Aloha Got Soul
Jason Gay - Present and the Past
Artist: Jason Gay
Album: The Present & the Past
Invent yourself and then reinvent yourself. Change your tone and shape so often that they can never categorize you." Charles Bukowski's poem, No Leaders, Please, is the driving ethos behind saxophonist Jason Gay. Never not still, Gay relentlessly explores the depths and exhausts every possibility of each musical rabbit hole he dives down. Born in Washington D.C. and landing in Hawaii during his service in U.S. Navy band, Gay leapt into the world of Chinese folk songs and it's mainstay instruments, including the er-hu, pipa and guzheng. In the mid-2010s, Gay spent four years transcribing, imitating, assimilating, and innovating these sounds. Emerging along his journey was a cast of musicians who eagerly helped Gay interpret compositions like "Jasmine Flower" or "Blooming Flowers and the Full Moon" into an often transcendental state of jazz. The group, known as the Hidden Dragon Quartet, was comprised of Gay, drummer Noel Okimoto, pianist Grant Carvalho, and bassist Ian Sheridan. Following these live engagements, Gay decided to enter the studio with co-producer Dean Taba. The result: Dynasty, self-released in 2018 on CD and digital, featuring some of Hawaii's A-list players, including Tommy James on piano, Dean Taba on bass, DeShannon Higa on trumpet, with drummer Noel Okimoto, and featuring er-hu musician Tsun-Hui Hung and taiko master Kenny Endo. Eloquent and exuberant, the recordings delight in the spirit of these songs, offering an elegant introduction (or refresher, for the informed listened) to these compositions, many originally composed expressly for the er-hu, a stringed instrument likened to the West's violin. "This isn't about jazz musicians playing Chinese arrangements, or about positioning the erhu as a new sound in mainstream American music," wrote music journalist John Berger in 2018 upon the CD's initial release. "Gay and his musicians are reworking Chinese melodies into their own jazz idiom - and doing quite well at it.
UPC/ISBN: 787790277286
Product Information
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OUR STANDARD
Books without a stated grade will be offered as Near Mint 9.4 or better. We do not guarantee 9.8 condition on any book unless specifically noted.
We use industry-standard grading guidelines from:
- Â CBCS Comic Grading Scale
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If you're new to comic grading, the resources above are a great place to start.
WHY WE DON'T GUARANTEE 9.8
Modern comic printing is an imperfect process. Books are printed in massive
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A 9.8 grade represents near-perfection, and the reality is that not every printed book qualifies for that grade no matter where you buy it from.
We can absolutely commit to NM 9.4 or better. We cannot commit to 9.8 on every book, because that's not how comics are made.
WHAT QUALIFIES AS NM 9.4
Per industry standards, a book may exhibit the following minor characteristics and still grade as Near Mint 9.4, as long as there's no accumulation of defects:
Bindery characteristics:
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Printing characteristics:
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Spine characteristics:
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These are normal modern production characteristics, not damage from handling or shipping. They are present on books across the industry, regardless
of retailer.
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We do not accept returns or exchanges on books that meet our NM 9.4 or better standard.
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