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Artist: Jason Vieaux | Julien Labro

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Jason Vieaux | Julien Labro:

Infusion

Grammy-winning guitarist Jason Vieaux and internationally acclaimed composer, bandoneónist, and accordionist Julien Labro will release their second duo album, Infusion, on October 28, 2016 on Azica Records. Infusion includes Julien Labro's arrangements of Leo Brouwer's Tres Danzas Concertantes and Piazzolla's Escualo, his arrangement of Radamés Gnattali's Suite Retratos with bassist Peter Dominguez and percussionist Jamey Haddad, Pat Metheny's Antonia, and Vieaux's arrangement of iconic 1980s British rock band Tears for Fears' Everybody Wants to Rule the World. Vieaux and Labro will perform Piazzolla's Double Concerto with the Arkansas Symphony in September 2016.

The combination of arranged pieces with original through-composed material epitomizes Vieaux and Labro's versatility and ability to wear multiple hats, blurring the boundaries between composer, performer, improviser, and arranger, and creating an uncommonly fluid musical product. Guitarist Dan Lippel's liner notes expand on this subject, noting that "Hermeto Pascoal, Astor Piazzolla, and Egberto Gismonti all come to mind as musicians who have worn many hats, and have enjoyed broad appeal while defying easy categorization on a popular-serious continuum. When I listen to Vieaux and Labro play Gnattali or Piazzolla, Metheny or Tears for Fears, I hear several threads all at once – captivating music from various traditions that doesn't fit neatly in a box, and two artists who push beyond the conventional roles of classical performance and get their hands dirty as arrangers and improvisers. But more than anything else, I hear the joyful sound of music infused with new ideas and vibrant energy. What better musicians than Vieaux and Labro, both of whom have backgrounds as arrangers and improvisers, in addition to being virtuoso instrumentalists, to tackle music that asks for a broad set of tools across the spectrum? And what better repertoire to absorb their infusion of influences?"