Trombonist Nick Finzer releases "HERE & NOW" and embarks on 23-city tour following release of politically-charged album

The album shares the title of the new CD, Hear & Now, with the gifted and expressive sextet that Finzer has led since his debut release in 2013. Although it suggests an alertness to the present time and place, Finzer’s music also evokes a need and hope for change, a defiant optimism that pits love against the forces of oppression.

Hear & Now arrives at a moment of deep uncertainty and divisiveness in the country and around the world. The album’s nine tracks (eight originals along with a Duke Ellington classic) depict a range of viable reactions, from the intense energy of protest to a more meditative, reflective mood. Finzer’s compositions are brought to vigorous, full-bodied life by Hear & Now, a sextet with the power and wide-ranging palette of a big band but the supple energy of a small ensemble. It’s the trombonist’s third outing with the band, which includes tenor saxophonist/bass clarinetist Lucas Pino, guitarist Alex Wintz, pianist Glenn Zaleski, bassist Dave Baron, and drummer Jimmy Macbride.

“I wanted to capture feelings I was having about our country’s social framework,” Finzer says. “I started out trying to write about the emotional feeling of living in New York in 2016, but as the presidential election went on I realized that the stances I was taking were more politically oriented. Throughout the process of making the record I saw that this project was becoming more and more relevant to our reality.”

Finzer doesn’t name names or point fingers; nothing on Hear & Now takes a side or aligns with one party against another. It is instead a plea for a more united populace, a sonic argument for equality, tolerance and empathy. The album begins with “We The People,” a reminder that togetherness is embodied in the country’s founding documents. “I wasn't thinking of a particular person or a particular side,” Finzer says. “I was trying to capture the intense energy of a large group of people trying to express their opinions and how important that is. When you get together with a lot of people and coalesce to fight against something, it creates this strong, base human emotion, so I was trying to capture that energy with the music.”

The brooding, introspective “The Silent One” follows. The piece was inspired by Finzer’s frustrations over a tendency to resort to heated emotions rather than logic and subtlety in reacting to issues and problems. The music deftly illustrates the feelings of frustration and isolation one can feel in the face of the mounting volume of TV pundits and internet trolls. Directly related is “Again and Again,” whose cyclical rhythms depict the history that we’re doomed to repeat. And repeat.

The frenetic, harried pace of “Race to the Bottom,” Finzer explains, is a reaction to “the inevitable conclusion of cutthroat capitalism. You either need to be the cheapest or the best because people don’t really pay attention to the middle. So you’re either in a race to the bottom or you’re trying to create something meaningful. To me it’s about the value of creating something unique and special because there’s no way you’re going to win that other battle.”

The mood of the album begins to rise with “New Beginnings,” with its feelings of dawning hope and tenuous optimism. “Lullaby for an Old Friend,” written for a friend of Finzer’s who passed away, laces its melancholy with the bittersweet good cheer that time and distance allows, mingling happy memories with the inevitable sense of loss. The up-tempo “Dance of Persistence” is a swinging call to action, but also offers a relief from tension. “That one is about not giving up,” he explains, “but also goes back to the thing that I love most, the thing that got me into playing jazz... when I need something to settle me I just want to play something swinging; it just makes me feel better.”

The album closes with the tender “Love Wins,” which Finzer wrote on the day that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality. More broadly it’s a strong tenet of belief that ultimately the forces of love will overcome ignorance, oppression and prejudice.

The album’s one non-original is Duke Ellington’s “Single Petal of a Rose,” which Finzer arranged for three trombones and two bass clarinets. He chose the piece for its sense of hushed and intimate joy, but also to pay homage to one of his key influences. “Duke Ellington was the first artist that I started checking out when I began listening to and learning to play jazz,” he says. “I loved the way his compositional style could embrace a theme, particular stories or ideas or characters. I also always thought it was really interesting how Ellington could use the big band and get so many interesting sounds out of it.”

Finzer takes a similar approach to his own sextet, for this recording working closely with producer Ryan Truesdell, leader of the renowned Gil Evans Project and Producer for Maria Schneider – giving him some profound insights into inventive arranging. “Asking Ryan to co-produce the album ended up being probably the best decision in the process of making my records,” Finzer says. “He was able to bring out extra nuances and had a great ear for making sure that we didn't miss the chance to create a magical musical moment.”

A native of Rochester, New York, Finzer studied at the Eastman School of Music and Juilliard, where he was mentored by trombone legend Steve Turre. In 2011 he won the Eastern Trombone Workshop’s National Jazz Trombone Competition and won an ASCAP Young Jazz Composer’s Award in 2013 & 2015. He’s released two previous albums with his Hear & Now sextet: Exposition (2013) and The Chase (2015). Aside from his own projects he’s performed with the YouTube sensation, Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, as well as Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Lucas Pino’s No Net Nonet, Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Project, and Anat Cohen’s new Tentet.

Trombonist/composer Nick Finzer captures the uneasy mood of a turbulent time on his third album, Hear & Now, scheduled for release on February 17 on Outside in Music. Finzer celebrates the release with a tour to 23 cities throughout the US from Feb. 7-March 22.  

• • Tues., February 7, 7:30 p.m. – Finzer is guest artist at Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY
• • Wed. February 8, 8 – 10 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at the Carriage House, Ithaca, NY
• • Sat. February 11, 9 – 11 a.m. – Finzer is guest artist with Eastman Youth Jazz Orchestra, Rochester, NY
• • Sat. February 11, 8 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at Pausa Art House, Buffalo, NY
• • Sun. February 12, 7 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at Lovincup, Rochester, NY
• • Wed. February 15, 8 – 11 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at The Bop Stop, Cleveland, OH
• • Thurs. February 16, 8 – 11 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at BluJazz, Akron, OH
• • Fri. February 17, 8 p.m. – Finzer is guest artist at University of Western Michigan, Kalamazoo, MI
• • Sat. February 18, 9:30, 11 & 12:30 – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at Cliff Bell’s, Detroit, MI
• • Mon. February 20, 7 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
• • Tues. February 21, 8 p.m. – Finzer is guest artist at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
• • Wed. February 22, 8 p.m. – Finzer is guest artist at University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
• • Fri. February 24, 8 p.m. – Finzer is guest artist at Northern Arizona University Jazz Fest, Flagstaff, AZ
• • Sun. February 26, 7:30-10 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now with Lucas Pino at The Nash, Phoenix, AZ
• • Mon. February 27, 7:30 – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at the Royal Room, Seattle, WA
• • Tues. February 28, 7:45 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at The Mint, LA
• • Wed. March 1, 8 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at the Kranzberg Center, St. Louis, MO
• • Thurs. March 2, Finzer is guest artist at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL
• • Fri. March 3, 8 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at Nashville Jazz Workshop, Nashville, TN
• • Sat. March 4, 8 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at Velvet Note, Atlanta, GA
• • Sun. March 5, 5-7 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at B-Sharpe’s Jazz, Tallahassee, FL
• • Mon. March 6, Finzer gives Entrepreneurship Lecture at Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL
• • Wed. March 8, 7 – 10:30 p.m. – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now at The Barrel Room, Ft. Myers, FL
• • Thurs. March 9, Finzer is guest artist at University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
• • Fri. March 10, Finzer is guest artist at University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
• • Wed. March 22, 10:30 -1 – Nick Finzer’s Hear & Now Official NYC CD Release Show at Small’s Jazz Club

