THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL 10th Anniversary Celebration: Two Weeks of Music July 26 - August 10, 2019 |  |
- MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL 10th Anniversary Celebration: Two Weeks of Music July 26 - August 10, 2019
- GRAMMY®Award-nominated JAZZMEIA HORN to release LOVE AND LIBERATION
- Yelena Eckemoff Presents A Journey through the Human Life Span On "Colors"
- New Music Releases: Ron Carter & Danny Simmons - Brown Beatnik Tomes: Live At BRIC House; Lonnie Smith - Gotcha; J-Galvin – Heart Glow
- Ido Spak: The Jazz Traveler - Tales of Blood (in a Hot Distant Land)
- JACQUES GAINES release new album VOLUME WON featuring the single 'Something Wrong With Me’
- Hungry For Love" the second self-produced solo album from Carlo Ditta, a veteran New Orleans-based producer, and singer/songwriter
- The Best Of Mississippi Fred McDowell
- Pianist Gino Rosaria displays his depths on “Still Waters”
- Laurence Hobgood Weaves Together Jazz Trio With String Quartet On Tesseterra
- Sony Masterworks Announces Digital EP Series from Virtuosic Guitarist Pasquale Grasso
- 2019 Miami Smooth Jazz Festival
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Posted: 12 Jun 2019 11:42 AM PDT
The award-winning JAZZ HOUSE KiDS® have announced the MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL 2019 line-up. The Garden State's largest and favorite music festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary this summer with two jam-packed weeks from July 26 through August 10 featuring 250+ jazz musicians, 30+ musical acts, 2 marquee stages, 7 venues, and 20+ concerts and events.
Each August, the MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL, produced by JAZZ HOUSE KiDS® along with presenting sponsor The Bravitas Group/Silver Family Foundation, attracts more than 15,000 music lovers from across the region to Montclair, New Jersey, and reaches thousands more who tune in to the many live-streamed performances.
The MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL transforms the vibrant, arts-rich New York City urban suburb into a musical mecca. The event culminates with a day of world-class jazz at Nishuane Park, with headliners that include Bettye LaVette, Joey DeFrancesco, Mark Whitfield, Christian McBride, Eddie Palmieri, Mike Lee, JAZZ HOUSE Collective, and inspired performances by the more than 125 talented JAZZ HOUSE KiDS emerging musicians from across the country and internationally who attend the acclaimed JAZZ HOUSE Summer Workshop.
The alter ego of six-time GRAMMY-winner Christian McBride, DJ Brother Mister will spin classic R&B, soul and funk on original analog vinyl from what he considers the "sweet spot" of dance music, from 1966 to 1986. Dance Party-goers will see why McBride is known as one of the most versatile artists on the scene today when he plays virtually all of the bass solos on his curated soundtrack of classic soul. Tickets go quickly to this can't-miss dance party kick off!
The exciting two-week run-up to Nishuane Park will be a jazz fan's dream, with smokin' hot music in the afternoons and evenings throughout Montclair Center. Every day of the week brings something special. On Wednesdays, the Montclair Social Club will host Piano Stars: Featuring Emmet Cohen Trio + Isaiah Thompson Trio (July 31) and the Ed Palermo Big Band (August 7). The players are two of the most accomplished young musicians on the worldwide jazz scene. Bandleader, composer and saxophonist Ed Palermo has an almost cult-like following among fans across multiple genres, as he satisfies everyone's musical tastes from Frank Zappa to classic jazz with his genius mashups.
On Thursdays, music fans will head over to the Montclair Brewery for high-energy performances by some of the most charismatic young performers on the scene today.
On August 1, the venue will showcase Matthew Whitaker's B-3 Organ Party. A music prodigy and longtime JAZZ HOUSE KiDS student, Whitaker's talents have taken him all over the world. In addition to television appearances on ELLEN and the TODAY show, and an upcoming 60 Minutes special, Whitaker has performed as a headliner on world-renowned stages, including Carnegie Hall, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and many others.
The following week on August 8, the Montclair Brewery will host Gemini, featuring tap dance phenom Michela Marino Lerman and saxophonist Julian Lee, a JAZZ HOUSE KiDS alum and recent graduate of The Juilliard School. Lee, a recipient of the 2017 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, is hailed as one of the most promising young saxophonists in New York City. Both Lerman and Lee perform with the dynamic band Mwenso and the Shakes, and have appeared at Jazz at Lincoln Center and most major New York City jazz stages.
New this year, the MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL will take over the Montclair Center Stage in collaboration with the Montclair Center BID on Saturday, August 3 for Jazz on Church Street, five hours of live music with performances by JAZZ HOUSE KiDS Alumni All-Stars, Candice Reyes Quintet (CRQ) ft. Nathan Eklund, and the Oscar Perez Quintet. More live music can be found down the street at the DLV Lounge Backyard Concerts on Sunday afternoons with the JAZZ HOUSE Adult Community Band (July 28), and the Blues Jam Band (August 4). Ruthie's BBQ & Pizza will host its annual JAZZ HOUSE Jam (Date TBA). Returning this year, community partner Montclair Film will feature a four-part curated jazz film series at its screening room on Bloomfield Avenue on July 28 and August 2, 4 and 9.
Daily Facebook Live Series! Jazz in the Afternoon with Special Guests
Tune in each day to the JAZZ HOUSE KiDS Facebook page to watch the JAZZ HOUSE Afternoon Concert Series offered at the JAZZ HOUSE Summer Workshop, a nationally recognized, two-week summer program that coincides with the MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL. Afternoon concerts with an array of special guest artists every weekday afternoon from 2:30 to 3:30pm, July 29 - August 9, will stream live from Montclair State University featuring performances jazz legends, and exclusive Q&A sessions with JAZZ HOUSE Artistic Chair Christian McBride.
