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THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER Phil Madeira releases his first instrumental jazz album, “Crickets” | Musique Non Stop

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Wednesday, July 17, 2019

THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER Phil Madeira releases his first instrumental jazz album, “Crickets”


THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER Phil Madeira releases his first instrumental jazz album, “Crickets”


Posted: 16 Jul 2019 12:14 PM PDT

He's a Nashville mainstay, a seminal Americana music pioneer with Grammy-winning credentials as a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and arranger yet his unexplored desire was his passion for jazz. Phil Madeira finally indulged his long-beckoning muse when he recently dropped his first instrumental album, "Crickets," a collection of ten original compositions set in the context of a quintet anchored by astute jazz piano rendered in a production palette redolent of 1950s-60s straight-ahead jazz. 

Known for being a lyrical writer, Madeira titled "Crickets," his eighth solo disc, as a playful reference to his first album without words. His piano romps of swinging acoustic jazz take structure from the rhythmic support of drums and upright bass and are enriched with bluesy guitar and saxophone harmonies. Stylistically, "Crickets" possesses cool vintage appeal along with earthy, organic elements. Initially, Madeira thought he was creating music for use as film scores. When he realized the material had become quite personal in nature, he, with encouragement from the album's co-producer, Sirkka Svanoe Wood, he expanded the pieces into full-length songs.

Madeira did hit the Billboard Jazz Albums chart last year with his first jazz record, "Providence," which contained vocal selections.  

Normally heard in the company of Garth Brooks, Emmylou Harris, The Civil Wars, Elvis Costello, Alison Krauss, Toby Keith, Amy Grant, Mavis Staples, Keb Mo', Bruce Hornsby and Vanessa Williams, Madeira's honors include Grammy, Dove, ASCAP and Nashville Music Awards. In April, he was inducted into the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame, his home state. He will be leading his Mercyland Songwriting Workshop in Hot Springs, NC later this month, which is an intensive retreat for songwriters.

http://philmadeira.com/ 
“High Hopes” for six-year-old jazz singer Sophie Fatu’s recording debut
Posted: 16 Jul 2019 12:09 PM PDT

Six-year-old jazz singer Sophie Fatu charmed the nation singing Frank Sinatra classics on national television and her videos have amassed over 150 million views. She cheekily called "Mr. Simon" (Cowell) her favorite judge when she became the youngest contestant ever on "America's Got Talent"; she told Ellen DeGeneres secrets on the host's top-rated daytime show before crooning "Fly Me To The Moon"; and she teasingly asked Steve Harvey what happened to his hair on "Little Big Shots" prior to belting out "My Way." Now the bubbly chanteuse is working on her debut recording, a six-song set of selections from the Great American Songbook sung by her biggest influences: Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nina Simone and Michael Bublé. Sophie's "Love is…" EP is slated for September release. 

Sophie is an effervescent spark, a joyous entertainer with a bluesy jazz voice who exemplifies "born to sing" and "an old soul in a young body." Even her mother, award-winning classical music pianist and vocalist Victoria Fatu, describes her middle child as "a male crooner in a little girl's body. Her style and delivery are more patterned after male singers than any of the female vocal legends like Nina Simone or Ella Fitzgerald." 

On the surface, Sophie's desire to sing is simple: "I want to sing to make people happy." But the maturity of her underlying mission has meaning and significance far beyond her years. "I sing Sinatra because I don't want people to forget him or this music. I want to travel the world to share this music, to sing these great songs and keep his legacy alive." 

Sophie excitedly elected to sing "(Love is) The Tender Trap" because it fits her sassy and brassy style. The lyrics are about love in a mocking way with a sense of humor, which is more apropos for someone so young. Culling a slow, romantic ballad from Sinatra's catalogue, "All The Way" spoke to the Fatus the most because of its beauty. Representative of who Sophie is as a performer, "Ain't That A Kick In The Head" is a statement song for her. She sings it to open her live performances because she literally blooms while singing it. A signature Simone tune, Sophie feels more drawn to Bublé's version of "Feeling Good" and she dreams of singing it with him one day. "High Hopes" is being completely restyled into a big band number, resisting the obvious cutesy, adorable nature of the song. The jazzy-bluesy production will be strong, explosive, disjointed, creative and unique. Sung by Sinatra and Frankie Lymon, the impish and audacious "Goody Goody" is challenging vocally, requiring plenty of slow vibrato for which Sophie rises to the occasion.
  
