NEW RELEASES - THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE WITH YO-YO MA, JOHN LEE HOOKER, MARK MURPHY

THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE WITH YO-YO MA - A PLAYLIST WITHOUT BORDERS

Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Project has been on a mission to promote innovation and cross-cultural understanding through the arts for the last 15 years; the latest chapter comes with their new album, A Playlist Without Borders. The vision of Yo-Yo Ma's limitless collective is as timely as ever: to connect the world's neighborhoods by bringing together artists and audiences. From flashy surf guitar sounds to ninth century Chinese poetry, from modular playlists to Egyptian rhythms, the Silk Road Ensemble mixes the modern and the traditional, breaking boundaries of ethnicity and era. The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma's A Playlist Without Borders is the groundbreaking group's fifth recording and the first since 2009's Grammy® nominated Off the Map. With A Playlist Without Borders, The Silk Road Ensemble once again demonstrates that there are no barriers for those approaching music with an open mind. ! amazon.com

JOHN LEE HOOKER SINGS THE BLUES: DON'T TURN ME FROM YOURS DOOR

Incredible stuff from the the incomparable John Lee Hooker – originally issued on Atco in 1963 – featuring Hooker in some his sparest settings ever captured! Hooker's mostly rolling alone on these tracks, tapping a foot, and telling the truth with just his emotive vocals and trebly licks – a spare approach that really works some magic throughout! The album's a classic – from the cover right down to the grit in the grooves – and titles include "Stuttering Blues", "Wobbling Baby", "You've Lost A Good Man", "Love Me Baby", "My Baby Don't Love Me", "Real Real Gone", "Guitar Lovin' Man", "Talk About Your Baby", and "Drifting Blues". ~ Dusty Groove

MARK MURPHY - A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP: REMEMBERING SHIRLEY HORN

Tremendous work from the great Mark Murphy – a great reminder that he's still one of the greatest jazz vocalists to come our way in the past 50 years! The short set's a loving tribute to the late Shirley Horn – delivered by Mark in some of his most personal, poetic modes in years – with backing from a trio that features Alex Minasian on piano and Curtis Lundy on bass – plus guest trumpet from Til Bronner on two of the album's tracks! Bronner's trumpet rings out warmly alongside Murphy's vocals – which have the same edge we've loved for so many years. The pairing is one that would definitely make Shirley Horn smile – and titles include "A Beautiful Friendship", "Get Out Of Town", "Here's To Life", and "But Beautiful". (Beautiful vinyl pressing – nice and heavy, with bonus download too!) ~ Dusty Groove