Artist description The music on this CD is essentially a song cycle. The tunes all came into being around the birth of my daughter Ella. Some of the ideas, sketches, themes if you will, are much older (e.g. song #7’s melody was originally written when I was a teenager), but they all came into focus as realized pieces between 1998 and 1999. The emotional range is broad, encompassing many of the feelings I experienced around Ella’s birth and early development. The graphics on the cover are two trees drawn by Ella around the time of recording. In my mind, the music has kind of an off white and purple quality to it (the colours Ella used in her drawing); please take that as you will.

Music Style Post Bebop, Eclectic Jazz

Musical Influences Weather Report, Miles Davis, Stax Records, Carla Bley, Son House, Igor Stravinsky, Capt. Beefheart

Similar Artists Steve Swallow, Wayne Horvitz, Dusty Springfield on acid

Artist History Paul grew up in a cradle of suburbia, Vestal N.Y. In a tract style house, boy Paul surrounded himself with Elvis Presley, Elton John, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Bob Dylan and an insatiable albeit irreverent love for history of many kinds. Brought up as the youngest of three by parents of the Post Depression era, Paul was influenced by many of the same influences as his peers, but missed a lot of the stereotypical dysfunction of gen Xers that were being brought up around him. Because of this he was able to experience and befriend a lot of colorful characters without actually getting swallowed by the big X. These early influences gave Paul a sense of oddity, real intellectualism, an appreciation of things good and beautiful (even when they’re ugly) and a real-ness and an almost sardonic wit about him. All of these things become evident through his music and if you watch him watch and episode of VH 1 “Behind the Music” Paul began to play bass in a latchkey kids garage in the late 70’s. He played a couple of years in various blues based rock bands, and then began lessons with local funk bassist Amos Taylor long enough to be introduced to, and influenced by the Soul scene of the time. He then studied with local guitar legend Rico Zizzi who’s tenure included playing with the Heath Brothers and Gene “Toots” Thielemans, until late high school. Rico taught Paul the basics of jazz theory, and nurtured Paul’s ever growing interest in the Jazz fusion greats of the day including: Miles Davis, Weather Report, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, and Bill Bruford. These artists inspired Paul to begin writing for his own band Catalyst, who by this time was playing their own Jazz-fusion. As the characters of Paul’s childhood became friends, they brought with them many, many more musical influences. Jon brought Wilson Pickett’s Funky Broadway, Eric brought Count Basie’s Basie Straight Ahead, Brian brought Sam and Dave’s Soul Man, Steve brought Jeff Beck’s Wired and Dan brought Brian Eno’s Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy. While Paul contributed to his friends musical growth by hipping them to such recordings as The Band’s Music From Big Pink and Miles Davis’s A Tribute to Jack Johnson. By the end of high school, Paul’s arsenal of influences was vast, and his commitment to music resolved. After high school, Paul played for a year in local general business bands to get the funds for Berklee College of Music, his choice for school. He continued his self-informal music studies checking out the influential bassists of the time and before. Bassists like Jaco Pastorius, Jerry Jermont, Frank Fields, James Jameson, Carol Kay, Rick Danco, Dee Murray, John Paul Jones, Paul Chambers, Tommy Cogbill, Charlie Haydn, and Charles Mingus were some of the cats that were to be influential to Paul in his endeavor to find his bass voice. Throughout Paul’s college years (which lasted longer than most) he studied Bass with White Brown and Percy Jones, composition with Ken Pullig and Bruce Thomas, did lots and lots of gigs, and learned lots and lots of tunes. In his twenty-five years of professional playing Paul has managed to play and record with a wide variety of artists such as: The Erics, Naftule’s Dream, Bryan Graves, Kimbute and the Freedom Tribe, Hypnotic Clambake, and Dena DeRose to name a few. Paul has one major philosophy when it comes to studying music…essentially; keep listening until you hit water. When you hear an artist, listen to who influenced them, who influenced them who influenced them…. eventually you will make it back to the Mississippi Delta, or the East river. Paul has, to a degree, followed this theory in his studies.

Group Members Dena DeRose, Piano and Organ Cory Cali, Guitar Eric Peters, Drums Paul Engle, Bass

Instruments Guitar, Piano, Organ, Bass, Drums

Albums Two Trees

Press Reviews I'm a rocker from way back, and even I love spinning this disc of delightful jazz. I don't care what type of music you like, this cd belongs in your collection. -- Jean Marie Hardin; Hardincomp.com.

Location Boston, MA - USA

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