JIMMY SMITH - SIT ON IT / UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Great late 70s work from Jimmy Smith – two albums back to back on a single CD! One of our favorite later albums from organist Jimmy Smith – and a set that cooks heavily in a wicked blend of jazz, funk, and soul! The style's a bit like the groove that Johnny Hammond hit during his Gears period – arranged by Eugene McDaniels and Alan Silvestri, with an approach that's somewhere between Larry Mizell and Skip Scarborough – tight grooves, bits of vocals, yet plenty of room for Smith's keyboard solos to take off over the top! Players include Herbie Hancock on piano, Alan Silvestri on guitar, and Lenny White on drums – but the main star is Jimmy – who's grooving massively over the top of the album, with soaring solos that are some of his best work from the late 70s.

Our favorite track on here is a masterful take of "Can't Hide Love", but there's a lot of other nice funky tracks like "Slippery Hips", "My Place In Space", and "Give Up the Booty". Unfinished Business is mighty soulful business from the great Jimmy Smith – a set for Mercury Records that updates his sound slightly, yet also hits some classic Hammond lines too! Jimmy plays a bit of acoustic piano and keyboards in addition to his classic organ – and works here in a setting that's tightly arranged, yet mostly small combo – with work from Ray Crawford on guitar, Nolan Phillips on tenor and flute, and added percussion from Buck Clarke and Stephanie Spruill. Rhythms step along nicely in kind of a 70s take on 60s soul jazz modes – leaving lots of room for Jimmy to open up on his solos – but there's also a few other more ambitious moments, including a great take on "Serpentine Fire" arranged by Ronnie Foster – and a warmly wonderful "Stevie" – which is a suite of tracks dedicated to Stevie Wonder. Other titles include "8 Counts For Rita", "Blues For Charlie", "Until It's Time For You To Go", and "Norristown PA". ~ Dusty Groove 

RANDY CRAWFORD & JOE SAMPLE LIVE

Randy Crawford and Joe Sample have been making music together in one form or another for nearly 36 years. From their first hit together in 1979, "Street Life" (which Randy sang with Joe and The Crusaders) to "One Day I'll Fly Away," "When Your Life Was Low" and "Last Night at Danceland," to their recent duo collaborations on the GRAMMY®-nominated CDs - Feeling Good (2006) and No Regrets (2008), they've made music that people remember. They remember the songs. They remember the melodies. But above all, they remember Randy's incredible voice - and Randy's voice is truly one of the most memorable of all the singers today.

Recorded on tour in Europe with Joe on the piano joined by his son Nicklas Sample on upright bass and the incomparable Steve Gadd on drums, Live is a true gem. The album contains Randy's and Joe's classics "Street Life," "Almaz" and "One Day I'll Fly Away," as well as choice tracks from their recent duo studio releases Feeling Good and No Regrets - "Everyday I Have the Blues," "Me, Myself and I" and Randy's rendition of the Edith Piaf classic "No Regrets."

Randy Crawford & Joe Sample Live Tracklist
1. Every Day I Have The Blues
2. Feeling Good
3. Tell Me More and More and Then Some
4. Rainy Night In Georgia 5.
5. This Bitter Earth
6. Me, Myself and I 
7. No Regrets
8. One Day I'll Fly Away
9. Almaz
10. Street Life
11. Last Night In Danceland

HALIE LOREN - STAGES

"Her songwriting abilities continue to demonstrate a laudable maturity."
- Chris Loudon, JazzTimes

"Though vocalist Halie Loren has made a name for herself by bringing her warm and inviting alto to bear on a mixture of pop and jazz classics, she has received far too little recognition in the United States."
- Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz

A story is always better when sung through the lips of someone like Halie Loren. Her live re-release album Stages creates a captivating story, each song leaving the listener's ears insatiate, yearning to hear, "what happens next?" In this live recording, Loren's sultry delivery of perfectly articulated melodies, naturally warm in tone, touches her listeners note by note, creating a symphonic experience to be remembered. Stages captures the intimate essence of two of Loren's most revered live performances -- constantly calling listeners all over the world back for more.

Originally released in 2010, Stages is Loren's first-ever live album. By popular demand, the album is being re-issued, with two never-before-released live bonus tracks, by Justin Time Records on July 10, 2012.

Recorded in 2009 at two different Oregon performances, Stages seamlessly fuses standards like "Summertime" and a sassy "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" with pop tunes like U2's "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." Interlacing these tunes are Loren's own original compositions, folky-pop tune "Free To Be Loved By Me" and, "They Oughta Write a Song," title track of her 2008 release. In addition, this newly enhanced release features two bonus tracks, "I'd Rather Go Blind," and "Nearness of You."

Stages features the complementary musical craftsmanship of Loren's longtime collaborators: pianist Matt Treder, bassist Mark Schneider, drummer and percussionist Brian West, and trumpeter Tim McLaughlin.

Our live shows are quite eclectic, and feature songs from even further outside the generally jazzier genre that is represented on our studio albums... we take chances, and some of these songs were examples of that," recalls Loren. "The rendition of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was the product of my coming to Matt Treder (piano) and saying, 'what if we try it as a ballad?'. We rehearsed it through one time, and then performed it on stage. Now it's on an album for the whole world to hear. The same is true for several of the original songs on Stages -- It was our first time performing them as a band outside of our rehearsal space. Sometimes things go right the first time around, and have their own kind of magic, and it's great to capture that when it happens."

Ultimately it is Loren's warm and playful delivery of these melodies that grants her the freedom to seemingly effortlessly join these eclectic genres together into one complete album. Stages thus, is the result of Loren's gifted ability to capture the intimate ambiance of a live performance into a timeless recording.

"Capturing the energy and spontaneity of a live performance is always one of my goals when recording in the studio," says Loren. "The innate quality of the 'live' sound and sparkle is my favorite part of creating a live CD... it's like inviting listeners from all over the world to attend a concert playing exclusively for them through their stereos or iPods. It makes the concert experience accessible to all. I'm thrilled to be able to share the newest version of Stages with fans around the globe."

Loren's sound has been compared to those of Diana Krall and Norah Jones. These comparisons are a reflection of Loren's cross-genre success. Her musical career started when Loren was just a teenager, winning first place at national songwriting contests in jazz, inspirational, and country music. Her mastery of diverse genres blends musical boundaries into a seamless sound that only Loren can deliver.

Although still in her twenties, Loren's voice has been inviting listeners into her intimate sound worldwide long before her release of Stages. Since 2005, she has released five albums. Loren's debut jazz album, They Oughta Write a Song (2008), awarded her "Best Vocal Jazz Album" at the 2009 JPF Music Awards. With distribution in Asia through JVC/Victor Entertainment, it became Japan's No. 2-selling jazz album of the year.

"Thirsty," Loren's original song from her album After Dark (2010), won the listener-determined Vox Pop award for best jazz song at the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards. After Dark awarded Loren "Artist of the Year," by online reviewer Wildy's World.

Heart First (2012), Loren's most recent release, showcases her craftsmanship for eclectic balance of jazz standards, re-imagined pop classics, as well as Loren's own original compositions. Heart First won Jazz Critique Magazine's "Golden (top) prize" for Best Vocal Album in its annual Jazz Audio Disc Awards 2011.

Collaborating with Grammy® Award-winning and chart-topping musicians and songwriters since she was a teenager, Stages is the manifestation of Loren's musical maturation. Her diverse musical background thus allows Loren to take creative liberties musically and vocally, depending on how she chooses to tell each story. As one reviewer comments, "her respect for the past is undeniable, while her finger on the pulse of modern music gives her songs a wide appeal that reaches far beyond jazz clubs." And that's just it, Loren doesn't appeal to merely one specific genre of like-minded listeners, she accomplishes something deeper, touching directly the hearts and souls of sentient beings throughout the world.

Loren's genre-crossing albums have reached No. 1 on Amazon Japan's jazz chart and are consistent top-ten contenders on jazz and pop radio. Success has brought Loren's music to ever-widening audiences, including sellout concerts at the Blue Note and the Cotton Club in Tokyo, headlining the Ginza Festival in 2010, and several consecutive tours in the US, Europe, and Asia.

