THE JAZZ CHILL CORNER New Releases: Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble; The Electric Jazz Room; Spirits Rejoice; Dennis Bovell |  |
| New Releases: Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble; The Electric Jazz Room; Spirits Rejoice; Dennis Bovell Posted: 03 Apr 2022 03:00 AM PDT  Recorded in the 1980's and snapped up upon arrival in Europe by the Soho Boho's, Acid Jazzuals,Cuboppers, Jazz Massivists and Mojo Jazzmuziker, "Le-Le" by The Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble is a unique one off Spiritual Soul-Jazz outing with Avant Garde touches and more than a hint of Afro-Cuban Orientalism.The percussion drenched title track has that special Worldwide Sound and the Cool Jazz Get Down Groove of "Wet Walnuts and Whipped Cream" is a DJ's delight, whether played over the Airwaves or to a crowded Dancefloor. An adventurous jazz outfit that has been playing around Philadelphia since its formation in 1979. The Ensemble was founded by Warren Oree, an acoustic bassist, producer and composer who continues to lead the band. Eclectic and far from predictable, on this album the Ensemble has embraced a variety of acoustic and electric jazz styles combining them with African and Middle Eastern influences and mixed together with the "New Thing" have managed to make a timeless underground classic.  Two Underground London Jazzfloor hits from Paul Murphy's Jazz Room Records.On the A side Latin Supergroup's wild and infectious "Caliente" with Paquito's Banging piano riff and heavy Bass Line action from Descarga originator Cachao overlaid with Driving vibes from Tany Gil and a Percussion Meltdown from Walfredo De Los Reyes. On the B side the Vienna Art Orchestra provide a dark and mysterious version of the Bud Powell classic "Un Poco Loco" keeping that Be-Bop Afro-Cuban vibe but adding that East of the Border darkness you'd expect from a sound recorded at the time the city was on the Cold War fault line. Gilles Peterson (Worldwide / Brownswood): "Paul Murphy found almost every jazz dancefloor classic. He is the original messenger of jazz. He opened the door to an alternative way of being a Dj. The rest is history.  A defining musical statement in South Africa's jazz canon – pinpointing the moment of social and musical ferment in which the country's terms of engagement with jazz were irreversibly changed. Forged when township kids were facing down bullets this is an electric mulberry funk – slick, intense and complex. Heavyweight 180g vinyl with remastered audio, inner sleeve with new photographs and additional liner notes by Francis Gooding. At a distance of more than forty years, the radicalism and significance of African Spaces can be seen more clearly. Ambitious, uncompromising, and resolutely progressive, it represents a unique high-water mark in South Africa's long musical engagement with the newest developments in American jazz – a response to the cosmic call of Return To Forever, and an answer to Miles' On the Corner. Spirits Rejoice drew together some of South Africa's most abundantly talented and forward-thinking jazz players and created a complex and challenging jazz fusion that shifted the terms of South Africa's engagement with jazz towards new music being made by pioneers such as Chick Corea, Weather Report, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheny and others. African Spaces, their debut recording, is one of the key documents in the South African jazz canon. Emerging in the aftermath of the 1976 Soweto uprising, and taking its place alongside the crucial mid-1970s music of Malombo, Abdullah Ibrahim, and Batsumi, it is a defining but unsung musical statement of its era.  A massive tribute to the long career of Dennis Bovell – the British artist who first rose up in the late 70s group Matumbi, then went on to share his production talents with a host of other artists in the decades that followed! This double-length set brings together a career-spanning set of tracks that all were handled by Bovell – a first half that features his own recordings under a number of groups, and a second half that features Bovell production and studio work with a range of other artists too – including some rare and unissued material, in a package put together by Dennis himself! Titles include the Bovell cuts "Choose Me" with African Stone, "Za Lon" with 4th Street Orchestra, "Blood Ah Go Run" by Matumbi, and cuts "Brain Damage", "Chief Inspector", "Dub Master", "Silly Dub", "Caught You In A Lie", and "Oh Mama Oh Papa" – all issued under Bovell's name. The second half features titles that include "African Queen" by Errol Campbell, "Africa Is Our Land" by Joshua Moses, "Take Five" by Young Lions, "Hooked On You" by Delroy Wilson, "Differentah" by Errol Dunkley with Julio Finn, "Silly Games" by Janet Kay, "Get Up Stand Up" by I Roy, and "Can't Go Through With Life (dancehall version)" by Marie Pierre. ~ Dusty Groove |
