CHECK OUT BEN REDWINE'S DISCOGRAPHY |
BABY WON'T YOU PLEASE COME HOME
Take a classical clarinet virtuoso with a Louisiana-bred, lifelong passion for traditional jazz. Add a gypsy trained, dyed-in-the-wool Django-style guitarist plus the East Coast’s premier bassist for swing and blues. That’s the RedwineJazz Trio in their debut CD Baby Won't You Please Come Home.
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"With a master’s degree in clarinet, Ben Redwine plays the E-flat version in the United States Naval Academy band in Annapolis, Md., and baritone saxophone in the institution’s jazz band. He also leads popular traditional jazz groups of his own in the Washington-Baltimore area. Released in late 2004, Baby Won’t You Please Come Home is Redwine’s first full-length CD and features two fine accompanists in guitarist Tom Mitchell, Jr. and bassist John Previti, both well-regarded local players.
Redwine’s theme for the album was music suggestive of “each of the places I’ve loved” (hence the title song), so it includes such pieces as “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans,” “Louisiana Fairy Tale,” “The Georgia Brown Suite” and Hoagy Carmichael’s “New Orleans,” “Georgia” and “Baltimore Oriole.” In a nod toward Redwine’s youth in Oklahoma, “Marie” and “Hey, Good Lookin’” round out the program.
Redwine’s extensive training manifests itself in his impressive agility and lovely tone. He also plays expressively and negotiates his material confidently. Mitchell’s acoustic sound fits the setting perfectly, whether he’s strumming chords or picking out dancing, single-note lines. Previti anchors the rhythm with a big sound and contributes flowing, melodic solos of his own."
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-David Franklin, Jazz Times |
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"Ben’s session is one of the most gorgeously played, irresistibly swinging, reverently authentic recordings I’ve heard since the glory days of traditional jazz."
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- Pierre Sprey, owner Mapleshade Records |
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"This "musical gumbo" has as its ingredients Redwine's flawless techniques on the horn, perhaps the most beautiful tone to be heard anywhere currently on jazz clarinet especially at the bottom of the instrument's range, impeccable phrasing that lets the music "breathe," a level of interplay among the members of the trio that borders on psychic, and a knowledge of the history of these standard songs that makes them sound traditional and completely fresh at the same time."
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- G.J. Huba, jazz enthusiast
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 AMERICAN CAMERATA LYDIAN CHAMBER PLAYERS
Ben Redwine commissioned John Stephens, Artistic Director of American Camerata since its inception in 1974, to write Quintet for Clarinet & String Quartet. Its uniqueness lies in the work having been written for a soloist who, in the course of the piece, plays three different clarinets in Eb, A and Bb. The instrumentation, as suggested by Ben Redwine, became an integral part of the composing process for the work. Also on the CD American Camerata Lydian Chamber Players recording are Afternoon of a Faun by Debussy, Largo for Strings by Cyr, Voyages by Moss, and Lied et Scherzo by Schmitt. |
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 THE HARRY LANGDON COLLECTION, LOST AND FOUND
A four DVD box set with twenty 1920's era silent films featuring the comedic actor, Harry Langdon, a documentary on his life, and an historical booklet was released by All Day Entertainment in December, 2007. Ben Redwine is featured on 13 of the films, performing classically with the Snark Ensemble, and with his jazz trio on 4 of the films. In addition, Ben composed the score to His Marriage Wow.
With an accompanying CD of original traditional jazz style songs, composed by Ben Redwine, Maurice Saylor, Andrew Simpson, and Philip Carluzzo, this DVD set is a must have.
Hear sound clips and see video clips at the Snark Ensemble website.
Critic’s Choice Award
--Dave Kehr, New York Times |
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"I just saw the four first shorts included on the set, and mark my words: BOTH THUMBS UP!!!!! (and I wish I had more thumbs!) The films are absolutely brilliantly restored, and I LOVE that music!"
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--Norwegian fan on silent film bulletin board
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"The shorts are scored with newly recorded soundtracks by the Snark Ensemble and the Redwine Jazz Band. Clarinetist Ben Redwine is involved in both, and he's perhaps the best interpreter of nontraditional silent-comedy scoring since the Club Foot Orchestra. While he uses the traditional ragtime tempos, he gets into more rarefied modes that range from klezmer and Brubeck."
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THE FIREMAN'S CARNIVAL
Written in 2007 for Ben Redwine, check out this studio recording of "Fireman's Carnival", written by Hollywood composer Charlie Barnett. Ben solos with the Cracker Jack All Star Orchestra in 5 movements evoking images from a child's memory of a town carnival, with all of the emotions related to a carnival, from the joyousness of the fun house to the dark connotations of the freak show.
Hear sound clips on our Classical Music page.
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 AMERICAN SLAPSTICK VOLUME 2
They were the bad boy superstars of the Jazz Age. They told jokes without words, with punch-lines made from brickbats and cream pies. At a time when pop culture was in its infancy, they made movies that would last for ages. They dressed in drag, wore crazy moustaches, showed a complete disregard for private property, and drove way too fast. This 3-disc collection is their legacy, a deluxe sampler of silent comedy rarities, B-sides, and one-hit wonders. The RedwineJazz Trio can be heard throughout the disc set during the menu music, specially written by Ben Redwine for this release.
These never-before-on-home-video comedy shorts have been mastered from archival elements and rare collections, some of them previously thought lost altogether, and are presented with new musical scores. Hold on to your porkpie hat here comes AMERICAN SLAPSTICK VOLUME 2! |
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Coming soon!
Watch for the
Charley Chase Disc Set with the RedwineJazz Trio playing four films. Music written and performed by Ben Redwine, this soon-to-be released set is highly anticipated for its artful, creative music and acting. |
