Meridian 71 combines jazz with Mediterranean and West African on Metropolitan Sketches

From a very young age, Italian-born, Boston-based drummer and composer Giuseppe Paradiso always felt like a person who was a little different. He’d been exposed to many different styles of music as a serious young drummer and delved headlong into everything from flamenco music to jazz, bebop, pop and the melancholy cadences of southern Italy’s funeral marching bands that first inspired him. But he never really felt like he belonged with any one group until he moved to Boston after receiving a scholarship to attend Berklee  College in 2008. 

Inspired by the multiculturalism of that city, Paradiso’s writing began to combine elements from all the different cultural influences he encountered. He’d struggled for many years to find a musical identity, and suddenly the opportunity to work so closely with people from so many different cultures transformed what was once a struggle into a distinct creative advantage.

This is what inspired MERIDIAN 71, a cross-cultural music project that Paradiso created and has led since 2012. The project, whose name comes from Boston's longitude - the 71st meridian that passes precisely through the eastern part of the city - is now set to release its second album Metropolitan Sketches (to be released 02/12/2020) featuring original compositions by Paradiso which he performs with an eclectic and multicultural ensemble of well-established Boston-based musicians. 

“Boston is the location where I met musicians from different parts of the globe with whom I deeply connected and spoke the common language of music,” reflects Paradiso. “It felt like I had known for a long time that at some point in my life I would have met musicians just like them, from way before moving across the Atlantic in 2008. Meridian 71 becomes then the creative laboratory and space to develop this music.” 

Median 71 is more than a band in concept; it's a dynamic and ever-changing musical project with a revolving lineup and a driving vision to create several more albums in upcoming years. The new album differs, both in terms of lineup and musical themes, from the projects first release Otherness Collection, which came out in 2012. 

“I think my writing on this album is more mature, as seven years have passed by since I first began working on it,” reflects Paradiso. “On the previous work, the tendency was more toward the jazz field, whereas on Metropolitan Sketches I wanted to incorporate more of my deeper influences. This project’s lineup reflects exactly those influences, manifesting somewhere between a jazz, Mediterranean, and West African sound. 

This change in personnel is perhaps best personified by the inclusion of the Senegalese griot from the Gewel tradition and Sabar musician MALICK NGOM, an amazing player and a very knowledgeable expert of West African music. The project’s current line-up also features some of the Boston area’s top musical talents including guest jazz trumpeter PHIL GRENADIER, internationally touring musician, Berklee, and New England Conservatory faculty MARK ZALESKI; internationally renowned Turkish pianist and composer as well as Berklee faculty UTAR ARTUN; in high demand jazz guitarist PHIL SARGENT; and world music, electric fretless bassist GALEN WILLETT 

Paradiso began his official training in music when he was just five years old in the Southern Italian town of Puglia. At the age of 14, he was invited to attend the “N. Piccinni” classical conservatory where he studied classical music with a focus on percussion, as well as training on classical piano and classical composition for eight years. 

“I started to compose when I was about sixteen,” says Paradiso. “Some of my major inspiration for writing, believe it or not, was actually the music of marching bands for funerals in southern Italy. I was very inspired and touched by the funeral music of my hometown, and when I was sixteen I even wrote some funeral themes. So, my writing, I guess, has always been inspired by this melancholic key.” 

This inspiration accounts for the heavily cinematic tone and the thematic thread of 'a search for belonging' that runs through the tracks on Metropolitan Sketches.  The first track “Nomvula (Mother of Rain)” is inspired by the life-story of one of Paradiso’s very dear friends who’d immigrated from South Africa during apartheid. A black woman who arrived in Boston as a refugee when she was just twelve-years-old with no parents, no family, nothing, her life-story really resonated with Paradiso’s own search for belonging, which led him to the historied metropolitan immigrant hub. Musically, the track is a little bit of a combination of her life story merged with musical inspiration Paradiso felt after watching a movie about the life of John Coltrane.

The third, fourth and fifth tracks on the record comprise a trilogy story that represents a piece of Paradiso’s own family heritage. His mother's mother was a gypsy descendent, and after watching a movie about the history of those nomads, he was again inspired to write something about his roots. “Introduction to Tuntkah,” is a haunting drum solo piece that tells the story of a caravan moving along slowly across distant lands. Then, when coming to a halt at the end of the day, a drummer would play a sequence meant for collective healing and giving the travelers the energy to keep moving forward. “Tuntkah (The Nomad King),” is a story Paradiso created in his mind when he imagined a king who would give up his kingdom and all his wealth and fame to live the wandering life of a nomad. And “A Partial Life Story” depicts the nomad king arriving in some new place where nobody knows him.  Says Paradiso, “I had in my mind when I was writing that song,  that people often get an idea of you, but there’s always a whole side that they won't ever really know. A part that is always a mystery. So, the impressions we get of people are only partial life stories." 

The final track of the album “Metropolitan Sketches,” which is also the title track, is a composition Paradiso started way back in 2011 and finished nearly six years later in 2017. The varying instrumentation, time signatures and moods of the track invite the listener to imagine they are cruising into a vast multicultural city, and as they pass through from area to area, they experience different atmospheres, different kinds of vibe, different colors, different cultures and foods, and so on. All within the same city. “I built the song in that way with a lot of different sections, very different from each other, to bring the essence of the truly multicultural city to life” 

Meridian 71’s official CD release show is scheduled for Feb 13, 2020, at Regattabar in Cambridge, MA following their online release date on Feb 12, 2020.  More tour dates to be announced.

