Tommy LiPuma has produced records for a global list of luminaries ranging from Miles Davis and Paul McCartney, to George Benson and Diana Krall. But, for his new project, the former Clevelander came home to record a hometown trumpeter --- Dominick Farinacci. LiPuma assembled a crew of top-flight musicians to back-up Farinacci, including bassist Christian McBride and drummer Steve Gadd. And they're cutting the tracks at a recording facility that bears LiPuma's name, on the campus of Cuyahoga Community College.
TOMMY LiPUMA: We ended up having this idea to make this both a chance to bring musicians into the school, and having the students get the chance to see what it's really like to make a record.
Dominick Farinacci built his reputation as a teenage jazz sensation in the late 1990s, and quickly attracted the notice of LiPuma and famed horn player Wynton Marsalis. Farinacci says it's slightly surreal to work with such prominent musicians --- many of whom are teaching master classes with area students, this week
DOMINICK FARINACCI: This whole session is really coming around full circle, because education, of course, is part of the DNA of jazz --- jazz is a very oral tradition and we learn from our mentors.
The star-studded recording sessions are scheduled to run through the end of the week.
