TRUE Rob Mullins Quartet Live at Dazzle 2012

Rob
Mullins "TRUE" album 2012 LIVE at Dazzle Jazz Club

TRUE-2012 Live Album Release
Rob Mullins Quartet

Features the hit songs "Rock Paper Scissors" and "My One True Love."
Now Streaming FREE on this page. Click song titles below to listen.

Product Details

Streaming Digital Format 2023 Remaster

Original CD Release Date: June 1,2012

Catalog RMC-DAR-2012-1-LP

Personnel

Rob Mullins - acoustic piano, composer
Bijoux Barbosa - upright bass
Mike Marlier - drum set
Joe Anderies - sorprano sax and alto flute
Recorded Live at Dazzle Jazz Club Nov 11 2011, Denver CO
Producer: Rob Mullins
Engineer-Bob Burnam
Mixed by Rob Mullins
Art Direction by Robert Holtz
Photography by Kaitlin Gray
All songs are original compositions by Rob Mullins (BMI) (c) 2012)
except Sonata Pathetique by Beethoven

Track Listing-click each song to stream free
OR click here to grab the whole album and booklet

Click the picture below to download the free Lead Sheet to "Rock Paper Scissors"
also known as "Rob's New Tune."

Throughout his career, Rob Mullins has performed a wide variety of music while being consistently creative and distinctive. He was born in Oklahoma but grew up in Denver where he started playing piano when he was 14. A professional at 16, he built up a career (first in Denver and eventually in the Los Angeles area) as a highly versatile keyboardist, bandleader, compoers and educator.
Mullins has performed several styles of jazz, pop/jazz, smooth, r&b, funk, classical, and music that falls in between. Whether playing with Spike Robinson, the Crasaders, Kirk Whalum, Branford Marsalis, Ronnie Laws or Hubert Laws, he can always be relied upon to infuse the music with his high energy, enthusiasm, impressive musicianship and joyful personality. Recent records include "Storyteller, the single "A Winter Wish", his 911 Anniversary album and a solo piano CD, "The Edge of Dreams."

TRUE is Rob Mullins' 27th album as a leader and a major statement in straight ahead jazz. "I am well known for using computers to create music," says Rob, "but I felt that my listeners, especially new ones, need to be reminded about what live music sounds like and how good it can sound. We recorded the whole album in one night, just three hours. Bob E. Burnham is a fantastic live engineer. Once I had a date and players set for the live show, I started writing the material. I finished the writing in a few days and chose a couple of songs from my catalog that I thought these players do a great job on. We rehearsed the material at 3pm on the day of the show, and made the album at 7pm. The album was recorded at one of my favortie clubs, Dazzle Jazz Club in Denver. I chose what I felt to be the best performances from the two shows."

For the date, Mullins teamed up with three of Denver's finest jazz musicians, each of whom is also an educator. "Joe Anderies on woodwinds is one of my mentors in Denver. He was responsible for connecting me to George Russell at a crucial time in my musical youth. Gerge had a big impact on me not returning to college and istead going on the start record my songs. Bijoux Barbosa is currently the first call bass player in Denver and he and Mike Marlier have bee the backbone of my rhythm section whenever I visit Denver. Both are great players who lend their own tough to the material." Performing a set of Rob's originals, the musicians sound quite comfortable, as if they have been playing these pieces together as a unit for many years. They introduce quite a few songs that also deserve to be performed by other musicians in the future.-Scott Yanow

"TRUE is a most fitting title for a release that embraces the visionary work and technical prowess of one of the finest if not occasionally overlooked pianists in modern jazz. By Brent Black / @CriticalJazz  Rob Mullins has no "wheelhouse" to speak of. Most pianists find that one niche and tend to settle in for as long as their career holds out. Mullins is blessed with a virtuoso talent that much like a good chess player allows him the freedom to play measures and even genres ahead of his contemporaries. Sophisticated jazz harmonies, colorful changes and an effortless flow with perhaps the best right hand in the game, Rob Mullins brings his prolific talent to the live recording of TRUE at the Dazzle Jazz Club in his hometown of Denver, Colorado. A snapshot of a moment in time embracing a contemporary approach to the straight ahead swing that is the Mullins calling card.  Opening with "Rock Paper Scissors" this vibrant Mullins composition seeks out a musical happy place with the lyrical intensity of an Oscar Peterson tune combined with a smoldering Horace Silver approach to set the table for an intriguing if not intoxicating sonic smorgasbord of delight. In scanning the disc before review the obvious "what tune doesn't belong in this set list" question had to be, can Mullins actually make Sonata Pathetique Movement II composed by Beethoven and arranged by Rob Mullins work? In a word, yes! Colors you can hear as Mullins paints from a rich color palette with broad and incredibly well defined strokes.

One would be remiss if not mentioning the other members of this phenomenal quartet. Joe Anderies on saxes and alto flute along with Bijoux Barbosa on upright bass and Mike Marlier on drums round out this unique jazz collective where Mullins is the obvious leader but the group dynamic is never lost in the shuffle. TRUE is the title track and a soulful and soul filled romp reminiscent of classic Ramsey Lewis while remaining straight up Rob Mullins every step of the way. This vibrant pulse is personified with the engaging call and response type give and take between Mullins and and tenor man Anderies. When this 4tet stretches out the lyrical intensity never dies or falls flat as harmonics shift and dynamics are adjusted this ensemble seems to feed off itself while pushing each other and Mullins to heights higher than one previously imagined.   There is a conceptual nature or perhaps a conceptual wish of hoping the listener finds what is "TRUE" for themselves. Rob Mullins is clearly an artist comfortable with his lot in life, where he has been and more importantly where he is going. Instead of taking the easy path of nine covers that would encompass the usual suspects, Mullins treats the audience to nine original compositions with many sounding like standards simply biding their time in the on deck circle. TRUE is a masterclass for young pianists and a most engaging and entertaining release on just about any level one could imagine. No critic can cover all releases in a given year, this was one that sadly slipped past me. Better late than never!   Rob Mullins is my musical easy button: FIVE STARS!" Brent Black@criticaljazz.com 