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ARTIST
BIO:
Ali Ryerson
Ali Ryerson has emerged as one of the most exciting and versatile flutists on the scene today. Born in 1952 in New York, her life was set to music
from the start by her father, Art Ryerson, a first-rate and widely sought-after guitarist of the Big Band era and NYC studio
scene of the 40's - 70's. Her three brothers, Art, Rich, and John are also musicians and provided Ali with her first professional opportunity,
performing in Rich and Art's jazz-rock band while in her teens. In most cases, being taught by an elder sibling often means learning
through the school of hard knocks. In the Ryerson family, however, it was strictly a case of positive encouragement. With her
father holding frequent jam sessions at home, Ali was exposed to some of New York's finest -- Milt Hinton, Barry Galbraith and
Lou Stein to name just a few. Said her brother Rich, "The advantage she had growing up is that a lot of people learn jazz by playing along with records. She got to absorb it right there."
The rich exposure and early training in playing and improvising with other musicians proved invaluable. "The essential element in jazz is using
your ears," says Ryerson. "You're put in the middle with other musicians and you learn to play -- it's the way you develop the true jazz
feeling." From 1973 to 1977 Ali toured extensively with the singing team Sandler and Young and
entertainer Billy Fellows. In order to continue her musical education, Ryerson then enrolled in the Hartt school of Music in Connecticut
where she studied classical performance and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1979. Ali has
studied under the mentorship of Harold Bennett of the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, John Wion of the New York City Opera Orchestra and Julius Baker of the New York Philharmonic.
All of this training is wonderfully evident in her warm, full-bodied tone that emanates from a flawless and spirited technique. But perhaps her
most accomplished attribute as a jazz flutist is her uncanny ability to swing, a characteristic incorrectly assumed to be outside the
scope of the instrument. She simply disproves the myth with a tasteful juxtaposition of spacing and note-bending ability, all of
which help to create a rich rhythmic weave that sets off and highlights a variety of sound texture. From gently lucid to boldly
percussive, her playing embodies the spirit and stylings of past greats, such as Miles Davis and Bill Evans, two of her early influences.
In 1980, she moved to Montreal for 8 months, with a duo contract at the Meridien Hotel. Drawn back to New York in 1981, she played in leading
jazz clubs, among them Sweet Basil and Bradley's. In search of further opportunities to enhance her career, Ali spent the '80s
traveling back and forth between Europe and the United States, establishing her
home base in Belgium. Ali has become a regular on the Belgian jazz scene and continues to maintain close relations there. Her involvement has resulted in
numerous recordings with some of the most gifted musicians of Belgium, like Steve Houben (saxophone), and an ongoing partnership with pianist and composer Charles Loos.
It is a tribute to her versatility as a musician and her value as an artist that she has been able to perform with such diverse talents as Dr. Billy Taylor, Kenny
Barron, Stephane Grappelli, Frank Wess, Red Rodney, Laurindo Almeida, Art Farmer, Maxine Sullivan, Roy Haynes, Julius Baker, and (as principal flutist with the Monterey Bay Symphony) with Luciano Pavarotti.
Ali has toured the USA, Canada, Europe, Japan and Africa, and has performed in many major jazz festivals, including the famed Monterey Jazz
festival, the JVC in New York, Guinness Festival in Scotland, Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, and Carnegie Hall. Ali has released
over a dozen jazz albums, the first four on European labels. She was then signed by legendary record producer Bob
Thiele who produced two albums on his Red Baron label. Ali then signed with Concord Jazz for an additional three recordings.
Jazziz put her Concord debut album on its Critic's Picks for 1995. Ali recently performed with Dr. Billy Taylor at the
Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. This performance was taped for national broadcast on NPR. In December 2001 Ali performed as guest soloist with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Ali was musical director of the Catskill Jazz Festival 2001, and was recently
appointed the musical director of the Jazz at the Point festival being held in Catskill, NY in August, 2002.
In late 1996, Ali encountered guitarist Joe Beck. They formed a duo, named ALTO (due to the special guitar Joe invented for this formation) and have been touring extensively (a.o. a full month at the Blue Note in Japan) and recorded two albums.
Pete Levin
Keyboardist/composer Pete Levin has been in the New York music scene for more than 30 years, recording and performing with Jazz and Pop artists including Gil Evans, John Scofield, Jaco Pastorius, Lenny White, David Sanborn, Tony Levin, Sting, Jimmy Giuffre, Paul Simon and Annie Lennox. While majoring in French Horn at Juilliard, he started gigging with Jazz and Rock groups around New York on Hammond Organ, eventually working into the recording scene as a multi keyboardist. In 1974 he got a call to play French Horn with the legendary jazz arranger Gil Evans, an association that lasted 15 years. One night, Pete brought a Moog Synthesizer along to an Evans gig. Gil loved it and Pete's role in the band was permanently changed. As Pete's developed his skills with electronic instruments, music production techniques were changing too, and he found himself a sought after "programmer" - an orchestrator who works with computer-controlled synthesizer sounds. The combination of Pete's eclectic music background and electronic skills have landed him on hundreds of recordings and film scores. Pete released 3 solo albums for Gramavision Records: PARTY IN THE BASEMENT, A SOLITARY MAN, and the original release of MASTERS IN THIS HALL, while leading his own band, "Don't Ask", featuring reedman Alex Foster and bassist Jeff Berlin. He is currently keeps a studio in Woodstock, New York, and tours with The Brubeck Brothers Quartet, Trio3 with guitarist Mike DeMicco, and blues singer Roxy Perry.
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