Bill Evans, Robben Ford, Darryl Jones & Keith Carlock – Common Ground
On September 30, this latest project by multiple Grammy nominated musicians (guitarist) Robben Ford and (saxophonist) Bill Evans was released.
In 2019, after a joint world tour, they released the collaboration ‘The Sun Room’, and it is now jazz rock’s turn. Evans says: “Every now and then, like-minded musicians can get together in the studio or on the same stage and make interesting music together. It is the mixing of each other’s influences and styles, and the will to create something new and fresh that can make this “creative encounter” something special.
I believe that Robben and I share the same ideology. We both love all types of music, be it classic blues, soul, rock and roll, you name it. This openness to combining different types of music and creating something musical and special is what brought me and Robben together in the first place. Robben composed some of the most inspiring music I’ve played in a long time. Our writing styles blend seamlessly.”
American Andy Rothstein was born in Brooklyn, New York, and played guitar at the age of fourteen. He graduated from Rutgers University, where he studied music and computer science. He also received private lessons. Andy developed several electronic adaptations for electric guitars, and is therefore labeled as a versatile and tasteful player, with a unique sound.
German pianist and composer Robert Christa is best known in the smooth jazz genre by his solo projects Nightflight To Rio (2015), City Lights (2017) and Smooth World (2019). His new album is a collaboration with the multi-instrumentalist Tom Reif entitled Free As A Bird (2021).
Composer and keyboardist Michael Schmidt longs for the golden era of fusion jazz, dominated by such groups as Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return To Forever and Weather Report. Famous names like Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Joe Zawinul, Jimmy Haslip or Jeff Lorber have inspired this musician. Although he does not reach the level of popularity of these music titans, he has made a name in the field of fusion jazz through a variety of high-quality record releases.
What happens when you do a lot of things well but don’t want to focus on just one or two? One possible result is a sample of each, mixed, matched, melded and blended with various combinations of the others. In other words, Fractured Pop (2017) by the Jentsch Group Quartet.
Bass player Kenny Wright is one of the underestimated icons of the contemporary jazz genre. Performing with legends such as Stevie Wonder, The Whispers, Michael White, The Temptation’s Review, The Supremes, Bobbi Humphrey and others should be award enough.
Smooth Jazz Daily 