 

NEW RELEASES: OMAR SOSA / SECKOU KEITA – TRANSPARENT WATER; SOUL SCRATCH – PUSHING FIRE; JOHN ABERCROMBIE QUARTET – UP AND COMING

OMAR SOSA / SECKOU KEITA – TRANSPARENT WATER

Seven-time GRAMMY-nominated Cuban composer and pianist Omar Sosa teamed up with Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita and with percussionist Gustavo Ovalles from Venezuela to record his exquisitely beautiful world-jazz CD “Transparent Water”, with touches of sheng (traditional Chinese flute) by Wu Tong, of Silk Road fame. He will celebrate the February release in France (on World Village/PIAS) with a concert in Marciac on March 4 and in Paris on March 16 (Café de la Danse). "Transparent Water — evocative of translucence and flowing light — is a deeply spiritual recording that reaches across five continents, a compassionate and captivating artistic dialogue beyond musical category, and an invocation of the enduring creative spirit of the human condition." -Michael Stone; "Cuban pianist Omar Sosa and Senegalese kora master and vocalist Seckou Keita have assembled an extraordinary album seamlessly melding Latin American and West African music — the epitome of World Music, as suggested by its title, perfectly limpid and evanescent, its constituent elements rapidly passing through like cirrus clouds." -Roger Farbey, AllAboutJazz (U.K.). Transparent Water is due for release on February 27, 2017.

SOUL SCRATCH – PUSHING FIRE

An absolute stormer from Soul Scratch – a contemporary combo from the SoCal scene doing the legacy of the late 60s/early 70s raw funky soul style proud! Both the band name and album titles are appropriate – we wouldn't call it "truth in advertising", just straight up truth – with a genuine depth of soul in both the songs and performance, played with incredible energy in the more fiery number, but with a sure hand on the more tender numbers, too. Singer Dale Spollett can wail with the best of them, and the band has real firepower in their arsenal. The horns and rhythm section are stunningly tight, or have a loose swagger when the song calls, and there some tasty guitar, too. Includes the righteous opener "Pacified", "Look How Far We've Come", "Odessa Heat", the sweet little centerpiece ballad "Kiss Me In The Morning", "Be Kind", "Fireside Lounge", "Empty Cup", "It's Not Over", "Thank You" and more. ~ Dusty Groove

JOHN ABERCROMBIE QUARTET – UP AND COMING

A masterpiece of chromes and tones from the legendary John Abercrombie – an album that's a beautiful summation of all the special style he's brought to his guitar work over the years! That subtle shading that John had back at the start is still very firmly in place, but he group's also almost got a Bill Evans sort of approach – a gentle attack and quick decay, always respecting the space between the notes – driven strongly by the wonderful piano efforts of Marc Copland, who seems to be the perfect balance for Abercrombie. In a way, the album really hearkens back to those key ECM albums of the 70s – those moments when something extremely special and new was taking place, and when things never got too abstract or ambient. The subtle rhythms help a lot – always-careful work on drums from Joey Barron, and well-placed bass from Drew Gress. Titles include "Joy", "Tears", "Sunday School", "Jumbles", and "Flipside". ~ Dusty Groove

Composer Joshua Green takes a quirky, colorful approach to melding modern jazz and contemporary classical music on Telepathy & Bop

Combining lively modern jazz, contemporary classical richness, cinematic narratives and an offbeat sense of humor, Josh Green & The Cyborg Orchestra offer a skewed but vibrant take on the big band tradition. On their debut album, Telepathy & Bop (due out February 24, 2017), the 16-piece Orchestra draws inspiration from surreal visual art, jazz and classical icons, and an accidental stalking episode briefly intertwining the fates of the bandleader and a certain Today Show host, all of which converge to craft a strikingly unique and off-center sound.

By day, Joshua Green, recently awarded a Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award from ASCAP, plies his trade as Music Supervisor for ITV America, the world's largest unscripted television company. While devising the perfect soundtrack for battling housewives, rampaging bridezillas and scheming chefs comes with its own rewards, Green found himself in need of a creative outlet apart from the voyeuristic pleasures of reality television. Enlisting some of the finest musicians he'd discovered while working on film and TV soundtracks and Broadway musicals, Green assembled a singular ensemble that deviated from the standard big band to incorporate unexpected voices, including accordion, bass clarinet, Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI) and strings.

Band members include Charles Pillow (oboe, alto sax, tenor sax), Todd Groves (EWI, flute, alto sax, tenor sax, Eb clarinet, contrabass clarinet), Jay Hassler (Bb clarinet, bass clarinet), Nathan Schram (viola), Nick Revel (viola), Clarice Jenson (cello), the adventurous PUBLIQuartet - Curtis Stewart (violin), Jannina Norpoth (violin), Nick Revel (viola) and Amanda Gookin (cello) - John Lake (trumpet), Chris Misch-Bloxdorf (trombone), Nathan Kochi (accordion), Sungwon Kim (guitar), Michael Verselli (piano), Brian Courage (bass), Josh Bailey (drum set).

The initial stirrings of inspiration for the Cyborg Orchestra, though, date back nearly a decade, to a time when Green had shifted focus from his jazz studies to concentrate on composing contemporary classical music. He was studying at the University of Vienna in early 2007 when the news reached him of jazz great Michael Brecker's untimely death. Distressed at the passing of one of his musical heroes, Green was moved to try his hand at writing a jazz piece inspired by Brecker's legacy.

"I really looked up to Michael Brecker," Green says, "and when I found out he'd died it was a trigger for me to go back to my jazz roots. I wanted to write something that showcased the jazz language, bebop in particular, in a contemporary classical setting. It evolved over a really long time until it became 'Telepathy & Bop.' I had no idea what the piece was going to be until it became what it was, but that was the impetus to create this ensemble." That piece, which gives the album its title, is a constantly surprising three-part suite that refracts the angularity of bebop through an avant-garde classical lens, creating a tumult of acute swerves and clamorous textures.

