Tim Carman Trio puts an Art Blakey-inspired Latin groove on their take of the Bud Powell tune “Buster Rides Again.” While in quarantine, Carman spent a lot of time reminiscing about his formative years of musical study and listening to jazz records after the passing of his first drum teacher, Bob Gullotti (The Fringe, Trey Anastasio's Surrender to the Air). Powell’s tune was one that always stuck out and Art Blakey records were getting frequent spins during Carman’s listening sessions. The combination of Powell’s classic tune mixed with the Latin groove gelled surprisingly well and Carman enlisted percussionist Dave Brophy to accentuate his version of the track. Carman is a dynamic drummer whose primary project is GA-20, a Boston-based blues trio that just finished a 70-date tour throughout the US and took home the Blues Artist of the Year award at the 2021 Boston Music Awards. He has authored several drum with percussion books with two of them (Groove Systems and Shape Beats for Kids) ranking in the top 50 best sellers in percussion songbooks on Amazon.
Denver’s mavericks of street music, Brothers of Brass, capture the energy of people leaving a concert in their original song “Egress.” With a titanic New Orleans brass band-inspired sound, “Egress” has all the key components of a full-bodied brass band hit with fiery trumpet screams, rousing saxophone solos, a commanding rhythm section of tuba and drums, and a surprise call-and-response vocal section at the end to take the song home. The group got their start busking on the 16th Street Mall and melds together roots from Atlanta, New Orleans, and the Mile High City of Denver, Colorado and has become a staple in both the local music scene and the touring circuit.
There's few folks who can put together an album like Alabaster DePlume – and even amidst the heady company of his labelmates on International Anthem, it seems like DePlume has a really special way of mixing live performance with a whole host of studio-based conceptions! Alabaster's previous album was already a groundbreaking effort – but this set really pushes things over the top, with this really hypnotic blend of words and music, recorded at London's Total Refreshment Centre – at a level that's every bit as genre-breaking as any other work we've heard from that legendary locale. It's kind of impossible to describe the sound here in words – as DePlume mixes his tenor, guitar, and voice with a host of different instruments – contributions from London contemporaries on tablas, cello, electronics, guitar, and a range of other elements – including other voices added to the mix. Titles include "Don't Forget You're Precious", "I'm Gonna Say Seven", "Do You Know A Human Being When You See One", "I'm Good At Not Crying", "Now Stars Are Lit", "I Will Not Be Safe", "Who Is A Fool", and "The Sound Of My Feet On This Earth Is A Song To Your Spirit". ~ Dusty Groove
A pretty fantastic album from Theon Cross – the London-based jazz musician whose main instrument is the tuba, and who's given some really wonderful contributions to a range of different projects! Here, though, Theon really knocks it out of the park – still using his familiar instrument, but emerging maybe more as a soul-based musician too – vocalizing a bit, and bringing in a fair bit of electronics to keep things moving with a crisply crackling vibe throughout! The use of the tuba in these circumstances is wonderful – the depth of a bass part, but sometimes flowing out with more melodic moments too – and the whole record is one that will really blow away any expectations at all you might have for both Cross and his instrument. Titles include "Watching Over", "Forward Progression II", "Play To Win", "Universal Alignment", "The Spiral", "Trust The Journey", "We Go Again", and "Roots". ~ Dusty Groove
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