A well-revered singer, songwriter, and musician, and also storyteller, Loren has finely crafted a live album that grants listeners all over the world intimate access to Loren's stage. Stages unites Loren and her listeners through one very sentient heartstring.

halieloren.com

THE PRESERVATION HALL 50TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION BOX SET

Fifty years after a former art gallery on St. Peter Street became a haven and platform for the surviving musicians who made New Orleans the birthplace of jazz, The Preservation Hall 50th Anniversary Collection box set celebrates their contributions. This deluxe 4-CD, 58-track collection will be available September 25 through Legacy Recordings.

The Preservation Hall 50th Anniversary Collection includes five previously unissued tracks that were recorded at Allen Toussaint's Sea-Saint Studios over the years: "In The Evening (When The Sun Goes Down)" (1967); "Precious Lord" (1970); "C. C. Rider" (1981); and "I Get The Blues When It Rains" and "Nellie Grey" (both 1986). After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the state-of-the-art studios in 2005, Preservation Hall producer and musician Ben Jaffe (son of original producer, Preservation Hall Jazz Band member and founder Allan Jaffe) was able to recover many of the tapes and restore a portion of the music.

In presenting its comprehensive history, The Preservation Hall 50th Anniversary Collection draws from 19 albums (and one bonus CD) that were recorded and released between 1962 and 2010, on the Atlantic Records, CBS Records, Sony Music, and Preservation Hall Recordings labels. Tracks are sequenced in non-chronological order, so the listener can appreciate the seamless transitions of the music and the musicians' lineups from decade to decade.

For example, on disc two, the 1995 recording of "(True) You Don't Love Me" (originally popularized by Little Miss Cornshucks), featuring Wendell Brunious on trumpet and vocal, and Narvin Kimball on banjo, is followed by 1962's "In The Sweet Bye And Bye," featuring George Lewis on clarinet and trombonist Big Jim Robinson. The latter is from the Atlantic sessions of July 1962, produced by Nesuhi Ertegun and engineered by Cosimo Matassa (inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2012, the man responsible for the career-defining hits of Fats Domino, Little Richard, Lee Dorsey, and many others).

They are followed by the venerable "I'll Fly Away" from American Legacies, the 2010 collaboration between Preservation Hall musicians and the Del McCoury Band; and then the 2001 PHJB lineup's version of "That Bucket's Got A Hole In It" with 'Tuba Fats' on vocals. Then it's back to the 1962 Atlantic sessions for "Love Song Of The Nile" with Billie Pierce on piano and vocals, De De Pierce on trumpet, bassist 'Papa' John Joseph, and George Lewis. Next comes a 2009 cover of Jimmie Rodgers' "Blue Yodel #9" by trumpeter Mark Braud, singer Clint Maedgen, and producer Ben Jaffe on tuba (as Jaffe reminds the reader that Rodgers' recording of the song with Louis Armstrong "was one of the first times a white artist and an African-American artist collaborated on record"). Then it's back to the 1962 lineup for their version of Armstrong's "Shine," and so on throughout the box set, as decades cojoin and the ultimate dream radio playlist evolves.

Moving the proceedings along and providing invaluable documentation are Ben Jaffe's song-by-song annotations. "Billie and De De Pierce were two of my favorite people," Jaffe notes of "Eh La Bas," the box set's first song. "They were incredibly sweet and generous with their time. I remember De De's leathery hands and Billie's short, stubby fingers. I was 5 years old when they gave me a Rock 'Em Sock 'Em robot for Christmas. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, the kind of gift you receive from your grandparents... 'Eh La Bas' is one of my favorite tunes... De De sings it in Creole... He spoke Creole to Billie... I could pick up every other word. It was like going to my grandparents' house and hearing them speak Yiddish... Even if you couldn't pick up the words, you knew what they meant!"

In 2009, on a break from the Jazz & Heritage Festival, Pete Seeger and his grandson Tao (with his bandmates in the Mammals, Michael Merenda and Ruth Ungar) showed up at the Hall to record "We Shall Overcome" with the PHJB.

As Jaffe notes: "Mr. Seeger was a hero to my parents. He was an inspiration to them, a guiding light, and acted as a steadfast moral gauge. I remember meeting Mr. Seeger for the first time almost 30 years ago late at night, down on the Canal Street wharf on the Spanish Plaza right where the U.S.S. President used to dock. During Jazz Fest, there used to be late night shows on the President. Mr. Seeger was sitting by the dock. He and our Dad exchanged a few niceties. I remember Mr. Seeger putting me on his lap and singing me a lullaby. It felt like being back in the womb. Being at Preservation Hall, playing 'We Shall Overcome' with Mr. Seeger and his grandson Tao, was one of the most beautiful and proudest moments of my life. I think our Dad would have really enjoyed being there that day."

In many ways, The Preservation Hall 50th Anniversary Collection is a family's story, and a tribute to Allan Jaffe (1935-1987). A trained musician from Pennsylvania, Jaffe frequently visited New Orleans when he served as a GI in the 1950s at Fort Polk, about four hours northwest of the Crescent City. He and his newlywed wife emigrated there in 1961, and fell into the second line of a parade that wound up at an art gallery. The owner actively promoted jam sessions at his gallery by the elder founding fathers of jazz. Most of them were born in the late 19th century, and had few outlets for their pure jazz (not Dixieland!) in the postwar era of the 1950s.

The aging gallery owner took a chance on the Jaffes, suggesting they take over the gallery lease, "with the idea," as Ben writes, "of our young parents formalizing the jam sessions into organized, nightly performances by the living legends of New Orleans Music, most of which had been forgotten, locked out by changes in the social landscape and the bottom line hustle of Bourbon Street." Allan Jaffe relished his role, not only as impresario but as tuba player (in lieu of string bass) at sessions.

Atlantic Records co-founder Nesuhi Ertegun's field trip of July 1962 was immortalized on the four Jazz At Preservation Hall LPs recorded there: Volume 1: The Eureka Brass Band of New Orleans; Volume 2: Billie & De De Pierce/ Jim Robinson's New Orleans Band; Volume 3: Paul Barbarin's Band/ Punch Miller's Bunch & George Lewis; and Volume 4: The George Lewis Band Of New Orleans. Six tunes from those LPs are heard on the 50th Anniverary Collection. The ages of the musicians at those seminal dates tell a story, among them 'Papa' John Joseph (85), Alcide 'Slow Drag' Pavageau (74), George Lewis (62), Punch Miller (68), Big Jim Robinson (69), and 'youngsters' Emanuel Sayles (55), Billie (55) and De De Pierce (58), and Louis Nelson (59). In connection with the Atlantic releases, newsman David Brinkley featured the Preservation Hall on the old NBC Nightly News.

Jaffe then took over as producer, and launched the Preservation Hall Recordings label. The first LPs were released in 1964, Sweet Emma And Her Preservation Hall Jazz Band (pianist Sweet Emma Barrett was 67 at the time); and in 1966, New Orleans' Billie And De De And Their Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

A decade later in 1976, the PHJB signed with CBS Records. Four LPs were issued over the next ten years, all produced by Jaffe, and simply titled New Orleans Volume I (1976), New Orleans Volume II (1981), New Orleans Volume III (1983, subtitled When The Saints Go Marchin' In, whence comes the version of the classic song heard on this box set), and New Orleans Volume IV (1986).

When Allan Jaffe died from melanoma in 1986, at age 51, Ben writes "It left a wide open hole in our immediate family and at Preservation Hall." A trained bassist whose life was inextricably bound up with the band, Ben went off to Oberlin College in 1989. Upon his graduation four years later, "I returned to New Orleans to manage the Hall and tour and record with the band on string bass. I was 22."

The following year, the band recorded the first of two albums for the Sony Music Masterworks division. From In The Sweet Bye And Bye (1994), produced by Ben (who played bass) and engineered by Delfeayo Marsalis, comes "Do Lord," featuring Ellis Marsalis on piano, Dr. Michael White on clarinet, and elder statesman Narvin Kimball (age 85) on banjo; and "Sing On" with young Wendell Brunious on trumpet, son of the band's great trumpeter John Brunious. The second Sony Music album was Because Of You (1995), again produced by Ben Jaffe (on bass) and (co-) engineered by Delfeayo Marsalis. From that album comes the aforementioned "(True) You Don't Love Me," a showcase for Wendell, who led the band for many years in the '90s.

