Quick Response
Dom Minasi

Dom Minasi has been known to be as adventurous and exciting as John Coltrane, and has a style of guitar playing that emulates that of the late sax giant. He also shares the same birthday with Wes Montgomery. A 44-year veteran of the jazz music scene, his career is as multifaceted and varied as his hometown of New York City. Involved in jazz trios since he was 15-years-old, Dom says of it all, "By the time I was 19 or 20, I had more than 100 students, but I cut it down to 95 so I could play six nights a week." The guitarist spent years teaching musical direction to vocalists while his own trio started to gel, eventually triggering interest from the Blue Note label.

Dom went on to record two albums for Blue Note, When Joanna Loved Me and I Have The Feeling I've Been Here Before, both in 1975. They were received with moderate success. Left without proper representation and direction when Blue Note started suffering internal problems, he eventually departed the label in search of other pursuits. He began freelancing, writing books, and providing scores for Broadway shows. In 1999, he returned to the studio and recorded Finishing Touches, which became his most notable piece of work to that date.

The new millennium has seen a fresh start for Dom, as he has already recorded four CDs for CDM Records, one of them live in New York City. His latest, Quick Response, is revealing enough in title alone as to how he has been taking care of business lately.

Dom is relaxed and forthright in this remarkable work and the band is tight and on top of things. His muffled tone throughout is reminiscent of Montgomery's, and his approach possesses both the harshness and the fluidity of players such as saxophonist Eric Dolphy and pianist Cecil Taylor. However, the fast paced and passionate style of guitar playing is all his, and his picking technique is yet another irony in relation to the CD's title, Quick Response.

Organist Kyle Koehler compliments and parallels Minasi to the fullest. Mark Whitecage's alto sax playing is laid back and kind of offsetting in relation to the styles of the other two, yet it always falls into place. John Bollinger's drumming is smooth in flow and tactful in approach.

From the powerful and energetic 'What Is This Thing Called Love' and the Wes-like 'Quick Response', to the melancholy 'For My Father' and the romantic 'When Your Dreams Come True', I find myself listening to this CD over and over. Dom Minasi is a true innovator, and as the CD liner notes, 'He is a man of boundless interest, who pays tribute to the past but is not imprisoned by it.' Quick Response is jazz improvisation at its finest.

Track Listing
1) What Is This Thing Called Love

2) Feels Like Rain In China

3) For My father

4) Quick Response

5) I Who Have Nothing

6) Into The Night

7) Dizzy Lizzie

8) When Your Dreams Come True

9) Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

Label
CDM

Links
Dom Minasi
Quick Response on CDbaby.com

Contact information
Media and Label Contact: jazzpromo@earthlink.net
NorthCountry Distributors: northcountry@cadencebuilding.com