| Louie Vega – Expansions In The NYC – Various Artists Posted: 03 Apr 2022 12:30 AM PDT  Starting in February 2019 in Manhattan and Brooklyn venues, Vega's Expansions NYC parties have their origin not in his revered prowess as a DJ but rather his whole-hearted appreciation of the different elements of the dance floor surrounding him: the dancers, the musicians who bring their instruments to join him ad-hoc on the night, the small, dedicated crowd of clubbers whose ears to the ground keep them informed on the underground party information. The events included 6-hour DJ Sets with Louie under his select curation, and would usually end with 3 AM jam sessions involving keyboardists, guitar players and poets all performing in front of a jam packed crowd. In just a few short years the Expansions NYC events have evolved into an NYC-clubland institution, an intimate celebration of house, funk, disco, afro, R&B and more. As with his parties, so goes his album. The collective vibe that forms the beating heart of Expansions NYC parties is absolutely front and centre in Expansions In The NYC, Vega drawing in one of the most comprehensive lists of collaborators in recent memory. House heavyweights Honey Dijon, Joe Claussell, Moodymann, Kerri Chandler and Anané rub up against legendary vocalists Bernard Fowler, Cindy Mizelle, Lisa Fischer, Audrey Wheeler and Tony Momrelle. Gospel royalty BeBe Winans and Debbie Winans, pop icon Robyn and rising star Karen Harding sit alongside disco-era champions Unlimited Touch, Cuban jazz pianist Axel Tosca, Nico Vega, Two Soul Fusion with Josh Milan and Vega and underground legend DJ Spinna. At the centre of it all, fingerprint on every beat, touch on every groove, sits a master at work, weaving the individual threads into a rich dance music tapestry. "In the past few years I've found new inspiration both from the musicians I'm working with and the audiences coming to see me at my DJ shows," Vega says. "So for me this album represents new beginnings, bringing together a beautiful mosaic of artistic perspectives to express musically what we call Expansions In The NYC." At its heart, Expansions In The NYC is a love letter to New York, as much as melting pot as the city it represents, the scope of its line-up possible only because of the influence and reverence of Vega the artist, the DJ, the producer, the curator. In creating this album, Louie Vega has once again utterly enriched the lives and libraries of music lovers the world over, far beyond the hustling streets of NYC that have so indelibly left their mark on his work. |
| Posted: 02 Apr 2022 10:00 PM PDT  Meticulously composed and produced by Fortià, Despertar presents a musical self-portrait based on a selection of spirited originals, all inspired by his experiences while living in New York City between 2016 and 2020. The composer creates a mellow and personal music which touches on influences as varied as Charlie Haden, Keith Jarrett, Maurice Ravel and Paco de Lucía, among others. Fortià's extraordinary trio features two of the most prolific European jazz personalities of the new generation. Multi-award winning Spanish pianist Marco Mezquida (Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman, Bill McHenry, Chicuelo, Noa), understands Fortià's music deeply and performs with elegance and dynamism. The connection between these two artists and their ability to listen deeply was showcased on their critically acclaimed 2015 duo album My Old Flame. Rounding out the trio is the revelatory French drummer Raphaël Pannier (Miguel Zenón, Aaron Goldberg, François Moutin) with whom Manel recorded the 2018 album Bulería Brooklyniana mixing Brooklyn jazz underground with flamenco. Joining them on that album was pianist Albert Marquès. With his huge palette of textures and sounds, Pannier brings the music to another level, infusing vital and foundational energy into the rhythm section. "This album is very important to me because it reflects one of the most transcendent moments in my artistic life. I