Under Ben's guidance, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band flourished in the '90s and the '00s, continuing to release new albums, and becoming a worldwide touring attraction. They perform some 100 shows a year, bringing traditional New Orleans jazz to old and new audiences in the U.S. and on foreign soil. Ben lamented the passing of two childhood heroes, Percy Humphrey in 1994 (age 89) and his brother Willie Humphrey in 1995 (age 95). Banjo mentor Narvin Kimball passed away not long after Katrina; and the great John Brunious died in 2008 (age 67).

In 2010, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band released a landmark double-CD entitled Preservation: An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall & the Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program. Musicians from every strata flocked to the sessions, among those being the five who are featured on this new box set: Pete Seeger and clan on the aforementioned "We Shall Overcome"; Andrew Bird on "Shake It And Break It"; Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket on "Louisiana Fairytale"; Tom Waits on "Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing"; and Richie Havens on "Trouble In Mind." Among the many artists who collaborated on separate tracks for this project were Terence Blanchard, Brandi Carlile, Ani DiFranco, Dr. John, Steve Earle, Merle Haggard, Jason Isbell of Drive-By Truckers, Angelique Kidjo, Amy LaVere, Buddy Miller, Italy's Paolo Nutini, and others.

Among those 'others' was contemporary bluegrass star Del McCoury, who appeared on three tracks. The collaboration was so enjoyable that Del signed up his group the following year for a full album collaboration with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, entitled American Legacies. Two songs from that album, "I'll Fly Away" and "A Good Gal Is Hard To Find" are among the many highlights of this new set.

I get great pleasure," Ben writes, "out of a song that has been interpreted, reinterpreted and performed for years and is still as fresh and new as the day it was born... That's something music does... stretch time, overlap traditions, change history... New Orleans Music is meaningful... It is vital and full of life. It can be happy and joyous. It can be sad and mournful. It has no language barrier. It delivers a universal message we, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, carry with us everywhere we travel."

THE PRESERVATION HALL 50th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION PRESERVATION HALL JAZZ BAND

Disc One – Selections: 1. Band introduction by Allan Jaffe (live, 1972) * 2. Eh La Bas (E) * 3. Oh, Didn't He Ramble (I) * 4. I Get The Blues When It Rains (1986, previously unissued) * 5. St. James Infirmary (King Britt Remix) (P) * 6. Ice Cream (Q) * 7. In The Evening (When The Sun Goes Down) (1967, previously unissued) * 8. Down By The Riverside (C) * 9. Corinna, Corinna (L) * 10. I'm Alone Because I Love You (D) * 11. El Manicero (Q) * 12. Do Lord (J) * 13. St. James Infirmary (E) * 14. Just A Little While To Stay Here (G) * 15. Complicated Life (O) * 16. We Shall Overcome (S).

Disc Two – Selections: 1. His Eye Is On The Sparrow (N) * 2. Shake It And Break It (R) * 3. Nellie Grey (1986, previously unissued) * 4. When The Saints Go Marchin' In (H) * 5. Little Liza Jane (N) * 6. (True) You Don't Love Me (K) * 7. In The Sweet Bye And Bye (C) * 8. I'll Fly Away (T) * 9. That Bucket's Got A Hole In It (N) * 10. Love Song Of The Nile (A) * 11. Blue Yodel #9 (Q) * 12. Shine (A) * 13. Burgundy Street Blues (C) * 14. I Want A Little Girl (live, 1972) * 15. Chimes Blues (D).

Disc Three – Selections: 1. Whenever You're Lonesome (D) * 2. Lord, Lord, Lord, You Sure Been Good To Me (H) * 3. Sing On (J) * 4. Joe Avery (F) * 5. Louisiana Fairytale (R) * 6. Shake That Thing (N) * 7. Short Dressed Gal (Q) * 8. Freight Train Blues (E) * 9. Over In The Gloryland (O) * 10. A Good Man Is Hard To Find (D) * 11. Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning (B) * 12. I Ain't Got Nobody (G) * 13. Amen (F).

Disc Four – Selections: 1. Tootie Ma Is A Big Fine Thing (R) * 2. Bourbon Street Parade (I) * 3. I'm Confessin' (L) * 4. Le Petit Fleur (P) * 5. One More 'Fore I Die (T) * 6. Shake It And Break It (G) * 7. C. C. Rider (1981, previously unissued) * 8. That's A Plenty (M) * 9. Westlawn Dirge (Q) * 10. Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well? (O) * 11. Peanut Vendor (E) * 12. Trouble In Mind (R) * 13. A Good Gal Is Hard To Find (T) * 14. Precious Lord (1970, previously unissued).

Album index:
(A) – Jazz At Preservation Hall – Volume Two: Billie & De De Pierce/Jim Robinson's New Orleans Band (Atlantic Records, recorded 1962)

(B) from Jazz At Preservation Hall – Volume Three: Paul Barbarin's Band/Punch Miller's Bunch & George Lewis (Atlantic Records, rec. 1962)

(C) from Jazz At Preservation Hall – Volume Four: The George Lewis Band Of New Orleans (Atlantic Records, rec. 1962)

(D) from Sweet Emma And Her Preservation Hall Jazz Band (Preservation Hall Recordings, rec. 1964)

(E) from New Orleans' Billie And De De And Their Preservation Hall Jazz Band (Preservation Hall Recordings, rec. 1966)

(F) from Preservation Hall Jazz Band – New Orleans Volume I (CBS Records, rec. 1976)

(G) from Preservation Hall Jazz Band – New Orleans Volume II (CBS Records, rec. 1981)

(H) from Preservation Hall Jazz Band – When The Saints Go Marchin' In - New Orleans Volume III (CBS Records, rec. 1983)

(I) from Preservation Hall Jazz Band – New Orleans Volume IV (CBS Records, rec. 1986)

(J) from Preservation Hall Jazz Band – In The Sweet Bye And Bye (Sony Music, rec. 1994)

(K) from Preservation Hall Jazz Band – Because Of You (Sony Music, rec. 1995)

(L) from Preservation Hall Hot 4 with Duke Dejan (Preservation Hall Recordings, rec. 1996)

(M) from Songs Of New Orleans (Preservation Hall Recordings, rec. 1999)

(N) from Shake That Thing (Preservation Hall Recordings, rec. 2001)

(O) from Hurricane Sessions (Preservation Hall Recordings, rec. 2005, 2006)

(P) from Preservation Hot 4 – St. Peter Street Serenade (Preservation Hall Recordings, rec. 2008)

(Q) from New Orleans Preservation Volume 1 (Preservation Hall Recordings, rec. 2009)

(R) from PRESERVATION (Preservation Hall Recordings, rec. 2009)

(S) from PRESERVATION (Bonus Disc) (Preservation Hall Recordings, rec. 2009)

(T) from Preservation Hall Jazz Band & The Del McCoury Band – American Legacies (Preservation Hall Recordings, rec. 2010)

NEW RELEASES - THE BAHAMA SOUL CLUB, THE SONGS OF DON COVAY, THE CHEEBACABRA

THE BAHAMA SOUL CLUB – RHYTHM IS WHAT MAKES JAZZ JAZZ

Following the smashing success of The Juju Orchestra, the creative team around Oliver Belz has come up with the next step ... a delicious clash of Soul, Jazz and Bossa Nova with that unique vintage feel. So what do you expect from one of the brains behind the Juju’s brilliant ‘Bossa Nova Is Not A Crime’? … “Right”, you’ll get an impressive demonstration of the latest defining of superb dancefloor-jazz which makes this music welcome to DJ’s worldwide. Rhythm Is What Makes Jazz Jazz the long awaited debut-album with great vocal co-ops like charming Isabelle Antenna/Nouvelle Vague, exciting Pat Appleton/DePhazz, new Freestyle signing Malena and the incredible voice from Vienna Mrs. Bella Wagner - The massive appearance on playlists around the globe - from radio stations as well as established clubs - gave kudos to the producers. ~ beatport.com

