BAT IN THE HAT
Digitally Re-mastered and with all new packaging! First time on Compact Disc.
A Note from Lenny:
"Since 1967, I've presented jazz on the radio and by organizing festivals. For me, the music primarily speaks for itself, so I don't usually write about it. However, I want to take this opportunity to draw your attention to the music and the musicians on this recording.

I don't want to be a "hype-notist" about it because talent doesn't need to be hyped. It doesn't need any jive talk, fancy studio electronic effects, or splice-happy producers. In jazz, either you have talent or you don't, period. You can recognize it intuitively and confirm that feeling when you hear solid technique, quality of composition and improvisation. TALENT GRABS YOU. Lenny Marcus, Jim Singleton, and Herman Jackson have the talent and you have the ears to appreciate it.

All of the tunes presented here are Marcus originals. Each is distinctive and has a mark of lasting quality. From the straight-ahead, "Come Forth" and "Farewell, Welfare, " the "Knows Funk," the joy of "Wedding Song" (dedicated to his wife, Sandra), the tranquility of "One Day in the Woods," to the distinctive title track dedicated to Alvin Batiste (Bat in the Hat), you will discover intriguing, yet happy melodies that just seem to make you feel good. 

TRACK LIST:
(click on a link below to hear a mp3 sample)

• 1. Up Above the Universe
• 2. Bat in the Hat 
• 3. Betsy
• 4. Farewell, Welfare
• 5. For the Movies
 • 6. Knows Funk
• 7. Wedding Song
• 8. Come Forth
• 9. One Day in the Woods
CREDITS:

Produced by Lenny Marcus. Recorded at Disc Productions 11/7-8/1983. Engineered by Joey Decker. Ass. Producer & Ass. Engineered by Thomas Dawson. Remastered by Tom Ohmsen at Flat 5 Press & Recording Co., Inc. (540) 389-8427 • 18 East Main Street • Salem, VA 24153 • www.flat5.com • tom@flat5.com. Portrait Illustration by John Garraway. Graphic Design and Illustrations by Bob Schamerhorn at Infinity Graphics • www.infinity-graphics.com. ©1983 Lenny Marcus. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. LJM-001

MORE ABOUT BAT IN THE HAT:

"Bat In The Hat" as
originally released as
a vinyl LP in 1983.
GROOVY BABY!

A Marcus original has a trademark and stands out in the crowd. This young man exhibits in his debut album the results of years of study, assimilation of the roots of jazz and his mentors. Lenny has developed a style that he can call his own.
We've crossed paths now for almost five years. When I put together a jazz festival, Lenny is the first man I call. I give him carte blanche and always get something memorable. I've recorded him in performance on several occasions at my personal expense and play tapes on the air frequently with a strong audience response and the question, "Where can I get that record?" Up until now, you couldn't. Now, even if you can't catch the trio live or on the airwaves, you can share my excitement.
When people tell you that jazz is dead or that it all sounds the same, you need to have this record to show the skeptics that it just isn't so. As long as talent such as documented here exists, it will never be so. Listen to Lenny Marcus. Talent spoken here.

–Marc Alan Cohn (Dr. Jazz)
Jazz Music Director & host of Nightsounds, KLSU, Baton Rouge
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MUSICIANS

LENNY MARCUS, PIANIST

Washington, D.C.. Graduate of Louisiana State University in English. Studied music at Southern University, Berklee School of Music. Private lessons with Ray Bryant, Ellis Marsalis, Alvin Batiste, Lester Karr and John Phillips (the latter two are fine DC pianists). Introduced to jazz by his piano-playing father, Bill Marcus, M.D. In his youth, participated in
Sunday afternoon sessions with friends and guests such as Herb Ellis, Keter Betts, Charlie Byrd, and Richie Cole. First instrument was the trumpet, but switched to piano in high school. Presents consistently memorable performances including the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, KLSU Jazz Day, and the Mobile Jazz Festival. Has also gigged in NYC, DC, Boston, and Los Angeles, and is currently headlining at POETS, one of the few remaining clubs devoted exclusively to jazz in southern Louisiana. At the time of this recording, he was 23 years old.

JIM SINGLETON, BASSIST

Wilmington, Delaware. Studied at North Texas State Univ., Berklee School of Music. Moved to New Orleans in 1977. Performed with Joe Henderson, Clark Terry, Kenny Barron, Sonny Fortune, Milt Jackson, David Liebman, Professor Longhair, James Booker, Randy Brecker, Natt Adderly. Has performed in all the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage festivals from 1977-82.

HERMAN JACKSON, DRUMMER

Baton Rouge, LA. Graduate of Southern University in Music. Brother of bassist Randy Jackson. Performed with Clark Terry, Lockjaw Davis, Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderly, Red Norvo, Alvin Batiste, Ellis Marsalis, Gatemouth Brown, B.B. King, and many others. Guest soloist with the New Orleans Symphony. Active stateside and in Canada, Europe, and Africa. Award winner at festivals in Mobile and Wash, DC. Recipient of National Endowment for the Arts travel study and career development grants. Artist in residence and clinician for Louisiana and North Carolina public school systems as well as at Alcorn State and Southern University.
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©2005 Lengram, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.