Featured Musicians:

Bob Mintzer, Alan Pasqua, Darek "Oles" Oleszkiewicz, Peter Erskine,  Brooke deRosa, Russell Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip, Mike Miller and Isabelle Olivier.

Exclusive Track: Invisible Cities

The title track carries a Brazilian baiao feel and also showcases Mike Miller on nylon string acoustic. And through the miracle of overdubbing, Mintzer becomes a one-man woodwind section, playing flute, alto flute, B-flat and bass clarinets while also contributing a potent bass clarinet solo on this delightfully buoyant number. The piece concludes with a free-flowing exchange at the tag between piano, bass clarinet and guitar. – From Liner Notes by Bill Milkowski

Reviews:

The Reviews are coming in for Invisible Cities. Following are quotes links to full reviews:

The Jazz Page:
Invisible Cities the debut release from guitarist Mitch Haupers is an outstanding effort. Produced by Jimmy Haslip, the recording is a collection of works that blend the jazz and chamber music genres into a beautiful listening experience. Hauper wrote all of the compositions, which have a very contemplative and often balladic feel.
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The Buffalo News:
The jazz selections here with groups featuring tenor saxophonist Bob Mintzer, pianist Alan Pasqua and drummer Peter Erskine are as fine as the instrumentation would suggest. It’s the “Four Minor Love Songs Suite” for a 10-piece ensemble, which is not only quite beautiful but in a way that is decidedly uncommon in our era from either jazz or classical composers.
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Critical Jazz:
While age is but a number (like meter) impact of a debut release from Mitch Haupers is as auspicious and noteworthy as any release since perhaps Scenes In The City, the 1984 debut for the young Marsalis. Joining Mitch Haupers we have Peter Erskine on drums, Bob Mintzer handling woodwinds, Alan Pasqua plays piano and Derek Oles rounds out the rhythm section. A true collective.
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Blog Critics:
Mitch Haupers – guitarist, composer, and faculty member of the prestigious Berklee College of Music – makes an impressive recording debut with Invisible Cities, a collection of original compositions highlighting the mellow, lyrical, and creative aesthetic.
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AXS.COM:
Invisible Cities (Liquid Harmony Music, 2014) features guitarist/composer Mitch Haupers’ superb, relaxed moods on 11 thoughtful compositions that reveal themselves gradually and gracefully. Produced by Jimmy Haslip and accompanied by pianist Alan Pasqua, bassist Darek “Oles” Oleszkiewicz, drummer Peter Erskine, and saxophonist Bob Mintzer, Haupers wrote all of the songs which were initially conceived as a duet project.
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Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange:
You can't write this level of material at 25 or 30, not unless you're a Mozart type (and there's never been a whole lot of those running around, as you may have already noticed). Every cut is completely engrossing, plotted as chapters within a classic piece of literature, a conversational interplay with the reader/listener rather than a parade of chops and explosive whatnots.
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Wondering Sound:
Debut album from longtime Berklee School of Music faculty member Haupers, who switches in and out of modern jazz and chamber music with an intriguing change of pace and precision. At its core, it’s a quintet of guitarist Haupers, woodwind player Bob Mintzer, pianist Alan Pasqua, bassist Darek Oleszkiewicz, and drummer Peter Erskine, which is augmented by a variety of guests to provide some added depth and the chamber music element. Gem of the album is the four-part “Four Minor Love Songs Suite,” which slowly unwinds like the pastoral countryside from a train window.

Jazziz:
The playing is superior throughout. Expressive improvisations, excellent sound.
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Downbeat:
The quintet sounds exceptionally tight...with no shortage of high points.
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Cadence Magazine:
Guitarist/composer Mitch Haupers’s recording is a collaborative effort involving a top-flight ensemble that brilliantly renders the music of Haupers. Each quintet member is featured on other selections (Mintzer, Pasqua, and Haupers being the principal soloists), each performing in a way which both enhances and stays within the musical context. Truly an outstanding CD from start to finish.
– Don Lerman

Gallery: Session Photos

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