In addition to making the record this summer, Sophie is currently shooting her feature film debut, an action thriller scheduled to arrive in movie theaters in 2020. 

The "Love is…" EP contains the following songs:
"(Love is) The Tender Trap"
"All The Way"
"Ain't That A Kick in the Head"
"Feeling Good"
"High Hopes"
"Goody Goody"

https://www.sophiefatumusic.com
Posted: 16 Jul 2019 12:05 PM PDT
After the great success of Sarah McKenzie's 2017 disc, Paris in the Rain (Impulse! Records), the 31-year-old pianist, singer, and composer returns with the poignant, Secrets of My Heart. The former disc opened more opportunities for her to perform around the world in such far away places as Brazil, Korea, Japan, and also established her in the United States. Its title song became one of her signature tunes and is one of the highlights of her live shows.

"Traveling was something that I really had to adjust to," McKenzie says. "In the beginning, it is very exciting. I often describe it as going into a magical world; it's stepping off reality and going into this world that's so unreal. Then you come home, and all of that activity stops. It's been a world of extremes."

While embarking on her music career, being so far away from her family in Australia tore her. Sometimes, she contemplated abandoning music for the security of being with her family. "I went through a big coming-of-age process because I had to really decide how much I love this dream versus how much I love being with my family," she explains. "How much am I prepared to sacrifice for my dream as a professional musician? And is it OK to follow that dream?  And is this constant traveling the dream itself? I had some poignant questions to ask myself since the release of Paris in the Rain. And that process resulted in Secrets of My Heart."

For Secrets of My Heart, she reunites with noted Australian composer, arranger, and events music director, Chong Lim, who produced her first two discs – Don't Tempt Me and Close Your Eyes. "He's the guy who introduced me to Wayne Shorter's Native Dancer and Antonio Carlos Jobim's Stone Flower. We always had a great connection; he knows me inside and out," she says.

Recorded in New York City, Secrets of My Heart exudes cosmopolitan flair with its lineup that includes French bassist Pierre Boussaguet and Brazilian percussionist Rogerio Bocattoalongside guitarist Dan Wilson, drummer Donald Edwards, vibraphonist Warren Wolf,tenor saxophonist Troy Roberts, and cellist Jody Redhage Ferber(all of whom based in the United States).

Secrets of My Heart documents McKenzie's burgeoning brilliance interpreting 20th-century jazz standards with her penchant for crafting sterling compositions that will surely become jazz standards in the 21stcentury.

McKenzie penned the lion's share of Secrets of My Heart's 12 songs. The titled track deftly articulates emotional reticence while being pulled in multiple directions with regards one's passion. Amid a lithe bossanova rhythm and orchestral accompaniment, McKenzie sings such poetic verses as "Kept in a box/Locked in a darken room/Buried beneath the places where roses bloom/Sinking so slowly/Drifting apart/Just like the secrets in my heart/Swept by the wind/Lost in the black of night/Hidden behind the sun/Denied the light/Alone in the world without a guide or chart/Just like the secrets of my heart."

While she acknowledges the blue corridors of some of her lyrics, McKenzie tries to counter them with glimpses of hope. "With a lot of my songs, for some reason, I can go negative, but I always need to end them with something positive," she explains. "I don't want my songs to get too dark. In general, I think I'm an optimist. Everyone is struggling with something. And definitely in this last period, I've struggled more than I'd usually have. But you got to have positivity."

Indeed, the fetching original "I Fell in Love with You," prances to an upbeat swing momentum as she conveys the seemingly inconsequential moments that occur when you fall in love with someone; the song also highlights McKenzie's succinct yet masterful piano improvisations and Wilson's beguiling guitar aside. He also accompanies McKenzie magnificently on the guitar/vocal duo "My True Love Is You," a pensive original ballad, one of two on the album. McKenzie channels the elegiac wonder of Cole Porter on her ebullient mid-tempo ballad "You and the Music," an original, which she cites as the album's anthem. On the whimsical, blues-drenched "It's All About Love," McKenzie celebrates her love for jazz by challenging herself to write eloquent vocalese lyrics inside Charlie Parker-esque bebop lines.

