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The Mike Field Jazz Quintet began in 2008 and solidified as a tight musical unit during the past two years with the creation of their first full-length album of traditional-style jazz originals, called "Ashes."
Their music delivers a deep and penetrating array of textures and sounds. Although their songs were recorded only recently, the classically-trained Field and his band have been performing them for several years at high-profile festivals including the Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival two years in a row, the Toronto NuJazz Festival, on tours throughout Germany, France, the United States, and on board a ship to Antarctica.
They have appeared on live Internet broadcasts such as Liquid Lunch and the Meghan Morrison Webcast, and their tracks are aired on radio stations throughout Canada and the United States.
For more information click here.
Members
Dave Chan
Mike Field
Carlie Howell
Paul Metcalfe
Teri Parker - http://www.musicniagara.org/
The Mike Field Jazz Quintet began in 2008 and solidified as a tight musical unit during the past two years with the creation of their first full-length album of traditional-style jazz originals, called "Ashes."
Their music delivers a deep and penetrating array of textures and sounds. Although their songs were recorded only recently, the classically-trained Field and his band have been performing them for several years at high-profile festivals including the Downtown Toronto Jazz Festival two years in a row, the Toronto NuJazz Festival, on tours throughout Germany, France, the United States, and on board a ship to Antarctica.
They have appeared on live Internet broadcasts such as Liquid Lunch and the Meghan Morrison Webcast, and their tracks are aired on radio stations throughout Canada and the United States.
For more information click here.
Members
Dave Chan
Mike Field
Carlie Howell
Paul Metcalfe
Teri Parker - http://www.musicniagara.org/
Traipsing from somber lulls to jubilant bursts, trumpeter Mike Field is a force of nature flint by a mix of bop and swing with schisms of improvisation. His new CD, Phoenix Rising from the Ashes features Carlie Howell on upright bass, Dave Chan on drums, Paul Metcalfe on tenor saxophone, and Matt Newton on piano. Produced by Field, the recording is a lavish assortment of intertwining swirls and a tussle of flourishes tethered to a sprinting stride.
The dance-driven motifs of "Number Three" are ignited by the exchanging dialogue between the horns while Newton's piano's keys in "Unwanted" impress a congenial jostling in the track. The strolling gait of "Nathan Phillips Square" is draped in Field's malleable toots protracting and contracting at whim, as "Ashes" is garnished in elegant swags and sophisticated lobes in the horns. The trotting strut of the drum taps in "Missing in Paris" are sheath in soft billowing trumpet flares; whereas the taut bass plucks of "The Upstanding Translator" take led in this swinging tune. The Latin-tinged horns of "Locology" stimulate mobility in the rhythm section and switches to silky rustles in "Volcano Waltz" as the contemplative mood of "Gotu Kola" is softly trussed in slow moving keys.
Elements of bop and swing are molded into exquisite sonic sculptures in Ashes. Field's classical training is apparent and his mastery of the trumpet is inspiring. He immerses himself in straight ahead jazz idioms and tweaks them with a contemporary approach.
Additional Info
Artist / Group Name:Mike Field
CD Title:Phoenix Rising from the Ashes
Genre:Straight-Ahead / Classic
Year Released:2011
Record Label:self-released
Tracks:Number Three, Unwanted, Nathan Phillips Square, Ashes, Missing in Paris, The Upstanding Translator, Locology, Volcano Waltz, Gotu Kola
Musicians:Mike Field - trumpet, Carlie Howell - upright bass, Dave Chan - drums, Paul Metcalfe - tenor saxophone, Matt Newton - piano
Artist Website:http://www.mikefieldjazz.com
Rating:Four Stars - http://www.jazzreview.com/
Written by The WholeNote Staff
Published on 07 June 2013
Category: On The Road
Toronto-based trumpeter and composer Mike Field has the capacity for vision much like a phoenix scanning the landscape and collecting sensory information, creating with intense excitement and deathless inspiration. His latest collection of nine instrumental tracks, called ASHES, delivers a deep and penetrating array of textures and sounds.
