Kevin Quinn, Paramedic Review
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Kevin Quinn is a jazz guitarist and composer that lives and was born and raised in New York. Quinn is a graduate of State University of New York at New Paltz. His love of music extends past the band stand and compositions to live sound engineering. Quinn is a sound engineer at the ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn, NY. His keen ear for clarity and detail means that whether he is soloing on the bandstand or shaping the live sound of a band, a sense of balance is always the focus. Paramedic is Quinn’s debut release as a leader and to fill out his ensemble, he reaches out to some of his favorite professors. The result is an interesting ensemble of: Quinn on guitar, his longtime guitar teacher, Mark Dziuba on guitar (professor at New Paltz), Dave Savitsky on alto saxophone (professor at New Paltz), Ira Coleman on bass (Dee Dee Bridgewater, Milt Jackson, Ulf Wakenius, John Esposito, Herbie Hancock, Sting, Tony Williams, and Mulgrew Miller), and Jeff “Siege” Siegel on drums (professor at New Paltz). The six tracks on the date are all originals, half composed by Quinn with the other half coming from Dzibua. For Quinn the date is very personal since two of his compositions pay tribute to lost family members. His brother, “Final Fantasy” and his father, “Paramedic,” which is the title track that celebrates Ricardo J. Quinn, whom gave his life serving as a paramedic on 9-11-01 at the World Trade Center. The album is a beautiful mix of styles with a balance of written sections and plenty of space for soloing. That’s the short of it!
Positives:
The chemistry between the band is excellent. Having two guitarists as both soloist and accompanist is very interesting and both Quinn and Dzibua do both most assuredly. The rhythm section is deep and that gives this date even more excitement.
Bottom Line:
Kevin Quinn’s Paramedic is an outstanding debut album. Quinn’s playing is focused on melodic continuity with a balance of activity and space. Since the majority of the ensemble work and perform together at New Paltz, the chemistry between the band goes deeper than just a day in the studio. Both Quin and Dzibua bring creative compositions to the date that have a variety of feels, harmonic colors and orchestrative approach to an ensemble that is fronted by two guitars and a saxophone. Quin and Dzibua have different styles, but both bring a strong melodic and rhythmic vocabulary that complements each other and adds variety to the recording. Paramedic is a solid album of inspired playing by an ensemble with deep roots and big ears.