U.S.E. Trio – Happy Metal

Michael Hudson-Casanova – Echoes of Thought

Echoes of Thought is Hudson-Casanova’s first album as a leader. The program flows with a provocative array of ideas and moods, his compositions featuring arresting melodic lines and imaginative development.

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U.S.E. Trio – Twilight

Multi Mansions – Vehicles

U.S.E. Trio – Impact

Norman David & The Eleventet – On Point

This is the fifth Eleventet album overall and the second one issued during the 40th-year celebration of my band. (The first one is Continuing Action/CoolCraft CC41-05.) It has been immensely gratifying throughout the decades to hear top players interpreting and soloing over the music. These latest tracks were a joy to produce and you will hear that the bandmembers lay them down big-time, as expected. There is plenty of hard-driving swing, of course, and there are also fat doses of other grooves and freer playing. I hope you are, and will continue to be, affected by the music.
—N.D. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 9, 2020

Norman David & The Eleventet – Continuing Action

This is the first of two Eleventet album releases during the 40th-year celebration of my band. The performances here showcase The Eleventet at three points over a span of 19 years. The personnel varies on the three sessions, but the “Eleventet sound” is always there—in-your-face and packed with energy. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the bandmembers are always of the highest caliber.
In early 2001, when I was teaching at Ursinus College, just northwest of Philadelphia, The Eleventet performed as part of the college’s annual concert series. The band was hot that evening in front of an enthusiastic audience. Ten years later, I set to music some of the writings of my friend, Ethel Rackin, a prolific and acclaimed poet. The Eleventet played the world premiere in Philadelphia and that performance was also a resounding success. Both of these concerts were recorded at the time, yet never released—until now. To complete this album’s program, I composed a three-movement suite. Recorded in studio, the work is a feature for The Eleventet’s rhythm section, augmented with electric guitar and vibraphone, but the entire ensemble has its moments too.
I have been steadfast in keeping The Eleventet at the forefront of my work throughout my professional career. Maintaining a roster of top players, as well as writing new music on a monthly or even weekly basis, is daunting. But I (happily) persist and the music goes on.
Continuing action!
— N. D. March 4, 2020, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

U.S.E. Trio – Sideways Circle LIVE

U.S.E. – Sideways Circle

“U.S.E.—Urbina, Scarano, Eldred—adventurous, fresh, exciting, focused…honest. These are gifted musicians and Sideways Circle is their title for this debut album. It is a provocative title with implications. The trio, in fact, comes at you from multiple perspectives and angles—sideways, forward, backward, up and down, in and out, diagonally. Their music and playing are not constrained by convention; the group dynamic is organic and completely attractive; the beautifully-constructed compositions are heartfelt, ferocious, soothing, in your face, gentle. From the plaintive, yet energetic “Features of a Forgotten Face,” to the pointillistic and hard driving “One Zero Nine,” to the inward-looking “That Story About You,” to the powerful outpouring of “What Did You Think?”—and on everything in between—this band cooks at all temperatures. The music and the playing are original and deep. U.S.E.—Urbina, Scarano, Eldred. They understand the sources, their collective voice is compelling, and they know where they are going. This is a trio of the highest order.”

— Norman David, Philadelphia, April 24, 2019

Andrew Urbina – saxophone

Matt Scarano – drums

Sandy Eldred – bass

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Bogdan Gumenyuk – The Way I Hear

Debut album from saxophonist Bogdan Gumenyuk. Featuring entirely original music by the artist. The band is comprised of musicians from Kiev, New York, and Philadelphia.

Bogdan Gumenyuk – Tenor

John Swana – EVI

Luis Perdomo – Piano

Sandy Eldred – Bass

Mark Whitfield II – Drums