The Sweet Soul Music Series Featuring Top Tracks From 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1975

A massive batch of music – and almost as worth it for the overall package as it is for the great tunes inside! Like other volumes in this series, this set is beautifully put together – not only stuffed with an amazing array of classic soul from a key year in the 70s – but also done with a full color booklet that's over 60 pages long – filled with track-by-track notes on the tunes, and filled with great photos, images, and historical data – an overall package put together by liner note giant Bill Dahl! The whole thing's a perfect soul music time capsule – with the depth of production that we've always loved in Bear Family releases for other genres. 25 tracks that include "Starting All Over Again" by Mel & Tim, "I Gotcha" by Joe Tex, "Hearsay" by The Soul Children, "I'll Take You There" by The Staple Singers, "Rip Off" by Laura Lee, "Outa Space" by Billy Preston, "In The Rain" by The Dramatics, "Gimme Some More" by The JBs, "Think" by Lyn Collins, "Too Late To Turn Back Now" by Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose, "Trying To Live My Life Without You" by Otis Clay, "Use Me" by Bill Withers, "Baby Sitter" by Betty Wright, "Power Of Lover" by Joe Simon, "Still In Love With You" by Al Green, and "Woman's Gotta Have It" by Bobby Womack. 

A massive batch of music – and almost as worth it for the overall package as it is for the great tunes inside! Like other volumes in this series, this set is beautifully put together – not only stuffed with an amazing array of classic soul from a key year in the 70s – but also done with a full color booklet that's over 60 pages long – filled with track-by-track notes on the tunes, and filled with great photos, images, and historical data – an overall package put together by liner note giant Bill Dahl! The whole thing's a perfect soul music time capsule – with the depth of production that we've always loved in Bear Family releases for other genres. 23 tracks that include "I Can't Stand The Rain" by Ann Peebles, "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love" by The Spinners, "Why Can't We Live Together" by Timmy Thomas, "The Message" by Cymande, "Pillow Talk" by Sylvia, "Ain't No Woman" by The Four Tops, "Love Train" by The O'Jays, "Cheaper To Keep Her" by Johnnie Taylor, "Hurts So Good" by Mille Jackson, "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye, "I Was Checkin Out She Was Checkin In" by Don Covay, and "Back For A Taste Of Your Love" by Syl Johnson.  

A massive batch of music – and almost as worth it for the overall package as it is for the great tunes inside! Like other volumes in this series, this set is beautifully put together – not only stuffed with an amazing array of classic soul from a key year in the 70s – but also done with a full color booklet that's over 60 pages long – filled with track-by-track notes on the tunes, and filled with great photos, images, and historical data – an overall package put together by liner note giant Bill Dahl! The whole thing's a perfect soul music time capsule – with the depth of production that we've always loved in Bear Family releases for other genres. 23 tracks that include "Boogie Down" by Eddie Kendricks, "You Little Trustmaker" by The Tymes, "I Wouldn't Treat A Dog" by Bobby Bland, "Hang On In There Baby" by Johnny Bristol, "Mighty Mighty" by Earth Wind & Fire, "Sideshow" by Blue Magic, "The Payback (part 1)" by James Brown, "Dancing Machine" by Jackson 5, "Be Thankful For What You Got" by William De Vaughn, "Woman To Woman" by Shirley Brown, "Everlasting Love" by Carl Carlton, "As Long As He Takes Care Of Home" by Candi Staton, "Fire" by Ohio Players, and "Lookin For A Love" by Bobby Womack.  

A massive batch of music – and almost as worth it for the overall package as it is for the great tunes inside! Like other volumes in this series, this set is beautifully put together – not only stuffed with an amazing array of classic soul from a key year in the 70s – but also done with a full color booklet that's over 60 pages long – filled with track-by-track notes on the tunes, and filled with great photos, images, and historical data – an overall package put together by liner note giant Bill Dahl! The whole thing's a perfect soul music time capsule – with the depth of production that we've always loved in Bear Family releases for other genres. 24 tracks that include "Lady Marmalade" by Labelle, "Shackin Up" by Barbara Mason, "This Will Be" by Natalie Cole, "Rockin Chair" by Gwen McCrae, "Love Rollercoaster" by Ohio Players, "Fight The Power (part 1)" by Isley Brothers, "Boogie Fever" by The Sylvers, "Hold Back The Night" by The Trammps, "Sweet Thing" by Rufus, "Love Machine (part 1)" by The Miracles, and "It Only Takes A Minute" by Tavares.  