HAVE MERCY! THE SONGS OF DON COVAY - VARIOUS ARTISTS

A wonderful testament to songwriting mastery of Don Covay – one of greatest singing and songwriting double threats ever – and if you didn't already know that, this excellent compilation will set you straight! No tribute to Covay the songwriter would be complete without Aretha Franklin's "Chain Of Fools" – but the set actually goes a lot deeper, with straight-up classic soul treasures, raucous R&B, stirring vocal tunes, some funk and funky rock. The reach is impressive, with the aforementioned Aretha hit, plus songs recorded by Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Joe Tex, The Staple Singers, Wanda Jackson, The Wailers, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Dee Clark, Connie Francis and more! 26 tracks in all, completed by a great set of notes: with "Three Time Loser" by Wilson Pickett, "You’re Good For Me" by Lena Horne, "Don't Drive Me Away" by Ben E King, the funky gem "Sookie Sookie" by Tina Britt, "She Said Yeah" by Joe Tex, "Watch The One Who Brings You The News" by Millie Jackson, "Long Tall Shorty" by The Graham Bond Originization, "Mon Cherie Au Revoir" by Arlene Smith and more. ~ Dusty Groove

THE CHEEBACABRA - PASS THE INFORMATION

The first record from Cheeba in many years – and definitely his funkiest so far! The production of this one is right on the money – filled with sharp, funky, 70s-styled riffs – very much in the best blacksploitation style from back in the day! Years back, we'd always like Cheeba's records, but sometimes found them rough around the edges – yet this time around, he's totally got it right – perfect production, just the right amount of space in between the grooves, and key help from some younger session players who really make the whole thing come out right – like a recreation of some hip 70s studio band. Titles include "Paisley Garden", "Looing For My Brother", "Message Force Multipliers", "Extend The Knowledge", "The Denunciation", "Return From Exile", and "2nd & Cedar". (Vinyl limited to 500 copies – with download too!) ~ Dusty Groove

CLASSICS REISSUED - GEORGE DUKE, MELBA MOORE, KOOL & THE GANG

GEORGE DUKE – GUARDIAN OF THE LIGHT

A funky concept album from George Duke! Guardians Of The Light is a full-on "musical fantasy" – with the story line laid out in the liner notes, yet still a bit difficult to follow – but we can't fault him for that when it's done in his masterful R&B-fusion-funk approach! George sings on all cuts, but he also gets some stellar vocal assistance from Jeffrey Osborne, Portia Griffin, and Patti Austin. The record also has some surprisingly sweet mellow moments that bring a deeper level of spacey soul to the out-there concept! Titles include "Born To Love You", "You Are The Light", "Reach Out", "Give Me Your Love", "Stand", "Soon", and "Fly Away". 3 bonus tracks on this FTG CD edition: "Reach Out (12" Version)", "Celebrate (Instrumental)" and "Brazilian Love Affair". ~ Dusty Groove

MELBA MOORE - BURN

Melba Moore is on fire here – eschewing ballads altogether for the first time – and lighting up a scorching late disco vibe! Burn is a tight, club-ready soul set from '79 that finds Melba with more input on the songwriting than she had on previous records. It's also a nice step in a slightly different direction, working here with producer Pete Bellotte – one of the creative engines that drove disco deeply into the mainstream! What's great, though, is that Melba is right up there sharing the driver's seat – she's not just the voice – she co-wrote each track on the album. That said, it's her voice that burns the most brightly, on songs that include "Burn", "Hot And Tasty", "If You Believe In Love", "Night People", "I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love", "Can't Give It Up", "Miss Thing" and "Need Love". 3 bonus tracks on this FTG CD edition: "Miss Thing (7" Version)", "Hot And Tasty (7" Version)" and "Burn (7" Version)". ~ Dusty Groove

KOOL & THE GANG – EVERYBODY’S DANCIN’

A nice one from Kool & The Gang – and kind of a transitional record for the group – falling directly between the hard funk and spacey jazz inspired earlier work and the chart-ready grooves that would follow soon after! They weren't about to abandon the heavy horn lines and some grittier grooves just yet – but they seem to know where the commercial winds are blowing – and they work a bit harder on the sweeter group vocals and some string-backed dancefloor soul sounds. Includes the slow-building title track, plus "Dancin' Shoes", "Big Chief's Funkum", "I Like Music" "It's All You Need", "Peace To The Universe" and "At The Party". ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES - THE SOUL REVOLUTION, KONKOMA, LOS CHARLY'S ORCHESTRA

THE SOUL REVOLUTION 2 – VARIOUS ARTISTS

The Soul Revolution 2 is a lovely compilation of uplifting soul music. The selected tracks comes from SouLab's catalogue and other innovative labels as Broadcite and Further Out. It's absolutly essential future soul business! Incl. tracks & remixes by Kaidi Tatham, T.Roy, Richard E, Slow Motion Replay, Allen Hoist & more. Includes tracks from Dan Electro, Allen Hoist, Isaac Aesili featuring Aaradhna & Buff1, Uptown Funk Empire, Slow Motion Replay, T. Roy, Richard E featuring Jennifer Moore, and Weeland & the Urban Soul Collective.

KONKOMA

A contemporary Afro combo, but one with a really unique twist – a focus on older Ghanaian styles of grooves, which makes them sound different than a lot of other groups of this nature! Unlike some of the more Nigerian-grooving groups out there these days, Konkoma take their inspiration from Ghana – and do a really good job of echoing the older funky styles we've been digging on compilations and reissues from the Soundway label – working here with a tight lineup of London musicians, and getting some sharp help in the studio from Nostalgia 77 and Prince Fatty! The sound is right in line with vintage work on Soundway – and honestly, the album could easily pass itself off as some under-discovered 70s rarity – just on the strength of its grooves. Titles include "Lie Lie", "Another Day", "Yoo Eh", "Jojo's Song", "Senture", "Me Kyin Kyin", "Sibashaya Woza", "Handkerchief", and "Accra Jump". ~ Dusty Groove

LOS CHARLY’S ORCHESTRA REMIXED BY CAPITAN FUTURO

Following the success of Los Charly’s Orchestra – The Latin Edition, the mighty Capitan Futuro has comes up with two monster remixes of the well acclaimed songs: “My Barrio & Jumping with Symphony Sid”.In contrast from the original sound of Los Charly’s Orchestra Mr Capitan Futuro has gone for cleaner sounding style, also adding some scratching and MCing to complete the NEO Latin-Funk formula. Capitan Futuro is Bruises n’ Cuts (Cast-A-Blast fame) and DJ Butcher (Chopshop fame). BnC is also the MC on Symphony Sid. Keyboards on My Barrio by Yannis Dimitriadis. He plays for Omar Faruk tekbilek amongst others and has a daily radio show on Cosmos radio Athens. ~ loscharlysmusic.com

CAETANO VELOSO CLASSIC ALBUMS REISSUED

CAETANO VELOSO - JOIA

A warm, wonderful and spare record from the mid 70s, with Caetano's voice out front, and minimal accompaniment by percussion, guitar, and keyboards. It's anything but a snoozer, though – it's got a deep rich sound, and excellent songs throughout – with even more of an emotional focus thanks to the ample spaces to be filled by Caetanos vocals! Nothing but great tracks, including "Joia", "Lua, Lua, Lua, Lua", "Minha Mulher", and his excellent cover of "Help", sung in a breathy ballad with a twist that's totally different than the Beatles' version! Great stuff – and a real fave around the DGA offices! 2 bonus tracks on this Japanese CD edition: "Let It Bleed" and "Encando (Nature Boy)". (SHMCD pressing.) ~ Dusty Groove

CAETANO VELOSA – MUITOS CARNAVAIS

A lively album that mixes Caetano's rich songwriting style with a hard percussive base, which gives the tracks a fast jumpy feel, and gives even more power to Caetano's strong voice. There's little psychedelic bits, with good guitars that get noisy in parts, but there's also a warm MPB feel to the LP. Kind of hard to describe, but another unique bit of brilliance from one of the true geniuses of pop music in the 20th century. Tracks include "Um Frevo Novo", "Chuva, Suor E Cerveja", "Cara a Cara", "Qual e, Baiana?", and "La Barca". This Japanese CD edition has 6 bonus tracks: ""Barao Beleza", "E Coisa Do Destino", "Frevo Do Trio Electrico", "O Bater Do Tambor" and "Samba Da Cabeca". (SHMCD pressing.) ~ Dusty Groove

