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Shawn Maxwell's Alliance

by Shawn Maxwell's Alliance

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Gatefold Digipak with Booklet

    Includes unlimited streaming of Shawn Maxwell's Alliance via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    10
    releases

    Get all 10 Shawn Maxwell releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of J Town Suite, Story at Eleven, Expectation & Experience, Millstream, Music In My Mind, New Tomorrow, Bridge, Shawn Maxwell's Alliance, and 2 more. , and , .

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1.
Fun Five Funk 05:27
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2.
Iynes Crayons 08:24
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3.
EGOT 01:36
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4.
From Parts Unknown 03:55
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5.
Song For Something Else 02:06
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6.
Plaza 02:17
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7.
Waiting Food 04:15
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8.
Pistols N' Tulips 04:43
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9.
Bitty Bitty Beep 06:05
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10.
Quartan 01:28
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11.
Radio Hit Number Four 03:43
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12.
Here's Your Swing Tune 01:13
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13.
Little Nina Groove 03:36
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14.
Perpetual Day One 01:25
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15.
Looking For Alex 02:27
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16.
Full Count 03:25
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17.
Shadowbox 03:02
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18.
You Alright! I Learned it by Watching You! 02:53
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about

Downbeat Magazine Editors’ Pick, February 2014

Four Stars - Grady Harp, Amazon Hall of Fame / Top 50 Reviewer, February 2014

#5 on Carol Banks Weber “Moving Jazz Albums of 2014”, AXS

One of S. Victor Aaron’s Best of 2014, Something Else!

#40 on College Music Journal “Jazz Chart”, March 2014

“Nobody writes like this. He hears music differently than most and isn’t afraid to celebrate that fact on a grand scale.” - Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune, February 2014

“The 18 original compositions strike a balance between merely improvised sketches and meticulously constructed large-ensemble works. Particularly compelling are the wordless vocals of Keri Johnsrud... The sturdy, insistent grooves of songs like “Fun Five Funk” and “Looking for Alex” are hard to resist. Bravo.” - Bobby Reed, Downbeat Magazine

“... highly attractive to progressive ears... might best be compared to the Canterbury sound (Egg, Caravan, Hatfield & The North, etc ... with Penguin Cafe Orchestra to one side) played by cavorting elves, dwarfs, fairies, nymphs, and Puckish hobbits auditioning to play in Queen Titania’s New-Mown Grass Symphonia.” - Mark S. Tucker, Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange, March 2014

“An out of the ordinary set that knows how to color outside the lines in just the right way. Check it out.” - Midwest Record, January 2014

“... this is no ordinary big band.” - C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz, February 2014

“... this special union begat is predictably unpredictable, too. In the best possible way... It’s not just the weapons used but how they’re deployed. Maxwell exploits selective layering and counter harmonies in tactful ways such that it doesn’t ever sound overly dense or cluttered… Shawn Maxwell’s Alliance is a large jazz band album that’s made for those skeptical about large bands.” - S. Victor Aaron, Something Else!, February 2014

“... all the moving parts make for a terribly thrilling experience.... When the ensemble settles in and hangs their hat on a patiently expressed melody (as they do on “Song for Something Else”), they show that the music’s abiding hyperactivity is a choice, not a compulsion, and really, that makes the music that much more exciting... Recommended.” - Dave Sumner, eMusic, February 2014

“... a new approach and direction, adding unusual instrumentation and distinct arrangements to Shawn’s powerful voice... To a remarkable degree, Shawn Maxwell has the urge -- a quality fundamental to those who create improvised music on a nightly basis. In this way, it is not enough to simply create, but the need to innovate that guides each note.... Strange, innovative, a little something outside the box.” - Grady Harp, Amazon Hall of Fame / Top 50 Reviewer, February 2014

“... a very different project for Maxwell, but it’s one that shows great creative growth on his part.” - Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz, February 2014

“The ensemble has an arresting sound that fits with the edgy nature of the album’s music.” - Jack Goodstein, Blogcritics, February 2014

“... Maxwell’s most mature and challenging project to date. The album consists entirely of adventurous originals by Maxwell, particularly compositions that channel Maxwell’s unique vision through the lens of modern classical devices... One of the joys of this recording is how various duos, trios and quartets break off into interludes consisting of various instrumental combinations, adding to the narrative flow of each composition... The recording is a true artistic statement... plays like a collection of movements as part of a suite... highly recommended.” - Dan Healy, Chicago Jazz Magazine, March 2014

“I’ve not heard anything quite like this... Different. Accessible yet adventurous.” - Tom Tintle, WRUV Burlington VT, March 2014

“... a carefully orchestrated suite with a subtle yet distinct dramatic sense... This record is also imbued with poetry, as the intriguing four-way conversation on “From Parts Unknown” demonstrates... The exquisite balance of orchestration and individual freedom of expression together with Maxwell’s compositional ingenuity and deft leadership make the album a singular work of true musical fusion.” - Hrayr Attarian, All About Jazz, March 2014

“... jazz you’ll not soon forget... Most Highly Recommended.” - Rotcod Zzaj, Zzaj Productions, March 2014

“... an exciting release... the emphasis is on clever arrangements... it’s the fascinating segues and rotating and evolving doors of the whole team that keeps your ears on their toes. Fun and smart!” - George W. Harris, Jazz Weekly, April 2014

“The unusual array of instruments and voice used in this recording is almost magical... It feels good and is an excellent performance.” - O’s Place Features, April 2014

“Nothing else sounds quite like this, Maxwell’s eclectic approach taking listeners to unexpected places.” - Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune, May 2014

“... rides the fiery line between truly harmonic jazz and spiraling off the cliff avant-garde. Nothing on this album sounds remotely like anything else... one far-fetched, far-out groove departure... Surprised it didn’t snag a Grammy nomination.” - Carol Banks Weber, AXS, December 2014

“... a most extraordinary release... inventive tracks that refuse to go the usual routes of straight-ahead or even post-modern jazz.” - Carol Banks Weber “Moving Jazz Albums of 2014”, AXS, December 2014

“... expands the concept of what a mixed ensemble can accomplish in the jazz realm.” - Ben Scholz, All About Jazz, March 2015

“The tonal palette employed here, with the high reeds and vibes leading the way, recalls the performing unit classical composer Philip Glass used during the 70s, when he burnished his minimalist compositions to notable popular success. And many of Maxwell’s tunes – with their jaunty, angular melodies, deceptive time signatures, and metronomic rhythm arrangements – sound as if inhabited by the ghost of Frank Zappa.” - Neil Tesser (from the album notes)

credits

released February 18, 2014

Shawn Maxwell: alto & tenor saxophones, flute, clarinet
Chris Greene: soprano saxophone
Keri Johnsrud: voice
Stephen Lynerd: vibraphone, percussion
Mitch Corso: guitar
Rachel Maxwell: french horn
Meghan Fulton: french horn
Stacy McMichael: bass
Marc Piane: bass
Paul Townsend: drums

Produced by Shawn Maxwell and Nick Eipers
Recorded, mixed & mastered by Nick Eipers
Recorded at Hinge Studios

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Shawn Maxwell Chicago, Illinois

As a composer, recording artist and performer, saxophonist Shawn Maxwell has endeavored to express his own unique voice. From his latest album Millstream (Jazzline, 2020) to his debut Originals (self-released, 2005), he has released nine albums of original compositions. . ... more

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