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Crossover Media


Founded in 1994, Crossover Media's client list includes: Sony Masterworks, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, BMG, and Concord, along with many Independent Labels and Artists. Projects include collaborations with the following artists: 2CELLOS, Alexandre Desplat, Andras Schiff, Andrea Bocelli, Andris Nelsons, Anna Netrebko, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Angele Dubeau, Angelique Kidjo, Anoushka Shankar, Antonio Sanchez, Arcade Fire, Arturo Sandoval, Bebel Gilberto, Becca Stevens, Bela Fleck, Bettye LaVette, Bill Frisell, Bill Charlap, Bill Murray, Billy Childs, Billy Joel, Bob James, Bobby McFerrin, Brandee Younger, Branford Marsalis, Brian Eno, Cassandra Wilson, Cecilia Bartoli, Charlie Haden, Chick Corea, Chilly Gonzales, Daniel Barenboim, Daniel Hope, Daniil Trifonov, David Crosby, David Foster, David Sanborn, Devonte Hynes, Diana Krall, Don Sebesky, Ella Fitzgerald, Emanuel Ax, Ennio Morricone, Evgeny Kissin, Frank Sinatra, Gabriel Kahane, George Benson, George Winston, Gustavo Dudamel, Gustavo Santaolalla, Hans Zimmer, Helene Grimaud, Hilary Hahn, Hildur Guonadottir, Hubert Laws, Hubert Sumlin, Huey Lewis & The News, Igor Levit, Itzhak Perlman, Jake Shimabukuro, Jan Garbarek, Jarvis Cocker, Jeff Goldblum, Jessye Norman, Jethro Tull, Jimmy Webb, Joan Baez, Joe Lovano, Joey Alexander, Johann Johannsson, John Coltrane, John Scofield, John Williams, Johnny Cash, Joni Mitchell, Jonny Greeenwood, Joshua Bell, Joy Harjo, Joyce DiDonato, Keith Jarrett, Kenny Barron, Krzysztof Penderecki, Kurt Masur, Lee Konitz, Leif Ove Andsnes, Lena Horne, London Symphony Orchestra, Luciano Pavarotti, Madison Cunningham, Mark O'Connor, Martha Argerich, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Max Richter, Medeski Martin & Wood, Melody Gardot, Michel Camilo, Paul McCartney, Paul Winter, Pete Townshend, Phil Woods, Rachel Portman, Randall Goosby, Ray Charles, Regina Carter, Renee Fleming, Richard Reed Parry, Rick Wakeman, Rodney Dangerfield, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Rufus Wainwright, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Samara Joy, Seiji Ozawa, Sergio Mendes, Seth MacFarlane, Shabaka Hutchings, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Sinead O'Connor, Snarky Puppy, Sonny Rollins, Sons of Kemet, Soweto Gospel Choir, Stanley Turrentine, SYML, Terence Blanchard, Terry Riley, The Bad Plus, The Choir Of King's College Cambridge, The Comet Is Coming, The Cranberries, The Derek Trucks Band, The Hilliard Ensemble, The Hot Sardines, The Piano Guys, The Stan Getz Quartet, The Manhattan Transfer, The New York Philharmonic, Thelonious Monk, Theo Bleckmann, Theo Croker, Third Coast Percussion, Time for Three, Tony Bennett, Tuck and Patti, Vangelis, Vienna Philharmonic, Vijay Iyer, Vikingur Olafsson, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vladimir Horowitz, VOCES8, Willie Nelson, Wynton Marsalis, Yannick Nezet-Sequin, Yo-Yo Ma, Yuja Wang, and many others. 
 

"Music is a science. Music is mathematical. Music is a foreign language. Music is History. Music is physical education. Music develops Insight and demands research. Music is all these things, but most of all, MUSIC IS ART. That is why we teach music. Not because we expect you to play or sing all your life...But so you will be human...So you will recognize beauty...So you will be closer to an infinite beyond this world...So you will have something to cling to...So you will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good- in short, more LIFE."   - Ludwig van Beethoven

For more information contact Max Horowitz    maxcrossover@gmail.com

Top 10 Albums For September 28, 2023

  • Veljo Tormis

    Reminiscentiae w/TCO & EPCC, Tonu Kaljuste

    The elemental power of ancient folk music was the life force that drove the compositions of Veljo Tormis (1930-2017). As the great Estonian composer famously said, “I do not use folk song. It is folk song that uses me.” This sentiment is echoed in definitive performances by the Estonian Philharmonic Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Tõnu Kaljuste, for decades one of Tormis’s closest musical associates. Four orchestral cycles celebrate the changing seasons: Autumn Landscapes, Winter Patterns, Spring Sketches, Summer Motifs. And three pieces – Worry Breaks The Spirit, Hamlet’s Songs and Herding Calls - feature new arrangements by Tõnu Kaljuste, continuing and commemorating Tormis’s work.

    The album opens with The Tower Bell In My Village with words by Fernando Pessoa (recited and sung here in Estonian) that seem entirely pertinent in the context of this tribute. “Oh death, it’s a bend in the road/You can’t be seen when you’ve passed by/But still your steps continue.” For most of his life, Tormis’s music was little heard beyond his homeland – a situation that began to change with the release of Forgotten Peoples in 1992, and Litany to Thunder in 1999, both with the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir under Kaljuste. Meanwhile, his influence continues to spread with each passing year.

  • Yuja Wang

    Rachmaninoff w/LA Phil. - Gustavo Dudamel

    Los Angeles, the city in which Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) spent the last few months of his life, played host to an exceptional festival of music last February. As part of this year’s Rachmaninoff 150 celebrations, Yuja Wang joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its Music and Artistic Director Gustavo Dudamel over two consecutive weekends to perform all four of the composer’s piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Deutsche Grammophon were there to capture their sold-out and critically acclaimed performances live at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Rachmaninoff: The Piano Concertos and Paganini Rhapsody is now set for release on 2 CDs, 3 LPs and digitally on 1 September 2023. The Allegro vivace finale of Piano Concerto No. 1 comes out as an e single and e video on 23 June; the filmed cycle of five performances will be premiered on STAGE+ on 24 June and will also be available on the LA Phil’s online concert series SOUND/STAGE later in September. 
    A formidably talented pianist himself, Rachmaninoff wrote a wide range of expressive, idiomatic music for his own instrument, including these five dazzling large-scale works for piano and orchestra. They have been part of Yuja Wang’s repertoire since the start of her career, and she continues to bring fresh insights to their kaleidoscopic riches. She has collaborated with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic many times, and a powerful sense of mutual respect and understanding is conveyed through these performances.  As Dudamel notes, “We connect as if we were playing chamber music.”