~ Dusty Groove

Jazz-Flamenco Vocalist and Composer Rebeca Vallejo Releases Azucar, Canela

Madrid born vocalist and composer Rebeca Vallejo is a most versatile and innovative performer. Known for combining her ancestral Flamenco roots, her deep love and understanding of Brazilian music, with the language of Jazz, Rebeca Vallejo deftly weaves all these elements into a sound that is truly unique. Equal parts nomad and musician, Rebeca Vallejo’s life has led her across several continents and infused her music with an awareness and understanding of a multitude of cultures. Born into a family of singers in Madrid, Spain, Rebeca was immediately immersed in the rich musical language of Flamenco, learning at the feet of her grandfather, himself a Flamenco singer.

Beginning her public performances at the age of four, the musical journey that started in an urban neighborhood of Madrid eventually took Ms. Vallejo to Great Britain, where she developed a deep passion for Jazz. Arriving in New York in 2000, Rebeca began collaborating and performing with the most sought after musicians of the Latin-Jazz scene. Through this exposure, she uncovered the emotional beauty and rhythmic complexity of Brazilian music. It was there that she discovered the third corner of a musical triangle that, together with Jazz and Flamenco, would shape her musical foundation. In addition to being an acclaimed performer, Rebeca Vallejo is the creator and bandleader of the musical projects EuroLatinJazz and EuroLatinFunk, an accomplished composer/Jazz arranger (among her composition projects are 300 children songs written for the national franchise “The Language Workshop”) and for two years she was the main vocalist of the Flamenco Dance Company “Día Flamenco”.

Since 2012 Rebeca Vallejo has been an active performing member of the Brooklyn Conservatory Chorale. In 2009 Rebeca Vallejo was granted a scholarship to the prestigious Flamenco institution Cristina Heeren in Seville, Spain, where she focused on the study of Flamenco repertoire and Flamenco singing techniques. During the year of 2012 Rebeca Vallejo served as the director of SMINYC, a collective of musicians from Spain residing in New York, sponsored by the Spanish Cultural institution Centro Español. The mission statement of SMINYC was to support and promote musicians from Spain in New York by producing monthly events where projects of all musical genres are showcased. Through the success of the events organized by SMINYC, Rebeca Vallejo nurtured a lasting relationship with the Spanish Embassy in Washington and Spanish Consulate in NY (which became official sponsors of all her musical presentations) as well as with the world-wide prestigious cultural institution of Instituto Cervantes Among Rebeca Vallejo’s musical accomplishments are numerous performances in renowned events (Jazz Aspen Gala accompanied by Chucho Valdes’s band, Havana, Cuba), festivals (Gentse Feesten, Gent, Belgium), and venues such as the Modern Art Museum in Salvador, BRAZIL, The Kennedy Center (Washington), Carnegie Hall (with the NY Youth Orchestra, NY), and the United States Capitol (accompanying Gospel Grammy award winners Yolanda Adams and Dorinda Clark at the “Unveiling of Sojourner Truth’s bust”).

Rebeca is currently promoting and touring her third studio album entitled “Azúcar Canela” The album is being brought to life under the direction of Grammy Award Winning producer John Seymour (Santana, U2, Dave Matthews Band). “Azúcar, Canela” develops an interestingly raw multi-cultural “concept trio” of piano–drums/percussion– voice. Accompanied by George Dulin (Kenny Werner, Chris Potter, John Scofield) at the piano, and David Silliman (Cassandra Wilson, Edmar Castañeda, Al DiMeola) playing drums/ percussion, this trio delivers a powerful and poignant live performance experience.

www.rebecavallejo.com

Origin Records to Release “The Forward (Towards Equality) Suite” by Composer & Bandleader Anthony Branker & His Octet Word Play, July 15

With a unique combination of depth and accessibility, composer and bandleader Anthony Branker is able to put forth a jazz perspective steeped in soulful optimism. "The Forward (Towards Equality) Suite," the Princeton University professor’s latest project for Origin Records, is a stylistically diverse twelve-movement work spotlighting Branker's exceptional prowess as a composer and guided by thought-provoking material meant to embody the essence of America and its people.

