"Turning East" is the compelling new sixth solo CD release from world-class Jazz musician Mikole E. Kaar! Mikole plays tenor and soprano sax, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, piano, and bassoon. Considered one of the most versatile woodwind artists in jazz, Mikole has played with some of the very best in the business.
When I started this project I was looking for musicians who could really play from the gut with the chops to back it up. I heard a recording of a project my friend Henry Franklin did with this rhythm section. I flipped when I heard Sam Hirsh. This guy swings so hard and is so incredibly melodic. In the studio he just added so many colors and ideas. The drummer (Yayo Morales) was kind of a hybrid of my 2 favorite drummers - Tony Williams and Elvin Jones. Ehwne I mentioned that to him he said “yes, they are my heroes!”
The Skipper (Henry Franklin) and I had played together most of the previous summer and I just love this guy. He sounded like a Mac truck barreling down the highway - Very powerful and strong. We played tenor and upright bass duets every week for 3 months and decided to get a band together and do a straight ahead record.
I asked Nolan Shaheed tor please come off the studio board and play a flugelhorn solo. He was magnificent. Thank you Nolan. So, one day Henry says “I have a girl that has got the most amazing sound.” I heard Alexis Joy for the first time singing on her project, a gospel composition “Motherless Child” and I thought she sounded like a jazz version of Whitney Houston…and she did.
Born in New York City, Mikole began studying clarinet at the age of nine. He was mentored by the great Clifford Scott, whom he knew growing up simply as "Scotty." Junior Walker and King Curtis were also some Mikole's R&B idols. Mikole continued to perfect his craft becoming both a clarinet & flute major in college.
PAST PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
In 1985, Mikole traveled to Europe to play jazz and in 1986, his original album, "Back to the Heart" was recorded and released in Germany on Heliocon Records. He later returned to the States and continued playing with jazz greats, among them Russell Freeman, Ti Lavitz, David Benoit, Johnny Hammond Smith, The Temptations, Bo Diddley, Joe Cocker, Rita Moreno, Otis Rush, Cash McCall, Bonnie Bramlett, The Drifters, the Coasters, The Platters, The Inkspots, and Al Wilson.
In 2003 Mikole traveled to China to do a run of shows in Hong Kong (performing at the Foreign Correspondents Club with Allen Youngblood) and Shanghai (at The Mandarin Gate with Dwight Dickerson and at The Ritz with Danny Woody).
Mikole has also appeared on several movie and television soundtracks. He has played in Europe, Hong Kong, and several International Jazz Festivals around the globe. “Turning East” is truly one for the collection from one very authentic, soulful, and accomplished performer.