    Rachmaninoff began work on his First Piano Concerto in 1890, when he was still a student at the Moscow Conservatory. Some 26 years later he substantially revised the work, and it is the 1917 version that opens this new album. The composer himself wrote at the time, “All the youthful freshness is there, and yet it plays itself so much more easily.” Yuja Wang certainly makes the solo writing sound effortless, from the fiery flourishes of the first and third movements, to the intimate delicacy of the central Andante. 

    A huge success at its premiere in 1901, the Second Concerto remains one of the composer’s best-loved works. Its wealth of passion, virtuosity and glorious melodies are perhaps all the more remarkable given that the score emerged from the period of despondency Rachmaninoff experienced after the initial failure of his First Symphony. So familiar is the concerto that there is the risk of falling into well-worn grooves, but with not these performers. As the Los Angeles Times noted in its review, Yuja “attacked [the opening chords], making each one an ever-more-important event. She seemed to be saying, listen, this matters … [Along] with Dudamel, who was propulsive and extravagantly detailed in the accompaniments, [she] went … for the dynamism of our times.”

  • Maciej Obara Quartet

    Frozen Silence

    Frozen Silence is the third ECM release from alto saxophonist Maciej Obara’s Polish-Norwegian quartet, bringing the story forward from Unloved and Three Crowns, recordings which confirmed the ensemble’s standing as one of the most strikingly original European bands of the present moment. The quartet’s creative sense of musical interplay is again to the forefront of this newest album, recorded in Oslo in the summer of 2022, which may be their strongest statement to date. Obara’s new music optimally highlights his intuitive musical relationship with Dominik Wania, while Ole Morten Vågan and Gard Nilssen continually transcend rhythm section roles to interact persuasively with the saxophonist and the pianist.

    Alert interactivity is the hallmark of the group’s approach. The new repertoire, however, was shaped by Maciej in isolation. When pandemic lockdowns shut the door on the Polish jazz scene and ruled out international touring, he left Warsaw and headed for the hills and forests. The compositions heard here are reveries of the solitary walker: direct responses to nature, in particular the starkly dramatic landscapes of the Karkonosze region in south-west Poland, where his family roots are. Song titles single out some special locations – “Black Cauldron” (in Polish, Czarny kociol jagniatkowski), “High Stone”  (Wysoki kamien), and “Dry Mountain” (Sucha Góra). 

  • John Holloway

    Henry Purcell - Fantazias

    Henry Purcell’s “fantazias” are regarded as some of the finest and most intricately wrought examples of the fantasia, due to their profound embrace of counterpoint and great command of the polyphonal techniques of the time. Composed in the summer of 1680 – a time when the fantasia was already considered old-fashioned and had been replaced by the sonata –, Purcell’s “fantazias” turned out to be the very last ensemble fantasias to be published in England. As John Holloway notes in his detailed liner text contextualizing the three- and four-part works, “it is tempting in retrospect to see their brilliant distillation of the very best of Byrd, Lawes, Jenkins and Locke as a personal farewell to a kind of music, which in Purcell’s own chamber music would soon be superseded by sonatas”.

    In this recording John Holloway and his ensemble – violists Monika Baer and Renate Steinmann as well as violoncellist Martin Zeller – excel at bringing to light the emotional nuance and technical complexity of the works in all their transparency and colorfulness, naturally emphasizing Purcell’s contrapuntal idiosyncrasies in the process. Holloway’s expansive studies of Purcell’s life and work are evident in this music, and the violinist discloses his great appreciation of the composer in the accompanying text, saying, “only just out of his teens, Purcell already shows his extraordinary ability, shared by few other composers of any era, to walk the fine line between joy and sorrow, to beautifully express the melancholy which was such a characteristic mood of his times; and all this within the strictest self-imposed disciplines of complex counterpoint.”

    On the album, recorded at Zürich’s Radio Studio, Holloway and his ensemble approach Purcell’s fantasias No.1 through 12 with distinct and convincing interpretations that substantiate John Holloway’s suggestion that even J.S. Bach “would have been immensely proud to have composed this music, and had he encountered it, would certainly have acknowledged it as equal to his finest achievements in this art.”

  • Danish National Symphony Orchestra - Fabio Luisi

    Carl Nielsen - The Concertos

    After six years of acclaimed live performances in Europe, USA and Asia, The Danish Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi are now presenting their special take on Carl Nielsen's symphonies and concertos on record for the first time. To complete their critically acclaimed Nielsen cycle, The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi have released a digital album presenting Carl Nielsen’s three solo concertos for flute, clarinet and violin.

    Fabio Luisi, Chief Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, states: The Danish National Symphony Orchestra and I are delighted to join Deutsche Grammophon for this important release cycle. I am particularly pleased to see the complete symphonies of Carl Nielsen being featured under the famous yellow logo, placing the composer in the canon of great 20th century composers which is fully deserved.

  • David Lopato & Global Coolant

    Short Stories

    SHORT STORIES, the new recording by award-winning NY-based composer-pianist David Lopato is an eclectic assemblage of eight original compositions and one cover (Prince of Darkness by Wayne Shorter). The music spans 4 decades of writing and, like all of Lopato’s previous recordings, a wide range of musical genres and styles. It features a core quintet of incredible musicians with whom Lopato has worked for many years: Ed Neumeister on trombone, Lucas Pino on saxes and clarinets, Ratzo Harris on string bass and Michael Sarin on drum. The group is augmented by three of New York’s top percussionists: Rogerio Boccato, Keita Ogawa and Bobby Sanabria, and by newcomer Anson Jones on vocals.

    The influences on Lopato’s music run far, wide and deep, from traditional jazz, blues and rock to avant-garde improvisation, and the musics of Africa, Brazil and Asia, most notably Indonesia, where Lopato lived for a year as a Fulbright scholar studying Javanese gamelan. His last recording, the South Asian-influenced Gendhing for a Spirit Rising, was cited as one of the top albums of 2017 by Downbeat Magazine, which described it as “unlike anything you are likely to hear this year (or any year). Unlike many experiments with musical fusion, Lopato’s music is the genuine article”.

