NEW RELEASES: THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER - THE JUNCTION; NINO TEMPO – PURVEYOR OF BALLADRY: THE BEST OF NINO TEMPO ON ATLANTIC; JASON YEAGAR / RANDAL DESPOMMIER – ALL AT ONCENESS

THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER - THE JUNCTION

If you’ve been along for the full ride, you know that The Manhattan Transfer is the first group to win Grammys in both pop and jazz categories in 1981. Four years later, their album Vocalese received 12 Grammy nominations, making it second only to Michael Jackson's Thriller as the most nominated individual album. This sonically brilliant and innovative new collection, The Junction, produced by 5-time, Grammy winner Mervyn Warren, meets The Transfer 4 ½ decades in, celebrating musical legacy with fresh ideas and modern modalities! Inspired by their 1975 version of Glen Miller’s “Tuxedo Junction,” The Junction peels off the starting line with a mega amount of fashionable production. Ranging from creative covers with inventive customization, as heard on “Cantaloop (Flip Out)” and “Tequila / The Way Of The Booze,” to relevant originals that touch down on fictional characters (“Blues For Harry Bosch”) and characters that we wish were fictional (“Ugly Man”). The foursome, comprised of Janis Siegel (alto), Alan Paul (tenor), Cheryl Bentyne (soprano), and Trist Curless (bass) who replaces founder, the late Tim Hauser, arrives in a time when the world needs them more than ever! ALL aboard! ~ smoothjazz.com

NINO TEMPO – PURVEYOR OF BALLADRY: THE BEST OF NINO TEMPO ON ATLANTIC

In the early 1960s, Tempo joined the in-demand group of studio musicians known as the Wrecking Crew. It was at a Bobby Darin recording session that Nino met Atlantic co-founder Ahmet Ertegun for the first time, and a lifelong friendship began. Ahmet Ertegun signed Nino and his sister, April Stevens, to a recording contract with Atco, a subsidiary of Atlantic. So successful was Nino and April’s 1963 duet, “Deep Purple,” that the chart-topping, million-selling gold record scored a Best Rock and Roll Recording Grammy® in 1964. Omnivore’s compilation is drawn from the best of Nino’s two Atlantic studio albums.

JASON YEAGAR / RANDAL DESPOMMIER – ALL AT ONCENESS

Brooklyn-based Red Piano Records is proud to announce the release of saxophonist Randal Despommier and pianist Jason Yeager's first collaborative album, All At Onceness, a soulful mix of improvisational arrangements of Baroque, Romantic, twentieth-century, and contemporary pieces. With source material ranging from Bach to Stravinsky, Scriabin to Messiaen, these intrepid composer-improvisers stake out their own territory in a diverse program that combines folk-like melodies, evocative harmonies, and infectious rhythms. Joining the duo are three of New York's most adventurous artists: vocalist Aubrey Johnson, bassist Danny Weller, and drummer Jay Sawyer.