.I wanted this music to be reflective of our democratic spirit; our dedication to the principles of freedom and equality. (PRWEB) July 07, 2014

"The Forward (Towards Equality) Suite" is Anthony Branker’s seventh recording as a leader and sixth for Origin Records. Featuring his all-star group “Word Play,” we hear the latest from the pen of this forward-thinking composer whose work has steadily been gaining recognition worldwide. Recently, Branker was named in Down Beat magazine’s 62nd Annual Critics Poll as a "Rising Star Composer."

As a composer who takes delight in incorporating an eclectic array of styles and approaches in his recordings, Branker’s new CD features a broad range of influences – from jazz to spoken word and funk – to modal music and R&B – to African and Afro-Latin sensibilities – to freer methods of music-making.

As Branker shares, “I wanted the music for this project to be reflective of our democratic spirit; our dedication to the principles of freedom and equality; the multiplicity of cultures that have come together to comprise our country; the array of diverse influences that have shaped us; as well as our passionate, vibrant, and soulful nature.”

Anthony Branker is joined on this captivating recording by a powerhouse edition of his group "Word Play" featuring several long-time collaborators that include tenor & soprano saxophonist Ralph Bowen, pianist Jim Ridl, bassist Kenny Davis, drummer Donald Edwards, and conguero Renato Thoms as well as new additions to the collective – alto saxophonist David Binney, trombonist Conrad Herwig, and vocalist Alison Crockett. Also appearing as guests are 5th Grade students from the Martin Luther King Elementary School in Piscataway, New Jersey who provide spoken word offerings.

Branker recognizes how extraordinary it was to work with this collection of musicians: “Every member of the group is someone whose music I have greatly admired for a long time. I am absolutely blessed to have these brilliant artists involved in this project…they have infused the music with their unique sensibilities and, together, have provided an indescribable spirit!”

According to Branker, the concept for "The Forward (Towards Equality) Suite" was realized during the fall of 2012 when he was out of the country on sabbatical and watching the final weeks of the presidential election campaign unfold by way of international television news media. “During this time, I thought long and hard about what America meant to my family, who came to the United States from the West Indies in the 1950s, and what it might mean to future generations of my family…I thought about notions of democracy, freedom, justice, and equality…I thought about where we have been as a nation and what we can still aspire to be and accomplish in the name of all Americans, if we, as a people, could simply come together as one, on behalf of all…”

Branker’s new "Forward Suite" release is filled with an abundance of memorable moments, created, in no small part, by the emphasis he places on presenting lyrical melodies, infectious grooves, and passion-filled collective conversations within the ensemble. “The principle I value most as a composer is the importance of communicating and connecting with the listener in some way. In fact, I believe that melodic lyricism and rhythmic feel can be used in powerful ways to bring others into our musical world, because it is through these elements that most people come to interact with music as listeners.”

While there are far too many musical highlights on this CD to give adequate attention to in this space, several are worth noting. Composed in 2005, the Woody Shaw-John Coltrane influenced “Forgotten Peoples” is packed with imaginative solos and fiery ensemble play. This was Branker’s creative response to images he viewed of victims of Hurricane Katrina living in New Orleans stranded and huddled together waiting on rooftops above the flood waters; hoping to be rescued and wondering whether America had turned their backs on them during their time of despair.

Constructed around the rhythm of the syllables found in its title, the contagiously joyous “Equality” features vivid and dazzling improvisational performances by saxophonist Binney and pianist Ridl in a quartet setting with Davis and Edwards. “Its performance,” as Branker writes in his liner notes, “reveals the kind of communicative interaction that can take place when individuals are connected to each other by a necessary mutuality. Here, each member is viewed as an equal and what guides the creative process is an unspoken obligation to a spirit of we, which I believe is symbolic of our democratic disposition. It also illustrates what can emerge when diverse voices unite and work together.”

Special mention should also be given to “Our Dreams,” the Suite’s seventh movement on which Branker collaborated with sixteen 5th Grade students from the Martin Luther King Elementary School who shared their dreams for the future of this country and the citizens of the world. As Branker states, “It was incredible to return to the town in which I grew up to work with these remarkable young people who talked about, with hope and innocence in their voices, such pressing social issues as poverty, gun violence, hunger, racism, education, pollution, and joblessness. They also spoke of their desire to one day live in a world where the concept of peace could be experienced by all.”

