Russ Kaplan's debut album as a bandleader - The Ulysses Cycle - is a 20-song narrative suite based on Homer's Odyssey. Russ had been searching for a story to musicalize that would allow him to compose in all of the eclectic styles that fascinate him, and which captures the ideals he loves best about playing jazz: spontaneity, excitement, thinking on your feet. The Odyssey, which tells the tale of a cunning hero traveling through exotic lands as he struggles home from war, was clearly the perfect fit. The project began as Russ' 'birthday present to himself' in January 2008. After years of touring and perfecting the full 'play', recording was done in 3 full day sessions in 2012.