New Music Releases: Saxophone Summit, Jazz Defenders, Crown Jewels Vol. 1

Saxophone Summit (Liebman/Lovano/Osby) - Street Talk

A strong summit of saxophone giants – Joe Lovano on tenor, Dave Liebman on soprano, and Greg Osby on alto – all uniting here in one of the boldest statements of their individual voices we've heard in years! Part of the record's charm is the way the three saxes come together to carve out bold formations together – with a free-spirited sound that almost takes us back to some of the sax quartet records of earlier decades – save for the fact that this album's got an equally bold rhythm section – with Phil Markowitz on piano, Cecil McBee on bass, and Billy Hart on drums – players who tie together very well, and who provide this stunning backdrop for the sharper lines of the saxophonists! Liebman is especially great – very sharp, but also swinging – and Osby sounds better than we've heard him in years, maybe opened up by Joe Lovano expressing some of his more avant sensibilities. Titles include "Loudly", "Street Talk", "Point", "Toli's Dance", and "A Portrait".  ~ Dusty Groove

Jazz Defenders - Scheming

The first we've ever heard from the Jazz Defenders – but a record that makes it feel like the group has been together for years – as the songs explode with all sorts of fresh ideas and individual voices – all while the whole thing stays in strongly soulful, swinging territory! The tunes are all originals – and the group's led by keyboardist Greg Cooper, who plays organ, piano, and Wurlitzer – in a lineup that also features Nick Malcolm on trumpet and Nicholas Dover on saxes – players who clearly understand an older legacy of soulful jazz from the Prestige/Blue Note side of the spectrum, but who also don't just go for a slavish recreation of that style! Instead, there's lots of interesting rhythmic interplay at the bottom of the tunes, which seems to set the horns and piano in bright new directions – on titles that include "Late", "Hawkeye Jorge", "Costa Del Lol", "Scheming", "Brown Down", and "Top Down Tourism".  ~ Dusty Groove

Crown Jewels Vol 1 (Compilation)

A big collection of funky gems from the Big Crown label – an important imprint in the role of fresh funky styles in the global underground! Big Crown are part of a musical legacy that stretches back to Soul Fire and Desco – but the company also has an ear towards newer modes of funky sounds too – and mixes together some older funky favorites with newer talents, mostly issued initially in a long run of 7" singles. This set brings together a dozen of the labels' best, with titles that include "Pimp" by Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, "Guilty" by Lady Wray, "Parachute" by Thee Lakesiders, "This Strange Effect" by The Shacks, "Once In A While" by Paul & The Tall Trees, "Tearz" by El Michel's Affair, "This Love" by Bobby Oroza, "Terrorize My Heart (disco dub)" by 79.5, "Never Be Another You" by Lee Fields & The Expressions, "Oh I Miss Her So" by Holy Hive, and "Dead End" by Brainstory. ~ Dusty Groove

New Music Releases: Arto Lindsay / Joe McPhee / Ken Vandermark / Phil Sudderberg, Peter Brotzmann, Krokofant with Stale Storlokken & Ingebrigt Haker Flaten

Arto Lindsay / Joe McPhee / Ken Vandermark / Phil Sudderberg - Largest Afternoon

A set that's brimming over with improvising jazz talent – but one that's an especially great reminder of the guitar genius of the great Arto Lindsay! Lindsay is amazing here – playing with energy to match the brilliance of Ken Vandermark and Joe McPhee – which is really saying a lot, and which has us almost feeling like a younger version of Arto's self stepped forward straight from the New York no wave scene, in order to create a pan-historical bridge with the improvising strengths of the Corbett Vs Dempsey universe! Drummer Phil Sudderberg is wonderful too – a master of sounds and moments – and the short tracks allow for plenty of sharp changes, and shifts in energy between each selection. McPhee blows alto, tenor, and pocket trumpet – and Vandermark is on tenor, baritone, and clarinet – on titles that include "The Push & Pull Beneath The Surface", "She Must Have Known", "Whether You Were There Or Not", "When I Lose Any Sense Of Perspective", and "The World's Longest Afternoon". ~ Dusty Groove

Peter Brotzmann - I Surrender Dear

Saxophonist Peter Brotzmann is no stranger to the world of solo recording – but this set has a very different vibe than most of his previous outings in that format – as you might guess by the famous standard referenced in the title! Half the record has Peter taking off on his own renditions of classic jazz ballads – still very much in Brotzmann formation, with lots of sharp edges and freer flights – but tied to a longer jazz history that's really amazing, a bit in the manner of some of the Anthony Braxton experiments with standards over the years. Other tunes are originals or works by some of the Brotzmann's contemporaries – balanced in a great way that really shows the never-ending creativity of the legendary reedman, even after his many decades of recording. Titles include "Con Alma", "Lady Sings The Blues", "I Surrender Dear", "Lover Come Back To Me", "Churchsong", "Brozziman", and "Sumphin". ~ Dusty Groove

Krokofant with Stale Storlokken & Ingebrigt Haker Flaten - Q

A modern bit of progressive avant jazz from Krokofant – a trio who take us back to some of the European power combos of the 70s, particularly those that could blend together electric styles and outside sounds in the Eastern Bloc scene! The core lineup features tremendous drums from Axel Skalstad, who also plays a bit of vibe – plus guitars from Tom Hasslan and saxes from Jorgen Mathisen – all used in a forward-thinking style that crests beautifully from the united energy of the trio! This time around, they've also got key help from Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on bass and Stale Storlokken on keyboards – both players who help churn up the sound even more! The keyboards have a way of locating the guitar and saxophones nicely – and we're not sure we've ever heard Ingebrigt's bass in just such a setting, but it really rises to the occasion. The album features one long piece – divided up into four parts. ~ Dusty Groove

New Music Releases: Lynn Cardona, Bronze, David Grubbs /Mats Gustafsson / Rob Mazurek

Lynn Cardona - Ophelia

Lynn Cardona’s newest project, Ophelia, is an EP featuring three original compositions about love – both unrequited and the kind of love that is ecstatic and slowly burns with longing and lust. Cardona is a contemporary jazz and soul artist living in Los Angeles. She is a true original -- her voice has a dreamy quality and an utterly distinctive character. Her first CD, Lovin’ You, was released in 2016. Cardona’s lyrics reflect her troubled heart and difficult upbringing. She had been grappling with depression most of her life, brought about by being raised in a family with an abusive stepfather. Indeed, the title tune, “Ophelia,” which she co-wrote with well-known Memphis organist Charlie Wood, is about suicide. Cardona wears her heart on her sleeve. Her emotions, vulnerable and exposed, flow through her music like a gentle stream. Her voice is sinuous and lyrical, and the musicianship on these three tunes is superb. As Cardona puts it, “I want my music to convey the nuances of the experiences I’ve had. I want listeners to feel that they can relate to me on the deepest level.”