Since 2004, Anthony Branker has led two jazz collectives ("Ascent" and "Word Play") and has added seven recordings to his musically rich discography as a composer. They include the Origin releases "The Forward (Towards Equality) Suite" (2014), "Uppity" (2013), "Together" (2012), "Dialogic" (2011), "Dance Music" (2010), "Blessings" (2009), and the 2006 "Spirit Songs" recording on Sons of Sound Records.

Besides the musicians found in his current Word Play ensemble, Branker’s recording projects have also featured Mark Gross, Tia Fuller, Steve Wilson, Antonio Hart, Andy Hunter, Clifford Adams, Eli Asher, Jonny King, Bryan Carrott, John Benitez, Belden Bullock, Adam Cruz, Ralph Peterson Jr., Wilby Fletcher, Kadri Voorand, and Freddie Bryant.

Branker holds an endowed chair in jazz studies and is the director of jazz studies at Princeton University, where he has taught for the past 25 years. Internationally, he has served as a visiting composer at conservatories in Denmark, Germany, and Estonia, and has had his music featured in performance in Italy, Australia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, China, Russia, Lithuania, and Japan. In addition, his music has also been presented in such New York venues as the Iridium Jazz Club, Sweet Basil Jazz Club, The Five Spot, Symphony Space, and the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Branker is very enthusiastic when he talks about "The Forward (Towards Equality) Suite" release and feels it represents some of his best work to date as a composer/bandleader. “I am so proud of this project as both a recording and as an extended composition! Yet, anyone who knows me is aware that I’ve never been fond of sitting still too long. I guess at the heart of it all is this desire to keep on exploring and discovering, to continue to use music as a means to provide commentary on life and our world, and to create interesting music with others that will hopefully resonate in some way with listeners.”

"The Forward (Towards Equality) Suite" will undoubtedly be a recording that will resonate with many because of its beauty, infectious energy, and positive messages. When composer Anthony Branker brings you into his musical world, you may never want to leave!

http://www.anthonybranker.com

https://twitter.com/AnthonyBranker

CHRIS STANDRING RELEASES NEW SINGLE "IMAGINE THAT" FROM "DON'T TALK, DANCE!" CD

Guitarist Chris Standring has released a new single and video off of his latest release Don’t Talk, Dance! entitled Imagine That.  The song  juxtaposes an infectious mid tempo groove and funky rhythm guitars with a darker lead guitar melody. Standring has always been a masterful ballad composer, and balances the high energy of most of the tunes on Don’t Talk, Dance! with a few slices of mid-tempo wistful elegance. 

The recent success of the Don't Talk, Dance! album has Chris Standring filling up his tour calendar, and we've got a partial list of what he's got booked for the next couple of months all the way into 2015.

2014 Tour Dates: 

July 10 - Atlanta, GA @ Atlanta Suite Lounge

July 17 - Laguna Beach, CA @ Festival Of Arts 
July 25 - Newport Beach, CA @  Hyatt Regency Summer Concert Series
August 8 – Philadelphia, PA @ The River Sage at Penn's Landing

September 11 – Germany @ Augsburg Jazz Festival

October 12 - Avalon, CA @ Catalina Island Jazz Festival           

December 11- Studio City, CA @ Vitello's Jazz & Supper Club

2015 Tour Dates:

January 8 - Southend, UK @ The Jazz Mix at Cliff's Pavillion           

January 9 - Soho, London, UK @ Pizza Express Jazz Club

January 10 - Soho, London, UK @ Pizza Express Jazz Club

January 10 - Soho, London, UK @ Pizza Express Jazz Club  

January 14 - Chichester, UK @ Chichester Inn

January 15 - Wavendon, UK @ Stables

January 16 - Manchester, UK @ Cinnamon Club

Chris Standring - Imagine That Video

Bolivian Vocalist Gian-Carla Tisera Showcases Operatic Roots and Creates Latin American Folklore and Jazz Inspired Album Nora la Bella - Available August 19

Any true fusion in music represents a delicate negotiation. It requires both respect for the different genres in play, their traditions and codes and a 'why not?' attitude.  Cutting-and-pasting is one thing, translating the approach, technique and sensibility of one tradition to another demands a special talent and commitment. 

On Nora La Bella, her debut recording, New York-based Bolivian soprano Gian-Carla Tisera makes bold, daring crossings between opera, jazz and Latin American folk music, art song and political song, experimentation and roots music. 

