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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