Recorded July 20-21, 2013 at 25th Street Recording in Oakland, CA
Recorded, Mixed, and Mastered by Stephen Hart www.hartmixer.com

Executive Producers: Geoff Roach, Colleen Hansen
Cover design: Nick Moyle, Ink Cap Design, UK www.inkcapdesign.co.uk

About Out of Nowhere

Welcome to Out of Nowhere, Octobop's sixth CD. That a band can still be together after 15 years is no small feat. This is a band – rehearsing on Mondays in San Jose, members writing and arranging for the band, constantly getting better, and really playing together. In many ways, Octobop has always been better live than in the studio. For this CD, we attempt to capture that feeling. We did the recording much as musicians did in the days before big multitrack studios – eight guys in circle listening and playing together, no headphones, and doing complete takes. Many of the tunes were done in one take. Recording engineer wizard Stephen Hart deserves the credit for the idea and the resulting great sounds.

As always with an Octobop CD, you will find a few surprises and a bit of humor. In one tune, a baby elephant goes for a walk, runs into a skunk, and towards the end they make friends with a moose and a squirrel. The title tune gets assimilated into another because resistance was so futile that even Randy's lead trumpet playing could not stop it. We stay close to our west coast jazz roots with a Lennie Neihaus influenced I'll Take Romance and Sunset Eyes by Teddy Edwards. Both feature Jon's as usual superb trombone. Lonesome Boulevard pays tribute to Gerry Mulligan in several ways. Mancini is featured in an unusual treatment of Charade by Brian. Embarcadero by Paul Desmond and Tadd Dameron's Whatever Possessed Me combine Jack's writing with Eric's great playing. Bug in a Rug and Romaine bring out the Latin side of Jack, Brian, and Michael. Beautiful Love borrows ideas from Bill Evans and you will hear several sides of Wayne Shorter in El Gaucho. Cars and Coffee, an original by Jack, has become a favorite at live performances. In all, you will find many different sides of Octobop here. We hope you find them listenable and enjoyable. - Geoff Roach, August 2013

Review - Joe Lang, Jersey Jazz, November 2013

OCTOBOP is a northern California octet that carries on a West Coast tradition of hip jazz bands that get a swinging big band sound out of a mid-sized group. Leader/saxophonist Geoff Roach, guitarist Jack Conway, bassist Brian Brockhouse and trumpeter/flugelhornist Randy Smith provide the appealing arrangements for the group that also includes saxophonist Eric Patience, trombonist John Schermer, drummer Michael Henning and vibist Rick Gray. The album is titled Out of Nowhere (Mystic Lane Productions – 060100). The program includes some familiar favorites like “Out of Nowhere,” “I’ll Take Romance,” “Charade,” “Beautiful Love” and “Baby Elephant Walk,” as well as eight jazz tunes from the likes of Steve Swallow, (“Bug in a Rug”), Gerry Mulligan, (“Lonesome Boulevard”), Paul Desmond (“Embarcadero”), Jack Conway (“Cars and Coffee”), Tadd Dameron (“Whatever Possessed Me?”), Teddy Edwards (“Sunset Eyes”), and Wayne Shorter (“El Goucho”). With each new release, these cats prove increasingly impressive. The charts are sophisticated yet accessible. The ensemble playing is tight, and the soli are consistently interesting. It sure would be nice to hear this band back in these climes, but economics probably preclude that from becoming a reality. You can however enjoy their recordings wherever you live, and Out of Nowhere is a good place to start. (www.octobop.com)

New Review of Out of Nowhere on All About Jazz by Jack Bowers