"I love writing lyrics. I think I'm very specific with my lyrics. I like Johnny Mercer, Sammy Kahn, Irving Berlin, and Cole Porter," says McKenzie before explaining that she now begins with the melody when composing. "Initially, I wrote songs together – the lyrics and melody. But when I pulled them apart, I realisedthat my melodies weren't as strong as I thought they were in my head. I think for me, I always want to have a flow with the words or something witty; and I know how it should sound."

McKenzie's favourite song on Secrets of My Heart is "TillThe End of Time," one of the two originals that explicitly betray her love for Brazilian music. She wrote the song during a stint in Rio de Janeiro, where she collaborated with musicians who played with one of her heroes – Antonio Carlos Jobim. The other strongly Brazilian-inflected original is the bossa nova, "DeNada" (also written in Brazil), which contains carefree lyrics and a sauntering piano solo from McKenzie.

Even though McKenzie hailed from Melbourne and studied at Boston's Berklee College of Musicon a full scholarship, she started her career in Europe, first living in Paris,then London. And while she's absorbed great harmonic and lyric-writing knowledge from the Great American Songbook, she says that Secrets of My Heart reveals her time spent in Europe, especially from a harmonic standpoint. Her residency in Europe also afforded her the opportunity to sit around the piano with the iconic composer and arranger Michel Legrand. "His style differsfrom the classic American Songbook standards," McKenzie says. "Michel is a little bit more lyrical and French; his music is a little bit more Debussy or Ravel-influenced thanthe classic American Songbook standards. To have been able to spend time with him at the piano was one of the highlights of the year."

McKenzie's mesmerisingreading of "You Must Believe in Spring" best exposes her time with Legrand on Secrets of My Heart. Her solo performance of just vocal and piano accentuates Legrand's pensive yet hopeful lyrics as well as his impressionistic harmonic language.

Secrets of My Heart opens with McKenzie's transfixing rendition of John Barry and Leslie Bricusse's "You Only Live Twice," which showcases McKenzie's comely piano soloing as much as it does her alluring singing.  She also delivers an exquisite makeover of Stanley Styne and Donald Kahn's classic "A Beautiful Friendship" and a gutbucket take on Dinah Washington's "Come on Home."

She concludes Secrets of My Heart with a tour-de-force homage to another hero, George Gershwin with "The Gershwin Medley" an instrumental on which she plays snippets of "Rhapsody in Blue," "Summertime," "The Man I Love" and "I Got Rhythm."

"Ultimately, this album is about me embracing the unknown and going with love," McKenzie explains. "I'm so lucky to be able to play my music for a living."
Posted: 16 Jul 2019 11:37 AM PDT

At 84, Guitar Shorty is moving his music into the future with "Trying To Find My Way Back" an album that is at turns funky, gritty, modern and soulfully poignant.

This new record is produced by Jerry Williams Jr., AKA Swamp Dogg who was recently featured in Rolling Stone for his Bon Iver helmed, album 'Love, Loss, and Auto-Tune' that featured Guitar Shorty. Kindred spirit Larry "MoogStar" Clemon, from the legendary funk group Cameo was brought into the mix and a holy alliance was formed. Featuring 16 original tunes penned by Shorty, Swamp Dogg, and MoogStar. The resulting sound is like no other Guitar Shorty album up to this point. Exclusive downloads available below. 

6 things you want to know about Guitar Shorty:

Inspired by Guitar Slim, David Kearney honed his style in the Tampa Bay area at age of 16, where he earned the nickname "Guitar Shorty", as the featured guitarist in The Walter Johnson band.

Guitar Shorty recorded his first single in 1957 ("You Don't Treat Me Right"), for the legendary Cobra label at the behest of blues legend Willie Dixon after Dixon caught his act.

In addition to his residency at the famed Dew Drop Inn with his own band, Shorty, has played alongside Sam Cooke Ray Charles T-Bone Walker, Big Joe Turner and Little Richard just to name a few.

Legend has it that the young Jimi Hendrix was so enamored with Shorty's playing, that he often went AWOL from his army base to catch him perform. Shorty let Hendrix borrow one of his wah-wah pedals and the rest is, as they say, history.

During his first tour of the UK in 1991 he recorded the album "My Way, Or The Highway" which won him the prestigious W.C. Handy award (A Grammy Award).