CAETANO VELOSO - BICHO

Sweetly jazzy, funky, and soulful work from Caetano Veloso – a great departure from some of his headier work of the early 70s – and proof that he still sounds great, even when in sweetly melodic territory! The album's got some full backings from Perinho Albuquerque, but the sound is never commercial or slick – just more in the mode of some of Caetano's other 70s contemporaries, particularly some of the groovier artists over at Odeon/EMI! There's sweet keyboards, nice guitar riffs, and other somewhat soulful elements that really bring a warm glow to the best tracks here – and Caetano's vocals, although gentle at times, have a great way of fitting right in with the groove. Titles include "Gente", "Um Indio", "O Leaozinho", "Odara", and "Alguem Cantando". 2 bonus tracks on the Japanese CD edition: "A Ra" and "Diamante Verdadeiro". (SHMCD pressing.) ~ Dusty Groove

CAETANO VELOSO - MUITO

A late 70s gem from Caetano – masterfully understated, and handled in a mature "no tricks" mode, one that he began adopting strongly as he increased his abilities in songwriting and arranging. The tracks are less crazy than on earlier records, but they're also much more well-constructed, with freshly-selected instrumentation, great little hooks, and excellent vocals from Caetano. Titles include "Terra", "Quem Cochicha o Rabo Espicha", "Muito", "Sampa", and "Ca Ja". 2 bonus tracks on this Japanese CD edition: "Amante Amado" and "Pecado Original". (SHMCD pressing.) ~ Dusty Groove

CAETANO VELOSO - TRANSA

Some of the most beautiful work ever recorded by Caetano Veloso – an album that carries on the style of English language lyrics used on his session in exile in 1971, but which also introduces him back to the world of Brazilian popular music! The album's a great transition for Veloso – a set that's served up with some of the newly personal qualities his music developed in London, but which still has a good ear for experimentation and keeping things interesting. Titles include the wonderful "Nine Out Of Ten" – a haunting tune about his time in exile – plus "Neolithic Man", "Nostalgia", "Triste Bahia", "It's A Long Way", and "You Don't Know Me". (SHMCD pressing.) ~ Dusty Groove

CONCORD MUSIC RELEASES BOOKER T & THE MGs' 'GREEN ONIONS'

Concord Music Group will release Booker T. & the MGs' Green Onions as part of its Stax Remasters series. Enhanced by 24-bit remastering by Joe Tarantino, two live bonus tracks and newly written liner notes by Grammy Award-winning Stax historian Rob Bowman, the reissue not only spotlights one of the most entertaining and influential soul and R&B recordings of the 1960s, but also reaffirms the album's enduring nature a half-century after its original release.

Underscoring the historical significance of this 1962 recording is the recent decision by the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, to add the album's widely recognized title track to the National Recording Registry. The song was selected for preservation because it is "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant," according to a Library of Congress announcement at the end of May 2012.

"Green Onions," the leadoff track to the album of the same name, was a number one single on the Billboard R&B chart - a rare accomplishment for an instrumental track - and eventually climbed to number three on the Billboard Hot 100. But the title track is just one song on a watershed album by the instrumental R&B combo that served as the house band for the Stax label and the backup unit for some of the most iconic soul and R&B artists to record there in the 1960s, says Nick Phillips, Concord's Vice President of Catalog A&R and a producer of the Stax Remasters series.

"Beyond ‘Green Onions,' which was their biggest hit single," says Phillips, "there are so many other great songs on this album which Booker T. & the MGs transformed into timeless R&B instrumental classics, like ‘Comin' Home Baby,' ‘Twist and Shout,' and Ray Charles's ‘I Got a Woman.' No matter what song they started with, by the time they were done with it, it was uniquely and unmistakably their own."
The album's original 12 tracks are executed by the lean but formidable roster of organist Booker T. Jones, guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Lewis Steinberg, and drummer Al Jackson, Jr. The reissue also includes two bonus tracks - live renditions of "Green Onions" and "Can't Sit Down," both recorded at the 5/4 Ballroom in Los Angeles in August 1965. These extra tracks - which Bowman describes in his liner notes as "turbo-charged, extended, uber-muscular versions" - include Donald "Duck" Dunn replacing Steinberg on bass and joined by Packy Axton on saxophone on "Can't Sit Down."

"In the annals of American music, there have been only a handful of rhythm sections that have all but single-handedly set the course for a whole genre of music," says Bowman. "In the case of Booker T. & the MGs, the genre in question is Southern soul music. Although Southern soul has its roots in select 1950s recordings by James Brown, Sam Cooke, and Ray Charles, the genre coalesced in the early and mid-'60s at Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where Booker T. & the MGs served as the ‘house band.'"
He concludes: "Together, Green Onions and the live cuts from the 5/4 Ballroom provide a good sense of the very early days of the incomparable Booker T. & the MGs . . . Soul simply doesn't get much better."

~ Concord Music

ART GARFUNKEL’S THE SINGER

Includes 34 Songs Hand Picked By Garfunkel On 2-CD Collection From Simon & Garfunkel Years And Solo Work

Pulling together all the roots and branches of Art Garfunkel’s remarkable career in music, The Singer, is a 34-song collection of songs hand-picked by the artist himself. Spanning the years from the first Simon & Garfunkel album of 1964 (Wednesday Morning, 3AM) up through 2007’s Great American Songbook album (Some Enchanted Evening), this two-CD retrospective will be available at all physical and digital retail outlets starting August 28.

The voice and soul of a true American poet have illuminated the work of Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Art Garfunkel for nearly five decades. It is there on record – the Simon & Garfunkel LPs of 1964 to 1970 on Columbia, and his deep catalog as a solo artist starting in 1973 (the first seven albums also on Columbia) – as well as in film, and on the printed page (his 1987 collection of prose poetry, Still Water). Five-time Grammy Award®-winner Art Garfunkel has always approached every new project with the poet’s perspective.

As Garfunkel explained the essence of his artistry to Esquire, “We didn't push for exaggerating one's contribution… There are many songs where I am a shadow. Many songs, I was a silvery edge around Paul Simon's coffee-brown lead front part. As the record emerged, you go, ‘That's what it is. Those are the two personalities. That's what's happening.’ And the sound is lovely as long as the composite works.”

In addition to curating The Singer, Garfunkel provides his own personal track-by-track annotations, which appear in the booklet in his handwritten form. The notes are as unique as Garfunkel himself. He writes of “Cecilia,” the S&G hit single from 1970: “‘Car!’ we called in Queens. Then we stopped the game and stepped aside. I grew up where the brick houses were semi-attached with driveways in between. Punchball was king. Somehow the yelling we did as street kids found its way to ‘Cecilia.’ We shouted the song over a track we made from a tape loop of rhythmic hand clapping onto our blue jeans.”

The weaving of songs from the Simon & Garfunkel repertoire with songs from Art Garfunkel’s repertoire as a solo artist is one of the hallmarks of The Singer, as the collection takes on a timeless air, moving back and forth through time in a seamless pattern.

Garfunkel’s work with Simon generated eight Grammy Awards®, starting with the two won by “Mrs. Robinson” (from the movie The Graduate) at the ceremony in 1969, namely Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Pop Performance/ Duo or Group. Two years later, Bridge Over Troubled Water was voted Album of the Year, and the title song swept Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Contemporary Song, Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists, and Best Engineered Recording. (In 1977, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” received England’s prestigious Britannia Award as the Best International Pop LP and Single of the previous 25 years.) Garfunkel added another Grammy Award® to his shelf in 1998, when his album Songs From a Parent To a Child was named Best Children’s Album.

Garfunkel has also maintained a steady presence on the silver screen. After working with director Mike Nichols on The Graduate soundtrack, Garfunkel followed up with feature roles in Nichols’ Catch-22 (1969) and Carnal Knowledge (1971, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Supporting Actor), opposite Ann-Margret, Candice Bergen and Jack Nicholson. Garfunkel went on to garner acclaim for roles in Nicholas Roeg's award-winning Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession with Theresa Russell and Harvey Keitel (1980); Good To Go (1986); the controversial Jennifer Lynch film, Boxing Helena (1993); and most recently in 2010, The Rebound with Justin Bartha.

