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8-panel Digipak Album
“What transpires is often riveting.”
— Tom Moon, NPR’s All Things Considered, 10 August 2017
“This music flows so smoothly and often unobtrusively through these two CDs that it’s easy to overlook the intricacy, detail and sheer intelligence that binds it together.”
— John McDonough, DownBeat, September 2017
“The interplay among the four musicians on this live double album is something to marvel at too, a dazzling display of mutual understanding and instant reaction.”
— Dave Gelly, The Guardian, 13 August 2017
***
A record release party two decades in the making and destined to become a classic of live jazz recording, “SIGNS LIVE!” reunites the four master musicians who came together 20 years earlier to record the acclaimed SIGNS OF LIFE, the second album by guitar great Peter Bernstein. The album captures the long-awaited live debut of Bernstein’s once-in-a-lifetime quartet featuring pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson.
Bernstein’s second release for Smoke Sessions Records, SIGNS LIVE! allows audiences around the world to share the experience of the lucky few who were in the room for this summit meeting of four of modern jazz’s most revered artists. The two-disc set documents both sets of the quartet’s third and final night, with each soloist given the space to work out – an opportunity that each of these musicians seizes brilliantly.
The fame of each member of this band speaks for itself. Bernstein, of course, is one of the most prominent guitarists in jazz, working notably with Sonny Rollins, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jimmy Cobb, Lee Konitz, and Lou Donaldson, as well as a generation of stars that includes his “Signs of Life” band mates, Joshua Redman, Diana Krall, Nicholas Payton, Larry Goldings, and Bill Stewart.
The selection of mostly original material on SIGNS LIVE! bridges past and present, including songs that were originally recorded for SIGNS OF LIFE and have since become perennials in Bernstein’s repertoire (“Blues for Bulgaria,” “Jive Coffee”). The set list also features several pieces later recorded for Bernstein’s Smoke Sessions debut, “Let Loose” (“Let Loose”, “Resplendor,” “Cupcake”), along with other highlights from throughout the guitarist’s discography and a pair of Thelonious Monk classics.
credits
released July 28, 2017
Peter Bernstein – guitar
Brad Mehldau – piano
Christian McBride – bass
Gregory Hutchinson – drums
Recorded Live January 4, 2015
at Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC
Produced by Paul Stache
Associate Producer: Damon Smith
Recorded by Greg Scholl
Mixed & Mastered by Chris Allen
Liner Notes by Ted Panken
Photography by Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images
Design by Damon Smith & Paul Stache
Brad Mehldau appears courtesy of Nonesuch Records
Christian McBride appears courtesy of Mack Avenue Records
Executive Producers: Frank Christopher & Paul Stache
