Above It All

With 'Above it All', composer and guitarist Richard Franklin delivers his 4th album of contemporary jazz to please the ear and engage the mind. This CD features a variety of settings -- an unaccompanied number (the title track), trio with guitar, bass and drums, quartet with guitar, piano, bass and drums, and larger instrumental groupings. When you listen to the contemporary jazz of Richard Franklin, you will hear music that will both please your ear and engage your mind - music that isn't bound by 'genres'. If you like smooth jazz, you will like this music. But if you think smooth jazz is just lightweight and prefer more serious fare, you should still check this out - it is definitely not just ear candy. This music is original while also traditional in many ways, even a bit challenging while still being very accessible. You will enjoy this CD on first hearing, but will want to also listen to it again and again. Richard Franklin is one of the best-kept secrets of the contemporary jazz world. His musical background is in classic guitar; as a student of Carlos Barbosa-Lima and Sophocles Papas, his lineage goes directly back to the great Andres Segovia. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in music from Carnegie Mellon University. A very successful classic guitarist, he performed extensively in recital and with orchestras; he also won a number of performance competitions. The influence of the classic guitar style is evident in his jazz work, particularly the emphasis on tonal warmth and expressivity. Through the mid-1980's, Franklin worked as a performing and studio guitarist as well as a respected teacher, until he withdrew from the public music scene. Since then, his musical activity has focused on composition and studio production. He is now on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh, but not the Music Department! 'Above it All' will also give you more than your money's worth -- more than 50 minutes of music with no 'filler' -- great tunes, tight arrangements, and first rate playing. Check it out for yourself -- every tune is available for your preview.