dreambox Media · Release Date: August 19, 2014
For more information on Diane Monroe, please visit: dianemonroemusic.com
For more information on Tony Miceli, please visit: tonymiceli.com
For media information, please contact:
Gina Fabiano · gina@ginafabiano.com/917-568-
Jordy Freed · jordy@jordyfreed.com/267-274-
Management & Booking:
Laura Hartmann · LVanHart Artist Productions