Street Date: March 23, 2018
Label: Whaling City Sound
Distribution: Naxos of America
Catalog Number: WCS106
Title: SHEROES
Artist: Monika Herzig, Calendar
The jazz super-group of the year is right here –SHEROES! Pianist-composer Monika Herzig convened this amazing group for a second recording by distinguished improvising virtuosi who are all, not just incidentally, women. Monika’s deft, always supportive pianism and her warm, joyous, practical sensibility marks every tune of SHEROES. The release features an international cast of players: Reut Regev (Israel) trombone; Jennifer Vincent (USA/NYC) bass; Ada Rovatti (Italian) tenor sax; Jamie Baum (NYC) flute; Leni Stern (Germany/NYC) electric guitar; Rosa Avila (Mexico/NYC) drums; Myra Casales (Cuba), percussion and Ingrid Jensen (Canada) trumpet. Each member is a first call, in demand jazz artist for multiple groups and a leader/composer/arranger in her own right. Herzig does much of the writing, but Regev, Baum, Vincent, and Stern all contribute compositions, alongside a few covers, including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “House of the Rising Sun.”
“These are all incredibly accomplished musicians, working hard and often sacrificing other opportunities, family time and resources to do what they do and to perform in this group,” Herzig says of her colleagues.
Together, on this second recording, they are, in the broadest sense, a model of empowerment. As an ensemble, they stand unequivocally as a musical force, with deftness, invention, enthusiasm and ambition. This is extraordinary stuff that deserves your attention.
“Female musicians now win competitions, lead bands large and small, and set new trends in improvised music… Powerful!” ~Bob Blumenthal/GRAMMY Winning Journalist
“Each song is engaging, the playing accomplished and inspiring.” ~ JAZZIZ
“Didn’t expect to hear this treatment of my own song. So nice to be able to honestly say I really really liked it!” ~VALERIE SIMPSON
Album Art:
Front Cover
Back cover
Booklet Page 1, 2
Booklet Page 3, 4
Booklet Page 3, 4
Photos:
Monika_139742
Building #2 profile, Building #3
Back Cover Photo, Front Cover Photo, Front Cover #2 Photo, Horizontal Cover
MP3’s:
01 Time Again, DB
02 Bubbles
03 Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
04 Nancy Wilson Portrait
05 Song for CC
06 Just Another Day at the Office
07 House of the Rising Sun
08 Wayning
09 Cantos
10 You Are a Superstar
Release Tour:
BOOKING INFORMATION – Please contact:
Mgmt suzi@suzireynolds.com, or Monika Herzig mherzig@indiana.edu to schedule clinics/ concerts
Endorsements: Casio Keyboards
More info at www.monikaherzig.com – Youtube Channel mherzig2
For March 23 2018 Release
From Whaling City Sound, New Bedford, MA
Distribution: NAXOS of America Inc.
Contact: Ginny Shea MIXED MEDIA T:401.942.8025 E:mixedmediapromo@cox.net
Further information: http://bit.ly/MonikaHerzigSHEROES106EPK
MONIKA HERZIG’S SHEROES
“The jazz supergroup of the year is right here –SHEROES!”
Howard Mandel – Author, Jazz Journalist
The timing couldn’t be better for the release of this remarkable recording. SHEROES, created and led by pianist/composer Monika Herzig, features an international cast of virtuoso players – all women, all first-call talents – including Jennifer Vincent (bass, USA), Rosa Avila (drums, Mexico), Mayra Casales (percussion, Cuba/USA) Leni Stern (guitar, Germany/USA), Jamie Baum (flutes, USA), Reut Regev (trombone, Israel/USA), and Ingrid Jensen (trumpet, Canada/USA) rounding out the lineup extending the group’s serious pedigree on its second Whaling City Sound release.
Ably supported by this great band, pianist Herzig is its catalyst. As a Doctor of Music Education at Indiana University, she serves as a Senior Lecturer in Arts Management. Named the 2015 Jazz Journalist Association Jazz Hero for the city of Bloomington, she has also authored two critically praised books, Dr. David Baker – A Legacy in Music, foreward by Quincy Jones (IU Press 2011) and Experiencing Chick Corea – A Listener’s Companion (Rowman & Littlefield 2017).
As an ensemble of empowerment, SHEROES is a musical force, operating with deftness, invention, enthusiasm and ambition. Herzig does much of the writing and arranging, but Regev, Baum, Vincent, and Stern all contribute compositions alongside covers, including “House of the Rising Sun” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” prompting Valerie Simpson, its composer, to write “I honestly really really liked it,” and jazz phenom Terri Lyne Carrington to write “a brilliant project…soulful and thoughtful, it captures the spirit of this group because there’s no stopping great artists from making great music as demonstrated by this stellar recording.”
Says Herzig of her colleagues, “these are all incredibly accomplished musicians, often sacrificing other opportunities, family time and resources to perform in this group. They are my idols in terms of tenacity and accomplishment and should be more widely heard and appreciated.” In a sense, SHEROES also heralds an era of greater and deeper consideration for women in jazz. Says Jazz Journalist Association President, Howard Mandel in his liner notes, “That’s exactly what Monika and company does: Present a model of empowerment with results that are good for everyone. Wherever you are on the gender continuum, you’ll like it. SHEROES make music!
Jazz critic Bob Blumenthal agrees: “Female musicians are now prominent practitioners on all instruments. They win competitions and polls, lead bands large and small, and set new trends in improvised music. Herzig herself is a visionary artist and educator, a true jazz warrior with an already fascinating career.”
Each song is engaging, the playing accomplished and inspiring – JAZZIZ
Extraordinary stuff that deserves your attention.
Experiencing Chick Corea Flyer
Music industry consultant and publicist Ginny Shea has garnered international exposure for her clients through radio and video promotion, print media, and her vast industry network.
