Search - Nick Vayenas :: Synesthesia

World Culture Music artist, trombonist/composer Nick Vayenas, applauded by the great trombonist Hal Crook for beginning to reinvent the instrument, is a superlative artist: open-minded, professional, technically facile and magnificently distinct. His music is at once fascinating, exciting, inspiring, emotionally gripping, and most of all, enjoyable. Placing importance on honesty in music, Vayenas is an artist without a strict allegiance to any particular style or genre. He is intent on playing and composing music with sincerity and conviction, in order to naturally connect with audiences and fellow musicians on a deep level. Nowhere is this more apparent than on his brilliant upcoming debut CD release, Synesthesia, on Kendrick Scott s World Culture Music label. In stores and online on February 26, 2008. From the opening bars of the charged album opener, Voyager, the level of intensity and beauty is set high. Vayenas explains the story behind the composition, This tune was composed as an ode to the spacecrafts Voyager I and II - they were launched in 1977 and continue to explore our solar system as two of the furthest man-made objects from the earth. Vayenas s solo on this track is a masterpiece of structure, phrasing and rhythm. It clearly reveals the influence of trombone masters such as J.J. Johnson, and the ability Vayenas has to translate that influence into a melodically rich and harmonically advanced voice of his own. Drummer, and World Culture Music founder, Kendrick Scott recorded two drum tracks here, One provides a pulsating beat that drives the tune while the other interacts with the soloists. Showcasing his multi-instrumental talents, Vayenas recorded all of the instruments on Assembly Line with the exception of Scott on drums. The title track, Synesthesia, also finds Vayenas delivering on not only trombone, but also valve trombone, vocals, percussion, Fender Rhodes, and even programming. He explains the construction of this track, The blend of trombone, Rhodes, and voice creates a haunting, evocative atmosphere. This tune was written from a visual perspective. I want to compose music like a painter paints. I thought of the song s melody as the subject matter, the harmony as the color, and the rhythm as the canvas. He also captures this approach with broad strokes of harmony and melody on the beautiful ballad Along The Way, which Vayenas explains, combines impressions of both darkness and light, and is representative of the uncertain, unbalanced path of life. Throughout Synesthesia, from the haunting melody of Dissolution, to the futuristic feel of Circuit Dialog, to the pop/R&B sensibility of Gone From Me (featuring vocalist Gretchen Parlato), Nick Vayenas s musical vision radiates in every groove, melody and solo. I want my album to have an overall cohesiveness and sound that ties it together. All the music on the record is connected in some way. Synesthesia features Nick Vayenas with Kendrick Scott (drums), Aaron Parks (piano), Matt Brewer (acoustic bass), Janek Gwizdala (electric bass), Patrick Cornelius (alto saxophone) and Gretchen Parlato (vocals).