  • Helene Grimaud

    For Clara feat. Konstantin Krimmel

    Hélène Grimaud explores the rich universe of German Romanticism For Clara couples Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana Op. 16 with Brahms’s Intermezzi Op. 117 and Lieder und Gesänge Op. 32, featuring baritone Konstantin Krimmel

    “You can spend a lifetime with a piece like this and always find something new” - Hélène Grimaud on Kreisleriana 

    “I’ve always had a special relationship with the German Romantics,” says  Hélène Grimaud (in a recent interview for Deutsche Welle). “These are worlds in which I feel I can express what the composer intended.” That affinity is very much in evidence on her latest album, For Clara, which focuses not only on the pianist’s own relationship with the music of both Robert Schumann and his protégé Brahms, but also on that which bound both men to pianist-composer Clara Schumann (née Wieck). Grimaud revisits Schumann’s Kreisleriana, a work she has known most of her life and recorded once before, pairing it with Brahms’s three Op. 117 Intermezzi and his Op. 32 set of nine songs. Joining her for the latter is baritone Konstantin Krimmel, her musical partner on the Valentin Silvestrov album Silent Songs, released earlier this year (“Konstantin Krimmel and Hélène Grimaud deserve the highest praise for their poised and unaffected account of this beautiful, dreamlike music”, BBC Music Magazine). 
    For Clara will be released by Deutsche Grammophon on CD, vinyl and digitally on 8 September. Filmed in the library of Polling Abbey near Munich, in June 2022, Hélène Grimaud’s performance of Kreisleriana will be available on demand on STAGE+ from 10 July 2023, while her Berlin recital with Konstantin Krimmel, featuring Brahms’s Op. 32, can be streamed from the platform now. Grimaud’s recordings of two further Brahms intermezzi – Op. 116 No. 2 in A minor and Op. 118 No. 2 in A major – will be issued as e-singles on 13 October and 24 November respectively. 

  • Vikingur Olafsson

    VIKINGUR GOLDBERG VARIATIONS BACH

    Celebrated for his visionary interpretations of J.S. Bach, Víkingur Ólafsson, one of the greatest pianists and musical minds of today, now embraces Bach’s monumental Goldberg Variations. Ólafsson devotes his entire next season to touring the work globally across six continents, while October 2023 marks the anticipated album release on Deutsche Grammophon. “I have dreamed of recording this work for 25 years,” says the Icelandic pianist.

    The album follows Ólafsson’s hugely successful DG recording of works by the composer, Johann Sebastian Bach (2018), which won BBC Music magazine’s Album of the Year, Opus Klassik’s Solo Recital award, numerous other recording of the year accolades and led to him being named Gramophone magazine’s Artist of the Year. Now Ólafsson brings his unique musical vision, and an affecting, meticulous recorded sound to Bach’s masterpiece. It marks the first time Ólafsson records a complete work and he begins with one of the most demanding in the piano repertoire.

    Ólafsson dedicates his 2023-24 season to a Goldberg Variations world tour, performing the work across six continents throughout the year. He brings Bach’s masterpiece to major concert halls including London’s Southbank Centre, New York’s Carnegie Hall, Wiener Konzerthaus, Philharmonie de Paris, Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, Philharmonie Berlin, Harpa Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, LA’s Walt Disney Hall, Sala São Paulo, Shanghai Symphony Hall, Tonhalle Zurich, KKL Luzern, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Mupa Budapest and Teatro Colón, to name a few.

  • Lorne Balfe

    The Wheel of Time - Season 2 Vol. 1 ( PVOSS )

    Milan Records releases THE WHEEL OF TIME: SEASON 2, VOLUME 1 (PRIME VIDEO ORIGINAL SERIES SOUNDTRACK) by award-winning composer Lorne Balfe. Available everywhere now, the Volume 1 album is the first of an eventual two volumes of original music, which Balfe wrote for the second season of the fantasy series. It serves as a conceptual album of 11 key themed tracks, each tailored to a different character in the new season. Today’s Volume 1 album release will be followed by an additional Volume 2 soundtrack, set to debut on Friday, September 22.

    The recordings of both albums were a global effort with recording sessions taking place at Abbey Road in London, Abriguerio Recording Studios in Spain, as well as various project studios in London, Los Angeles, Nashville and Chicago.

    Balfe returns to The Wheel of Time universe after composing three albums for the series’ first season, which also included a similar conceptual album of key themes. 

    “This season, we really tried from the beginning to accentuate the high stakes, action and dark threats in each episode, expanding upon the themes from season one while introducing new ones as the world continues to expand,“ Balfe said. “Like in season one, vocalists recorded singing in “Old Tongue”, which follows the narrative as it develops throughout season two. We kept the same musical palette, but moved away from the traditional fantasy tropes and incorporated more elements of electronic, dreampop, folk, classical and even dark wave into each track. This was a great way to show the musical evolution of the characters and how they have come into their own.“

    The first four episodes of The Wheel of Time are available now on Prime Video, with new episodes debuting every Friday in more than 240 countries and territories around the world.  

  • Bear McCreary

    Outlander The Series-Highlights from Season 7 OTS

    Sony Music Masterworks releases OUTLANDER: SEASON 7 (HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ORIGINAL TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK) with music by Emmy® and BAFTA Award-winning series composer BEAR McCREARY. Available everywhere now, the EP also features McCreary’s arrangement of the series theme song “The Skye Boat Song” performed by the late Sinéad O’Connor, and a Scottish traditional song performed by Griogair Labhruidh. The EP serves as an introduction to the larger soundscape envisioned by McCreary for the seventh season of the critically acclaimed STARZ series from Sony Pictures Television, the first half of which is available now on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms.

    Of the release, composer BEAR McCREARY says, “Scoring Outlander’s seventh season allowed me to continue to weave the threads that create the tapestry of this dynamic, eclectic score. The sounds of Americana were brought to the fore as Claire and Jamie at last collide with the events of the American Revolution. Most importantly, Season 7 also allowed me to return to the series’ roots in Celtic folk music. I was thrilled by the opportunity to enlist the legendary singer Sinéad O’Connor, who I thought could provide a unique sense of power and wisdom to our latest rendition of the series’ iconic title theme, ‘The Skye Boat Song.’ It was my privilege to collaborate with her on what I understand was her final recording, a hauntingly beautiful vocal performance. Sinéad was the warrior poet I expected her to be. I am gutted by her loss.”