Curator of the Grand Finale at Nishuane Park and hot off his gig as artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival, Christian McBride has assembled another stellar MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL line-up for the 10th anniversary celebration. The list of all-star headliners includes soul singer Bettye LaVette, making her debut appearance on the Bravitas Group Main Stage. A true legend with a musical career spanning over 50 years, Ms. LaVette is rightly recognized as one of the finest vocalists and one of the great interpreters of song. Returning to the MONTCLAIR JAZZ FESTIVAL is the incomparable Eddie Palmieri, a 10-time GRAMMY Award-winning pianist, composer, bandleader and NEA Jazz Master. Christian McBride tops off the Festival with his powerhouse quartet of musical friends: Hammond B-3 organ master Joey DeFrancesco, guitarist Mark Whitfield, considered one of the young lions of his generation, and drummer extraordinaire Quincy Phillips.
Rounding out the day is saxophonist and JAZZ HOUSE KiDS faculty member Mike Lee, who performs regularly in New York City as a member of jazz ensembles including the Jimmy Heath Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra and Loston Harris Trio, to name just a few.
Returning this year is the JAZZ HOUSE Collective, which includes JAZZ HOUSE KiDS' renowned faculty. Each year, the Collective showcases the music of a jazz luminary; this year the group celebrates the centennial of Art Blakey, known as the guru of hard bop. The Collective will pay tribute in grand style with a set themed "Free for All," named after Blakey's most dynamic album of the same name.
Straight from the set of NBC's Chicago Med, award-winning actor S. Epatha Merkerson returns as host to lead the festivities as Mistress of Ceremonies, along with WBGO on-air personality Gary Walker.
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Posted: 12 Jun 2019 11:35 AM PDT
Horn chose the title she did for her second album because, "Love and Liberation is a concept and mantra that I use consistently in my everyday life. For me the two go hand in hand and they both describe where I am in my life and career right now. An act of love is an act of liberation, and choosing to liberate—oneself or another—is an act of love."
Love and Liberation, scheduled for release on August 23, 2019 via Concord Jazz, marks a formidable leap forward for Horn as a singer, bandleader and songwriter, the result of an almost non-stop touring schedule that followed the release of her debut album and which benefitted her vocal chops as well as her band sound. "I have evolved," she says. "It's like I'm really understanding music in a different way."
"Once A Social Call was released in May of 2017, I hit the road and I am still on tour. The album literally came out two years ago. I'm really tired but grateful because I've had the opportunity to travel and practice and improvise night after night in a room full of people with some of the best musicians playing today. We'd experiment, using a trumpet player on a song one time and a saxophonist the next, or sometimes just drums and voice in the beginning of a song, trying out different combinations and ideas, challenging ourselves. This was worth more than gold to me—understanding how to utilize my instruments: my voice, my body, the band that I've hired."
Horn has substantial experience with all the A-list musicians on these tracks: pianists Victor Gould (her regular accompanist) and special guest Sullivan Fortner, tenor saxophonist Stacey Dillard and trumpeter Josh Evans, bassist Ben Williams, and drummer/singer Jamison Ross. Chris Dunn, who produced Horn's debut disc, is producer on this album as well.
Eight of the dozen new tracks are original tunes, a point of pride and significance for the 28-year old Horn: "All of these songs are about me and my experiences, but also as part of any young person's journey. The message they all share is that you just have to learn—about people, about relationships, about business, love, or whatever. They don't just tell one person's story, they tell many people's stories."
The songs on Love and Liberation comprise an impressive variety of styles, approaches, and feel—some with full band, some just voice and one instrument, even an a capelladuet—each with a precise message to convey. There are songs that resonate with a powerful sense of African American identity, and others that speak with intention about her stature as a strong, independent woman. Still others deal with matters of love and attraction—with tenderness and humor.
"Some of these songs are very cute and fun," Horn admits. "But a lot of them are meditations and have deep meaning that people can listen to, to help free up their minds. People of all creeds and races, and even all generations because there's a lot of tradition in this music. My godfather gave me the best compliment when I played the album for him. He said, I'm really proud of you because this music sounds like what Ella [Fitzgerald] or Billie [Holiday] or Abbey [Lincoln] or Nina [Simone] would have evolved into."
Musically, Horn's compositions both breathe and bend jazz tradition, with tasteful touches of R&B and hip-hop, revealing a marked inventiveness and a love for a good melodic line. On Love and Liberation one can hear it on the opener "Free Your Mind" (a plea for more human interaction and less focus on digital media) and the coy yet firm "Time" (urging an avid suitor to take a breath and cool his jets), to the upbeat, off-kilter, rhythmic slam of "Out The Window" (warning of the other woman) and the intelligence and nuance of the a capelladuet, "Only You" (weaving the inner words of two lovers as their thoughts connect, diverge and reconnect.)
Horn is quick to point out that she is constantly writing while on the road, and that many of the originals on Love and Liberation are not exactly new. "We've been playing 'Legs And Arms' for about a year now, and some, like 'Searching' goes back to 2013! We've also been doing 'Green Eyes' which is by Erykah [Badu] and then a bunch are brand spanking new."
The four covers on Love and Liberation are equally impressive, both in which tunes Horn chose to cover and how she approaches them, finding fresh takes on Jon Hendrick's "No More" (as clear and strong a statement on Horn's own philosophy of personal empowerment), Badu's "Green Eyes" (Horn's interpretation giving it a shot of gravitas with a more spiritual feel), Rachelle Farrell's "Reflection of My Heart" (a poignant vocal duet with drummer/singer Jamison Ross), and Jimmy Van Heusen/Johnny Mercer's "I Thought About You" (the sole classic standard of the set.)