Bronze - East Shore

An album with a vintage AOR look on the cover – and a set that really follows in that spirit too – thanks to the masterful production talents of Bronze! Bronze handles most of the instruments on the set – plenty of keyboards, plus bass, drums, guitar, and even a bit of flute – all crafted in warmly soulful grooves that are tight, but never too commercial – opened up nicely by guest vocal contributions from a range of Japanese singers who include Sumin, Kirin, Horan, Amin, and others – plus work from Jungwoo Lim and Jason Lee. The mood shifts a bit from track to track, depending on the singer – but there's a nicely unified vibe to the whole thing, thanks to the warmth of Bronze's production. Most vocals are in Japanese – and titles include "Forget Me Not", "Bubble", "Bird's Eye View", "One More Time", "Afterglow", "Rendezvous", and "Seaside". ~ Dusty Groove

David Grubbs /Mats Gustafsson / Rob Mazurek - The Underflow

A fantastic meeting of the musical minds – coming together here in a set of live improvisations recorded at a record store in Greece! The setting's an unusual one, and the music is too – sounds that really move past the usual for all three players, but especially David Grubbs and Mats Gustafsson – both of whom seem very comfortable here in some of the sonic territory that we normally hear more from Rob Mazurek! Grubbs' guitar is quite different than on some of his own records – especially the solo acoustic moments – and Mats reminds us that he's not just a hell of a saxophonist, but also a master of many other ways to disturb the flow of air – delivering work here on flute, fluteophone, and live electronics – the last of which is matched with more electronics from Rob Mazurek, who also plays piccolo trumpet and wood flute too. Every song has a different shape and texture, which is a further testament to both the sensitivities of the musicians, and their sympathies with each other – and titles include "Not In A Hall Of Mirrors", "Creep Mission", "City Stones Sleep", and "Goats & Hollers". ~ Dusty Groove

Mabern Plays Mabern: Harold Mabern Performs His Classic Repertoire

It is with a mixture of pride and sorrow that Smoke Sessions Records announces the release of Harold Mabern’s Mabern Plays Mabern on March 20th. Pride because Mabern’s 27th recording as a leader, culled from the same three January 2018 nights that generated his 26th, The Iron Man: Live At Smoke, documents the master pianist, then 81, in prime form, functioning as an inspired soloist, attentive accompanist, melodic interpreter, and crafty tunesmith. Sorrow because the release is posthumous — Harold Mabern died on September 17, 2019, at the age of 83.

For the engagement in question, Mabern convened long-standing band-mates Eric Alexander on tenor saxophone, John Webber on bass, and Joe Farnsworth on drums, augmented by Smoke Sessions recording artists Steve Davis on trombone and Vincent Herring on alto saxophone. All members rise to the occasion on repertoire that spans 51 years of Mabern’s six decades as a recording artist, leader and sideman.

Indeed, the proceedings embody the qualities enumerated in a loving Facebook eulogy tribute by Charles Lloyd, Mabern’s bandmate at Manassas High School, in Memphis, Tennessee, at the cusp of the 1950s. Lloyd wrote: “Harold was a scholar of our history, insightful, hilarious, sincere, deep, with intense, boundless energy and inclusive with his warmth. Before they called him ‘Leading Man,’ his nickname was ‘Big Hands.’ With the broad reach of those hands, he caressed many beautiful chords. He was a storyteller and every note he played had a message.”

Another Manassas H.S. classmate, tenor saxophonist George Coleman — a close friend whose most recent recorded encounter with Mabern was the September 2019 Smoke Sessions Records release The Quartet — expressed similar sentiments in a New York Times obituary after Mabern’s death: “Harold was a complete musician,” Coleman observed. “He was always adventurous, and he was always swinging, keeping the crowd pleased.”

That the paying customers at Smoke were pleased is palpable throughout. “You’re hearing things that Harold wrote or enjoyed playing,” Alexander says. “This is the way Harold crystallized and refined his personal approach, the way he presented his music in front of people, night after night, which is the Harold Mabern that we adored the most. Of course, his studio recordings are great, but live, Harold threw caution to the wind. When he played live, it was magic; whatever happened, he was going to get out of it.”

As an example, consider Mabern’s emergence from a spirit-raising rubato introduction into the clarion theme of the session-opening “Mr. Johnson,” a modal burner. (Dedicated to trombone legend J.J. Johnson, a frequent mid-’60s employer, it first appeared on an October 1969 Lee Morgan sextet session.) Mabern comps behind each horn solo with an inspirationally take-no-prisoners attitude, then gives himself the final say with an erudite, swinging solo.

Or groove to the elemental soulfulness and urbane sophistication of the date-closer, “Rakin’ and Scrapin’,” which first surfaced in 1968 as the title track of Mabern’s second leader album, whose participants included Coleman on tenor saxophone, Blue Mitchell on trumpet and Bill Lee on bass. It’s a stomping boogaloo-blues that recalls Mabern’s father’s promise that he’d “rake and scrape up” funds for his junior’s first piano.

Another reference to Mabern’s long tenure with Morgan is “Edward Lee,” whose strutting theme captures Morgan’s swagger. (The trumpet giant’s full name was Edward Lee Morgan.) Mabern debuted it on the 1980 trio date Pisces Calling; then on a 1991 duo session with bassist Kieran Overs titled Philadelphia Bound; then on Alexander’s 1999 quartet album Live At The Keynote; then on the Japanese-market trio album Don’t Know Why.

“The Bee Hive,” named for the South Side Chicago nightclub where Mabern heard Charlie Parker in 1955, is one of the most enduring tracks from Morgan’s iconic 1970 location album Live At The Lighthouse. At Smoke, the thrilling ripostes between Alexander and Herring that comprise the first half of this wild ride channel Parker’s unfettered spirit.

The complex, stentorian “Lyrical Cole-Man” (also from Pisces Calling) is Mabern’s tone parallel to George Coleman, whose inflamed clarity comes through in intense solos by Alexander and the leader.

