Glenn Tucker

Dusk Uptown
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PKO Records is happy to support and assist the amazing seventeen-year old jazz pianist and composer Glenn Tucker in the production and release of his fantastic debut CD: Dusk Uptown.

Dusk Uptown is an audio snapshot of this incredible young musician's many talents. Glenn Tucker plays exclusively piano on this CD although he is equally proficient on the saxophone. At a young age, Glenn has mastered the jazz language. Whether he's playing piano or saxophone, Glenn can easily converse musically with players of all ages. Glenn has already received high praise from jazz media and knowledgeable jazz audiences and has earned the respect of the many musicians (young and old) that he has performed with. Glenn Tucker is a product of the Ann Arbor School For Performing Arts. He has gained valuable on the job training by performing frequently with Vincent York's Young New York Force, The Paul Keller Orchestra and The Murphy's (a well established jazz trio that performs nightly at Murphy's Place in Toledo, Ohio). Additionally, Glenn leads and writes for his own student big band, The Cool Moose Orchestra. The Cool Moose Orchestra has performed at many local venues around southeast Michigan and northern Ohio. The CMO is currently working on their own CD which will feature Glenn Tucker's impressive big band arrangements.

Dusk Uptown features Glenn Tucker's marvelous, straight ahead piano playing and interesting, intelligent compositions. Nine of the eleven tunes on Dusk Uptown are composed by Glenn Tucker. You'll find Glenn's tunes engaging, fun, and surprisingly mature for a seventeen-year-old musician. That's because Glenn Tucker is an extraordinary person. He has worked hard to achieve his stature in the Michigan jazz community. His dedication to excellence is obvious and his musical integrity is unquestioned. Glenn Tucker simply blows away his audiences with his artistry, his grasp of jazz vocabulary, knowledge of jazz history, incredible chops, terrific compositions and musical taste.

On Dusk Uptown, Glenn Tucker is strongly and sensitively supported by bassists Paul Keller and Ben Rolston, drummer Steve Fentriss, trumpeter Paul Finkbeiner and saxophonist Keith Kaminski.

1. HALLUCINATIONS is Glenn Tucker's arrangement of this famous tune by Bud Powell. Bud Powell is Glenn's favorite jazz pianist and one of his favorite composers. You can really hear Bud Powell's influence on Glenn's playing. Excellent straight-ahead bebop.

2. WINTER’S NIGHT is a long-form bossa nova that paints a shimmering sonic image. Check out Paul Keller’s and Steve Fentriss’s very cool, free-form introduction, conceived and executed in the studio.

3. SKYLARK is Glenn's simple and gorgeous arrangement of Hoagy Carmichael’s popular song. Very beautiful!

4. Sometimes, when your back is against the wall, your true creative genius is allowed to burst through. That's true in the case of BLUES FOR US, a Glenn Tucker composition written as a last minute addition to this project. This medium groover is a combination of two different blues melodies. Lots of great energy comes from the soloists.

5. INTRODUCTION TO MIDNIGHT SEQUENCE is an homage to Erroll Garner, one of the unsung heroes of jazz piano. At live performances, Erroll Garner would play long interludes between songs while he figured out what he wanted to play. This abstract introduction/interlude is inspired by him.

6. MIDNIGHT SEQUENCE was written during the summer of 2004, when Glenn did a lot of composing late at night (and past his curfew).

7. WISHING is a new Glenn Tucker melody written over the chord changes of Honeysuckle Rose. WISHING is complex, yet melodic and flowing. It was composed during the year 2005, when Glenn challenged himself to write a new tune every week. Glenn's amazing work ethic is the key to this young man's success.

8. DUSK UPTOWN is modeled after the classic Blue Note sound of the 1950s and 60s. Glenn successfully captures the spirit of and pays homage to this period without directly duplicate the sound.

9. DIALOGUE is based around two contrasting sections: an unresolved section and a constantly modulating section (in the harmonic sense). Glenn later wrote this arrangement which expands on the concept of the tune: a dialogue.

10. SARAD’S JIVE is modeled after one of the greatest jazz ensembles ever: The Oscar Peterson Trio. It was also inspired by the demeanor of one of Glenn's friends; Glenn jotted down the melody to this tune during a high school class they had together.

11. IF ONLY reflects two emotions: remorse and hope. Although it was not originally meant to be the closing tune of this album, it is effective in that role. Hopefully it leaves you, the listener, satisfied and happy.