Pete Town

Reaching #1 on The Roots Music Report's Top 50 Traditional Jazz Album Chart in January, 2022, New York-based pianist Pete Malinverni’s latest album presents Leonard Bernstein compositions in a trio setting along with bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer Jeff Hamilton. On the Town: Pete Malinverni Plays Leonard Bernstein features jazz arrangements of songs primarily from musicals such as On the Town (1944), Wonderful Town (1953), and West Side Story (1957). Malinverni also provides an enthralling spiritual rendition of “Simple Song” from Mass (1971), as well as one of his own numbers, “A Night on the Town” that closes the set.

At the forefront of folk music as egalitarian fights in the United States, the songwriter was undeniably ahead. Claimed Influence of Dylan, Springsteen, Joan Baez and many others, Pete Seeger is somehow the mentor of the Masters of protest folk and rock music.A man of conviction born on May 3, 1919, Pete Seeger had been using his banjo since the early 40s to play songs that went beyond entertainment. A proponent of useful music, he made his own the mouthpiece of his ideas. Like the famous We Shall Overcome which he popularized in the 50s and will become a real anthem of civil rights in the United States.

For most general rock fans, the Pete Best story ends on August 16, 1962. That's when Beatles manager Brian Epstein told the unfortunate drummer that he was being replaced by Ringo Starr, just weeks before the group would record their first single. Most fans don't know that Best did continue to perform and record for a few years, usually as the leader of his own group, and usually for cheapo companies eager to exploit his notoriety as an ex-Beatle. Certainly these discs are of little interest to anyone besides Beatle/British Invasion obsessives. But if you're on that path already, you might find them – and indeed the whole Pete Best solo chapter – more interesting than you would expect.

Pete Yorn throws open the studio doors with Back & Fourth, his first album to feature heavy contributions from a backing band. Drummer Joey Waronker, guitarist Jonny Polonsky, and former Azure Ray vocalist Orenda Fink are among those featured, and the presence of producer Mike Mogis chief architect of the Saddle Creek sound gives the material a tasteful gloss. Traces of Californian folk-rock can be found throughout these ten tracks, particularly in the jangle of "Last Summer" and the breezy, coastal sway of "Paradise Cove."

“When Pete Malinverni plays, the people listen,” observed Patricia O’Haire in the New York Daily News. That’s no mean feat in the mecca of jazz.

Matt Mauser grew up in Huntington Beach, CA and formed the incredibly successful band, "The Tijuana Dogs". Pete grew up in Claremont, CA and has been a jazz band leader since 1997. In 2012, Matt approached Pete about putting together a Frank Sinatra Tribute act. Pete said, "Let's go for it" and began to write the arrangements. Pete recalls when Matt came into the studio to record the vocals… "I couldn't believe how convincing Matt's vocals were. You close your eyes, and you'd swear that Frank was in the recording room right there with you", said Pete. Since then, Matt and the Pete Jacobs Big Band have been performing together at many of the great L.A. area Jazz hot spots. "Matt is much more than just a great singer… he is an entertainer in the same way that Frank was". From the moment Matt takes the stage, he literally "owns" the room. Pete's big-band, the Wartime Radio Revue Swing Orchestra, was already a favorite in the L.A. Swing Scene, and this is the perfect combination to make it one of the most sought-after acts around.

“When Pete Malinverni plays, the people listen,” observed Patricia O’Haire in the New York Daily News. That’s no mean feat in the mecca of jazz.

“When Pete Malinverni plays, the people listen,” observed Patricia O’Haire in the New York Daily News. That’s no mean feat in the mecca of jazz.