Sony Music
Masterworks today introduces New Masters, a rotating ensemble of today’s
leading, up-and-coming and established jazz musicians, as they take on today’s
biggest charting-topping hits for a new genre-defying project entitled ReWORKS.
Available everywhere now is ReWORKS – Vol. 1 lead offering, Juice WRLD’s
breakthrough hit “Lucid Dreams,” as arranged by guitarist Gilad Hekselman.
“Lucid Dreams” is the first track from ReWORKS – Vol. 1, which is set for
release Friday, July 12 and will feature songs originally performed by Cardi B,
Drake, Kendrick Lamar, SZA and more.
Of the
track, guitarist Gilad Hekselman says: “It was definitely a challenge to take
on ‘Lucid Dreams’ because it was a song that was completely off my radar
(although I'm familiar with ‘Shape of My Heart,’ the Sting tune it’s based on).
Only after recording it did I start noticing how many times this song would be
playing out of cars or on the radio—it was a good opportunity to get out of my
jazz bubble and connect to what’s popular these days. I tried to do something
with it that respects the original, yet offers a platform for the band’s
expression. Of course I had no doubt that in the hands of these master
musicians, no matter what I did or didn’t do with it, it’d turn into something
beautiful, and it did.”
The newest
project from Sony Music Masterworks – ReWORKS – embraces jazz in all of its
crazy polarities. It features New Masters, a powerful all-star collective
comprised of primarily new talent, formed as a fresh, creative reaction to the
distinct challenges of an age when playlists and brands—more than albums and
bands—are in prominence.
The first
edition New Masters ensemble includes among its impressive lineup many of the
leading, up-and-coming or established representatives of their respective
instruments: pianist Sullivan Fortner, drummer Eric Harland, trumpeter Keyon
Harrold, guitarist Gilad Hekselman, bassist Burniss Earl Travis and saxophonist
Immanuel Wilkins. Adding his trademark spark and cohesion to the project as
well is respected percussionist Bashiri Johnson. Matt Pierson, the veteran jazz
producer who initiated ReWORKS, recruited these performers from among the top
tier of today’s burgeoning jazz scene, improvisers both steeped in the jazz
tradition and in tune with current musical trends. There was a level of
familiarity as well: some had experience playing with each other, but there was
the added spark of a few first-time encounters.
The group’s
repertoire—true to the name ReWORKS—boldly focuses on songs drawn from the top
of today’s pop charts, tunes with a melodic priority that are able to benefit
from an improviser’s touch. The choices also serve as generational
signifiers—present-day hits by familiar stars, as relevant to the youngest tier
of listeners as they are pervasive among all who listen with open ears. To hear
it from Pierson, the project is as much a product of that longstanding
imperative in jazz as it is a product of the current age.
“Fifteen
years ago I would have signed each of these guys, but that’s not possible
today,” says Pierson, known for helming Warner Brothers’ forward-thinking jazz
imprint in the ‘90s and into the new millennium. “The challenge the jazz and
jazz-adjacent community currently faces is that our existing audience hasn’t
embraced the streaming platforms, while those already utilizing the platforms
aren’t being directed to jazz. The intent of the ReWORKS concept is to
proactively bridge this gap, using a streaming mentality to creatively subvert
how consumers find tracks online and work these newer, singular jazz artists
into search results and playlists.”
Pierson
adds: “Of course, for this particular effort to be effective long-term, the
material needs to be familiar, leading with groove and melody, while remaining
artistically uncompromising. I’m confident that these first six tracks achieve
this goal, and give us a shot at expanding the audience for undeniably great,
creative music and remaining true to the musicians who make it happen.”
On ReWORKS –
Vol. 1, four out of six tunes were nominated for a Record of the Year Grammy®
Award, and on average each has streamed more than one billion times. It’s a
concept with much precedent; in fact one could say that jazz has repeatedly
proven itself to be among the most wide-eared of styles in the general family
of music, ever curious and attentive to the twists and trends that popular
music – despite the prevailing notion that jazz is somehow anti-commercial.
