Joseph Lepore - Journal

Joseph Lepore-bass & string bass section (8) Lance Murphy-tenor Saxophone Tim Collins-Vibraphone Nasheet Waits-Drums _______________________________________________ 1 RUNNING - this is inspired by the fast pace of modern life. 2 WAITING FOR BETTER TIMES - feeling a little blue while healing from a broken ankle 3 PUZZLE - quite simple: sounds like a puzzle to me. The puzzle that life can sometimes be. It is my first composition where two distinct sections are used for different instruments to improvise. 4 SPHERE'S - Monk is one of my all time favorite jazz musicians and this one reflects my admiration for him. 5 THE LAZY ONE - first experiment with a 5/4 time signature; reminds me of a feeling of laziness. 6 THE BIG APPLE - this is my dedication to New York. 7 THE VAMPIRE - this one is inspired by the book "interview with the vampire", which my partner was reading when I composed it. 8 DRAWING HANDS - I was looking at the famous work by M.C.Esher and was suddenly inspired to write this music. ___________________________________________________________ Many Thanks To: Tim, Lance and Nasheet for bringing this project alive with their amazing musicianship, Mantis Evar, Josh Robertson at Indaba Studios, the team at Systems Two, Kristin Miaso, Paolo Cardone, Toru Dodo, Rodney Green, Wayne Escoffery, Rodney Whitaker, John Patitucci, Johnathan Gee, Adam Birnbaum, Shinnosuke Takahashi, John Davis, Luca Santaniello, Rosario Giuliani, Dario Deidda, and many more of the musicians and friends with whom at some point I've cross paths and gave me, in some way inspiration, too many to mention. "Smalls" in NY, "Fat Cat" in NY, Greg Osby for believing in me and this project. _______________________________________ Cover Design Kristin Miaso Photography Paolo Cardone ________________________________________ Recorded at Indaba Studio, Whitestone, N.Y. 12/4/08 & 12/5/08 by Josh Robertson and Mantis Evar Mixed and mastered at Systems Two, Brooklyn, N.Y. 09/18/09 and 10/18/09 by Max Ross Produced by Joseph Lepore for "Innercirclemusic" ______________________________________________________________ This music is a collection that represents a part of my past. Since I relocated back to the US I have experienced exposure to enourmous and overwhelming amounts of musical information and as a result I wasn't able to write much music: they call it "writer's block". There is only one composition that was completed and a few voicings that I wrote here and there since I've been living in New York. Everything else is a result of my life experiences while I was living in Italy. I hope you will enjoy the music. Joseph Lepore - New York,2009 ______________________________________________________ 'Joseph Lepore is a fine bassist and composer who is stepping out with his first recording as a leader. This is good news for all of us listeners. Joseph has a warm and very fluid style of bass playing....Check this record out !!!!' -- John Patitucci Bassist Joseph Lepore was born in New York and raised in Salerno, Italy when his parents moved the family back to their home country. Classically trained Lepore graduated from the Conservatory in Salerno with high honors and not too long after, left his hometown for Rome, where he joined a teaming musical scene and thriving jazz community. Soon he began playing with some of Italy's more prominent members and visiting US jazz musicians, including Bob Dorough, Antonio Farao', Roberto Gatto, Joy Garrison, George Garzone, Steve Grossman, Tom Kirkpatrick, David Liebman, Mike Maineri, Bob Mover, Romano Mussolini, Jimmy Owens, Enrico Pieranunzi, Tony Scott, Gary Smulian, Elliot Zigmund, and others. Among other activities, Lepore worked on Italian television shows and taught jazz bass performance and theory in music schools both in Salerno and Rome, with the same energy and enthusiasm, as when he was performing. From 1997 through 1999 Joseph has played with the quartet of saxophonist Rosario Giuliani. Throughout the latter part of the '90s, he played with Giuliani and other significant groups traveling the festival circuits and he performed at some of the better known jazz festivals: Gexto Jazz Festival (Spain), Jazz a Liegi (Belgium), the Umbria Jazz Festival, Jazz & Image, Ancona Jazz, Marajazz, Urbino Jazz, and Teano Jazz, just to name a few.. In September 1997, he competed in the Europ Jazz Contest, one of the most important competitions, held annually in Brussels. Out of 60 groups, most of them coming from various parts of the European continent, the quartet he was performing with claimed first prize and were crowned the best musical group that year. Two years later, Joseph returned to New York City and landed a gig playing as a member of Trio 65, the house band at Rockefeller Center's Rainbow Room, performing six days a week. New York being a mecca for jazz and jazz musicians, he was able stay employed playing with some of the best jazz artists anywhere: J.D.Allen, Clifford Barbaro, Isaac Ben Ayala, David Berkman, Peter Bernstein, Adam Birnbaum, Otis Brown, Chris Byars, Renato Chicco, Tim Collins, Billy Drummond, Duane Eubanks, Joe Farnswoth, Joel Frahm, Rick Germanson, Dave Gibson, Aaron Goldberg, Ned Goold, Noah Haidu, Tardo Hammer, Rufus Harley, Frank Hewitt, Victor Jones, Michael Kanan, Billie Kay, Ralph La Lama, Brad Leali, Eric Lewis, Jimmy Lovelace, Joe Magnarelli, Pete Malinverni, Ronnie Matthews, Bill McHenry, Eric McPherson, Dado Moroni, John Mosca, Lance Murphy, Cynthia Scott, James Spaulding, Grant Stewart, Richie Vitale, Nasheet Waits, Ben Waltzer, Harry Withaker, Michael Wilner, Michael Weiss, Lenny White, Jeff Williams, Richard Wyands, Leroy Williams, Sam Yahel. Joseph had an opportunity to work in the film industrty appearing in Anthony Minghella's film, The Talented Mr. Ripley which starred Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. In 2006 Lepore returned to academe when he was admitted into the jazz program at CCNY, to further hone his virtuosity, while still gigging around the New York City area. Among his tutors was the legendary bassist, John Patitucci. Two years later (2008) he was 'hand picked' by renowned saxophonist Greg Osby for his new band of upcoming talents (with which he records the album 9 Levels), which provided him significant exposure, and brought him closer to record his own album. Osby had launched Inner Circle Music, in 2007, providing a fresh crop of gifted jazz artists, with the opportunity to record and distribute their own projects. But before Lepore signed on to record, he accepted a teaching grant that took him to the Ecole Nationale De Musique in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to teach jazz performance. He had been to Africa in 2004, with singer Cynthia Scott, traveling and performing as part of the American Music Abroad program sponsored by the State Department and the Kennedy Center and in 2007, he had returned with the Charlie Porter Quartet as part of the same Music Abroad program. Upon his return, he resumed where he had left off with Osby. 2010: Joseph continues to work with Osby and has the opportunity to perform also with notables sax players Mark Turner and Joe Lovano. His debut album as a band leader, Journal, has been released in August 2010 for Inner Circle Music.

1) Running
2) Waiting for Better Times
3) Puzzle
4) Sphere's
5) The Lazy One
6) The Big Apple
7) The Vampire
8) Drawing Hands