Description
Every once in a great while, a musical artist comes along who is the complete package. Marina Pacowski (pronounced Pa-KOH-ski) is one of those very rare artists. This recording showcases her phenomenal prowess as a jazz vocalist, a true improvisor, and also an arranger of innate insight who can easily realize and communicate her creative vision, providing the perfect framework for these tunes.
Where does such a complete musician come from? In Marina’s case, the journey begins in the Southwestern France city of Biarritz. From a very early age, she would be improvising vocally while walking around this beautiful and charming beach community. Music chose her immediately, and she was always aware that it was all around her, and she happily became a channel for it. It wasn’t long before classical piano studies began for young Marina, and once again, her natural instinct guided her through a meticulous journey to the very pinnacles of musical excellence. She won countless awards and competitions and became a Professor at the Conservatory Maurice Ravel at an unusually young age. Highly respected composers have written solo pieces especially for her because of her brilliant artistry and unequalled powers of expression. One such composer, American Frank Proto, wrote an entire Concerto for her, flying her all the way from France to the United States to record it with a chamber orchestra.
Along this entire journey, the love of jazz was already in Marina’s soul and spirit. It was just a few years ago, during her first visit to see her brother, that Marina began her dream journey of settling and playing music in the finest country in the world, the USA.
Artists:
Scott Whitfield, trombone (7, 9)
Josh Nelson (1, 2, 3, 6, 13), Mark Massey (5, 10), Bevan Manson (7, 12), piano
John Clayton (1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 11, 13), Mike Gurrola (5, 7, 12), bass
Roy McCurdy (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 12), Peter Erskine (8, 11), drums
Larry Koonse (8, 11), guitar
SPECIAL GUESTS:
Joel Frahm, tenor sax (1)
Brent Fischer, vibraphone (2)
Jon Mayer, piano (4)
Nolan Shaheed (10), flugelhorn
Carl Saunders (11), trumpet