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Announcing Cousin B's new album on CDBaby!

An eclectice mix of jazz, rock, blues and folk

available now

http://store.cdbaby.com/cd/cousinb3

Scroll down to listen and download here!

Also Available at Itunes, Amazon, and all popular streaming and downlaod sites

Introducing…….

‘You See Them Everyday’

an album of music by

‘Cousin B’

produced, and arranged by Brian Ascenzo

at Aspen's Place Recording, San Fernando, CA

‘You See Them Everyday’ is an eclectic mix of jazz, rock, country, celtic and latin styles from composer, musician, producer and engineer Brian Ascenzo, known to most as the ubiquitous ‘Cousin B’. (A moniker/stage name given him in the 70’s by Huber-Breese Music Studio owner Paul Huber.) The album offers an insight into 45 years of musical experience and vocabulary, accumulating since Brian first seriously took up the guitar in 1972. Since those young teaching days at Huber-Breese in 1977, Brian/‘Cousin B’ has expanded his skills to become an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, composer, arranger, multi-media engineer and producer.

The music presented here recalls Cousin B’s early woodshedding by humbly covering three classic songs from those years that helped to shape his coming musical identity.

The first, indeed, the ‘opening line’, is Terry Callier’s ‘Ordinary Joe’ from the ‘Occasional Rain’ album in 1972. A perennial regional hit, it was heard frequently on Detroit’s WJZZ FM radio station throughout the 70’s and 80’s.

The next was from Steely Dan’s ‘Can’t Buy A Thrill’ in 1972. Cousin B offers an instrumental version of the famous album’s opening cut- ‘Do It Again’, with melodic duties handled on the Jerry Jones Supreme sitar.

And finally, another regional hit in the Detroit area while young Brian was cutting his teeth was perhaps the jazziest song ever cut by Canadian rock icons Bachman-Turner Overdrive, part of their self-titled debut in 1973- the slinky, latin-jazz tinged ‘Blue Collar’. Cousin B’s latin flavored version pits LA home/Michigan born guitarists Fino Roverato and Ken Berry against Brian’s mandolin.

The other eight songs, composed by Brian, are comprised of music written over the last forty years, and recordings spanning the last twenty.

’Got This Feelin’ and ‘Urban Night Life’, were originally recorded in Orlando in 1997 at Brian’s home studio. These recordings featured Detroit Teen Angel’s drummer Rob Emanual, Orlando stalwart bassist Jim Lucas and Orlando’s favorite son of the sax, Charles DeChant from Hall and Oates.

Another instrumental on the album, ‘At Last You Called’, was recorded in 2006 in Las Vegas at Brian’s studio there, along with the Steely Dan cover’ Do It Again’. Both songs utilized the talents of Cousin B’s favorite rhythm section there, Mark ‘Doc’ Young on drums and Karl Gottmann on bass.

Two advance released songs are included, ‘My Food Is Trying To Eat Me’, and ‘Waves Of White Stallions’, the latter receiving a beautiful new violin performance from LA’s hardest -working bow-slinger- Lacy Rostyak. Both cuts are superbly driven by LA drummer Jim Xavier.

The balance of new recordings, and mixes and updates of all the songs, were undertaken at Aspen’s Place Recording in San Fernando, CA. Luring them with a phalanx of tube-driven gear and vintage microphones, Brian called on some of LA’s finest to assemble these songs, written between 1977 and 2006. Among the new recordings are the aforementioned covers of ‘Ordinary Joe’ and ‘Blue Collar’. These and three more originals have been given life in these sessions. No less than Lynne Coulter, drummer for Rita Coolidge, and the semi-findable bassist David ‘Where’s’ Jackson of ‘no-no song’ fame provide the rhythm for these cuts.

One of Cousin B’s earliest songs, ‘The Waitress Song’, was written in 1977 while on a dinner break from teaching at Huber-Breese at a neighboring Big Boy restaurant. It finally gets the recording it deserves, with one of Brian’s favorite players, Al Marotta adding piano and an awesome second appearance by violinist Lacy Rostyak.

Also from Cousin B’s past catalog comes a song from his first album, ‘Another Day’ in 1991. The song- ‘Integrity’- has been re-imagined here, with Coulter and Jackson giving it a cool, sultry feel, and brilliant young saxophonist Sam Morgan caresses it gently and digs in where it counts.

Finally, a love song written in Las Vegas in 2006, arranged here with Coulter and Jackson accompanying Cousin B's nylon guitar, and employing Coulter’s ‘ocean drums’ and rain sticks. While playing along with the soundscape intro and outro, these drums alone constitute the watery sounds through the body of the song, with a haunting, yet sweet result.

Culminating a lifetime of musical exposure, forty-five years of musical vocabulary and recording technology, ‘You See Them Everyday’ is at once a refection on a musical path, forged over the years, and all those met on the way, and a look forward to where the path can lead, and all those who will be on it, and those we will meet.

Cousin B invites you to follow this musical journey.

