THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER CECILE MCLOREN SALVANT HAS A SLATE FULL OF UPCOMING U.S PERFORMANCES LINED UP |  |
- CECILE MCLOREN SALVANT HAS A SLATE FULL OF UPCOMING U.S PERFORMANCES LINED UP
- SANTANA Joined By Musical Superstars ChocQuibTown, Lila Downs, Gloria Estefan, Juanes, Miguel, Fher Olvera Of Mana, Nina Pastori, Samuel Rosa Of Skank, Romeo Santos, Soledad And Diego Torres Saturday Night In Guadalajara, Mexico At This Once-In-A-Lifetime Concert Event
- RUSS NOLAN - RELENTLESS
- MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU, FROM JONATHAN BUTLER
- NEW RELEASES - JACKIE WILSON / COUNT BASIE, PEGGY DUQUESNEL, MIKE REED'S PEOPLE, PLACES & THINGS
- NEW RELEASES - JANE BIRKIN, MIGHTY MIGHTY, CHRISTOPH ERB / KEEFE JACKSON / TOMEKA REID / FRED LONBERG HOLM
- NEW RELEASES - NICOLA CONTE VIAGEM 5, FABRIZIO BOSSO SPIRITUAL TRIO, MARIO BIONDI
- SHARON JONES AND THE DAP KINGS GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT
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Posted: 17 Dec 2013 01:06 PM PST
When Cécile McLorin Salvant arrived at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC to compete in the finals of the 2010 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, she was not only the youngest finalist, but also a mystery woman with the most unusual background of any of the participants. When she walked away with first place in the jazz world's most prestigious contest, the buzz began almost immediately. If anything, it has intensified in the months leading up to the launch of her Mack Avenue Records debut, WomanChild.
"She has poise, elegance, soul, humor, sensuality, power, virtuosity, range, insight, intelligence, depth and grace," Wynton Marsalis asserts. "I've never heard a singer of her generation who has such a command of styles," remarks pianist Aaron Diehl. "She radiates authority," critic Ben Ratliff wrote in The New York Times in response to one of her post-competition performances, and a few weeks later his colleague Stephen Holden announced that "Ms. McLorin Salvant has it all.... If anyone can extend the lineage of the Big Three—Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald—it is this 23-year-old virtuoso."
Upcoming Cécile McLorin Salvant U.S. Performances:
* Dec. 12 - 14, 2013 / Jazz at Lincoln Center - Rose Hall / New York, NY
* Dec. 15, 2013 / Staller Center for the Arts / Stony Brook, NY
* Dec. 17, 2013 / Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall / Sarasota, FL
* Dec. 18, 2013 / The Philharmonic Center for the Arts - Hayes Hall / Naples, FL
* Dec. 19, 2013 / Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts,
Dreyfoos Hall / West Palm Beach, FL
* Dec. 20, 2013 / The Adrienne Arsht Center Knight Concert Hall / Miami, FL
Jan. 9, 2014 / Lycée Français de New York / New York, NY
Feb. 8, 2014 / Temple Theater (guest w/ Heart of Carolina Jazz Orchestra) / Sanford, NC
Feb. 13, 2014 / SFJAZZ Center, Miner Hall / San Francisco, CA
Feb. 14, 2014 / Bing Concert Hall / Stanford, CA
Feb. 15, 2014 / Kuumbwa Jazz Center / Santa Cruz, CA
Feb. 17, 2014 / Catalina's Bar and Grill / Los Angeles, CA
Feb. 18 & 19, 2014 / Jazz Alley / Seattle, WA
Feb. 21, 2014 / Jaqua Concert Hall / Eugene, OR
Feb. 22, 2014 / Portland Jazz Festival / Portland, OR
Feb. 28 - March 1, 2014 / Jazz at Lincoln Center, Rose Hall / New York, NY
March 7, 2014 / Jazz Kitchen / Indianapolis, IN
March 8, 2014 / Space / Evanston, IL
March 9, 2014 / Dakota Jazz Club / Minneapolis, MN
March 27, 2014 / Charles H. Morris Center / Savannah, GA
March 28, 2014 / YMCA Boulton Center / Bay Shore, NY
April 4, 2014 / Montpelier Arts Center / Laurel, MD
April 6, 2014 / Pollock Center for the Performing Arts / Camp Hill, PA
April 5, 2014 / Jazz for Juvenile Diabetes / West Hartford, CT
April 12, 2014 / Colony Theater / Miami Beach, FL
April 26, 2014 / Albert-Knox Art Gallery / Buffalo, NY
* - Featured Vocalist on the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Holiday Tour
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Posted: 17 Dec 2013 01:13 PM PST
The concert also featured some of Santana's greatest hits including a rendition of "Corazon Espinado" featuring Fher Olvera of Mana and Cindy Blackman Santana on drums, "Maria, Maria" featuring Miguel, "Oye Como Va," "Samba Pa Ti" and many others. One of the many highlights of the night was the performance of the new single "La Flaca" where Santana was joined by Juanes on stage and a performance of "Saideira," the Portuguese language single, featuring Samuel Rosa of Skank. Other highlights included Gloria Estefan singing "Besos De Lejos," Romeo Santos on "Margarita," Miguel on "Indy Jones," "Iron Lion Zion" with Elan Atias and ChoQuibTown, and "Una Noche A Napoli" with Lila Downs, Nina Pastori, and Soledad.
