new release

Singlespeed Music is happy to announce “These Times” by the Aram Shelton Quaret.

The Aram Shelton Quartet features Chicago-based musicians Keefe Jackson, Anton Hatwich and Marc Riordan. Related to the Fast Citizens (Delmark), of which Shelton, Jackson and Hatwich are all members, this quartet displays a musical range on their debut album “These Times” that encompasses free swing, creative improvisation, space & patience, and fiery energy.

In the quartet, Shelton plays equal amounts of alto saxophone & clarinet, approaching each distinctly while displaying both the large and subtle differences of the instruments. Jackson contributes on tenor saxophone with a full sound and unique approach to the utilization of extended techniques. Hatwich’s bass playing grounds the music and drives it in a compelling way, while Riordan’s drums serve as backbone to the rhythmic aspects and a frame to the open sections.

A tour celebrating the release of “These Times” is scheduled from July 23rd to 31st with dates including Chicago, New York, Ann Arbor and Washington DC. The full itnerary is below. The CD will be available at all shows.

You can listen to the album and purchase it in digital format here: http://singlespeedmusic.bandcamp.com

Aram Shelton Quartet “These Times” 2010 Tour:

July 25 – Kerrytown Concert House – Ann Arbor, MI
July 26 – the THunderbird  – Pittsburgh, PA
July 27 – Douglas St. Music Collective – Brooklyn, NY
July 28 – Bossa – Washington, DC
July 29 – 701 CCA – Columbia, SC
July 30 – Static Age Records – Asheville, NC
July 31 - Ya-Yas – Lexington, KY
August 1 – the Hungry Brain – Chicago, IL

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Fast Citizens Two Cities

The second Fast Citizens album, Two Cities,  has been released by Delmark.  The Fast Citizens are the Chicago based sextet of Aram Shelton, Keefe Jackson, Josh Berman, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Anton Hatwich and Frank Rosaly. Formed in 2002 by Jackson, the Fast Citizens have decided upon a rotating leader chair and for their sophomore release Shelton has taken the reins as main composer. The title Two Cities reflects the geographic locale of Shelton, (currently based in Oakland, California), and his continued relationship with the active music scene in Chicago. Focusing on orchestration and structural variety, the Fast Citizens present a stylistically diverse album that includes hard swing, lush ballads, high-energy free improvisation, modern composition and Sun-Ra inspired grooves.

Fast Citizens at aramshelton.com

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Glad to announce the release of The Way, the debut album by Ton Trio:

The Oakland based Ton Trio is made up of Aram Shelton on alto saxophone and bass clarinet, Kurt Kotheimer on bass, and Sam Ospovat on drums. All three found their way to the San Francisco area after time in the Midwest, and each became active playing creative music shortly after their arrival. Ton Trio formed in the summer of 2007.

The music of Ton Trio is written by Shelton. Some pieces use the melodic and rhythmic material in a more traditional head format while in others the parts are interchangeable and can be explored extensively by each player, with parts being rearranged simultaneously to create new harmonic relationships.

‘The Way’ is the debut album by Ton Trio and the first CD release by Singlespeed Music. Six compositions by Shelton cover a lot of ground from high-energy freedom to compositional rearrangement.

‘The Way’ is available directly from Singlespeed Music, and through CD Baby.
Downloads will be available through iTunes, Rhapsody, Last.fm and others.

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