It was a number of years before Green finally put together the Cyborg Orchestra to bring "Telepathy & Bop" and other pieces to life. In the meantime, he'd worked on films by directors like Martin Scorsese, Peter Jackson and David Cronenberg while writing orchestral arrangements for the New York Pops, Emmy Award-winning television shows and Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals in New York and London. He's carried his gift for scoring narrative ideas into the Cyborg Orchestra, finding the spark for several compositions in visual art and personal stories.

"The Lauer Faceplant" sonically recounts the story of one of Green's awkward brushes with fame (since moving to New York in 2009, he's tallied quite a few, which he's in the process of turning into a suite). Shortly after arriving in the city his not-yet-developed urban compass led him into a face-to-chest collision with Today Show host, journalist and recent Presidential Forum moderator Matt Lauer. Their destinations being in the same direction, Green then proceeded to follow Lauer, giving the bandleader the uneasy sensation of being an inadvertent celebrity stalker.

The composition born from that encounter plays like a clumsy spy-movie soundtrack, capturing the accidental intrigue and only-in-NYC hilarity of the incident. "I hate to take myself too seriously," Green explains. "I'm a very lighthearted person, and while I can get inside my own head a lot when I'm trying to write, the thing that speaks to me the most is that wackiness in life. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in Seinfeld and I see this as a great opportunity to express the fun I get to have in life in a way that's meaningful to me."

Frenetic album opener "Boy & Dog in a Johnnypump," the mysteriously tropical "La Victoire," and Paris-by-way-of-the-circus rag "Soir Bleu" all have their origins in paintings. The first is based on a work by the influential, graffiti-inspired artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, while "La Victoire" is taken from René Magritte's curious image of a cloud floating through an isolated door by a seashore - an image that was through an odd coincidence invoked by a condominium commercial that Green was tasked with scoring. "Soir Bleu" comes from an Edward Hopper scene that finds a smoking clown amidst a group of Parisian diners.

"I always start writing with a narrative in mind when I write," Green explains. "In all of the paintings that have inspired me, there's a narrative that's beyond what's right in front of us."

The same could be said about the photograph of a cobblestone street in Cuba, lined with classic American cars, that inspired "Reverie Engine: The Ambiguous Rhumba." The driving rhythms of Cuban music are hinted at but subdued by a sense of uncertainty in Green's conception. Finally, like "Telepathy & Bop," "Improvisation & Nebula" nods to another of Green's musical influences, Hungarian composer György Ligeti. The piece's stark atmosphere, dark harmonies and spectralism all have their roots in Ligeti's music.

Having realized Green's musical vision on record, the Cyborg Orchestra will take on full-blooded human form for its live debut at National Sawdust on March 2 to celebrate the album's release. Meanwhile, Green is hard at work on a new batch of music for the band while trying to avoid literally bumping into stars on the street. Regardless, it will no doubt combine the accessible with the avant-garde, the zany with the zeitgeist.

www.joshuagreenmusic.com

NEW RELEASES: GORDON CHAMBERS – SURRENDER; MICHAEL DEASE – ALL THESE HANDS; 4 KORNERS – PORTAL OF GOLD

GORDON CHAMBERS – SURRENDER

Sometimes we forget how great a singer is – then hear his new music, and fall in love with him all over again! That's definitely the case with Gordon Chambers – who's waited over five years between giving us a fresh album – but who also seems to have grown tremendously in that time – showing us a soulful promise we never would have expected a decade ago! The set's wonderful – beautifully well-crafted, with some of his best songwriting ever – given a feel that's confident, but never commercial – and done in a warmly collaborative spirit with guests who include Eric Roberson, Lalah Hathaway, Carol Riddick and Ayana George – all artists who Chambers can stand proudly alongside, as he's definitely earned his place in the pantheon of the most creative soul singers around. And speaking of pride, there's plenty of it here – an upbeat, positive vibe that really makes the album sparkle – as you'll hear on titles that include "Back To Love", "I'll Never Forget It", "I Made It", "The Diamond Inside", "It Might Be You", "Love & Help Somebody", and "Circle Of Love".  ~ Dusty Groove

MICHAEL DEASE – ALL THESE HANDS

A wonderful set from trombonist Micheal Dease – possibly his best yet and certainly one of his most ambitious – tracing the history of American jazz from region to region in a way that's as fresh, alive and present as can be! It starts with "Creole Country" and from there rolls on through a dozen original songs strongly imbued with the sounds, styles and moods of jazz from coast to coast. Here more than ever Dease shows his strengths as a leader – his phrasing and "voice" on trombone have such a wonderfully uplifting effect on diverse numbers – and the range of styles provides ample opportunity for an expanded roster to shine as well. Pianist Rene Rosnes and drummer Lewis Nash are amazing, not to overlook any of the other players, including Steve Wilson on flute and saxes, Gerald Cannon and Rodney Whittaker on bass, Randy Napoleon on guitar on few tunes and more. Other titles include "Downtown Chi-Town", Benny's Bounce", Delta City Crossroads", "Good & Terrible", "Brooklyn", "Memphis BBQ & Fish Fry", "Up South Reverie", "Black Bottom Reverie" and more. ~ Dusty Groove

4 KORNERS – PORTAL OF GOLD

A totally fresh post-millennium take on the electric jazz sound of the late 70s & early 80s from Atlanta-based quartet 4 Korners – inspired by the funky fusion era, but really putting it in a timeless light of their own! We've always loved the sound that provides inspiration here – mid-to-late 70s electric keyboard jazz, carried well into the 80s by The Yellowjackets and others – so fiercely modern sounding in its time that it's now, somewhat ironically, difficult to pull off without sounding self-consciously retro. That's where the 4 Korners excel so strongly. It's fresh as can be! The players are Clarence Hill on keys, James Thompson Jr. on bass, Isaac Thomson on guitar and Jerrod Sullivan on drums – who share songwriting and production credit equally in the notes – which comes as no surprise considering how tightly it plays! Titles include "Midnight Interstate", "King's Highway", "The Dew", "Orbiting Hands", "Table For 2", "Through His Eyes", "The Great Flight", "Motions" and "Portal Of Gold". ~ Dusty Groove

Guitarist Chris Jentsch releases Fractured Pop new CD/DVD with Jentsch Group Quartet

Guitarist and composer Chris Jentsch - "Ša composer who can convey his ideas on a grand scale, swings with the grace of Duke Ellington and rocks with the nuance of Frank Zappa," (Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz)  - releases Fractured Pop, a double album length studio recording accompanied by extras including a DVD of a short live set.  The recording, Jentsch's fourth, will be out January 13, 2017 on the Fleur de Son label.  

Fractured Pop features Jentsch Group Quartet with longtime compatriots Jim Whitney (double bass) and John Mettam (drums), and multi-instrumentalist Matt Renzi.  It's accompanied by a DVD of a short live set recorded at Context Studios in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and chock full of extras like alternate takes, slide show music videos, a high-resolution FLAC file of the audio CD, PDF lead sheets of the tunes, and four of the composer's own remix/mash ups.

