In Our Prime
available from R&L Records
RLCD1060
Harrisburg, PA - R&L Records announces the release of a new recording , "In Our Prime" (RLCD1060) featuring woodwind artist Tom Strohman and pianist Steve Rudolph. Drawing on a musical friendship that has endured for over twenty years, Tom & Steve have recorded an album of creative jazz accompanied by Grammy winning drummer Bill Goodwin and the superb bassist Steve Varner. Their last recording together was twenty years ago and produced two popular albums from the same session, Just Friends and Just Friends Again. This recording, In Our Prime, features three compositions by Rudolph, arrangements of classic Jobim and standards, and an original by Tom’s son Gregory.
Tom’s Biography:
Tom’s father was a woodwind instructor at Lebanon Valley College and
started Tom on piccolo at the age of five. Tom later got his B.S.
in Music Education at that school. He recently completed his M.M.
in Jazz Performance from Towson University and is a former student of jazz
legend Phil Woods. Tom is now an Assistant Professor and Saxophone
instructor at Lebanon Valley College. He has co-led the popular group
Third Stream for over 25 years, producing several recodings and performing
at many concerts and festivals. He produced and directed clinics
on "Jazz Improvisation", Jazz Styles and Analysis" and "Jazz History" and
has performed with Buddy DeFranco, Johnny Coles, Ira Sullivan, Dave Stahl,
Phil Wilson, Bobby Rosengarten, Sonny and Cher, Eddie Fisher, Della Reese,
Patti Page. He also and recorded several sessions with with rock
and roll legends Johnny Winter and Dan Hartman.
Steve’s Biography:
Originally form Indiana and a professional musician since 1967, Steve
settled in Harrisburg in 1978 after a year of touring with Buddy Morrow
and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Steve has been a featured soloist
with the Harrisburg Symphony and Miami’s New World Symphony. He won
the Jazziz Magazine/Seven Springs Jazz Festival Jazz Piano Competition
in 1999 and was presented as an "Emerging Artist" at the ’98 Jazz Times
Convention in Manhattan. He has toured and recorded in Europe and
has several CDs available on the R&L Records label - "Everything I
Love", with Roger Humphries, Dwayne Dolphin & Steve Varner; "Pure Imagination"
with Bill Goodwin, Robin Work and Paul Langosch; "Music for Romance" available
in Crabtree & Evelyn stores (USA); Christmas with the Steve Rudolph
Trio featuring Paul Langosch and Matt Wilson; "You & I" with vocalist
Cathy Chemi; and the Rudolph/Valentino project, "Romance", featuring guitarist
Vinny Valentino, Larry Gray and Bob Moses. Steve is a past president
and founder of the Central PA Friends of Jazz, one of America’s most successful
jazz societies.
The Band:
Drummer Bill Goodwin was born in Los Angeles, California in
1942 and is an almost completely self-taught drummer. From 1959 to
the present, Goodwin has been a professional drummer, playing with Bill
Evans, Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper, Jim Hall, George Shearing and Bobby Hutcherson,
and singers such as June Christy, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett and Manhattan
Transfer. The drum chair with Gary Burton brought him to the East Coast
in 1969. After a three year stint with Burton's group Bill settled down
in an old farmhouse in the Poconos and worked the resorts. It was there
that he and bassist Steve Gilmore became a team. Goodwin, like Gilmore,
is a charter member of The Phil Woods Quartet (now Quintet), joining at
it's inception in February 1974. Bill Goodwin has produced all of
the The Phil Woods Quartet/Quintet and Little Big Band recordings since
1980 including the Grammy Award winning albums MORE LIVE (Adelphi), AT
THE VANGUARD (Antilles) and the 1992 Grammy nominee ALL BIRD'S CHILDREN
(Concord Jazz).
Bassist Steve Varner is originally from Tennessee and played electric bass for most of his musical career. He moved to Central PA in the mid ‘80’s and performed countless jobs with Steve, Tom and other musicians in the area. Steve started playing upright bass in 1995 and has played with Terry Clark, Johnny Coles, Joe Morello, Bob Moses among many others. He recently moved to northern New Jersey and is active in the New York jazz scene, touring with Pat Martino, Tierney Sutton and others.
Tom’s liner notes:
Music entered my life at an early age. My Grandma Strohman used
to play records for me when I was two years old. I've been told that I
used to tell her which ones to play, although I have no idea how I made
these decisions. I've also been told that I would stand up in the
playpen and conduct along with my father's private music students and correct
their mistakes by singing the note (or notes) they were supposed to play.
I don't remember any of this. However, I do remember coming home
from Sunday School and hearing the music of Ray Anthony, Glenn Miller,
Harry James, Benny Goodman, and Artie Shaw playing on our record player.
My reaction? I told my father to "turn it off. Music like that
shouldn't be played on Sunday!" I told him. My idea was to listen
to the Poet and Peasant Overture by Franz von Suppe, which at the time
was my favorite piece of music. Little did I know my tastes would
change.
At the age of six, I went to my father and announced to him that I
wanted to play an instrument. When he asked me which one, I told
him I saw it in the closet. I came back with the piccolo. Dad
was "smart enough" to allow me to play, going against the standard practice
of waiting until fourth grade and starting on the flute. I "fell
in love" with it. The flute followed at age seven, the alto sax at
twelve, and the rest of the instruments later.