His 2 highest charting albums, are 2004's "Watch Your Back" and his 2006 album "We the People." Both charted on the Billboard Top Blues Albums at eleven and twelve, respectively.
Posted: 16 Jul 2019 07:53 AM PDT

Matt Brewer - Ganymede

An album of brooding intensity from bassist Matt Brewer – a trio date that takes very special advantage of the tenor saxophone voice of Mark Shim! Shim's very much at home here – blowing these long, complex solos that have that sort of deep burning quality of his early work as a leader – free, but not in a free jazz sort of way – really covering a lot of space, in ways that are almost circular at times – as if he's slowly trying to plot out a new universe in jazz! Drummer Damon Reid matches the intensity of Shim in a great way – so much so that we're almost tempted to say that Brewer is the quietest partner on the date – save for the fact that his deep tones on bass have this low rumble that really sets the tone for the moodiness of the tenor. Titles include "Triton", "Ganymede", "Don't Wake The Violent Baby", "Afro Centric", "IO", "Psalm", and "Willisee". ~ Dusty Groove

Edu Lobo, Romero Lubambo, & Mauro Senise - Quase Memoria

A beautiful meeting these thoughtful Brazilian creative talents – in a mode that provide a perfect backdrop for the vocals of the great Edu Lobo! Lobo's been a sophisticated force from the 60s bossa years onwards – and in recent years, he's gotten even more subtle and personal in his approach – in a way that really comes through here, with his well-phrased original lyrics set up in light instrumental settings that feature the guitar of Romero Lubambo and flute and saxes of Mauro Senise – with occasional guest work from Cristovao Bastos on piano, Kiko Horta on accordion, and Anat Cohen on clarinet. The tunes have all the charms of Lobo's lofty work from the 70s, but in a very different way – and titles include "Rosinha", "Labia", "As Mesmas Historias", "Terro Do Nunca", "Peregrina", "Senhora Do Rio", and "Quase Memoria". ~ Dusty Groove

Gabriele Mitelli & Rob Mazurek - Star Splitter 

Some of the darkest sounds in years from the great Rob Mazurek – a musician who's matched perfectly on every front by Gabriele Mitelli – who does everything that Rob does on the record, and also throws in a bit of soprano sax as well! The music is all improvised, and in that very deep blend of electronic and acoustic elements that Mazurek has explored over the years – with textures so intense, it's often difficult to figure out what's coming from where – as Rob blows piccolo trumpet, Mitelli blows cornet, and both artists served up a wealth of sounds on electronics, voice, and other objects too. Titles include "Venus", "Mercury", "Mars", and "Uranus". ~ Dusty Groove
Posted: 16 Jul 2019 07:49 AM PDT

Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble - Where Future Unfolds

An amazing record from Chicago musician/artist Damon Locks – maybe the album he's been waiting his entire life to make – and the first to really bring together the mighty sum of his many talents! The material was recorded live in performance at Chicago's Garfield Park Conservatory – at an event that also included a group of singers and dancers to augment the musical performance – in a setting that gives Damon's majestic vision the proper setting it really deserves! Locks himself moves between electronics and vocal performances – in a core instrumental group that's heavy on drums and percussion from Dana Hall, clarinets from Angel Bat Dawid, and more percussion from Arif Smith – making music that's even more beautiful when the singers come into the mix, and take the energy to the sky with a very cosmic, righteous vibe. Locks has given us a glimpse of his vision in artwork, music, and writings over the years – but this time around, it feels like we're seeing the full scope at once – with more power and meaning than ever before. Titles include "Solar Power", "Rebuild A Nation", "Which I Believe It Will", "The Colors That You Bring", "The Future", "From A Spark To A Fire", "Black Monument Theme", and "Sounds Like Now". ~ Dusty Groove

Marlene Rosenberg - MLK Convergence

Bassist Marlene Rosenberg leads a hell of a trio here – one that features Kenny Barron on piano and Lewis Nash on drums – both tremendous players who sound even better in the round, rich company of Rosenberg's bass! Most titles are trio numbers, but driven as much by the bass as by the always-wonderful work of Barron – and the tunes include many originals by Marlene – instrumentals, but with a current of the more righteous energy promised by the title. One exception is the great "Not The Song I Wanna Sing" – a number that has Rosenberg on vocals while Christian McBride handles the bass – alongside other vocal contributions from Thomas Burrell and Robert Irving III – which help make the song the most political number on the set. Titles include "The Line Between", "American Violet", "Togetherness", "And Still we Rise", "Visions", "The Barron", "Rain", "Love's In Need Of Love Today", and "Not The Song I Wanna Sing".  ~ Dusty Groove