feel that living in NYC changed me tremendously and I grew a lot there," Fortià says. "It is also the first time I recorded a full album featuring all my compositions. That I can share playing them with two of my favorite musicians with whom I have a great connection personally and musically, is like a dream come true." The Spanish title "Despertar" translates into "awakening," which references the last tune of the album, while, in contrast, the first one is called "Dormir" ("fall sleep"). Between these tracks we are on a dreamy journey of vital experiences, traveling to different places and moments in a very imaginative way that brings about the magic of Mediterranean culture. Like Charlie Haden, Fortià is an extremely melodic and open-minded player, executing performances on the upright bass with deep sound and precision, dropping guideposts, marking turns and grounding the journey while adding the occasional weighty statement on his compositions. His sound on the instrument is his major virtue, easily recognizable as his own. He can play a variety of styles and rhythms without losing his personality. Mellow and powerful, straight and flexible, sober and free, laid-back and energetic... all of these contrasts coexist in his playing. Inside his music we can find New York modern jazz but also some Mediterranean colors, hints of flamenco as well as European classical influences. Between the Bach choral-inspired opener "Dormir" and the powerful meditative suite "Despertar," we have seven different episodes of an exciting dream unfolding in NYC. The energetic groove of the JFK AirTrain ("Circular") drives us from the airport to the melancholic, impressionist neighborhood Astoria ("Saudades") where Manel lived while in New York. Then we travel to Harlem with the beautiful gospel-inspired "Espiritual," an homage to Black American music, where Manel's solo travels from the bottom of his upright bass to heaven. Next is the deep ballad with a Spanish touch called "El Día Después," dedicated to La Rambla de Barcelona where there was a terrorist attack in 2017 while Fortià was in New York, suffering in the distance. We then travel to the iconic Grand Central Station at rush hour which is represented by the frenetic and dynamic song "Crescente." A calm after the storm arrives courtesy of two beautiful tunes with South American flavors: "Aires de Libertad" is dedicated to Prospect Park, an area of Brooklyn where historically a huge group of jazz musicians have been living, and "Simple" to the Jackson Heights neighborhood in Queens, where we find a huge Colombian community. This musical "American Dream," is Manel's self-portrait of life as an immigrant artist during his time in the United States. Recorded and mixed at El Local Studios (Girona, Spain) by Marc Piña and mastered at Sear Sound (NYC, USA) by Grammy-Award winning sound engineer Jeremy Loucas, Despertar has the perfect balance of sounds between Europe's beautiful harmonies and America's energetic rhythms, bringing us on a journey of different colors and contrasting climates. The striking album art highlights original objects the Argentinian artist Fran Pontenpie conceptualized and built after listening to the music and then photographed for the album. On the cover is a wooden upright bass bridge transformed into a human who is awakening from the bass. On the back are four clouds created from bass tuners. Inside is a plant that has three pairs of eyes, for every member of the trio. Pontenpie's visual contributions enhance the listening experience and make the album a unique piece of art. Barcelona/NYC-based upright bassist Manel Fortià is in a fruitful moment of his artistic life. His melodic sense, rhythmic precision and creativity have made him one of the most unique and original musicians of the new generation. In addition to leading his own projects, Fortià is a versatile and in-demand sideman. His recent work as a leader includes: Despertar (2022, Microscopi) playing fresh own compositions inspired in New York alongside his new European Trio featuring Spanish pianist Marco Mezquida and French drummer Raphael Pannier. Arrels (2021, Microscopi), the debut recording of his new free-flamenco-jazz Libérica project, Antonio Lizana, the award-winning saxophonist and singer from Cádiz. The album was in the top 10 of Best Jazz Albums of 2021 by the prestigious Enderrock magazine. Fortià's original folk-jazz duo album Fang i Núvols (2020, Microscopi) with the talented