Sweet 17

Michael Rosen presents Sweet 17, recorded at Sear Sound, one of New York City's most legendary studios. At 17, one's dreams are alive and vivid, and there's always hope that one day they may come true - as they did for American saxophonist Michael Rosen. Rosen began studying the cello at the age of seven, continued for two years before moving to the piano, and moved to the saxophone at age 11. In the following years, he was first alto saxophone with his middle school and high school big bands and received numerous state and local best soloist awards. Initially, his interests lay more toward groups such as Yes, Led Zeppelin, and Talking Heads, but in 1985 Rosen moved to Boston to study at the Berklee College of Music with such renowned musicians as Gary Burton and George Garzone. There, he started to cultivate his soaring passion for the music of Charlie Parker, Joe Henderson, Miles Davis, Stan Getz, John Coltrane, and many other jazz artists who since then have been the main source of his inspiration. Rosen has been living in Italy since the 1980s, and spends most of his time between Rome and London, highly active in the musical circles of both capital cities. In 2015, after decades of international success including nine albums as a leader, over 200 as a sideman, and collaborations with Bobby McFerrin, Sarah Jane Morris, Mike Stern, the Orchestra della Scala, and countless other American and European artists, the 17-year-old boy with long and disheveled hair, at the height of his artistic career, returned to New York, his hometown, to record his music with a stellar cast of jazz musicians. Sweet 17, as with all of the saxophonist and composer's albums, brims with melodic beauty, fluidity, and expressiveness, and introduces Rosen's more dynamic, modern, and evolved compositions, reflecting all the experience gained from the late-'80s to 2015. Accompanying Rosen's tenor sax on this musical experience are highly acclaimed musicians Lage Lund (guitar), Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Domenico Sanna (piano), Matt Penman (double bass), and Bill Stewart (drums). Reflecting on Sweet 17, saxophone legend David Liebman says, Michael Rosen has produced a very high level recording with wonderful sidemen and great tunes. The immediate feeling I got was of complete honesty and conviction, traits that we all look for in the best art.