"Amazing versatility...Bloom's solos on flute and amplified flute are always highlights of a performance." - ArtsFuse
“Funkhouser is masterful…maintaining a delicate balance of power and agility with an instinctive musical sense.” - AllAboutJazz.com
Bloom/Funkhouser CD Release: Exuberant Ellingtonia: Flute & Piano Sessions
Buy CDs here
"Bloom's flute sings Duke's often sophisticated melodies with infectious brio."
- George Kanzler, The New York City Jazz Record, April 2022
"Fourteen of Duke Ellington's greatest classics played as a piano-flute duo…. It is daring, we will say.
It took two master musicians to attempt and succeed in the challenge.
- Jean Buzelin, CultureJazz.Fr, March 2022
"Although the enormous quantity of Duke Ellington tributes recorded over the years is probably far too large to count, those involving flute and piano duos are a much rarer find. So it is a welcome occurrence that flautist Peter H Bloom and pianist John Funkhouser, two prominent veterans of the Boston jazz scene, have recorded just that: a thoughtfully curated, well-played collection of time-tested gems from the Ellington songbook which is perfect in highlighting the musicality and emotional potency of the master's corpus."
– Troy Dostert, AllAboutJazz.com, January 2022
“The boisterous 'Rockin' in Rhythm' initiates the release, a freewheeling Bloom leading the charge and Funkhouser with him note for note…. Immediately thereafter, the first of many exquisite ballad treatments appears, 'In a Sentimental Mood,' with the flutist giving vibrato-rich voice to the writing and his partner distinguishing the performance with a blues-drenched solo. At such moments, it's eminently clear that Duke's in excellent hands.” - Ron Schepper, Textura Magazine, January 2022
“Funkhouser is masterful…maintaining a delicate balance of power and agility with an instinctive musical sense.” - AllAboutJazz.com
Bloom/Funkhouser CD Release: Exuberant Ellingtonia: Flute & Piano Sessions
Buy CDs here
"Bloom's flute sings Duke's often sophisticated melodies with infectious brio."
- George Kanzler, The New York City Jazz Record, April 2022
"Fourteen of Duke Ellington's greatest classics played as a piano-flute duo…. It is daring, we will say.
It took two master musicians to attempt and succeed in the challenge.
- Jean Buzelin, CultureJazz.Fr, March 2022
"Although the enormous quantity of Duke Ellington tributes recorded over the years is probably far too large to count, those involving flute and piano duos are a much rarer find. So it is a welcome occurrence that flautist Peter H Bloom and pianist John Funkhouser, two prominent veterans of the Boston jazz scene, have recorded just that: a thoughtfully curated, well-played collection of time-tested gems from the Ellington songbook which is perfect in highlighting the musicality and emotional potency of the master's corpus."
– Troy Dostert, AllAboutJazz.com, January 2022
“The boisterous 'Rockin' in Rhythm' initiates the release, a freewheeling Bloom leading the charge and Funkhouser with him note for note…. Immediately thereafter, the first of many exquisite ballad treatments appears, 'In a Sentimental Mood,' with the flutist giving vibrato-rich voice to the writing and his partner distinguishing the performance with a blues-drenched solo. At such moments, it's eminently clear that Duke's in excellent hands.” - Ron Schepper, Textura Magazine, January 2022
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Flutist Peter H. Bloom and pianist John Funkhouser have performed together for almost 30 years. Shows range from jazz standards, blues, ballads and bebop to pan-Latin soundscapes and free improvisation. Bloom and Funkhouser are veterans of the internationally acclaimed Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, and each has impressive credentials performing nationally and internationally. They play with style and verve.
Bloom/Funkhouser Duo – I Let a Song Go Out by Duke Ellington
Bloom/Funkhouser Duo -The Blues Walk by Clifford Brown
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Bloom/Funkhouser Duo - Caravan by Juan Tizol/Duke Ellington
Bloom/Funkhouser Duo – Isfahan by Billy Strayhorn
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Peter H. Bloom, flute, concertizes in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand and is featured on 48 recordings (Sony Classical, Leo Records, 9Winds, other labels). Acclaimed as both a classical and jazz artist, he performs with noted groups including Ensemble Chaconne, Ensemble Aubade, The D’Anna Fortunato Ensemble, The Henning Ensemble, The Modernistics, and the world-renowned Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, led by Mark Harvey. The Boston Globe called his playing “a revelation for unforced sweetness and strength,” while Jazz Improv praised the “exquisite melody caressed lovingly by Peter Bloom's lead flute,...the improvisations growing organically out of the theme." Bloom has appeared with jazz luminaries Charles Neville, Jaki Byard, Sheila Jordan, Geri Allen, Walter Thompson, Raj Mehta, and others. He has given lectures and master classes across the globe; is contributing editor for Noteworthy Sheet Music; and is a winner of the American Musicological Society’s Noah Greenberg Award.
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John Funkhouser, piano, has shared the stage with Grammy nominees Luciana Souza and Tierney Sutton, and with such notables as Ran Blake, Herb Pomeroy, Yoron Israel, Laszlo Gardony, Ron Savage, Bob Gulotti, Stan Strickland, piano savant Matt Savage (with whom he appeared on ABC’s 20/20 and NBC’s the Today Show), and Mark Harvey's Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. As the leader and pianist of the John Funkhouser Trio and Quartet, and as a sideman (piano and string bass), he has performed at Birdland, Blue Note, and Dizzy’s in New York, New Orleans Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and in top venues from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Kansas City to Paris, Zurich, Beijing, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Montreal. Funkhouser’s discography encompasses more than 80 CDs, including four discs as leader of his own group, and recordings with James Merenda, Pierre Hurel, Willie Myette, John Lockwood, Phillipe Cretien, David Thorne Scott, Jerry Sabatini, Aardvark, Matt Savage and other esteemed artists. From 2001 to 2021, John taught Bass, Ear Training, and Ensembles at Berklee College of Music. Bloom and Funkhouser play regularly as a trio with bassist Dave Zox.
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Bassist Dave Zox has been performing and teaching throughout New England since 1980. He has performed in concert with internationally renowned musicians such as John Abercrombie, Garrison Fewell, Sheila Jordan, Jim McNeely, Kenny Werner, and Phil Woods, and also played with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Artie Shaw Band, Herb Reed and the Platters, and other illustrious groups. As well, he performs chamber music for the First Parish Church in Concord MA. Dave Zox performed for many years in the Boston area with the Al Vega Trio, pianists Ray Santisi and Harvey Diamond and many others. He serves on the faculties of Northeastern University, Phillips Academy in Andover, MA and Ipswich Public Schools. He earned a master’s degree in Jazz Studies from New England Conservatory. |
Photos: Erlyn Ordinario, Heloise Tanglewood, courtesy John Funkhouser, Dave Zox.