As Bill Milkowski writes in the album's liner notes, in Fractured Pop "Jentsch re-examines some of the same tunes that appeared on his large ensemble outings with a lean quartetŠ The title track, for instance, has a whole web of guitars, from acoustic strumming on the intro to clean electric lines played in unison with Renzi's sax on the intricate head to Jentsch's distortion-laced guitar solo. The moody and atmospheric 'Radio Silence' also makes use of crafty guitar overdubs throughoutŠ'Are You Bye?' Jentsch's clever contrafact of 'Bye Bye Blackbird,' is underscored by Mettam's supple brushwork and culminates in some fiery call-and-response between sax and guitar at the tagŠ. 'Route 666,' a hard-hitting groover with angular lines, is fueled by bassist Whitney and sparked by a twisted distorto solo from JentschŠ. Tenor sax and distorted guitar lines weave together near the end of 'Meeting at Surratt's', building to an ecstatic crescendo."

Chris Jentsch is a Brooklyn-based composer, bandleader, and guitarist working primarily in jazz and contemporary improvisational forms. Based in NYC since 1999, his main ensemble is Jentsch Group in its various configurations. As a composer, he has been the recipient of grants, commissions, or fellowships from American Composers Forum (3), New Music USA, Meet the Composer, New York State Council on the Arts (3), Ucross Foundation (2), and most recently, Chamber Music America/Doris Duke New Jazz Works, which commissioned his new work Topics in American History.  The work will have its world premiere on Friday, December 2 at ShapeShifter Lab in Brooklyn, NY. The piece will also be performed on Sunday, January 8 at iBeam, 168 7th St., Brooklyn. Performing is Jentsch Group No Net, a nine-piece chamber jazz ensemble conducted by JC Sanford with Jentsch on guitar, Michel Gentile on flute, Mike McGinnis on clarinet, Jason Rigby on saxophone, David Smith on trumpet, Brian Drye on trombone, Jacob Sacks on piano, Jim Whitney on bass, and Eric Halvorson on percussion.

As a bandleader and sideman Jentsch has performed in clubs and concert halls throughout the East Coast, and has worked with such diverse musical personalities as George Russell, John Cage, Maria Schneider, and Chris Wood. He appears as a guitarist on the CD John Cage, Volume 11 (Mode Records 41). He is also featured in Scott Yanow's book The Great Jazz Guitarists (2013 Hal Leonard). Jentsch has released four CDs as a leader.

Jentsch attended Berklee College of Music and has liberal arts and jazz guitar degrees from Gettysburg College, New England Conservatory, and the Eastman School of Music. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Jazz Composition from the University of Miami in 1999 and is published by the University of Northern Colorado Press, Advance Music, and Fleur de Son Records.

2017 Chris Jentsch Events

January 8, 2017 - Jentsch Group No Net at iBeam, Brooklyn NY - follow up performance of Topics in American History.

January 13, 2017 - Fractured Pop CD/DVD release, Jentsch Group Quartet.

Ongoing This fall was the debut of Jentsch's new YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/JentschChris. Six hours of content including an entire 2012 set from Jentsch Group No Net (HQ), selections from a 2015 trio date, two jazz orchestra records, modified aleatoric music for two mixed chamber quartets, and more.

ChrisJentsch.com

OSTINATO RECORDS PRESENTS SYNTHESIZE THE SOUL: ASTRO-ATLANTIC HYPNOTICA FROM THE CAPE VERDE ISLAND 1973 – 1988

“In Cape Verde, we had no access to electronic instruments,” said Tchiss Lopes, a Cape Verdean singer based in Rome. “In Europe, we had access, but we had to adapt. Audiences expected electronic sounds, but we still stayed true to our sound.”

“At first, the music was just to cater to Cape Verdean immigrants, but soon, people of Napoli especially started feeling it, then Rome.”

In the 1980s, that feeling transpired across Lisbon, Paris, Rotterdam, and Boston, as one the largest waves of migration from a single country, propelled by political instability and economic uncertainty, sent thousands of Cape Verdeans to the West’s cities.

Through 18 diverse tracks, this compilation reveals how immigration from the Cape Verde Islands to Europe and the United States gave us an alternate history of the electronic music that dominated hearts and minds across the world in the late 1990s. But the story doesn’t start in a major Western cultural hub, rather in the small cluster of islands 400 miles off the Senegalese coast, and offers an unparalleled insight into the long-term cultural splendor catalyzed by migration.

Movement and mobility are intrinsic aspirations of the human condition. What we’ve come to know as immigration is as old as civilization. Yet today we measure immigration through a series of cold data. Immigrants are either condemned as disposable threats or celebrated as entrepreneurial treasures, rarely occupying a space in between.

Seldom do we peer back into the past to examine the tangible and timeless creations born from the movement of peoples, overlooking cultural innovations arguably ahead of their time, precursors to consuming global trends.

Cape Verde today is justifiably hailed as an African political success story, but things were different in the 1980s.

A war of independence from Portugal was won in 1975, and Cape Verde suffered the familiar ills of a society born from colonialism and slavery struggling to integrate into a globalized world.

This detachment fostered a yearning to integrate, to connect in anyway possible. The new found homes in the multiculti metropoles of Europe offered little respite. Cape Verdean immigrants were deemed “hot blooded,” and perceived as “dropouts” and “juvenile delinquents.”

The ready availability of electronic instruments, a doorway to a long denied ‘modernity’ and an anchor in their adopted homes, was seductive.

“Cape Verdeans were celebrating their independence and with that the dancing became even more important,” said Val Xalino, an unsung pioneer in the development of his country’s electronic sound, based in Gothenburg, Sweden. “People wanted to hear something different. They wanted the synthesizer!”

Emigre musicians began traveling to and from Europe and their home islands, their luggage containing stock of synthesizers and MIDI instruments. Travel to the countryside to learn the rhythms of rural farmers became common. The melodies of the charmingly off-tune, often damaged accordions were transplanted onto synthesizers.

A cultural supply chain was established. Largely detached from global capitalism, music perhaps was, and in many ways still is, Cape Verde’s most effective gateway to synthesize with the world; immigration the engine and lifeblood.

The hearts and minds of a musically-inclined people were captured. One mercurial youngster, Paulino Vieira, arguably Cape Verde’s most important musician, the real mastermind behind the islands’ melodic majesty, was especially drawn to keyboard instruments, having honed his skills at a Catholic seminary. He arranged or contributed to half the songs in this release.

Vieira was an integral member of Cesaria Evora’s backing band, and while her cavaquinho-driven traditional songs registered Cape Verde as a cultural force worldwide, an electronic movement burgeoned just beneath the surface.