Blessed with a fitting name for her chosen path—it was Horn's jazz-loving, piano-playing grandmother who chose "Jazzmeia"—the singer was born in Dallas in 1991, grew up in a tightly knit, church-going family filled with musical talent andstarted singing as a toddler. She attended Booker T. Washington High School for Performing and Visual Arts, known for launching such musical greats as Roy Hargrove, Norah Jones, and Erykah Badu. Her education included steering herself to the mentors who would guide her passion for jazz, like Bobby McFerrin, Abbey Lincoln, and Betty Carter.
In 2009, Horn moved to New York City to enroll in The New School's jazz and contemporary music program. An intense four years of training and performing followed, when she met many of the musicians who appear on her recordings, including Gould and Dillard. In short order, her talent began to be noticed. In 2013, she entered and won a Newark-based contest named for an initial inspiration—the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition. In 2015, she won the Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition,the most coveted award a jazz musician can hope to attain. Part of her prize was a contract with Concord, which led to A Social Call and now Love and Liberation.
"Honestly, I'm way more excited now about Love and Liberation because this is mostly my original music," says Horn with palpable giddiness. "Don't get me wrong, I love A Social Call and all the acclamations were great—the reviews in Downbeat, The New York Times and London Times. But now I'm like, You guys don't really know what's coming. Boy, do I have something in store for you!" - By Ashley Kahn
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Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:55 AM PDT
Yelena Eckemoff Colors Pianist-composer Yelena Eckemoff casts her eye on the visible spectrum with Colors, her third album in just over a year on her own L&H Production label. Accompanied only by the brilliant French drummer Manu Katché, Eckemoff creates musical impressions of 14 distinct hues, organizing them into a symbolic progression through the stages of life -- using a panoply of styles as diverse as the spectrum itself.
Colors is both a popular title and subject in the jazz world, placing Eckemoff into a tradition that extends from Ellington's magnum opus "Black, Brown and Beige" to Miles Davis's late-period suite Aura. The Russian-born pianist's conception is unique, however. There is striking originality in its stylistic breadth, its intimate duet setting, and its panoramic view of the human life span -- which Eckemoff also maps with a series of free-verse poems that correspond to each color and composition.
"Ultimately, everything is filtered through my inner feelings and expressed through melody and harmony, but this isn't about me," says Eckemoff. "I deliberately avoided any autobiographical references. It's about the average course of anyone's life."
That course runs from the "White" of birth's blank slate to the "Black" of death's unknowable void. The path within this framework, however, deviates from the basic light-to-dark progression that it suggests. "White" is followed by "Pink," representing an infant's discovery and perception of the world; "Orange" is the burst of youthful energy; "Violet" is the thrill of first love. As the life matures, a more sophisticated palette comes into play: "Bordeaux" portrays a bottle of wine as a nuanced metaphor for an aging mind and body, while "Aquamarine" evokes the ocean, along with an array of associated memories and sentiments.
Eckemoff's playing style similarly zigzags from point to disparate point, according to the moods and ideas expressed in each piece. Where "Indigo" is grim jazz-rock, "Blue" evolves from an exquisite lyrical ballad into a violent emotional storm, to be followed by the sultry but playful passions of "Red" and "Brown"'s whimsical waltz of inspiration.
Yelena and Manu
The range of ideas in the music is informed by Eckemoff's work with drummer Katché (above), whose remarkable individuality made him a natural fit for the project. "He's always searching for grooves, while my music is a combination of structured and improvisational approaches," she says. "This was exactly what I wanted-the groovy, spicy drums which would be a world in themselves and not merely following the piano."
Yelena Eckemoff was born in Moscow, where she started playing by ear and composing music when she was four and attended Gnessins School for musically gifted children. During her teens she became devoted to rock music, even as she studied classical piano at Moscow State Conservatory.
In her early twenties, her eclectic musical interests extended into jazz. The standard repertoire was her primary teacher, though she applied those lessons to the writing of new tunes. Eckemoff's witnessing of Dave Brubeck's 1987 concert in Moscow, however, changed her life, leading directly to the formation of her first band that "tried to play jazz."
Playing jazz proved to be a difficult proposition, due both to the complexity of her compositions and to the repressive nature of the Soviet regime. On the latter issue, she devoted herself (at great personal cost) to obtaining a U.S. visa, finally doing so in 1991 and settling in North Carolina.
The former was a matter of finding high-caliber musicians to play with, which she would also eventually achieve. Cold Sun, her 2010 debut jazz recording, featured the great Danish bassist Mads Vinding and the legendary American drummer Peter Erskine. By the time of 2018's Better Than Gold and Silver, she was able to attract an all-star lineup that included the likes of trumpeter Ralph Alessi, guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Drew Gress, and drummer Joey Baron.
Then came Colors, and the chance to work with Katché -- at which she jumped, knowing the strength of their musical connection. "I felt the closeness of our souls," she says, "and thought that it would be a pleasant and exciting challenge to make this record with him."
