""The Bob Ravenscroft Trio"" Now Available

3-Jan-03

The Bob Ravenscroft Trio is all about a lifelong dedication to making great jazz music and exploring new ground. Now the Ravenswave label has been created as a special, state-of-the-art digital music company dedicated to capturing Bob Ravenscroftís sound as ìliveî and ìpersonalî as todayís rapidly-advancing recording techniques will allow.ìThe Bob Ravenscroft Trio at Taliesin Westî is a labor of love from many standpoints. With Warren Jones on bass and Rob Schuh on drums, this intimate evening in the Music Pavilion at Frank Lloyd Wrightís famed western enclave, Taliesin West, was recorded in Dolby 5.1 surround sound by ìhigh-endî producer John Gibson of Wavebase Productions. Jazz fans with conventional DVD players will dig the superb qualities, but the concert really ìcomes aliveî in the most sophisticated home theaters.The 72-minute performance pays homage to Ravenscroftís contemporary musical roots, which just happen to read like the history of jazz itself. There are inspired renderings of works by the late, great Bill Evans, Scott LaFaro, Gary McFarland, Josef Zawinul, two standards by Cole Porter and more. Ravenscroftís style is sensitive and seasoned, but also far-ranging and free. This is a fine player whose time has surely come for exposure on a larger scale.John Gibsonís seven-camera video crew captures all the moods and intricate interplay of the musicians at Taliesin West, and the close quarters of the great architectís private concert hall make for a lush, almost ìsurroundî setting. Itís fascinating to focus in on the action when viewing the DVD in great detail, but itís equally pleasing to just let it play in the background during a casual get-together or over a glass of wine - just like having the coolest of jazz trios in the corner of your very own living room! And the digital audio is flat-out sublime, setting new standards for the way great jazz ought to be bottledÖif you canít be there to sample the goods in person.A longtime supporter of Taliesin West and its famed educational opportunities for the worldís brightest young architects, Bob Ravenscroft is donating a portion of proceeds from ìThe Bob Ravenscroft Trio at Taliesin Westî to the educational programs and scholarship funds of the nonprofit Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. When jazz fans purchase this wonderful evening of music, many people winÖ