Marimbist Gwendolyn Dease takes a bold step forward with her fourth recording, cultivating enchanting commissions from a top-notch assembly of contemporary jazz composers. Grammy-nominated composer and legendary jazz bassist Rufus Reid crafted the title piece while other selections feature star members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Pat Metheny Quartet, WDR Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis’s Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra. Dease’s programme features her nuanced phrasing highlighted against similarly virtuosic muted and natural trombone stylings, rich acoustic double bass and in several enticing chamber pairings and trios. With this release, Dease not only confirms her stature as one of the leading marimba artists in music today, but also shows that she is a visionary role model for the future of her instrument as fans of contemporary classical and jazz music become “Beguiled”.
