Maestros of Cool - A Tribute To Steely Dan

“MAESTROS OF COOL” is a fabulous compilation of cover versions of songs from Steely Dan. “MAESTROS OF COOL” is far too good for the tribute album stamp. What we´ve got here is a compilation disc featuring an incredibly wide assemblage of musicians, most of whom, although likely unknown to listeners, have not only been influenced by Steely Dan, but have gone on to create spectacular and unique music that ventures far beyond that of their mentors. “MAESTROS OF COOL” presents 24 tracks on 2 CDs with artists from the USA, EUROPE and AUSTRALIA. The artists who made the recordings also have a remarkable amount of talent and are listed in order of their appearance on the record: CD 1 New Zealand´s Nathan Haines featuring Blur singer Damon Albarn delivers a marvelous version of “FM”, while former Steely Dan musical director John Beasley´s Stereo comes up with an extraordinary new song sounding somewhere between Steely Dan and Herb Alpert. Singer/songwriter Debbie Deane gives \"Any World\" a great new flavor, keeping the song fresh and eager. Then British soul funk group Raw Stylus, (featuring Donald Fagen plus Steely Dan players Bernard Purdie, Randy Brecker and Elliott Randall) coming in with their own composition, which embodies portions of Steely Dan´s composition “Josie”. Alternative rock guitar legend Nash Kato from Urge Overkill captures the reminiscence of a fuel-injected, rock-oriented Steely Dan in their early years, while Washington jazz club singer Pam Bricker, well known for her work with Thievery Corporation, performs a beautiful version of “Home At Last”. Tony Gallo is a singer out of the male \"saloon singer\" class who takes a jazz-pop direction on “Black Cow” that is a lot of fun. Innovative interpretation and vocal tones coated in class describe the contents of Tony Gallo´s work. Bill Ware´s Groove Thing, featuring former Steely Dan members Bill Ware & George Wadenius, comes up with a dance-floor-downtown-New York version of “The Fez”. Former Santana singer Alex Ligertwood and LA´s studio wizard David Garfield - join together for tasteful rock version of “Josie”, cool song, great vocals and a mind blowing guitar solo. Australian jazz fusion guitarist Carl Orr shows that he admires Steely Dan in form and structure with Donald Fagen´s “Tomorrow’s Girls“, while liquid blue from Germany comes up with “Rikki don´t loose that number”, which gets a slower arrangement and a lounge style treatment that will grow on you. “Joyful Caravan”, a swinging vocal track, is not a Steely Dan song but it reflects an obvious Steely Dan influence by Jango, one of LA´s finest fusion bands. CD 2 starts with the majestic “Babylon Sisters” – a sophisticated performance by David Garfield and his band (including former Steely Dan members Bob Sheppard and Bernard Purdie plus guitarist Michael Landau). Another imposing presence is guitarist Chuck Loeb, who follows with the slow ballad “Maxine”, “Maxine” is not technically a Steely Dan song, but it´s such a beautiful piece featuring John Patitucci and Dave Weckl, we felt it needed to be a part of this project. Don Braden is an impressive tenor-saxophonist whose style pushes at the boundaries of hard bop while staying a solid part of the tradition. “Kid Charlemagne” comes with a rhythmically intricate arrangement you have to hear. Next is one of Germany´s best big bands: the HR Big Band. This ensemble gives the impression of enormous size and the quality of the recording is extremely dynamic with tremendous texture. The richness and depth of this work is astounding - so listen to “Pretzel Logic” Justin Morell´s version of “My Rival” is mellow without being lethargic, sophisticated without being pedantic, and soothing without fading into the background. Abebi Stafford, the young American piano-talent, now based in New York, shows himself as a musical rascal – interpreting “Green Earrings” with simplicity and cleverness. Boston based Brazilian guitarist Gustavo Assis-Brasil is one of the new upcoming voices on guitar. His trio version of \"Aja\" demonstrates some of his sophisticated harmonic and phrasing skills. Stolen Van is one of the hottest new trios to hit the Australian acoustic jazz scene - hear “Caves of Altamira” and you will love the creative ability of these musicians. Alex Gunia & Philipp van Endert, two of Germany´s top jazz guitarists - deliver a marvelous acoustic version of “Third World Man” - magnificently re-worked. Another Steely Dan player was Cornelius Bumpus. His arrangement of the Steely Dan tune \"Chain Lightning\" is a creative, hypnotic, slow blues simmer featuring Bumpus´ richest tenor work amidst a bed of punchy organ harmonies and solo. Guitarist Ben Lacy from Kentucky comes next and shows his talents as a soloist on “Hey Nineteen”. Lacy has evolved from metal chops to jazz player non pareil. And lastly, an extraordinary track from studio trio project Trinity from Cologne, Germany - Their project, featuring an added fourth guest: drummer Marco Minnemann transforms this trio into an ever evolving quartet. This initial foray has a casual air of equitable improvisation with experimental tendencies and grooves on “Steal it again, Dan”. Featuring: Damon Albarn: Vocals Nathan Haines: Tenor-Sax Carl Orr: Guitar John Beasley: Vocals, Keyboards Debbie Deane: Vocals, Piano Jules Brookes: Programming, Vocals Nash Kato: Guitar Pam Bricker: Vocals Jim West: Drums Wayne Wilentz: Piano, Keyboard, Vocals Tony Gallo: Vocals George Wadenius: Guitar Bill Ware: Vibes, Fender Rhodes Alex Ligertwood: Vocals David Garfield: Keyboards Klaudia Salkovic: Vocals Steve Nieves: Sax, Vocals Chuck Loeb: Guitar John Patitucci: Bass Dave Weckl: Drums Michael Landau: Guitar Lee Sklar: Bass Don Braden: Tenor Sax Justin Morell: Guitar Abebi Stafford: Fender Rhodes Gustavo Assis-Brasil: Guitar Mauricio Zottarelli: Drums Sean Wayland: Piano Alex Gunia: Guitar Philipp Van Endert: Guitar Cornelius Bumpus: Sax Rob Aries: Keyboards Ben Lacy: Guitar Franz Holtmann: Guitar Matthias Krauss: Keyboard Gudze: Bass Marco Minnemann: Drums ////////////// 2 CD-Set // 24 pages booklet