Stories For September 28, 2023

  • Ofra Harnoy's unreleased 1996 recording of Elgar's Cello Concerto gets its long overdue debut / The Violin Channel
    Posted At : September 25, 2023 12:00 AM
    The Violin Channel writes…..Cellist Ofra Harnoy has released her debut on Sony Classical featuring Elgar's Cello Concerto Op. 85 in E minor and Lalo's Cello Concerto in D minor. The rediscovered and unreleased 1996 recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto gets its long overdue debut.

    The Elgar recording was completed in its 1996 Abbey Road sessions with George Pehlivanian conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra; however, it was never edited and released. Repeated inquiries and searches over the years yielded no results until the master tapes were discovered in 2022 in the storage of a former associate.The new album also includes a reissue of Harnoy’s recording of the Cello Concerto in D Minor made in 1995 with the late Antonio de Almeida conducting the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.When cellist Ofra Harnoy entered London’s Abbey Road Studios in 1996 to record Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto Op. 85 in E minor, she never imagined she would have to wait 27 years for the recording’s release.Shortly after the 1996 Abbey Road sessions, she spoke with the International Cello Society, for an interview. “I recently recorded the Elgar Concerto with the London Philharmonic,” Harnoy said, at the time. “I'm very excited about this because the Elgar is one of those pieces that just wrings me dry; I always end up crying. It's such a wonderful piece.”Fortunately, notes from the sessions survived, and the Elgar recording’s original producer, Andrew Keener, advised Mike Herriott — Harnoy’s husband and manager — who edited the tapes in their own home studio. Ron Searles of Red Maple Sound in Toronto mastered the final edit and remastered the Lalo recording.The Lalo recording from 1995 also comes from the cellist’s years as an exclusive artist on the RCA Victor Red Seal/BMG Classics label, now a part of Sony Classical.Ofra Harnoy was born in Israel and immigrated to Canada at age 6. She studied with William Pleeth, Vladimir Orloff, and Mstislav Rostropovich, and participated in master classes with Janos Starker, Pierre Fournier, and Jacqueline du Pré. She has given concerts on five continents and has played at the request of Prince Charles, President Bill Clinton, three Canadian Prime Ministers, and several times for the Imperial Japanese family.Harnoy has recorded nearly 50 solo albums presenting a vast repertoire. Among her many recording and live performance collaborations, she has worked with Placido Domingo, Sting, Sir Charles Mackerras, Loreena McKennitt, Colin Tilney, Igor Oistrakh, Jesse Cook, Cyprien Katsaris, Claudio Scimone, Charles Dutoit, Jeffrey Tait, Anton Kuerti, and Emmy Verhey.
     Listen to the second movement of Elgar's Cello Concerto in D Minor via The Violin Channel
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  • Plinio Fernandes 'Bacheando' is RTE lyric fm 'Lorcan's Pick of the Week'
    Posted At : September 25, 2023 12:00 AM
    Plinio Fernandes has embarked on a captivating exploration of his favorite composer’s legacy on Bacheando. A dynamic inheritor of a decades-long tradition in which extraordinary Brazilian musicians have looked to the German master’s music for inspiration, Fernandes performs a harmonious blend of Bach's compositions alongside enchanting pieces by Brazilian greats Heitor Villa-Lobos, Paulinho Nogueira, and Mário Albanese. He also collaborated with legendary Brazilian guitarist and composer Sérgio Assad, who contributed a world premiere composition along with multiple brand new arrangements for the album.At the beating heart of Bacheando is music by the revered master himself. Bach’s “Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-Flat Major, BWV 998” is a cornerstone of classical guitar repertoire and easily among Fernandes’ favorite works. Equally essential to the set is Bach’s arrangement of the Adagio from the “Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974,” originally written for oboe by Italian Baroque composer Benedetto Marcello.Bacheando sees an expanded collaboration between Fernandes and Sérgio Assad, known as half of the Assad Brothers guitar duo. The album features the world premiere recording of Assad’s original new three-movement work “Preludio Fuga e Vivace,” which is a Brazilian dance-infused response to Bach’ “Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-Flat Major, BWV 998” and includes a musical first for Assad: his debut fugue. Assad also contributed four brand new solo guitar arrangements for the album, including a fresh mashup of Paulinho Nogueira’s “Bachianinha No. 2” and Luiz Gonzaga’s “Araponga.”Fernandes established himself early as an exquisite player with a colorful, “gloriously rich tone” (Gramophone) in his acclaimed debut album, Saudade. And like generations of musicians before, Bach was key to his artistic formation. As a child in São Paulo, he cherished the composer’s full catalog, from the solo works for violin and cello to vocal music and masses.Says Fernandes: “Being Brazilian and growing up listening to Villa-Lobos with Bach as his main outside influence, you see a transcendental element of Bach’s music all over and throughout history. All who came after were influenced by him.”Plínio Fernandes, a 29-year-old Brazilian guitarist hailing from São Paulo and currently residing in London, has garnered significant acclaim and recognition in a remarkably short time. He was honored with the prestigious Revelação/Breakthrough category award at the 2023 Prêmio da Música Brasileira (Brazilian Music Awards) and has been recognized as one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 Brazil 2022 and Classic FM's Rising Stars 2022. In 2022, he was also the recipient of the Revista Concerto Young Artist Award.His debut album, Saudade, soared to the top of the US Billboard Traditional Albums Chart, solidifying his position as a rising star in the classical music realm. Plínio Fernandes' extraordinary talent has led to television appearances on “C à vous,” "Imagine" BBC 1, and Globo's "Jornal Hoje.”Equal parts homage and innovation, Bacheando opens dialogues between artists across styles, regions, and time periods in a captivating journey across bridges of sound.
    Tracklist:
    1. Bachianinha No. 1 [Paulinho Nogueira]
    2. Bachianinha No. 2 / Araponga [Paulinho Nogueira / Luiz Gonzaga]