Throughout the recording, she sings in English, Spanish, Italian and Quechua. Co-produced by Tisera and Grammy-nominated Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca, Nora La Bella includes original songs, provocative versions of two works from the classical vocal repertoire and several pieces from the Latin American songbook, including a couple from the socially committed Nueva Canción. 

But this is not a lab project. Rather, it's an expression of her experience and her personal search.

  

"I had this idea for a new kind of opera, something different, accessible and fresh," says Tisera. "I love opera and that's my training, and while I am not a jazz singer or a traditional folk singer, both genres have been an integral part of my life and my musical experience. And I also thought: how can I express my immigrant experience? How can I speak of my perspective as a Bolivian woman, as an American woman looking back at my country from a distance? All of that came into play when working on Nora La Bella."

  

Accompanied by a quartet featuring Villafranca at the piano and guest artists such as trumpeter Diego Urcola and five-time Grammy Award-winning bassist John Benitez, Tisera's music includes nods to Bolivian folklore (her original "Señora Chichera" and "Cueca Lejanía") and her own versions of the aria "Tu che le vanita" from Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlo, appearing here as the source for "Ernesto in the tomb," and the madrigal "Amarilli" from Giulio Caccini's Le Nuove Musiche.

She offers a very personal take, often celebrating at once vanguard and tradition, of the folk song "La Llorona" and folk based pieces such as "Alfonsina y El Mar" and "Mujer, Niña y Amiga."

  

As for her social and political ideals, Tisera draws her lines in broad strokes with her classically-tinged re-interpretations of the Chilean folk group Quilapayún's "The people united," and Carlos Puebla's "Hasta Siempre," an ode to Che Guevara and his revolutionary principles that Tisera personalizes with a musical quote inspired by Puccini.

  

"These songs carry deep social messages, and I chose them for how they inspired broken societies and gave hope to generations with powerful ideals of love and unity," she says. "They transcend time, culture and race and through them I express my artistic and political thoughts using my classical voice. Also, these choices help me challenge the perceptions that separate artists, especially classically trained artists, from their communities and from the music that speaks to the modern world."

  

Born to a Bolivian mother and Italo-Argentine father, Tisera was raised in Cochabamba, a city surrounded by mountains located in the center of Bolivia. She studied at the Instituto Eduardo Laredo, in Cochabamba, and later moved to Los Angeles, CA, where she completed her Masters Degree in Opera Performance at the University of Southern California.

  

"I moved to New York in 2008, and I arrived here as an opera singer and with the dream of being an opera singer. That was it," she says. "I've loved Latin American folk music all my life, I've been intrigued and inspired by jazz and I'm very socially conscious. But as a musician, my choice had always been opera and the classical stage. That was my posture for my first three years in New York and, frankly, I started to feel empty. In the opera world it's very hard to have your own project and your own ideas. There is a repertoire, you are a performer, and that's that."

   

She worked in the United States and Bolivia, performing with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia and the Pasadena Symphony, among others, and for five years she toured with the Bolivian Baroque Project, performing 17th century music found in the Jesuit missions of the Bolivian jungle - a project that showcased her voice on the world's greatest concert halls. But once in New York, she also started collaborating with visual artists and dipping her toes in the murky waters of jam sessions. "Of course, many looked at me like an odd duck and I would tell them: 'Yes, I am an opera singer. No, I don't know jazz standards, but I do know Latin American music, I sing boleros and I can improvise so, why not?' And that's how I met Elio." 

Fittingly, their first musical encounter was in the baroque style - the improvisatory nature of baroque being an area of contact between jazz and classical music.

  

As Tisera began working on the recording she chose pieces based on how they affected her vocally and for the possibilities they offered for reinvention. "I tried many, many songs and ideas. It took me a year of trial and error, to polish the arrangements, create new pieces and let them grow," she says. 

For those who see her approach as avant-garde, Tisera says she is "pushing the vanguard but to bring audiences to experience the greatness of opera as it relates to modern themes of love, politics and culture. I long to present opera not like an old, precious form but instead, as a vibrant, contemporary style that speaks to our concerns now. That's why there are operatic moments in Nora La Bella - but they might include improvisation, or the musical treatment might include Bolivian or Afro-Latin rhythms, and elements of Rock or Spoken Word. I remember during the recording we were listening to the second take of 'Ernesto in the Tomb,' with its Afro-Cuban groove and my operatic voice soaring above the music. The musicians heard it and said 'Wow, it works!' and I had to laugh. 'Yes guys, of course it works'."

