THE PROJECT:

In late August 2011, I plan to record the tracks for my 5th CD. I have an unbelievable group of musicians, enough music, great studio, and a great post production team lined up. What I don't have is the funds to do it alone. I hope that as you read more about the project below that you may want to be a part of the team and help make this idea become a reality.

THE TIMELINE:

My timeline for recording this has been moved up several months as Chuck D'ALoia the guitarist on this recording will be relocating to LA in the fall. This recording will be a great opportunity to help document one of of music's truly great guitar players. All of the players involved in this project are seasoned veterans in the business and it is an honor to have such a great lineup for this CD. If all goes as planned, the album could be released as early as December or January. All of the wheels for this project are already in motion and I hope that you may be able to help me see it through to completion. Together I believe we can make some great music!

THE SONGS:

Over the last several years, I have written a lot of material. The majority of the compositions are tunes that I have been playing regularly with my quartet for the last year. We have about 12 potential songs that we will narrow down as we get closer including compositions by Chuck D'Aloia and a couple jazz standards.

THE BAND:

I am very fortunate to know so many great musicians. I could have used any number of them to fill the spots on this recording. I have been trying many combinations over the last few years to find the right chemistry for this recording. I believe I have found that with this group.

Chuck D'Aloia besides being a world class guitar player, has been a friend and mentor to me since the mid 1990's. It was a passing discussion with him at a local music store that sent me packing my bags and off to New York City. His style is truly his own expressive voice and he has performed and recorded with an unbelievable cast of jazz greats including Nick Brignola, Dave Holland, Kenny Werner, Jimmy Cobb, George Garzone, Dave Liebman, Bill Stewart, Eddie Gomez and many others.

I first met Peter Tomlinson about 10 years ago playing a cocktail hour gig at a country club. Since then we have played many gigs together and have hit it off musically. His accompaniments are masterful and he is very versatile stylistically. It is always a joy to listen to and play music with Peter. Peter has played with Dave Douglas, Jimmy Cobb, Dick Oatts and many other great musicians.

Bassist Lou Pappas was recommended several years ago to me by Peter. I was completely knocked out by his unique ability to always be able to give just what was needed at the moment. He has the ability to swing hard, has a beautiful tone, and go where ever the music wants to take us all the while providing a great foundation for the band to play on. Lou has performed with the likes of Jay McShann, Tom Scott, Byron Stripling, Claire Fischer and many others.

I met Jeff "Siege" Siegel one night when I was fortunate to sit in with the great Pianist Lee Shaw. Although playing dynamically on the softer side, I knew the moment I heard him that he was capable of digging in and really could create an interesting and exciting rhythmic base for my compositions. I immediately added him to the rotation of players that I am fortunate to play with and in the last year we have done quite a few gigs together with Peter and Lou working out this music. Jeff and I are both graduates of Queens College and he was a longtime sideman with the late great Sir Roland Hanna who was an inspiration and one of my teachers while I attended Queens College. Jeff has also played with many other great musicians including Lee Shaw, Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Kenny Burrell, Frank Foster and many others.

THE STUDIO:

The studio has already been booked for late August. I have chosen to use GRAMMY nominated engineer Scott Petito at NRS recording studio in Woodstock, NY. Scott has worked with a who's who in the jazz world, including Roy Haynes, Chick Corea, Denilo Perez, John Scofield and many others. He has one of the finest studios around for recording live jazz and we will be attempting to pay tribute to the classic sounds of the great studio jazz recordings of the late 1950's and early 1960's using no overdubs. 

PROMOTION AND GOING THE EXTRA MILE:

Once the songs have been recorded, mixed and mastered, if I have raised enough funds, I plan to team up with the GRAMMY award winning record label Planet Arts run by Tom Belino to release the album through Planet Arts and have it distributed and promoted through them. I have been talking with Tom for several years about doing a project together and he has been helpful to me over the time we have known each other. This is the step I have been missing in my past projects due to being a self funded artist.

WHERE YOU COME IN:

I am at a great time in my life. I am able to play the music that I want to play, I have a wonderful family, supportive friends and have a great opportunity to create a high quality recording. This is where you fit in. The music industry has changed drastically over the last 5 or 6 years. The age of the big record deal is over and musicians have taken to using the technology at hand to produce and distribute their own music. I have done this on my own for a long time. My last CD was funded primarily by the friends and patrons that loyally and regularly come out to see the group and it was a community effort. This time I hope to expand that community and be able to reach more people with the music that will be recorded. When all has been recorded , mixed,  mastered and duplicated, I will need a minimum of $5500. To take this to the next step and have it promoted and distributed properly, It will easily run another $3000 for basic short term promotion and distribution. I simply cannot afford to do this on my own and every dollar that you donate to the project helps me to get one step closer to releasing this album the right way. I will set the goal at $5500 so that I may have a good chance of at least making this recording available and to ensure that the music is documented properly, but every dollar over that allows me to reach more people with the music. I have set up rewards as a way to say thank you for being a part of this project and I encourage you to take advantage of them. It is my way of being able to thank you for what you have done for this project. I truly thank you for your support and generosity. I also truly believe that this is a most interesting time for independent artists. For centuries, people have been patrons of the arts and have helped countless musicians connect with their listeners. Because of people like you and the technology at our fingertips, we have a better chance at getting our music to a broader more worldly audience than ever before. THANK YOU!

Find me at www.keithpray.com or facebook