Hal Lansing Kendra's Manhattan CD

Two of the three musicians on this CD are accomplished pianists and composers who attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. Ido Waksman is a successful artist in the Los Angeles area who, as a Berklee student during 1996-1997, wrote "The D.C. Gig" as an academic course exercise. That course was then and still today is entitled "The Music of the Yellowjackets." After over 10 years, The D. C. Gig still holds up as one of the finer jazz-fusion works of the latter 20th century. Moreover, it bears repeated listening, not only for its high value as a work of art, but also for its instructive value to anyone who has ever heard the music of Yellowjackets and wondered "How do those guys do that?" The D. C. Gig is track 5 on this CD and it's Ido's original 1996 recording featuring Norihiko Hibino on soprano saxophone. Doctor Bob Agnew was born in Cincinnati, was raised and has lived in the Pompano Beach area of south Florida since 1947. His musical career spans over five decades with early expertise on trumpet, tenor sax and strings. By high school, he was composing for a 90-piece school orchestra. By the early 60's, he was performing in college concerts as a jazz pianist had developed a close friendship with Jaco Pastorius as Jaco's music tutor. That relationship spawned music history when Jaco exploded onto the world's jazz-fusion scene. Bob attended Berklee in 1962-63, studied music at University of Florida in 1963-65, and became a practicing eye doctor. His compositions are lush, moodful works. Tracks 2, 4, 6 and 8 are his recordings. He previously published a larger collection of works on a CD entitled "Under Full Sail" produced on his 56-foot sailing ketch, Sea Sharp. Hal Lansing, the host of this compact disc session, is also featured on tracks 1, 3, 7 and 9. Those compositions are a unique blend of jazz, Latin and modern classical selections. The title of this CD was inspired by the movie, Anger Management, starring, among others, Adam Sandler. Check out the scene in which he makes a date at a bar with Kendra (played by Heather Graham). You'll note that Kendra's drink of choice is a Manhattan cocktail. This CD spotlights Ido Waksman and Bob Agnew, two composers who have been inspired to help elevate our senses to a higher plane and keep our elusive "devil" at bay. Knowingly or not, they continue to do noble work among us and deserve wider recognition. They are publishing some of their music here on the Lifetime Stuff Music label which is proud to have this opportunity to debut it.