Thursday, October 23, 2014

NEW RELEASES: GREGG KARUKAS - SOUL SECRETS; MAYSA - A VERY MAYSA CHRISTMAS; JON MAYER – LIVE: THE ART OF THE BALLAD

GREGG KARUKAS - SOUL SECRETS

2013 Grammy winner Gregg Karukas is back with a new collection of all-original songs featuring his signature piano touch, pristine production, and melodies that are both soulful and sophisticated. Organic, funky, and melodic is how Gregg describes his latest, long awaited 12th solo project, Soul Secrets. Gregg's elegant grand piano and deep grooves are everywhere, and this time around he digs into his roots and also features the classic Fender Rhodes, Wurlie, Minimoog and Hammond B3 keyboards he grew up with quite a bit. With guest appearances along the way by friends Rick Braun, Euge Groove, Ricardo Silveira, Eric Valentine, Nate Phillips, Michael O'Neill, James Harrah, Adam Hawley, violinist Charlie Bisharat, Luis Conte, Shelby Flint, Ron Boustead and 21 year old rising sax star Vincent Ingala. Along with the privilege of being a musical artist and composer comes the realization that music is a mysterious and powerful force that can reach deep into our Souls and bring happiness. We all have unspoken Secrets there, and every song I write is my attempt to make that connection. The whole process, the journey, the wonderful feedback I get from listeners is what keeps me coming back to the piano.Karukas has been so consistently acclaimed for his melodic keyboard magic for so long that it might be superfluous to call Soul Secrets his best album ever but there s no doubt it s one of contemporary jazz's best albums of 2014. ~ Amazon

MAYSA - A VERY MAYSA CHRISTMAS

Grammy nominated and Soultrain Centric Award winner Maysa holds a unique status in the world of R&B/Jazz. Her incomparably lush, sensuous vocals have garnered her legions of fans. As featured lead vocalist for the UK super group Incognito, core member of Stevie Wonder s Wonderlove and, of course, through her own albums and concerts, Maysa has been thrilling R&B and Jazz audiences for decades. Featuring special guests Will Downing and Gerald Albright, A Very Maysa Christmas presents the Christmas classics as you ve never heard them before. Produced by Chris Big Dog Davis (Kim Burrell, Chantè Moore, Will Downing), these renditions retain the classic holiday warmth, while taking the listener on a spirited, creative, soulful journey that only Maysa can deliver. Highlights include the Maysa/Will Downing duet of the Donny Hathaway classic, This Christmas , a joyful, hip-hop infused mash up of The Night Before Christmas/Santa Claus is Coming To Town , Maysa s soulful reimagining of Joy to the World and much, much more. ~ Amazon

JON MAYER – LIVE: THE ART OF THE BALLAD


Mayer is a native New Yorker who has played with jazz greats like saxophonist Jackie McLean and the vocal group Manhattan Transfer. He has lived in Southern California since 1991, and appears infrequently in the East, making this one-night performance decidedly welcome. Life has rebounded quite nicely for pianist Jon Mayer, thank you, now that he has relocated to the West Coast and slowly but surely built up his performing and recording activity to the delight of his listeners there. Not quite falling into the "what ever happened to?" category, Mayer nonetheless dropped from public consciousness for, oh, a couple of decades. And now he's back, Rip Van Winkle-like. Having been infused with the spirit and style of jazz in the 1950's when New York City was abuzz with young legends-in-the-making like John Coltrane or Jackie McLean, Jon Mayer was there. And recording. And touring. And learning. And inspiring. And making a living. And surviving. In the 1960's and 1970's, Mayer worked with the likes of Sarah Vaughan, Les McCann, Nancy Wilson and Barry White. Every performance generates heat, including ballads like "But Beautiful." Mayer is a thoroughly mainstream pianist, yet his way of embedding a song's melody within his own elaborations and displacements creates continuous subtle surprises. The most memorable piece is the title track, taken solo. "My Romance" is slower and perhaps sadder than most versions, and the recorded sound renders every pensive nuance.  ~ CD Universe


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