A Summer Afternoon With You

A Summer Afternoon With You is about feelings.

It is my process to express deeper feelings in musical terms. Occasionally I know where the inspiration comes from, most of the time not. Regardless, the feelings expressed on this inaugural CD are the result of a muse channeling my emotions into musical form. And I never argue with the muse.

The up-tempo first cut, Taylored for Billy, is an homage to Dr. Billy Taylor, America’s elder international statesman of jazz. I have known Billy for over 25 years.

The title cut (Summer Afternoon) is an expression of tender affection for a very close friend. Where Thanks, Duke came from I don’t know, but it occurred to me once it had popped out onto the page that Ellington was the inspiration. I have always had an affinity for a “Latin” feel. Gentle Breeze draws on that mood. The blues tune Send My Regrets is dedicated to Manny Albam, premiere big band arranger and composer. His sudden passing in 2001 saddened me.

A student who had confided to me the personal challenges she had endured coming to the United States from Russia inspired Song For A Brave Soul. Where Are You Now? was inspired by residual feelings from a memorial service for a high school friend whom I had not been in contact with for several decades. Memories & Reflections came from a feeling to write a piece in a jazz waltz tempo. Broken Heart is about just that. Finally, Latin-influenced Com Calma was inspired by a feeling for personal forward movement combined with a classical sensibility.

Most of these pieces were shaped in an hour or less, but took weeks to refine. In all cases they grew out of some feeling best expressed as highly melodic music in a small group setting.

The experience of making A Summer Afternoon With You was a pleasure for me and the musicians playing on it. I hope it is just as much a pleasure for you when you listen to it.

Eugene Marlow
Summer 2005

“Composer and arranger Eugene Marlow’s debut CD is a swinging delight. Abundantly melodic, A Summer Afternoon With You is. . . a straight ahead album with lush arrangements, great playing and friendly track lengths. Those who bemoan the repetitiveness of standards or the lack of original compositions will find this to be superbly refreshing.”
─ Ed Trefzger
JazzWeek

“Marlow’s 10-track CD earns top marks with wonderful readings and solos. 10/10.”
─ Len Dobbin
Montreal Mirror

“What makes this CD compelling is that it combines the ubiquitous talents of Eugene Marlow, composer, arranger. . .and Michael Abene, writer, composer, pianist, arranger, and producer in his own right. A Summer Afternoon With You is a delightful album, with top notch New York jazz musicians playing tunes composed and arranged by Marlow, with Abene as leader and pianist. . .[The] relatively short pieces are eminently catching and hummable—a true sign of a gifted melodist! This CD, to my knowledge the first under Eugene Marlow’s name, is an unmitigated success from every standpoint, be it the compositions themselves or the players performing them. . .”
─ Lilian Dericq
Jazz Improv Magazine

Title: A Summer Afternoon With You

Catalog #: J-1-2005

Release date: 2005
UPC: 783707170503
©2005 MEII Enterprises/BMI