The life and times of Art Garfunkel course throughout The Singer, especially felt in the reverence for songs that make up the American pop vernacular. Two of Garfunkel’s signature performances hit #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary (AC) chart: “I Only Have Eyes For You” (a 1930s tune that became a hit for the Flamingos in 1959, revisited by Garfunkel on 1975’s Breakaway LP, the song also hit #1 in the UK); and Sam Cooke’s “(What A) Wonderful World” (from 1978’s Watermark), in which Garfunkel was famously joined by Simon and James Taylor.

Garfunkel’s roster of #1 AC hits also includes “All I Know” (his debut single as a solo artist in 1973, a Jimmy Webb composition); the 1975 reunion duet with Simon on “My Little Town” (premiered on the second show of NBC’s Saturday Night Live); and “Breakaway” (written by England’s Gallagher & Lyle, one of the three consecutive #1 AC hits from the Breakaway LP, along with “I Only Have Eyes For You” and “My Little Town”).

In addition to all the aforementioned, The Singer contains many more examples of Garfunkel’s unerring way with pop tunes from our collective past: “Disney Girls” (from the Beach Boys’ Surf’s Up); “I Wonder Why” (via Dion & the Belmonts); “When A Man Loves A Woman” (Percy Sledge); “Cryin’ In The Rain” (a duet with James Taylor, via the Everly Brothers, an early Carole King-Howie Greenfield composition); and “Two Sleepy People,” the 1930s Hoagy Carmichael-Frank Loesser chestnut that captivated a new generation in 1955 when it was sung by James Dean and Natalie Wood in Rebel Without A Cause.

Finally, The Singer continues to underscore Garfunkel’s near-lifelong association with the music of composer Jimmy Webb. After recording 1978’s Watermark with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, which contained 10 Webb compositions, Garfunkel said in his understated manner, “I like the idea of inviting people to consider this man... Jimmy Webb.” The Singer contains some rarely anthologized Webb tunes recorded over the years by his friend: “Scissors Cut,” “In Cars,” and “All I Know.”

“Never mind the transience of show business and popularity,” Garfunkel told Esquire. “When we hear Ray Charles, we go, ‘That’s a great singer.’ You don’t need a reporter or a writer to tell us. Good is good and it should shine through the years.”

ART GARFUNKEL: THE SINGER tracklist
CD 1
1. Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon and Garfunkel)
2. All I Know (with Jimmy Webb)
3. Perfect Moment (with Buddy Mondlock and Maia Sharp)
4. For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her (Simon and Garfunkel)
5. Cryin’ in the Rain (with James Taylor)
6. I Only Have Eyes For You (with Nicky Hopkins)
7. 99 Miles From LA
8. (What A) Wonderful World (with James Taylor and Paul Simon)
9. Bright Eyes
10. Two Sleepy People
11. Skywriter
12. Scarborough Fair/Canticle (Simon and Garfunkel)
13. Some Enchanted Evening
14. The Promise
15. The Thread (with Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock)
16. Lena (featuring Dean Parks)
17. Barbara Allen

CD 2
1. Kathy’s Song (Simon and Garfunkel)
2. Long Way Home (with Maia Sharp)
3. Scissors Cut
4. The Sound of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel)
5. Breakaway (with Graham Nash and David Crosby)
6. So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright (Simon and Garfunkel)
7. Waters of March (with Billy Payne)
8. The Decree (with Amy Grant)
9. I Wonder Why (with Kenny Rankin)
10. Disney Girls (with Bruce Johnston and Toni Tennille)
11. My Little Town
12. O Come All Ye Faithful (with Eric Weissberg)
13. A Heart in New York (with Michael Brecker)
14. I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face
15. April Come She Will (Simon and Garfunkel)
16. When a Man Loves a Woman (with Jeremy Steig and Michael Brecker)
17. In Cars

NEW RELEASES - OUTERATTIK, FRED LONBERG-HOLM, BIBI TANGA & THE SELENITES

OUTERATTIK - THE ATTIC

Downtempo, acid jazz, and chillout fans will enjoy Outerattik’s The Attic EP, from UK-based jazz musician and producer Jamie Smith, The Attic consists of four tracks of funked up acid jazz that were inspired by Jamie’s memories of discovering music through his parents’eclectic vinyl collection that were stored in the attic. Outerattik has already been featured recently on radio shows and podcasts, such as Ipswich 105.7 FM’s Electric Soul Show, Dave’s Lounge podcast, Rootdown FM, and Lord Bubba’s Nu-Jazz Funk Radio podcast. The track "Nineties Man" is the opening track on the French chillout compilation Lounge Masters Vibes Vol. 2, released in May 2012. The EP also received positive feedback from the UK’s Chill radio station, which complimented the “lovely electric piano” and said the music was “very expressive and chilled”. Jamie has been interviewed and the EP featured in the popular blog Downtemposcape, where the release received praise from editor DJ EROK. Other tracks are "Electro Funk #50," "What For No?," and "Attic Faery." ~ outerattick.com

FRED LONBERG-HOLM - FAST
CITIZENS GATHER

Fred Lonberg-Holm at his collaborative best – working with a great group of Chicago citizens, each of whom shape the others' sound in the set! Parts of the record have Lonberg-Holm's older style of arch avant energy – an almost academic mode that comes across with thoughtfully expressive passages. Yet other sides of the music are much more freewheeling – and almost swinging, which is quite a change for Fred – but a welcome one too! Things never get too conventional, as the older modes grab back the newer ones from time to time – making for a rich set of sounds that come from Lonberg-Holm on cello and guitar, Aram Shelton on alto and clarinet, Keefe Jackson on tenor and bass clarinet, Josh Berman on cornet, Anton Hatwich on bass, and Frank Rosaly on drums – and, oddly, at some point nearly every band member plays some form of trumpet, too. Titles include "Infra Pass", "It's A Tough Grid", "Later News", "Lazy Day", "Roses", and "Simpler Days". ~ Dusty Groove

BIBI TANGA & THE SELENITES - 40° Of SUNSHINE

Parisian groove theorists Bibi Tanga and The Selenites return in 2012 with 40° of Sunshine, their second release for the Nat Geo Music label. 40° of Sunshine was recorded in the studio after a two month African tour, and it's the group's most warm, relaxed and deeply poetic recording yet. Bibi explains of the title track, "'40° of Sunshine' takes some poetic license. It's a story that imagines what would happen if alcohol were replaced by liquid sunshine; 40 ounces of bottled sunshine." A relaxed, collective approach paid off with funky synchronicities and poetic couplings on tracks like "Poet of the Soul" - built around a slippery funk groove married to lines from poet Walt Whitman's masterpiece "Leaves of Grass" - and "Laughing Song" - based around a poem by canonical English poet William Blake. "Banda a gui koua" introduces guest singer Emma Lamadji, who appears on seven of the album's tracks. One track, "My Heart Is Jumping," has a darker backstory than the rest, as Bibi recounts: "the track is built around Professeur Inlassable‘s loops of an obscure 1930s recording, which had a woman singing the words, 'my heart is jumping.' Two days after le Professeur made the loop he had a little heart attack of his own. 40° of Sunshine is such a surprising and satisfying listen - you never know where your head will roam, but your feet will always be firmly planted on the dancefloor. ~ giantstep.net

LAISSEZ LES BONS TEMPS ROULER @ NEWPORT JAZZ FESTIVAL

with Dr. John & The Lower 911, Jon Cleary, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Catherine Russell and Jonathan Batiste



Asset Management will laissez les bons temps rouler on Friday, August 3, at 8:00 pm at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino with a tribute to the birthplace of Jazz. Bourbon Street Comes to Bellevue Avenue: Newport Salutes New Orleans will dish up the sounds of Dr. John and the Lower 911 featuring Jon Cleary, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in a 50th Anniversary celebration and special guests Catherine Russell and Jonathan Batiste.

