Drummer Colin Stranahan, pianist Glenn Zaleski, and bassist Rick Rosato, first played together in 2010 for a concert series in Montreal and immediately clicked. “We started playing and noticed how making music together seemed so effortless,” says Stranahan. “It was really a pleasure and we felt the chemistry right away.”
A collection of uniquely arranged standards and thoughtful originals make up the repertoire of their debut album Anticipation. The percussive interplay between piano and drums on album opener “All The Things You Are” reinvigorates the tune, lending it a staccato jolt. Anticipation closes with reimaginings of “Boplicity” and “I Should Care,” standards as you’ve never heard them before. On “Boplicity,” Zaleski’s piano takes the place of the original’s brass and all three instrumentalists are given solo space to shine, much like the original from Miles Davis’ Birth of the Cool. In this group’s hands, “I Should Care” takes on a contemplative dreaminess reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi’s more pensive moments.
On Anticipation, Zaleski penned three tunes, Rosato two, and Stranahan one, but they are all in fact collaborative efforts. “What’s great about this band,” comments Stranahan, “is that we are all composers, and we work on our music as a band. One of us writes something, but the composition doesn’t take shape until we work on it together as a band, making changes as each of us adds our input.” The tracks on Anticipation were all among the tunes they played together when they first played together in Montreal, and Anticipation recaptures the synergistic musical energy from their first weekend together. Says Stranahan, “We went into the studio and just played. Every tune was done in just one or two takes.”
Colin Stranahan has had a passion for music since he was a very young child. The son of a music/jazz educator, he has always been surrounded by music, most specifically jazz. His interest developed when he sat down at a drum set at age eight and was able to play. From that time forward, music has been his life focus and passion. He has sought out and followed every opportunity to learn about, listen to, play and write music. Teaching himself to play the piano has enabled him to develop his ideas and emotions and express his passion through original compositions. He has released three records of his own on Capri Records "Dreams Untold", "Transformation" and "Life Condition." In his earlier years Colin earned many awards including the Presidential Scholar in the Arts Award. Colin spent a year at the Brubeck Institute in Stockton, California, then studied in New York, where he attended the New School University where he studied with Ari Hoenig and Nasheet Waits. He finished his studies at the prestigious Monk Institute in New Orleans, where Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter were his main educators. In 2009 Stranahan toured to India with Herbie Hancock as a part of the 50th year anniversary of Martin Luther King's visit to India. Most recently, Stranahan has been touring worldwide as a part of Kurt Rosenwinkel's trio.
“Music is so important in our world today. My goal is to reach out to people, to connect with them. If I'm playing for 5 people or 1,000, my goal is to always touch people in some way,” says Stranahan. “Music is so beautiful because not only do I get to express myself, but also the listener can interpret what they are hearing in any way. It's about communication and sharing our stories with each other." Colin currently performs and tours with artists; Maria Neckam, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Fred Hersch, Niia, Dan Tepfer, Ron Miles, Glenn Zaleski, and Rick Rosato.
Glenn Zaleski is a Brooklyn-based pianist. After performing professionally in his native Worcester, MA during his high school years and two years of study at prestigious Brubeck Institute in Stockton, CA, Glenn moved to New York in 2007 to study at the New School. After graduating in 2009, Glenn began his graduate studies at NYU, and became an adjunct faculty member there, teaching and writing the curriculum for Jazz Keyboard Harmony I-IV.
Zaleski currently maintains an active performance career in New York City and abroad. His most recent projects include a duo with his brother Mark (“Duet Suite”, 2011) and this trio with drummer Colin Stranahan and bassist Rick Rosato. Also in 2011 Glenn was a finalist for the APA Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz as well as the Thelonious Monk Institute’s International Piano Competition, which will be held in September 2011.
A 2010 graduate from the New School, bassist Rick Rosato was also a precocious young talent, gigging around Montreal by the time he was 18 years old. In 2005, the 16-year-old Rosato was selected as one of nine Canadian participants in the National Galaxie Rising Youth All-Stars Jazz Clinic, with whom he played a set at the Ottawa International Jazz Festival. He has since performed at notable locations including Smalls Jazz Club, the Jazz Gallery, the Bern International Jazz Festival, the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, and many more. The versatile and virtuosic bassist is in demand, lending his skills and sound to such leading names in jazz as the Ari Hoenig Quartet, the Leboeuf Brothers Quintet, and Aaron Parks, among many others. He currently lives in Montreal, where he is finishing a master’s degree in music at McGill University.
