THE ERIC MINTEL QUARTET: Live at XM

The Eric Mintel Quartet

Live at XM

© 2006 Eric James Mintel Publishing (634479442803)

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Instrumental jazz that's full of high energy, excitement and humor.

notes

On a rainy, then sunny, then rainy and then sunny but ultimately rainy Tuesday in June 2006, the Eric Mintel Quartet headed to our Nation's Capitol for yet another invitation to perform in Washington, DC. This invitation was not from the White House or the Kennedy Center, where the quartet has performed many times before. This time it was from Outer Space and XM Satellite Radio. We had the extreme pleasure of performing in XM's State of the Art Performance Theater on that rainy Tuesday. You are holding in your hands the result of our great day at XM. Our host Jackson Brady (Real Jazz XM 70) and our recording engineer Jackson Macinnis could not have been more hospitable. Jackson B. has not only been playing a lot of the quartet's music on his show but contacted me to perform at XM after numerous listeners kept hearing our music; from the Blue Note in New York, to a Father and son driving along in St. Louis, to a house in Maine and best wishes from California and everywhere in between. Jackson put us into a very relaxed atmosphere that allowed the creativity to flow between myself, Eric Mintel pianist and leader of the quartet, Nelson Hill on alto sax and flute, Dave Antonow on upright bass and Dave Mohn on drums. The pieces we chose to play that day reflect what direction the quartet is heading musically and as always reaching for greater and greater heights of self expression through the music...Jazz. I hope you enjoy this new CD as we engage the jazz hyper drive thrusters and head for undiscovered territory thanks to XM Satellite Radio.

Eric Mintel August 1, 2006

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  • The Eric Mintel Quartet Live @ XM
    author: Scott Yanow LA Jazz Scene

    The Eric Mintel Quartet, comprised of the pianist-leader, Nelson Hill on alto, soprano and flute, bassist Dave Antonow and drummer Dave Mohn, has been together for a few years, and it shows. On this CD, a live radio broadcast from June 27, 2006, Mintel and his quartet put on a very musical and entertaining show. It is obvious as soon as Mintel plays a chordal solo, that Dave Brubeck is one of his main influences. Mintel does not explore polyrhythms or polytonality that extensively, so the influence is mostly felt in his chord voicings. When Mintel plays single-note lines, he sounds more individual. In any case, he swings hard throughout and pushes the other members of the quartet. Nelson Hill has attractive tones on his instruments, recalling Phil Woods a little on alto (but not when he plays firey double time lines) and Zoot Sims on soprano. With fine support offered by bassist Antonow and drummer Mohn, the group romps through a few originals plus "Take The 'A' Train" and "Gone With The Wind." The newer material is complex enough to be memorable and accessible. In addition, Mintel talks a little and is interviewed by Jackson Brady who hosts the Real Jazz show on XM radio. Eric Mintel lives in Pennsylvania and his quartet often performs in the Washington DC area. Hopefully they will appear in Los Angeles someday but in the meantime, Live @ XM (along with the group's other recordings) will have to suffice. This spirited outing is available from www.ericmintelquartet.com Scott Yanow

  • This set is exuburant....
    author: Karl Stark: Philadelphia Inquirer

    The Eric Mintel Quartet Live @ XM Radio (Ericmintelquartet.com ***) Pianist Eric Mintel continues to develop his easy-to-take quartet with this live performance broadcast over XM satellite radio. The 1985 Pennridge High School grad, who has played at the White House, hawked his CDs over QVC, and was featured last year on Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz radio show, creates jazz that is accessible, friendly and much in the jazz-classical tradition of his idol, Dave Brubeck. This set with the agile alto saxophonist and Maynard Ferguson alum Nelson Hill is exuberant, and rests easily within the mainstream jazz tradition. Mintel is all about pleasing and blending in. Chaos is not in the picture. He can even write originals such as "Gone With the Wind" that sound like old standards, or redo real ones like "Take the A Train" with brio. - K.S.

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