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Sam Ulano is an 85-year old New York musical fixture who has been a professional musician for over seventy years. He continues to play gigs, teach in his Manhattan studio, write books and articles about his approach to music and life, make recordings, and live by the simple philosophy he has followed throughout his life: KEEP SWINGING!
Steve Elmer is a Brooklyn-born piano player who was once a drummer himself and now devotes his complete attention to the piano and playing music that makes him happy. He likes to describe his approach as “Classic Jazz Piano”: play the original song, improvise on the melody, the harmony, and the form, and keep it swinging one way or another.
Sam and Steve met at a New York jam session. Steve was sitting at the piano by himself and Sam sat down at the drums. There were no other musicians around. Steve started to play, Sam joined in, and when they finished a few tunes together Sam said to Steve: “We should do an album like this, just the two of us.” It took a while but that’s how “Brothers in Swing” was born.
Sam came to the Sunday morning session with his own snare drum and cymbals. He used the studio house drums, which he tuned to his own musical taste. Steve came to the session with a list of tunes he liked to play. After a brief sound check, Sam and Steve called the first tune, the engineer said “we’re recording”, and off they went. They followed this process for each tune and with the exception of two songs, recorded each tune in one take. Sam and Steve are very happy with the feeling and the spirit of the album and hope that listeners will be too.
Sam Ulano’s first book, written when he was 80-years old, is entitled “I Love What I Do.” Steve Elmer feels exactly the same way. Sam and Steve/Steve and Sam, they are “Brothers in Swing.”
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