Eric Olsen, piano and keyboards
Don Braden, saxophones
Ratzo Harris, bass
Tim Horner, drums
Eric Olsen is “an expert in the art of musical transfiguration” (Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz.com), and has “created his own form of classic jazz” (Joe Lang, Jersey Jazz). His career is marked by his unique ability to re-imagine familiar melodies so that they are “truly born anew” (Bilawsky).
Eric’s latest album Sea Changes (Blujazz Label), features the Eric Olsen ReVision Quartet, including veteran jazz musicians Don Braden on saxophones, Ratzo Harris on bass, and Tim Horner on drums. Jazz Times magazine rated Sea Changes “Best Jazz Arrangements of 2015”, calling it “a stunning rainbow bridge between the worlds of Classical and Jazz” (Travis Rogers).
Eric’s latest album, Sea Changes, fuses the emotion of classic melodies with the fun of jazz improvisation, creating an exciting new art experience that transcends musical boundaries. Familiar melodies are transformed in an entirely original way. Sea Changes includes classic melodies like the Waltz in c# minor by Frederic Chopin, In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg, and contemporary melodies like My Man’s Gone Now by George Gershwin and Something by George Harrison.
Videos of the group may be found here.
Reviews of the album may be found here.
Don Braden is a musician of the highest caliber. For many years he has toured the world leading his own ensembles, as a special guest, and as a sideman with greats such as Betty Carter, Wynton Marsalis, Freddie Hubbard, Tony Williams, Roy Haynes, and many others. He has composed music for everything from duo to full symphonic orchestra, in many styles, for recordings (including 16 CDs as a leader and nearly 80 as a sideman), film and television, and worked several years as composer for Bill Cosby. He is also a world renowned educator, having spent nearly two decades giving master classes at countless schools and universities, and running first class educational programs such as the Litchfield Jazz Camp and NJPAC’s Jazz for Teens. He is an imaginative, technically excellent, soulful saxophonist, and his harmonic and rhythmic sophistication give him a unique approach to improvising as well as composing and arranging. Most important of all: he has a beautiful sound, and he swings! All this combines with his joyous yet disciplined personality to make him one of the most important musicians working today. He is currently on the faculty at Montclair State University. More information on Don Braden is available at www.DonBraden.com.
Bassist Ratzo Harris is a veteran who has recorded with Denny Zeitlin, Kenny Werner, Jane Ira Bloom, Mose Allison, Joe Lovano, and many others. He hosted a weekly radio show Jazz Focus in Indianapolis, has appeared on television in documentaries and on Good Morning America, and has written films soundtracks. He is widely considered one of the great practitioners of the art of the bass.
Drummer Tim Horner made his debut with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in 1978 and has performed and recorded with artists including Miroslav Vitous, John Scofield, Jack Wilkins, Buddy Defranco, The Jazz Composers Collective, Wynton Marsalis, The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, The Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the MaryAnn McSweeney Quintet, Dick Oats, John Hart Trio, and Tomoko Ohno. Horner has traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Balkans, including a 2004 tour of five Balkan nations, Turkey, and Cyprus, representing the U.S. State Department as a member of The Jazz Ambassadors, an ensemble dedicated to furthering cultural exchange through performance featuring the Roseanna Vitro Quartet.