    3. Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-Flat Major, BWV 998: I. Prelude [Johann Sebastian Bach]
    4. Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-Flat Major, BWV 998: II. Fugue [Johann Sebastian Bach]
    5. Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-Flat Major, BWV 998: III Allegro [Johann Sebastian Bach]
    6. Preludio Fuga e Vivace: I. Preludio [Sérgio Assad]
    7. Preludio Fuga e Vivace: II. Fuga [Sérgio Assad]
    8. Preludio Fuga e Vivace: III. Vivace [Sérgio Assad]
    9. Jequibach [Mário Albanese]
    10. Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974: II. Adagio [Benedetto Marcello / Johann Sebastian Bach]
    11. Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4: I. Prelúdio (Introdução) [Heitor Villa-Lobos]
     RTE lyric fm writes…..All this week on Classic Drive Lorcan will feature music from the new album from Plínio Fernandes.
    Acclaimed Brazilian virtuoso guitarist Plínio Fernandes has announced his highly anticipated sophomore album, Bacheando, via Decca Gold. Bacheando sees Fernandes pay tribute to centuries of artistry by exploring the enduring genius of J.S. Bach, the vibrant musical culture of Brazil, and all the richness in between.Plinio Fernandes embarks on a captivating exploration of his favorite composer's legacy on Bacheando. A dynamic inheritor of a decades-long tradition in which extraordinary Brazilian musicians have looked to the German master’s music for inspiration, Fernandes performs a harmonious blend of Bach's compositions alongside enchanting pieces by Brazilian greats Heitor Villa-Lobos, Paulinho Nogueira, and Mário Albanese. He also collaborated with legendary Brazilian guitarist and composer Sérgio Assad, who contributed a world premiere composition along with multiple brand new arrangements for the album.SEE THE RTE lyric fm PAGE
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  • Helene Grimaud 'For Clara' and 'Bach Minimaliste' / the arts fuse review
    Posted At : September 26, 2023 12:00 AM
    Reviews of Hélène Grimaud’s latest homage to Clara Schumann and La Tempête investigates seeming stylistic overlaps in the music of J. S. Bach, Henryk Górecki, Jehan Alain, Knut Nystedt, and John Adams.the arts fuse - Jonathan Blumhofer writes…..The Robert Schumann-Clara Schumann-Johannes Brahms love triangle has been a popular programming tack, especially of late as there’s been a resurgence of interest in the various dimensions of Clara’s career (composer, pianist, muse). For Hélène Grimaud, the concept’s nothing new: she trod this ground – and impressively – way back in 2006, assaying Robert’s Piano Concerto, several of Clara’s songs, and some tumultuous Brahms chamber music on Reflections, her fourth Yellow Label release.Think of For Clara, then, by my count Grimaud’s eighteenth album for Deutsche Grammophon, as a long-awaited sequel. True, it’s dedicatee doesn’t show up as a composer. But her spirit hovers over the recording’s program: Robert’s Kreisleriana plus Brahms’s 3 Intermezzi op. 117 and his 9 Lieder op. 32.Kreisleriana was inspired by Clara – “one of your ideas plays the main role in it,” her future-husband wrote cryptically. If audiences and contemporaneous progressives (including Chopin, Liszt, and – yes – Clara) found its technical, formal, and emotional extremes confusing if not off-putting, the eight-movement work has, over two centuries, established itself as one of Schumann’s most visionary.Grimaud, a pianist whose grasp of the Romantic sensibility (especially the willingness to risk and commit all in pursuit of an artistic goal) is total, has a field day with it here. From the downbeat of the stormy, rhythmically a-blur “Äusserst bewegt,” this is a Kreisleriana that holds nothing back.Of course, it’s not all sound and fury. The dreamy, inward second half of the third movement’s slow section floats and the balances between the hands in the concluding “Schnell und spielend” are impressively discreet. Though her tone is sometimes a bit steely, Grimaud’s Schumann burns white-hot.Her Brahms Intermezzi are, conversely, the picture of clarity and warmth, especially the central Andante con moto e con molto espressione, with its haunting sequential progressions and strong sense of shape.In the op. 32 Lieder, Grimaud proves to be a periodically aggressive accompanist. She doesn’t hold back her volume in the opening number and, in “Der Strom,” we again encounter some fleeting issues with balance.But baritone Konstantin Krimmel holds his own. His singing in these songs about (broadly speaking) love and loss are rich, pure-toned, and clearly enunciated. Whether conveying the furious intensity of “Wehe, so willst du mich wieder” or the ravishing beauty of the closing “Wie bist du, meine Königin,” his partnership with Grimaud is, ultimately, a marriage of equals. In the process, they deliver an unequivocally triumphant account of this strangely neglected song cycle.Clara, one hopes, would approve.Once upon a time, divining the origins of Minimalism – or at least of placing them in some longer, historical, Western context – was a popular undertaking among various artists and ensembles. Now, though, the practice is a bit recherche, though, given the right template, it can still be a worthwhile endeavor.The latest to take up the effort are the period ensemble La Tempête and conductor Simon-Pierre Bestion. Their Bach Minimaliste investigates seeming stylistic overlaps in the music of J. S. Bach, Henryk Górecki, Jehan Alain, Knut Nystedt, and John Adams.Peculiar as that lineup might appear – and despite the obnoxious practice of chopping up pieces and presenting their movements non-continously – the disc ends up, for the most part, making its point: the utilization of slowly developing melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic cells that’s one of the foundational characteristics of Minimalism is, in fact, also a basic trait of Western music and its cornerstone, Bach.True, that’s not exactly news. But it is a fine thing to reflect upon, especially given these selections.READ THE FULL arts fuse REVIEW
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  • Sultans of Strings 'Walking Through the Fire' collaboration is coming to Lindsay's Flato Academy Theatre / kawarthaNOW.com
    Posted At : September 26, 2023 12:00 AM
    Sultans of String’s trailblazing ‘Walking Through the Fire’ collaboration with Indigenous artists coming to Lindsay Award-winning band's tour of new album featuring multiple Indigenous musicians includes a stop at Flato Academy Theatre on October 4.