Candace Woodson – Desire

Twenty-eight days after her 2014 breast cancer surgery, Candace Woodson was back to business as usual performing at the wedding of one of John "Cougar" Mellencamp's daughters. This is a testament to Candace Woodson's lifelong passion for performing and a talent for resilience she calls "stick to it-ness". A survivor since 2014, she wrote the UK Soul Chart hit "Free," a funky old school dance anthem that conveys hope and positivity in the wake of adversity. This is a message she conveys stemming from her own experience and feeling after receiving her last cancer treatment at the Medical University of South Carolina. This success laid the foundation for a handful of other chart topping singles, including "The Answer Is No", a defiant female empowerment ballad produced by songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tom Glide. "The Answer Is No" hit #1 on the UK Soul Chart Top 30 and has continued to receive airplay on Smooth Jazz Radio. Woodson received Billboard's "Most Added" designation and a Best International Artist nominee. Her highly anticipated full-length debut album "Desire" includes her UK hits as well as new tracks produced by hit smooth jazz guitarist/producer Nils and Lew Laing (Paul Brown, Richard Elliot, Stephanie K) and others helmed by the singer herself.
Posted: 16 Jul 2019 07:44 AM PDT

Lonnie Smith – Think!

A seminal album from Hammond giant Lonnie Smith – a bold statement that really gives the organist his own identity after some killer work in the combos of Lou Donaldson and George Benson! Lonnie's one of the key flag-fliers of the new style of funky organ jazz – a mode different from the earlier styles of Jimmy Smith or Jimmy McGriff – leaner, cleaner, and often tied heavily to the drums – which, in this case, are handled by Marion Booker Jr, but in a way that recalls some of the Idris Muhammad greatness on other Blue Note albums of the time. The mighty Pucho (of Latin Soul Brothers fame) plays added timbales, and there's also two more conga players – ensuring a tight, yet complex sort of groove – and the frontline features Lee Morgan on trumpet, David Newman on tenor and flute, and Melvin Sparks on guitar. Tracks are long, with complicated rhythms – and soulful yet sophisticated solos to match – and titles include the seminal "Son Of Ice Bag", a great cover of "Think", and the tracks "Slouchin", "Call Of The Wild", and "Three Blind Mice". ~ Dusty Groove

Roy Budd – Get Carter

Maybe the greatest moment ever from Brit soundtrack genius Roy Budd – an artist who started with his roots in jazz piano, but who really explodes here in a range of groovy styles! The main title is an incredible blend of Eastern percussion and moody jazz – and other cuts bring in some trippier elements, mixed with funkier bits and warmer moments – all at a level that have Budd even outdoing the best late 60s work by Lalo Schifrin! The keyboards are often at the forefront – either acoustic or electric – and the album's got so many groovy grooves, with such variety, it's got a feel that's much richer than the usual soundtrack set. Titles include "Love Is A Four Letter Word", "Carter Takes A Train", "Looking For Someone", "The Girl In The Car", "Livin Should Be This Way", "Manhunt", "Goodbye Carter", and "Hallucinations". This fantastic 3CD set is overflowing with greatness! First, the whole thing comes in a heavy book-style cover – with dozens of pages of notes, photos, and images from the film – and CD2 features 18 more rare mixes of songs from the film – a great addition to the 22 tracks on CD1 – making for a whopping 40 tracks in all. CD3 features 19 more Roy Budd grooves, mostly from soundtracks – songs that include "Mr Funker", "Diamond Fortress", "No Cooperation", "Cassette Jazz", "How Can We Run Away", "Fear Is The Key", "Who Needs Love Anyway", "Versailles Exit", and "Jazz It Up". ~ Dusty Groove

Kaina – Next To The Sun

A soaring effort from Kaina – one we're sure to remember as a major creative statement from a versatile singer and as a vital snapshot of a burgeoning era in Chicago's indie soul scene! Kaina's triumph here is the way she sets up a dreamy mood that holds throughout the album – wherein her layered vocals carry it along as if on a wave – then takes it to an even deeper level thanks to her soulful lyricism. She's got a good creative partner in Sen Morimoto, whose roots in genre defiant jazzy hip hop production are used to such hypnotic effect behind Kaina's beautiful voice. Next To The Sun coming out so soon after similarly fresh and inspired material from fellow Chi voices like Jamila Woods, it feels like the dawn of an era! Includes "House", "Ghost", "Next To The Sun", "What's A Girl", "Waiting On A Day", "Joei's Secret", "Could Be A Curse" feat Sen Morimoto", "So Small/So Vast" and "Green". ~ Dusty Groove
Posted: 16 Jul 2019 07:40 AM PDT

