Album of the Week – Snorre Kirk – Top Dog

Cellar Music Group is thrilled to announce the release of Finesse, a new masterwork for big bands and orchestras by great trumpeter, composer, and educator Jim Rotondi. Known for his longstanding and star-studded career extensively throughout New York and wider Europe for over 30 years, Rotondi has been a steady member of the ensembles of everyone from Toshiko Akiyoshi and Bob Mintzer to the small groups of Lou Donaldson, Curtis Fuller, and Joe Chambers. Now, after having already made his mark on the landscape of jazz with eight albums as a bandleader, Rotondi steps forward to bring about a longstanding dream and the fulfillment of one of the great legacies of jazz history: a large ensemble album featuring both big band and orchestra. Aptly entitled Finesse, Rotondi’s ninth album comprises an orchestra of virtuosi conducted and arranged by Jakob Helling, all steeped in the historically and musically rich tradition of Austria, where Rotondi currently resides and teaches.