The Brad Powell Expedition's debut album on Geofonica Records, First Step In A Long Journey, combines jazz, neoclassical, blues, Latin, R&B, and more into an original instrumental & vocal blend. Featuring Lincoln Mayorga, Brandon Fields, and others.

13 MP3 Songs
JAZZ: Jazz Fusion, POP: Folky Pop



Details:
The Brad Powell Expedition's CD "First Step In A Long Journey" represents the debut album on Geofonica Records. "First Step In A Long Journey" combines jazz, neoclassical, blues, Latin, R&B, and other styles into an original instrumental & vocal blend. Pianist Lincoln Mayorga is featured on the title track. Powell performs "Passalaqua Suite" -a tribute to his mentor, jazz legend Joe Pass. It even features a short audio collage of some of his guitar lessons under Pass, dating back to the early 1970's.

In the tradition of "Blood, Sweat & Tears II"---"First Step In A Long Journey" is a diverse, eclectic CD. In it, listeners can hear Powell's early works reflecting his distinctive compositional style.

BE FOREWARNED: This is NOT a "Candlelight Guitarist" album! Although you can hear many compositional elements in "First Step" that led Powell towards his "Candlelight Guitarist" recordings (including some relaxing and beautiful tracks), it is more a project of discovery...a musical "Expedition".

For example, the CD features an opening track with dramatic classical piano and orchestra. Four lead vocalists are featured on several tracks, some cool and very edgy tracks that go from rhythm and blues to 90's folk-rock, hot big-band style orchestration to pure gospel-style grooves. The CD has some tender moments too, some featured guitar work (on classical and electric guitars), and much that presages the "Candlelight Guitarist" music yet to come.

R.S. Murthi, writing about First Step In A Long Journey in the NEW STRAITS TIMES...

"Brad Powell is a guitarist who studied under the late, great jazz master Joe Pass, whom he fittingly pays tribute to in a specially composed suite on this debut album.
"...he's a deft composer with a knack for intricate scoring as he demonstrates on such pieces as First Step In A Long Journey and Passalaqua Suite (the work dedicate to Pass).
"The horns are richly orchestral and the rhythms have a natural flow and swing, and Powell has assembled a team of top-notch players including drummer Chad Wackerman, alto saxophonist Brandon Fields, bassist Jim Hughart and pianist Mark Massey to realise his stylistically diverse conceptions."
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FEATURED PERSONNEL:
Lead Vocals:
Tony Bowman, Kurt Rasmussen, Paul Seaforth and Allison Zuehlsdorff
Rhythm Section:
Jim Hughart (acoustic bass)
Mark Massey (piano and keyboards)
Lincoln Mayorga (piano)
Brad Powell (classical, acoustic & electric guitars)
Kurt Rasmussen, percussion
David Siebels (Hammond B-3 organ)
Chad Wackerman (drums)
Jerry Watts (electric bass)
Woodwinds:
Brandon Fields (alto sax solo on Robbie Bop)
David Hill (flute, piccolo, alto & bass flutes, oboe & english horn, clarinet & bass clarinet, recorder, alto, tenor & baritone saxes)
Lorraine Jenkins (flute)
Brass:
Wayne Bergeron (trumpet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet)
Paul Seaforth (trumpet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet)
Andy Martin (trombone)
Charlie Morillas (trombone)
Stephanie Mijanovich (horn)
Stephanie J. Smith (horn)
Douglas Tornquist (tuba)
String Duet on Do You Feel What I Feel?
Melissa Hasin (cello)
Jim Sitterly (violin)
The Gospel Choir on "Give Them Love":
Josef Powell, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Oren Waters, and
Terry Wood.
Strings:
Violin: Terry Glenny, David Stenske (concertmaster), Lynn Stenske, Viola: Helen Crosby, Karie Prescott, James "Jimbo" Ross; cello: Ernest Ehrhardt, Nancy "Nika" Stein-Ross.
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Cover Illustration by Joel Nakamura

Communication Arts magazine selected "First Step In A Long Journey" for their 1998 Illustration Annual, as one of the best album covers of the year.

Design by Bonnie Butler, Bright Ideas AG
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"First Step In A Long Journey" set Brad Powell on the path towards his widely recognized success as "The Candlelight Guitarist."