Catalan singer Magalí Sare was also critically acclaimed. Throughout his career, Manel Fortià has performed with jazz luminaries such as Dave Liebman, Chris Cheek, Eliot Zigmund, Bill McHenry, Ari Hoenig, Arturo O'Farrill, Chano Dominguez, Stephane Belmondo, Scott Hamilton, Dena Derose and Raynald Colom, among many others, at some of the most prestigious international festivals such as Vitoria Jazz Festival (Spain), SudTirol Jazz Festival (Italy), NYC Mediterranean Jazz Festival (USA), Jazz in Sardegna (Italy), PortaJazz Festival (Portugal), and Voll-Damm Barcelona Jazz Festival (Spain)… as well as in famed jazz clubs like the Blue Note and Zinc Bar (New York), Bimhuis (Amsterdam), Pizza Express (London), An Die Musik (Baltimore), Hot Five (Porto), and Cafe Central (Madrid). In addition, he has appeared in more than 50 albums as a co-leader and as a sideman, including Estándares with Grammy Awarded pianist Chano Dominguez and Antonio Lizana, My Old Flame in duet with Marco Mezquida and Bulería Brooklyniana with Marquès/Fortià/Pannier trio. Fortià has been recognized with multiple awards such as the "Jazzer 2020" from the Jazzing Festival of Barcelona. He has also been a finalist at "Terra i Cultura 2019" with Magalí Sare, and a three-time finalist at Castelló Jazz Contest (2012-2014). He won the Jazz Fusion Contest (2013) with Tak! In addition, he combines a performing career with his teaching role at the prestigious ESEM - Taller de Músics in Barcelona and in the Jazz Department of Girona Conservatorium. He also has been involved with social justice music projects happening in the U.S. including Freedom First (Justice for Keith Lamar), which fights for human rights and equality, led by the musician-activist Albert Marquès featuring Arturo O'Farrill, Salim Washington, Caroline Davis among many others. |
| Saxophonist Kenny Garrett's Wins "Outstanding Jazz Album - Instrumental" at 53rd NAACP Image Awards Posted: 02 Apr 2022 04:00 AM PDT .jpg) "Sounds from the Ancestors examines the roots of West African music in the framework of jazz, gospel, Motown, hip-hop, and all other genres that have descended from jùjú and Yoruban music," explains Garrett. "It's crucial to acknowledge the ancestral roots in the sounds we've inhabited under the aesthetics of Western music." Indeed, Sounds from the Ancestors reflects the rich jazz, R&B and gospel history of his hometown of Detroit. More important though, it also reverberates with a modern cosmopolitan vibrancy – notably the inclusion of music coming out of France, Cuba, Nigeria and Guadeloupe. "The concept initially was about trying to get some of the musical sounds that I remembered as a kid growing up – sounds that lift your spirit from people like John Coltrane, 'A Love Supreme;' Aretha Franklin, 'Amazing Grace;' Marvin Gaye, 'What's Going On;' and the spiritual side of the church," Garrett explains. "When I started to think about them, I realized it was the spirit from my ancestors." The core ensemble for Sounds from the Ancestors consists of musicians that Garrett has recorded and toured with in recent past – pianist Vernell Brown, Jr., bassist Corcoran Holt, drummer Ronald Bruner and percussionist Rudy Bird. The album also features guest appearances from drummer Lenny White, pianist and organist Johnny Mercier, trumpeter Maurice Brown, conguero Pedrito Martinez, batá percussionist Dreiser Durruthy and singers Dwight Trible, Jean Baylor, Linny Smith, Chris Ashley Anthony and Sheherazade Holman. And on a couple of cuts, Garrett extends his instrumental palette by playing piano and singing. With his illustrious career that includes hallmark stints with Miles Davis, Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw and the Duke Ellington Orchestra, as well as a heralded career as a solo artist that began more than 30 years ago, Garrett is easily recognized as one of modern jazz's brightest and most influential living masters. And with the marvelous Sounds from the Ancestors, the GRAMMY® Award-winning Garrett shows no signs of resting on his laurels. |
