george walker petit

Hi folks - - Here is the first review of "...end of august "...it is by Budd Kopman and is found at allaboutjazz.com...


George Walker Petit is no stranger to jazz musicians since he is one of the top recording engineers in New York City. Although he has closed his own studio he remains active and has recorded many, many musicians. With …End Of August, he has recorded himself.
What makes Petit a successful recording engineer is not only his deep knowledge of the process, but also the fact that he is a musician himself, and hence knows what live music sounds like. With ...End of August, he shows himself to be a sensitive composer and player, with an emotional honesty that really comes through.

The man really can play guitar (both acoustic finger style and electric) and flashes some chops here and there. Petit is also listed as playing electric bass, percussion, various keyboards, trumpet, vibes and vocals. Yet his main instrument is clearly guitar.

Even if one prefers a sound that is more “live,” the record is crisp and clear and the mixing is expertly done, as one would expect. What is not lost, and this is telling, is that each instrument, from a solo acoustic guitar to a saxophone, sounds real, and there is no listening fatigue whatsoever.

Petit's influences are quite obvious and his soft spot is the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Joao Gilberto as heard on Benny Carter's “Only Trust Your Heart,” a surprisingly affective “S'Wonderful” by George Gershwin and the lively originals “Bijou” and “Montreux.” Other originals mine the jazz soul ballad (”Off Center”—with some killer playing) and bit of light funk (”Half Of What You Need”).

Of particular interest are the two solo guitar tracks, “Stockbridge (lost)” and “On Any Given Night.” The former has a country sound mixed with advanced harmonies that are quite touching, while the latter is a short, freely rhythmic love song that ends much too soon.

The arrangements are top notch and allow the other musicians, especially Justin Flynn on reeds and flute, to shine. Indeed the only complaint one could have is that the album is too short—its thirty-eight minutes fly by.

…End Of August is a very fine piece of work, no matter how one looks at it and one must laud Petit for his efforts in every aspect of its creation.

Visit George Walker Petit on the web.
George Walker Petit at All About Jazz.


Track listing: Only Trust Your Heart; Off Center; Stockbridge (lost); S'Wonderful; Half Of What You Need; Bijou; Montreux; On Any Given Night; Aldo (Forza Italia).

Personnel: George Walker Petit: acoustic and electric guitar, electric bass, percussion, Fender Rhodes, vibraphone, piano, Wurlitzer piano, samples, trumpet, vocals; Steve Hass: drums (1); Whitney Ashe: Fender Rhodes (1, 2, 5, 6), organ (2, 5); Justin Flynn: flute (1, 6, 7), tenor saxophone (2), horns (5), soprano saxophone (6); Mark Dodge: drums (4, 5, 6, 7), bass drum (9) lede snare drum (9), trumpet (9); Thomson Kneeland: bass (4); Artur Dutra: berimbao, metal serving plate, triangle (7).

" end of august " is my latest cd...it was produced, recorded and mixed by me at my old walkerecordings studio here in Manhattan over a rather extended period and catalogues what was to me quite a rite of passage. I closed the studio at the end of August, 2005...thus the title. The period of august '05 to august '06 has been eye-opening and has re-focused my efforts to a great degree...
The music is more 'contemporary' in style when compared to Patachou...melding the Steely Dan influence of my college years with the ever-present Brazilian, Metheny, and straight-ahead vibes that mean so much to my musical personality.
Great performances from Justin Flynn, Mark Dodge, Steve Hass and Whitney Ashe on this CD...
All original artwork is now available for download here on my site in PDF format...
I really hope you dig the music - please feel free to leave comments on this site through the email link...I will try to answer them all.

Cheers!

GP

"patachou" is my first cd as a 'leader'...Self-produced in 1997 in my barn studio in Shelburne, Vermont, is has a lyrical and straight-ahead vibe. My Brazilian influences are certainly in there, with a great tune "Juan les-Pins" written by my brother, Mike Petit...he also plays piano and organ on the record.
Patachou was engineered, produced and arranged by me...with great local musicians Steve Wienert, Clyde Stats, Leslie McCurdy, Stuart Paton and Fred Haas all contributing their spirit and great vibes.
This CD was favorably reviewed by Downbeat, Billboard, JazzTImes and Jazziz magazines and is also available at CDBABY.COM if you want the original artwork.

there will be a link on this site soon to download PDF files of all original artwork at no cost...

thanks, and please feel free to leave comments!

GP