Paul Collins Artist Management International: Buy CD's

The press has described their music as; ‘rhythmically infectious‘, ‘melodically alluring‘, ‘colorful’, ‘a seamless blending of sounds’. Some live press descriptions include; “had the whole house swinging”, “the crowd was…drawn to the hard breaks, stops and starts.”; “great interplay” and “a sincere and emotional collection of tunes”.

Throughout history, music has helped folks make sense of their world, deal with troubles, celebrate and convey emotions. The music of William Knowles and Mark Saltman strives to be a part of this fine tradition.

Gumbi Ortiz was discovered by guitar virtuoso Al Di Meola in 1986 and immediately made him a member of the jazz legend’s band. Gumbi Ortiz has toured the world with his brand of thunder on percussion for more than 19 years. Although Gumbi had been playing music for many years before meeting Al Di Meola, all of his work in music seemed to prepare him for the next logical musical step...the international music stage. Now, with his debut CD entitled “Miami”, Gumbi has exploded on the smooth jazz charts accompanied by some of the greatest names in smooth jazz…Jeff Lorber, Jay Beckenstein, Dave Weckl, Al Di Meola, Brandon Fields, Eric Marienthal and Rachel Z. “Gumbi Ortiz has a fully developed gift of music”, says music impresario Paul Collins, “from playing, his stage presence, to composing music, Gumbi is able to express himself completely. His debut CD “Miami” has exploded on the smooth jazz charts accompanied by the likes of Jeff Lorber, Jay Beckenstein, Eric Marienthal, Brandon Fields, Al Di Meola and Rachel Z! It is also beautifully and brilliantly backed by some legends in their own right, executive producer, Kermit Weeks, producer Dan O’Brien and Roger Nichols 7 times “Grammy Award” Winning Engineer for his work with Steely Dan. PCAMI* is happy to have him as a part of our prolific musical family”.

The core membership of Novak & Haar is made up of guitarist Jon Novak and bassist Mark Haar. Novak & Haar has been performing together as a jazz duo since 1998. Prior to forming Novak & Haar, Jon and Mark had player together in various small jazz combos, large big bands, musical theater ensembles, Blue House with the Rent to Own Horns, and other bands in Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, metro areas. When Novak & Haar performs as a trio they add Carlos C. Figueroa on the drum set. In the Spring of 2005, Novak & Haar was added to the Nebraska Arts Council’s Nebraska Touring Program roster.

“This up and coming trio Novak & Haar bring a passion for music to the table from a variety of genres. This can be heard in the music they compose. Although their primary voices are in a jazz setting, one can hear a touch of blues and the air of theater and a sprinkling of classics in the material”, said music impresario Paul Collins. “In jazz, sometimes it is refreshing to hear variations of the norm performed and enjoy a brief explanation of why or how the music was inspired. As music teachers and performers, Novak & Haar do just that by adding more value and meaning to their compositions through their “thoughts about the tracks”. “If you love guitar and equally enjoy the bass and drums, you will enjoy these tracks.”

Roberto Magris Europlane

Emerald Jade/Craig Monroe