NEW MUSIC RELEASES: WARREN BAKER – MUSIC FOR HEAVENLY BODIES; TOMMY SMITH QUARTET – EMBODYING THE LIGHT: A DEDICATION TO JOHN COLTRANE; ROCKY MIZELL – ROCKY MIZELL & THE SUGAR ROCK BAND

TOMMY SMITH QUARTET – EMBODYING THE LIGHT: A DEDICATION TO JOHN COLTRANE

In April 2017, Smith and his new quartet went into the studio to record his first acoustic quartet album since 2005. Entitled 'Embodying the Light', the album will mark Smith's 50th birthday and the 50th anniversary of the death of one of his greatest inspirations, John Coltrane. It features Coltrane compositions including "Naima", "Dear Lord" and "Resolution" and music associated with Coltrane alongside Smith compositions written in homage to Coltrane. The group features Smith alongside one of the UK's leading young piano talents, Peter Johnstone, a former Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year and winner, with the group Square One, of the 2015 Peter Whittingham Jazz Prize. Bassist Calum Gourlay is a young veteran of gigs with Sheila Jordan, Scott Hamilton and The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, and Sebastiaan de Krom has been the drumming powerhouse behind Herbie Hancock and Jamie Cullum. Smith has been a presence on the world jazz scene since his teenage years. At the age of nineteen he was touring internationally with Gary Burton's Whiz Kids quintet and three years later he signed to the legendary jazz label Blue Note. He has since gone on to establish and direct the internationally acclaimed Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and he regularly tours the world with Norwegian bass master Arild Andersen's trio, widely regarded as one of the premier groups working in jazz today.

ROCKY MIZELL – ROCKY MIZELL & THE SUGAR ROCK BAND

Massive Miami grooves from Robert "Rocky" Mizell – not one of the Mizell brothers from the west coast, but a Florida artist with a sound that's equally nice! The album's the only one we've ever seen from Rocky, and it's got a sweet TK Records groove all the way through – rhythms that are definitely on the funkier side of Miami soul, arranged by Rocky himself, and produced to perfection by Willie Clarke! The tunes are all originals – mostly collaborations between Mizell and Clarke – and the album's got a great way of sounding smooth while still keeping things funky – that perfect Miami balance that would soon disappear when things got a bit more commercial. Titles include "Shake Your Body Down", "This Must Be Love", "Never Never Girl", "Hey Sexy Dancer", "Take It Easy Babe", and "Come To Me".  ~ Dusty Groove

WARREN BAKER – MUSIC FOR HEAVENLY BODIES

There's two sorts of heavenly bodies on the cover – but the real charms of the record lie inside, as the set's overflowing with incredible early theremin recordings! The album features spacey orchestral settings arranged by Warren Baker, and conducted by Andre Montero – plus fantastic work on the "electro theremin" by Paul Tanner – a different variation on the incredible post-war electronic instrument! The "electro theremin" was Tanner's own creation, and it works on a cool sliding principle that creates a lot of weird spacey dipping, turning, and soaring effects. The album's packaged in a lovingly heavy cover, with a nude "heavenly body" floating in space amidst a sea of bright colors! Titles include "Misty Moon Blues", "Out Of This World", "Holiday On Saturn", "20th Century Venus", and "Up To Jupiter".  ~ Dusty Groove