Review Fix Exclusive: Dennis Angel Talks ‘On Track’

January 15, 2015 Patrick Hickey Jr. Music 0

Review Fix chats with jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn performer Dennis Angel, who discusses his new album, “On Track” and what makes his newest collection of songs different from his critically acclaimed debut work. Breaking down the creative process, as well as how one of the album’s key songs was written, Angel gives us the skinny on what makes the album a special one.

Review Fix: What was the creative influence behind “On Track”?

Dennis Angel: The creative influence behind “On Track” was the inspiration I received completing my first album “Timeless Grooves” with producer Jason Miles and the amazing musicians he was able to get to play on my original songs .

Review Fix: Was it different from your other work?

Angel: It was different from my first album in that we started this album with more of a formula and a cohesiveness. I would come up with the melodies, Gottfried Stoger would write the arrangements and Jason Miles would listen to what we put together and add his ideas and figure who were the best  musicians to play for each of the recordings.

Review Fix: How was “My Love” written? Is there a story behind it?

Angel: “My Love” was written as a love song for my wife Linda and the way she still makes me feel when I see her.

Review Fix: What inspires you to perform?

Angel: What inspires me to perform is the desire to share the passion I have for music with others and the hope they can come away feeling good about what they just  heard and experienced.

Review Fix: Make makes you different from other artists?

Angel: I write and perform songs that I feel connected to and am not concerned about what label they may come under.

Review Fix: What did you grow up listening to? How has it affected your creativity?

Angel: I grew up listening to Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis  Maynard Ferguson and Herb Alpert. The different types of jazz they each played had a strong influence on my playing, from traditional jazz to more contemporary sounds.

Review Fix: What are your hopes for 2015?

Angel: For 2015 I hope to have more opportunities to play in clubs and jazz festivals with my band.

Review Fix: How do you want “On Track” to affect your audience?

Angel: I hope “On Track” provides  feelings of inspiration and happiness.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14263 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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