Hackettstown, NJ, USA (Top40 Charts/ B.D. Lenz official website) Award-winning, jazz guitarist and critically acclaimed composer B.D. Lenz will release "Ready or Not" -- his eighth album and first straight-ahead jazz project -- on Friday, November 1, 2013 from 7-11 pm. The cost is $7 per person and it takes place at the Deer Head Inn located in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania near Northwest New Jersey.
A prolific writer and seemingly ubiquitous musician with songs licensed for use in hundreds of TV shows internationally (most recently on the hit 'Breaking Bad'), listeners have come to rely on B.D Lenz for commercially viable music. There are thousands of independent artists in a homogenized market, yet Lenz manages to stand out.
"I finally feel like I have something to say in this genre and am competent enough to play it," said the DIY musician, and "70% of the gigs I perform are now more straight ahead jazz because of the venues we play." Lenz produced the project himself; not uncommon in an industry where record labels are losing their stronghold.
"Ready or Not" features ten (10) well-balanced songs. All are newly composed and produced by Lenz, with the exception of two: (1) "
How Deep Is Your Love" by the
Bee Gees and (2) "Solar" by Miles Davis. The tracks range from 12-bar jazz/blues to funky organ; melodic; pop-ballad; Latin vibe with saxophone; groovin' jazz standard; tricky chord changes; and vamping solos.
The new album will be available for purchase on iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon, and bdlenz.com.
About the Artist
Mix together the styles of Pat Metheny, Mike Stern, and Jim Hall and you have one of the hottest contempo-jazz guitarists around. B.D. Lenz has recorded as a leader with greats Randy Brecker, Will Lee, Mark Egan, and Joel Rosenblatt. Having made his reputation as a ferocious contemporary jazz artist, Lenz felt the urge to blend his modern sensibility with the traditional forms of jazz. His music has been featured on hundreds of TV shows globally, and his band has played over a 1,000 gigs internationally. In 2012 the Musicians
Institute of Hollywood graduate published a Complete Songbook of 57 compositions spanning seven recordings. Voted GIGMASTERS top jazz group in 2008, 2009, and 2011, Lenz's band has kept fans on their feet while performing throughout the U.S. and on six (6) U.K. tours.
Personnel
B.D. Lenz - guitar (tracks 1-10), Ken Pendergast - bass (tracks 1-9), Abe Fogle - drums (tracks 4-7, 9), Matt Scarano - drums (tracks 1, 2, 3, 8),
Benjamin Drazen - saxophone (tracks 5, 7), Jeremy Grenhart - piano / keys (tracks 1, 5, 7).
Schedule
Nov. 1 - Deer Head Inn [CD Release Party!], Delaware Water Gap, PA
Nov. 2 - Small World Coffee, Princeton, NJ
Nov. 9 - Leaf Cigar Bar, Easton, PA
Nov. 16 - Wallabee's Jazz Bar,
Glenn Falls, NY
Nov. 21 - Lincoln Center (private), New York, NY
Nov. 24 - Sette Luna, Easton, PA
Nov. 29 - Panther Pub with Lelica, Hackettstown, NJ
Dec. 19 - Inn at Mill Race Pond, Hope, NJ
Dec. 22 - Sette Luna, Easton, PA
Dec. 28 - Riegelsville Inn with Doug Hawk, Riegelsville, PA
Dec. 29 - Sette Luna, Easton, PA
Dec. 30 - Balloons Nightclub, Ellicottville, NY
Lenz maintains one of the busiest schedules in show business and is in high demand for a variety of art forms from straight-ahead and contemporary jazz to pop and rock. To learn more about the Godin guitarist, visit bdlenz.com.
Website: https://www.bdlenz.com/
