As one of the hardest working and in-demand internationally renowned jazz trumpet players, Quentin Collins, has formed an all-star band which is a progression of his quintet with alto sax ace, Tom Harrison, which gave birth to the Quentin Collins Sextet.Quentin's overarching ambition was to record an album, consisting of original material, with the joint collaboration of a select US-based rhythm section and an established UK-based horn section. The end result is a flat-out bebop/hardbop collection of outstanding material, equally written by Collins and Harrison.As background, Quentin met in-demand US pianist Dan Nimmer (Winton Marsalis) while touring with The Kyle Eastwood Band, where Collins has been a regular for years. Collins was so impressed with Nimmer's playing that he invited him to be a part of the new project. Nimmer graciously accepted the offer, and suggested that the incredible drummer, Willie Jones III from New York City, joined the line-up. In addition, one of Nimmer's close friends from high school, NY bassist Joe Sanders, rounded out the most impressive roster.Collins further decided to stretch the front line with young tenor sax sensation, Leo Richardson, whose debut album Quentin produced on the Ubuntu Music record label. By chance, Tom Harrison also went to music college with Richardson, which made the ensemble that much more synchronistic.Road Warrior is a musical depiction of life as a touring musician, which all of these artists know too well. One track in particular, A Look Ahead, is a spiritual journey into the future of those who essentially live on the road, playing to audiences throughout the world.To round out the total team, Harrison asked the iconic Jazz Messenger's legend, sax titan Jean Toussaint, to join the family in performing on one track and to produce the album. Collins, by contrast, asked the multi-talented composer/arranger/musician Troy Miller (Laura Mvula) to be the engineer to mix the album.
