The Nickel and Brass Septet's debut CD "Four-Color Heroes" presents new music for improvising ensemble by composer and guitarist Andrew Boscardin. The music combines elements of jazz, rock and new music and is performed by some of the finest players in the Seattle jazz and improvised music scene. Along with Boscardin on guitar, the CD features Chris Stover on trombone, Clark Gibson on sax, Tom Varner on French horn, Ben Thomas on piano, Jon Hamar on bass, and Brad Gibson on drums. A CD release party and performance will be held on April 18th, at the Mix in Georgetown, featuring special guests and local jazz-fusion all-stars, Osmosis on the bill.

The songs on “Four-Color Heroes!” are dedicated to, and take inspiration from, artists and writers of comic books from the 1960ʼs and 1970ʼs. It is a fitting tribute to the talent and creativity of these creators that the characters and ideas developed during this period remain so prominent and beloved today. It is also very telling that despite spending millions of dollars, casting the biggest stars and utilizing the best technology, efforts to bring these stories to life on the big and small screen remain a mere shadow of their presence on the printed page. With

pen and ink and four colors at their disposal, these artists and writers created worlds of imagination that no photographic or computer-generated image could hope to capture.

“I didnʼt set out to write a bunch of music about comic books, “ Boscardin says, “but while the music for this band was being written I was reacquainting myself with some of my favorite comics of all time and they just kind of seeped in there. I didnʼt even know it was happening until it was brought to my attention that much of my recent writing sounded ʻheroicʼ and ʻpositive.ʼ Before I knew it, I had a suite of songs about some of my comic book heroes. “

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