| Eri Yamamoto, Chad Fowler, William Parker & Steve Hirsh | "Sparks" Posted: 01 Apr 2022 10:30 PM PDT  Such an image is apt for the airy chords with which Yamamoto kicks off the title tune of Sparks, the quartet's new album on Mahakala Music. After her piano begins, like wind chimes playing standards, Parker and Hirsh fall in as if walking up from the woods, and then Fowler's stritch enters, do-re-mi-do, like a sprite carrying memories of a folk song. "Spontaneous folk music," says Yamamoto with a ripple of laughter, recalling the phrase Fowler used to suggest the quartet's point of departure that day. And she responded immediately to the premise, as Yamamoto herself has created hybrid free/composed jazz that sometimes harkens back to the traditional Japanese music of her youth, as on her Goshu Ondo Suite. For over a quarter century, she's made waves as she "gracefully bridges the worlds of post-bop and free jazz" according to Time Out New York, with her "evocative songs without words." A classically-trained pianist with a vibrant improvisational streak, she's long performed and recorded with William Parker, a composer in his own right and a mainstay of the New York free jazz community. Indeed, playing a session with Parker, who has pursued an unparalleled vision of free jazz since before his days with Cecil Taylor, and whose quartet recordings in this century are legendary, was an inspiration to all. "I've played on nine or ten albums with William as a leader," says Yamamoto. "He's really been an eye opener for me. It was like he reminded me, 'Ah, I can be free!' And he always writes great melodies, which is very natural for me: start with a good melody, and have a lot of open space." With only those sentiments and a brief introductory chat guiding them, the players created these pieces on the spot. And like a strong line in visual art, a spontaneous, striking melody typically jumpstarts each performance on Sparks. That's always been at the core of Yamamoto's playing. "Growing up in Kyoto, I was surrounded by a lot of traditional Japanese music, with very minimalist melodies. I started writing music when I was eight, and I still write the same way. It all starts when I hum some melody. But even with my composed tunes, my approach is to leave a lot of space for musicians to go beyond the form." Space is another key element on this album. "Kyoto is a very old city, with a lot of shrines and temples," says Yamamoto. "And zen philosophy is very prominent there. Sometimes emptiness is more full of feeling." The space is crucial to even the more lively passages. When Parker announces, "I can pull an old rabbit out of the hat" and launches the swinging "Bob's Pink Cadillac," Fowler and Hirsh immediately pick up on the groove, spontaneously evoking the classic trio sound of, say, Sonny Rollins' Way Out West. Yamamoto is content to listen, until she's not: reaching into the piano with her left hand, her right hand chops the keys like rim shots. As the tune evolves, Fowler squawks, Hirsh rolls, and Yamamoto is up and down from her seat, first muting strings, then playing traditionally, then plucking the strings like a ragged harp. "That was completely spontaneous. I don't plan anything, in general. Then after I play, I don't remember anything," Yamamoto laughs, recalling the performance. "But the piano is a percussion instrument, after all. On that one particular tune, I felt, 'I'm gonna wait until the moment comes.' And then, Boom!" Such dynamics were typical of the day. As Fowler notes, "We expected this session to be laid back. And there are some moments of beauty and tenderness, but it was anything but mellow, overall." That's partly thanks to Hirsh's perceptive drumming, ranging from the gentle rattle of shells to to full on Klook-mopping and bomb-dropping as the intensity demands. Ultimately, the rapid-fire energy, the screeching and hammering, was a natural corollary to the music's spaciousness. For Yamamoto, it's all about dramatic juxtapositions. "I always like contrast in music," she reflects. "Or in anything. Paintings, poems. The contrast makes art, especially music, more interesting. When I play something, yes, at some points the dynamics get very intense with more notes, but after that, in contrast, having a chunk of space is pretty powerful. That empty spot has more meaning. So I try not to do too much all the time. If I say something, then in the other spot I want to have a chunk of space." The miracle of these performances was how well each player tuned in to the others' dynamics, in the moment. Though Fowler and Yamamoto had each played with Parker separately, the saxophonist and pianist had never played together. As it turned out, they surprised each other with some distinctly Asian touchstones at the core of their playing. "'Taiko' is named after my Japanese grandmother, Taiko 'Jean' Sawyer, who passed at 