THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER Trumpeter Dennis Angel Keeps The Timeless Grooves Flowing Right "On Track," New Album Produced by Jason Miles |  |
- Trumpeter Dennis Angel Keeps The Timeless Grooves Flowing Right "On Track," New Album Produced by Jason Miles
- New Releases: Michael Carvin Experience - Flash Forward; Greg Reitan - Post No Bills; Diane Monroe & Tony Miceli - Alone Together
- Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro Composer/Arranger/Pianist Billy Childs leads an All-Star interpretation of Songwriter Laura Nyro's beloved works Featuring Guest Artists Renee Fleming, Esperanza Spalding, Yo-Yo Ma, Alison Krauss, Ledisi, Wayne Shorter and more
- New Releases: Andreas Varady; Jazz On Film...Bio Pics; Smoke Sessions Vol. 1
- KERBSIDE COLLECTION - REMIXED AND REWORKED
- MINNIE DRIVER - ASK ME TO DANCE
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Posted: 21 Jul 2014 01:59 PM PDT
The Emerging Contemporary Jazz Horn Trumpeter And Flugelhorn Player Is Rising On The Charts Again With His New Single "Soul Strut" Featuring Jazz Greats Kenny Barron and James Genus
Tapping once again into the Timeless Grooves that drove three singles off his critically acclaimed 2012 debut album up the contemporary jazz radio charts, Dennis Angel is right On Track for another successful run with his latest full length release.
The versatile trumpet and flugelhorn player's latest single, the acoustic jazz-funk driven "Soul Strut", is a fast rising sensation on various prominent smooth jazz radio outlets, reaching the Top 35 on the Smoothjazz.com Radar chart, debuting in the Top 50 on SmoothIndieStar.com and gaining spins on the Radio Wave Internet Airplay chart.
"Soul Strut" and the coolly swinging "Sunset Café" are driven by an organic quartet arrangement, featuring Angel vibing with jazz greats Kenny Barron (piano) and James Genus (acoustic bass); on the latter tune, Angel successfully experiments for the first time with a more laid back, Chet Baker styled tone.
Timeless Grooves included "Rio On My Mind", which was #67 on the Groove Jazz Music Top 100 of 2012; "Forever Funk", which reached the Top 25 on the Groove Jazz Music Top 30; and "Vegas Vibe", which also received significant airplay.
Both Timeless Grooves and the new album were produced by Jason Miles, a keyboardist, composer and artist in his own right, who is renowned for his work over the past 30 years with Miles Davis, Luther Vandross, Michael Brecker, Whitney Houston, Grover Washington, Jr., Sting, Ivan Lins, Chaka Khan, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, David Sanborn and Michael Jackson. Miles arranged the tracks of On Track with longtime Angel collaborator Gottfried Stoger (who also did transcriptions and charts, and plays tenor sax, soprano sax and flute). Miles performs on piano and adds a classic soul-jazz sensibility to the ten tracks with synthesizer, strings and dynamic array of keyboards, including electric piano, Wurlitzer electric piano and Hammond B-3 organ.
Five of the tracks ("I Like It Like That", "Take Me Away", "Serenity", "Jubiliation", and "Tea for Two") are anchored by the rhythm section of Amanda Ruzza (bass) and Brian Dunne (drums), with featured appearances by acoustic guitarist Romero Lubambo and bassist Will Lee. Angel's 18-year-old daughter Rebecca Angel, a jazz vocal major at Ithaca College, showcases her charming vocals on a seductive bossa nova twist on the Jazz Age classic "Tea for Two".
The high-energy soul-jazz jam track titled "This Song's For You" features bassist George Porter, Jr., who is well known for his work in the band The Meters and the TV series Treme. The song also features Miles on Wurlitzer and B-3 as well as a colorful flugelhorn-sax doubling by Angel and Stoger.
The funked out, thumping groove infused "Dream Dancer" is a retro disco/Herb Alpert 70s vibe tune with cross genre appeal. Veteran engineer Goh Hotoda from Japan mixed the original track and did another mastered version that could be a dance track. Two other tracks capture the overall emotional dynamics of the set, with the silky and graceful "Serenity" (featuring Gottfried at his most deeply expressive) giving way to the explosive whimsy of the bossa nova carnival "Jubilation", featuring powerhouse solos by Lubambo on acoustic guitar and Stoger on flute.