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Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:51 AM PDT
Ron Carter & Danny Simmons - Brown Beatnik Tomes: Live At BRIC House
Ron Carter has always been way more than a straight jazz bassist – especially in the past few decades, where his collaborative spirit has taken him into territory we never would have imagined early on in his career! Here, he works alongside writer Danny Simmons – whose words inform most of these tracks, read by Simmons himself. Carter plays these amazing basslines that are vivid and illustrative while Danny reeds – and a few tracks change up the approach slightly, one with a reading from Liza Jessie Peterson, two more with trio performances that feature Donald Vega on piano and Russel Malone on guitar. Titles include "Tender", "The Final Stand Of Two Dick Willie", "For A Pistol", "The Jigaboo Waltz", "The Brown Beatnik Tones", and "Feeling It Coming On". ~ Dusty Groove
Lonnie Smith - Gotcha
Smooth later work from Lonnie Smith – but still pretty darn great, with a feel that's in the late 70s Kudu/CTI mode! Arrangements are bigger than ever before – with large backings arranged by Lonnie, and some vocals that have a really wonderful, warm, Stevie Wonder-esque quality to them. The best tracks groove along at a nice midtempo pace, with strong work on keyboards by Lonnie, and a warm, dreamy, soulful quality that's quite different from his Blue Note work, but equally pleasing in another sort of way. Titles include "What's Done Is Done", "I Need Your Love", "Sweet Honey Wine", "My Latin Sky", and "Journey To Within". ~ Dusty Groove
J-Galvin – Heart Glow
J-Calvin is a Neo-Soul-Funk band from Durango, Colorado. On New Year's Eve 2017, the five members of J-Calvin brought their unique and varied musical backgrounds together for the first time. The result was a soul-abducting fusion of authentic lyrics, jazz-influenced harmonies, and Dilla-Inspired beats. The summer of 2018 brought their positive, high-energy show to Telluride Jazzfest and Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest, and in late 2018 they celebrated the release of their debut album, Heart Glow, to a sold-out crowd headlining the iAM Music Fest in Durango. In the bands first year they played over 70 shows across the Southwest region at some of the areas finest music venues and have established strong roots in their home away from home Tucson, AZ. When not performing as J-Calvin, all members dedicate their time as music educators to iAM Music, a 501c3 non-profit music school that helps youth and adults pursue music, cultivates community events, and builds meaningful creative networks. Includes: Dare I Say; Heart Glow; Take Me Away; Won't Let You Go; Waiting for Sarah; Sun; See Far; and This Will Grow.
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Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:37 AM PDT
Tales of Blood (In A Hot Distant Land) is the first release from virtuoso jazz pianist Ido Spak. Many choose to travel simply for personal pleasure but Ido Spak has ensured his journeys are available for everyone to experience musically. Though originally from Israel, Spak has traveled the world, experiencing music, sound and rhythms of all kinds, bringing them together in a way which takes the listener through lands which are both familiar and alien. Wrong Direction, Spak's latest album, takes inspiration from musicians of Iran, Syria and Palestine to conjure up images of deserts beneath vast skies, bazaars and bustling communities, constantly shifting in tone and texture and never less than utterly enthralling.
"Absolutely one-of-a-kind... a master of jazz fusion" - Jazz Corner
Born in Israel, Ido Spak has lived in Holland, UK and Germany, though his travels as a musician have taken him to areas that could well be described as 'off the map'. Spak is determined in his approach to jazz, dedicated to making his performances a constantly evolving process, eschewing the conventions of playing standards and using the left hand on the piano to improvise as much as the right, regularly interchanging between the two. Inspired in his youth by rock music and classical composers such as Beethoven and Liszt, he developed a passion first for bebop, then the techniques of Berg and Schönberg, in particular their use of twelve-tone serialism.
Wrong Direction offers melodies and rhythms from throughout the Middle Eastern region weaved around his complex, classically-influenced, avant-garde jazz compositions to great effect. Spak is accompanied on the album by drummer, Jan-Phillip Meyer; bassist, Gerrit Lütgering, and trombonist, Jean-Philippe Tremblay.
Listen to 'Tales Of Blood In A Hot Distant Land'
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/idospak/
Website: www.idospak.com
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Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:32 AM PDT
Jacques Gaines was born in Tacoma Washington USA of a French Canadian mother and an African American father. He was born on a US air force base where he spent one year of his life before his father was stationed at McGuire air force base in New Jersey where Jacques lived until the age of 7. When his father retired from the Air Force, Jacues moved to his mother's native town Québec city, Canada. Until the age of 18 he would call Quebec City home. From the age of 18 to 25 Jacques went to live in Lennoxville, Québec and then Montréal, Québec to pursue a bachelor studies in Economics and Finance at Bishop's University.
After being disillusioned with the business world he moved back to Québec city. Lack of money and a goal put him right back at his parent's house. In 1993 a close high school friend from the past, Brian Tuppert, came to Jacques with a music project that he couldn't refuse.
This, for him, was a turning point and what would define his whole being. Although he did not know it, it awakened the idea that it would actually be possible to make a living off of being creative. So in 1994 they co-founded a band called Q-City. The members were Brian Tuppert (co-writer), Pierre Curado (keyboards and programmer), and Jacques (singer, songwriter). For a diverse number of reasons Q-City evolved into Soul Attorneys with members Eric Filteau (Keyboards, programming, co writer), Mathieu Dandurand (guitars, co-writer) and Jacques (singer, songwriter). An energy, a vibe, and a hunger developed between the four members and they went on to earn, a Canadian gold record, an ADISQ nomination, a 36 date tour with Celine Dion and lots, lots more.
But during this time a great deal of soul searching occurred. It was a time of realization for Jacques that the be all and end all of "having a record contract" was only the beginning of his journey to creative enlightenment.
