Recordings
Beatin' the Odds
The music on this recording was written between September 2017 and October 2023, a period that included life-changing events both personal (a cancer diagnosis) and universal (the COVID pandemic). The tunes reflect aspects of or feelings generated by these events.
While all the music on this recording is very personal, the cancer portion is by far more difficult to write about. Until recently I spoke about having had cancer very little, for fear that if someone knew about it they would cease to view me as myself, but rather as generic “Cancer Patient.” But the late Maryam “SkaterMom” Balbed led me to realize that it is only by speaking openly about cancer that we can hope to normalize it and remove stigmas and misconceptions so that the public, friends, families, and cancer patients themselves understand that statistics aren’t people and cancer isn’t an automatic death sentence.
As COVID cases started rising in late 2019 and news of the virus’s severity began to spread, the world got a glimpse of what it’s to live with the uncertainly of someone who’s had cancer, the undercurrent of questions running through one’s mind: will I get it (again)? how bad will it be? will there be a cure? will I die?
Leigh Pilzer, baritone and bass saxophones, bass clarinet
Ally Hany Albrecht, trumpet (tracks 1–5)
Mercedes Beckman, alto saxophone (tracks 1–5)
Jen Krupa, trombone (tracks 1–5)
Amy K Bormet, piano (tracks 1–5)
Sherrie Maricle, drums (tracks 1–5)
Kenny Rittenhouse, trumpet (tracks 6–9)
Tim Green, alto saxophone (tracks 6–9)
Joe Jackson, trombone (tracks 6–9)
Allyn Johnson, piano (tracks 6–9)
Frank Russo, drums (tracks 6–9)
Greg Holloway, percussion (track 8)
Amy Shook, bass
“The depth of knowledge and musical prowess Leigh Pilzer exhibits on the baritone saxophone, clearly displays she is more than ready for her debut, and Strunkin’ establishes her as a formidable presence not to be taken lightly.”—H. Allen Williams, JazzTimes
“Pilzer blows the big horn with the technique and panache of Mulligan, Challoff, Payne, Cuber, Temperley and just about any other baritone saxist you care to mention and after you’ve listened to Miss Ally in Allywood, you’ll add Harry Carney to the mix.”—Bebop Spoken Here
You’re likely to have heard the baritone saxophonist Leigh Pilzer nestled into a large ensemble—with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra or any number of others. But on her debut album, recorded live at the 2016 Washington Women in Jazz Festival, her bari takes the lead. Fronting a straight-ahead quintet, she improvises with fluency and panache. —CapitolBop
Strunkin'
Strunkin’ is baritone saxophonist Leigh Pilzer’s first recording as a bandleader. She is joined by Jen Krupa on trombone, Sherrie Maricle on drums, Amy Shook on bass, and Jackie Warren on piano; long-time friends and colleagues from The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and the critically acclaimed show Maurice Hines is Tappin’ Thru Life.
The musicians’ shared love and respect for straight-ahead, swinging jazz is evident throughout the CD—six original compositions by Leigh and one each by Amy and Jen—starting with the Konitz-inspired title track and continuing with the Ellingtonesque “Miss Ally in Allyworld,” the blues-drenched sass of Amy’s “Brag Time,” the reimagined bebop of Jen’s “Duel at Dawn,” and more.
Strunkin’ was recorded live at the 6th Annual Washington Women in Jazz Festival by Grammy-winning engineer Charlie Pilzer at Allyworld, the dual-purpose performance/tracking space at Airshow in Takoma Park, MD.