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Current Projects

The Serpent Speaks: 2010-present

I first read Robert Siegel's The Serpent Speaks in 2007, as my love of poetry was just being sparked. Though I was immediately interested in setting the poem to music, it wasn't until receiving a Fellowship at the Trinity Forum Academy that I had the time and resources I needed to realize the project. My setting of The Serpent Speaks blurs distinctions between composition and improvisation using a mixture of verbal cues; traditional, and non-traditional notation. The style blends free and contemporary modal jazz with spoken word.

James Hall and Robert Siegel are a perfect match in The Serpent Speaks, a beautiful symphonic composition in sound and word. The music by Hall is a modern jazz alliance with Siegel’s dramatic poem about the fallen world. Using two percussionists, a saxophone, a guitar, a bass, and Hall’s own lyrical trombone, the music intertwines with two voices, female and male, to make for a powerful statement about human misery and hope. Word and sound blend together in an artistic marriage that is greater than the sum of the parts. There is rhythm; there is meditation; there is drama; and there is love.

-Bill Edgar, Jazz Pianist, Author, Taking Note of Music

Check out The Serpent Speaks Website for reviews, media, and more.

Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra: 2010-present

The Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra is led by percussionist Jon "Gianni Mano" Uman. Based in Brooklyn NY, the WSO plays big latin arrangements of some of the best indie music. Influenced by the New York greats like Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri and the 70s Fania/Salsa Dura scene as well as the beautiful variety of music from Cuba and the Afro-Carribean countries, we also love the creativity and innovation of modern independent music.

Check out what The Village Voice has to say about the WSO!

James Hall Group: 2007-present

After moving to Vienna in 2007 for my insatiable appetite for schnitzel, this group became the medium for my takeover of the European jazz scene, though I always lacked the necessary tight pants and beret. The music I compose for this group is heavily influenced by such musicians as Kenny Wheeler, Dave Douglas, and Maria Schneider. The European lineup included saxophonist Viola Falb, pianist Julia Siedl, bassist Ulrich Radlberger, and drummer Bernd Schneidhofer. Since moving to NYC, collaborators have included saxophonist Jacob Teichroew, guitarist Douglas Bradford, drummers Otto Hauser and Joao Mota, bassists Greg Chudzik and Chris Nolte.