Jacques has several albums and Top Ten Canadian hits to his name but what he says about meandering through the landscape of music creation backed by the likes of record company majors like Sony is very telling
 "Ever since that day when Brian Tuppert came up to me I have done many things. I have four albums to my name (3 English and 1 in French). Plus, lots of heartache, much joy and love experienced and a lot of intense emotion. It has definitely been a ride. Altogether, my musical career as a frontman lasted roughly 14 years with its conclusion being my last solo album in 2007 called "For"."
"I loved it all, but I believe my work during the time I was a frontman, emanated a
general feeling of malaise, not only in the music I had done, but also even the general feel of anything done during this period. Something was always a bit out of kilt with each and every album that I made. On the first Soul Attorneys album, I was sort of green and innocent. On the second album (J.Gaines and the Soul Attorneys) I was dealing with the fact that I was now solo and was uneasy with the fact of being alone. The third album (the French album) was what it was. The fourth album was just an artist with a lot of baggage trying to redefine himself. I listen to those albums and sometimes cringe at some of the decisions that I made. At the same time I am proud and consider myself privileged to have been able to do what I did for the time that I did it. I have charted over 8 songs in one Top Ten list or another and I am proud of these songs. Better Man, So They Say, These Are The Days, Give A Little Love, Trace Of Tracey are songs that I will wear with pride."
From 2007 all the way to 2016 Jacques distanced himself from music as a singer songwriter. Concentrating on music as a support role for circus artists and working on soundtracks for TV and film, he also honed his skills in the visual arts which included photography and video. But the itch to write songs was always there. In 2016 he was offered the chance to work on a solo album with Vega music and took it.
Today Jacques Gaines has been working on his own terms developing a business as a photographer, corporate and creative videographer, working to build a community of photographers on YouTube with his YouTube channel and developing a whole gamut of creative visual and audio projects in association with the Quebec City artistic community. Due to the fact that he has found other ways to live as a creative person, his craft and attitude as a writer and composer of music has matured. His latest musical project called Volume Won reflects this. The very fact that the project took roughly 16 months to complete is a testament to his new found ability to allow things to live and evolve in their own time. He always speaks of now allowing others to shine through his craft as well. This is reflected in his collaborations with some of Canada's best musical artists including the likes of Kim Richardson, Luce Dufault, Bob Stagg, Gilles Tessier, Fresh Corleone and Rodney Skerritt.
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Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:24 AM PDT
Carlo Ditta is a renowned label owner, producer, composer, and recording artist in his own right. He is also a philanthropic individual, always willing to record and further the careers of many perhaps lesser-known artists who strive to maintain the authenticity of the vintage sounds of New Orleans, the city and region they all call home.
That is precisely the vibe of Carlo's second solo outing, entitled "Hungry For Love," for his own Orleans Records label. Of the ten cuts, two are traditional tunes done up with Carlo's unique arrangements, three are covers of songs synonymous with some of New Orleans' famed artists, and five are Carlo's originals done with the soulful heritage of the Big Easy always in mind.
There are several highlights, fans. Earl Stanley wrote the Sixties' pop hit, "A Gypsy Woman Told Me," and plays bass on this version, over Carlo's lovelorn vocal and Rick Stelma's organ. Carlo checks in with one of our favorites, the cool Latin groove of the story of that lady, who, "if you wanna play, you got to pay," "La Muchacha Cha Cha!" The fellows do a fantastic job covering Baton Rouge artists John Fred And The Playboys hit, "Agnes English," and, yep, Andrew Bernard, who wrote the song as part of that band back in the day, appears here on both tenor sax and Wurlitzer! "Pass The Hatchet," another of our favorites, is a Carlo original that rides a funky sax-guitar groove, over Carlo's spoken-word vocal, as he watches a pretty girl from a distance! He closes the set with our final favorite, an organ and sax-heavy arrangement done over Carlo's raspy vocal, decrying a misspent youth at that iconic place of ill repute, "The House Of The Rising Sun!"
Carlo Ditta is a champion of many veteran artists that perhaps history has overlooked. He brings together many of these storied players and their material mixed in with his own clever originals to produce a set that is sho' nuff "Hungry For Love!" ~Don Crow/DonAndSherysBluesBlog.Wordpress.com 5/5
Carlo presents himself and the area's soulful rhythm-and-blues legacy through five originals, colorful remakes of regional R&B and Funk classics, and imaginative interpretations of traditional songs, drawing on his decades of experience producing amazing albums for some of New Orleans' most powerful if underappreciated talents.
Hungry for Love features performance by saxophonist and keyboardist Andrew Bernard (John Fred and the Playboys); bassist Earl Stanley (Dr. John, Roger and the Gypsies, Earl Stanley and the Stereos); keyboardist Rick Stelma (Dr. Spec's Optical Illusion); bassist David Hyde; and drummer Chewy "Thunderfoot" Black all of whom appeared on Ditta's 2014 solo debut What I'm Talkin' About. Other local legends who contribute to the new album include saxophonists Jerry Jumonville (Captain Beefheart, Bette Miller, Rod Stewart); saxophonist Johnny Pennino (Skip Easterling, Freddy Fender); and drummer Freddy Staehle (Dr. John, Al Hirt, Eric Clapton).
With the album's title song Carlo and company conjure a hypnotic hoodoo vibe worthy of North Louisiana legend Tony Joe White. The remake of Eddie Powers' "Gypsy Woman Told Me," includes bass from Earl Stanley who co-wrote it and played on the 1964 original. He also plays on "Pass the Hatchet," the local proto-funk hit from 1966 he helped write and recorded with Roger and the Gypsies.