Field can be frequently heard playing with various bands at local concert venues such as The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern, The El Mocambo and The Rex. He has toured Canada three times (with rock/funk band Jay Spectre), and has played the Beaches Jazz Festival in Toronto and in New Zealand (where his trumpet can be heard in the experimental bossa-nova collective The Inverts). He is also in the well-known reggae collective High Plains Drifter, playing numerous local Bob Marley and Peter Tosh tribute shows.
1. What are we interrupting (i.e. what music-related activity are we taking you away from to write this)?
Today (Friday, May 24), we’re preparing for our third Vietnamese jazz concert, which takes place tomorrow night. Last year we were invited to be “the young local jazz band” to join Don Thompson and some Vietnamese singers in a concert of Vietnamese jazz songs and original local jazz music. It went so well, we’re now on our third concert and are now the headlining band. The crowds have grown to about 200 people and it’s been really amazing learning so much about their culture through music. I’ve even been fortunate enough to have translated a famous song of theirs and arranged a couple more for jazz quintet. Also, sharing the stage with Don Thompson and Diana Panton has been really nice too.
2. What, if anything, are you most looking forward to as an audience member between now and September 7?
Can’t wait to see Dr. John this summer at the jazz festival.
3. How about as a music maker/player?
I’ll be performing at the Lighthouse Café in Los Angeles this July. It’s the second time I’ll be taking the stage there to perform my original music, and really amazing to play where Chet Baker and so many other famous musicians have performed. I hire a local band – all players who are crazy talented and pick up my tunes so quickly and play them so well.
4. What are you already preparing for musically beyond the summer? And (how) do your summer plans tie in with these longer term plans?
We’re releasing our second album of jazz originals this fall. It’s been 12 months in the making, we’ve gone a lot further since our first one and it’s been really exciting to add flamenco guitar and vocals to our traditional jazz quintet sound. This summer, I’ll be finishing up the mixing, mastering and printing, and beginning the promo campaign.
VIDEO
- http://www.thewholenote.com/
– RELEASE OF SOPHOMORE ALBUM RUSH MODE ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6 @ THE REX IN TORONTO
“A masterful work, Rush Mode is a swingin' hotspot you want to visit again and again!” ~ Howard Druckman SOCAN Words & Music
WHO: Mike Field Jazz Quintet
WHAT: A CD Release concert for Rush Mode
WHERE: The Rex Hotel, 194 Queen St. W., Toronto, ON / (416) 598-2475
WHEN: Sunday, October 6 @ 9:30 pm - midnight
TICKETS: $8 @ the door / CDs are $15
WEBSITES: www.mikefieldjazz.com / www.therex.ca
FACEBOOK EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/161013857428305/
TORONTO – WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 –Toronto-based trumpeter and composer MIKE FIELD celebrates the launch of his sophomore CD RUSH MODE on Sunday, October 6th with a concert at Toronto’s premiere jazz club The Rex Hotel. The local date will be followed by a much-anticipated tour to New Zealand, including performances at the prestigious Nelson Jazz festival. For more information please visit www.mikefieldjazz.com
Since the release of his first album Ashes in 2011, brilliant jazz man Mike Field has been on the move gigging from one big city to the next – travelling as far afield as Germany, France and even on board a ship to Antarctica – but mainly shuttling between Los Angeles and Toronto, all the while composing a continuous stream of new material. Now with dates at the Rex and the Nelson Jazz Festival in New Zealand, Field continues the whirlwind of activity with his latest CD RUSH MODE – an eclectic collection of jazz tunes ranging from classic bebop to Latin-flavoured romps. The through line is as the title suggests, a portrait of the way we live our busy lives, though Field’s take is definitely more on the positive side.
