Album Notes

Jazz is happy. Jazz is sad. Jazz is joy. Jazz is great sex. Jazz is making love. Jazz is WBGO. Jazz is not CD101.9. Jazz is sunshine. Jazz is snow. Jazz is rain. Jazz is Newport. Jazz is NYC. Jazz is spontaneity & improvisation. Jazz is freedom. Jazz is melody, harmony & rhythm. Jazz is tasteful virtuosity. Jazz is swing. Jazz is ballads. Jazz is uptempo. Jazz is bossa nova. Jazz is blues. BLUE PASSION is jazz.

"BLUE PASSION's 11 straight-ahead tracks touch the heart of the pop music fan without falling short of satisfying the most discriminating jazz buff."--Thomas Raniszewski, music editor for "Out In Jersey" magazine

2004 OMA Nominee
OMA Winner 2002

Brooklyn native Drew Paralic began studying piano over 20 years ago, but soon realized he got to the game much too late to play in the league of his jazz heroes Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk. His teacher at New York's Turtle Bay Music School realized this and, given Paralic's grasp of harmonies, geared him towards standards and the blues. Playing and analyzing tunes from the Real Book became Paralic's obsession; composition in this style became his greatest passion.


BLUE PASSION, Paralic's second disc--his first, TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE, is also available on CDBaby.com--is 54 1/2 minutes of instrumental, acoustic, small-band realizations of 11 originals. As with TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE, both the musicianship and the recording quality are excellent. And the variety of tempos, instrumentations & arrangements on BLUE PASSION
is a further development of Paralic's original and ear-catching
compositional style and skill.

It's all about melody...

"Many of Drew’s works feature the traditional opening head, followed by improvisation, then a recapitulation back to the opening musical statement. All in all his writing displays a variety of tempos, instrumentations and arrangements from track to track. His friendly sound makes for pleasant background music for dinner parties, intimate affairs, or even informal conversation."--Robert Urban, afterelton.com

" I would be remiss in not mentioning the amazing talent of not only composer Drew Paralic, but also the weight and importance of the eight artists who bring this jazz monument to life.  As a musical team this group literally shines right through your speakers and into your heart. Not an experience to pass over or forget. This is Jazz history and it is good!"--Len, editor, stonewallsociety.com