Dave Hartl
It was July 24, 2018 when Carl Cox met Dave Hartl at a coffee shop in the Ben Franklin Hotel in Philadelphia and they agreed to try something new in the Philly jazz scene. Most of the local scene was either bop- or smooth- influenced, and there was a void there for something different. Funkier. More energetic. With goals like that, what else to call the project but Musical Collusion? Carl was running hot, winning awards for his teaching in South Jersey while jetting out to festivals around the country or burning up the local clubs on weekends with Maysa, Smokey Robinson, and Gerald Veasley, among others. Dave was busy as well, playing with numerous groups on various instruments, getting calls for the occasional classical orchestra job, and enjoying the reputation built on 20+ years on the UArts faculty, over 60 musical productions, 5 solo albums, and countless gigs in South Jersey and Philly. But they agreed on that day that they would make the time and start writing and plotting together as a team. Eleven months later, Musical Collusion included the incredible rhythm section of Andy Lalasis on bass and Josh Orlando on drums. Both had résumés that read like a Who’s Who in the entertainment and jazz world. Dave knew Andy from way back in Atlantic City days, and Carl knew Josh from coming up together on the Philly scene over years of jazz dates. The combination was magic from the first rehearsal. The first several live dates were met with standing ovations and cheers. And by June the next year, 2 days of recording (2 takes maximum, no redos and no overdubs except organ) yielded their album Guilty As Charged, available on Bandcamp. The pandemic changed everything on the live gig scene, of course, and our juggernaut was brought to a sudden halt… almost. We’ve spent the last year arranging, writing, recording in home studios and trading digital tracks. And we’ve got a new pile of material and a burning desire to play it live as soon as we can. Hope to see you there!
Photo Credit: Screenshot courtesy of WRTI.