Tuesday, November 28, 2017

NEW RELEASES: WES MONTGOMERY - IN PARIS: THE DEFINITIVE ORTF RECORDING; GIZELLE SMITH - SWEET MEMPROES / S.T.A.Y; JIM SELF & JOHN CHIODINI - FLOATING IN WINTER

WES MONTGOMERY - IN PARIS: THE DEFINITIVE ORTF RECORDING

Beautifully-recorded material by the great Wes Montgomery – some fairly open-ended tracks recorded for French radio in the 60s – with guest work from tenorist Johnny Griffin on a number of tunes! The core group here is great enough on its own – as Wes' guitar is backed by superb piano from Harold Mabern – who's really opening his flow at this time in his career, and makes for some really imaginative collaboration here with Montgomery – and the rest of the combo features tight rhythm from Arthur Harper on bass and Jimmy Lovelace on drums. The addition of Griffin is a nice surprise – especially as Montgomery wasn't often playing with tenor in a small group setting by this point – and titles include "Twisted Blues", "Blue N Boogie/West Coast Blues", "Full House", "To wane", "Jingles", "Impressions", "Four On Six", and "Round Midnight".  © 1996-2017, Dusty Groove, Inc.

GIZELLE SMITH - SWEET MEMPROES / S.T.A.Y

Gizelle Smith announces her return on the music scene with this fantastic double-A side single ahead of a new album slated for release March 30th 2018. The record sees her moving on from the classic sound of her debut album as she’s expanded her musical palette to incorporate more psychedelic and jazzy progressions, bold arrangements and adventurous instrumentation. This next level of artistic development in Gizelle is a joy to discover and signals exciting times ahead. First track “Sweet Memories” announces the return with a bang and really showcases Smith’s vocal range and control. Coupling her beautifully layered harmonies and powerful topline acrobatics over a funky backdrop of tasteful guitar, solid bass and tight drums the emotive lyrics and charged up chorus capture listeners as she pours her heart out into the mic. Flitting between honey dripped soul during the verses before a full on frontal funk assault from the chorus it’s a treat from the first note to the last. The flipside is definitely one for the modern soul crowd – the bouncing “S.T.A.Y.” boasts a bassline that does more walking than your average Labrador and a groove that wouldn’t be out of place on an Isley Brothers or Gil Scott Heron LP. Soul man extraordinaire and respected Stones Throw Records alumni Eric Boss also gets in on the action contributing vocals to accompany Ms Smith. The uplifting and positive message of this song is the sunshine to “Sweet Memories” rainy day – there’s something in this single for listeners whatever the weather. “Sweet Memories” / “S.T.A.Y” out Dec. 1st on 45/Digital via Jalapeno Records.

JIM SELF & JOHN CHIODINI - FLOATING IN WINTER

Floating in Winter, is Jim Self’s new collaboration with guitarist John Chiodini. Self is a Los Angeles-based freelance musician; his primary instrument is tuba, but he also plays a large number of low-brass and other bass instruments. Since l974 he has worked for all the major Hollywood studios performing on the scores of over 1,500 motion pictures and hundreds of television shows. His solos in major films appear on the John Williams scores to Jurassic Park, Home Alone and and was the “Voice of the Mothership” in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. He has also appeared on recordings by Cassandra Wilson, Maynard Ferguson, Randy Newman, Bette Midler and Frank Sinatra. “This recording was inspired by the musical connection between John Chiodini and myself.  We met playing in David Angel’s 13 piece jazz band, I loved John’s playing and he was complimentary about mine. A tuba and guitar duo may seem odd but it turned out to be a beautiful sound, so we decided to make this recording. John and I have a wide palate of musical interests and these songs reflect our love of great melodies and interesting chord changes. The pairing of guitar and tuba frees up the low part of my instrument and the natural blend of the two instruments creates a warm and rich sound.” - Jim Self


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