It soon found its headquarters in Lisbon, where Vieira had emigrated at age 18 to lead a reworked Voz de Cabo Verde, the commanding, enigmatic ensemble that enticed Cape Verdean musicians from around the diaspora to collaborate.

“Paulino was the most visionary,” said Elisio Gomes, a Paris-based singer who collaborated with Vieira often. “He always had this gift to be 10 years ahead of his time. That’s why our music sounds like it was produced today.”

Largely overlooked outside the Lusophone realm, Cape Verde’s Astro-Atlantic gumbo of instrumentation and rhythm offers a timely lesson of migration’s power to produce cultural innovations ahead of its time. This unknown, ultra-progressive sound could not have been perfected without the induction of Cape Verde’s artistic human capital into the West.

As we watch with heavy hearts the tragic crisis unfolding across the Mediterranean, as people fleeing similar circumstances strive to settle in Europe, a measured hint of patience will ultimately justify their vast inclusion. There are poets, writers, artists, thinkers, and, of course, musicians, raised in an age of technology, that are making the treacherous journey by boat, or by land on foot, from Syria, Eritrea, Libya, Iraq, and elsewhere. Paulino Vieira’s heir, and lush cultural innovation bound to bear the same fruit, lie among them.

TRACKLISTING

Nós Criola - Nhú De Ped´Bia

Nanda - Pedrinho

Corpo Limpo - Tulipa Negra

Jelivrà Bo Situaçon - Manuel Gomes

Dança Dança T’Manche - Val Xalino

Bo Ta Cool - Jovino Dos Santos

Farmacia - Abel Lima

Chump Lopes - Elisio Gomes & Joachim Varela

É Bô Problema - Tchiss Lopes

Babylon 79 - Americo Brito

Djozinho Cabral - José Casimiro

Posse Bronck - Nho Balta

Lameirao - Kola

Nova Coladeira - Cabo Verde Show

Melhor Futuro - Tam Tam 2000

Chema - Pedrinho

Mie Fogo - Dionisio Maio
Canta Cu Alma Magoada - Bana

NEW RELEASES: PETER ERSKINE NEW TRIO – IN PRAISE OF SHADOWS; JEAN-MICHEL JARRE – OXYGENE TRILOGY; ARMIK - ENAMOR

PETER ERSKINE NEW TRIO – IN PRAISE OF SHADOWS

This is the 2nd Audio CD from the Peter Erskine New Trio, featuring jazz drumming legend Erskine with his nephew and bass phenom Damian Erskine, plus keyboard virtuoso and arranger Vardan Ovsepian (with guests Artyom Manukyan on cello & EVI master Judd Miller). 'In Praise Of Shadows' is sharing the February 17 release date with Erskine's Dr. Um Band album 'Second Opinion. ' From the gentle covers of the Japanese classic pop hit 'Sukiyaki' plus Mexican love ballad 'Marcheta,' to blistering new originals by Vardan Ovsepian and a new Erskine classic ('Each Breath'), this is an album that has something for everyone who loves good music. . . including a lovely bass ballad by Damian titled 'Begin Within. ' Begin the New Year with the New Trio! Tracklisting: Sukiyaki; What If; Each Breath; Labryinth; Marcheta ('A Love Song of Old Mexico'); Silhouette Shadows; Begin Within; Distant Blue; Smile; and All That Remains.

JEAN-MICHEL JARRE – OXYGENE TRILOGY

40 years after the huge international impact of OXYGENE, and 20 years from its second volume OXYGENE 7-13, Jean-Michel Jarre is fulfilling a trilogy of albums with OXYGENE 3, containing seven newly composed and recorded pieces, consistently titled parts 14-20. His inspiration for the newly added parts on OXYGENE 3 was not to go back in time, but to add a sense of "now" to his iconic piece of work. Plunging into the environment of OXYGENE with its highly original dark, moody and at times quite upbeat musical language, Jarre references some of the music from his entire body of work on OXYGENE 3. It s a state-of-the-art recording, embracing both classic and modern ways of music production.

ARMIK - ENAMOR

Armik has driven deep into his quest to create first rate Nuevo Flamenco music with this ambitious 11 track recording titled ENAMOR. As his 28th release on Bolero Records, it is an exceptional example of the art of Armik both as a guitar virtuoso and as a composer. Throughout this recording he retains a Spanish Guitar sensibility in his precise touch while his compositions yield refined, romantic chords that leave you breathless and obsessed with his award-winning arrangements. There is a rare delicacy to Armik's illuminous Enamor. His sensitive rhythms, prolific strumming and graceful, romantic tones allow you to revel in his artistry and remarkable talents as a guitarist and composer. ENAMOR is a beautiful recording on which Armik demonstrates a completely original sound that is sophisticated yet creative. He makes each note count while playing with his delicate touch and makes sure that you emerge with a greater appreciation of his musicality and all that is heard in the fine art of Nuevo Flamenco.

Saxophonist Miguel Zenón releases intimate new recording Típico

Miguel Zenón's new album, Típico, is above all a celebration of his longstanding quartet. His past several releases have generally fleshed out that core unit with additional instrumentalists as Zenón has looked outward to explore various aspects of his Puerto Rican heritage. This new album feels more intimate. Its focus stays closer to home, with nods to Zenón's own personal and professional life as it zeroes in on what makes his band unique.

"I was thinking about what this band and the guys in the band mean to me as I was writing the music," he explains. "I kept going back to this idea of us developing this common language that identifies us as a band."

That language has been developing for more than a decade. Pianist Luis Perdomo and bassist Hans Glawischnig have been with Zenón since the turn of the millennium; Henry Cole joined the band in 2005. Their language is thoroughly fluent modern jazz, with all the instrumental prowess and rhythmic and harmonic complexity that that implies. But the dialect they've created together through the years is distinctive.

"'Típico' refers to something that's customary to a region or a group of people," Zenón says. "Or something that can be related to a specific group of people. And when I was writing the music, I was thinking about music that identified us and this band."

Each of the album's final three tracks, Zenón notes, was composed around a solo or signature rhythmic line that one of the band members had played before. "My approach was more systematic on those three compositions specifically. But the whole record essentially is about representing the sound of the band. The sound of our band."

The album opens with "Academia," a tune inspired by Zenón's teaching at New England Conservatory, where he serves as part of the jazz faculty. "One of the great things about teaching at NEC is that I get the opportunity to create a personalized curriculum for each of my private students, depending on their needs and on what I feel they should be working on. So I find myself having to come up with new exercises constantly, in order to keep our interactions interesting and challenging. This composition is built around various harmonic and rhythmic exercises that I developed with some of my more recent students at the school."

