Jazz Hands is Bob James' third outing for evosound, following in the wake of 2018's Espresso and 2022's Feel Like Makin' LIVE. Produced by the pianist with his manager Sonny Abelardo, the ten-track album was mostly recorded during the months of the Covid pandemic and featured James in a number of different musical settings. It also features a stellar cameo from the ex-Gnarls Barkley singer CeeLo Green on the sensuous title track and includes production input from the legendary hip-hop turntablist DJ Jazzy Jeff, who rose to fame as half of the hit-making '80s/'90s rap duo, DJ Jazzy Jeff And The Fresh Prince, early samplers of James' music. Blending cool jazz tropes with funky dance floor grooves, blues-tinged ballads, cinematic mood pieces, and sensuous slow jams, Jazz Hands is the Missouri pianist's most eclectic album of his long career. Simultaneously classic and contemporary, it's Bob James at his majestic, ground-breaking, and timeless best.
On Truth Be Told, singer and songwriter Angie Wells explores the truths of life and living in 13 jazz standards and covers and four original songs. This is Wells’ second release and follows Love And Mischief (2017), for which All About Jazz raved, “This performance is simply exceptional…Angie Wells has arrived… big time." Produced by legendary bassist John Clayton, who is also featured as a special guest in a duet with Wells, Truth Be Told includes Josh Nelson (piano), Clayton Cameron (drums), Trevor Ware (bass), Larry Koonse (guitar), Jacob Scesney (tenor sax), Ivan Malespin (trombone), Kye Palmer (trumpet and flugelhorn), Katisse Buckingham (flute), and Carey Frank (Hammond B3). Vocalists Lynne Fiddmont and Valerie Geason provide background vocals on two tracks and vocalist Zion G duets with Wells on one track. Angie Wells is a multi-talented artist. Besides being an engaging singer with a warm, sensual and bluesy voice, she is also a successful Hollywood makeup artist with two Emmy nominations. She has built a large following of admirers throughout Southern California and France. Truth Be Told is not only a personal statement from a thoughtful, sensitive singer, it is also a showcase for her impressive songwriting talent.
Ridgeway Records releases Seven Shades of Violet (Rebiralost), the stunning debut jazz album from San Francisco based pianist, keyboardist, and composer, Michael Echaniz, in the wake of a successful fight against stage four lymphoma cancer. Well over an hour in length, this epic conceptual work features the core contributions of producer, bassist, and vocalist Jeff Denson, drummer and percussionist Dillon Vado, and primary vocalists Danielle Wertz and Molly Pease with an array of special guests, including features from saxophonist Dann Zinn, percussionist Silvestre Martinez, and the strings of Friction Quartet. Symmetrically constructed, the nine original compositions and two arrangements feature a wide variety of synesthetic moods and acoustic-electric textures, drawing inspiration from mathematics, history, Basque heritage, and existential crisis. Bookended by the interconnected Prologue and Epilogue, Seven Shades of Violet takes a dazzling early turn with the eponymously named second track, set in a brisk 7/4 groove. Subsequently, Proxima Centauri opens the dynamic, bass-heavy texture wide for the sensitive paired vocals of Denson and Wertz. Wayne Shorter's Prince of Darkness presents the sole reference to the jazz canon, featuring an extended drum solo by Vado against pulsating synth swells. In an unexpected turn, Everything Is Embarrassing transforms Sky Ferreira's minimal indie pop hit of the early 2010s into a tightly arranged, jazz fusion tour de force, featuring a wailing tenor sax solo from reed virtuoso, Zinn. At the album's apex, Gernika ventures dramatically into long-form composition with the fiery vocals of Pease and evolving percussion of Martinez, drawing programmatic inspiration from the 1937 fascist bombing of Guernica, Spain, and Pablo Picasso's famous subsequent art piece.
Representing Seattle Funk. The Oscillators' debut album is deep, raw and energetic. Led by drummer oLLi kLoMp, the line up features members of the polyrhythmics, Rippin' Chicken, the Pulsations, Lucky Brown, the Trueloves, 45th Street Brass, The S.G.'s, and more...As of yet, as these words were written, the Oscillators is not a band. the Oscillators is an experimental recording collaboration that turned out swimmingly. Our gauge was this: "Do we like it?" No agenda or goal. The main mode being simply; create what we like out of thin air. Yet the air was heavy therefore create what we like out of thick air. Magical, gravy-thick air. Molecules, olli'cules. Alchemically thick. Apparently, we needed to sample something out-of-the-ordinary… the process is called, "stackin- phat". Minimal gear, maximum vibe. In fact, this process and this gear would make most educated sound engineers cringe but the players know. Pushing the tape…yes, tape! 4 track to be exact, pushing the tape to it's edge. First, stack two drum tracks. bounce them to one primal track. Sometimes one drummer, sometimes two; "a great drumbeat already contains melody." This is your first layer of phat... more
No comments:
Post a Comment