92 in late April of last year," says Fowler. "Before we started it, I asked the group to play something as a memorial for a lost loved one. My playing references some music of meaning to my grandma, including a minor key version of 'You Are My Sunshine,' her favorite song. None of that was planned, but it came out as we went." All told, there's an infectious joy felt as these players encounter each other in this arrangement for the first time. As Yamamoto says, "That was the first time I'd been in a recording studio for a year and half. New York City was locked down for a long time. And I'd never played with Chad or Steve before. But I could tell, just from our first greeting, that we could trust each other. So, returning to the studio with such wonderful musicians, I felt so alive. I said to myself, 'Yes! Yes!'" She pauses and reflects on the final product. "The four of us really made one music together. Everything was just one take, and I think we really blended well. No one was shy. We just trusted each other and made one sound. Instead of going, 'I'm saying blah blah blah,' and then answering, 'da da da da,' we made one moment together. Spontaneous folk music. Improvising that moment together." |
| Deluxe Edition of "Traitors" by Calibro 35 Posted: 01 Apr 2022 09:30 PM PDT  "Traditori Di Tutti" is the fourth album by Milan's combo, inspired by noir masterpiece novel "Betrayers" published by the father of Italian noir, award-winning crime fiction author Giorgio Scerbanenco. The album contains only band's original recordings, from floor-shaking first single "Giulia Mon Amour" to groovy "The Butcher's Bride", from deep funky "Filthy Bastards" to the dancefloor jazz madness of "Mescalina 6". The five-piece pays homage to "I Maestri" such as Morricone, Micalizzi and Bacalov with 12 tracks full of funky beats, heavy guitars, groovy bass lines and fuzzy organs. There's one thing that Italians do better than others: funky soundtracks. Quentin Tarantino knows best: soundtracks from Italian movies of the '60s and the '70s are the THING! "Calibro 35 does with music what Tarantino does with films". They borrow what they love and they make it their own. With Rolling Stone magazine words: "Calibro 35 are the most fascinating, "retro-maniac" and genuine thing that happened to Italy". Active since 2008, CALIBRO 35 enjoy a worldwide reputation as one of the coolest independent bands around. During their fourteen-year career, they were sampled by Dr. Dre on his "Compton" album, Jay-Z, The Child of lov & Damon Albarn; they shared stages worldwide with the likes of Roy Ayers, Muse, Sun Ra Arkestra, Sharon Jones, Thundercat and Headhunters and as unique musicians they collaborated with, amongst others, PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish and Stewart Copeland and Nic Cester (The Jet). Calibro 35 now count on a number of aficionados worldwide including VIP fans such as Dj Food (Ninja Tune), Mr Scruff and Huey Morgan (Fun Lovin' Criminals) among others. |
| ANDY OSTWALD TRIO Releases their Debut Solo Record FIELD GUIDE Posted: 01 Apr 2022 12:00 PM PDT  Andy Ostwald has toured the US and abroad with singer Diane Witherspoon and has performed at many of the San Francisco Bay Area's notable venues, including the SF Jazz Center, Yoshi's Oakland & SF, Kuumbwa, and the Great American Music Hall. In 2011, Andy Ostwald began performing with fellow Bay Area musicians Ravi Abcarian (bass) and Bryan Bowman (drums), and the ANDY OSTWALD TRIO was born. They largely developed their group sound while performing at Bocce Café in the North Beach district of San Francisco, an engagement that lasted for five years until 2016. It was during this run that the musicians honed their ability to interact freely and play off one another's musical ideas. As a fellow member of Jeff Sanford's Cartoon Jazz Orchestra, trumpeter Eric Wayne knew the trio and offered to help them record and release their debut album through his own Digital Victrola label. Andy was prepared with a fully formed album concept, including the title FIELD GUIDE, which allowed them to get straight to the business of finding the best material for the release. Recorded during the pandemic, resources were scarce, and it was difficult to find a studio with a worthy piano; they decided to record in Andy Ostwald's own home with his personal piano on an 8-track HD recorder. They were able to make the most of the home studio environment, with the craftsman-style wood house