7.14.12 Angel City Arts presents: Slumgum + Hugh Ragin New Album Release

Slumgum is excited to announce the release of  their third album “The Sky His Own” which features collaboration with virtuoso trumpet player Hugh Ragin! Hugh Ragin has worked with many of the greats including but not limited to Anthony Braxton, Wadada Leo Smith, Roscoe Mitchell, David Murray, Maynard Ferguson, Sun Ra, Clark Terry.

“After hearing them in Aspen this past summer, NJMH Directors Loren
Schoenberg and Christian McBride agreed that Slumgum was a brilliant
band … we were both knocked out by their originality and artistry. We
decided right then and there to bring them to NYC as soon as we
could.” –Christian McBride and Loren Schoenberg, National Jazz Museum in Harlem

“[An] energized crowd is expected to be on hand for this weekend’s
performance at ArtSpace 404 by Slumgum, an outstanding risk-taking
jazz quartet from Los Angeles which calls to mind Wayne Shorter circa
Speak No Evil fronting the Art Ensemble of Chicago … A sense of
constant discovery runs through the quartet’s songs; their soloing is
masterful, their veneer metropolitan and their technical prowess
top-notch.” –Gabe Meline, North Bay Bohemian

“Try standing on top of your desk. the new perspective will make
things you’ve seen a million times seem fresh.  L.A.’s Slumgum has the
same effect, creating expressive compositions you thought you knew
well, but then taking it somewhere else.  Of course, experimental jazz
is largely about the talent behind each outrageous noise, and, here,
the drums and bass can barely tether Jon Armstrong on the tenor sax or
Rory Cowal on the piano.  Listless wandering leads to a blazing
overflow of sound, as if the whole band is playing harmoniously to a
wild and atmospheric solo, and each measure can feel a world apart.
With elements of Miles Davis and world music, like Russian polka, try
to hold on for the ride.” –Jonathan Lopez, Good Times Santa Cruz

“Slumgum is a jazz quartet from L.A. with a name that only a beekeeper
could love.  The young group’s sophisticated, elegant blend of modern
classical music and avant-garde jazz belies its icky moniker.  The
members formed Slumgum when they met as students at the Herb Alpert
School of Music at CalArts.  However, expect the band to sound more
like the Art Ensemble of Chicago than the trumpeter who gave us
Whipped Cream (and Other Delights). “Minuet in G” is an example of the
group playing with contemporary classical conventions; the short song
quickly unravels into dissonance before the band members reel it back
in with restraint and a hint of melody.  Slumgum isn’t afraid to
embark on a free form jazz odyssey, as evidenced by the monumental
“Long Shadows” that’s just shy of 20 minutes.  The song’s length
allows each of the members of Slumgum to make some bold moves—in
particular, finishing the song with a harmonized vocal chant.” –David Dunlap, Washington City Paper

“The California quartet Slumgum has a unique approach to genre and
technique: they blend jazz and contemporary classical music in a way
that beautifully muddies the boundaries between composition and
improvisation … Slumgum’s daring ‘a little bit of this, a little bit
of that’ technique results in a sound that’s rich, compelling and,
most of all, pure.” –Sophie Gandler, http://www.beaconpass.com

“[Slumgum] produced a vital and exciting mix of jazz, improv and
contemporary classical music. As I watched and listened to these four
young men (they appear to be in their mid-to-late twenties), I grew
more and more mesmerized not only by their music but by the process of
their collaboration and the immersion it required, all of which was
evident on the stage. A subtle interplay of signals they’ve worked out
over their three years together brought a wild freshness to the sound
and a sense of courtesy to their presentation. Their faces and bodies
were rapt in the music. Crescendos and solos were vivid, creative and
emotional. Transitions were seamless and quietly serene, a languid and
long drawn-out note on the sax or bowed on the bass bringing time and
attention to a change, without a beat lost. Hearing this gave me a
sense of the scope of their improvisation and the flexibility, skill,
talent and trust it took to create serious music that didn’t feel a
bit improvised. I am stunned again now remembering their solo riffs
and the incredible vitality of their skill and talent—seeing fingers
flying over keys, strings and stops, and the unusual and empowering
drumming—jazz that made something lurch spontaneously inside me and
spurred the plainly feeble response of applause. It is the mix of
practiced skill and the confidence they showed in their music, the
trust they had in their process that impressed me as a writer. I saw
the confidence and trust on that stage and how it allowed the
musicians to leap at the subtlest of hints toward the next
direction—the confidence in their skill brought on by years of
practice, the trust born of playing together for three years and
paying attention to one another’s signals. I haven’t three other
musicians to challenge me into the unknown at my keyboard, but I would
do well to apply the same principles to my work. Thank you Slumgum,
for the inspiration.” –Eugenia Kim, http://www.redroom.com

“One of LA’s most compelling jazz groups” - http://www.socalcreativemusic.blogspot.com

“[Slumgum's music] rolled over the now-packed club like a menu of ever-
changing clouds … the result ebbed and flowed like fog coming in from the
beach, then dissipating to reveal a fresh layer of cloud cover above. Whether
meshing in ensemble play or laying back to give someone space to solo,
Slumgum was superb—and quite magical. What came to mind was that their
approach referenced the deep coolness of West Coast jazz sounds from the
’50s—Dave Brubeck, Chet Baker—while adding a lot more fire and flair. If jazz
improv is a group of people collaboratively levitating an object above the
audience’s heads, Slumgum managed to fly a saucer into the room. The group
will return next month for the In the Flow Festival, a don’t-miss event.” –Jackson Griffith, Sacramento News & Review

“Nice players … solid compositions, concepts, and solos” –Brick Wahl, LA Weekly

Slumgum website 

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Best known for capably filling the problematic trumpet chair in saxophonist David Murray’s various large ensembles, Hugh Ragin possesses the well-rounded technique and abundant imagination that his predecessors in those bands did not. A harmonically daring player,Ragin combines the clear, ringing tone of a classical trumpeter with the chops and rhythmic ingenuity of a top-notch bebopper.

Ragin was raised in Houston, TX. He began playing trumpet in eighth grade, and shortly thereafter began taking private lessons. He started playing classical music, yet at the same time was drawn to jazz. Ragin received schoolboy honors in music (traveling to England and Wales with the Houston All-City High School Orchestra) then attended the University of Houston, where he received his bachelor’s degree in music education. Trumpeter Donald Byrd influenced Ragin around this time.

Ragin attended Colorado State University, receiving his master’s in classical trumpet performance. In late 1978, he attended the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, NY, where he studied composition with Roscoe Mitchell. The following summer, he played the annual jazz festival in Moers, Germany, with the Roscoe Mitchell/Leo Smith Creative Orchestra. Later that year, he toured with Anthony Braxton. Since then,Ragin has periodically traveled to Europe to perform and teach. Ragin first met Murray in 1980; he toured with Maynard Ferguson throughout 1983. In 1985, Murray brought him to New York to play in his band. The two have been close musical associates ever since.

Ragin has remained somewhat of a marginal figure, mostly due to the fact that he’s lived in the middle of the U.S., away from the major jazz scenes on either coast. When he has led a recording session, it’s been first class. On his 1999 album An Afternoon in Harlem (Justin Time), he’s joined by Murray, drummer Andrew Cyrille, and pianist Craig Taborn. He followed with more releases for Justin Time: Fanfare & Fiesta in 2001 and Feel the Sunshine in 2002. Ragin has taught extensively, including a stint at Oberlin College in Ohio.

Hugh Ragin on Wikipedia

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