The Reese Project Review of "Blue Etude"

September 2000, Fly Magazine (Lancaster Edition)

Stage & Screen: Making Tracks (local & national indie CD reviews)

by Toby Knapp

The Reese Project:  Blue Etude

It's been said that art imitates life. Check out the latest disc from The Reese Project and you'll see how.  You'll also hear one of the most impressive modern jazz projects in the country ... which incidentally ... comes from a small town in Lancaster County. "I approached [the project] like a storyboard," says Tom Reese, who plays the flute and composed all the selections on the disc. "Like Miles Davis, I got good jazz players to play jazz songs with rudimentary jazz tunes and took the best stuff." The album features the talents of Nashville-based guitarist Bobby Brewer and guitarist Johnny DeFrancesco of Philadelphia, as well as the local talents of Kirk Reese on piano, Laurie Haines Reese on cello, Paul Klinefelter on bass, Glenn Ferracone on drums, Jeff Stabley on congas, adn Hannes Dietrich on violin.  Additionally, The Reese Project highlights to vocal gifts of Anne Sciolla and Jess Yawn. The result is a nine-song compilation of jazz excellence which is receiving radio airplay on some 90 jazz radio stations across the country. "It's sneaking into the GAVIN Top 100," adds Reese. So, why is this man from Mt. Joy and his jazz getting national attention? It really is that good. All songs on "Blue Etude" radiate a very personal feeling and invoke emotion ... the same emotions Reese felt when writing and composing the project. All the songs relate -- in some way -- to Reese's life. From "Levi's Blues," which Reese wrote for his parrot Levi, to the moving and heartfelt "Key to Your Heart," which Reese wrote as a tribute to his second failed marriage. The entire project is incredibly upbeat and, as Reese says, "lighthearted." The Reese Project can be found playing 'Ellingtons and Strawberry Hill in Lancaster, as well as other popular Central Pa. jazz venues. The disc, available on Wyndfall Records, is not currently in stores, but can be found at any live show or on-line at www.wyndfallrecords.com. They have recently inked a promoter from D.C. to cultivate the growing national awareness of the group, which receives regular airplay on WJJZ 106.3 FM radio in Philadelphia. "It's all designed to be enjoyable," says Reese when asked to sum up the project. "It has a universal appeal. It's very hip." It's hip, it's local, and it's for jazz fans everywhere.