After switching off between trumpet and flugelhorn on the first album – which earned Angel the distinction of December 2012's Artist of the Month from the monthly jazz webzine Sounds of Timeless Jazz – Angel features his fluid and melodic work on the latter exclusively throughout the ten cuts of On Track. This is all the more impressive considering that he only began playing the flugelhorn two years ago.
"After so many years of playing trumpet simply for my own pleasure," Angel says, "it's been very exciting for me to write and record these original songs – especially with Jason and so many world class musicians who bring them to life in ways beyond anything I could have dreamed. I love the whole process of creating music, from the initial spark of inspiration through the smallest details of working in the studio to finally sharing it with the world and playing it live for people. My wife Linda came up with the title of the new album and I thought it fit perfectly with what I wanted to say. It has a lot of different meanings. I really feel that I'm On Track, right where I want to be as an artist."
Musicians include Gottfried Stoger on tenor sax, soprano sax and flute; Jason Miles on piano, keyboards, synthesizers, strings, percussion and string arrangements; special guest Kenny Barron piano; Will Lee (electric bass); James Genus (acoustic bass) George Porter Jr. (electric bass); Amanda Ruzza (electric bass) Tom "Bones" Malone (trombone); Romero Lubambo (acoustic guitar); Nick Moroch (guitar); JT Lewis (drums); Brian Dunne (drums);
Adrian Harpham (drums); Bashiri Johnson (percussion) Cyro Baptisata (percussion); Maya Azucena, James D Train Williams, Pamela-Driggs; and Rebecca Angel on vocals
Dennis Angel's On Trakc is produced by Jason Miles, and all tracks are arranged by Jason Miles and Gottfried Stoger.
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Posted: 21 Jul 2014 12:07 PM PDT
MICHAEL CARVIN EXPERIENCE - FLASH FORWARD
Having played with many of the jazz giants in his impressive career (Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard & more), master drummer Michael Carvin taps into a new generation of young, international talent to form his quartet, Michael Carvin Experience. Carvin, who has taught a veritable 'who s who' of drummers, brings his vast experience to put his unique fingerprint on iconic songs on Flash Forward, an album of jazz classics. A top master of the craft of drumming, Michael Carvin has played and recorded with the biggest names in jazz, including Freddie Hubbard, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Jackie McLean, Hank Jones, McCoy Tyner, Illinois Jacquet, Pharoah Sanders, Bobby Hutcherson, James Moody, Hampton Hawes, Ruth Brown, Johnny Hartman, Abbey Lincoln, Jimmy Smith, Hugh Masekela, Alice Coltrane, Cecil Taylor, Charles Brown, Terumasa Hino, Bobby Watson and Billy Bang. ~ Amazon.com
GREG REITAN - POST NO BILLS
After years of experimentation and exploration, it can be beneficial and, occasionally, revelatory to look backwards to known paths and accomplishments. The reexamination of an older composition can lead to new discoveries and goals for an ensemble that has been performing together for years. Pianist/composer Greg Reitan has led his fantastic trio of bassist Jack Daro and drummer Dean Koba since 1996, formed shortly after their graduation from University of Southern California s Thornton School of Music. Their long and fruitful tenure has created a fantastic partnership, which can be fully enjoyed on their new recording Post No Bills. Originally from Seattle, Washington, Reitan relocated to Los Angeles to study composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. Upon graduation, he organized the trio with Daro and Koba to perform at the 1996 Hennessy Cognac Jazz Search in New York City, in which Reitan was a finalist. The trio needed an original composition for their performance. Reitan decided to revisit a composition he had written for solo viola and orchestra and he then adapted elements for their piano trio. Being in New York City for the first time, Reitan was inspired by the myriad of sights and sounds, ultimately naming the piece after the nearly ubiquitous warning, Post No Bills. Over the years, Post No Bills fell out of the trio s repertoire. It wasn t until the summer of 2013 that Reitan rediscovered it. Reitan: I made a few changes and decided to record it as the centerpiece for the new album. It s really gratifying to see how the composition
DIANE MONROE / TONY MICELI - ALONE TOGETHER
