JASON MORAN / MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO
– ALL RISE: A JOYFUL ELEGY FOR FATS WALLER
All
Rise: A Joyful Elegy for Fats Waller, is a collaboration with the vocalist
Meshell Ndegeocello that recasts the music of the legendary jazz entertainer
Fats Waller as a modern dance party. The album which was produced by
Ndegeocello and Blue Note Records president Don Was is the ninth in a
formidable catalog that Moran has been building on Blue Note since 1999. 'Fats
Waller is a special kind of provocateur,' says Moran. 'It stems mainly from the
fact that he was a singer as well as a pianist. Sometimes he was like an MC. It
has always amazed me that a pianist whose playing was so deep could sing and
keep a running commentary of what was going on around him all at the same
time.' All Rise features Moran hosting a changeable cast of musicians that
includes vocalists Ndegeocello and Lisa E. Harris, his longtime trio The
Bandwagon featuring bassist Tarus Mateen and drummer Nasheet Waits, and a funky
horn-inflected ensemble anchored by drummer Charles Haynes that features
trumpeter Leron Thomas and trombonist Josh Roseman, as well as guest
saxophonist Steve Lehman. The album was recorded and mixed by Bob Power, known
for honing the sound on classic hip hop records by A Tribe Called Quest, Common
and The Roots. ~ Amazon
MEDESKI SCOFIELD MARTIN &
WOOD - JUICE
The
ever-evolving, genre-defying collaboration between Medeski Martin & Wood
and John Scofield continues to flourish. Since first convening almost 17 years
ago, Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood's kinship both onstage and off has
fostered an escalating degree of musical interplay, exquisitely captured on
Juice their third studio album available September 16, 2014, via Medeski Martin
& Wood's Indirecto imprint. Juice combines the group's signature grooves
with a newfound lyrical melodicism over a program of original compositions and
four covers including a powerful hymn-like version of Bob Dylan's The Times
They Are A-Changin' and a dizzying dub deconstruction of Cream's Sunshine of
Your Love. Throughout, Juice showcases the quartet's dynamic interplay and
razor-sharp improvisational acumen. Reacting to each other is really what it's
about, says Scofield, and that's what makes this music work. We've gotten to
the point where we can come together and make something that is identifiable
and organic, yet it's growing and changing all the time. ~ Amazon
LEVIN BROTHERS - LEVIN BROTHERS
Tony
Levin, (bassist with Peter Gabriel, King Crimson), has for the first time,
joined up with his brother, keyboardist Pete Levin (Miles Davis, Gil Evans,
Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter) to make an album (in both CD & Vinyl) of the
music they loved listening to when they were kids - the 'cool jazz' of the
1950s. Tony's cello and bass share the lead voice with Pete's organ and piano,
and they're joined by notable players on drums (Steve Gadd - 2 tracks, Jeff
Siegel), guitar (David Spinozza) and sax (Erik Lawrence). Don't expect abstruse
songs or long-winded solos - this album is all about great, melodic songs with
high level performances by all the players. ~ Amazon
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