The second track, "Cantor," honors Zenón's friend and frequent collaborator Guillermo Klein. "Gullermo's music has a very personal voice, something very unique. With this piece I was trying to convey some of what I feel are his most interesting qualities as a composer, like the lyrical character of his melodies and the very nuanced harmonic movement of his pieces. He also has very particular way of organizing the 3/4 bar, which he breaks down into three bars of 7/8 and one bar of 3/8. The piece touches on this a bit towards the end, sort of as a way of tipping my hat to a great friend and musician."

The third and fourth tracks both stem from Zenón pondering what gives a particular song a folkloric feel. "Ciclo" emphasizes melody and rhythm, Zenón taking "a melody that is meant to sound very folkloric - a bit simpler harmonically and delineating a very specific beat" and building a complex extended cycle around it using smaller, interlocking rhythmic cells.

"Típico" approaches its folkloric aims harmonically. "There's a harmonic cadence that is very common in Latin American music, especially music in the Caribbean. Something that revolves around a minor key and then slides down, going 'Subdominant Minor - Tonic Minor - Dominant - Tonic Minor.' A very simple cadence, but one that is very unique and effective. It's always caught my ear because I'm always on the lookout for things that serve as sort of musical connecting threads, things that makes me feel that the music from all these different countries and cultural expressions is somehow connected and coming out of the same combination of elements. I built this specific composition around this cadence, and called it "Típico" in reference to this Pan-American idea."

"Sangre Di Me Sangre" is a tune the quartet has been playing for a while now, a balladic tribute to Zenón's 4-year-old daughter, Elena, written before her first birthday. "I was sitting in this park with her," he recalls. "She was playing around and I sat down and sketched out the song on my notepad." Zenón wrote the piece first with lyrics, then orchestrated it for the quartet, featuring Glawischnig's bass both on a sprightly introductory melody played in unison with Perdomo and on a solo meant to convey a singing quality.

Glawischnig is also featured on "Corteza," its melody derived from Zenón's transcription of his bass solo opening the track "Calle Calma" on the 2009 Zenón album Esta Plena. It, too, has a balladic feel, with lyrical solos from Zenón and Perdomo leading to a closing uptempo restatement of the theme.

The Perdomo feature "Entre Las Raíces" ("Amongst the Roots") is more fiery, emphasizing two key facets of the pianist's musical personality. The intricate melody he and Zenón whip through together was transcribed from a Perdomo solo on "Street View: Biker," the opening track on Perdomo's album Awareness. But this arrangement opens with Perdomo playing wild and free, and Zenón's alto solo when it comes reveals a free side of his own, veering more toward Ornette Coleman or Albert Ayler.

"The piece is very free in terms of the way we deal with the improvised segments," says Zenón. "Luis always talks about listening to Bud Powell and Cecil Taylor at the same time when he was growing up in Caracas, and always having a foot in this freer, avant-gardish world of jazz. And when you hear him play on that track, it sounds that way. For that piece specifically, he really sounds like he's 100 percent in his element."

Cole's playing is suitably free on "Entre Las Raíces" as well, but his featured track, "Las Ramas" ("The Branches," Cole's own debut album having been titled "Roots Before Branches"), required more discipline. "I wrote the piece around this figure that he has been developing over the last few years and plays all the time," says Zenón. "The piece is very difficult to play - sort of like an etude for the drums, pretty much. And I know he worked very hard on it. Even though the original idea came from him, he worked very hard on making it precise and making it clean, and really sounded amazing on this track."

It's no accident that the final three songs are named for parts of a tree. "I was thinking of the band as a tree," Zenón acknowledges. "And thinking of myself as the watcher. I mean, I'm part of it also. But mostly I'm observing these amazing musicians night after night, and how together they kind of make up this living organism."

Zenón is onto something with that metaphor. The spotlight cast by Típico illuminates how alive his quartet's music has always been, while never ceasing to evolve and grow.

A multiple Grammy® nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow, Zenón is one of a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often-contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists of his generation, Zenón has also developed a unique voice as a composer and as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between Latin American folkloric music and jazz. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Zenón has recorded and toured with a wide variety of musicians including Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, Bobby Hutcherson and Steve Coleman and is a founding member of the SFJAZZ Collective.

Miguel is also touring to support the album, February 9 - March 12.

February 9 - La Nouvelle Scene, Studio, Ottawa Jazz Winter Series, Ottawa, Canada

February 10 - Villa Victoria Center for the Arts - Boston, MA

February 11 - Annenberg Center Live,  Philadelphia, PA

February 14 - 19 - Village Vanguard, New York, NY

February 22 - The Loft at UCSD - San Diego, CA

February 23 - Kuumbwa Jazz Center - Santa Cruz, CA

February 24 - 26 - SFJazz Center, Joe Henderson Lab - San Francisco, CA

March 1- Cornish College of the Arts, Earshot Jazz - Seattle, WA

March 2 & 3 - Dazzle Jazz, Denver, CO

March 5: Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society,  Half Moon Bay, CA

March 7: Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

March 8:  Jazz Kitchen, Indianapolis, IN

March 9 - 12 - Jazz Showcase, Chicago, IL

http://www.miguelzenon.com/

NEW RELEASES: ROB HARROW - HEAR RIGHT NOW; OSARU - STEPPING UP; LIZ ALLEN HOPE - HERE"S LOVE

ROB HARROW - HEAR RIGHT NOW

Rob's musical journey began when as a young man on his paper route, he found a Cannonball Adderly and other records someone was throwing away. By his early teens, Rob was playing the trumpet in high school and various bands, and later years switched to playing the alto sax. He also plays the soprano and tenor saxophones as well. His musical influences are: Grover Washington Jr, Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum Kim Waters, Courtney Pine, Art Porter, Cannonball Adderly, Najee and many other saxophonists. With producer Gordon Worthy, Rob debut released " It's In Your Hand Your Hands" and now with "Hear Right Now. Features Waine Jonze on guitar on various track, along with his wife Helen Harrow on background vocals and the smooth vocals of Kimball Scott. Nice Up The Place features Recordo Dobson on bass and guitar.

OSARU - STEPPING UP

Osaru, a NC-based musician and physician, releases a a smooth jazz effort that features lead soprano, and tenor saxophone sounds. 'Stepping up the B-Side' is an alternate version of his recently released album, Stepping Up. All of the songs have been remixed. In 'old school terms', these would be classified as singles... except you have all 10 singles packaged in a very thoughtful cohesive album.  Most striking is the more laid back feel to this version. He removes all the background vocals, creating a totally different experience for the listeners, who can now interpret the songs in any way they want to. Strategically placed mutes and various other sounds replace the background vocals. All 10 tracks are originals written, performed and produced by the artist. They feature smooth, melodic tenor and soprano sax phrasing, sprinkled with subtle keyboard, guitar and mute trumpet lines on a background of punchy, laid-back grooves. The perfect music for 'chilling out' when the need arises. Osaru described 'Stepping Up' as 'smooth jazz with attitude.' On the B-side version, he combines his skills on the keyboards, saxophone and wind controller with his song writing, arranging  and production skills. The end product is a chilled-out, positively charged, groove swathed album. From the mid-tempo funk of 'The Music Train' to the slow dance of 'Remember', you will find yourself tapping your foot and bobbing your head as each groove unfolds. By the time 'What A Great Day!' comes on, with its contemporary R and B beat, you can truly feel the optimism in the album. The album closes on a high note with the aptly titled song, 'Let's Go', which is an all-out jam with tenor sax, soprano sax, electric guitar and piano all accounted for in this splendid conclusion to the album.

