Sophisticated Lady Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet

• 1You Were Never Lovelier: I'm old fashioned07:47
• 2Gone02:33
• 3Isfahan05:20
• 4For Andrew05:20
• 5Strange Fruit07:11
• 6Ropes of Sand04:51
• 7Finale05:37
• 8Green Eyed Monster03:09
• 9Night Night05:53
• 10Sophisticated Lady04:54
• 11Weightless05:31
• 12Fields of Kurdistan07:19
• Total Runtime01:05:25

Info for Sophisticated Lady

A traditional quartet rooted in the sounds, styles and history of jazz, Sophisticated Lady brings a fresh approach to this music. With a mix of original compositions and new interpretations of classic repertoire this quartet has a sound and aesthetic that is both familiar and new. Sophisticated Lady formed when the musicians met during their graduate studies at USC.

Fortuitously so, as it led them to embark upon a creative recording session with the arts/audiophile label Yarlung Records at USC’s Brain and Creativity Institute in its new Camilleri Hall. The session was a throwback to yesteryear minimalist recording techniques with the advantages of modern technology and yielded enough repertoire for two upcoming releases (Fall 2014 & 2015).

The members of Sophisticated Lady have shared the stage and studio locally and around the globe with such notable artists as The Manhattan Transfer, New York Voices, Wynton Marsalis, Jane Monheit, Walter Smith, Bobby Sanabria, Dave Liebman, Kenny Wheeler, Stefon Harris, Monica Mancini, Stevie Wonder, Take 6, John Williams, John Hendricks, Bob Mintzer, Regina Carter, Chick Corea, Alan Pasqua, Plas Johnson, Diana Krall, The Coasters, Fitz and The Tantrums, Henry Mancini Big Band and many more!

„Kudos to Sophisticated Lady for some of the most intelligent and soulful playing I’ve heard in a long while. Mr. Wicks is clearly the Stephane Grappelli of the bass. Mr. Boyle’s atomic clock accuracy was outshone only by his remarkable sensitivity and nuanced “drumist” vocabulary. Mr. Kirkpatrick’s winsome lines and lightning-fast coloratura took us beyond the trumpet and through the gamut of melody-instrument domains. And Mr. Bigos’ hands fell lacelike over his ivories with the finesse and speed of traditional Portuguese tatting amid a rainbow of colored threads. The ensemble’s inspired compositions showcased a raft of fresh voices that we must have more of.“ (Peter Rutenberg, member Recording Academy)

JJ Kirkpatrick, trumpet
Misha Bigos, piano
Gary Wicks, bass
Andrew Boyle, drums

Recorded in The Brain and Creativity Institute’s Cammilleri Hall at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Engineered and produced by Bob Attiyeh
Mastered by Steve Hoffman
Produced by John Pruit

Misha Adair
grew up in Seattle, Washington. After graduating from Gonzaga University he played piano on cruise ships for two years. Misha graduated with his Master’s Degree from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he studied piano with Alan Pasqua and Sara Gazarek. Rather than holding his master’s recital at school, Misha and Sophisticated Lady made their debut performance at Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood. For more about Misha please visit www.mishaadair.com

JJ Kirkpatrick
Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Trumpeter/Composer/Producer JJ Kirkpatrick, began his diverse musical career at the tender age of 9 when he scored the opening sequence to a 10-minute film he co-directed with his brother. JJ began playing trumpet that same year, studying with Portland legend Thara Memory. Now based in Los Angeles, JJ has had the opportunity to perform with Wynton Marsalis, Tootie Heath, Beyonce, Craig Robinson, Louis CK and many others.

Andrew James Boyle
drums, lives in Los Angeles, where he continues to study with his mentor, the legendary drummer Peter Erskine at USC. Andrew also studied with the wonderful Aaron Serfaty in Los Angeles, and before that with Tim Metz in Sacramento. Andrew maintains a busy schedule teaching and performing, locally and overseas. In addition to receiving multiple prestigious awards from USC, Andrew also earned theOutstanding Soloist Award from the Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival. Andrew was Yarlung’s introduction to Sophisticated Lady quartet. Please visit andrewboylemusic.nubook.com

Gary Wicks
An in-demand upright and electric bassist in Los Angeles, Gary has been the bassist for Grammy award winning vocal group The Manhattan Transfer (TMT) for over 5 years. With TMT, Gary has been featured at many notable international music festivals around the globe as well as on their most recent recording. Despite this busy touring schedule, Gary earned a MM in Jazz studies at USC where he met the other members of Sophisticated Lady. Originally from Albany, NY, this second generation bassist has been a part of the vibrant music scenes of London, UK, Albany, NY and Boston, MA where he earned a BM in Double Bass Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music. As an educator Gary has been on faculty at the Silver Lake Conservatory of Music and is currently on faculty at The Musician’s Institute. Gary has had much studio experience in all these major cities but has never before been a part of such a unique, artistic and gratifying recording project as Sophisticated Lady’s recording with Yarlung Records.

This album contains no booklet.