At age fifteen, I decided to make music my life. My first interest
was in performance. Initially, I wanted to be a studio musician.
Through my college years, I developed a strong interest in teaching.
At present I am able to do both. Most days, I feel like the luckiest
person alive. So here I am, at age forty-eight, with the opportunity
to "make music" with some of the countries greatest musicians. It
has been a long, wonderful ride, performing music in clubs, churches, concert
halls, parks, hotels, jails, retirement villages, country clubs, colleges,
elementary schools, military reservations, hospitals, fire halls, art galleries,
corn fields and parades, for governors, senators, convicts, ministers,
doctors, patients, teachers, students, attorneys, retired people, refugees
and little children in everything from 105 degree heat to snow and freezing
rain. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Tom Strohman
Where to purchase CDs:
Click HERE
CDs available through the mail: $14.50 per CD (shipping included - make
check out to Steve Rudolph),
Steve Rudolph, 3612 Kramer Street, Harrisburg PA 17109
CD orders also available at Amazon.com
Available from NorthCountry Distributors, Cadence Building, Redwood NY
13769,
TEL 315-287-2852
CDs available at any live engagement of Tom Strohman or Steve Rudolph
(For itinerary visit the web site http://www.steverudolph.com)
Call 717-545-0055 for a complete list of retail outlets
-
Whitaker Center Gft Shop, Harrisburg PA
Marty's Music & Loser's Music, Lebanon PA
Mitrani At Home, Walnut St., Harrisburg PA
For more information call: TEL 1-800-756-5299
or 717-545-0055 or
FAX 717-545-0051
The Songs:
1. T.C.’s Tune - Steve Rudolph 5:00 A swinging introduction with
Tom on tenor sax
2. Close Enough For Love - Johnny Mandel 7:15 Just Tom
on clarinet and Steve at the piano with a medium tempo version of this
lovely Mandel ballad
3. Festival - Steve Rudolph 5:55 Bill
& Steve join in on this spirited latin original
4. Meaning of the Blues - Bobby Troup 6:56 Tom’s
flute speaks volumes on this composition by the Central PA native Bobby
Troup
5. Old Devil Moon - Burton Lane 6:48 A new twist on an old favorite with the quartet and Tom on alto sax
6. Luisa - Antonio Carlos Jobim 7:07
A duet featuring this
¾ gem from Jobim with Tom on flute
7. Covenant - Steve Rudolph 5:35
The full quartet perform
this Rudolph original written for Covenant Church in Harrisburg where "Jazz
in the Sanctuary" sessions were held for several years. This one
has a gospel flavor with tricky time changes.
8. Jitterbug Waltz
- Fats Waller 6:42 Tom on flute
and Steve at the piano in an uptempo version of this jazz classic.
9. Modinha - Antonio Carlos Jobim 7:16 Slow bossa with
Tom’s beautiful sound on flute
10. Scherzo for Summertime - Gregory Strohman 3:55
A medium 5/4 tune penned by Tom’s talented fourteen-year-old son, Gregory
Music arranged by Steve Rudolph & Tom Strohman
Produced by Tom Strohman & Steve Rudolph for R&L Records
Recorded and Mastered at Red Rock Studios, Saylorsburg, PA, Kent Heckman, Engineer
Steve’s liner notes:
I fell off the Dorsey Band bus in 1978 with a two month contract to
perform at the Holiday Inn Town's Dauphin Lounge. We had been
in Harrisburg playing a concert at The Forum, the local state theater,
and were staying at the Holiday. While practicing in the hotel the
new manager heard me play and invited me to perform there regularly.
After giving Buddy Morrow two weeks notice, I returned with a trio and
featured guest artists six nights a week. The gig lasted for almost
two years and was the best paid school I ever attended. Backing up
the greatest musicians in the world every night was a thrill and a serious
challenge. Featured artists included Bob Mintzer, John Von Ohlen,
Joe Lovano, Ira Sullivan, Cal Collins, Eric Kloss, Jr. Cook, Frank Smith,
Sal Nistico, Al Kiger, Johnny Coles and many more.
Shortly after arriving in Harrisburg, I was asked to go hear a "local"
band. The group Third Stream was performing an afternoon concert
at a summer camp facility and the featured soloist was Tom Strohman.
I remember wondering what an artist of his stature was doing living around
Central PA. (Little did I know that I would end up staying here for
all these years!) Shortly after hearing him, I invited Tom to play
at the Holiday and we struck up a relationship that has grown through the
years. We last recorded together in 1980 on the Just Friends and
Just Friends Again albums that featured some of the area’s best musicians.
This recording, In Our Prime, is way overdue. Hopefully we won't
procrastinate as in the past and we'll turn out another one in the next
few years. Otherwise, we might have to call the next one - In Our
Assisted Living Quarters.
Thanks to:
The musicians for sharing their best efforts in this project.
Bill Goodwin and Steve Varner are both great artists and were extremely
supportive of Tom and I.
Kent Heckman and Red Rock Studios for the excellent sound, piano,
and relaxed atmosphere.
Tom's fourteen year old son Gregory for Scherzo for Summertime.
My loving wife Andy and stepdaughter Katie, for tolerating the endless
hours that I spend working on these projects. I love you.
Steve Rudolph