In past concerts that have been described by the New York Times as being "soulful," "evocative," and "playing directly to the band's strengths," the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis performed original compositions inspired by masters of modern art including Romare Bearden, Stuart Davis, Sam Gilliam, Winslow Homer, Wifredo Lam, Norman Lewis and Piet Mondrian. On August 2, 2019, Blue Engine Records will release the studio recordings of these charts on a new album entitled Jazz and Art.

Jazz and Art will be released on all digital platforms on August 2nd, 2019.

GRAMMY Award-winner and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra member Ted Nash says, "Music and paintings share so many characteristics; textures, colors, layers, line, form, shape. No wonder they are such agreeable collaborators. When these two art forms come together, they create a new medium."

"In February 2010, the audience in Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater got to experience that transcendent combination when seven imaginative composers presented new works accompanied by projections of the paintings that inspired their creations."

Jazz and Art displays impressive musicianship and a range of musical styles, from modern jazz to gospel, American pastoral music, Afro-Cuban, spirituals, New Orleans, Indian chants, avant garde, and beyond. The compositions were inspired by works of art from beloved museums such as The Guggenheim, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art.


TRACK LISTING
1. Stuart Davis for the Masses: The Mellow Pad
For Stuart Davis
Written & Arranged by Doug Wamble
Solo: Vincent Gardner (trombone)

2. Stuart Davis for the Masses: Garage Lights
For Stuart Davis
Written & Arranged by Doug Wamble
Solo: Marcus Printup (trumpet), Sherman Irby (alto saxophone)

3. Stuart Davis for the Masses: New York
For Stuart Davis
Written & Arranged by Doug Wamble
Solo: Dan Nimmer (piano)

4. Blue Twirl
For Sam Gilliam
Written & Arranged by Vincent Gardner
Solo: Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Ted Nash (alto saxophone), Elliot Mason (trombone)

5. Bearden (The Block)
For Romare Bearden
Written & Arranged by Chris Crenshaw
Solo: Dan Nimmer (piano), Victor Goines (tenor saxophone)

6. Air, Earth, Fire, Water (Orisha Medley)
For Wifredo Lam
Written & Arranged by Papo Vasquez
Solo: Papo Vazquez (trombone), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet)

7. Winslow Homer: Homer's Waltz
For Winslow Homer
Written by Bill Frisell
Arranged by Andy Farber
Solo: Walter Blanding (tenor saxophone)

8. Winslow Homer: Homer's Blues
For Winslow Homer
Written by Bill Frisell
Arranged by Andy Farber
Solo: Wynton Marsalis (trumpet), Walter Blanding (tenor saxophone), Dan Nimmer (piano)

9. The Repose in All Things
For Piet Mondrian
Written & Arranged by Tim Armacost
Solo: Sherman Irby (alto saxophone), Ryan Kisor (trumpet)

10. Twilight Sounds
For Norman Lewis
Written & Arranged by Sherman Irby
Solo: Victor Goines (bass clarinet), Wynton Marsalis (trumpet)

Personnel:

THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS
REEDS
Sherman Irby (alto saxophone, clarinet, and flute)
Ted Nash (alto saxophone, clarinet, and flute)
Victor Goines (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, and clarinet)
Walter Blanding (tenor saxophone)
Joe Temperley (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet)

TRUMPETS
Ryan Kisor
Marcus Printup
Kenny Rampton
Wynton Marsalis, trumpet and vocals

TROMBONES
Vincent Gardner
Chris Crenshaw
Elliot Mason

RHYTHM SECTION
Dan Nimmer, piano
Carlos Henriquez, bass
Ali Jackson, drums and tambourine

Special Guests:
Papo Vazquez, trombone
Iwao Sado, Batá drums
Xavier Rivera, Batá drums
Anthony Carrillo, Batá drums

 
Posted: 16 Jul 2019 07:02 AM PDT

Producer John Snyder had always wanted to record alto saxophonist Art Pepper and booked him into a week at the Village Vanguard in New York. At the time, Pepper was under contract to Contemporary Records, whose label head, Les Koenig, decided he would record the gigs, quashing any notion Snyder had of doing the same. However, Art promised Snyder that he'd record an album for Snyder's label, Artists House, at some point down the road. Together they wound up making four.

