Aaron Shragge & Ben Monder Present Their CD Launch 3/18

Aaron Shragge and Ben Monder are excited to launch their new jazz CD, The Key is in the Window, at L'Envers on March 18 at 9pm. The opening act will be Projet LP with Lévy Bourbonnais and Jean-Olivier Bégin. This expressive, meditative collaboration between guitarist Ben Monder and dragon mouth trumpet/shakuhachi flute player Aaron Shragge promises a unique concert not to be missed.

The Key is in the Window features soulful, modern melodies. Trumpet tracks offer memorable lines underpinned by Ben's lush chord voicings on guitar. Shakuhachi compositions such as Upper Roslyn Lookout, Chosi and Kyorei provide timbral contrast. Ben's rich guitar playing offers compelling accompaniment throughout. The intimate jazz rapport between these two accomplished musicians invites you into their powerful, interconnected relationship as they synthesize new sounds that at once calm and challenge the ear.

Composer Aaron Shragge is greatly inspired by the ancient North Indian and Japanese musical traditions. A native Montrealer, he is enthusiastic about having the CD release in his home town, "This album is a culmination of my first seven years living in NYC and I'm really excited to launch it in the city where I grew up, both musically and in life." Aaron is constantly amazed working with Ben Monder, "It's extremely rare to find a musician who is able to play things beyond your imagination but at the same time retains a sensitivity and precision that makes an improvisation sound like a composition."

Monder, who needs no introduction as a jazz guitarist, has been called "... one of the most original guitarists of the 21st century." (Richard Kamins, Hardford Courant). He has been on the jazz scene in NYC for 25 years and has collaborated with many jazz greats including Lee Konitz and Kenny Wheeler, and regularly played with Paul Motion. Ben is delighted about this partnership for The Key is in the Window, "I enjoy collaborating with Aaron as he seems to get to the essence of sound itself, and I have a great deal of freedom to fill in my part as I like. I find the open sonic spaces that result refreshing."

Opening up for Shragge & Monder will be two of Montreal's most innovative and talented musicians: Lévy Bourbonnais (harmonica) and Jean-Olivier Bégin (trombone) in their experimental duo Projet LP. This bold project mixes new technologies and ancient traditions. Each piece is composed of different musical collages on top of which improvisations are layered, creating unique soundscapes where the boundaries between reality and fiction are perpetually redefined. LP stands for 'Long Play' in reference to the vinyl records serving as a point of inspiration for their musical material.

Instruments ranging from ancient to innovative
This marks the Montreal debut of the Dragon Mouth trumpet, a one-of-a-kind instrument built just over a year ago. It was designed to expand the trumpet's melodic nature, emphasizing a North Indian vocal style and the microtonal vocabulary of the shakuhachi flute. Shragge says, "In studying shakuhachi and North Indian vocals, I began to hear this type of music on the horn. However, I soon realized that it was not possible to emulate the pitch bends on trumpet. I knew about a horn made for Maynard Ferguson called the Firebird, but I never liked the way it played. I eventually found trumpet maker Josh Landress and after a year of planning and talking, the Dragon Mouth trumpet was made."

The shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) is an ancient instrument that was used for Zen Buddhist practice. Aaron found the instrument after moving to NYC when he was looking for a way to bring his trumpet playing closer to his own practice of Zen meditation. "I never thought about playing the shakuhachi, but when I arrived at my first lesson, my teacher (Grand Master Ronnie Nyogetsu Reishin Seldin) basically said 'Here is your flute, learn these notes for next week!' soon I was hooked in the best possible way, and also found it helped my breathing immensely."

About the venue
L'Envers is a beautiful loft concert space known for it's outstanding acoustics. It has been hosting some of Montreal's most amazing improvised music and is attracting attention as musicians from NYC begin to perform there, including avant-garde trumpet player Peter Evans. www.lenvers185.blogspot.com

The Key is in the Window CD release/performance

Aaron Shragge and Ben Monder

with Projet LP- Jean-Olivier Bégin & Lévy Bourbonnais
at L'Envers
185 Ave. Van Horne
Friday, March 18, 9pm

Tickets $15, CD $10
For reservations: KEYINWINDOW@GMAIL.COM

For further information please visit: www.aaronshragge.com and www.benmonder.com

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