Tuesday, January 02, 2018

NEW RELEASES: MARION MEADOWS – SOUL CITY; BOB BALDWIN - NEVER OUT OF SEASON (REMIXED AND REMASTERED); AIRELLE BESSON / EDOUARD FERLET / STEPHANE KERECKI - AIRES

MARION MEADOWS – SOUL CITY

'Soul City', Marion's most intimate and heartfelt album to date, is a star-studded event that 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 hit-making collaborators, Chris "Big Dog" Davis (Will Downing, Gerald Albright, Maysa), Rahni Song (Najee, Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson) and Dave Love. With special guests: Will Downing, Norman Brown, Peter White, Peabo Bryson, Maysa and more!! Includes: Soul City; Consequences; You; Playa; Merry Go Round; Be With You;. No Wind No Rain; Time After Time; Dreamin'; and Only.

BOB BALDWIN - NEVER OUT OF SEASON (REMIXED AND REMASTERED)

In 1986, Bob Baldwin helped to lay bricks for the foundation of what is now called "Gospel Jazz" with his work on the Tom Browne "No Longer I" disc. Prior to him, only groups like Koinonia and Seawind preceded both funk-jazz icon Browne and Baldwin, as they both wanted to showcase their love for the creator while being known for the music they enjoy playing...jazz. That said, Baldwin finally fulfills a promise made to his late Aunt (Lettie Ayers) by re-mixing his project of 2011 in high-res 24-bit audio, finally issued on CD for the first time. This Gospel-Jazz piece features Marcus Anderson on sax, opening the disc with an uplifting groove piece called "Be Blessed (no Stress)"...he's later featured on the Donnie McClurkin classic "Speak to my Heart". Pianist Baldwin hearkens us back to the 1600's with jazzed-up classic hymns like "The Lord's Prayer / Let the Church say Amen", featuring Corvina Nielson (Vocals). Baldwin speaks to the current social conditions today with "Where's That Smile?", featuring Washington, D.C. Vocal sensation Lori Williams. Interpretations of "Silent Night", "Hallelujah" and "Jesus Loves Me" round out the set with a piano 'churchy' original "Prologue". This NY pianist shows off his church chops he honed when playing for churches in the 1980's. Those chops were reinforced when he saw Tramaine Hawkins live in college in the early 80's...it was there he envisioned the blend of Jazz and Gospel as a format. While his love for Gospel music is evident, he never strays far from his first love of jazz on this project, staying true to his "Baldwin sound". This is a must-have for Baldwin fans and those in Gospel looking for a new twist in their music collection. - written by the staff at City Sketches, Inc.

AIRELLE BESSON / EDOUARD FERLET / STEPHANE KERECKI - AIRES

Édouard Ferlet has already explored intriguing byways for the Alpha label: in 2015 he and Violaine Cochard recorded Plucked Unplucked , an album associating piano and harpsichord a successful venture that will soon see a follow-up. The bassist Stéphane Kerecki has already made several recordings for Outhere, including Nouvelle Vague , a prizewinner at the Victoires de la Musique. The career of the trumpet player Airelle Besson has been on a high since 2015, when she won both the Prix Django Reinhardt of the Académie du Jazz and the Révélation Award at the Victoires du Jazz.These three jazz musicians met and decided to form a trio in order to combine their universes and their ambitions. Here is the fruit of their first year of companionship, a programme presenting compositions by each of them, an album wearing the colours of jazz but featuring several tracks directly inspired by great standards of the classical repertoire, including Es ist vollbracht from Bach s St John Passion, the Pavanes of Ravel and Fauré, the Valse sentimentale of Tchaikovsky, and Khachaturian's Sabre Dance, which can be recognised behind the Stances du sabre . The refinement of the compositions and the playing and the musicians capacity for listening to each other are a source of endless pleasure and fulfilment.


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