Friday, February 28, 2014

NEW RELEASES: ROBIN MCKELLE & THE FLYTONES - HEART OF MEMPHIS; DONALD EDWARDS - EVOLUTION OF AN INFLUENCED MIND; BRUCE BARTH - DAYBREAK

ROBIN MCKELLE & THE FLYTONES - HEART OF MEMPHIS

For her new album Heart of Memphis Robin McKelle immersed herself in the spirit of Memphis. The City is like a place of pilgrimage for any soul, blues, or rhythm and blues fan. Despite the time that has gone by and the museums being built in place of the legendary recording studios, the spirit of the city that, in its heyday, represented one of the best eras of American popular music has not disappeared. “I wanted to capture the Memphis sound in the recording process and the goal was to write the music and arrangements with that sound in mind.” says Robin McKelle.  Except of “Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” and “Forgetting you”, Robin McKelle wrote eleven of the thirteen titles of Heart Of Memphis. “I really love writing,” she says. “It’s important to continue to create new sounds and push ourselves into unknown places. That’s what artists are put on this earth for, taking risks and chances. Memphis soul is different from the Motown sound because has more raw emotion and being in the south it’s also influenced by country music. It’s more ‘in your face’ than the Motown. I have a natural gritty sound or rasp in my voice so this sound suits me well.”  Together with her loyal Flytones and helped by her bass player and musical partner Derek Nievergelt, Robin McKelle created amazing and authentic soul music songs. ~ Okeh Records

DONALD EDWARDS - EVOLUTION OF AN INFLUENCED MIND

The title's a bit obtuse, but it also really gets at the vibe of the record, too – a great progression of individualistic jazz – inspired by previous generations, but voiced in a really fresh way by this combo led by drummer Donald Edwards! The approach is more open and varied than usual for a session on the Criss Cross label – from the initial spiritual passage of "American Drum Call To Mama", to David Gilmore's guitar atmospherics on "Niecee", to the richness of the album's original compositions. Gilmore's sense of color and phrasing really balance wonderfully with the tenor of Walter Smith – and Orrin Evans' piano is at its most melodically complex as well. The record opens up in so many ways, but still also finds plenty of room to swing, too – on titles that include "The Dream", "Dock's House", "The Essential Passion", "Nightmare Of Fun", and "Culmination For Now". ~ Dusty Groove

BRUCE BARTH - DAYBREAK

Sparkling piano from Bruce Barth – set up nicely in a group that also features Steve Nelson on vibes and Terell Stafford on trumpet and flugelhorn! Both players bring in some darker edges that round out the sound nicely – mixing with Barth's lyrical lines on keys, which dance magically to rhythmic accompaniment from Vincente Archer on bass and Montez Coleman on drums. Nelson's especially expressive here – and although he drops out for three of the album's ten tracks, he still really helps shape the overall vibe of the record. Titles include "Vamonos", "Moon Shadows", "Brasilia", "Daybreak", "Triste", "Tuesday's Blues", and "In The Still Of The Night". ~ Dusty Groove


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