  

Upcoming New York City Performances:

August 21 @ Joe's Pub - 7:30 PM

(w/ Elio Villafranca, piano; Edward Perez, bass;

Franco Pinna, drums; Paulo Stagnaro, percussion)

joespub.publictheater.org

September 13 @ St. Peters - 8:00 PM

featuring Bolivian Folklore Dancers

(w/ Octavio Brunetti, piano; Edward Perez, bass;

Franco Pinna, drums; Reinaldo de Jesus, percussion)

saintpeters.org/jazz

September 30 @ Americas Society - 7:00 PM

(w/ Elio Villafranca, piano; Edward Perez, bass;

Franco Pinna, drums; Reinaldo de Jesus, percussion)

as-coa.org

Gian-Carla Tisera · Nora la Bella

Release Date: August 19, 2014  

www.giancarlatisera.com

JASON PAUL CURTIS - FAUX BOURGEOIS CAFE

Jason Paul Curtis On a hot Virginia night in June, 2009, and with only a sound system, a microphone and a suit, Jason performed his first public solo gig. Three hours of Sinatra, Italian and American Songbook later, the stage was set for countless more engagements over the next five years.

Soon, he was performing with DC-area big band, Swing Machine, and in 2010, he founded Swinglab with pianist Ray Mabalot, drummer Woody Hume and Baltimore bassist, John Dahlman.

In 2011, the quartet performed two sets at DC's Twins Jazz and were immediately invited to play the Christmas season at the Gaylord, National Harbor Hotel in Washington, DC. Jason and the band continued with the Gaylord, playing over 64 nights in 2012. In November, 2012,

Jason released his first full-length album, Lovers Holiday. With five originals and two arrangements with Swing Machine, Lovers Holiday received across-the-board critical acclaim and international airplay. Other venues through 2014 have included repeat engagements at Lansdowne Resort (Northern Virginia's largest), Bethesda Blues and Jazz, Blues Alley, The Willard Hotel, with the McLean Orchestra, the National Building Museum, The Metropolitan Club and the White House Holiday Tours in 2012 and 2013.

On June 20, 2014, Jason releases his second full length album, Faux Bourgeois Cafe, welcoming bassist, Ephriam Wolfolk, Jr, saxophonist Dave Schiff and guitarist John Albertson. Cafe includes eight brand-new songs by Jason.

"For a guy who's relatively new to the jazz community, I'm humbled and thrilled to be listed among the striving and thriving who are putting their best voice out there for the world to experience.  "Faux Bourgeois Cafe" comprises an (almost) entirely original song writing effort, and I hope you feel and appreciate the variety of energies the band and I poured into each track.  I hope you like it, and I hope you have a great summer" says Curtis.   Just came in, track 5, "Back of My Mind" is featured on Italy's Animajazz this week!

Visit THE JAZZ NETWORK WORLDWIDE "A GREAT PLACE TO HANG" at: http://www.thejazznetworkworldwide.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

NEW RELEASES: BEBEL GILBERTO - TUDO; MARSHA AMBROSIUS - FRIENDS & LOVERS; SONNY ROLLINS QUARTET - TENOR MADNESS

BEBEL GILBERTO - TUDO

World renowned multi-Grammy®-nominated singer/songwriter Bebel Gilberto releases her first studio album in five years, "Tudo." Gilberto, daughter of bossa nova immortal Joao Gilberto, is one of the most internationally famous and beloved of Brazilian musicians. "Tudo," which means "everything" in English, showcases Bebel's ethereal vocals and wistful, dreamy songwriting in each of the CD s 12 tracks. Bebel reunites with Mario Caldato Jr. who produced her first landmark album, "Tanto Tempo." With Bebel singing in French, English and Portuguese, "Tudo" is a shimmering, sweet summery collection that includes original songs along with songs by her father, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Neil Young and John Michel-Jarré as well as soulful duet with Seu Jorge. The gorgeous melodies are shaped by touches of electronica and Bebel s intimate vocals hint at a fantastical Rio de Janeiro, a style that has earned her a devoted fanbase worldwide. ~ Amazon.com