    kawarthaNOW.com's Megan Gallant writes…Canadian roots band Sultans of String has just released its ninth album "Walking Through the Fire," which includes collaborations with award-winning First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists from across Turtle Island. The band is launching a months-long tour in support of the album, including a stop at Lindsay's Flato Academy Theatre on October 4, 2023. Joining Sultans of String on stage will be Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk, Marc Meriläinen, Shannon Thunderbird, Don Ross, Leela Gilday, and The North Sound, with virtual guests on the big screen including Dr. Duke Redbird, the Northern Cree Pow Wow group, and more. (Photo courtesy of Sultans of String)

    Canadian roots band Sultans of String has just released its ninth album "Walking Through the Fire," which includes collaborations with award-winning First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists from across Turtle Island. The band is launching a months-long tour in support of the album, including a stop at Lindsay's Flato Academy Theatre on October 4, 2023. Joining Sultans of String on stage will be Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk, Marc Meriläinen, Shannon Thunderbird, Don Ross, Leela Gilday, and The North Sound, with virtual guests on the big screen including Dr. Duke Redbird, the Northern Cree Pow Wow group, and more. (Photo courtesy of Sultans of String)

    With National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, a new multimedia music production is embarking on a months-long tour reminding Canadians that listening to Indigenous truths must extend beyond a single day.Billboard-charting roots band Sultans of String will be bringing their latest album Walking Through the Fire to the stage, joined by the award-winning First Nations, Métis, and Inuit artists who collaborated on and shared their voices for the album.Launching on a 30-performance tour this week, the production (which shares a name with the album) will be stopping at Lindsay’s Flato Academy Theatre at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 4th — the only performance in the Kawarthas region.

    Walking Through The Fire — both the album and tour — includes talents exploring a diverse range of sounds from rumba, rock and folk music, to spoken word and drumming, representing cultures and communities from across Turtle Island (North America).Under the central theme that Indigenous experience and truths must be shared before reconciliation can begin, the musical collaboration was in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s “94 Calls to Action” and its final report. More specifically, the project follows the recommendations to increase education and for Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples to work in collaboration to pave the way forward.“This country has a history that has been ignored, distorted, twisted to suit colonial goals of destroying a people,” explains Sultans of String leader and violinist Chris McKhool in a media release. “We are so fortunate for the opportunity to work with Indigenous artists, sharing their stories, their experiences, and their lives with us, so we can continue our work of learning about the history of residential schools, genocide, and intergenerational impacts of colonization.”

    A three-time Juno-nominated and six-time Canadian Folk Music Awards winning Toronto-based band, Sultans of String is already well known for fusing international sounds and genres while highlighting voices of the marginalized, as evident in their 2020 album Refuge, which shared experiences of displaced people and newcomers in the country, and the 2021 follow-up Sanctuary, which featured recent immigrants and refugees to Canada as well as important Indigenous voices.For the Walking Through the Fire tour, Sultans of String band members McKhool (violin), Kevin Laliberté (guitar), Drew Birston (bass), and Rosendo “Chendy” Leon (drums) will be joined by different groups of Indigenous artists on three different legs of the tour, with the first leg beginning on September 28 in Markham and ending on October 4 in Lindsay.At the Flato Academy Theatre performance, violinist Alyssa Delbaere-Sawchuk of the Métis Fiddle Quartet is one of the Indigenous artists who will be performing. Her band collaborated on Walking Through The Fire with a song titled “Chanson de Riel,” with lyrics written from the perspective of Métis leader Louis Riel while he was imprisoned and condemned to death.READ THE FULL kawarthaNOW.com ARTICLE
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  • Absolutely Price-less: Randall Goosby chats with Winnipeg CLASSIC 107 about benchmark Florence Price recording
    Posted At : September 18, 2023 12:00 AM
    Winnipeg CLASSIC 107 - Chris Wolf writes….In May London Decca Records released a CD that features the fantastic American violinist Randall Goosby alongside the Philadelphia Orchestra with Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting. On the recording Goosby plays Bruch’s 1st Violin Concerto, as well as music by African-American composer Florence Price. For this latest project Goosby has recorded both of Florence Price’s Violin concertos as well as her gorgeous Adoration for violin and String Orchestra.At the age of just 27, Goosby has established himself as one of the pre-eminent violinists of his generation. He made his debut with the Jacksonville symphony at the age of nine. He graduated from Julliard where one of his main teachers was Itzhak Perlman, and after graduating went on to perform as soloist with some of the worlds most renowned orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and Philadelphia Orchestra to name just a few.For this latest recording, the music of the African-American composer Florence Price is at the forefront. Performing music by black composers is something that Goosby is very passionate about. He has recorded music by other black composers such as William Grant Still, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson.