Said Carlos Santana of the event: "It was a profound honor to share this evening with all my brothers and sisters who have come together to share their hearts' music with us. It was especially moving for me to perform this show in Guadalajara, so close to where I was born and first experienced the joys of this life. I am thankful to everyone, all the artists, bands, crew, managers, SONY, Mexico Tourism Board, HBO and the staff at Arena VFG for making this one of the most memorable concerts in my lifetime. "
twitter - @SantanaCarlos
Music links below for brand new songs featured on Santana's forthcoming album Corazon:
"La Flaca" featuring Juanes link: http://smarturl.it/LaFlaca or visit www.santana.com
"Saideira" featuring Samuel Rosa link http://smarturl.it/Saideira or visit www.santana.com
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Posted: 17 Dec 2013 12:48 PM PST
Tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger Russ Nolan continues his exploration of Latin rhythms on his fourth CD Relentless, which will be released by his Rhinoceruss Music label on January 21. Picking up where last year's critically acclaimed Tell Me left off, Relentless features the contributions of Grammy-nominated Cuban pianist Manuel Valera as well as Tell Me's rhythm section of Michael O'Brien on bass and drummer Brian Fishler.
Nolan's concern with rhythm began coming into clear focus in the late 1980s, when he was living in Chicago. Then-teenage saxophonist Chris Potter came through town with Red Rodney's band and gave Nolan the first of what would become many lessons. "He could have talked to me about scales and harmony and all this other stuff," Nolan recalls, "but he really impressed upon me that the horn player has to have the same mastery of time as the rhythm section and can't rely on them to carry him along."
Having taken up salsa dancing nearly seven years ago has further served to strengthen Nolan's rhythmic sensibility. "Instead of just having the music in my head, it's also in my body," he explains. "It's something that's natural for drummers because they play such a physical instrument, but for somebody who just moves their fingers and occasionally their head, as a horn player I feel the music differently than I used to."
Afro-Cuban grooves as well as samba and Bomba beats infuse Nolan's originals, including "Cassa Cerrado," one of a number of tunes on the album that the saxophonist wrote during a seven-month engagement at a midtown Manhattan hotel as the leader of an organ trio that included drummer Fishler, and the samba "It Ain't Child's Play," one of three tunes featuring percussionist Yasuyo Kimura. Also included on Relentless are Nolan's readings of the Stephen Sondheim ballad "Not While I'm Around" (from Sweeney Todd) and Duke Ellington's "Solitude."
Russ NolanRuss Nolan, 45, born in Waukegan, Illinois, and raised in nearby Gurnee. He took up clarinet at age 10 and switched to saxophonist a couple years later because, he says, "I was attracted to the sound and the power that I wasn't finding on clarinet." Although he played in his high school marching and jazz bands, playing basketball and baseball were his primary passions and he dreamed of one day becoming a professional athlete.
He eventually turned his focus back to music and spent three and a half years at the University of North Texas, studying saxophone and jazz arranging and earning a B.A. in jazz performance. During a summer vacation from North Texas, he studied with legendary Chicago tenor saxophonist Joe Daley. Nolan moved to the city after graduation and studied with local saxophonist Rich Corpolongo and with visiting New Yorkers Chris Potter, Dave Liebman, and Kenny Werner. In 2000, pianist Werner convinced Nolan to move to New York City -- and would play on the saxophonist's 2008 CD With You in Mind (Nolan's debut recording was 2004's Two Colors).