LIZ ALLEN HOPE - HERE"S LOVE

Liz Allen Hope, the voice, power and energy behind Lizpiration Entertainment Group, is sitting on top of the world. With a new album, video and a schedule of performance appearances before her, she is going full speed ahead with an exhilarating and satisfying career. Born in Sedalia, Missouri, Liz grew up in Hokkaido, Japan and Guam, Plattsburg, New York and Columbus, Ohio with her military parents. Following a career as a model and airline stewardess, she met and married her husband, musician, soul mate and performance partner, the late Paul Hope.  Paul was a saxophonist, flautist and “Jazz Man” who played in Gulfport area bands and opened for James Brown, Bobby Blue Bland and the like. He also played in the Army Special Service band during the Vietnam Era. Paul was the wind beneath Liz’s wings, who helped her polish her talent and told her “you can do this.” Starting in 1988, they produced beautiful music together, including two albums “The Power of Love” and “High Plateaus.” After Paul’s untimely death in 1998, Liz, with three daughters still in elementary and middle school, took a step back from her music career. Then, convinced that Paul would want her to gather the strength to continue, she rejoined the entertainment world. A world class performer, she has appeared in The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Jamaica, and Hong Kong as well as all over the United States. Today, she is passionate about her art and eager to share her experiences and help others realize success in this exciting industry.  In addition, Liz is seeking worldwide jazz stages to perform for the upcoming seasons.  Here latest smooth jazz release is "Here's Love." Visit THE JAZZ NETWORK WORLDWIDE "A GREAT PLACE TO HANG" at: http://www.thejazznetworkworldwide.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Alto Saxophonist & Flutist Mark Lewis Releases "The New York Session"

Mark Lewis The New York Session As well-traveled and widely recorded as alto saxophonist Mark Lewis has been over the past four decades, his new CD The New York Session is likely to be the album that helps rectify his current under-the-radar reputation. Recorded last year in Brooklyn with a world-class rhythm section -- pianist George Cables, bassist Essiet Essiet, and drummer Victor Lewis -- the new disc will be released by Lewis's Audio Daddio label on January 27. It's the work of an artist clearly reveling in the company of fellow masters making the most of his tasty compositions.

"There's so much to savor and admire here," writes critic Ted Gioia, a self-professed Mark Lewis fan who contributed the CD booklet notes. "Lewis's musicality, his inventiveness, his humor, his ability to immerse himself in the soundscape of the performance with total emotional commitment -- these all stand out here in track after track."

Whether he's inviting his listeners to a carnival on "Boberto's Magical World" or waxing philosophical on the introspective "Not As Beautiful As You," Lewis displays an utterly personal mix of authority, playfulness, and interactive immediacy. He's at home in the blues, playing with relaxed soul on the strolling, minor key "DL Blues," and draws on his deep love of African music for several pieces, most obviously on the lilting "Sierra Leone" and the boisterous 12/8 closer "Roll 'Em Joe."

Legally blind, Lewis hasn't let his disability slow him down, traveling the world and establishing deep creative bonds wherever he's landed. But not being able to assess a colleague's immediate reaction to his music may shape his approach to recording. 

"I don't see well enough to see facial expressions," Lewis says. "I used simple compositions because I didn't want to clutter the purity of the sound we were trying to get. I think pieces of music are like places or rooms. You play in those spaces as a musician, in those settings, and they'll make you into slightly different people doing different things, which I think is good."

Mark Lewis Born in Tacoma (in 1958) and raised on a farm outside of nearby Gig Harbor, Mark Lewis absorbed music from both sides of his family. A standout player in middle school, he formed his first band at 14. By high school, Lewis's waking hours were filled with music as he played lead alto in the stage band and clarinet in the concert band. Leading several bands around the region, he supported himself while studying composition, flute, electronic music, and piano at Western Washington University and the Cornish Institute of Allied Arts.

Settling in Seattle, Lewis started performing regularly at Norm Bobrow's Jazz at the Cirque showcase and quickly found invaluable mentors amongst resident masters. Drummer Otis "Candy" Finch, who'd moved to Seattle after a sterling New York career, recognized Lewis's budding talent and took him under his wing. He also encouraged him to get out of town, and in 1978 the 20-year-old saxophonist flew to Europe with a one-way ticket, his alto sax, and virtually no contacts.

He ended up making Rotterdam his homebase for the next 14 years, and established himself as a vital force on the international jazz scene as a player, label owner, and producer. Building an extensive network of musical peers amongst Dutch players and American ex-pats ("Johnny Griffin got me my first gig in Europe," Lewis recalls), he maintained three working Dutch groups.

Lewis's record company Audio Daddio became one of the era's essential outlets, releasing recordings by Art Foxall, Vonne Griffin, Al Hood, Art Lande, and David Friesen. The label's last European recording The Rotterdam Session features tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, who brought his ambitious "Presidential Suite" to the studio, and legendary jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones, in one of his last recordings. Lewis also maintained a strong presence back in the States, spending several long stints in the Bay Area in the 1980s. He gained a considerable following with a quartet featuring drum maestro Eddie Moore, pianist Mark Levine, and a brilliant young bassist named Larry Grenadier (the group featured on most of his critically hailed 1988 album In the Spirit on Quartet Records).

Now based in Bremerton, a small city west of Seattle on the Puget Sound where he returned to be close to his family, Lewis maintains a busy schedule that includes teaching private students and college clinics. He continues to expand his daunting book of compositions, which number over 1,700. Though he's recorded more than 20 albums, only a fraction of his compositions have been documented on record, another reason why The New York Session is a particularly important release. The discovery of a master improviser is always thrilling, but finding a player/composer at the peak of his powers is a rare occurrence indeed. Though fully aware of his accomplishments, Lewis sees himself as part of a modern jazz continuum. "I try to approach each composition, each performance, with knowledge and technique from studying the masters who came before and also the innocence of a child," he says. "I hope it keeps the music authentic and genuine."   *

Mark Lewis Quartet on Tour:

Wed. 1/4 Lighthouse Café, Hermosa Beach, CA, 6-9 pm

with Ron Kobayahi, p; Baba Elefante, b; Steve Dixon, d.

