"Chesapeake" is the fourth CD by Bill Warfield and the Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra, this time with some featured notables added to the fold. Saxophonist, 2024 NEA Jazz Master Gary Bartz, trombonist, Conrad Herwig, Saxophonist, Lou Marini, pianist, Paul Shaffer and pianist, Eugene Albulesco.

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Trumpeter, composer, educator, and bandleader Bill Warfield has something in common with NEA Jazz Master saxophonist Gary Bartz. Warfield reached out to a fellow Baltimorean, alto sax great Gary Bartz, to see if he too had fond memories of the Chesapeake Bay. "It turns out he used to go down and hang out there during the summer, so we both had this feeling for the Bay," said Warfield. "It's got a vibe when you go down there and that's what I'm trying to sort of grab with this project. And Gary personifies the vibe of the place. If anybody's got it down, he's got it down" says Warfield.

Bill Warfield and The Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra are nominated under consideration in the current Grammy cycle in the following categories: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: Chesapeake, Bill Warfield, and the Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra, Best Instrumental Composition: Light, Bill Warfield - Bill Warfield and the Hell's KitchenFunk Orchestra, Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A-Cappella: Cissy Strut, Bill Warfield and the Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra, and Best Jazz Performance: Gary Bartz, Chesapeake.

One of the more flexible large ensembles on the New York scene, capable of swinging fervently, playing a persuasive mambo, or laying down the funk in no uncertain terms, the Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra covers a lot of bases on Chesapeake. Said Warfield, "I want to thank all the people that came together for this project — and there's got to be 25 of them in all. It's a very important part of my musical history now, and I'm grateful for it."

Other guests on Chesapeake include longtime Mingus Big Band trombonist Conrad Herwig, who solos with typical virtuosity on "Nusia's Poem" and Warfield's "Light," and former musical director, band leader, and sidekick to David Letterman for 33 years, Paul Shaffer, who supplies fundamental Hammond B-3 organ work throughout. "He's a very versatile studio Hammond player capable of getting all of these amazing sounds out of the instrument. It knocked my socks off", says Warfield.

Also, featured is "Blue Lou" Marini, who is best known for his work in jazz, rock, blues, and soul music, as well as his association with The Blues Brothers, Blood, Sweat and Tears, The Saturday Night Live Band, The Original Blues Brothers Band and his credits include hundreds of albums, many of which have gone platinum.

Fittingly, Warfield pays tribute here to his trumpet hero on "Rosewood," the title track of Shaw's 1978 Columbia album. The Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra rendition features strong solos from tenor saxophonist Dave Riekenberg and alto saxophonist Lou Marini while Bartz contributes a lyrical soprano sax solo near the end of the piece that develops into a soaring showcase.

Bill, Gary, and the Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra's new CD is distributed through Planet Arts Network. To learn more and to purchase go to billwarfield.net.

Connect with Bill Warfield on Social media:

https://www.facebook.com/billwarfieldmusic

https://x.com/GeorgePorgie6

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-warfield-63163aa4/

https://www.instagram.com/hellskitchenfunk

Media Contact

Bill Warfield, 43rd Street Music & Art, 1 917-324-8171, nyjazzoctet@gmail.com, billwarfield.net

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SOURCE 43rd Street Music & Art