A 10-year resident of Sunnyside, Queens, Nolan has performed with his own group at Smalls Jazz Club and Jazz at the Kitano, both in New York City, and in Canada, Connecticut, Mississippi, New Orleans, Chicago, and Washington, DC. He frequently conducts workshops and clinics while on tour. He's a member of an all-star band that has been playing for jazz services at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on Manhattan's Upper West Side once a month for the past decade and since March 2013 has been playing for dancers with his own salsa quintet.
Russ Nolan will celebrate the release of Relentless with upcoming shows in Chicago and New York. On Tuesday 1/21 he plays two sets at the Jazz Showcase, Chicago, with Jim Trompeter, piano; Larry Gray, bass; and Jon Deitemyer, drums. He brings the band from his new CD (Manuel Valera, Michael O'Brien, Brian Fishler) to the Kitano Hotel in New York on Friday 3/21.
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Posted: 17 Dec 2013 07:48 AM PST
South African singer-songwriter-guitarist Jonathan Butler is as busy as jolly old St. Nick spreading holiday glee with his critically-acclaimed "Merry Christmas To You," the two-time Grammy nominee's first Christmas album. Along with mostly unplugged renditions of eight Christmas standards, Butler wrote two new songs and produced the intimate seasonal set of R&B, contemporary jazz, adult pop and gospel tunes decorated with colorful sounds of his homeland that is winning praise from the New York Times, DownBeat, Philadelphia Daily News, Virginian-Pilot, All Music, SoulTracks and many others.
A special live acoustic performance by Butler showcasing tracks from "Merry Christmas To You" debuted on SiriusXM last Sunday with repeated radio broadcasts through Christmas Eve. On Thanksgiving, Butler was interviewed and performed two cuts on PBS's "Tavis Smiley," which will air again on Christmas Eve. He has been touring the U.S. since Black Friday performing holiday music with Dave Koz, Oleta Adams and Keiko Matsui, a coast-to-coast Christmas concert tour concluding December 22 in San Francisco.
After the holiday campaign wraps, Butler will put the finishing touches on his next R&B-jazz album, tentatively titled "Living My Dream," which is slotted for a late spring/early summer release.
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Posted: 17 Dec 2013 07:41 AM PST
JACKIE WILSON / COUNT BASIE - MANUFACTURERS OF SOUL
A really wonderful collaboration between two very unlikely partners – and a great album that really stands out as some of the best work from both artists in the 60s! Count Basie's group gets hard and soulful on the record – and even a little funky on the best cuts – and Jackie Wilson is in a raw bluesy vocal style that recalls the best moments of his earlier Brunswick singles – a great edge that makes the whole Basie groove sound even more hard-hitting than ever. Benny Carter arranged, but the groove is more a hard-edged Count Basie mode mixed with Brunswick soul styles – and Jackie blows it out over the top on great versions of "Funky Broadway", "Ode To Billie Joe", "I Was Made To Love Her", "Even When You Cry", and "Respect". Also features a version of "For Your Precious Love" that was a bit of a hit for the pair! ~ Dusty Groove
PEGGY DUQUESNEL - ALL I ASK FOR CHRISTMAS
On the second day of Christmas, Peggy Duquesnel gave jazz lovers a two-CD set of holiday standards and future-classic originals. The pianist-vocalist named the "December Artist of the Month" by Sounds of Timeless Jazz delivered the generous 21-track gift in the form of "All I Ask For Christmas," for which she served as producer and composer of the four new tunes recorded as both acoustic jazz instrumentals and pop vocal numbers. Songs from "All I Ask For Christmas" are filling up playlists across the country in a variety of radio formats including mainstream pop, adult contemporary, jazz and smooth jazz as Duquesnel is in the midst of playing a series of concert dates in Los Angeles and Orange County in support of the collection. A chorus of critics is caroling the virtues of the multifaceted recording - "A musician of stunning range and complexity, Peggy Duquesnel's achievements in music are a testament to her incredible devotion to the art of music." – Sounds of Timeless Jazz; "Duquesnel brings together the impressive team of Brian Bromberg/b, Joe La Barbera/dr, Brian Kilgore/perc, Jay Leech/g, Rick Braun/fh and vocalists Bill Cantos and Emma Werderman for a fascinating mix of old and new." – Jazz Weekly; "Peggy Duquesnel's two disc holiday set is a pleasant, and sometimes swinging, collection of contemporary and traditional Christmas songs." – Virginian-Pilot.