Renowned for his encyclopedic knowledge and erudite navigation of the Great American and Great Jazz Songbooks, Mabern — who spent much of the 1960s as a favored accompanist for such singers as Betty Carter, Joe Williams, and Sarah Vaughan — was unparalleled at harmonizing less-traveled standards in individualistic ways that illuminated their message. On Mabern Plays Mabern, the selections are “It’s Magic,” which Mabern introduces with a gorgeous rubato statement that foreshadows Alexander’s romance-saturated solo, and “Lover Man,” highlighted by heartfelt declamations from Vincent Herring and Steve Davis.

Mabern’s rollicking introductory solo to Alexander’s “Miles’ Mode” refraction, “The Iron Man,” a staple of the Alexander-Mabern Quartet through the years, sets the stage for all members to swing their hardest. The title — and the performance — encapsulates the indefatigable energy, intense focus, abiding humility and giving personality that the octogenarian maestro projected through his until his final day. The notes and tones are emblematic of a remark Mabern made to DownBeat in 2015: “You can take a hundred-dollar gig, but on the bandstand you get a million dollars’ worth of experience, because you always find something that you didn’t know before you got on the bandstand.”

"Mabern Plays Mabern" was produced by Paul Stache and Damon Smith, recorded live at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club, NYC on January 5-7, 2018 and mastered to ½” analog tape using a Studer mastering deck.

Special EFX and Chilu Minucci to release new album "All Stars"

Mainstay of the GRAMMY® nominated collective that is Special EFX, guitarist Chieli Minucci has spent a lot of time on the road the last few years with a revolving lineup of celebrated musicians who bring the band’s world jazz brand to life. When Minucci began writing the group’s 21st album that he produced, he came up with the idea of inviting each player from the rotating touring ensemble to perform on the album and even composed material with specific musicians in mind. The luminous result is “All Stars,” a title that is a nod to an accomplished supporting cast. The imaginative collage of contemporary jazz, world music and blues drops on February 14 on the Trippin ‘N’ Rhythm imprint. Radio will get its first sampling in the form of “Hanky Panky Boys,” a groovy, retro cool tune that finds Minucci’s guitar and organ getting into a heap of mischief with saxophonist Eric Marienthal. 

“It was the first tune that I wrote specifically for the album and it doesn’t really sound like Special EFX, whatever that might be! I wanted to write something a bit different that we could play at jazz festival jam sessions, a piece that kind of sounds like a standard. Writing it got me fired up and inspired to write other music for the project,” said Minucci, who co-founded Special EFX 35 years ago with the late percussionist George Jinda and has amassed a host of Billboard No. 1 singles. 

Minucci wrote thirteen songs for “All Stars” and scrapbooked the talented artists who brought his eclectic vision into focus along with his New York City-based core band members Jay Rowe (keyboards), Jerry Brooks (bass) and Joel Rosenblatt (drums). Among the dozens of guest stars on the album are violinist Regina Carter, saxophonist/flautist Nelson Rangell, trumpeter Lin Rountree, multi-horn player David Mann, Spyro Gyra drummer Lionel Cordew, bassist Gerald Veasley, keyboardist Lao Tizer, fretless bassist-vocalist Fernando Saunders, a longtime Special EFX family member who has a history with the outfit dating back to their formative years; and 2019 Soul Tracks Female Vocalist of the Year Maysa Leak, who soars mightily on a version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing.” 

“I grew up listening to Jimi Hendrix. During a show we did two years ago with Maysa, I asked if she’d like to try singing ‘Little Wing’ and I was totally blown away. I asked her about making a recording of it and when she agreed, I got serious about the arrangement. I wanted to pay homage to the rock aspect of Jimi Hendrix. I also wanted to do something that was modern R&B. I think it came out unusual and I’m curious to hear how people react to it. I don’t really do cover tunes too often so this was different,” said Minucci, who will lead a revolving Special EFX lineup on a busy touring schedule in support of “All Stars” beginning on the eve of the album release date at Yoshi’s Oakland. 

One song on “All Stars” is especially personal to Minucci. “‘Sweet Memories Of You’ is a solo guitar piece that has a deeper meaning for me because I wrote it around the time my mom was passing a few years ago. It’s one of the pieces I felt would be important to include on the record - not only to break up the mood and texture of the listen, but also to give people something a little more contemplative in the middle of the record.”     

As the listener gets deeper into the album, the depth and breadth of Minucci’s compositional and arranging skills are on full display. “Kampala” was written on a borrowed acoustic guitar in a Ugandan hotel room during a concert tour. Minucci calls the two-part “Great Escape” “a labor of love that was written in odd meter because that’s part of the style I grew up listening to and really love. ‘Flows Like Water’ is a bit jazzier than what I typically do with Special EFX. I wanted to let people hear something a little bit different. I like to give people who buy our records and come to our shows a variety of styles. ‘Flows Like Water’ is a really nice representation of how tight the band has become over the many years we’ve worked together.” 

“All Stars” concludes with “One Stick And A Stone” - the stick being Steve Adelson’s Chapman Stick that engages Minucci’s guitar intimately. “It’s a world groove piece reminiscent of what my late great partner, George Jinda, used to do on percussion. I wanted to end on a nostalgic note, something very true to the Special EFX sound.” 

In addition to crafting Special EFX records, Minucci has released nearly a dozen solo collections. A guitar player gifted with an extensive sonic palate and technical proficiency, he has recorded and performed with a galaxy of A-list pop, rock, R&B and jazz stars spanning Celine Dion, Lou Reed, Chaka Khan, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Lopez, Jewel, Mark Anthony, Michael Bolton, Kirk Whalum, Jeff Lorber, Norman Brown, Rick Braun, Marion Meadows and Mindi Abair. Nominated for ten Emmy Awards for the music he created for television shows such as “The Guiding Light,” “Dancing With The Stars,” “American Idol” and “Good Morning America” (theme), Minucci is a three-time Emmy winner. He has also composed music for film (“Bowfinger,” “Legally Blond” and “Panic”) as well as stage (“Peter Pan,” “Dora the Explorer” and “Thomas the Tank Engine”).