In addition to the swinging music, the evening will include some of the Big Easy's next best thing - food. Newport's own Russell Morin Fine Catering will offer New Orleans-style Shrimp Po' Boys, Cajun Chicken and Tasso Jambalaya and Southern Pecan Tarts for purchase.


Catherine Russell
(photo: Stefan Falke)

Jazz fans are also invited to participate in A Newport Summer Tradition!, an exclusive cocktail party hosted by the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino, 194 Bellevue Avenue, on Friday, 6:30pm - 7:45pm. The annual event features great music, food and beverages, and is the perfect kick-off to the Newport Jazz Festival concert. Tickets are $40 for Tennis Hall of Fame members / $50 for Non-Members. For tickets and more information regarding the cocktail party, please visit http://www.tennisfame.com/news-and-events/events/2012-08 or call (401) 849-3990.



Dr. John
(photo: Lisa Houlgrave)



Tickets for this and all Newport Jazz Festival® events are available at the local office, 770 Aquidneck Avenue in Middletown. Office hours are Tuesday through Friday, Noon - 6:00 pm, and Saturday, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm. The office accepts cash, checks and all major credit cards. To purchase on line, visit www.newportjazzfest.net. To charge by phone, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-8000. General admission single-day tickets and two-day passes for the Newport Jazz Festival events at Fort Adams State Park can also be purchased at the Visitors Center at 23 America's Cup Avenue in Newport. Log on to www.gonewport.com for office hours.



The Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management, featuring Pat Metheny, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Dianne Reeves, Dr. John, Jack DeJohnette, Maria Schneider Orchestra, Jason Moran & the Bandwagon and others, takes place August 3 - 5 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino and Fort Adams State Park. For the complete line-up and more information, visit www.newportjazzfest.net or call the Newport Festivals Foundation hotline at (401) 848-5055.

OLA ONABULE - SEVEN SHADES DARKER

If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it a thousand times: Those British singers are the only ones making decent soul music these days. I can refute that statement by identifying the deep bench of indie soul singers from the states. I’ll just say that Gregory Porter, Sy Smith, et. al., beg to differ and leave it at that. However, it’s clear that something is brewing across the pond, and that something explains why a lot of American singers have to venture across the pond to get any love.

It’s also true that the output from European soul singers – and especially those with connections to the United Kingdom – is quite impressive. Adele immediately comes to mind, but there’s Corinne Bailey Rae, James Hunter, Incognito, Mama’s Gun, Julie Dexter and veterans such as Sade. There’s clearly a British formula for making soul music and Ola Onabule – the velvety voiced Brit of Nigerian descent - perfects it on Seven Shades Darker, his follow-up to 2007’s excellent The Devoured Man.

How good is this record? If you can make it past “Every Prey,” the album’s opening track without putting the stereo, computer or MP.3 player on repeat you’re better than I, and I’m guaranteeing that you won’t make it past “Let Love Alone,” which is track three. Both possess a unique set of virtues: “Every Prey” is an up-tempo funk/pop hybrid that is distinguished by Onabule’s razor sharp lyricism and some horn play that might remind listeners of Chicago. “Let Love Alone,” is a classic R&B ballad that finds Onabule encouraging his woman not to be consumed by insecurity. “She may turn phrases I’ve heard you say/And yet not make me feel what they mean,” Onabule sings. “Let Love Alone” features an instrumental arrangement that fuses jazz and R&B and serves as the perfect platform for Onabule’s vocal dexterity.

Onabule’s willingness to explore social themes also elevates Seven Shades Darker. The percussive “Great Expectations” tells the story of a young man who summons the courage to flee his war-torn village in hopes of finding something better, while the pensive “A Name” describes how something as simple as a name can provide enough evidence to lead to a man being persecuted. “So what’s in a name/that begs you heed its call/and binds you in its thrall/Tells of where you hail/What flag of faith you sail.” The funky “The Desperate One” addresses the hopelessness that drives many economically disadvantaged youth to make bad decisions.

It’s a tribute to the beauty of Onabule’s vocal instrument, his skill as a songwriter and his talented musicians that none of these songs comes off as preachy or overbearing. Onabule ranges from affairs of the heart to affairs of state, but each song is connected by their quality proving that the time that elapsed between The Devoured Man and Seven Shades Darker was time well spent. Highly Recommended.

~ Howard Dukes
   Soultracks.com

ERIC BENET - THE ONE

Eric Benet recently declared in an interview with BoomBox that “This is the one. This is the one that I’ve been working toward my entire career. I’m stronger vocally, creatively, and I’m at the top of my game now. This is the purest representation of Eric Benet.” I couldn’t agree more. While Benet has had his share of seminal soul classics including his preternaturally good solo debut album, True To Myself, his products have been a rollercoaster ride in strength and depth. At his best, Benet has been an R&B song and voice talent to be reckoned with, at his worst his material can meander into generic schmaltz and clichéd melodies. Still, Benet’s star has endured through media drama and label transitions to inexplicably overcome an industry in decline and to reach his creative apex. This may be the best album Eric Benet has crafted since his benchmark introduction some 16 years ago as that young matinee idol tenor with the permanent five o’clock shadow.

It’s taken Eric Benet Jordan a Mississippi minute to reclaim his identity following his high-profile marriage and divorce from Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry, including late night comedian digs about Benet’s reported “sex addiction” (Benet has since clarified with Ebony/Jet that he is not a sex addict). Long before he became tabloid fodder, Benet was set to take the mantle of R&B King as one of the most compelling soul singers of his generation. After separating from his sister, Lisa, and cousin, George Nash Jr., as a member of the band Benet and appearing on Michael Franks’ Dragonfly, the singer, songwriter, producer had a run of back-to-back hits that received both critical and commercial acclaim, including “Femininity,” “Let’s Stay Together,” “When You Think of Me” (feat. Roy Ayers), “Georgy Porgy” (feat. Faith Evans), and the million-selling crossover pop hit “Spend My Life with You” (feat. Tamia).

Then, Benet married Berry and suddenly he was framed in the media as someone benefiting from her shine, rather than it being a pairing of the movie beauty with an artist who’d worked hard to have a great deal of shine all his own. It didn’t help public perception that his 2001 Better and Better project was shelved by Warner Bros. and Benet didn’t release another full-length solo project for most of his marriage to Berry -- instead guest-starring on soundtracks like The Ride, other stars’ vehicles like Something for the People’s This Time It’s Personal and several smooth jazz projects.

By the time the semi-confessional Hurricane came out in 2005, Benet’s marriage was over and it was high ridicule season of him in the tabloids. Benet salvaged his reputation when the title track, initially dismissed, became an inspiring song of hope for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, showing up on charity benefits and products supporting the survivors. Despite yielding a Top 30 R&B hit with “I Want to Be Loved,” Hurricane was the least successful of Benet’s catalog at the time. In the years since, Benet became methodical about reconstructing his career (now as an independent artist) and fully recovering his standing and his legion of fans with 2008’s Love & Life and 2010’s Lost In Time, delivering a string of Top 20 and 40 R&B hits, including: “Chocolate Legs,”“You’re The Only One,” and “Sometimes I Cry.”

Releasing a project every two years can be a gift and a curse. It keeps an artist in the public eye, but sometimes material can be rushed out too soon as with the lackluster, ‘70s inspired Lost In Time. With co-producers George Nash Jr., Andy Duncan, Wayne Jobson, and the incomparable Osunlade, Benet does not have that issue this go-round. With very few missteps, Benet’s The One is an inspired and comprehensive offering from start to finish. “Real Love,” the Top 40 R&B single released last year, trumpeted a return of pristine vocal form by Benet, whose skyscraping falsetto has grown to rival that of Earth Wind & Fire’s Phillip Bailey, Enchantment’s E.J. Johnson, or After 7’s Kevon Edmonds. Throughout The One, Eric Benet proves his voice is now a promise fulfilled. His thumping follow-up, “Harriett Jones,” has a mid-tempo groove that’s the perfect entry for summer but doesn’t come close to the blessing that is “News for You.”

