New Music Monday at Lunchtime! with Arturo Gómez

It’s New Music Monday! Tune in to hear new music from Gregory Groover, Jr., George Colligan, and Victor Rendón & Bronx Conexión Latin Jazz Big Band.

Gregory Groover Jr: “Lovabye”
It must have been written in the stars for tenor saxophonist Gregory to be a musician because his surname is Groover and on his debut recording he indeed is grooving, Born in Boston into a musical inclined family, his father, a pastor played piano and always had music playing for the family, not only gospel but sweet soul music and classic jazz as well. His older sister played piano well enough to gain admission into the prestigious Berklee College of Music, which made it possible for Gregory to enroll in the Berklee City Music Preparatory Academy when he was in the seventh grade. Upon finishing high school, he enrolled in Berklee to continue his mission of playing for a higher purpose.

Gregory Groover joins forces with vibraphonist Joel Ross, Matthew Stevens-guitar, and the formidable trio of Aaron Parks, Vicente Archer, and Marcus Gilmore, all of whom help Groover maintain his groove of a higher purpose.

George Colligan: “You’ll Hear It”
Raised in Baltimore, Colligan is mostly known as a pianist-composer, however, he also plays trumpet, drums, and organ. He is also a highly respected educator, in 2015 he was the winner of the annual DownBeat Critics Poll for best keyboardist. George toured with Jack DeJohnette around the world as a member of his New Trio. Colligan is a prolific recording artist with over forty albums of his plus appearing on over 125 sessions as an accompanist on one of the several instruments he has mastered. After 15 years living, playing, and teaching in New York City, Colligan has been appointed Full Professor at Portland State University.

George has accomplished so much, and he is still in his fifties. quite a remarkable career! Colligan’s latest features a tenet with talented accompanists, two of whom are vocalists on three of the eleven selections.

Victor Rendón & Bronx Conexión Latin Jazz Big Band: “Funky Frijoles”
Drummer/percussionist Victor Rendón is a highly respected educator, author, and veteran of the New York City Latin music scene. A graduate of the esteemed University of North Texas where he earned his Bachelor of Music degree, he relocated to the Bronx to attend Hunter College to obtain his Masters in education. His publication: “The Art of Playing Timbales” is considered a must-read for all aspiring percussionists. After two dynamite recordings with his partner, Armando Rodríguez, Rendón continued solo with his new Bronx Conexión Latin Jazz Big Band, on this third offering, his best to date in my estimation, Victor recruits the cream of the New York City Latin musicians community for this superlative recording that presents a variety of Cuban, Puerto Rican and Mexican music, all with a Bronx attitude!

Now in its 21st year of debuting the latest arrivals to the KUVO Jazz library, many of them are played ahead of their official release date. In addition to the music comments, I’ll provide a few tidbits about the artist, if it’s a new or an up-and-coming artist. It all begins at Noon every Monday.

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