Poetic Justice

Laurel Zucker received THE BEST CLASSICAL SOLO INSTRUMENTAL AWARD 2006 from THE JUST PLAIN FOLKS AWARDS 2006!! Laurel Zucker and Davis Lynn have collaborated in an innovative collection of beautiful ballads and high energy instrumental rock songs featuring flute and lead guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards! Reviews Laurel Zucker and Davis Lynn Poetic Justice By: Keith \"MuzikMan\" Hannaleck 8/2/2004 Artist: Laurel Zucker and Davis Lynn Title: Poetic Justice Genre: Progressive-Symphonic Rock Label: www.cantilenarecords.com Website: www.laurelzucker.com Laurel Zucker and Davis Lynn combined to record an outstanding progressive-symphonic rock album in 1995 titled Poetic Justice. Zucker, accustomed to recording in the realm of classical music, took a right turn and never looked back, performing as if she was a prog-rock veteran like Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. Lynn is the consummate multi-instrumentalist, serving up plenty of finely honed guitar licks, dreamy keyboards, and the right combination of programming to make all of the parts work just right. I found Laurel Zucker\'s flute playing masterful as usual, she very smartly takes her classical influences and employs them effectively to mix with the rock sound created by her partner. With the exception of some fine guests such as Prairie Prince on drums, this recording is primarily two people; I find that fact the most awe-inspiring. Once you hear all the varying sounds and feel the contoured moods of this music, you will certainly be in accord with my assessment that this is a five star CD. Your ears will most definitely reach prog-rock nirvana after the lead off track \"Crystal Palace,\" and after that, it just gets better. Tracks like \"New Guitar\" and the incredible \"Shining\" are powerful musical statements. Progressive rock is about fairies, witches, wood nymphs, gods and goddesses, time travel, space exploration and the boundless imagination of you, the listener-that is why this album fits so well in my collection, it has all the qualities and complexities that are the prerequisites to making those stories and images real. Zucker and Lynn take you on a journey that you will want to experience again and again. Poetic Justice is a \"Free Flight\" to wonderland and without exception, some of the best prog-rock I have ever heard. This one is a gem that you need to discover today. I hope Ms. Zucker decides to do this again very soon! This CD is a classic instrumental rendering of symphonic rock that deserves a closer look by all progressive rock enthusiasts. I have to wonder how I missed this one in 1995! *Evoultion Scale: 9/10 Please visit the Laurel Zucker and Davis Lynn website at www.laurelzucker.com Gramophone issue December 2007 states \"Zucker shapes everything with lovely gradations of timbre and nuance, and her phrasing keeps the ear mesmerised.\" Laurel Zucker is described by Gramophone Magazine 2003 \"as polished and gratifying as Rampal and Galway. Zucker\'s interpretations are splendid all round. Her tone is airy and sweet, her virtuosity graceful.\" In 2004 Gramophone \"strongly recommended\" The Complete Telemann Fantasies for Flute and The Complete J.S. Bach Flute Sonatas on Cantilena Records describing her performances as \"intelligent, naturally phrased and highly musical with a rich sound beyond reproach.\" In the August 2003 book, Inspirational Stories from the World\'s Best Flute Players, Laurel Zucker is featured along with James Galway, Herbie Mann, Ian Andersen, and Julius Baker. Fanfare Magazine refers to Ms. Zucker \"as a forceful advocate for 20th century music,\" and when she was awarded the Aaron Copland Fund for Music from the American Music Center to record the 1998 Take a Walk on the Wilder Side-CD, Fanfare Magazine stated \"this disc fills an important niche in American Music as well as flute literature.\" With 45 CD releases available on Cantilena Records, Ms. Zucker can be heard regularly on worldwide classical radio stations. She has performed many times in Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Mondavi Center, etc. As a concerto soloist she has been featured with the American Symphony Orch., Erkel Chamber Orch. of Budapest, The Orch. of NY The Gold Country Orch., Merced Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic, The Arlington Symph. Orch., and toured with the Sumara Orch. of Russia. As an active chamber artist she has performed with the Marlboro Festival and Tour, Harvard Chamber Players, Music Fest of Arizona, Music in the Mountains, UC Davis Chamber Players,Wet Ink Festival and Chamber Music Alive! As a jazz flutist Jazz Now 2005 describes her performance as \"Laurel\'s flute cutting the still air with a deep-felt emotion to the very last note.\" Claude Bolling in March 2004 on Zucker\'s Bolling Jazz Suites CD writes \"Dear Laurel Zucker, Your recording is beautiful, musician partners are excellent and your flute playing superb!!!\" Of the Flute Music by French Composers CD, Sir James Galway recommends on his website \"This is a really good record and should be in the library of all serious students. The repertoire is very good and it is beautifully played by Miss Zucker. I have a copy and think it is outstanding...\" As an active performer and supporter of the flute community, Ms. Zucker has been a guest performer/teacher at the New York Flute Club, The Portland Flute Society, The Houston Flute Society, LA Flute Club, Dallas Flute Festival, North Carolina School of the Arts and the National Flute Association Convention. In 2000 The Year of the Rome Aureole Jubilee (hosted by the City of Rome and the Pope) three of Ms. Zucker\'s Cantilena Records CDs (Serenades; Music of Guiliani for Flute and Guitar; Mozart Flute Quartets CDs) were played non-stop for six months throughout the largest Convention Center of Rome, Italy and were also featured in a documentary created at UCLA on the Santa Maria Maggiora Chapel of Rome. November 2007, Laurel Zucker and Mark Delpriora were presented with THE GOLD ARTIST AWARD from RadioIndy for their 2007 CD, Masterpieces for Flute and Guitar. In 2006 Ms. Zucker received THE BEST CLASSICAL SOLO INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR 2006 from The Just Plain Folks Awards. As Professor of Flute at California State Univ., Sacramento since 1988, Ms. Zucker received the 1998 President\'s Award for Creative and Scholarly Research, 1998 and 2000 Creative Research Awards, a nd 1989 Professional Promise Award. In 1978 she won Artists International Competition and gave her Carnegie Recital Hall Debut. Her first performances in Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center were at the age of 16 performing 1st flute in the Alexander Schneider\'s Orchestra. Ms. Zucker graduated from Juilliard where she studied with Samuel Baron for 3 years; with Paula Robison for two years at New England Conservatory of Music; and privately with Marcel Moyse and Julius Baker. Ms. Zucker holds a Masters in Music Composition from New York University. Her compositions are published by Lyra International and Bourne Music Company and are recorded on Cantilena Records. In 2008 a new website www.laurelzuckermasterclass.com was launched providing a new DVD series of flute masterclasses lead by Ms. Zucker.