Oree, Warren & The Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble Touching Bass CD

The story behind the music for the soundtrack Touching Bass: Our culture is what links us to the past, sustains us in the present, and provides a window into our future. When her father passes away, Zera (a young woman raised in London) travels to the hometown of her father, acclaimed bassist Casey Montgomery, to reconnect with her family and history. At the memorial service in the US she learns more about why her father lived in exile, and about the hey day of jazz in Philadelphia.It represents the fifth collaboration between composer Warren Oree and filmmaker Nadine Patterson since 1993.Nadine Patterson is an award winning independent producer/director with the following credits: “I Used to Teach English”, Winner Gold Apple Award 1994 National Educational Film/Video Festival, Oakland, CA; “Anna Russell Jones: Praisesong for a Pioneering Spirit”, Best Documentary 1993 African American Women in the Arts Film/Video Competition, Chicago, IL; “Moving with the Dreaming”, Prized Pieces award from the National Black Programming Consortium in 1997; “Todo El Mundo Dance!” selected for the 2001-2002 Council on Foundations Film and Video Festival. Other notable works include: “Shizue”, screened at the Museum of Modern Art in 1991; and “Release” shown at the Constellation Change Dance Film Festival of London in 2006. She is currently working on a jazz opera with Warren Oree about the Christiana Resistance of 1851, and the feature film Touching Bass.Warren Oree and The Arpeggio Jazz EnsembleBassist, Composer, Producer, EducatorWarren Oree began playing the upright bass in 1973 at age 25. In 1975 he joined the group "Weusi Mutribu" and in 1979 he started the group that he leads today - The Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble. In addition to performing with Arpeggio, Warren has toured and/or recorded with: Jamaladeen Tacuma and Basso Nouveaux; Khan Jamal; Hamiette Bluiette. He has also performed with Donald Byrd, Wynton Marsalis, Odean Pope, and drummer Norman Connors. He has toured Europe, South America, the Caribbean, and throughout the United States.On Touching Bass he has Umar Raheem on saxophone; JuJu Jones on drums; and Adam Faulk on piano.When Warren isn't performing, he's busy behind the scenes composing, producing and arranging original works. He has composed the score for two documentaries by Harmony Image Productions entitled, "Anna Russell Jones - Praise Song for a Pioneer Spirit," which detailed the life and accomplishments of one of the first African-American Interior designers; and "Moving With the Dreaming," which was an in-depth look at the past and current struggles of the Australian Aborigines. Warren has also composed the theme song for two seasons of "Through the Lens," a TV program produced by Nadine Patterson for WYBE-TV channel 35, Philadelphia. His productions include a jazz opera entitled, "The Dream Tree," and he has written and directed a one act play about the effects of prison life on those inside and outside the prison walls entitled, "Living Forever, Waiting to Die." Most recently, the wireless phone company, T-Mobile has licensed with Warren Oree's production company to use excerpts from his original composition "Wet Walnuts and Whipped Cream."Since 1990, Warren has been lecturing and presenting workshops on jazz, music composition, and other aspects of music and its business at libraries, public and private schools, and universities. Most recently Warren co-produced and was Artistic Director for the 2003 Philadelphia Jazz and Poetry Festival. Also, he was commissioned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art to compose music for five paintings by African American artists. The genesis of the ARPEGGIO sound was created in 1979 by bassist Warren Oree. The group has recorded seven CDs. The latest, "LifeLine" (SilkSkin) contains original compositions ranging from Afro-Brazilian beats to blues-tinged and uniquely styled jazz improvisations. - "LifeLine" - Silk Skin, 2002- "The Po/Jazz Connection: Live from