New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Internationally renowned musician Stix Hooper, best known as one of the founding members of the seminal group The Crusaders, (which garnered numerous platinum and gold albums during their amazing 30-year career) will release his latest album, Orchestrally Speaking, on Thursday, April 28th. The highly anticipated record will be available on Amazon, Spotify, iTunes, and Hooper's website at www.StixHooper.com, or wherever you purchase your music.
Stix Hooper's classic compositions expand beyond his characteristic groove to explore the orchestral genre.
A multi-Grammy-nominated artist and acclaimed master percussionist, Hooper used his comprehensive talents as composer, arranger, songwriter, drummer, and conductor to bring Orchestrally Speaking to life. Always a musical innovator, his current music provides a new, fresh perspective on an already impressive body of work that continues to move the boundaries of music forward in an unexpected direction. The result is a record that reflects both the evolution and culmination of the full musical spectrum of Hooper's career.
Hooper takes a different approach with this latest recording, revisiting many of his own original compositions, expanding beyond his characteristic groove, to explore the orchestral genre. Orchestrally Speaking is a symphonic, colorful expression of the different shades of love, harmony and romance we all experience.
Hooper has gathered an all-star group of some of the world's finest musicians to join him, including American flautist Hubert Laws, whose artistic mastery is heard on several tracks; Russian pianist Eugene Maslov, whose exquisite piano playing is heard throughout; Swedish guitarist
Andreas Oberg; and the late Brazilian guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves, who sets the pace and Latin flavor of "Sombrero De Flamenco."
The record features seven tracks rich in lush arrangements and emotionally expressive melodies, bridging a variety of genres from jazz to classical and Latin rhythms. Unifying it all is Hooper's own performance and strong sense of orchestral arrangement, that allows each musician to shine on every song.
"This new recording features a group of international musicians, reflecting the universal appeal and global influence of music. Free of cultural, ethnic, and racial boundaries, it celebrates the artistic camaraderie and integrity that results when kindred artistic spirits share a common bond of personal expression. I'm very excited about it," states Hooper.
Once again, Hooper pushes the musical envelope in unexpected ways with Orchestrally Speaking taking his listeners on a whole new musical journey.
