Ambrose felt he was then ready to head back to NYC, where he met his wife Beata. Working steadily for Sound on Sound Orchestras, he kept recording and writing. While working with Lou Goldstein and Brandon D'Amore, Ambrose was the featured instrumentalist on the theme for the "Alan Colmes Show" on the Daynet network. Alan recently remarked, "I never grew to hate that theme….in fact I loved it!" Ambrose also recorded saxophone on the music for "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". His brand name style of playing just exudes passion, a passion for the best life has to offer. Record distributor Ray Espinosa played some of Ambrose's compositions/recordings for Dave Grusin of GRP records*. Dave was drawn to one of the cuts, an instrumental called "Magic Island", which has been re-recorded for his current CD, Pleasure Pain Dezire.
Rockin' in LA . . .
Ambrose however had already made a decision to move out to LA and was soon followed by both Goldstein and D'Amore. He continued to record for D'Amore (Tunedge) and other clients. He worked steadily with Scandal on the corporate circuit, spending time as their musical director. While traveling overseas, he discovered and fell in love with New Zealand. While in LA, he continued to perform, write, produce, record, and even do some film scoring. He had the pleasure of performing with Joe Puerta of Ambrosia, Mike Kneally (Frank Zappa), and even brought Milton Berle up to the stage at one of his gigs. From rock, reggae, contemporary jazz, to R&B and Latin, Ambrose was immersed in the LA scene. He played with Lowell Fulsom and Guitar Shorty at the House of Blues and BB Kings. He met and played with Latin Grammy Nominee Bobby Rodriguez. While recording with Greg Young, his instrumental solo on "The Rain Cried Softly" was entered in for consideration in the 44th Annual Grammy Awards process.
Ambrose with Joe Puerta of Ambrosia
Ambrose with Peter White
.Pleasure, Pain, Dezire . . . the CD
Ambrose's dream was to somehow write and produce his own record. He had lived and worked all over the US, helping others with projects. Now it was his turn. The story of how he was to find and assemble such an incredible array of talent while in LA to finish his CD is nothing short of amazing. He credits his fateful re-union with friend and fellow musician Federico Pol as the main reason he got it off the ground. "I knew Federico when he first arrived in LA and used him live and in the studio" says Ambrose. "He was one hell of a talent. As soon as I found out he had production time under his belt and had been working with Lindsay Buckingham I jumped at the opportunity to bring him on board as producer. We met at longtime friend and composer Wes Nagy's studio. Wes was also always there behind the scenes, providing invaluable input". Federico's knowledge of pop, jazz and Latin grooves were essential in building the proper foundation for Pleasure, Pain, Dezire. The rest of the CD's story is in the press release on this website. Ambrose's dedication and faith in his music resulted in him financing the whole project himself, and starting his own label. "It was a big leap of faith, but I had to do it", says Ambrose.
Kevin Winard in the studio
Ambrose at Entourage