    Goosby credits the Sphinx Organization with giving him some very definite direction in his career. Founded in 1997 by violinist Aaron P. Dworkin, the Sphinx Organization’s mandate is to foster the growth of Black and Latinx musicians, and to promote music by those who have been unjustly overlooked due to their color.  They accomplish this by holding competitions, creating and performing in ensembles that feature Black and Latinx performers, and commissioning new works by Black and Latinx composers.Goosby first took part in the Sphinx Organization’s competition in 2010 playing music of William Grant Still. As Goosby explains, “Once I started to near the end of my schooling I was thinking ‘why am I doing all this…what do I want to do with this whole music thing’ …the Sphinx Organization has played a huge part in my overarching desire with my career or whatever it is I do with music to bring a little bit more accessibility and diversity and just a sense of welcoming to people to who aren’t necessarily steeped in the classical music traditions.” Goosby continues, “Sphinx really provided an opportunity for me to do that, not only through actually hands on going into communities and playing and working and talking with people, but also through music that these communities might feel they can relate to a little bit more.’When it comes to the music of Florence Price, Goosby describes it as some of the most quintessentially American music you can come across. “Florence Price draws on music from vastly different places…. One of the unique places from where she pulled inspiration is the quintessentially American genre of spirituals…black music…blues…jazz came out of it…there is a very personal, very soulful sort of texture that is woven into her music. That combined with this slightly more Euro-centric tradition that she was able to study at the New England Conservatory, makes for a very unique kind of fabric,” states Goosby. “All of her music is full of surprises. You can never really know what to expect. And I think these concerto are great examples of that characteristic.”The other major work on the CD is Bruch’s much loved and well known 1st violin Concert in G minor. Recording the concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin was a real thrill for Goosby. “we were all just playing off each other the whole time…there was this current of energy between myself Yannick and the Orchestra. There is a real freshness to this particular rendition of the Bruch Concerto. It was a real joy to be able to record it with the all-star cast,” states Goosby.This latest CD by Goosby featuring the violin concerts of Florence Price and Bruch’s G minor concerto is fantastic. The music is fantastic yes, but Goosby’s sound and playing are exquisite. Listeners will be hard pressed to find a better recording of the Bruch, and it will be a long time before any violinist comes close to Goosby’s interpretation and sound in the Price Concertos.Truly miraculous!LISTEN TO THE Winnipeg CLASSIC 107 INTERVIEW
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  • Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily play NYC's Town Hall. A wonderful concert, to be remembered / jazztrail
    Posted At : September 15, 2023 12:00 AM
    Love In Exile asks you to step inside its sense of time, to stretch out alongside these delightful and unhurriedly unfolding songs. Profound impact is achieved with minimal instrumentation:  Vijay Iyer on pianos and electronics, Shahzad Ismaily on bass and Moog synth, and Arooj Aftab’s exquisite Urdu vocals. Subtle musical interrelationships build into moments of deeply felt drama. Shimmering keyboard melodies and stirring vocals, earthy basslines, and hypnotic drones: together they create an album of stunning gravitas and beauty. Love In Exile was recorded live in a New York City studio with minimal editing, and each listen reveals distinct aspects of this soundworld, sure as it will activate new feelings inside you.Genre categories come after the fact. This album is startlingly present and emotionally open. Many listeners will find it easier to remember how each song made them feel and what each song did to their sense of attention rather than specific melodies. This is music as a meeting ground and a way of being alive to the world. All the intimacies and deep trust that we understand by the word love combine with all the strangeness and adaptability of exile. The outsiders stay open.The trio’s work is graceful in the common sense: elegance and emotion accompany each movement here. Yet it also manifests the deeper, spiritual sense of grace: a beauty that is generous, free, and unexpected, tapped into a higher power, which it translates and extends.By creating in real time, without any prior preparations, the three musicians make a collective moment for both themselves and the audience. Remembering their first show, Aftab says, “Vijay and Shahzad were so locked into each other, and it was unclear whether they were doing what I was doing or I was doing what they were doing. We were like a school of fish.” Sunlight dappled through deep water, fluid motions that dissolve individual boundaries and amplify communal energy. Ismaily calls it “a relaxing toward what is.” Love In Exile is the power of music, how it moves us and invites us to love. 


    jazztrail writes….The excellent trio of Pakistani-born, Brooklyn-based singer Arooj Aftab, Indian-American pianist Vijay Iyer, and American multi-instrumentalist of Pakistan descent, Shahzad Ismaily, gathered at The Town Hall in New York City to celebrate the release of their stunning debut album, Love in Exile (Verve, 2023), a persuasive interlacement of traditional South Asian sounds and contemporary improvised music.Opening for them was trombonist Kalia Vandever. Unaccompanied but equipped with loop and effect pedals, she presented compositions from her latest album, We Fell in Turn (AKP Records, 2023), a sonic reflection of childhood memories and related vivid dreams. The unpretentious layered sounds have a hypnotic effect, etherealized by her singing and spoken word. Numbers such as “Held In”, “Recollections from Shore” (which establishes a sonic bridge to her Hawaiian roots), and a new piece called “Fall Again” were chosen for the performance.With tangible emotion, spiritual consciousness, and a strong chemistry, the headliner trio delivered an awe-inspiring concert, forging a strong connection with the audience and welcoming them into an idiosyncratic sonic world that feels simultaneously deep-rooted and global. They convey both nostalgia and thankfulness using entrancing pedal points, exquisite grooves, nuanced minimalism, thoughtful improvisation, and heavenly chants in Urdu that effortlessly levitate us.The delicate instrumental transformations reached sublime moments as Iyer (toggling between the Fender Rhodes and piano) and Ismaily (switching between electric bass and Moog synth) never lose sharp focus. Demonstrating to be a splendid communicator, Aftab, who declared to be drunk and tired after 90 minutes in heels, put on display all her musicality, depth, control, and vocal precision. The intensities were palpable, and a number of haunting pieces caused pleasurable frisson by combining poignancy and unfettered beauty. A wonderful concert, to be remembered.
     All photos © Clara PereiraSEE THE jazztrail PAGE
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  • Kian Soltani joins faculty at Vienna's 'University of Music and Performing Arts' / THE VIOLIN CHANNEL
    Posted At : August 30, 2023 12:00 AM
    Hailed by The Times as a “remarkable cellist” and described by Gramophone as “sheer perfection”, Kian Soltani’s playing is characterised by a depth of expression, sense of individuality and technical mastery, alongside a charismatic stage presence and ability to create an immediate emotional connection with his audience. He is now invited by the world’s leading orchestras, conductors and recital promoters, propelling him from rising star to one of the most talked about cellists performing today.In 2022/23 Soltani opens this season with many festival appearances including BBC Proms, Bregenz Festspiele, Rheingau Musik Festival, Vaduz Classic Festival, Tsinandali Festival, and Kronberg Festival. He continues to appear in other festivals throughout the year in Samobor Festival in Croatia, as well as Cello Biennale in Amsterdam. In between and following the festivals will be populated with his debut with Detroit Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jader Bignamini, tour with Amsterdam Sinfonietta, and his return to Vienna Symphony and Festival Strings Lucerne in the Spring.Recent orchestral highlights include the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, WDR Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya. Soltani was Artist-in-Residence at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in July 2021 in which he curated concerts including a Persian evening with the Shiraz Ensemble. Soltani commenced a multi-year residency with Junge Wilde at Konzerthaus Dortmund in Autumn 2018. As a recitalist, Soltani has recently performed at Carnegie Hall, Salzburg and Lucerne Festivals, Wigmore Hall and the Boulez Saal, where he was invited to curate an evening of cello music.In 2017, Soltani signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon and his first disc ‘Home’, comprising works for cello and piano by Schubert, Schumann and Reza Vali, was released to international acclaim in 2018, with Gramophone describing the recording as “sublime”. Soltani has since recorded discs including the Dvorak and Tchaikovsky Piano Trios with Lahav Shani and Renaud Capucon, recorded live at Aix Easter Festival in 2018 released by Warner Classics and Dvorák’s Cello Concerto with the Staatskapelle Berlin and Daniel Barenboim in August 2020.He recently won Innovative Listening Experience Award at the coveted Opus Klassic Awards 2022, Germany’s most prestigious classical music prize which honours outstanding artists and recordings, for his ‘Cello Unlimited’ album released back in October 2021. He has worked on this latest disc with Deutsche Grammophon during the entirety of 2020, and it is a celebration of the cello and film music. Of the disc, Soltani wrote “Everything you will hear on this album is made only and exclusively with my cello and played only by me. The possibilities of this instrument are unlimited and infinite, and this album is a celebration of the instrument and of epic film music as well”.Soltani attracted worldwide attention in April 2013 as winner of the International Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki. In February 2017 Soltani won Germany’s celebrated Leonard Bernstein Award and in December 2017, he was awarded the prestigious Credit Suisse Young Artist Award.Born in Bregenz, Austria, in 1992 to a family of Persian musicians, Soltani began playing the cello at age four and was only twelve when he joined Ivan Monighetti’s class at the Basel Music Academy. He was chosen as an Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation scholarship holder in 2014 and completed his further studies as a member of the Young Soloist Programme at Germany’s Kronberg Academy. He received additional important musical training at the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein.Kian Soltani plays “The London, ex Boccherini" Antonio Stradivari cello, kindly loaned to him by a generous sponsor through the Beares International Violin Society.