Two of Philadelphia s most revered jazz artists unite for an intimate, exploratory duo session on Alone Together. Violinist Diane Monroe and vibraphonist Tony Miceli have been playing together since the mid-'80s, and the fruits of that three-decade relationship are evident throughout their debut collaboration. The album s thirteen tracks encompass the wide range of the pair s mutual interests, from jazz to classical, standards to spirituals, originals to classics, and even an unexpected TV theme song. Both Monroe and Miceli have long histories of forging rich collaborations in Philadelphia and beyond. Monroe has bridged the jazz and classical traditions for most of her career. She studied at Oberlin Conservatory, Philadelphia Musical Academy, Michigan State University, and the Curtis Institute of Music. She toured for more than a decade with the Max Roach Double Quartet and the Uptown String Quartet and performed extensively as a member of the String Trio of New York, all ensembles which fused classical virtuosity with jazz improvisation. Miceli has been a force on the Philly jazz scene since 1980 while touring the world and mentoring young players as an educator. In 1990 he co-founded the group Monkadelphia, dedicated to playing the music of Thelonious Monk. He is also a member of the PhilOrch Jazz Ensemble, a quartet featuring members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has worked with countless jazz luminaries as both a leader and a sideman. ~ Amazon.com
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Posted: 21 Jul 2014 11:51 AM PDT
When Grammy Award®-winning musician Billy Childs was 11 years old, his older sisters introduced him to the work of Songwriter and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame singer-songwriter Laura Nyro. Her blend of Broadway-inspired melodies, jazz improvisation and socially conscious lyrics have stayed with him. Now Billy has returned to his early source of inspiration, conceiving and orchestrating his new album, "Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro."
Childs is not alone in his enthusiasm for Nyro's music, an incredible range of musicians join him in interpreting her narratives. Classical soprano Renée Fleming and cellist Yo-Yo Ma add new meaning to her hometown ode, "New York Tendaberry." Jazz stars Esperanza Spalding and Wayne Shorter collaborate on Nyro's pictorial "Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp," and R&B chanteuse Ledisi updates one of Nyro's biggest hits, "Stoned Soul Picnic." Other prominent voices include Alison Krauss, Rickie Lee Jones, Shawn Colvin, Dianne Reeves, Susan Tedeschi, Lisa Fischer and Becca Stevens, with featured instrumental soloists Chris Botti, Jerry Douglas, Chris Potter and Steve Wilson. Childs' own experiences leading jazz chamber groups proved invaluable to creating the widescreen scope of "Map to the Treasure" his focus was on arranging the ensemble and guests to best present Nyro's imagery. Even after Childs' decades of considering Nyro's music, at the heart of it all is his unyielding devotion to her art. That love is the heart of the re-imagination of "Map to the Treasure." ~ billychilds.com / sonymasterworks.com
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Posted: 21 Jul 2014 11:43 AM PDT
ANDREAS VARADY
Varady blends the accomplished technique of Wes Montgomery, soulful voicing of George Benson and Gypsy swing of Django Reinhardt. While he started absorbing these masters from his parents record collection, he also has a fresh view on their legacy. I always knew that I was slightly different than other people, Varady said from his family s home in Limerick, Ireland. Not that I was better, but just slightly different. When I was 12, the kids at my school were into casual things, and I was into way different things. This guitarist also stands out from many veteran musicians. Guitar Player put Varady on its cover in 2012 and that summer he performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in front the festival s legendary founder, the late Claude Nobs, and world renowned producer Quincy Jones, who has since taken Varady on as a protégé. Andreas is the complete package, Jones said. He s a 360-degree musician whose knowledge and appreciation for all genres from jazz and hip-hop to rock and pop can be felt in his music. ~ Amazon.com
 JAZZ ON FILM...BIO PICS (BOX SET)
An amazing collection of music from 50s biopics, scattered with iconic legends that influenced a generation. For the first time, this unique new release compiles a collection of nine stunning jazz scores from classic biographical films that traced the lives of some of the most influential jazz and blues musicians in history, as well as one of the most iconic film actors: James Dean! 6 Discs Include: The Gene Krupa Story (1959) music by Gene Krupa and Leith Stevens; The James Dean Story (1957) music by Johnny Mandel and Bill Holman; The Five Pennies (1959) music by Danny Kaye and Louis Armstrong; St Louis Blues (1958) music by Nat King Cole and Nelson Riddle Orchestra; The Eddy Duchin Story (1956) music by George Dunning & Carmen Cavallaro; The Glenn Miller Story (1954) music by Universal-International Orchestra; Young Man with a Horn (1950) music by Harry James and Doris Day; Pete Kelly s Blues (1955) music by Ray Heindorf; The James Dean Story (1957) music by Leith Stevens; The Benny Goodman Story (1956) music by Benny Goodman. ~ Amazon.com