In "La MuChaCha Cha," another original, Ditta inveigles against an unfaithful lover over seductively warm and grooving Latin rhythms; Spanish guitar and congas reinforce the tropical vibe. "Agnes English" by Baton Rouge hitmakers John Fred and the Playboys, gets a spooky makeover that features Andrew Bernard, an original member of the Playboys and co-writer of the song, playing tenor sax and Wurlitzer keyboards.
Carlo goes full-tilt Soul on "Working So Hard for My Baby's Love," an original composition featuring Jumonville's gutsy sax playing and inventive arranging. In the contemplative, reggae-flavored "Life in Heaven," Ditta addresses big questions about life and love, singing as low and breathy as late period Leonard Cohen.
All these tracks are deeply steeped in Louisiana's steamy, soulful rhythm-and-blues heritage which he's labored to preserve and promote, rediscovering and producing albums for overlooked veteran artists from the region and released them on his Orleans Records label. Following a stint in NYC where he helmed recordings for acts like Willy DeVille, he returned to New Orleans and began recording the likes of Danny Barker, Mighty Sam McClain, Roland Stone, Little Freddie King, Guitar Slim Jr., Coco Robicheaux, Rockie Charles and the Original Pinstripe Brass Band. When he reactivated the label in 2014, one of his first releases was a previously unreleased live concert by New Orleans icon Professor Longhair.
On Hungry for Love, Carlo proves himself a worthy successor to the amazing musicians he championed.
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Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:18 AM PDT
Mississippi Fred McDowell was no Delta blues singer, his were North Mississippi blues because he came from the Hill country near Roseville, Tennessee. Born in 1904 he moved to the Delta in 1928 and settled in Como, Mississippi, which is 40 miles or so to the south of Memphis.
He was certainly old enough to have been recorded in the pre-war rush to put Delta bluesmen in the studio – either those of the travelling field recorders or by sending him north to one of the established studios such as Paramount in Grafton, Wisconsin. But as often as not it was fate that intervened to allow a blues player to record and fate, that first time passed him by.
In those days Fred was playing for tips in Memphis, but also working in feed mill and as a farm hand. He left Memphis to settle in Como, Mississippi and that's where he was living when Alan Lomax came by with a tape recorder in 1959; fate was kind this time. This recording of 'Highway 61' is from Lomax's first recordings and it was never bettered. In the early 1960s McDowell was playing locally, but soon he was persuaded to travel further afield to allow people to listen to the brilliance of his slide guitar playing in the North Mississippi hill tradition.
He played the Newport Festival in 1964 with Mississippi John Hurt and Sleepy John Estes and the following year he recorded for the Arhoolie label. He also visited Europe, touring with the American Folk Blues Festival and appearing in London with Jo Ann Kelly. In 1969 he recorded I Do Not Play No Rock 'N' Roll that captured Fred's playing in all its intensity; it is is one of the great blues albums.
Fred's best known today for providing the Rolling Stones with their cover of, 'You Gotta Move' that they recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound in December 1969; The Stones paid Fred the honour of playing his song 'straight'. 'You Gotta Move' was eventually included on their Sticky Fingers album in 1971. Around the same time Bonnie Raitt was listening to Fed's records and learning from his slide guitar style. He died from cancer the following year, having tasted the rewards of his rich talent, but not nearly enough.
This is what the legendary Dick Waterman had to say about Fred McDowoll and those that think the blues is a sombre kind of music.
"I don't buy into the theory that says that blues is a catharsis for the soul, that it unburdens you and you feel better. Hound Dog Taylor was the happiest guy I ever knew. You would watch Hound Dog Taylor, you'd watch Fred McDowell, you'd watch Mississippi John Hurt and there was nothing depressing, nothing. They were happy, their music conveyed a real sense of joy, of real happiness. They played with a spirit, they played with an absolute love of it. So the idea of saying, well blues is a burdensome thing, blues is a low down old ache and chill? whatever, I become a lot more tolerant."
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Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:13 AM PDT
Don't be fooled by the quiet facade. Pianist Gino Rosaria has an uncommon depth that stems from being a native of culturally diverse Curaçao, possessing a master's degree in classical music performance and having a love of jazz. Each element helps shape the music he composes, produces and plays as a first-call session musician and sideman. Crafting his third album, "Still Waters Run Deep," dropping July 12, is a purposeful leap into the soul-jazz sea as a solo artist with something to say. Collecting playlist adds and earning most added status on the Billboard chart, the set's first single, "Night Groove," is a slick R&B ride with Rosaria's shimmering keys engaging in melodic banter with Marcus Anderson's saxophone.
In addition to Anderson, Rosaria's collaborators on "Still Waters Run Deep" include an array of chart-topping smooth/contemporary jazz artists such as saxophonist Elan Trotman, drummer Eric Valentine, flautist Althea Rene, multi-horn man and arranger David Mann, Roman Street's acoustic guitarist Noah Thompson, and electric guitarist Adam Hawley, who co-wrote and co-produced "Night Groove" and the disc's likely second single, "Sunday 3PM." Rosaria's compositions were inspired by such collaborations, adventures with his three-year-old son, Simon, and recognizing that it was time to make his own unique musical statement.
"I knew it was time for me to step out as a solo artist. I've been putting it off for a long time and playing with other artists. I have some good material to release to the world. Because of my Caribbean and Latin roots, I think I have something special to offer musically. I don't know how to explain it except by showing it through my music. My time has come to step out onto that stage, not as a sideman, but as Gino Rosaria, The Pianist," said Rosaria, who moved to the US from Curaçao in 2003 and resides in Pensacola, Florida.
Rosaria considers himself to be reserved except when it comes to expressing himself musically. "I have some very strong feelings and passion deep down inside that I bring out through my music."
