Steve Kirby "illuminations" Project at Jazz At The Arsenal Series at The Arsenal Center for the Arts

Steven Kirby’s “Illuminations” Project: has been described as “Richly textured, multi-layered, ebullient” jazz. It features original compositions and arrangements, as well as some creative arrangements of standard tunes, using sextet instrumentation and both wordless and lyrical vocals.

Steven Kirby is an award winning guitarist/composer and Associate Professor of Harmony at Berklee College of Music, whose music is most often categorized as contemporary jazz but who is influenced by a variety of genres.
He has produced 2 previous CDs of his own compositions which were both released internationally on the European-based Challenge label. The recordings (Point of Balance and North Light) both garnered critical acclaim and international radio and internet play. Kirby has won composition awards and accolades from Downbeat, Billboard and the International Songwriting Competition and has received highly positive reviews in all major jazz publications....

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Steven Kirby’s “Illuminations” Project: has been described as “Richly textured, multi-layered, ebullient” jazz. It features original compositions and arrangements, as well as some creative arrangements of standard tunes, using sextet instrumentation and both wordless and lyrical vocals.

Steven Kirby is an award winning guitarist/composer and Associate Professor of Harmony at Berklee College of Music, whose music is most often categorized as contemporary jazz but who is influenced by a variety of genres.
He has produced 2 previous CDs of his own compositions which were both released internationally on the European-based Challenge label. The recordings (Point of Balance and North Light) both garnered critical acclaim and international radio and internet play. Kirby has won composition awards and accolades from Downbeat, Billboard and the International Songwriting Competition and has received highly positive reviews in all major jazz publications.
The Illuminations Project is Kirby’s newest compositional and performance endeavor. It features a six piece band comprising guitar, piano, sax/flute, bass, drums and, for the first time, vocals as a primary, featured, color in the compositions. The vocalist is Aubrey Johnson, a virtuosic singer who is capable of using her voice like an instrument to sing complex lines with wordless technique while also being able to sing lyrics with masterful interpretation and phrasing.
Most of the compositions featured on Kirby’s upcoming “Illuminations” recording were inspired by the concept of featuring wordless vocals in the midst of richly textured compositions. There are also pieces which include lyrics. In addition to showcasing these inventive compositions and arrangements the “Illuminations” project features a first rate roster of jazz musicians who all contribute beautifully as interpreters and improvisors.

Steven Kirby website: https://steven-kirby.squarespace.com/

Steven Kirby (Guitar/Compositions/Arrangements)
Aubrey Johnson (Voice)
Bill Vint (Sax/flute)
John Funkhouser (Piano/keys)
Ed Lucie (Bass)
Mike Connors (Drums)

Some reviews of Kirby’s music

“Kirby plays and writes from inside the music, putting melody and feeling first.” – Bob Blumenthal (Boston Globe)
“ Meticulously played, elegantly produced post-bop jazz….Kirby has a serious command of the guitar” (New England Performer)
“ Kirby has an intense, darkly melodic sound that’s very much his own” (All About Jazz)
“ …beaucoup chops…creative music….beautiful and always well played…personal expression that transcends mere imitation” –Jim Ferguson (Jazz Times)

“Kirby doesn’t just play the notes, he plays the sound ”.—(Jazz Hot Magazine)
“Compositional depth and brilliant playing” –David Miles (Worcester Magazine)
“....Kirby’s solos unfold with a naturalness unusual on any instrument, but especially guitar.” –James Issacs (Downbeat & MSN Sidewalk Boston)

“Beautiful, really beautiful!” - Mike Stern (world renowned guitarist with Miles Davis and other jazz greats)

“With “North Light” Kirby makes another leap in his progress as a player and a composer. His prodigious chops and unerring sense of swing are on full display throughout this second offering . But it’s his radiant melodies, inherent lyricism and big heart that ultimately elevates Kirby above the hoards of chopmeisters and ax slingers out there today”- Bill Mildowski (Jazziz, Jazz Times, Guitar Player”

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