The Red Arrow (2011) CD
Limited number available now!
Official Release date: June 14th, 2011.
Bassist, Jason Raso makes his Summit Records debut with The Red Arrow. Truly an international affair, The Red Arrow features U.S. B3 legend Tony Monaco, Canadian jazz vet's Richard Underhill (alto saxophone) and Ted Warren (drums), Italian vibraphonist Francesco Pinetti, and was
Limited number available now!
Official Release date: June 14th, 2011.
Bassist, Jason Raso makes his Summit Records debut with The Red Arrow. Truly an international affair, The Red Arrow features U.S. B3 legend Tony Monaco, Canadian jazz vet's Richard Underhill (alto saxophone) and Ted Warren (drums), Italian vibraphonist Francesco Pinetti, and was mastered at the legendary Abbey Rd. Studios in London.
On The Red Arrow, Raso delivers ten original compositions in the spirit of Grant Green, Jimmy Smith and Jaco Pastorius. He also gives inspired performances on electric bass, acoustic double bass and electric guitar. The Red Arrow is a strong debut from this promising newcomer.
REVIEWS:
"Canadian bassist Jason Raso is a bit of a chameleon. On YouTube, one can view him playing a solo electric bass tribute to Jaco Pastorius, replete with distortion-laced frenzy on Hendrix’s “Third Stone From the Sun.” The Red Arrow, however, is an entirely different story. Raso delves into an early ‘60’s organ-group vibe on Grant Green-inspired numbers like “Nightcrawler” and “Corner Pocket,” both fueled by the blazing Hammond B3 work of Tony Monaco. Raso turns in an accomplished electric bass solo on the midtempo groover “Jaybird,” then switches to upright on the 7/4 number “The Colbert Bump.” Alto saxophonist Richard Underhill and organist Joe Doria also contribute potent solos on the earthy second-line number “Mr. Green.”
Bill Milkowski – Jazztimes – October 2011
"The Red Arrow shows Raso’s sense as a bandleader. Embedded into its tight groovy tunes, the bandleader plays strong accompaniments and agile solos. Moreover, he’s a great contrabassist with healthy tone and style sense. Stylistically, The Red Arrow’s ten tracks offer a diverse range of jazz, blues, boogaloo and latin rhythms."
Lars Lehmann – Bass Professor Magazine
"Finger snapping blues riffs with Raso's well-paced guitar in the starring role."
George Fendel - Jazz Society of Oregon
"From the subtle grooves of the opening track “Nightcrawler” all the way through to the funkier “Mr. Green”, Raso demonstrates he is as much a composer as he is a bassist. Handling the electric guitar duties as well, Raso verifies his skill as a musician and his knowledge of jazz.
Raso gives us a smooth, swinging jazz album here with a stellar line-up of players. Listening to The Red Arrow I can imagine sitting in a stylish jazz club enjoying the atmosphere as much as the music. Closing my eyes I lean back and relax taking it all in. 8/10."
Stanton Lawrence(Stanton@BassPlayersUnited.com)