On the other side of the holidays, Minucci is eager to begin introducing the music from “All Stars” to listeners. “I think it’s a really interesting sounding record. All over the place stylistically as I always do, but I enjoy that aspect. It was really intensive making this record.”

Catch Special EFX featuring Chieli Minucci on tour on the following dates (partial list below):

January 24 & 25 / Bermuda Jazz Festival / Devonshire, Bermuda

February 13 / Yoshi’s Oakland / Oakland, CA

February 15 / Spaghettini / Seal Beach, CA

February 16 / Aliante Casino Hotel & Spa / N. Las Vegas, NV

February 18 / Blues Alley / Washington, DC

February 19 / Middle C Jazz / Charlotte, NC

February 20 / Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts / Winter Park, FL

February 21 & 22 / The Velvet Note / Alpharetta, GA

March 11 / Dakota Jazz Club / Minneapolis, MN

March 12 / Soiled Dove Underground / Denver, CO

March 13 / The Sofia / Sacramento, CA

March 14 / Tower Theatre / Fresno, CA

March 21 / Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts / Melbourne, FL

April 2-4 / Boscov’s Berks Jazz Festival / Reading, PA

April 11 / The Cutting Room / New York, NY

Joni Mitchell to Receive Les Paul Innovation Award at 35th Annual NAMM TEC Awards

Hailed as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century, inspired folk artist and pioneer Joni Mitchell will receive the prestigious Les Paul Innovation Award at the 35th Annual NAMM Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards (NAMM TEC Awards), being held Saturday, January 18, 2020 in Anaheim, California. The award is given on behalf of the Les Paul Foundation to honor individuals that have set the highest standards of excellence in creative application of artistry in the spirit of the famed audio pioneer, inventor and musician, Les Paul.

"We are excited that Joni will be the recipient of the prestigious Les Paul Innovation Award," says Michael Braunstein, Executive Director of The Les Paul Foundation. "Like Les, she has been a trailblazer and a true renaissance woman – a songwriter, musician, producer and influencer who made her mark with very influential songs in the 60s. She has pushed the boundaries of what it means to be a female singer-songwriter over the course of her four decade career, and like Les Paul, she's never been scared to take creative risks. We are thrilled that Joni Mitchell will join the list of extraordinary recipients that represent the spirit of the legendary Les Paul."

"Thank you for this honor," said Mitchell. "I'm grateful for being appreciated."

A consummate artist, Roberta Joan Anderson is an accomplished musician, songwriter, poet and painter. An only child, Joni's artistic talents blossomed early as she began drawing as a young child. Always a lover of music, it wasn't until high school in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan that Joni began performing. She bought a ukulele and soon began playing in the local club, The Louis Riel, in 1962.

Heading to art school in Calgary after graduation, Joni auditioned at a coffeehouse called The Depression and immediately landed a regular gig there. Weighing two viable career options - art or music - she decided to focus on the latter. In 1964, Joni moved to Toronto and immersed herself in the fledgling Yorkville folk scene - performing in coffeehouses along with other fellow unknowns Neil Young and Gordon Lightfoot. It was during this time that Joni's songwriting skills began to emerge.

Moving stateside in 1965, Joni worked the coffeehouse circuit for the next three years - playing as many as twenty sets a week. David Crosby caught her performance in a Florida club in 1967, was 'stunned' by her talent, and invited her to Los Angeles.

Soon thereafter Joni signed with Reprise Records. Her first record, Song to a Seagull, was released in 1968. A wholly original masterpiece buoyed by her unique songwriting and guitar style, this album still sounds fresh and timeless 50 years on.

Joni Mitchell went on to serve as producer for most of her subsequent albums.  She produced and recorded Blue (1971), a unique collection of songs, performed with an emotional honesty that resonated with a wide audience.  Blue is considered by many critics to be one of the best LPs of pop music ever created.

Joni's most commercially successful LP, Court and Spark (1974) was created with the jazz-fusion group The LA Express. The Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975) steered her away from traditional pop  forms into formats of complex lyrics and melodies, accompanied by a variety of jazz musicians. Her album Hejira (1976) shed much of the instrumentation creating a minimalist recording with an expansive ambience achieved with the help of her sound engineer, Henry Lewy, by overdubbing Joni's electric rhythm guitar.  In 1978 one of jazz's great geniuses, Charles Mingus approached Joni to propose a collaboration. The result was Mingus (1979), released shortly after Mingus's untimely death from ALS.

Dog Eat Dog (1985) featured Joni's exploration of sociopolitical themes set to complex synthesizer arrangements. In the 1990s her acoustic guitar playing came back to the forefront and produced the Grammy winning Turbulent Indigo (1994). She has also recorded an orchestral retrospective, Travelogue (2002), two live recordings, Miles of Aisles (1974) and Shadows and Light (1980), and an orchestrated collection of popular music standards, Both Sides Now (2000). In 2007 the Alberta Ballet Company staged the ballet "The Fiddle and the Drum," choreographed to a collection of Joni Mitchell's recordings. Her last recording of new material was 2007's Shine. 

Although Joni's sophisticated music rarely topped the pop charts ("Help Me" reached #7 in 1974), many of her songs have become classics. "River," "Big Yellow Taxi," and "A Case of You" are instantly recognizable. "Woodstock" has become the anthem of the 60's counter-culture movement and "Both Sides Now" has been recorded more than 1,250 times by other artists.

Three Junos, nine GRAMMYS® (plus their Lifetime Achievement Award), the Governor General's Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and Songwriter's Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a Polar Music Prize are but a few of Joni's awards and accolades. With this award, Mitchell will join the likes of Peter Frampton, Jackson Browne, Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Don Was, Slash, Todd Rundgren, Pete Townshend, Steve Vai and others, as a Les Paul Innovation Award honoree.

Ken Burns American Heritage Prize to be awarded to Wynton Marsalis

American Prairie Reserve is proud to announce that Wynton Marsalis has been named the recipient of the 2020 Ken Burns American Heritage Prize. The award will be presented May 6, 2020, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The evening's festivities will include remarks by Ken Burns, Wynton Marsalis, Rosanne Cash, Board Chair George E. Matelich, and American Prairie Reserve CEO Alison Fox.