"Still Waters Run Deep" pours nine jazz, R&B, fusion, Latin and funk instrumentals and closes with the stunning and sparse piano and jazz vocal "Unconditional" sung by Brynnevere, who penned the poetic lyrics for the love song.
Days prior to the album's street date, Rosaria will perform the material at a record release concert on July 7 at Seville Quarter in Pensacola, which will be recorded live with the aim of packaging it as a CD/DVD. Also in Pensacola, Rosaria will lead his band on stage at Gulf Coast Summer Fest: Jazz Edition on August 30.
Rosaria teamed with saxophonist Chris Godber for the 2012 holiday album, "Joy Peace Christmas." The following year, he dropped "Some Other Time." Simon's birth inspired the 2016 Groove Symphony project "Simon Says" for which Rosaria served as bandleader, blending classical, jazz, Latin and Caribbean nuances and satisfying his desire to write orchestral music that could serve as film scores. As a sideman, he can be found in the company of Hawley, Rene, flautist Kim Scott, violinist Karen Briggs and clarinetist Tim Laughlin among others.
"Still Waters Run Deep" contains the following songs:
"Night Groove" featuring Marcus Johnson
"Island Life"
"Sunday 3PM" featuring Elan Trotman
"The Night is Still Young"
"Gentle Touch"
"Pool Party"
"Funkin'"
"Rush Hour"
"Unconditional (A Song For My Son)" featuring Brynnevere
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Posted: 12 Jun 2019 08:01 AM PDT
t e s s e t e r r a is Laurence's new program of standards re-woven for jazz trio and string quartet - innovative arrangements of iconic selections ranging from Cole Porter to Sting, Hoagy Carmichael to Paul McCartney, Chopin to Crosby Stills & Nash.
Titles as diverse as Wichita Lineman, Blackbird, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, We Shall Overcome - even a Chopin Waltz (Opus 64 no. 2 in C#Minor), all vividly arranged in a style we're calling "third stream nouveau" - the sound of the string quartet brings a definite classical element to this project, but the central idea is for the trio to shine as a fully functioning jazz trio, weaving improvisatory exploration within the fabric of thoroughly composed orchestrations.
t e s s e t e r r a is Laurence's invention, and translates roughly as "the sonic fabric of the world." It's an amalgam of tessitura and terra. Terra is latin for 'earth'; 'tessitura' means 'texture' in Italian but musically refers to the most favorable portion of a voice's (or instrument's) overall range. So perhaps an even more accurate definition would be "the world's most pleasing musical textures."
Inevitably part of t e s s e t e r r a 's proposition is that, in an important sense, jazz improvisation is less about what's being played but more about how it's being played.
Just as Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and others adapted the great popular songs of Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, etc., into jazz of the bebop era, modern jazz players have begun to do the same: bringing the amazing songwriting of artists like Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Carole King, Burt Bacharach, Sting, etc., into the jazz canon.
The recording features Laurence's jazz trio (drummer Jared Schonig and bassist Matthew Clohesy) and the amazing string quartet, ETHEL (Ralph Farris/viola, Dorothy Lawson/cello, Kip Jones and Corin Lee/violin.)
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Posted: 12 Jun 2019 07:54 AM PDT
It was the kind of endorsement most rising guitarists can only dream of, and then some. In his interview for Vintage Guitar magazine's February 2016 cover story, Pat Metheny was asked to name some younger musicians who'd impressed him. "The best guitar player I've heard in maybe my entire life is floating around now, Pasquale Grasso," said the jazz-guitar icon and NEA Jazz Master. "This guy is doing something so amazingly musical and so difficult.
"Mostly what I hear now are guitar players who sound a little bit like me mixed with a little bit of [John Scofield] and a little bit of [Bill Frisell]," he continued. "What's interesting about Pasquale is that he doesn't sound anything like that at all. In a way, it is a little bit of a throwback, because his model—which is an incredible model to have—is Bud Powell. He has somehow captured the essence of that language from piano onto guitar in a way that almost nobody has ever addressed. He's the most significant new guy I've heard in many, many years."
As he's done with many rising jazz stars, Metheny later invited Grasso over to his New York home to jam and share some wisdom. He's since become a generous presence in Grasso's life, and his assessment of Grasso's playing is—no surprise—spot-on. Born in Italy and now based in New York City, the 30-year-old guitarist has developed an astounding technique and concept informed not by jazz guitarists so much as by bebop pioneers like Powell, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and the classical-guitar tradition.
His new digital only EP series, available beginning on June 28 from Sony Masterworks, showcases Grasso in the solo guitar format, where his intensive studies of both the masters of bebop and classical guitar technique meld into a signature mastery that is, remarkably, at once unprecedented and evocative. The approach of the releases echoes the changing landscape in the industry, allowing a prolific recording artist to release a multitude of material over the course of an extended period of time.
"Although there are significant drawbacks to the music industry's shift toward streaming, there are also great opportunities," says producer, manager and Sony Masterworks A&R Consultant Matt Pierson. "When an artist's creative impulses are very active, it's possible to record and release material in a more progressive way, feeding listeners music on a much more consistent basis. In the case of Pasquale, since he's such a brilliant solo player with so much repertoire already under his fingers, we cut 50 extraordinary tracks. Since I find his playing to be very addictive, my hope is that when people get hip to him, they'll also get hooked, and we can deliver a flow of a variety of material over the course of a year."
But whom does it evoke? After a surface listen, Joe Pass and his essential Virtuoso LPs might come to mind. Now listen again. The sparkling, immaculately balanced tone; the tasteful tinges of stride and boogie-woogie rhythm; the stunning single-note lines that connect his equally striking use of chordal harmony—for Grasso, great solo arranging equals Art Tatum.
