Fade

Fade Personnel: Tim Collins - vibes, electric vibes, piano, glockenspiel Charlie Hunter - electric bass Simon Lott - drums Ulrike Schmitz - violin (track 2) Tracks 3 and 7: Zach Brock (violin), Marla Hansen (viola), Chris Hoffman (cello), Matt Clohesy (bass), Matt Blostein (alto sax). _____________________________________________________ Some preliminary reviews of 'Fade': 'Collins' music doesn't behave. In fact, it seems to make up it's own rules. 'Fade' contains jazz, minimalism, funk, pop, and rock music. It shatters stereotypes of what the vibraphone can do. The amazing thing is that it all makes perfect sense.' - Mark Saleski (blogcritics.org) Quotes about Tim's Previous album 'Valcour': "This is one of the best vibraphonists that I've heard in years. Tim's musical creativity really shines through, not to mention Tim and the group having brought a refreshing new sound to the table for us to partake of." - Leon Reyes KVMR 89.5 FM Nevada City/Sacramento Ca Host: Leon's Jazz In A Box "Fantastic Album" - Alex Pijnen, BRTO Radio, Netherlands "...superb original compositions with very fine musicianship from the leader Tim Collins..." - Barry O'Sullivan, Producer/Presenter of 'A Jazz Hour' across Australia "An enjoyable album, with plenty of variety in styles and moods" - Tony Augarde, BBC "...we really love your stunning sophisticated Jazz, your style is powerful, evocative and very subtle. The choice of material backed up with a smooth cooking band is marvelous and gels together into a lush sound that has you wanting more and our audiences most certainly will love your sound. It certainly struck us as an extraordinary CD one that will be very well received by our astute audience." - Peter Merrett, PBS-FM Australia ___________________________________________________________________ About 'FADE'... With the release of his new album "Fade", vibraphonist Tim Collins has found a way to meld raw grooves, lush arrangement, and haunting melody into a powerful unit. Critics and fans alike have hailed Tim as "a world class vibes player" (CJSR-FM), "one of the best vibraphonists" (KMVR-FM) "an exciting player" (All Music Guide) and "nothing less than exemplary" (Downbeat). "I wanted to make a record that would somehow reflect my love for Milt Jackson, The Police, and Bjork all at the same time," Collins says. He uses the vibraphone like a guitar - creating layers with a myriad of effects and sounds that largely haven't been used by vibraphonists. Ring-modulators, distortion, delay, pitch bending, bowing - all are used by Collins on this album, and it proves to be a rocking combination with bassist Charlie Hunter and drummer Simon Lott. "I've never heard anyone use the vibes like this," say Hunter, who also produced the record with Collins. On songs like "Loud" and "Cave Dweller", the heavily distorted vibes sit on top of dirty punkish grooves. Delay and reverb give Steve Reich-esque qualities to other songs, such as the strings-driven "Lake George 1983" or the trance inducing "Mystified" and "Stop or I'll Throw My Keys". Still other songs are flat out pop songs - with vibes as the lead singer. "Three of these songs actually do have lyrics," says Tim. The first of these, "Dear Old Friend" is a hauntingly simple piano melody reminiscent of the Beatles "Abbey Road" era, while "Joyride" is an irresistably catchy pop tune more akin to Green Day or the Foo Fighters. The title track "Fade" is another song with lyrics, and it's also one of two tracks that feature a string ensemble. It is performed beautifully by Zach Brock (violin), Marla Hanson (viola), Chris Hoffman (cello), Matt Clohesy (bass), and Matt Blostein (alto sax). The same ensemble is featured also on "Lake George 1983", a song that uses the strings as percussion instruments, propelling the groove with their hypnotic, minimalistic rhythms. For all of the experimental sounds on this record, "Fade" never forgets how to rock. This is most evident on both "Saddlebags" - a rousing tribute to Milt Jackson relentlessly propelled by Lott and Hunter - and "Rise, Set, Fall", a song which uses piano and glockenspiel to invoke a 'music box' feel. TIM'S BIOGRAPHY... Tim Collins plays music! That's the bottom line.. Whether he's laying down a fat groove behind a drum kit or singing on the vibes, it's the pure music that always comes through. Raised in a musical family in Plattsburgh, NY, Tim spent the better part of his childhood watching records spin, playing drums, piano and watching baseball games. Since moving to NYC in 2000, he has had the pleasure of working with great musicians from the rock, jazz, R&B, classical, and latin worlds. In 2007 he released his debut "Valcour" on Arabesque Records, his first album as a leader. His followup album 'Fade' was produced in collaboration with guitarist Charlie Hunter, and will be available digitally on Ropedope Digital. He has played (both drums and vibes) with such diverse musicians as Dave Liebman, Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra, Bobby Sanabria, George Cables, Joe Piscopo, Hector Martingon, John Ellis, Aaron Parks, Antonio Hart, Brian Seeger, Miguel Zenon, Buster Williams, Helio Alves, The Ronettes, Ingrid Jensen, George Porter Jr., Harvie S, Curtis Fuller, and Christian McBride. In the studio, Tim has been involved in numerous musical projects. In 2007 He and long time friend Mike Pedersen produced a rock album under the name Elephantbear, for which Tim arranged, played drums, piano, and vibes. He's also done record dates for many New York based jazz and indy rock groups, and is featured prominently on releases from Sam Barsh ("I Forgot What You Taught Me") and Matthias Bublath ("Matthias Bublath" and "Matthias Bublath Band"). He has also performed a marimba concerto with the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to his busy performance schedule, Tim also teaches frequently. He has served on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music (prep division), Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and the Larchmont Music Academy. He has also given clinics at Virginia Commonwealth University, Cornell University, University of New Orleans, Ithaca College, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Binghamton University, Plattsburgh State University and many high schools and elementary schools throughout New York and Vermont.