SMOKE SESSIONS VOL. 1 (VARIOUS ARTISTS)
A collector s edition sampler of the first four titles in the Smoke Sessions catalog! Pressed on
200-gram vinyl by Quality Record Pressings, it is destined to be a rare collector s item as it is
limited to only 500 hand-numbered copies! The packaging is a classic tip-on style gatefold
jacket featuring original artwork and liner notes, as well as photography by noted jazz photographer Jimmy Katz. Mastered by celebrated vinyl mastering engineer Kevin Gray, tracks include: Vincent Herring s exhilarating Elation from The Uptown Shuffle; a classic reading of Kurt Weill s My Ship from David Hazeltine s For All We Know; George Cable s jazz-rock classic Think on Me from Javon Jackson s Expression; and Thad Jones beautiful ballad To You from Harold Mabern's Right On Time. ~ Amazon.com
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Posted: 21 Jul 2014 05:32 AM PDT
Not known for his prolific output, Melbourne producer Ennio Styles makes a surprisingly quick return following his recent remix (with Cy Gorman) for London's Los Charly's Orchestra. This time it's the turn of Brisbane's retro jazz-funkers Kerbside Collection for German label Légère. Ennio takes the downtempo Meters-style funk of 'Sweet Like Nectar' and completely flips it into a B-boy disco funk monster. It gets started sounding like a lost early 70s session from ESG, all percussion, heavy snare fills and Jez O'Connor's Fender bass. Then midway it's as though Nile Rodgers and his friends crash the studio, with layers of guitar, horns and flutes joining the party. Ennio Styles again brings his distinctive approach to the art of sampling, with every sound in this remix taken from the back catalogue of the Légère family of labels, yet somehow keeping a very 'live' feel. Even the added keyboards by James Bowers (JamBow/Kirkis/Sex on Toast) are played on sampled sounds.
Kerbside Collection - are an all instrumental jazz funk and rare groove ensemble from the inner suburbs of Brisbane/Queensland/Australia. 'A gritty rhythm section of old school drums and fender or upright bass, alongside funky hammond and rhodes, with some sweet George Benson-ish jazz guitar licks on top.' The sound harks back to the 60's and 70's Californian West Coast jazz funk music of artists such as Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Chico Hamilton, Joe Sample and The Crusaders, whilst tipping its' hat to today's contemporaries keeping the 'feel' alive (Soulive, Bobby Hughes, James Taylor, Eddie Roberts & the New Mastersounds, Cookin on 3 Burners, Mattson 2, Frootful, Stance Brothers etc). Their debut LP 'Mind the Curb' was released May 2013 on Indie German funk label Legere Recordings and P-Vine Records to wide acclaim in funk and soul circles from UK to Japan.
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Posted: 21 Jul 2014 05:23 AM PDT
"This would have come a lot sooner, but I had a baby, and I wanted to focus on being a mum for awhile," Minnie Driver says of Ask Me to Dance, her third Rounder/Zöe album, and her first new release since 2007.
In a musical career that's run concurrently with her endeavors as one of her generation's most acclaimed and in-demand actresses, Minnie Driver has consistently demonstrated an organic, distinctive set of talents that have been honed through a lifetime of music-making.
Ask Me to Dance marks another notable landmark in Driver's creative evolution. Where her first two albums, 2004's Everything I've Got In My Pocket and 2007's Seastories, focused on her own vivid songwriting, Ask Me to Dance finds the artist interpreting a selection of compositions by some of her favorite songwriters, demonstrating the breadth of her musical interests while showcasing her substantial interpretive skills.
Driver lends her warmly expressive voice to an impressively diverse set of songs, underlining her talent as a song stylist as well as her deeply personal engagement with the material. She submerges herself in the bittersweet vibe of "Waltz #2" by Elliott Smith, whom Driver befriended when both were in the early stages of their respective careers, and brings a jazzy lilt to The Cure's "Close To Me." While her readings of Neil Young's "Tell Me Why," John Prine's "Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness," and Neil Finn's "Better Be Home Soon" cut straight to the emotional heart of those songs, she reinvents the Killers' "Human" as an affecting country ballad, reworks the swinging Sinatra standard "Fly Me To The Moon" as a stark, moody ballad, and recasts Stevie Wonder's "Master Blaster" as a pensive, introspective mood piece.