Named in honor of America's most revered visual historian and filmmaker, the Ken Burns American Heritage Prize recognizes individuals whose achievements have advanced our collective understanding of America's heritage and the indomitable American spirit of our people. Nominees for the annual Prize consist of visionary artists, authors, educators, filmmakers, historians, and scientists. The candidates are chosen by a National Jury of distinguished leaders who represent communities across the country and share a common appreciation of America's heritage.

"It's a privilege to lend my name to a prize honoring individuals whose accomplishments reinforce the nation's understanding of all that is possible. And as one who has been irrevocably changed by the majesty of the American West, I am inspired by American Prairie Reserve's historic mission to return a vast swath of Montana to the spectacular natural beauty first enjoyed by Native Americans and later by Lewis and Clark. The Prize we will present together to Wynton acknowledges the historic role that the Great Plains played in helping to shape America's character. It's that same character, courage, and fortitude that Wynton's tremendous work elucidates. This indomitable American spirit is alive and well today, in Wynton and in the men and women in many arenas whose work reminds us that our lives serve a greater purpose." – Ken Burns

Wynton Marsalis is the Managing and Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC), which he helped found. Marsalis grew up in a musical household in New Orleans and studied classical trumpet at The Julliard School in New York City, and pursued his love of jazz by joining Art Blakey's band. Aside from overseeing Jazz at Lincoln Center, Marsalis continues to perform, compose, and participate in educational workshops. Marsalis created the companion soundtrack recording to Ken Burns's documentary Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson and appeared in Burns's Jazz and Country Music documentaries. In addition to his musical talent, Marsalis has written six books.

"The momentum of folly leads us to embrace an intellectual and spiritual corrosion that confuses commerce with cultivation, remuneration with regeneration, and money with meaning. I love the term "rewilding" because it is at once innovation and conservation. American Prairie Reserve's rewilding of our nation's landscape reintroduces us to our natural instincts. Ken Burns's rewilding of our collective memory illuminates the hidden corners of our humanity. Jazz is a music that rewilds the soul with every listen. I am deeply appreciative to receive this prize from an institution I respect, bearing the name of a genius I admire and on behalf of a music that defines us at our best," said Mr. Marsalis upon being notified of his selection as the 2020 Prize recipient.

American Prairie Reserve, which created the Prize, is a modern-day embodiment of America's optimistic and boundless approach to accomplishing the unprecedented — in this case, by creating the largest nature reserve in the continental United States, located on the Great Plains of northeastern Montana.

Record Kicks releases “MOMENTUM”, the new album by Calibro 35, out worldwide on January 24th 2020

Italian cult combo Calibro 35 release their highly anticipated 7th studio album “Momentum” on January 24th 2020. “Momentum” follows “Decade”, their previous studio album released in 2018 that had marked 10 years of Calibro 35, and it stands out as a new starting point for the project. In the last 10 years Calibro 35 have dug the golden age of soundtracks and they have been to the future with “S.P.A.C.E.”. “Momentum”, as the band stated: "represents a look at nowadays and a reflection about making music right in the time that we’re living”.

Inspired by the work of artists such as Tortoise, Jagajazzist, Dj Shadow, Budos Band, Stelvio Cipriani, Ennio Morricone, Sandro Brugnolini, White Noise, Comet is Coming, JPEGMafia and DJ Signify, compared to the previous Calibro 35’s full lengths on the 10 tracks that make up the new album, band’s instruments and sounds have increased in number and complexity as well as reality. The music palette is further extended by incorporating even more synths and electronic sounds, but keeping everything true and 100% real, with all the instruments played live and with no presets or programming. The two featurings on the album serve the cause as well. On the first single “Stan Lee”, they collaborated with rapper, producer and songwriter Illa J, a former member of super group Slum Village and younger brother of the late legendary hip hop producer and rapper J Dilla. On “Black Moon”, the combo from Milan provided the groove for London-based artist MEI. "If 'Decade' was the sum of everything that the band had felt in the previous ten years", Calibro 35 says, 'Momentum' is the prequel of what you will hear in the next ten".

To mark the new beginning and come full circle, the recordings took place under the expert hands of usual suspect Tommaso Colliva, in the same studio where Calibro released their self titled debut album twelve years ago.

The band will be on tour, starting in February 2020. Down here the UK tour dates and further up the video teaser of the album, made by Sugo Design and Francesco Imperato and available on Youtube and on the band's social medias.

Oakland Drummer Dillon Vado Releases Blissonance, the Debut Album by His Quintet Never Weather

Oakland drummer and vibraphonist Dillon Vado didn’t necessarily set out to make a bold statement. As a young bandleader and composer, he wanted to forge a distinctive group sound with some of the most vividly inventive improvisers on the Bay Area scene. He achieved exactly that with his quintet Never Weather, but what makes Blissonance such an impressive debut album is the music’s combination of emotional and musical intelligence. The album is slated for release on January 17, 2020 on bassist Jeff Denson’s Ridgeway Records. 

Featuring trumpeter Josh Reed, alto saxophonist Aaron Wolf, guitarist Justin Rock, and bassist Tyler Harlow, Never Weather is more than the sum of its considerable players. Heady and intricate but never over-thought or busy, Vado’s music reflects the collective personality forged by musicians trained in the art of careful, responsive listening. “I don’t want a book,” says Vado, 28. “There’s a difference between a band and a book. I want to play with these guys and go deep into this music.” 

The album opens with the insistent, rebounding theme “Never Catch Up,” a kinetic, headlong blues form that turns into a vehicle for Reed’s expansive, conversational trumpet. “Mask” is a mysterious ballad, a rising-and-falling soundscape that summons the spirit of Paul Motian. The band’s gift for melodic invention is on full display with “There Is No Secret,” a rolling theme by Rock that features some particularly graceful rhythm section interplay and the composer’s sly guitar work.

The album’s centerpiece is the evocative title track, which wends through a variety of thoughtful moods as it builds slowly to a beautifully calibrated guitar passage. While not through-composed, the piece is less a launching pad for solos than a kinetically detailed portrait of a vexing emotional state. A recently coined word describing the pleasure of being in a special place and realizing your presence damages the location, “Blissonance” is an almost programmatic work that maps treacherous inner terrain. 