The Songs;

01 Ordinary Joe (05:51) (Terry Callier)

Lynn Coulter- drums, percussion
David ‘Where’s’ Jackson - ac bass
Cousin B- guitars, keyboards, vocals
Songwriters: N Peejay / Jae Jin Park / Kyung Wook Choi / Terrence O Callier / Hyun Bae Lee
Ordinary Joe lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

02 Urban Night Life (04:26) (Brian Ascenzo)

Rob Emanual - drums
Jin Lucas - bass
Charles DeChant - sax
Cousin B- guitars, keyboards, vocals

03 Got This Feelin’ (04:30) (Brian Ascenzo)

Rob Emanual - drums
Charles DeChant - sax
Cousin B- guitars, keyboards, vocals

04 Integrity (3:48) (Brian Ascenzo)

Lynn Coulter- drums, percussion
David ‘Where’s’ Jackson - bass
Cousin B- guitars, keyboards, vocals
Sam Morgan - sax

05 Do it Again (5:05) (Becker/ Fagan)

Mark ‘Doc’ Young - drums
Karl Gottmann - bass
Al Marotta - Rhodes piano
Cousin B- guitars, Jerry Jones Supreme sitar,
keyboards, percussion
George Veikoso / Michael Stevenson / Nicholas Matthew Balding / Christopher Maurice Brown / Mark Kragen / Marc Randolph Griffin / Pia Mia Perez / Jerry Afemata Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management

06 My Food Is Trying To Eat Me (3:33) (Brian Ascenzo)

Jim Xavier - drums
Cousin B- guitars, bass, keyboards, mandolin, vocals

07 Waves Of White Stallions (4:20) (Brian Ascenzo)

Jim Xavier - drums
Lacy Rostyak - violin
Cousin B- guitars, bass, keyboards, mandolin, vocals

08 The Waitress Song (4:00) (Brian Ascenzo)

Lynn Coulter- drums, spoons
David ‘Where’s’ Jackson - ac bass
Al Marotta - piano
Lacy Rostyak - violin
Cousin B- guitars, mandolin, vocals

09 Blue Collar (4:25) (Charles F Turner)

Lynn Coulter- drums, percussion
Fino Roverato- nylon guitar
Ken Berry - acoustic guitar
Cousin B- guitars, bass, mandolin, vocals

10 Open Your Eyes (4:03) (Brian Ascenzo)

Lynn Coulter- drums, percussion
David ‘Where’s’ Jackson - ac bass
Cousin B- guitars, vocals

11 At Last You Called (4:00) (Brian Ascenzo)

Mark ‘Doc’ Young - drums
Karl Gottmann - bass
Cousin B- guitars, keyboards, percussion

Cover background photo composited from photos by

Kaique Rocha and Negative Space.
Cover photo of Cousin B by David Pascal.
Cover design by Brian Ascenzo and David Pascal

Produced and arranged by Brian Ascenzo
Recorded by Kent Huffnagle, Bill Kaylor and Brian Ascenzo
All songs composed by Brian Ascenzo and published by
Cousin B Songs except
‘Ordinary Joe’ by N Peejay / Jae Jin Park / Kyung Wook Choi /
Terrence O Callier / Hyun Bae Lee
published by Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
‘Do It Again’ by George Veikoso / Michael Stevenson /
Nicholas Matthew Balding / Christopher Maurice Brown /
Mark Kragen / Marc Randolph Griffin / Pia Mia Perez /
Jerry Afemata and published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC,
Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group,
BMG Rights Management
‘Blue Collar’ by Charles F Turner published by
Blue Collar lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
used by permission

Special thanks to Phil Sgriccia,Bill Kaylor, Kent Huffnagle, Aspen Pittman,
Colin Alpert, Magic Kramer, Eric Garcia, Paul Huber,
Michael Lehmann Boddicker, Preston Sturgis Jr., David Pascal,
R.C.Matheson, Jakki Tucker, Joe Sax, Alex Irwin, Pat Marlin, Fred Arnal, Lenny Gervasi,
Loren McKnight, Dave Bernal, Preston Smith, Xavier & the Backline Band,
and the Hollywood Sapphire Group,

c.2018 Cousin B Songs/ Pegwood Arts All Rights Reserved

2 of the songs from Cousin B's album were previously released

 

'Waves of White Stallions'

The true story of a painting given to Cousin B in his youth.

'Waves of White Stallions' is inspired by the lovely artwork of Barb Bercaw, and features Cousin B on guitars, bass, mandolin, keyboards and vocals, with LA stalwart Jim Xavier providing the drums. It was produced by Brian at Aspen's Place Recording in San Fernando CA, using all tube GrooveTube mic preamps and compressors, recorded to Pro Tools HD. Engineered by Brian, William Kaylor and Kent Huffnagle.

We hope you enjoy this true musical tale.

 

and also

 

'My Food Is Trying To Eat Me'

Cousin B pokes fun at the modern food industry with this tin-pan alley style ditty.

 

This tin-pan alley romp skewers the modern food industry, from the chemical names on our ingredients to packaged food and GMOs. It features Cousin B on guitars, bass, mandolin, keyboards and vocals, with LA stalwart Jim Xavier providing the drums. Produced by Brian at Aspen's Place Recording in San Fernando CA, using all tube GrooveTube mic preamps and compressors, recorded to Pro Tools HD. Engineered by Brian, William Kaylor and Kent Huffnagle.

 

Both songs have been updated with new mixes, and 'Waves of White Stallions' now features

a violin part by LA's Lacy Rostyak. Both are included on the new album

available through CdBaby via the player above, Itunes, Amazon and many others!

 

http://store.cdbaby.com/cd/cousinb3 

 

send an e-mail to Brian Ascenzo

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