Jon De Lucia – And The Stars Were Shining

Release Date: July 11, 2023

Jon De Lucia’s Luce Trio is releasing their first album in 10 years.

And the stars were shining features guitarist Tatsuya Sakurai and bassist Aidan O’Donnell along with leader De Lucia playing clarinet and saxophone.

The album is a tribute to past mentors and masters, with music by De Lucia, Jimmy Giuffre, John Lewis, Dave Brubeck, and Giacomo Puccini. Chamber jazz with an emphasis on communication, group counterpoint and a delicate touch.

The album was recorded at Big Orange Sheep studios in Brooklyn NY in the Summer of 2022. De Lucia chose to play primarily Clarinet in A, as he loves the darker timbre, and as an homage to Jimmy Giuffre, who was the only other jazz clarinetist to primarily play A clarinet.

The band will be performing later in the Summer and Fall of 2023 promoting the release and is currently seeking out venues in the Northeast US.

“Saxophonist Jon De Lucia dazzles not only with his virtuosity and compositional skills, but also with his ability to convey emotion through probing, focused melodic statements and the sublime coherence of his band.“
– Matthew Miller, All About Jazz

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Genre: Chamber Jazz, Classical, Swing, Cool Jazz, Third Stream

Download all MP3’s here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12QlNOvEPgH8Mvk3X6lI_D288vKMnHbN0?usp=sharing

Listen on Bandcamp:

“De Lucia imbues solemn austere music with a candle’s flickering warmth.”
-thebirdistheworm.com

And the stars were shining – Jon De Lucia

1. Venice (Lewis) 4:43
2. E Lucevan Le Stelle (Puccini) 5:06
3. Darien Mode (Van Kriedt) 4:48
4. Tangerine (Schertzinger-Mercer) 5:03
5. Siciliano (De Lucia) 3:30
6. Core ‘ngrato (Cardillo-Cordiferro) 4:35
7. Prelude to Part First (De Lucia) 3:54
8. How Am I To Know? (King-Parker) 5:04
9. Three Rings Around the Moon (De Lucia) 2:55
10. Foolin’ Myself (Tinturin-Lawrence) 4:10
11. Serenade (The Unicorn in the Garden) (Raksin) 2:25

Total Run Time: 47 Minutes

Jon De Lucia: Clarinets in A and Bb, Alto Saxophone

Tatsuya Sakurai: Electric and Acoustic Guitar

Aidan O’Donnell: Bass

Liner Notes by Jon De Lucia:

And their stars were still shining….

This album is a tribute to past masters and mentors. Some gone, some still with us. 

Venice is for John Lewis and the MJQ, Bach, and my grandfather Tom Crooks who loved their music along my familial homeland of Italy.

E Lucevan Le Stelle, the title piece, is for Pavarotti and Lee Konitz, who loved opera singers.

Darien Mode is by Dave Van Kriedt, tenor saxist in the Dave Brubeck Octet, whose music I have become close with over the past few years. Paul Desmond recorded this.

Tangerine is for Murray Wall, who we all miss dearly.

Siciliano is my take on Bach’s Siciliano for flute, the first piece I ever learned on that instrument and the first Bach piece I remember playing.

Core ‘ngrato is for my father, a Neapolitan classic that was written here in New York City by an immigrant.

Prelude to Part First My first excursion into counterpoint and the cool, for the great drummer Steve Little, who has played it with me many times.

How Am I to Know? This one is for all of my friends on the New York scene. How was I to know how to do anything if not for you.

Three Rings Around The Moon is for William CC Chen, my T’ai Chi teacher and the master of keeping it “cool.”

Foolin’ Myself is for Lee Konitz and Billie Holiday, who put the melody first.

Serenade is for Jimmy Giuffre, who was the inspiration for me to play Clarinet in A for most of this recording.