Hear & Now Nick Finzer

• 1 We the People 04:51
• 2 The Silent One 06:09
• 3 Single Petal of a Rose 04:52
• 4 Again and Again 08:57
• 5 Race to the Bottom 06:32
• 6 New Beginnings 08:07
• 7 Lullaby for an Old Friend 07:33
• 8 Dance of Persistence 05:03
• 9 Love Wins 05:15
• Total Runtime 57:19

Info for Hear & Now

New York award-winning composer, arranger, and trombonist Nick Finzer, will certainly delight the admirers of both traditional and modern jazz with his new release, Hear & Now, a politically-charged body of work that envisions to make us aware of the turbulent days we’re living in.

To sculpt his third recording as a bandleader and composer, Finzer, who was mentored by the great Steve Turre at Juilliard, reunites the same sextet that appears on his previous album, The Chase (Origin Records, 2014). A blow of fresh air increases the fascination of his inspired new musical creations.

The sonorous spells can be immediately felt in the opening tune, “We The People”, a stylish post-bop pleasure of rare quality and unmitigated class, whose blues connotations and arrangement bring us the best of Turre and Kenny Garrett. Its dimension is expanded with sparkling improvisations by Finzer, pianist Glenn Zaleski, and guitarist Alex Wintz, all of them mesmerizing in their gestures.

Transcendent piano chords give “The Silent One” the epithet of a prayer. Flowing with articulate musicianship, the tune presents a muscled rock guitar comping during Finzer solo, and piano harmonic conduction for Lucas Pino to demonstrate how to make a saxophone solo sound interesting.

The only cover in the recording is Duke Ellington’s lullaby-ish “Single Petal of a Rose”, an homage to Finzer’s key influence, which was melodically co-driven by Pino’s bass clarinet and bundled up in wha-wha effects. Seated on the bass pedal of Dave Baron and the undeviating drumming of Jimmy MacBride, the clement “Again and Again” shows a perfect understanding between pianist and guitarist who succeed in the articulation of their interventions. All ends up in a dauntless horn-led collective improv.

“Racing to the Bottom”, another post-bop explosion, does what its title calls out. The fast pace allows the soloists to adventure from one extremity of the scale to the other.

Unhurried breezes show up in a quasi-sequential triple dose with the demure “New Beginnings”, a marriage between jazz and avant-pop, “Lullaby for an Old Friend”, written for a friend of the trombonist who passed away, and “Love Wins”, a dainty hymn that celebrates marriage equality.

Superbly produced by Ryan Truesdell (Gil Evans Project), Finzer’s music feels alive, flaring up with color and legitimacy within an assured direction.

Nick Finzer, trombone
Lucas Pino, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet
Alex Wintz, guitar
Dave Baron, bass
Glenn Zaleski, piano
Jimmy Macbride, drums

Nick Finzer
... is one of the most dynamic musicians of the millennial generation. An award-winning composer, arranger, producer, and trombonist, Finzer is bringing the joy and power of Jazz to both traditional fans and the most modern 21st century audiences. He’s on a mission to be a passionate voice defining the sound of Jazz in this age while also bringing street cred to the trombone with a bold, tight sound.

Listeners will enjoy the wide emotional range of Finzer’s brilliant original compositions and arrangements on his latest album, No Arrival (Posi-Tone 2018). His supporting musical cast for this album includes reed- man extraordinaire Lucas Pino, guitarist Alex Wintz, pianist Victor Gould, bassist Dave Baron and drummer Jimmy Macbride. The album finds Finzer taking things forward while simultaneously being drawing back to the music that got him to this point in time, with a mix of influences and a unified concept.

Born into the musical world (Mom Sherry Finzer is an international flutist), Finzer developed a fascination for the music of Duke Ellington and found himself, in high school, performing at the annual Essentially Ellington competition of Jazz at Lincoln Center. It was then that he decided to pursue a life in music himself. His budding talent was recognized by Wycliffe Gordon who began a mentorship by writing four pieces for the young Finzer while he attended the Eastman School of Music. Nick went on to get his masters at Juilliard’s prestigious Jazz program where he was mentored by trombone legend Steve Turre.

In 2011 Nick was the winner of the Eastern Trombone Workshop’s National Jazz Trombone Competition and was a finalist in the 2010 International Trombone Association’s Carl Fontana Jazz Trombone Competition.

Two tracks appearing on Nick’s debut album “Exposition” (Outside in Music) garnered Finzer a pair of accolades: The prestigious American Society of Composers and Performers (ASCAP)’s Herb Alpert Award for young composers (2013 & 2015)

Two of Nick's album-length works, “The Chase” and “Hear & Now” were received with rave reviews, a feature article in Downbeat Magazine, and both peaked at #6 on the JazzWeek Charts. “Hear & Now” is a collection of compositions that serve as a vehicle to express the energy and emotions of the early 21st century human experience. The compositions on “Hear & Now” take the listener on a journey from the frenetic pace of everyday life, through self-reflection and mindfulness, and looking ahead to a bright future.

Famed trombonist and mentor Wycliffe Gordon called Finzer “a new voice [in] the pantheon of upcoming trombone greats in the making” and added “Nick's CD is a glowing example of things to come.”

When away from NYC, Finzer can be found touring the globe not only with his own projects, but as part of Anat Cohen’s Tentet, teaching workshops and masterclasses, and appearing with YouTube sensation Postmodern Jukebox. Finzer has joined the group on television, in viral videos with millions of views, and on tours across North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

Finzer has performed at top jazz clubs, festivals and concert halls with Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, the Newport Jazz Festival with Anat Cohen, Lucas Pino’s No Net Nonet, Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Project, Bob Stewart’s Double Quartet, Frank Wess, Terrell Stafford, Lewis Nash, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, Walt Weiskopf, Slide Hampton, Frank Kimbrough, Carl Allen, Steve Turre and many more.

While not performing, Nick can be found on his YouTube channel sharing weekly videos on topics ranging from live performances, to new arrangements, and educational videos. Nick's media company and jazz record label Outside in Music is poised to take the jazz recording industry firmly into the next century. Releasing 15 albums in 2017, and looking to top that number in 2018. Outside in Music produces audio and video content for some of jazz's rising stars from around the globe; as well as connecting brands to the jazz artist's passionate fan-bases.

Nick also has a firm commitment to education and developing the next generation of musicians and music lovers. Finzer serves as the Artistic Director of the Institute for Creative Music; a non-profit dedicated to exploring jazz and creativity for musicians and audiences of all levels. From 2014-2016, Nick served as the Visiting Professor of Jazz Trombone at Florida State University. Nick published his first book in 2013 Get Ahead (A Practical Guide for the Developing Jazz Trombonist) and relaunched that book as an interactive online course in June of 2017.

This album contains no booklet.