Many serious guitar heads have been hip to Grasso for a while now and are aware of his jaw-dropping online performance videos, his beautiful custom instrument -- built in France by Trenier Guitars -- and his early career triumphs. In 2015, he won the Wes Montgomery International Jazz Guitar Competition in New York City, taking home a $5,000 prize and performing with guitar legend Pat Martino's organ trio. Last year at D.C.'s Kennedy Center, as part of the NEA Jazz Masters Tribute Concert, Grasso participated in a special performance to honor Pat Metheny, alongside his guitar-wunderkind peers Camila Meza, Gilad Hekselman, Dan Wilson, and Nir Felder.
These days, Grasso teaches and maintains a packed gig schedule around New York, including frequent solo performances at the popular Greenwich Village haunt Mezzrow, where a regular Monday-night gig allowed him to develop his solo-arranging skillset. Not that Grasso thinks his work is done. "All [of the musicians I love are] inspiration for me to get new ideas and form my style, because it's still growing," Pasquale says. "And it's gonna be growing until the day I die."
His new Sony Masterworks EPs showcase his sweeping abilities in the most intimate possible setting. Here you can experience his lifetime of listening and of challenging himself to transcend a bar set by Art Tatum so many decades ago. The following EPs will be released digitally beginning in June, and additional EPs are slated for future release, including Pasquale exploring the works of Duke Ellington, Bud Powell and Charlie Parker.
Solo Standards Vol. 1 – Available Digitally: June 28, 2019
This collection of some of Grasso's best-loved standards kicks off with "Just One of Those Things," a tune he felt compelled to tackle after hearing Bud Powell's dauntless solo rendition. "This Time the Dream's on Me" is one of the first standards Grasso ever learned, after hearing it on a live recording featuring Powell and Charlie Parker; it was also the go-to show opener for the bands he co-led with his brother, alto saxophonist Luigi Grasso, while growing up in Italy. Pasquale chose "All the Things You Are" so that listeners might be able to gauge his trademarks on this most standard of jazz standards, and because it's one of his brother's favorite tunes (and, of course, for Charlie Parker). "Dancing in the Dark" finds inspiration in Art Tatum's sterling solo version. "Tea for Two" is a nod to both Tatum and Barry Harris, who uses the number as a staple of his concert repertoire.
Solo Ballads Vol. 1 – Available Digitally: August 23, 2019
"The way I approach ballads," Grasso explains, "is I try to learn the story of the song with the lyrics, even if I don't remember all of the lyrics, because English isn't my first language." After that, the virtuoso says, he simply tries to relax and tinge his performance with the easygoing gait of stride piano. Here Grasso takes on "Body and Soul," one of his father's favorites and a tune he first remembers hearing as performed by Dexter Gordon in the film 'Round Midnight; the Art Tatum tributes "These Foolish Things" and "Over the Rainbow"; the deceptively demanding "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye"; and "Someone to Watch Over Me," yet another eulogy of sorts for his hero Bud Powell, who recorded a heartrending trio version in the mid-'50s.
Solo Monk – Available Digitally: October 11, 2019
As with most of his musical passions, Grasso became a Monk convert while still a child, after his father played him a record—in this case The Unique Thelonious Monk, a 1956 trio session featuring Oscar Pettiford and Art Blakey. Monk's playing—the bluesy, propulsive architecture of his solos, the percussive stomp of his comping—reminded the young guitarist of one of his biggest heroes (and rare six-string influences), Charlie Christian. Since then, Grasso has found in Monk's music an endless store of harmonic and rhythmic challenges, which he's more than happy to meet here on "Epistrophy," "'Round Midnight," "Ruby, My Dear," "Criss Cross" and "Off Minor." "There isn't a lot more to say," Grasso admits, chuckling. "It's just genius music."
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Posted: 12 Jun 2019 07:25 AM PDT
The first annual Miami Smooth Jazz Festival is slated forNovember 9-10, 2019, on the grounds of the Zoo Miami. This premiere music festival celebrates various music genres with an emphasis on Smooth Jazz and R&B. Festival organizers say, "We are offering music lovers top notch entertainment with the world's best artists, in a unique setting at Zoo Miami, resulting in the type of musical experience that you can't find anywhere else. This will truly be one of the hottest events in Miami this year."
The inaugural Miami Smooth Jazz Festival will feature a top notch headliners that include Jazz and R&B favorites Boney James, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Eric Benet, and Brian Culbertson. The rest of the powerful line-up includes Grammy Award Winning Jazz and R&B guitarist Norman Brown, saxophonists Michael Lington, Vincent Ingala and Paul Taylor, jazz fusion keyboardist Jeff Lorber, jazz and R&B pop vocalist Lindsay Webster, smooth jazz musician Ben Tankard, fusion guitarist Paul Jackson, Jr., jazz saxophonists Everette Harp, jazz saxophonist Euge Groove, jazz saxophonist Kyle Turner, jazz saxophonist Jazmin Ghent and guitarist Eric Essix.
Attendees will experience creative shows of top musical performances accentuated by amazing video production and an accompanying light display that will enhance the appreciation for great music. The main stage performances will be accentuated with large video screens including a specially designed interactive screen allowing the artists to stylishly operation harmoniously with the music.
Expect the Miami Smooth Jazz Festival to be an unforgettable destination that will integrate nature into two amazingly memorable nights of entertainment. This festival is made possible through a private public partnership bringing together a seasoned team of promoters and the Miami-Dade Cunty leadership to bolster an innovative event that will keep music lovers returning every year.
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