BC6 wins Jazz Recording of the Year!

Congrats to Paul Tynan, Trifon Dimitrov, and Joe Abba!
Our album Bicoastal Collective: Chapter Six (released summer 2023) won for JAZZ RECORDING OF THE YEAR in the 2024 ECMAs.

Great review from Ed Sapiega courtesy of the online UK music journal, Jazz Views.

BICOASTAL COLLECTIVE: Chapter Six

Paul Tynan (Trumpet, Flugelhorn), Aaron Lington (Baritone Saxophone), Trifon Dimitrov (Electric Bass), Joe Abba (Drums, Cymbals, Percussion)

Recorded July 11-12 2022

The Bicoastal Collective is a contemporary jazz partnership that was formed in 2007 by Nova Scotia-based trumpeter/flugelhornist Paul Tynan and baritone saxophonist Aaron Lington from the San Francisco Bay Area. For Chapter Six, they pair with the New York rhythm team of electric bassist Trifon Dimitrov and drummer Joe Abba for a chord-less quartet. Tynan and Lington split the writing credits on the album, each contributing three songs.

This album is a relatively unique pairing of trumpet and baritone saxophone. A likely comparison could be to the esteemed partnership of Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan but this is music with a modern driving beat.

The excellent bassist-drummer combination provides the bedrock for the soloing or harmonizing horn improvisations. This CD is their sixth in the recording series.

“By Iron and Fire” opens with a tight drum and bass combination that reminds me of Miles Davis in the “Bitches Brew” era. The rhythm section maintains that beat with some minor variations throughout the song. The trumpet plays through various electronics. The band’s sound is very satisfying.

“Traveler From an Antique Land” opens with percussion and the horns join in close harmony. The horns tradeoff the lead throughout the song. The electronically treated trumpet gives the song an otherworldly, spacey feel. Lington takes a solo using the full range of the baritone. Drummer Joe Abba plays delicate cymbals throughout the tune.

“Arbitrary Rules” brings the whole band in as a unit. The bass and drums lay down a foundational groove with the horns harmonizing before trading the lead back and forth. Lington stays in the saxophone’s middle range that contrasts well with the trumpet. The Miles Davis-style groove of bass and drums propels this song forward.

In “Dark Halo” Tynan takes a winding and weaving solo over the saxophone. The section is followed by a baritone solo over the trumpet restating some of the themes made by Tynan. The bass and drums keep this tune moving along in a groove.

This is a well-recorded CD. Often an electric bassist can sound muddy, but not on this CD. Unlike many later Miles recordings, the two horns play together rather than just soloing one after the other. This elevates this recording and demonstrates the value of continued, long time — over sixteen years — of playing together.

I recommend seeking out and revisiting some of Tynan’s and Lington’s previous recordings, such as Bicoastal Collective: Chapter Five. It too shares extraordinary horn work.

Pleased to announce the release of my new record with Paul Tynan –

BICOASTAL COLLECTIVE: CHAPTER SIX

Featuring Tynan (tpt/flugel), Trifon Dimitrov (bass), Joe Abba (dms), and myself.

Listen on Spotify here

For purchasing information, please visit OA2 records

George Harris from Jazz Weekly says:

The longtime team of Paul Tynan on trumpet or flugelhorn with baritone saxist Aaron Lington continues to create clever and original sounds, as shown on their sixth adventure. With Trifon Dimitrov on electric bass and Joe Abba playing drums and percussion, the two mix rich harmonies and resonant solos in a variety of moods and pulses.

Dimitrov lays down a deep “Another One Bites The Dust” groove for Abba’s funky backbeat and the front line and spacey horns on the fun “By Iron and Fire”, with the horns giving a clever call and answer to the bassist on the elliptically soulful “Arbitrary Rules”. Lington is rich and elegiac over the busy drums and percussion of “Traveler From An Antique Land” with Tynan in a lovely wilt as he weaves around the reeds on “Angles”. The two horns are bold on the bopping and dramatic “Surrounded” while softly wafting for “Dark Halo”. These guys are creating an impressive catalogue; any chance for a trip to So Cal to take in the vibe?

After having been off grid for a number of weeks, please allow me to announce the release of the new BiCoastal Collective album “CHAPTER SIX”

Released on July 21 on the OA2 label (Origin Records) this album features

Paul Tynan – trumpet/flugelhorn

myself – baritone sax

Trifon Dimitrov – bass

Joe Abba – drums

Special thanks to Chris Walden and Gary Carner for their liner notes.

The compositional efforts are divided between Tynan and myself. Here’s some samples:

Traveler from an Antique Land (Tynan):

Surrounded (Lington):

George Harris from “Jazz Weekly” says:

The longtime team of Paul Tynan on trumpet or flugelhorn with baritone saxist Aaron Lington continues to create clever and original sounds, as shown on their sixth adventure. With Trifon Dimitrov on electric bass and Joe Abba playing drums and percussion, the two mix rich harmonies and resonant solos in a variety of moods and pulses.

Interested in a copy? DM me and I’ll send you one! $20 shipping included.

Excited to have been a part of a soon-to-be-released project by my former student and excellent guitarist, Jason Keiser.

This album is called “Shaw’s Groove” and features (in addition to Jason on guitar):
Erik Jekabson – trumpet
myself – baritone saxophone
Dan Robbins – bass
Jason Lewis – drums

and the ever formidable John Stowell on guitar

check out the OA2 page for purchasing information.

In honor of the great baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, Gary Carner organized a roundtable discussion with baritone saxophonists and other musicians who were influenced by or who played with Pepper over the years.

Carner is Pepper’s biographer and recently published “REFLECTORY – the Life and Music of Pepper Adams.” This book is available here.

The musicians featured in the roundtable discussion were: Kenny Berger, Aaron Lington, Paul Tynan, Michael Pauers, Noah Pettibon, Joshua Breakstone, Charles Papasoff, Matthew Snyder, Andrew Hadro, Michael Fitzgerald, Ken Kellett, and Lewis Porter.

Enjoy!

In honor of the great baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams, Gary Carner organized a roundtable discussion with baritone saxophonists and other musicians who were influenced by or who played with Pepper over the years.

Carner is Pepper’s biographer and recently published “REFLECTORY – the Life and Music of Pepper Adams.” This book is available at this link.

The musicians featured in the roundtable discussion were: Kenny Berger, Larry Dickson, Gary Smulyan, Glenn Wilson, Frank Griffith, Peter Leitch, John Vana, Andre White, Frank Basile, Shirantha Beddage, Aaron Lington, Jason Marshall, Adam Schroeder, Anders Svanoe.

Enjoy!

Excited to announce that the new Count Basie record – Live at Birdland has been nominated for a Grammy Award in the “Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album” category. My arrangement of “Once in a While” is one of the tracks on this album.

Andrew Gilbert wrote a great article about the Bay Area connections to the Basie Band in this recent article.

Very excited to announce that the legendary Count Basie Orchestra included one of my arrangements on their new record, Live at Birdland. My arrangement of the classic standard “Once in a While” is sung by brilliant baritone vocalist Jamie Davis and SWUNG HARD by the Basie Band like only they can do!

Check out the album here!

Special thanks to Jamie Davis, CBO MD Scotty Barnhart and the entire Basie Band for their friendship and musicianship.

Thanks to Jeff Kaliss for this great review in San Francisco Classical Voice about my recent release, “4 Bari x Bach – Chorales for Baritone Saxophone.”