The Church of The Little Black Dog

The Church of The Little Black Dog gets
the Joel Penner Sextet signed to Sea Breeze Records!

After hearing the Joel Penner Sextet's new CD The Church of The Little Black Dog, Sea Breeze Records has invited them to join their artist roster, which includes such luminaries as Bobby Shew, Nick Brignola, Bob Florence, Rob McConnell, Carl Saunders and  many more.

Why do you suppose Sea Breeze Records, one of the largest independent jazz labels, would want The Joel Penner Sextet on their roster?

The Band Kicks!

The CD starts with "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" by Cole Porter. This is a big band style tune that sounds much bigger than  six performers, with catchy solos and and a contrapuntal ensemble section that leads to a great "big band" style finish.

The second tune, slows things down a little with a swingin', slightly Latin tinged version of Bronislau Kaper's  "Invitation".  Again Rick Hils' arrangement features wonderful solos and an  ensemble section that is surprising within the context of the tune.

The next tune is "Straight Life" by Freddie Hubbard, a seventies jazz funk tune that makes everyone want to get up and dance.  The arrangement features an unreal ensemble section flanked by wonderful percussion solos.

Next is the great old standard "Laura" by David Raksin. The band starts slowly with the trumpet stating the melody beautifully and then jumps into a full blown Latin Jazz treatment, with lots of percussion great solos, a montuno section and a different re-statement of the melody before the ending.

The fifth track is a fun tune written by Keith Jarrett called "The Windup".  It starts with a "down home" piano intro leading to a melody that sounds like it’s in a bunch of different time signatures then flies into a funky, down home solo section, giving each musician an opportunity to play alone with the drums for a while before the rest of the rhythm section joins back in.

T he sixth tune on the CD slows things down with an unusual arrangement of Richard Rogers' beautiful balled "My Funny Valentine".  This tune is unusual for a couple of reasons: 1st, it is written in 3/4 time, 2nd, it goes into a "Peter Gunn" type ensemble section before re-emerging into the lovely ending.

The next tune is an original tune by the band's guitarist, Doug MacDonald entitled "T & G". It's a classic be-bop style tune that allows plenty of room for solos.

The final tune on the CD is a rip roaring version of Airto Moreira's "Tombo in 7/4" .  This is an extra exciting Brazilian tune that moves back and forth between 7/4 and 4/4, featuring an extended percussion jam  with all of the accompanying bells and whistles.  The tune finishes up with a big ensemble ending followed by a vocal statement from Jasmine, The Little Black Dog, herself.

Click on the titles to hear sound samples.
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	You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To
	Invitation
	Straight Life
	Laura
	The Windup
	My Funny Valentine
	T & G
	Tombo in 7/4