Friday, November 1, 2024
This October, Longy alum Emmanuel Ramirez (MM ‘23) released his debut album, Blue Period, a selection of jazz standards featuring jazz legends George Garzone, Francisco Mela, and John Lockwood.
Ramirez, who has spent twenty-three years playing guitar, boasts over a decade of teaching experience, and holds two music degrees, says this project celebrates his deep-rooted admiration for jazz music.
Emmanuel Ramirez
“I was inspired by Miles Davis’s work during the late 50s and 60s, and the recordings of my professors and mentors,” said Ramirez. “With this album, I wanted to pay homage to the roots of jazz while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of modern interpretation of this style.”
When it came time for Ramirez to choose collaborators for his album, he opted to work with three artists he felt most inspired him, after having gone to many of their concerts, listened extensively to their work, and studied with them while pursuing his degrees.
In recording with them, he gained a newfound appreciation for how their expertise could challenge him and foster his growth as a musician.
“Working with them was a privilege, an honor, and a dream come true. When you are playing with musicians of this caliber, it feels like a trapeze act without a safety net. We push each other to new musical heights and take risks that cannot be planned—they happen in the moment of improvisation,” Ramirez said.
He added, “Working with these musicians was also a profound learning experience because there is so much that can only be taught through playing: musical gestures, deep listening and response, phrasing, and a plethora of other things.”
More than just his first full-length release, Blue Period is a culmination of Ramirez’s countless years of studying, practicing, and performing jazz, underscoring his profound love of the genre.
“The most rewarding part of this project was getting to play all those studio hours with the musicians on the album. At the end of the day, I get the most joy out of life from playing jazz and improvising with others, especially when they are such exceptional musicians. This is a work of love and art for art’s sake.”