With its EWF doo wop opening and rising harmonic choruses, on “News for You” Benet delivers a steppers delight that doesn’t skip on a horn chart equal to any of the brass sections the ‘70s soul enthusiast admires. The rollicking “Redbone Girl” (feat. Lil Wayne) rolls with enough swinging horns and swelling organ rolls to make James Brown proud. Despite the controversy it has inspired, the song isn’t the offensive cut some colorists are making it out to be (the man did sing an ode to brown-skinned girls just two albums ago, ya’ll). With an unexpected break and minimalist conclusion, “Waitin” nicely completes the big band classic soul cuts. The album is full of bright, yet romantic sounds like these, bursting with live orchestrations that add energy and warmth to each track. These robust songs feel expensive and well-crafted, worthy of an artist of Benet’s stature but rarely heard as vets approach their 20 year mark in the industry.

Word is “Muzik” (feat. India Benet) may be the next single. A father-daughter duet can be a sticky affair; one wants to avoid both an ick factor or obvious G-rated pandering. Benet beats these concerns by kicking up the jam factor with a metaphorical tribute to his daughter and their struggles over the years that has just enough funk, infectious hooks, and exceptional vocal work from India Benet that one totally forgets this a song between a parent and child. The vamp out alone may make it the kind of single that burrows itself into the memory bank and keeps you humming its tune.

Ballads are spare here but elegant in their craftsmanship, maintaining a class even when the topics run salacious. Against trickling piano runs, brushed drums, and swirling brass, Osunlade maintains his winning record of production brilliance with “Come Together,” a quiet storm that seductively asks the kind of question Tank provocatively asked on his famed sexual healing cut, “When.” The standout, breathy ballad “Touching Again” takes brooding colors and signature chords heard on such Benet classics as "A Love of My Own” and "All in the Game," adding subtly driving lyrics and rhythms that will leave listeners breathless (sadly it is one only available on the International Deluxe Edition). For those deejays who still play slow jams for the dancefloor, Benet rounds out this trio of smoldering material with a traditional urban AC hip-to-hip sway with “Runnin’.”

The pop and country departures on “The One” illustrate Benet’s versatility, but some dip into his penchant for the cloying. A Nashville inspired duet with Jewel Anguay, with its pitch perfect acoustic guitar strums, surprises listeners like a field of daffodils on a golden lit day. The Broadway lullaby of “Here in My Arms (Lucia’s Lullaby)” is sonically a spare and tender moment by an awestruck father to his newborn daughter, but Ruzann Sargsyan’s borderline cliché classical string arrangement and Benet’s sentimental lyricism (co-penned with new wife Manuela Testolini) leave it just shy of the “Awww” reward it strives so hard to earn. “Gonna Be My Girl” and “Lay It Down” find Benet solidly tip-toeing into pure Top 40 radio pop; neither anthemic melody is indicative of the originality Benet is capable of, but each is serviceable and are likely to grow on you through repetition. Whatever they don’t deliver, a ‘90s throwback ballad to Glenn Lewis’s “Falling Again,” the sultry, Latin-tinged “That’s My Lady,” fully recovers, leaving listeners twirling in flamenco breaks and electric guitar solos that crown the jam Benet’s own. The peppy Shaggy duet “Hope That It’s You” is infectious, Caribbean fun.

Though part of what makes Eric Benet’s The One work are its familiar and sometimes obscure reference points throughout the project, Benet always brings a twist to these comfy proceedings, making something new each time: changing a chord here, adding a break there, incorporating an instrumental solo with backing harmonies. Never are you bored by these journeys to past musical sounds that have been so lovingly and careful updated for modern soul audiences. Both in its gifts and challenges, The One is the perfect portrait of Benet’s artistry. Its inviting lyrics of triumph, relationships, and love are also reflective of an artist, new husband and father who has learned some hard lessons about life and this business of music, only to finally find both his personal and creative lives right at home. Highly recommended.

~ L. Michael Gipson
   Soultracks.com

DAVE EGGAR - KINGSTON MORNING

Grammy-nominated cellist, pianist, composer and producer Dave Eggar is a virtuoso of many styles. He has performed worldwide as a solo cellist and pianist, as well as with his band Deoro. Dave has performed and recorded with artists in numerous genres including Josh Groban, Coldplay, Beyonce, The Who, Michael Brecker, Pearl Jam, Joss Stone, Fall Out Boy, Dave Sanborn, Kathleen Battle, Ray Lamontagne, Carly Simon, Sinead O’Connor, Bon Jovi and many more. Eggar has toured extensively as the solo cellist with the rock band Evanescence and with singer Amy Lee, including performances on The View, PBS, The Tonight Show, MTV and VH1.

Dave's 4th solo release, Kingston Morning, was recorded in Brooklyn, NY, Kingston, Jamaica, and Big Stone Gap, Va. It was released on Domo Records in late April 2010. "This project was an especially moving and emotional recording for me to make,” divulged Eggar. “With open minds and open hearts, our lives were forever changed as these unique Reggae and Appalachian collaborations took shape. My imagination has always been captivated by the music and culture of Jamaica and Appalachia. These journeys to Kingston and Big Stone Gap were truly a life altering experience for me. I am especially proud of the music that has been produced as a result of our efforts.”

Eggar was a musical prodigy as a child, beginning to play the cello and piano at age three and performing on Broadway and at the Metropolitan Opera by age seven. He trained as a classical cellist at the Juilliard School and later graduated from Harvard University and the Juilliard School’s Doctoral Program. He debuted in Carnegie Hall at 15 as the youngest winner in the history of the Artists International competition. He has appeared throughout the world as a classical soloist, including concerto appearances at Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, London’s Barbican Center, the Paris Opera, and the Hollywood Bowl.

ST. GERMAIN'S 'TOURIST' REMASTERED FOR RE-RELEASE

St. Germain's Legendary Electronic Album 'Tourist ' Remastered For CD, Vinyl & Digital Release By Blue Note/EMI On August 28th - Includes an iTunes LP with Previously Unreleased Bonus Track

First released in 2000, the legendary electronic album Tourist by veteran French DJ and producer St Germain (Ludovic Navarre) has been digitally remastered (44kHz/24bit) for reissue on CD, 180-gram double gatefold vinyl (with download code), and digitally on August 28th by Blue Note/EMI. The album's first-ever digital release will include a Mastered for iTunes version and an iTunes LP with a previously unreleased bonus track, "Touristes," performed live by the legendary French singer, composer and author, Claude Nougaro.

St Germain's second album, Tourist achieved the number one position on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, and the album and its creator won France's most prestigious music award, the Victoires de la Musique, in jazz, live performance, and electronic categories (Jazz Discovery of the Year, Live Discovery, and Best Electronic Album). In the Netherlands, the album was honored with three Edison Music Awards (Best Instrumental Album, Best Dance Album, and Best Jazz Album). St Germain was also nominated for Best French Act by the MTV Europe Music Awards and Best Jazz Act by the MOBO Awards.

With more than three million copies sold worldwide, Tourist is an electronic music staple featuring nine evocative, jazz-infused tracks still heard at clubs, restaurants and fashion shows around the world. Diamond-certified in France and Platinum or multi-Platinum in Belgium, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, Austria, Italy, Ireland, Norway, and Portugal, the album is an influential entry in the electronic music genre.

In his four-star Rolling Stone review of the album, David Fricke praised St Germain's skilled electronic-meets-jazz approach: "A sly dog with a disciple's touch, Navarre shows respect for the spirit, if not the letter, of classic jazz. He gives his live soloists, including trumpeter Pascal Ohse and saxophonist-flutist Edouard Labor, room to breathe, if not blow wild." Rolling Stone later touted Tourist as one of 2000's best albums.

In December 1995, St Germain became the first electro wave artist to perform onstage with musicians (at the Les Transmusicales in Rennes, France), and he has headlined more than 280 shows around the world. Tourist's release was supported with a sold out international tour which included concerts in France, North America, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Israel, Spain, Portugal, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Greece, Turkey, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and China.

www.facebook.com/StGermainOfficial

St Germain Tourist (CD, LP, digital, iTunes LP)
1. Rose Rouge
2. Montego Bay Spleen
3. So flute
4. Land of...
5. Latin Note
6. Sure Thing
7. Pont des Arts
8. La goutte d'or
9. What You Think About...

~ Blue Note/EMI