Daniel Patroni: The Blue Project is a collective of musical artist on their particular instrument. The core of the blue project are Frank Lacy, myself on guitar and composer or song writer lyricist, and arranger…Gary Oleyar Violin, Joe Exley on Tuba.

I write in a hybrid form of music enabling simple tonal center in a mash up of musically style’s; Rock/Blues/Jazz/roots etc. Where the artists (other band members) created improvisation to color the song within how the soloist perceive the music. I write using many style I’ve heard and performed in my musically life… mix it into a song form, let the other musicians/artist superimpose their color to the songs musically canvas in time and space.

·Talk about your journey in music.

 I have been preforming and writing song since I was 14.  In my teen I’ve played in bands that play classic rock song, Hendrix, Tulle, etc.  I was a student of the great guitar master Jazz master teacher, Dennis Sandole of Philly…https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Sandole

Their where many great musicians that came in and out of this tiny music studio in South Philadelphia.  Dennis’s school was very advance for teaching concepts of tone expansion and musically composition. Dennis accepted me as high school student and I study with him for 7 years thought collage. Subjecting me to expand my ears, to hear the beauty of dissonant and composition.  …John Coltrane Giant steps, Pat Martino, and many other great musicians pass thru his doors.

I also study music at the Jazz studies at Rutgers when it was call Livingston College… it is now mason Gross. With some of the greatest musician composers and players of jazz, Ted Dunbar on guitar, Kenny Baron on piano (I still suck on the piano) Freddy Waits, James Spaulding Steve Nelson, Jimmy Giuffre, and Frank Foster. I was given the Pee Wee Russell Scholarship while attending Rutgers. I attended the Vienna American School of music in Austria, where I studied advance music theory, conducting and was exposed to the great artist and musically history of the Vienna Opera.

 How would you describe your music?

It’s a mash up of every music style and then some, I’ve worked with and been expose to and love…Jazz, Blues, Rock Folk, Roots, World music, free jazz etc.… I just put all of these musically style in a blender and cook up the songs, lyrics, vibes. The Blue Project’s music tribe brings their talent and vision to expand my music and present it our audience. Its great for the musicians and the audience.

How did you find out about HCK?

I love the guitarist Dave Stryker’s, his playing/writing and know that he perform at HCK at times. HCK is a special performance space for Jazz and other creative original bands can perform. The world in which Jazz and new music can be perform is shrinking every day.    I’d heard that the arts were starting to thrive in West Orange, HCK was providing stage for original music and I asked for a booking and bang… we will be there Friday Aug 12… Creating and playing our hearts out for you. Oh yes there is a bit of political sub text in our song. Anti-War songs like Bombs, Requiem for a working man. Our new record is called Tent city (which hasn’t been released yet)… These song are narrative songs about the people that had ended homeless and living in a tent city and their stories….. I’ve performed in a benefit concert in Lakewood NJ.

https://www.facebook.com/OceanNJ.TentCity.org

The song Run Mindy Run is from a view point of an Afghan vet  who has never came back from that war and is lost in hisPTSD. Another song Bradley Cove is about the great love and loss of a love one, and the person lost in their world trying to work through their drama.

Thermonuclear Worm is a funky song, it is about the bombing in Syria. God of War is a narrative song from the view point from (Mars) – the Greek God of War.

My songs are about relationship fading, about real personal lost, forgiveness, salvation and love, and redemption, fun and passion.  The cornerstone of the human emotional existent. Wow, that deep… That only a subtext of the music my music. Let the truth be told… I write song that I would like to listen to and improvise on.

What do you plan to bring to your performance Friday night? 

This Friday night we will be performing something new, something blue and something borrowed.

We have great players on this show, tonight…  Frack lacy on Brass/vocals, Joe Exley on tuba, James Steward on Tenor Sax, and Vince Ector on drums, and yours truly on guitars/vocals.  We are going to rock, swing and blow this house down with wonderful improvisations.  Song you can dance to songs that will transcend, but most of all we are going to have fun and bring the audience with us on our musically journey.

What is next for the blue project?

(Upcoming shows are in the mix for Sept Oct, we are finishing a new records “Tent City” and  I am writing Jazz l project Called “BrassBury Park”.) We are finishing Tent City post production and hopefully have the CD, Record, or download really for this Fall. Wow, would it be great to have the record release at Hat City Kitchen.

Anything else you’d like to add to this interview?

We love and support the art community and artist in West Orange and everywhere, in all city bringing the most powerful, transforming elements to the world.  These are the places that creative  music art lives today.