MIKE REED'S PEOPLE PLACES & THINGS - SECOND CITIES VOLUME 1
Mike Reed's been an important figure on the Chicago scene for many years now – but he's a musician who's also got some ties to Amsterdam, which has served as a second city in his life – hence the title of the set! The album pays tribute to some of the avant and improvising greats of the Dutch scene – a number of whom join Reed and his quartet on the album – including Ab Baars on tenor and clarinet, Michael Moore on alto and clarinet, Guus Janssen on piano, and Joost Buis on trombone. The core sounds are still from Reed's group – with Mike on drums, Time Haldeman on tenor, Greg Ward on alto, and Jason Roebke on drums – all working in that great People Places & Things mix of arrangement and improvisation that we love from other records. But the shift of material really makes for a nice change, too – and titles include "Train Ride", "Gammer", "Marshall's Birthday", "What Happened At Conway Hall 1938", "One Bar", "Basil Outside", and "Een Voor Von". ~ Dusty Groove
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Posted: 17 Dec 2013 07:32 AM PST
MIGHTY MIGHTY - SEE THE LIGHT
A great debut from an ultra-jazzy combo from the Finnish scene – one with the same sort of fire and crackle as the best groups on the Ricky Tick label! The tracks have a blend of 60s hardbop with some later soulful elements – and leader Kari Setala's got a mighty great touch on both piano and keyboards – the former used in these strongly modal ways at points, the latter with even more deft touches on some of the record's more 70s funk-styled selections! Other instrumentation features trumpet, tenor, bass, drums, and percussion – and almost all tracks are originals with a mighty fresh sound. Titles include "Backyard Boogie", "Dark Sun", "Seventh Sign", "Time's Up", "See The Light", and "Simba". ~ Dusty Groove.
CHRISTOPH ERB / KEEFE JACKSON / TOMEKA REID / FRED LONBERG HOLM - DUOPE
A completely cool blend of bass clarinet and cello – served up in a range of sounds that go way beyond the usual stuff from both instruments! Yet given the lineup of talent, the sounds are no surprise – as the record features both Keefe Jackson and Christoph Erb on bass clarinets, and Fred Lonberg Holm and Tomeka Reid on cello – all players who are already known well for their ability to push boundaries! Familiar tones mix wonderfully with bits that are more percussive, or more textural at times – and the doubling of instruments often lets one player handle a more conventional path (although still pretty improvised and avant), while the other shifts into some very abstract territory. Titles include "Junkon", "Tubo", "Pafarko", and "Snuro". ~ Dusty Groove
JANE BIRKIN - MES IMAGES PRIVEES DE SERGE (2-CD/DVD)
A moving tribute to the late, great Serge Gainsbourg – served up in a mix of film and songs from his famous partner Jane Birkin! The set features a DVD directed by Jane – a 40 minute documentary filled with private images of Serge, laid out in a very loving tribute – and it's packaged with 2CDs' worth of music recorded with Serge in duet, or with lots of Gainsbourg help as both a writer or producer. Includes a rare alternate take of "Jane B" from 1968, plus "Rocking Chair", "Nicotine", "Exercice En Forme De Z", "Yesterday Yes A Day", "Ex Fan Des Sixties", "Di Doo Dah", "La Decadanse", "Baby Lou", "Quoi", "Et Quand Bien Meme", "Raccrochez C'Est Une Horreur", and lots more – including live versions of "Un Chose Entre Autres" and "Ces Petitis Riens" – and the song "La Gadoue" done with Les Negresses Vertes. (DVD is NTSC coded, All Region.) ~ Dusty Groove
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Posted: 17 Dec 2013 07:21 AM PST
NICOLA CONTE PRESENTS VIAGEM 5: LOST BOSSA & SAMBA CLASSICS FROM THE SWINGING BRAZILIAN 60s
Sunny samba jazz, breezy bossa and all around wonderful rare grooves from Brazil – treasures from the heart of the 60s, compiled by Italian jazz guru Nicola Conte! Conte is not only one of the most affectionately groovy jazz players on the contemporary global landscape, he's also a selector with impeccable taste. Just on the basis of the Viagem series, the man would get our nomination for sainthood. This is the fifth time he's drawn from his deep well of rare 60s records from Brazil, and it keeps getting better and better. The tunes are rooted in a small combo jazzy vibe, most with easygoing MPB vocals. It's the love of jazz-centric, but still profoundly Brazilian sounds that makes the Viagem series stand out so strongly. 10" LP pressing features ten tracks in all – and titles include "Crepusculo" by Jazz 4, "Onda Quebrando" by Neyde Fraga, "Take It Easy My Brother Charlie" by Breno Sauer, "Se Voce Quiser Mas Sem Bronquear" by Elizabeth Viana, "Olhou Pra Mim" by Dr Severino & Conjunto Subverson, "Babalao" by Nelsinho & Os Ipanemas, "Ye Mele" by Papudinho, and "Matando A Miseria A Pau" by Edith Vega. (Limited to 500 copies.) ~ Dusty Groove.