As with his last album, Field likes to keep it upbeat on Rush Mode. The band does it all here and they do it all really well. The songs are driven mainly by Field’s playful, virtuoso trumpet and the superb artistry of saxman Paul Metcalfe; the pair play on these recordings as if they’re “brothers from another mother.” The short, snappy, bouncy tunes keep the sense of excitement and energy throughout, save for the hauntingly beautiful ballad “The Last of the Summer Days” featuring the exquisite, smoky vocals of musical guest Sophia Perlman.
Among the highlights are the title track, where sprightly flamenco flourishes (by special guest Kevin Laliberté on guitar), meet classic bop horns; “Play for You,” a vintage, dirty-thirties-style tune, grounded by a tango beat with seamlessly interwoven play between Metcalfe’s sax and Field’s alternately growling and soaring trumpet; and the aptly-named “Balkan Swing”, an Eastern European snake-charmer that features florid piano riffs and showcases Field’s penchant for world music rhythms and melodies.
In addition to Field and Metcalfe, the Mike Field Jazz Quintet includes exceptional players Carlie Howell on upright bass, Dave Chan on drums, Teri Parker on piano with special guest musicians Rosendo "Chendy" León on percussion and Mark Eisenman on Fender rhodes and piano.
Produced by Shelly Berger, the nine-track album was recorded at Canterbury Music Company in Toronto between June 2012 and May 2013, engineered by Jeremy Darby and mixed by Andrew Mullin.
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES:
2013
Oct 6 – The Rex Hotel – Toronto
Oct 11 – Harlem Restaurant – Toronto
Oct 18 – Harlem Restaurant – Toronto
Oct 25 – Harlem Restaurant – Toronto
Nov 1 – Gate 403 – Toronto
Dec 29 –The Mussel Inn – Takaka, New Zealand
2014
Jan 1 – Nelson Jazz Festival – Mapua, New Zealand
Jan 2 – Nelson Jazz Festival – Mapua, New Zealand
Jan 4 – dbc – Wairau Valley, New Zealand
Jan 9 – Le Café – Picton, New Zealand
Jan 21 – Auckland Jazz & Blues Society – Auckland, New Zealand
Jan 24 – Waiheke Island Resort – Waiheke Island, New Zealand
Jan 25 – The Bay – Waiheke Island, New Zealand
Jan 26 – Hamilton Jazz Society – Hamilton, New Zealand
***********************************************************************************************************************************
"A trumpet that flows between the melancholic and the playful."
~ Josiah Blackmore, Cultural Critic
"Emotion and verve -- Field's music alternates seamlessly between playfulness and growling sincerity."
~ Bob Davidson, Author of Jazz Age Barcelona
"Mike’s standards sound to me like both recreations and sometimes unpredictable re-interpretations of familiar pieces. He doesn’t just replay a piece, he brings out its underlying texture, its emotional tensions, its artistic implications, giving back to us pieces we thought we already knew."
~ Chris Michalski, Poet and Performer
"Sultry yet playful, Mike Field's trumpet digs beneath the notes to find a song's true character."
~ Jonathan Fowlie, Journalist
-30-
Other Artist Links:
Video: The Making of "Rush Mode" (Part Two) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72R45AA - Buzzreview
– RELEASE OF SOPHOMORE ALBUM RUSH MODE ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6 @ THE REX IN TORONTO
“A masterful work, Rush Mode is a swingin' hotspot you want to visit again and again!” ~ Howard Druckman SOCAN Words & Music
WHO: Mike Field Jazz Quintet
WHAT: A CD Release concert for Rush Mode
WHERE: The Rex Hotel, 194 Queen St. W., Toronto, ON / (416) 598-2475
WHEN: Sunday, October 6 @ 9:30 pm - midnight
TICKETS: $8 @ the door / CDs are $15
WEBSITES: www.mikefieldjazz.com / www.therex.ca
FACEBOOK EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/161013857428305/
TORONTO – WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 –Toronto-based trumpeter and composer MIKE FIELD celebrates the launch of his sophomore CD RUSH MODE on Sunday, October 6th with a concert at Toronto’s premiere jazz club The Rex Hotel. The local date will be followed by a much-anticipated tour to New Zealand, including performances at the prestigious Nelson Jazz festival. For more information please visit www.mikefieldjazz.com
Since the release of his first album Ashes in 2011, brilliant jazz man Mike Field has been on the move gigging from one big city to the next – travelling as far afield as Germany, France and even on board a ship to Antarctica – but mainly shuttling between Los Angeles and Toronto, all the while composing a continuous stream of new material. Now with dates at the Rex and the Nelson Jazz Festival in New Zealand, Field continues the whirlwind of activity with his latest CD RUSH MODE – an eclectic collection of jazz tunes ranging from classic bebop to Latin-flavoured romps. The through line is as the title suggests, a portrait of the way we live our busy lives, though Field’s take is definitely more on the positive side.