Thurs. 1/5 Jazz at the Merc, The Mercantile, Temecula, CA, 7:30-9:30 pm

with Ron Kobayahi, p; Baba Elefante, p; Steve Dixon, d.

Thurs. 1/12 Sacred Grounds Jazz Coffeehouse, Scottsdale, AZ, 7:30-9:30 pm

with Nick Manson, p; Jack Radavich, b; John Lewis, d.

Thurs. 1/19 Café Stritch, San Jose, CA, 8:30-11:55 pm

with Eddie Mendenhall, p; John Wiitala, b; Jason Lewis, d.

Web Site: marklewismusic.com

Tohpati Ethnomission is back with the brand new album of high-octane progressive ethno-jazz-rock-fusion of the highest caliber - Mata Hati

For those of you who haven't forgotten Tohpati's electrifying emergence as a freshman bandleader in 2010 – catapulting onto the global stage with the critically acclaimed initial offering of Tohpati Ethnomission, "Save The Planet" – "Mata Hati" will come as a most welcomed follow-up.

Although six years is a lengthy gap between recordings, it is obvious that the players involved have been doing anything but resting. On the contrary, the proceedings are highlighted by a vibrant, cohesive group dynamic where powerful individual performances are subtlety interwoven into the exotic fabrics of its nine acute, ambitious and amazingly diverse musical tapestries. The power and authority of its improvisational content doesn't steal the show, but works as a perfect compliment to the ingenious underlying framework; this is truly a group effort, and a most potent delivery.

Featuring all the six-string acrobatics one would expect from a guitarist of Tohpati's considerable scope and creative brilliance, equally on display here is his mastery of western harmony and his uncanny melodic sense as both a player and a composer. Tohpati Ethnomission rocks with authority; they slither through the grass, unnoticed; they provide enticing glimpses of a rich, mystical music culture, begging to be further revealed ... and they dance on air.

Besides being one of Indonesia’s most well known and celebrated guitarists, Tohpati is also one of its busiest session men. In a career which has seen him work as both a band leader and support player for many of his country's most celebrated popular pop, rock and jazz artists – in addition to seven albums with simakDialog (spanning more than 20 years), and three previous marquee projects for MoonJune -- his chameleon-like ability to tailor his playing to suit a variety of diverse styles has always served him well. But on this particular outing, he reveals even further depths of both his dexterity and his creative genius.

This potent, engaging set features masterful work by: veteran Indo Hardjodikoro, on bass guitar; Diki Suwarjiki, on suling bamboo flute and tarompet (Indonesian clarinet); and is propelled by the flowing rhythmic combination of Endang Ramdan, on kendang percussion, and; Demas Narawangsa, on drums. (The opening tune, "Janger," also features the Czech Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michaela Ruzickova.)

This is music which transcends boundaries, genre and expectations, capturing some of Tohpati's finest, most profound musical statements to date – this is one you certainly won't want to miss!

New Origin Records CD by Pianist/Composer Bill Anschell, "Rumbler"

Bill Anschell Rumbler One of the most valuable players in Seattle's thriving jazz scene, pianist Bill Anschell is a prolific composer and adept arranger who's explored those aspects of his craft since debuting on disc 20 years ago. His new Origin Records CD, Rumbler, which will be released January 20, is Anschell's ninth album as a leader and his first full ensemble jazz recording in a decade. Throughout the recording, Anschell embraces odd meters, shifting tonalities, and other striking effects.

"I've written enough conventional tunes," he says. "I don't need to do that anymore. I'm more interested in going beyond the 32-bar form. I like to set up unusual compositional challenges for myself and try to solve them in a way that still allows the band plenty of room for improvisation and interaction."

Rumbler is anchored by his longstanding trio, including bassist Chris Symer and drummer Jose Martinez. Jeff Coffin makes a memorable guest appearance on one tune on soprano saxophone, while Rich Cole shines on tenor saxophone on another. In addition to the fine guitarist Brian Monroney, to whom Anschell was introduced by Symer, the contributors include versatile flutist and saxophonist Hans Teuber and percussionist Jeff Busch.

From the opening strains of Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso," it's clear that Rumbler is less a showcase for Anschell's piano playing than for his writing and arranging. For "Misterioso," he heard in his head distorted guitar and a kind of power-rock countermelody. With guitarist Monroney providing the sonic edge, the frequently performed classic takes on intriguing new life.

Anschell's favorite composition on the album, "Captive Light," written in 5/4, "sounds clean and simple, but it's very challenging for the improviser as the meter turns around against itself," he says. His distinctive take on the Beatles' "For No One" (from Revolver) pointedly avoids the tendency of many jazz artists to perform pop songs as written, just adding a facile swing feel.

With a wide range of ethnic styles at his fingertips, including the Afro-Peruvian lando (as heard on "Dark Wind") and South Indian rhythms, Anschell has myriad directions to go in issuing those challenges to himself -- and the listener.

Born in Seattle in 1959,  Bill Anschell was a self-taught pianist who did not take formal music lessons until he enrolled at Oberlin College. He transferred to Wesleyan University, where he had the good fortune to study with esteemed saxophonist and composer Bill Barron and mridangam master T Ranganathan, whose teachings had a powerful impact on Anschell's approach to rhythm.

Anschell subsequently studied arts administration at the University of Wisconsin. In 1989, armed with a master's degree, he went to Atlanta to become Jazz Coordinator of the Southern Arts Federation.

While with the organization, he created "JazzSouth," an internationally syndicated radio show; published a book on grant writing; and dove headlong into the city's jazz scene as a sideman and leader of his own trio. The trio performed at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and Atlanta Montreux Jazz Festival and toured South America four times.

During the early to mid-1990s, Anschell worked with singer Nnenna Freelon as her accompanist, arranger, and music director, contributing to several albums of hers in one or more of those guises. He made his own album debut in 1995 with Rhythm Changes, a mix of originals, bebop classics, and standards, and followed it in 1998 with the eclectic a different note all together, which was selected as one of the top 10 jazz albums of the year by UPI.

In 2002, Anschell, his wife, and their four-year-old son moved back to Seattle to be near their extended families. To say the Pacific Northwest has been good to him would be a huge understatement, judging by the regional honors and awards that have been bestowed on him and the opportunities he has had to alternate between his own projects and a multitude of ones involving first-rate players in collective-style settings.

Anschell and his trio will celebrate the release of Rumbler at Tula's in Seattle on Saturday, Feb. 11. He'll also be appearing with his quartet (Brian Monroney, g; Chris Symer, b; Brad Boal, d) at the Mount Baker Theater in Bellingham on Sunday, Jan. 29 (4:00pm), presented by The Jazz Project. "Each of the tunes on Rumbler has a very distinct personality," Anschell says. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what directions they take when we stretch out and explore them in concert."

Web Site: billanschell.com