In the 1920s
and ‘30s, it took the songs created for Broadway and Hollywood that made it
onto the Hit Parade of the day and turned them into timeless standards; in the
‘60s and through the ‘70s, it drew inspiration from the groove-fueled music of
Motown and soul. Today, countless jazz musicians embrace broken-beat rhythms
while drawing on other ideas and technologies borrowed from the world of
hip-hop. This cross-pollination continues to be the way in which jazz grows
anew, thriving through change and adaptation – which is precisely the strategy
that gave birth to the groundbreaking ReWORKS project, and the all-star group –
New Masters – with which to develop it.
About the
Artists:
SULLIVAN
FORTNER:
A leading
pianist of his generation, Fortner’s formidable fluidity and inspired
originality derives from his ability to tastefully draw on vocabulary reaching
from the music’s traditional roots through its most avant-garde modernity. A
product of New Orleans’s music schools and programs, he’s known for his stints
in groups led by vibraphonist Stefon Harris trumpeter Roy Hargrove, his
collaborations with singer Cecile McLorin Savant (including their recent
Grammy®-winning album, The Window) and his own solo excursions.
ERIC
HARLAND:
At 43,
Harland is the senior member of New Masters, who’s established as the go-to
drummer for a number of jazz legends, including saxophonist Charles Lloyd,
bassist Dave Holland, percussionist Zakir Hussain and guitarist Kurt
Rosenwinkel. He’s a graduate of Houston’s High School for the Performing and
Visual Arts from which many other jazz players of note originated, has recorded
several albums as a leader, and continues to be one of the most distinguished
and in demand drummers on the scene today.
KEYON
HARROLD:
Harrold
could easily be the most heard trumpet today that no one can name, simply
because since graduating from the New School he has become one of the most
requested sidemen – on tours and recording projects – by a number of well-known
R&B and neo Soul artists, as well as jazz leaders. He’s played with Common,
D’Angelo, Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé and Maxwell, and was the trumpet heard in all
scenes in Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead. He’s recently come into
his own as a leader, having recently released the genre-bending album The
Mugician. Raised in Ferguson, Missouri he unsurprisingly focuses on tunes of
message and social awareness.
GILAD
HEKSELMAN:
The
Israeli-born Hekselman is a standout voice in jazz guitar today, who arrived in
New York City in 2004 and is already a major influence on other guitar players
of his generation. He’s played in bands led by a diverse range of players –
Anat Cohen and Chris Potter, John Scofield and Esperanza Spalding – proving his
flexibility in dealing with different approaches and situations. He’s led his
own groups for fifteen years and recorded five albums as leader.
BURNISS EARL
TRAVIS:
Travis
didn’t begin his musical journey on bass nor was he drawn to jazz; he was a
violinist who first loved hip-hop and the local dance scene in Houston. We have
vibraphonist Stefon Harris to thank in part for convincing him to pursue a
future playing jazz bass. Early experiences included playing in bands led by
trumpeter Roy Hargrove and pianist Eldar – the last for almost three years –
and he’s now a go-to bassist for the like of keyboardist Robert Glasper, singer
Gretchen Parlato, and MC Common.
IMMANUEL
WILKINS:
Saxophonist
Wilkins is the group’s junior member having just graduated from Juilliard
School of Music, and hails from Philadelphia where his entry into music came
from his church background as well as dedicated jazz programs. His musical
experiences have taken him in and out of the jazz circle; he’s performed and/or
recorded with Jason Moran, the Count Basie Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis and
Gerald Clayton, as well as Lalah Hathaway, Solange Knowles, and Bob Dylan.
Sony Music
Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, OKeh, Portrait, and
Masterworks Broadway imprints. For email updates and information please visit,
www.SonyMusicMasterworks.com
ReWORKS --
Vol. 1
Sony Music
Masterworks · Release Date: July 12, 2019
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