Omnivore Recordings will make available for the first time the complete Artists House sessions including 19 previously unissued takes. The original albums drawn from these sessions, So In Love, Artworks, New York Album, and Stardust, have been remastered and expanded with additional takes, some having appeared previously on releases such as The Complete Galaxy Recordings and Artists House—Complete (download only), while some appear here for the first time.

The five-CD set, also available on Digital, will be available September 23, 2019.

"Art Pepper had had a brilliant career as a jazz soloist and band leader until the mid-1950s when he started using heroin," writes Pepper's widow, Laurie Pepper, who contributed the liner notes for the set. "After that, incarcerations and treatments in prisons and hospitals kept him off the stages and out of the studios. He was only able to record sporadically until he got (relatively) sober in Synanon in 1972, and married — me. Then, in the last ten years of his life, he composed, recorded, and toured more ambitiously than ever before, focused on securing his place among the true jazz greats — where he knew he belonged."

In addition to her liner notes, Laurie Pepper provided photographs she took at the sessions. Altogether, this is the most comprehensive window onto the Artists House sessions ever likely to be.

Ms. Pepper says, "John and Art both kept their promises. John brought Art into the wider world; he put him on the road. Just as he said he would, he brought him to New York and to the Village Vanguard, got his picture in the papers, got him on the radio. From Art, John got his dearest wish. He made these 32 recordings."

 
Posted: 16 Jul 2019 06:51 AM PDT

In the two years since Jazzmeia Horn bowed with her first album, the GRAMMY Award®-nominated A Social Call, she's been busy on the road, honing her vocal skills to a finely tuned level, writing songs of personal relevance and social message, and perfecting a fearless approach to improvisation and performance in general. The convergence of this drive and development has resulted in what is sure to be hailed as one of the most courageous recordings of 2019—Love and Liberation—filled with songs of daring musicality, emotional power, and messages of immediate relevancy. 

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

 
Posted: 16 Jul 2019 06:47 AM PDT

On his first new album in seven years, GRAMMY Award-winning conguero Poncho Sanchez celebrates the life and music of the iconic saxophonist John Coltrane. Due out September 20, 2019 via Concord Picante, Trane's Delight is a love letter from one musical pioneer to another, as the Latin Jazz legend pays homage to one of his earliest and most indelible influences. The joyous album arrives just in time for the late tenor titan's 93rd birthday on September 23.  Throughout his career Sanchez has held aloft the torch lit by such Latin Jazz innovators as Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente and Cal Tjader, embraced by each of those icons and entrusted to carry forward the traditions of Latin Jazz. But Sanchez's influences are numerous, and Coltrane looms large in Sanchez's pantheon alongside those pioneers. On his latest album Trane's Delight, Sanchez pays tribute to the late jazz legend with Latin-tinged reimaginings of Coltrane classics as well as new pieces composed in honor of the tenor titan.  "I've always loved John Coltrane," Sanchez says, "ever since I was a kid and first learned about jazz. I've recorded tributes to a lot of my heroes in life – Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader – so I thought it was definitely time to do a tribute to the great John Coltrane."
 Trane's Delight also continues Sanchez's remarkable 37-year relationship with Concord, a rich legacy that has now yielded 27 albums. The album features the conguero's longtime band, featuring trombonist and musical director Francisco Torres, trumpet and flugelhorn master Ron Blake, saxophonist Robert Hardt, pianist Andy Langham, bassists Rene Camacho and Ross Schodek, and percussionists Joey DeLeon and Giancarlo Anderson.  The 11-track album features three classic Coltrane compositions and a pair of new compositions written in honor of the sax master, alongside a host of original pieces and classic favorites chosen to represent Sanchez's wide spectrum of influences. At its heart, though, Trane's Delight provides a direct link from the 67-year old conguero to his 11-year old self, staring in the window of his local record store at the entrancing, blue-tinged cover of the 1962 album Coltrane.  "I had eyeballed this record for about a month, looking at it with not enough money to buy it," Sanchez recalls. "I played a couple little gigs around town and saved up the money, so it was the first album I ever bought by myself. I used to have a little space in my mother's garage with my record player and my drums and congas. I put that record on, and that first track, 'Out of This World,' kicked in and I was blown away. I listened to that record daily for years."