MARSHA AMBROSIUS - FRIENDS & LOVERS

Marsha Ambrosius' sophomore solo album, Friends & Lovers, will be released on July 15th, 2014 via RCA Records. Friends & Lovers will feature 15 tracks with production from Marsha, Pop & Oak, Da Internz, Eric Hudson, The Justice League and more. Hailing from Liverpool, England, Marsha Ambrosius released her critically acclaimed debut solo album, Late Nights & Early Mornings in 2011. The album debuted at #1 on the US Billboard Hot R&B Charts and #2 on the US Billboard Hot 200 selling over 96,000 copies in its first week of release. The album also produced hit singles "Hope She Cheats On You" and "Far Away" which landed Marsha two Grammy® nominations. She also won the Centric Award at the 2011 BET Awards, won Record of The Year (Ashford & Simpson Songwriters Award) at the 2011 Soul Train Awards for "Far Away," and capped off 2011 with a performance at the White House for The President and First Family at The National Christmas Tree Lighting. Marsha was also nominated for Best Female R&B Artist at the 2012 BET Awards.Having a career that spans over a decade, 2014 will witness Marsha Ambrosius star shine brighter than ever before with her forthcoming album becoming a definitive moment in R&B history. ~ Amazon.com

SONNY ROLLINS QUARTET - TENOR MADNESS

Always a restless creative spirit, a constantly self-renewing citizen of the jazz world and one of the music's leading lights, saxophone legend Sonny Rollins has long been ambivalent about, even averse to, the business side of music. However, since forming his own record label, Doxy, in 2005, Rollins has emerged as an inspired-and surprisingly assertive-entrepreneur.Dating from 1956, Tenor Madness by Sonny Rollins features the rhythm section of the Miles Davis Group. Miles was a tireless supporter of Rollins, and for this album he lent him his own lead tenor, John Coltrane. The album was conceived as a battle between Trane and Rollins, and the result is pure gold. This high fidelity SACD remaster from Analogue Productions features a recreation of the original Prestige LP album cover. ~ Amazon.com

NEW RELEASES: DADO MORONI - FIVE FOR JOHN; JONATHAN BLAKE - GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN; JUSTIN ROBINSON - ALANA'S FANTASY: A TRIBUTE TO WAYNE BURNO

DADO MORONI - FIVE FOR JOHN

The John for five here is John Coltrane – whose songs are featured on about half the record, but which take on a very different sound in the hands of these excellent musicians! Key here is vibist Joe Locke – who adds an element you'd never hear in Coltrane's own recordings – and the rest of the lineup really gives the record a special sparkle, too – with Max Ionata on some searing tenor lines, Dado Moroni on piano, Marco Panascia on bass, and the great Alvin Queen on drums – a timekeeper with a bit more of a soulful swing than Elvin Jones. The set features great readings of "Naima", "After The Rain", and "Mr PC" – plus the McCoy Tyner tunes "Latino Suite" and "Contemplation" – and a version of Elvin Jones' "EJ's Blues". Also features strong originals "Mr Fournier" and "Sister Something" – and a version of "Uncle Bubba", a Gary Bartz tune.  ~ Dusty Groove

JONATHAN BLAKE - GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Don't worry about the title, because drummer Jonathan Blake is very much with us – stepping out strongly in his Criss Cross debut as a leader! The set's got a unique approach – a quartet with no piano, just drums and bass – plus tenor and flute from Chris Potter, and tenor and soprano from Mark Turner! Both reedman work wonders together – deftly twisting and turning around each other, then sliding into solo spaces that are really tremendous – filled with inventive elements, yet still soulfully swinging – at a level that may well make the record one of the best performance from either player in awhile. Many tunes are tributes to folks passed from the Philly scene in which Blake grew up – including Trudy Pitts and Charles Fambrough – and tracks include "Firm Roots", "Broski", "Anysha", "New Wheels", and "The Shadower". ~ Dusty Groove

