Songwriter/arranger/producer, keyboard wiz, and, E1 Entertainment recording artist, Philippe Saisse, scored a personal triumph and first when NARAS voters opted to honor and acknowledge his progressive and daring solo album, “AT WORLD’S EDGE,” with a 2009 Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Saisse has enjoyed a distinguished career over the past 30 years, but finally attaining the milestone achievement on his ninth solo effort has even more special significance, because he dedicated the album in loving memory to his late father Maurice Saisse.“Hearing the news that “At World’s Edge” was nominated elated me beyond words,” revealed a delighted Saisse. “I felt particularly grateful for the validation of the incomparable contributions all the musicians, singers and engineers made to the record. I just wish my father would have lived long enough to share this special honor with me.”
“At World’s Edge,” represents one of Saisse’s most ambitious and adventurous solo projects to date. While Saisse produced the lion’s share of the project in Los Angeles, he enlisted an All-Star cast of musicians/engineers/singers from New York, London, Paris, and Japan, who sent him tracks from around the world. Musicians featured on the CD include Simon Phillips and Skooter Warner on drums, bass players Pino Palladino, David Finck, and Ron Jenkins, guitarist’s Jeff Golub, Marc Antoine, and Annas Allaf, horn players, Kirk Whalum (tenor saxophone), Jason Golley (trumpet and flugelhorn), Jeff Beal, (trumpet and flugelhorn), Rick Braun (trumpet), and Michael Davis (trombone and bass trombone), Lenny Castro on percussion, and singers Angelique Kidjo, Jasmine Roy and David Rice. Saisse used noted Japanese engineer Goh Hotoda, who has collaborated with him on his most recent projects to engineer the CD.
While “At World’s Edge,” did not attain the comparable level of commercial and radio success of several of Saisse’s previous solo endeavors, it reunited Saisse with long-time friends Simon Phillips and Pino Palladino, who have since joined forces to launch a new rock/jazz fusion trio ensemble, PSP (Phillips, Saisse, Palladino). PSP’s debut CD, PSP LIVE (recorded in Tokyo Japan, Feb/2009) was just released in Europe by C.A.R.E Music Group, Munich, Germany (10/14), which was followed by a highly successful European tour of 20 cities, (Oct 30 – Nov 27). PSP LIVE is also being released in Japan by And Forest Music, (2/10/10), followed by a 9-city PSP club tour that will start 2/18/10.
“I could not be happier with this record, and just getting it made exceeded my wildest imagination,” added Saisse. “Hopefully, this accolade earns it another life.”
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