    The Austrian-Iranian cellist will be accepting four students from October 2023The Violin Channel writes….Cellist and VC Artist Kian Soltani has recently been appointed to the faculty at Vienna's University of Music and Performing Arts (MDW). He will hold auditions for four positions in Vienna on September 29, 2023, and applications should be received by September 13.Austrian-Iranian cellist Kian Soltani was born in Bregenz and was selected for the class of Ivan Monighetti at the Basel Music Academy at just twelve years old. His career took off in 2013 when he won the International Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki. In February 2017, Soltani won Germany’s celebrated Leonard Bernstein Award and in December 2017, he was given the prestigious Credit Suisse Young Artist Award.He has appeared with orchestras such as the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, WDR Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya — and was artist-in-residence at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in July 2021.
    Soltani has won critical acclaim for his discography — including being given the Innovative Listening Experience Award at the 2022 Opus Klassik Awards for his album Cello Unlimited."I’m very excited about this new chapter in my musical life, and I’m looking forward to mentoring 4 exciting young players and help them reach their full musical and cellistic potential," Soltani told The Violin Channel."I will try to continue the tradition and belief that my beloved teacher Ivan Monighetti as instilled in me — to also guide the students outside cello playing, as the life of a musician does not only revolve around the instrument itself."Information regarding the auditions (in German) can be found here, and you can apply via MDW's online portal.SEE The Violin Channel PAGE
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Max Horowitz

maxcrossover@gmail.com

A graduate of the Aaron Copland School of Music(Queens College NYC), Max Horowitz is the principle of Crossover Media Music Promotion. Founded in 1994, Crossover Media's client list includes: Sony Masterworks, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, BMG, and Concord, along with many Independent Labels and Artists. Prior to establishing Crossover Media, Mr. Horowitz served as Producer for SiriusXM, Music Choice, Classical-104WNCN - New York, and the DayNET Talk Network, and is the recipient of The George Foster Peabody Award, the 'International Radio Festival of New York Award, and '2 New York State Broadcaster Awards. His production work on long form radio shows and podcasts includes collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Chick Corea, Jonny Greeenwood, Richard Reed Parry, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Leonard Slatkin, Yannick Nezet-Sequin, Vladimir Horowitz, Emanuel Ax, JoAnn Falletta, Daniel Hope, Nico Muhly, John Scofield, Steve Swallow, The Bad Plus, Marcus Roberts, Rachel Portman, Alexandre Desplat, Ilan Eshkeri, Jeff Beal, Jung Jaeil, and many others. Mr. Horowitz is also a contributor to ‘Understanding The Music Business’ published by Simon & Schuster.

Amanda Bloom

amandacrossover@gmail.com

Amanda Bloom is the publicity and communications manager at Crossover Media. A Brooklyn resident, Amanda is also an active NYC jazz vocalist who draws musical inspiration from a wide range of influences. Crossover Media's projects which encompass multiple genres has been a great fit for her both personally and professionally. Amanda earned a BM in jazz vocal performance from the Peabody Institute of Music at Johns Hopkins University under the guidance of Jay Clayton & Gary Thomas.

Zachary Swanson

zacharycrossover@gmail.com

Zachary Swanson began studying the double bass at the age of 6 in his home state of Massachusetts. Using gut strings and a personalized technique, Zachary has developed a conception of the double bass that heightens the integrity of various musical environments. He can be found playing around New York City and beyond in a variety of styles, ranging from adventurous improvised music to backing singer-songwriters. Zachary is a graduate of the Peabody Institute of Music at Johns Hopkins University and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY where he has made his home since 2012. 

Eeppi Ursin



Eeppi Ursin is a platinum-selling, award-winning singer-songwriter, jazz vocalist and pianist originally from Finland. Ursin is known for her angelic-strong voice and exceptional skill set ranging from top-class performance to writing music for various groups. Her stage presence combines warmth, style, humor and virtuosity. Her recordings and performances as a singer vary from pop, jazz, dance, a cappella and children's music.

Throughout her career she has captivated audiences all around the world performing at prestigious venues with acclaimed artists such as trumpeter Leroy Jones and Spirit of New Orleans, Vocal Ensemble Club For Five, and UMO Jazz Orchestra, to name a few. Eeppi Ursin also collaborates with renowned theatres and modern opera ensembles as a composer and arranger.

Eeppi Ursin has released three solo albums where she stands out as an artist with a strong and unique yet catching pop sound. Her albums with praising reviews are: Violet (Buckshotmusic 2005), Yellow Page Girl (Buckshotmusic 2009) and Jäljet (Luomusic 2017) followed by numerous radio hit-singles. In addition to her solo albums Eeppi appears on over 40 recordings of which five are platinum- or gold-selling albums.

In 2014 she was chosen to perform as the soloist at the President's Independence Day Reception in her home country Finland. In 2001 she won the 1st prize in the Lady Summertime international jazz vocal competition. Eeppi Ursin works and lives in New York City.