LATARSKI/STEVENS WITH MARILYN KELLER: How Many Ways

Latarski/Stevens with Marilyn Keller

How Many Ways

© 1992 DoLa Music (600461223026)

CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.

(About MP3 downloads at CD Baby)

These are quirky jazz/pop tunes of original music. This is the first recorded example of Marilyn Keller's fine vocal work.

notes

Christopher Stevens - composer, producer.

How Many Ways was the first full length recording and CD that Stevens produced. Even at this stage of his early career, Stevens' many musical talents were beginning to produce fruit. On this recording he composed, arranged, produced, programmed all of the drum parts, created original synthesizer patches, and played the synth bass parts.

Stevens spent many years as a sound designer and composer for the gaming industry and wrote and designed sounds for some of the biggest selling games during the 90's.

He has since gone on to form the ever popular Satin Love Orchestra as well as become a very in demand Nashville producer in the vibrant Christian music scene. His production credits include Christian superstar Toby Mac and Shawn McDonald.

Don Latarski is known nationally as a gifted performer, composer and author. His recordings include: "Haven," "Lifeline," "Private Affair," "How Many Ways," "NorthWest of December," "Deep Play," "Rue 2," "Natural Instincts," "Eden Hall Sessions," "Fab 4 on 6," "Fab 4 on 6 vol.2," "Acoustic Evidence," and "Guitars on Holiday." He's been playing the guitar since 1963.

His numerous Warner Bros. Publications include: "Introduction to Chord Theory," "Scale Patterns for Guitar," "Movable Guitar Chords," "Arpeggios for Guitar," "Chord Orbits," "Chord Embellishments," "Practical Theory for Guitar," "Guitar Theory Basics," "The Ultimate Guitar Chord Big Book," "Blues Chords," "Jazz Chords," "First Chords," "Barre Chords," "Blues Guitar," and "The Ultimate Guitar Chord Gig Bag Book."

Born and raised in the shadow of Motown in the small town of Romeo, Michigan, Latarski moved to Oregon in 1973. He quickly established himself in the rock and blues scene and soon realized that he knew nothing about playing jazz. Out of frustration at not being able to sit in with the local jazzbo's, he immersed himself in the slippery language of jazz. Too poor to take lessons, he taught himself by listening to the local NPR college jazz station and by hanging out with other players with a better grip on the vocabulary.

In time, what emmerged was a style that had one foot in blues and the other in jazz.

Latarski's exposure to fingerstyle guitar began in ernest in 1979 when he enrolled in the Univ. of Oregon School of Music and started studying classical guitar. Until that time, he'd usually played with a pick. In 1998, he gave up using a pick entirely and began working exclusively as a fingerstylist.

His grasp of many genres of music has enabled him to perform and record in many different settings, from folk, rock, pop, blues and jazz. He's also a prolific composer having written numerous songs for radio and television advertising, computer games, musicals, video and film usage and for his various ensembles. Most recently, his groups recorded version of "I'm a Woman" was chosen for inclusion in the SONY pictures movie "Little Black Book."

Since 1998, he has focused exclusively on fingerstyle guitar and has developed a distinctive sound that treads the genres of americana, blues and jazz. His genre bending approach has been influenced by Aaron Copland, Pat Metheny, Michael Hedges (who after hearing Latarski perform at an outdoor concert, inquired if he'd (Latarski) be interested in play on his (Hedges) next LP), John Scofield, Leo Kottke, Wes Montgomery and James Brown.

A strong current of rhythmic interest combined with a playful and adventurous sense of harmony form the cornerstone of his style. This is not a style born out of the Travis fingerstyle approach. Latarski's many years experience in the realm of jazz and blues is at the core of his approach. You are just as likely to hear a simple triad as an obtuse jazz chord in one of his arrangements.

In the summer of 2004 Latarski arranged and recorded his first guitar chamber orchestra recording. The CD that resulted is called "Guitars on Holiday." The focus of this disc was to create lush orchestrations using only guitars. The style clearly owes much to Aaron Copland and is reminiscent of Appalachian Spring in mood.

Latarski is also adjunct instructor and head of guitar studies at the University of Oregon School of Music. He's been a faculty member at the university since 1982. He holds degrees in Political Science and Music from the University of Oregon.

This record is also quite important in the career of Marilyn Keller, the vocalist on this project. This was her first CD project and you can hear her intensity and soulfulness on all the tracks. Marilyn has since gone on to become one of the busiest vocalists in Portland, OR and works in a variety of different musical contexts from gospel, soul, R&B, dixieland to jazz.

reviews

Please log in to review this album.

email

Please log in to email this artist.