Part of what makes Never Weather’s performances so enthralling is the calm decision with which the group flows from passage to passage, no matter the tempo. Solos often serve as commentary on the passing scene, rather than as digressions. With “Medium” Vado constructed the narrative after the fact, editing and layering improvisations played independently by Rock and Wolf  to create an ethereal dialogue. But most of the action takes place in real time. No piece better captures the group’s poise and attention to detail than “Always Setting,” a spacious, attenuated melody connected by a mobile bass line. It’s an intricate chamber jazz piece that gradually gains gravity without density.

Vado’s sequencing adds to the album’s overarching feel of tension and release, as five brief tracks punctuate his full compositions. Sometimes it’s just a deep breath before a plunge, like the mid-conversation trumpet fanfare of “No Grasp.” And sometimes a brief track contains a world unto itself, like the lapidary closing version of Thelonious Monk’s rarely played “Introspection,” a piece referenced earlier in hard-to-identify fragments. 

“Some of the short tracks function as a buffer between two intense tunes,” Vado says. “The second day of recording I got about 8-10 minutes of improvised material from each player and I wanted to use those little bits. We also recorded ‘Introspection’ at a bunch of different tempos. When you arrive at the piece at the end of the album I want it to feel like you’ve heard it before.” 

Blissonance is the latest dispatch from an artist who has quickly moved to the front ranks of the Bay Area scene. While gigging steadily as a drummer he’s gained as much attention as a vibraphonist, winning 1st place in the 2014 Jazz Search West competition on the instrument. In 2017, he was chosen for the Buddy Montgomery Jazz Legacy Award through the California Jazz Conservatory, where he earned his undergraduate degree the same year. He’s an essential component in some of the region’s most acclaimed bands, playing vibes in drummer Alan Hall’s Ratatet and trumpeter Erik Jekabson’s String-tet, and drums in Jekabson’s Electric Squeezebox Orchestra. 

In addition to Never Weather, Vado wears his drum hat in Beyond Words: Jazz and Poetry, a project he co-leads with poet Amos White. He plays vibes and marimba in his group The Table Trio with bass master Jeff Denson and drummer Hamir Atwal. Over the past five years he’s also performed with makland Drummer/Composer Dillon Vado Unleashes Exquisite Brain Storms With Blissonance, the Debut Album by His Quintet Never Weather.                                                                                                                                                               

Growing up in San Jose, Vado was surrounded by music. He started playing drums at eight, studying with a family friend while playing in school band programs throughout middle and high school. He played snare drum with the Santa Clara Vanguard and studied music full time at West Valley College, where he turned his attention to the vibraphone. Transferring to the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley, he went on to earn his Bachelor’s degree in 2017. 

While he considers himself blessed with a thick network of creatively ambitious collaborators, Vado isn’t given to seeing divine messages in his music. He notes however that a sign from above greeted the first Never Weather formation. Playing outdoors with Rock and Harlow at Harlow’s church in 2018 “it was one of those magic gigs where everything lined up musically,” Vado recalls. “We were playing ‘Round Midnight,’ and as Tyler bows the last two notes two shooting stars went by right behind the audience.”

A different form of divine intervention led to him expanding the ensemble in the form of a voice mail message from pianist and jazz guru Art Lande. “He said that Josh Reed was moving to town, that he’s a great that you have to play with him. We did an Electric Squeezebox Orchestra gig and he ripped it up.” Calling Wolf, an old friend from San Jose, came in a moment of inspiration. They’d been out of touch for a while, when Vado reached out to him and the timing was perfect. The saxophonist was eager for a challenging new situation.

“I picked every member really carefully,” he says. “No one really knew each other. Aaron and Josh have tons of mutual friends and hit it off. Aaron did his master’s at the University of Nevada, Reno and Josh just took over Ralph Alessi’s gig there.” 

A snapshot of an evolving ensemble, Blissonance is the work of restless intelligence and bountiful heart. Vado wasn’t looking to make an album when he got the players together “but the group dynamic came together quickly and I realized that I needed to document this,” he says. The cover art, a shot by award-winning National Geographic photographer Tom Schifanella, is icing on the cake. Taken with image, Vado contacted him and quickly reached generous terms to use the photo. “A lot of stuff lined up for this album,” he says. “I’m really proud of the sound of the record and the tunes.”

Vance Gilbert's new album 'Good, Good Man' out Jan. 24, 2020

“If Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens had a love child, with Rodney Dangerfield as the midwife, the results might have been something close to the great Vance Gilbert.” As the above quote from Richmond magazine suggests, Vance Gilbert defies stereotypes. It’s little wonder then that he also exceeds expectations. In this case, those two qualities go hand in hand.

“I’m black, I sing, I play an acoustic guitar, and I don’t play the blues,” Gilbert insists. That may be a broad statement, but it rings with truth.

What he does do is make memorable music, as evidenced by the 13 albums he’s released so far, as well as the mark he’s made on the folk and acoustic music scenes in general. Over the course of a prolific career that extends back to the early ’90s, he’s recorded with his good friend Ellis Paul and shared stages worldwide with Aretha Franklin, Shawn Colvin, Arlo Guthrie, the Milk Carton Kids, George Carlin, Anita Baker, the Subdudes, Paul Reiser and any number of others.

He’s also made a prominent presence at some of the world’s most prestigious gatherings, among them the Newport, Winnipeg, Rocky Mountain, Calgary, Ottawa, and Falcon Ridge folk festivals, the Kate Wolf Music Festival, and Australia’s Woodford Folk Festival and Mullum Music Festival.

“There was also that one nude festival in Maryland,” Gilbert recalls. “I don’t recall the name of that one, but I have to admit that the name wasn’t the first thing I would remember.”

Naturally, Gilbert can be forgiven for that minor oversight, given the amount of praise he’s received from the pundits. His remarkable rapport with his audiences and his free spirited performances inspired one critic to hail him as “a folkie trapped in a vaudevillian body,” with “a voice that could have been on the opera stage, a wit that could have been on a comedy stage and a songwriting talent that’s thrust him on the folk stage for decades.”

