Geoff Vidal
New York City, New York, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
Combine Sonny Rollins, Chris Potter and Joe Henderson, and mix it with some exciting originality you'll arrive somewhere near Geoff Vidal. Vidal, who regularly can be heard in New York West Village jazz haunts such as Fat Cat, debuts his first album as leader, She Likes That. This seven-composition set consists of all original music, penned by Vidal or his guitarist, Joe Hundertmark.
Vidal's compositions are ripe with jazz tradition, yet employ contemporary fixtures such as odd meter, metric modulation and angular thematic material. Many of the compositions start with Vidal solo, or accompanied by drums, reminiscent of the great Sonny Rollins . His improvisational lines are fresh. The rhythm section is tight and provides dynamic support throughout all improvisations. Overall, She Likes That, is an enjoyable program of music.
Vidal pays homage to the great tenor sax legacy before him, but is never consumed by it. He presents an original and exciting new voice on the tenor saxophone with this debut. Hopefully there will be a follow-up release from this group in the very near future. - Leonard Epstein
Discography
As a leader:
"She Likes That" - Geoff Vidal (Arts & Music Factory, 2010)
As a sideman:
"Face" - Fat Cat Big Band (Smalls Records, 2009)
"Meditations on the War for Whose Great God is the Most High / You Are God" -Fat Cat Big Band (Smalls Records, 2009)
"Angels Praying for Freedom" - Fat Cat Big Band (Smalls Records, 2009)
"Brother Joscephus & the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra - Brother Joscephus & the LRRO, 2008
"LIVE at the Knitting Factory" - David Sanford & the Pittsburgh Collective feat Matt Haimovitz, cello (Oxingale Records, 2007)
Photos
Bio
Since first arriving on the New York scene as a New Orleans transplant in 2006, Vidal's irresistibly fraternal demeanor and musical boisterousness have always been refreshingly conspicuous.
Geoff’s professional career took flight at age fifteen with his recruitment into the Stage Door Canteen, a noted Cape Cod big band, and later the prestigious sax studio of Lynn Klock at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Geoff’s continued UMASS honors included early induction into Grammy winner Jeff Holmes’ UMASS Jazz Ensemble and multiple mentions in the Down Beat Student Music Awards, including Best Collegiate Soloist in 2002.
In New York Geoff’s career has been no less auspicious. After several years touring and performing out of New Orleans, he arrived in NYC to quickly become a tenor-of-choice for a host of notable bandleaders and appear in some of the city’s most prominent clubs.
As both a sideman and a leader, the years leading up to this release have seen the total ripening of Geoff’s musical character. At once insatiably unique and deliciously accessible, his unharnessed energy has effloresced into a performance both playful and deliberate, liberated yet totally in control.
Links