giving the recording a warm and full sound. "Since starting Digital Victrola I've always had a desire to record a trio album," says Eric Wayne. "Even though I'm a trumpet player I've always felt that the trio format is the distilled essence of jazz and improvisatory music. Every player has to be fully committed, has to listen with their entire body and mind. It was an honor to work with such musicians under the difficulties of a pandemic and limited resources and space, but I'm very happy to have 'my trio album' and I hope you will enjoy listening as much as I have." Andy Ostwald's father played a key role in his early musical development. "My dad made a point of introducing me to his favorite early jazz and classical recordings," says Andy. "He would also pick up his violin and improvise melodies over the scales that I was practicing on the piano; Dad could breathe life into those scales." By age 12 Andy began improvising over rock songs, and a couple of years later he attended a clinic by jazz pianist Dan Hearle, who introduced him to recordings by three towering figures of jazz piano: Herbie Hancock, Ahmad Jamal, and Oscar Peterson. "The music these musicians created both moved and mystified me," notes Ostwald, "and in the end, contributed to steering me in the direction of jazz." Ostwald received a BA in music from San Jose State University. While there he focused on performing contemporary jazz, classical compositions, and the Gamelan music of Java, and a few years later he spent a year in New York studying with renowned jazz pianist Harold Mabern. Following his stay in New York, Andy returned to his native San Francisco Bay Area to teach and play music. Soon thereafter he met singer Diane Witherspoon and became her piano accompanist. They performed locally on tour in the States, and then on several occasions in Tokyo. Currently Ostwald is a member of Jeff Sanford's Cartoon Jazz Orchestra and freelances as both a band leader and sideman. Andy teaches piano at his home in Oakland. He's also an instructor at Oaktown Jazz Workshops, where Ravi Abcarian is also an instructor and the executive director. Ostwald's book/audio series Play Jazz, Blues, Rock Piano by Ear was published by Mel Bay Publications in 2004. It remains in print today. |
| Posted: 01 Apr 2022 11:52 AM PDT  Oded has carved out a particularly idiosyncratic approach to composing on his musical path, blending raga and jazz in a way where the saxophonist is neither borrowing nor imitating musical idioms from elsewhere, but rather applying a comprehensive music-philosophical concept on a universal level. As Oded figures, a raga goes beyond a set of parameters bound to time signatures or notes: "One way to define a raga is to see it as an abstract personality that's made of sound. Some musician would even refer to it as a presence that you have to make come alive. That's where it's not a scale anymore, but something so much more than a sequence of notes. In that sense, the blues is exactly like a raga. It has a scale, but it's not simply a scale. It's an abstract personality that is so distinct that you can hear one phrase of it and already go: 'That's blues' – like a person you recognize from afar." Once again joining Oded on his musical journey are pianist Nitai Hershkovits, bassist Petros Klampanis and drummer Johnathan Blake, who infuse the leader's inventions with effortless musicianship and vivid imagination. Each a pillar in the contemporary jazz scene and with links reaching beyond the genre's traditional format, the saxophonist's collaborators are given "freedom to develop the music any way they want," within the structures and possibilities the compositions offer. The group is constantly discovering new ways to communicate with each other and expand their musical vocabulary in the process: "It's like we're on a river with trees around the banks, so we can't really make out where we're headed, but we can be sure that it will lead us someplace good." That place is marked by Nitai's delicate brush strokes on piano, Johnathan's fierce and confident percussion work and Petros' more than reliable foundation in the deep end. Downbeat has described Oded's playing as "quietly fantastical and full of narrative feints" while outlining his tone as "light and sweet, with a whispered airiness," and the saxophonist's note-bending, microtonal technique, inspired by Indian classical instruments and touching the "barely audible," is again at the heart