FABRIZIO BOSSO SPRITUAL TRIO - PURPLE
A really unusual project for this great Italian trumpeter – a set that has Fabrizio Bosso working with his Spiritual Trio – a group that features lots of Hammond organ, and plenty of tight drums! The "spiritual" in their name is a reference to an American gospel and soul tradition – one that's given plenty of play here, as most numbers are old spiritual standards from the church, reworked by Bosso into jazz instrumentals! Given the heavy use of organ, the approach is a bit like some of the Lou Bennett albums on the European scene of the 60s – with maybe a nod to the Donald Byrd albums of a spiritual nature for Blue Note. But there's also some very personal elements here too – either unusual instrumental inflections or production techniques, or some other aspects that show a greatly evolved understanding of this mode in jazz. Titles include "This Little Light Of Mine", "Purple", "A Little 3/4 For God & Co", "Dreams Come True", "Wishy Washy", "Total Praise", "A Change Is Gonna Come", and "Wade In The Water". ~ Dusty Groove
MARIO BIONDI - MARIO CHRISTMAS
A really special sort of Christmas album from Mario Biondi – one that uses his tremendous vocals in a mighty great way! All tunes are familiar numbers – Holiday hits from the past and more recent years – but they're all taken in some great Mario Biondi directions that include the sort of bouncy rhythms we loved in his work for Schema Records, or some of the more soul-drenched lines from his recent albums! The album's worth it alone for a wonderful cover of "Driving Home For Christmas" – a wonderful choice for the record – and other tunes include "Last Christmas", "This Christmas", "Dreaming Land", "My Christmas Baby", "White Christmas", and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". CD also features a non-holiday gem, too – a version of "After The Love Is Gone", performed with Earth Wind & Fire. ~ Dusty Groove
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Posted: 17 Dec 2013 07:13 AM PST
Give The People What They Want is certainly an appropriate title for Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings' new release. After more than a decade of near constant touring, recording, and as one of the most formidable live acts performing today, they know what their audience wants from them. Happily, it's what they want too.
The appeal of Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings just keeps growing. Michael Bublé has duetted with Sharon on "Baby, You've Got What it Takes", after recording "Crazy Love" with the Dap-Kings back in 2009. The Dap-Kings also contributed to several songs on this year's smash album "To Be Loved". They count Beck, John Legend, Lou Reed and Rufus Wainwright among their collaborators, and of course the Dap-Kings were the band behind Amy Winehouse's Back In Black album for which Gabriel Roth, bandleader and co-founder of Daptone Records, won a Grammy for his engineering skills.
Yet it's the Augusta, Georgia native Sharon Jones who is the undisputed centre of attention here. A recent Hollywood turn acting alongside Denzel Washington will certainly do her star power no harm, but one listen to Give The People What They Want will tell you Sharon doesn't need the silver screen to set her name in lights. Her fervent, impassioned singing goes straight to your heart; those sweet soul hooks stay in your head for days on end. These are vocal performances that withstand any comparison to the soul greats.
Give The People What They Want is the band's fifth album, recorded at home in Bushwick's Daptone House of Soul Studios after two years of touring behind 2010′s lauded I Learned The Hard Way. These ten songs are seasoned with the classic Soul sound one might expect – yet there's a freshness in the band's performances and songwriting that gives the group's fifth studio album a feel unlike anything they've done before. From the electrifying stomp of album opener "Retreat!" to the instantly familiar feel-good groove of "We Get Along," via "Stranger To My Happiness", which perfectly captures the Dap-Kings' sound in three-and-a-half joyous minutes, this is a record that has it all.
Give the people what they want, indeed.
Tracklisting:
01. Retreat!
02. Stranger To My Happiness
03. We Get Along
04. You'll Be Lonely
05. Now I See
06. Making Up and Breaking Up (and Making Up and Breaking Up Over Again)
07. Get Up and Get Out
08. Long Time, Wrong Time
09. People Don't Get What They Deserve
10. Slow Down Love
The album Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings "Give The People What They Want" (Daptone Records) is going to be released January 17, 2014.
~ grooveattack.com
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