LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Baja Records) - Exquisite Spanish guitar melodies and ethnically diverse grooves dance and romance on
Lawson Rollins' alluring solo debut album, Infinita, which will be released May 20th on the artist's Infinita Records label that is distributed by Baja/TSR Records. Rollins composed the eleven songs that comprise the inspired jazz-World
Music disc that he produced with Shahin Shahida (of the Persian-American group Shahin & Sepehr) and Dominic Camardella (Ottmar Liebert, Flora Purim, Airto Moreira). Graced with gorgeous Portuguese vocals from Brazilian chanteuse Purim, the title track will be serviced to multiple radio formats including smooth jazz, college and non-commercial public radio with an add date of April 21st.
Infinita is an authentic collection that unites accomplished musicians and disparate influences from around the world such as Latin, Indian, Persian, Arabic, South American, European and American on a unifying, genre-defying mission of infinite possibilities that only music without borders can create. Leading this United Nations-like effort is Rollins' multilingual guitar, virtuously crooning with precision, poetry and passion over lavishly produced tracks that vary in mood spanning festive celebrations, mystery and intrigue, and poignant reflections. With Shahida and Camardella contributing an array of instrumentation, percussion legend Moreira lends vocals as does Afghan vocalist Humayun Khan. Adding Middle Eastern instrumentation are Azerbaijani kamanche master Imamyar Hassanov and Pejman Hadidi on tombak. Completing the core ensemble are Grammy-winning violinist Charlie Bisharat, bassist Randy Tico, trumpeter Jeff Elliot and drummer-percussionist Dave Bryant in addition to a string orchestra in Prague.
"I had a vision of what I wanted from the beginning, but over time, and through the contributions from my guest artists, the project took on a life of its own," explained Rollins. "There is a profound cross-cultural connection in the ancestry of the modern Spanish guitar to earlier instruments like the Arabic oud, the Persian tar and even the Indian sitar. Bringing these styles together is like returning to the roots of the guitar."
Originally a drummer from the age of eight, the San Francisco-based Rollins fell in love with classical Spanish guitar as a teenager and studied prodigiously. He developed an expressive guitar voice along with an inventive classical fingerstyle technique that he utilizes exclusively. In his early twenties, Rollins was drawn to rhythmically dynamic Spanish folk music and the freedom he found in Latin jazz and South American music. A decade ago, he partnered with Daniel Young to form the Latin guitar fusion duo Young & Rollins. They established themselves on the international music scene through four critically-acclaimed albums, widely televised concerts, and extensive live performances in far-reaching venues ranging from the Sydney Opera House in Australia to Washington, DC's Kennedy Center. Their original and experimental amalgam of improvisational guitar interplay set in rhythmscapes that incorporate salsa, samba, Latin jazz, Bossa Nova, blues, classical and flamenco landed on the Billboard and radio charts. Additional information about Rollins is available at www.lawsonrollins.com.
The songs contained on Infinita are:
"Cafe Jobim"
"Through the Night"
"Echoes of Madrid"
"Ceremony"
"In Motion"
"New World Raga"
"The Awakening"
"Streets of San Miguel"
"Infinita"
"For JoAnn"
"Southwind"