of his voice and the melodies that protrude on Isabela. The raga that pervades the album from start to finish is introduced in the opening act "Invocation," which works like a Chalan in Indian classical music – the skeleton of a Raga that outlines the raga's structure in the briefest possible way, much as a synopsis does a play. Oded and his quartet develop the concentrated musical matter of "Invocation" and transform it into new shapes and forms in expansive studies of temperament, shifting from pensive introspection in one moment to outgoing and free-wheeling improvisation in the next. "It took me a while to develop the courage to also explore the other extreme, see what happens when you follow the explosion at the other end of the dynamic spectrum. For this album I finally felt comfortable to explore the totality of the dynamic range, the silence but also the eruptions, the bright colours." Neither the silence nor the bright colours that immerse the album in manifold shades could emerge without the distinctive contributions from Oded's fellow travellers and the group's performance is highlighted by the crystalline acoustics of the Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in Lugano, where the album was recorded in October 2021. |
| Jean Carne, Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad | "Jean Carne JID012" Posted: 01 Apr 2022 11:47 AM PDT  Perhaps best known to listeners for her collaborations with Doug Carn in the early 1970s, Jean Carne has left a legacy that runs deep. She bridged a generational gap, coming from her earlier recordings that were rooted in Spiritual Jazz, towards Philly Soul, Disco, and R&B. In the process, Carne has worked with luminaries such as Azar Lawrence, Phyllis Hyman, Michael Jackson, Lonnie Liston Smith, Earth, Wind & Fire, and many others. It is near impossible to tune into pop music today and not hear a vocalist emulating, in some way or form, Carne's distinct vocal acrobatics. Here, Carne's unmistakably limber voice flutters across seven tracks, exploring the possibilities and power of love- of self, of community, of powers from above. Reminiscent of masterworks by Weldon Irvine or Carne's frequent collaborator Norman Connors, the arrangements crafted by Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad stand at the border of introspection and exuberance. "My Mystic Life" invites listeners to "come and find life on Mars" or "listen to the cosmos," while "The Summertime" is a funky ode to hot pavement and looking your best. "Black Love" is an impressionistic journey through soul and sound. The album closer from Jean Carne's upcoming LP for Jazz Is Dead deftly carves around Carne's voice, giving it the same reverence reserved for a Renaissance sculpture. Continuing the album's recurring themes of love and spirituality, Black Love is a tribute to the higher power of community. Like ascending through layers of clouds, the vocals build higher and higher, as Carne takes you to the album's emotional apex. Reminiscent of Sarah Vaughn's lush scat singing on standards like "Pinky," Carne's vocals cease to be of this world, instead only offering abstractions to capture such an immense and indescribable force that can protect, bring one home, and bring people together. The mellow Funk percussion and hazy keys instantly recall ice cream trucks, running through sprinklers, and backyard BBQs with cool ease. Built around the universally relatable "feeling good in the Summertime," the tune confidently cruises the same boulevards as Kool and the Gang and Roy Ayers do each year when the temperature starts to rise. Like the rest of Jean Carne JID012, "The Summertime" showcases Carne's innate ability to animate the abstract, and to bring collective experiences and emotions to life. "Black Rainbows" blossoms from a keyboard fantasy into a more percussion-driven number, all while giving Carne's voice enough space to showcase her incredible talents. The title and refrain conjure memories of Sun Ra's afrofuturism with graceful awe. As Carne's voice fills the space, the tune slowly transforms from a meditation into a call for celebration, giving way to morse-code guitar that beckons listeners towards the dancefloor in the sky. More than merely a survey or summary of Carne's career, Jean Carne JID012 is a celebration of self-perseverance, and invites listeners to seek out and capture joy, and to love unapologetically. |
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