AARON
GOLDBERG – THE NOW
Hailed
by Down Beat magazine for his quick-witted harmonic reflexes, fluid command of
line and cut-to-the-chase sense of narrative logic, Aaron Goldberg has made his
name as one of jazz s most compelling pianists, both as a bandleader and
frequent collaborator with Joshua Redman, Wynton Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel,
Guillermo Klein and many more. On his new release The Now, Goldberg reunites
with bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Eric Harland, the virtuoso rhythm team
going all the way back to his 1998 debut Turning Point. On their fifth outing
together, the trio foregrounds a central truth about the art of playing jazz:
that no two performances will be the same because the music is created, in
Goldberg s words, in the dynamic plane of the present. A jazz record is literally one moment in time,
Goldberg explains. Each song captures those five minutes, and not more. This is
especially counterintuitive when you think about iconic jazz recordings like
Kind of Blue, where we can all sing every solo. That record would sound totally
different, we d all be singing different solos, if it d been recorded five
minutes later or even five seconds later. That aspect of jazz is what makes it
magical for me. I think every time you make an album you contribute to this
illusion that jazz operates like other forms of music, where you figure out the
song, you practice it, you play it a million times, then you record the
definitive version. Jazz doesn t work like that, and I felt it was time to
explicitly wrestle with this in some thematic way. In every idiomatic zone from Brazilian ballads
to roaring bebop, Goldberg and the trio have a way of spontaneously sculpting
every bar as it flows by, like a wave on a river. That Rogers and Harland have
also spent the last few years working with master saxophonist Charles Lloyd has
deepened their communication and subtlety beyond measure. With Goldberg, they
revel in the lesser-explored corners of jazz repertoire, bringing wit,
explosive chops and also keen understatement to bear on the music at hand. ~
Amazon
MARION
MEADOWS – SOUL TRAVELER
Smooth
Jazz Superstar Marion Meadows is without question one of the most popular and
unique talents on the Jazz scene today. Blessed with movie star looks and the
smoothest saxophone tone on the planet, Marion has sold close to one million
albums in his brilliant career. His constant string of radio hits and
relentless touring have garnered legions of fans, and his appearances with such
varied artists as the Temptations, Michael Bolton and Will Downing are a
testament to his broad audience appeal. Soul
Traveler, Marion s most intimate and heartfelt album to date, takes the
listener on a sensuous journey through a soundscape of brilliant original
compositions and masterful improvisations. The album is co-produced by Marion s
long-time collaborator Carlo Panisi, who produced Marion s previous Shanachie
album, Whisper , which debuted at #1 on the Smooth Jazz charts, and garnered 3
Top 10 Smooth Jazz Radio singles. Highlights include the spirited Latin-tinged
Celebration Road featuring the great Najee on flute, the deeply sensuous ballad
Dark Beauty , Real Time featuring up and coming Smooth Jazz superstar Vincent
Ingala and much more. ~ Amazon
RAY
OBIEDO – THERE GOES THAT
The 7th
release by Bay Area guitarist and composer Ray Obiedo "There Goes That"
on Rhythmus Records is a another collection of original compositions fused with
Latin Jazz, Funk and Brasilian styled rhythms. His eclectic groove oriented
compositions never stray far from his love of R&B. The melodies are simply
stated and gracefully glide over jazz influenced chord structures. Obiedo
enlisted some of the music industries top musicians and longtime cohorts for
the project. Percussionist Sheila E, drummer Peter Michael Escovedo, steel pan
master Andy Narell, trumpeter Michael "Patches" Stewart and Tower of
Power drummer David Garibaldi, all make brief appearances. Santana members
David K. Mathews, Karl Perazzo, Jeff Cressman and Bill Ortiz contribute their
expertise. Playing soprano sax on two tracks, "Werewolf" and
"Four Square", is Miles Davis alumni Kenny Garrett. "There Goes That"
also features Norbert Stachel, Elena Ayodele Pinderhughes, Marc & Paul van
Wageningen, Roger Glenn, Michael Spiro, Peter Horvath, Stefen Kuehn and Sandy
Cressman. Ray has 5 previous releases on the Windham Hill jazz label; this is
his first on his own Oakland based Rhythmus Records label. The music on
"There Goes That" is a highly energized and hypnotically rhythmic
soundscape revealing all the passion, flavor, color and style of the San
Francisco Bay Area which conceived, nourished and inspired Obiedo's latest musical
venture. ~ Amazon
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