La Paz en El Corazon

'. . . a sonic exploration into an ambient realm between Jazz and World music. Soprano sax, sitar, tabla, flute and synth weave in and out of Afro-Cuban rhythms and trance-inducing futuristic soundscapes.' QUARTER TONE (Cakewalk Music Software) ' . . . a calm, evocative album that manages to percolate with Latin flavors and penetrate with snappy solos . . . this departure from the straight-ahead jazz Rideout has honed for years is obviously a labor of love, which yields a harvest of subtle romance.' John Noyd, NITE SIGHTS & SOUNDS (Madison, Wisconsin) '. . . ambient world music jazz, by an ironic urbanite with a little peace in his heart . . . Rideout is the sort of musician . . . who pursues a dogged sense of musical truth, often heedless of musical politics . . . ' Kevin Lynch, THE CAPITAL TIMES (Madison, Wisconsin) 'Lovely stuff and very ambitious . . . ' Mike Baron, ISTHMUS (Madison, Wisconsin) 'While the album is a calm, intricate work which showcases . . . musical ability, it also manages an uplifting feel.' John Salnaitis, THE MIRROR (Greeley, Colorado) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * PERSONNEL: Ray Rideout, soprano saxophone, flute, synthesizers/samplers John Rekevics, flute, alto flute Sebastian Winston, alto flute, bass flute Marc Fink, oboe Burnett Anderson, flugelhorn Vince Cooper, guitar Claudio Slon, drums All compositions by Ray Rideout * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Ray Rideout's CD, LA PAZ EN EL CORAZON ('Peace in the Heart'), represents a stylistic departure for the saxophonist/composer, who is best known for his mainstream jazz groups that have performed extensively in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin. 'This project gave me a chance to delve into some stylistic and orchestrational possibilities that were not possible in the context of a small jazz group,' explains Rideout. Rideout, who is best known for his performance on alto saxophone, plays only soprano saxophone on this recording, along with a bit of flute--and a host of other synthesized and sampled instruments, including fretless and acoustic bass; strings; trumpets and trombones; electric piano; vibraphone; sitar; sarod; tablas; Latin percussion; berimbau; voices; wine glasses; bottle flutes; 'mouth percussion'; toy train whistles; various synthesizer sounds; and bird, animal and ocean sound effects. 'I wanted to explore the possibilities of the new electro-acoustic music technology,' says Rideout. Observing this major stylistic departure may bring to mind the phrase 'reinventing oneself.' However, Rideout explains that, 'It's very trendy for people to talk about 'reinventing themselves,' but I prefer to describe the process as 'evolution' or 'diversification.' 'Reinventing oneself' implies to me a dichotomy of being, a schizophrenic state of affairs whereby one part of a person's psyche does major surgery on another part (often with disastrous consequences).' In any event, Rideout's electro-acoustic multimedia collaborations with Carlyle Osterberg and Greg Fish in the mid-70s (at the Wisconsin Conservatory, Century Hall, and the Cosmic Club in Milwaukee) put the lie to the idea that this is totally new territory for him. Other musicians joining Rideout on LA PAZ EN EL CORAZON include the late and great Brazilian drummer Claudio Slon, who recorded with Sergio Mendes, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Frank Sinatra and Dori Caymmi; San Diego flutists John Rekevics and Sebastian Winston; guitarist Vince