As with his last album, Field likes to keep it upbeat on Rush Mode. The band does it all here and they do it all really well. The songs are driven mainly by Field’s playful, virtuoso trumpet and the superb artistry of saxman Paul Metcalfe; the pair play on these recordings as if they’re “brothers from another mother.” The short, snappy, bouncy tunes keep the sense of excitement and energy throughout, save for the hauntingly beautiful ballad “The Last of the Summer Days” featuring the exquisite, smoky vocals of musical guest Sophia Perlman.
Among the highlights are the title track, where sprightly flamenco flourishes (by special guest Kevin Laliberté on guitar), meet classic bop horns; “Play for You,” a vintage, dirty-thirties-style tune, grounded by a tango beat with seamlessly interwoven play between Metcalfe’s sax and Field’s alternately growling and soaring trumpet; and the aptly-named “Balkan Swing”, an Eastern European snake-charmer that features florid piano riffs and showcases Field’s penchant for world music rhythms and melodies.
In addition to Field and Metcalfe, the Mike Field Jazz Quintet includes exceptional players Carlie Howell on upright bass, Dave Chan on drums, Teri Parker on piano with special guest musicians Rosendo "Chendy" León on percussion and Mark Eisenman on Fender rhodes and piano.
Produced by Shelly Berger, the nine-track album was recorded at Canterbury Music Company in Toronto between June 2012 and May 2013, engineered by Jeremy Darby and mixed by Andrew Mullin.
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES:
2013
Oct 6 – The Rex Hotel – Toronto
Oct 11 – Harlem Restaurant – Toronto
Oct 18 – Harlem Restaurant – Toronto
Oct 25 – Harlem Restaurant – Toronto
Nov 1 – Gate 403 – Toronto
Dec 29 –The Mussel Inn – Takaka, New Zealand
2014
Jan 1 – Nelson Jazz Festival – Mapua, New Zealand
Jan 2 – Nelson Jazz Festival – Mapua, New Zealand
Jan 4 – dbc – Wairau Valley, New Zealand
Jan 9 – Le Café – Picton, New Zealand
Jan 21 – Auckland Jazz & Blues Society – Auckland, New Zealand
Jan 24 – Waiheke Island Resort – Waiheke Island, New Zealand
Jan 25 – The Bay – Waiheke Island, New Zealand
Jan 26 – Hamilton Jazz Society – Hamilton, New Zealand
***********************************************************************************************************************************
"A trumpet that flows between the melancholic and the playful."
~ Josiah Blackmore, Cultural Critic
"Emotion and verve -- Field's music alternates seamlessly between playfulness and growling sincerity."
~ Bob Davidson, Author of Jazz Age Barcelona
"Mike’s standards sound to me like both recreations and sometimes unpredictable re-interpretations of familiar pieces. He doesn’t just replay a piece, he brings out its underlying texture, its emotional tensions, its artistic implications, giving back to us pieces we thought we already knew."
~ Chris Michalski, Poet and Performer
"Sultry yet playful, Mike Field's trumpet digs beneath the notes to find a song's true character."
~ Jonathan Fowlie, Journalist
-30-
Other Artist Links:
Video: The Making of "Rush Mode" (Part Two) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72R45AA - Buzzreview
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Still working on that hot first release.
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