"This is something that I've always wanted to do," Driver says of the covers project. "Every single song on it has enormous resonance for me, for one reason or another. It's called Ask Me to Dance because a lot of it is my entire teenage experience of standing at the side of a dark dance hall, just willing someone to ask me to dance. Some of these songs are the ones that helped me through being a teenager.
"But it wasn't just about going back to the past," she continues. "The point was to choose songs that I felt a real connection to, and then metabolizing the song and seeing how I could bring something new to it. It was much harder than I thought it would be, and it was quite a challenge to try to turn these songs into something new, and to find myself in them in a way that would also be meaningful to other people."
London-born Amelia Fiona Driver spent much of her early childhood in Barbados, until her parents separated and sent her back to England to attend boarding school. As a teenager, she began singing and playing guitar in London jazz clubs, while earning her degree in drama from the Webber-Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. By the time she reached her 20s, she was acting regularly on British TV, while singing with the jazz group Puff, Rocks and Brown.
"I don't know if I actually did the whole Malcolm Gladwell thing of playing for 10,000 hours, but I felt like I did," Driver recalls. "I had planned to make music my primary thing, but then I got offered a film and it all went off in a different direction. At the time, I thought that I was ready to take on the music industry, but I don't think that I really was. I had to grow up enough to have something to say."
Although her band won a development deal with Island Records, Driver temporarily put her musical passions on hold when her acting career took off, first with her breakout role in Circle of Friends in 1995, and subsequently with high-profile turns in such films as GoldenEye, Big Night, Grosse Pointe Blank, Sleepers and Good Will Hunting. Her work in the latter film earned Driver her first Academy Award nomination, along with a London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Supporting Actress of the Year.
As her acting career gained momentum, Driver found time to continue writing songs, gravitating towards a rootsy folk-pop sound that she unveiled with the release of 2004's Everything I've Got in My Pocket and refined on 2007's Seastories. Both albums received considerable critical acclaim and won Driver a substantial fan base.
Driver was hardly idle in the seven years separating Seastories and Ask Me to Dance. In addition to raising her now-five-year-old son, she won wide acclaim for the FX TV series The Riches, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award as Best Lead Actress. She also starred in the 2010 BBC series The Deep, and appeared in the feature films Conviction and Barney's Version, for which she won a Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Most recently, Driver starred in the television movie "Return to Zero," a devastating true story of a couple's attempts to navigate their way through a pregnancy filled with doubt, grief and trepidation. Driver was nominated for a 2014 Critics' Choice Television Award, as well as a 2014 Primetime Emmy Award on behalf of her performance in the film. She's also currently one of the stars of the NBC series About A Boy, which will premiere its Second Season on Tuesday, October 14th at 9:30PM.
Driver recorded Ask Me to Dance with noted producer Marc "Doc" Dauer, who also produced her first two albums, and legendary engineer Jim Scott, who worked on Seastories, along with many of the same musicians who played on her prior releases.
"I really like the continuity of working with the same people," Driver states. "To me, that's a lot more interesting to me than the idea of going to France to make a record with Phoenix or going to North Africa to work on some world beats. I'm more interested in finding my own groove, and I like where I'm at with these guys, because there's a shorthand and a communication that's developed over time. This time, we were all in the room together, and it just felt so good and so positive. I gave a little speech every time we started a new song, letting them know what the song meant to me, and they got it."
Having ended her extended recording hiatus, Minnie Driver is returning to music with a renewed passion. She's also looking forward to return to playing live, and planning to work around About A Boy's shooting schedule to bring Ask Me to Dance to life on stage.
"Everyone's journey is different, and there's a million different ways of doing it," she reflects. "With my first record, because I had been waiting for such a long time to do it, I felt such a need to prove myself. And then people actually listened and realized that it wasn't a self-aggrandizing trainwreck, so now I don't feel like I have quite so much to prove. But music is still very important to me, and I feel like I'm still learning and still growing.
"You can't talk people into believing that you're good at something," Driver concludes. "You just have to show them, and then you just have to keep doing it and keep getting better at it, and let the work speak for itself."
Ask Me To Dance will be released on October 7, 2014.
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