THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER NEW RELEASES: FLORENCE JOELLE – LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL IF YOU LET IT; LUCIA CADOTSCH – SPEAK LOW; KYLIE AULDIST – FAMILY TREE |  |
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Posted: 28 Jul 2016 05:41 AM PDT
FLORENCE JOELLE – LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL IF YOU LET IT
A great sort of old-school vocal jazz session – one that takes its classic vibe so seriously, it was recorded in glorious mono! Yet even the lack of stereo separation can't dim the brilliance of vocalist Florence Joelle – who can sing equally well in French and English, which she does here throughout on a set of beautiful original tunes – numbers that were mostly penned by the singer herself, with a cool sort of postwar, left bank jazz-based sound – and set to backings by a cool combo that includes chromatic guitar lines from Thierry Courault, plus flute and light percussion – and a bit of added trombone and organ on a few cuts. Titles include "Wake Up Swinging", "Two & Two Don't Make Five", "One Step Forward Two Steps Back", "Chez Moi", "Sleepy Eyes", "Live Is Beautiful", and "Angel's Child". ~ Dusty Groove
Such a cool little record – one that's quite different than the usual sort of jazz vocal session, thanks to some very "mouthy" tenor work from Otis Sandsjo, who almost acts as a second sort of singer on the set! Lucia Cadotsch is in the lead, with just the bass of Petter Eldh as the third element in the set – and her own vocals are often mirrored by inflections from Otis on the tenor – with a really compelling sound that articulates a beautiful space between the lyrics and the basslines, and completely transforms the tunes! Cadotsch is a slightly moody singer, but the use of tenor and bass really transport her elsewhere – on titles that include "Slow Hot Wind", "Strange Fruit", "Ain't Got No I Got No Life", "Don't Explain", "Deep Song", "Some Other Spring", and "Gloomy Sunday". ~ Dusty Groove
KYLIE AULDIST – FAMILY TREE
A sweet change in sound from Kylie Auldist – an artist we know mostly for deep funk work with The Bamboos on backup – but who steps out here in a style that's got much more of an 80s soul vibe overall! The arrangements are full, funky, and beautifully suited to Kylie's voice – pushing her even more out front than before, with this soaring sort of energy that reminds us a lot of the first few solo albums that Chaka Kahn cut with Arif Mardin – stepping out on her own away from Rufus! The vibe here with Auldist is similar – proud, positive, and very much her own woman – answering to no one as she blows us away even more than before. Titles include "Sensational", "Too Easy", "Saturday Night", "No Change", "Warming Up The Sun", "Look Away", "Rewards", and "Good Time Girl". ~ Dusty Groove
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Posted: 28 Jul 2016 05:32 AM PDT
Much to the anticipation of guitarists worldwide, guitar virtuoso Gustavo Assis-Brasil has released a new album "Chromatic Dialogues"! The tracks were conceived and recorded in Boston, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh during the Fall of 2015, and brought to Grammy winner engineer Dave Darlington for mixing and mastering at Bass Hit Studios, New York City, in January 2016.
Says Gustavo, "The main idea of recording this album was to combine compositions with improvised musical dialogues (duets). The result was an original blending of spontaneous instrumental conversations with intricate and introspective musical statements.
"My compositions are abstract. I want the listeners to interpret the dialogues and compositions the way they want. It becomes easier to understand the dialogues after listening to them a few times. I'd love to keep attracting a diverse and open-minded audience."
Gustavo has performed/recorded with John Stowell, Esperanza Spaulding, Frank Potenza, Bob Mintzer, Richard Smith, Hiromi, Tony Grey, Prasanna, Julio Herrlein, Richard Bona, Greg Hopkins, Vardan Ovsepian, Brett Wilmott, Mauricio Zottarelli, Tim Ries, Nelson Faria, Prasanna, Mozik, among others.
Based in Boston, USA, Gustavo began playing the guitar at the age of 13. He attended the Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil, to get his bachelor in classical guitar at the age of 21.
In 1995 he was featured in Guitar Player Magazine – USA (Spotlight session). In 1999 he got a full scholarship to get his Master Degree In Jazz at Berklee College of Music. His main teachers were Mick Goodrick, Wayne Krantz, and Hal Crook. While studying at Berklee, he had the opportunity to attend master-classes with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Pat Metheny, Frank Gambale, Mike Stern, Dave Liebman and John Scofield. Gustavo also studied improvisation and composition with Charlie Banacos.
From 2001 until 2006, Gustavo played/toured with the renowned group the Dig Trio. Gustavo is the director of the Jazz and Contemporary Music Ensembles and is a faculty member of at the Cambridge School of Weston. His other teaching experience includes: Berklee College of Music (Boston), Musicians Institute (Hollywood), University of Southern California (Los Angeles), Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Federal University of Santa Maria, and University of Passo Fundo (Brazil).
In 2005, Gustavo released the book "Hybrid Picking for Guitar", a method entirely dedicated to the art of combining pick and fingers. In 2008, he released the follow up book "Hybrid Picking Exercises: Single Note Permutations", with more than 1,400 different exercises based entirely on math permutations. Also in 2008, Gustavo released a live DVD/CD combo called "In Concert". On that same year, he was invited by ESC Records (Germany) to write and record an arrangement of Steely Dan's "Aja", for which was to be included in a tribute CD called "Maestros of Cool".
In 2009, Gustavo was invited to participate in the project "Mahavishnu Re-Defined – a Tribute to John Mclaughlin & the Mahavishnu Orchestra". In 2010 he released the soundtrack for the Brazilian movie "Manhã Transfigurada". In 2011, Gustavo released his third book, "Hybrid Picking Lines and Licks". Guthrie Govan wrote the foreword for it.
And now, Gustavo has released his highly anticipated new solo album "Chromatic Dialogues"!
The album features:
Gustavo Assis-Brasil (guitars / compositions)
Tony Grey (electric bass) - performed and collaborated with John McLaughlin, Hiromi, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter
Vardan Ovsepian (piano and synthesizer) - performed with V.O.C.E., Peter Erskine, Jerry Bergonzi, Mick Goodrick, and more…
José Pienasola (acoustic bass) - performed/recorded with Elis Regina, Chico Buarque, Leny Andrade, Emilio Santiago, and more…
Mauricio Zottarelli (drums) - performed/recorded with Lee Ritenour, Eliane Elias, Hiromi, Dig Trio, Chuck Loeb, and more…
Upcoming show dates:
9/14 - Ryles Jazz Club, Cambridge, MA, USA (CD release concert)
9/18 - Rockwood Music Hall, New York, NY, USA (CD release concert)
10/6 - Uppsalla Guitar Festival, Uppsalla, SWEDEN (workshop and solo performance)
10/8 - Uppsalla Guitar Festival, Uppsala, SWEDEN (workshop and solo performance)
Fall 2016 – will record instructional videos for MyMusicMasterclass.com
Promo video:
Gustavo's website:
Facebook:
Youtube Channel:
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