The wonder with which Sanchez first heard Coltrane's singular voice is still present more than a half-century later in his vibrant reimagining of the saxophonist's compositions. Trane's Delight features a buoyant Latin spin on "Liberia," from 1964's Coltrane's Sound; the classic "Blue Train" rendered as a cha-cha-chá; and a rumba twist on the immortal "Giant Steps," that perennial proving ground for jazz musicians, its challenge not only embraced by Sanchez's virtuosic collaborators but taken at a breakneck pace that leaves no room for trepidation.  In collaboration with Torres, Sanchez also penned two brand-new pieces inspired by Coltrane. The bustling title tune is a lively encapsulation of the saxophonist's adventurous spirit, highlighted by DeLeon's rollicking timbale solo. "Yam'mote," meanwhile, coins a new hybrid term combining two cultures' words for the same food: yams and camote. The music, as warm as the comfort food that it references, was inspired by another of the young Sanchez's brushes with his idol.  "When I was in high school, I would lay in bed listening to Los Angeles' jazz radio station," he says. "One night, the DJ announced, 'Tomorrow I'm going to interview John Coltrane at 11am.' It was during the week, but I had to hear this interview, so the next day I woke up and started coughingand told my mother that I didn't feel good, so I didn't have to go to school that day. It ended up being a short interview, but the part that stuck with me the most was at the very end. The host asked Trane his favorite food. My ears grew huge and I leaned in to the radio, thinking he'd say BBQ ribs or fried chicken or something, but he said sweet potato pie."  Dumbstruck, Sanchez asked his mother if she knew how to make sweet potato pie. Instead, she offered to make the candied camotesthat is a favorite dish in Mexico and across Central America. "I ate that camote every day for like two weeks because I loved John Coltrane," Sanchez laughs. "I just thank God that he didn't say dog food, because I would've run out and got some dog food. That's how much he meant to me."  As always with Sanchez's wide-ranging interests, Trane's Delight casts its sonic net much wider than just Coltrane's sphere of influence. The blissful Duke Ellington composition "The Feeling of Jazz," provides a bridge: the lovely, relaxed tune, here featuring eloquent turns by Torres and Camacho, was recorded on 1963's Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, the sole meeting of the two jazz icons.  Trane's Delight opens with "Soul Bourgeoisie," a Hubert Laws composition originally recorded by the Jazz Crusaders on their 1965 album Chile Con Soul. Featuring a soulful Hardt solo, the upbeat tune sets the exuberant tone for the album. The classic bolero "Si Te Dicen" slows things down to an elegant sway, with Sanchez's heartfelt vocal harkening back to Joe Cuba's 1966 version featuring singer Cheo Feliciano.  Pianist Andy Langham contributed "Sube" (which translates as "ascend" or "go up"), a bristling 6/8 piece ornamented by the mesmerizing kalimba playing of Cornelius Alfredo Duncan Jr. Sanchez befriended the percussionist more than 40 years ago, and reconnected when he saw a YouTube video of Duncan playing the African thumb piano. He immediately reconnected with his old friend and invited him to join the band for the occasion.  A sequel to the medley of classic tunes that appeared on the conguero's last release, Live in Hollywood, "Poncho Sanchez Medley #2" combines three old favorites: "Baila Mi Gente," from 1979's Poncho, which Sanchez cites as his first original composition; "El Sabrosón," co-written by Sanchez's longtime pianist and musical director, the late David Torres; and "El Shing-A-Ling," a song born from Sanchez's impromptu singing in a Fayetteville, Arkansas convenience store.  The album closes with "Todo Termino," a song written by Bobby Manrique and immortalized by another Sanchez idol, the great Puerto Rican singer and bandleader Tito Rodríguez. For the occasion he invited the Los Angeles vocalist Norell Thomson, a standout voice on the city's salsa scene, to front the ensemble.  Ultimately, Trane's Delight offers a tribute not only to the stellar music and influence of the great John Coltrane, but a spotlight for the myriad ways that the tenor giant's explorations have fueled courageous artists like Poncho Sanchez. The results, as on this passionate new album, would no doubt delight Trane's searching spirit.
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