Those descriptive phrases come to full fruition on Gilbert’s upcoming album, the appropriately named Good, Good Man, out January 24, 2020. Recorded with an A-list support cast that includes bluesman and singer/songwriter Chris Smither, Al Green’s organist Stacey Wade,  Tommy Malone of the Subdudes on guitars, Mike Posner on backing vocals, and Celtic harpist and vocalist Aine Minough it sums up the strengths that Gilbert’s always had at his command — that is, a gift for compelling melodies, insightful lyrics, a witty and whimsical point of view, and the ability to maintain an inherent humanity that translates to his connection with his audiences.

As always, the music is as varied as it is vibrant, from the philosophic musings of “Pie and Whiskey” and the rollicking R&B-flavored title track, to the swinging sound of “Zombie Pattycake,” the tender trappings of “Hitman” and the bare-bones remake of the 1972 hit “Wildflower,” a seminal song given Gilbert’s intimate and essential additives.

In short, it’s Gilbert at his very best, a set of songs that deserves to bring Gilbert the wider recognition that’s eluded him for far too long.

Then again, Gilbert’s unlikely trajectory isn’t what most folks might expect from such a talented troubadour. Raised in a Philadelphia row house, Gilbert was drawn to a variety of music early on, that is, the sounds of favorites that were always heard around the house, such as Dinah Washington, Brook Benton, Earl Bostic, David “Fathead” Newman, Wes Montgomery, as well as the pop and jazz that occupied his family’s beat-up turntables. Later there were the sounds he discovered on his own, including Motown, Stax, the Beatles, Bread, the Spinners, the Stylistics, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bonnie Raitt, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and Steely Dan. It was an eclectic batch, not exactly the standard musical mash-up you’d hear in that particular part of town, but nevertheless, it did help inform Gilbert’s musical sensibilities in a real and emphatic way. It gave him the impetus to perform jazz and then folk, and execute all of it so adroitly.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t easy. His parents were alcoholics and mentally unstable, and naturally enough that made for an abusive environment. Gilbert spent four years homeless while still a teenager. Eventually he enrolled in Connecticut College, in the mid ’70s, which allowed him to further expand his musical vocabulary as he absorbed a steady infusion of influences in his new environs. In his sophomore year he began playing bass in jazz and funk bands on campus. Then, when his brother gave him a 12-string guitar strung with nylon strings and with the top six tuning pegs chopped off, he became smitten by the possibility of fusing folk music, jazz and songs that shared stories in a most emotive way. Kenny Rankin, Joni Mitchell, Greg Brown, and Patty Larkin, became early inspirations.

With a biology degree in hand, Gilbert made his way to Boston, an eternal mecca for folk music enthusiasts, and shared a flat with friends who shared his same sensibilities. “I wanted to be in a place where the music was accessible,” he reflects. To that end, he continued to pursue his musical interests, earning his living working in restaurants by day and performing in coffee houses and at open mics by night.

“I wanted to be Earl Klugh, Al Jarreau, Stevie Wonder, and Julie Andrews all at the same time,” he chuckles. “Or more precisely, the acoustic version of each. I wanted to play on the streets and get gigs ... that was my dream.”

It was a romantic notion, that idea of becoming an itinerant musician. Instead, he became a multicultural arts specialist in the Boston public school system and remained in that position for the next decade. Yet he never abandoned his dream of being a performer. One night, at the suggestion of a friend, he attended a concert at the Old Vienna Kaffeehause in Westboro, Massachusetts, a hangout he had frequented in the past. The performer that evening was Shawn Colvin, and from that point on, he knew what he wanted to do.

“I wanted to be a 5'5'' white woman,” he says, tongue lodged firmly in cheek. “She had it all — guitar, voice, solid time, stage chops, and the songs — those perfect little impressionistic masterpieces.”

He also determined that his goal would be to open for Colvin within a year - reaching it 3 months later when tapped by her to be support for Colvin’s “Fat City” tour in its entirety. “It’s that tour that marked my rise from absolute unknown to the ranks of the relatively obscure,” Gilbert jokes. Indeed, it earned him his first kudos, and it even inspired the Fort Worth Star-Telegram to describe him as having “the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god.”

Naturally, Gilbert didn’t stop there. Over the course of his career, he’s carved out a singular niche with songs that have resonated with his fans and drawn in new listeners. His classic compositions — “Old White Men,” “Charlene” and “Unfamiliar Moon,” “Goodbye Pluto,” and “Waiting for Gilligan” — are emotive and profound, offering certain truths in ways that make a meaningful impact in the most enduring and evocative ways.

Indeed, Gilbert posses a wide palette and perspective, from a co-write with Grammy Award winner Lori McKenna, “House of Prayer,” to a song on a Grammy-nominated children’s record by the duo Trout Fishing in America. Likewise, after alt-rock star Mike Posner heard Gilbert perform on a podcast, he invited him to take part in co-writing sessions and subsequently to sing on his recent single, “Noah’s Ark.”  Posner reciprocated with a haunting background vocal on “Flyby,” a song featured on Gilbert’s forthcoming album.

“You take a broad idea and you infuse it for the most precise details,” Gilbert says when describing the essence of his approach. “That’s probably the hardest part of writing for any of us. Connecting the dots is very important. It’s not about the kitchen table. It’s about the placement and the fork on that placement and the food that was on that fork. It’s about creating detail after detail. It’s all about the detail.

“It’s about philosophy, humor, double meanings ... any of those things,” he allows. “The things that I see in my head are mini movies. I see the genesis of the idea and then it becomes my job to iron out the details. The hardest thing to do is to take that concept and surround it with those philosophical insights. I guess I’ve done that in my work from time to time. You start illuminating things that you didn’t realize when you first began the process. It’s is the day to day things that motivate me to start writing and I’m frequently surprised by the things that I come up with.”

Ultimately, it’s the impact that he has on his audiences that matters to him the most.

“People take away from these songs what they decide they’re going to take away,” he reflects. “I would hope they walk away thinking. If that’s the case, then I’ve done my job successfully.”