JUSTIN ROBINSON - ALANA'S FANTASY: A TRIBUTE TO WAYNE BURNO

Saxophonist Justin Robinson serves up a tribute to bassist Dwayne Burno – in a set that wasn't originally intended that way, but which turned out to be Burno's last time in the studio! Dwayne passed away from kidney disease after the album was recorded – and hearing his wonderful work throughout, we're already missing him greatly – for his warm spirit, his flawless sense of swing, and his commanding tone that really seems to hold fast throughout the entire set. The leader is great too – a soulful voice on alto, with a style that takes us back to Jackie McLean in the 70s – and a great writer too – as evidenced by a handful of excellent tracks in the set. The group also features Michael Rodriguez on trumpet, Sullivan Fortner on piano, and Willie Jones on drums – and titles include "Easy E", "Alana's Fantasy", "Jeremy Isaiah", "When We Were One", "Answering Service", and a version of Gary Bartz's "Libra". ~ Dusty Groove

Neil Diamond’s All-Time Greatest Hits Set for Release July 8 on Capitol/UMe, with 23 Original Studio Recordings; Includes Rare and Original Solo Version of “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers”

Grammy® winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Neil Diamond gets a comprehensive compilation of his career with ALL-TIME GREATEST HITS, a 23-track collection that will be released July 8 on Capitol Records/UMe, marking the first release since signing a long-term recording agreement with the iconic label, Capitol Records. The historic agreement unites Diamond’s complete Columbia, Uni/MCA and Bang catalogs, encompassing the artist’s entire body of work, from the earliest recordings through the present day. Later this year, Capitol Records will release Diamond’s first original studio album since his 2008 HOME BEFORE DARK which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. The new album will be Capitol’s first original Neil Diamond release since THE JAZZ SINGER which debuted three of Diamond’s all-time greatest hits: “Hello Again,” “America,” and “Love On The Rocks.”

Neil Diamond’s ALL-TIME GREATEST HITS features the original studio recordings of such standards as “Sweet Caroline,” “Holly Holy,” “I Am…I Said,” and chart-toppers like “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Song Sung Blue” and the rarely heard original solo version of “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.” The set captures his beginnings as a songwriter-turned-singer in New York to his multi-platinum days in Hollywood.

Throughout an illustrious and wide-ranging musical career, Neil Diamond has charted 37 Top 10 singles and 16 Top 10 albums in the U.S. and has sold more than 128 million records worldwide, racking up 72 multi-platinum, platinum and gold album certifications in the United States alone. His most recent studio releases, 2008's HOME BEFORE DARK debuted at #1 in the U.S. and UK, and 2010’s DREAMS, a collection of Diamond’s favorite songs by other composers from the rock era, debuted in the Top 10 and was highly critically acclaimed.

A Grammy® Award-winning artist, Diamond is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame and a recipient of the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the highest honors bestowed upon songwriters. Diamond’s many other achievements include a Golden Globe Award, 13 Grammy® nominations and 2009’s NARAS’s MusiCares Person of the Year award. In 2011, Diamond received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor for his lifetime contributions to American culture.

Here is the complete track listing for Neil Diamond’s ALL-TIME GREATEST HITS.

Cracklin’ Rosie
Forever in Blue Jeans
Song Sung Blue
Sweet Caroline
Holly Holy
Red, Red Wine
Hello Again
Beautiful Noise
America
September Morn
Love on the Rocks
Shilo
You Don’t Bring Me Flowers
Morningside
Soolaimon
Play Me
Kentucky Woman
Girl, You’ll Be a Woman Soon
Solitary Man
I’m a Believer
Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show
Cherry, Cherry
I Am...I Said

RICK BRAUN'S "GET UP AND DANCE!" ENTERS TOP 5 ON BILLBOARD CHART

The boisterous party tune “Get Up And Dance!” by contemporary jazz stars Rick Braun (www.RickBraun.com) and Dave Koz has rapidly risen into the Top 5 on the Billboard chart ahead of Braun’s new album release next Tuesday (July 8). The energizer powered by Braun’s trumpet and fervent flexing from the muscular horn section is an infectious R&B/funk jam beckoning to become the instrumental song of the summer. It will definitely be another No. 1 single added to Braun’s lengthy list of chart-toppers that are radio playlist staples and fan favorites.  

Braun produced “Can You Feel It,” his sixteenth album that revisits the spirit of his twenty-year-old breakthrough album, “Beat Street.” It’s his first contemporary jazz foray in five years, the album his worldwide fan base has eagerly anticipated. On the new set, for which he wrote or co-wrote most of the material, Braun surrounded himself with friends such as fellow luminaries Brian Culbertson, Euge Groove, Jeff Lorber, Philippe Saisse, Elliot Yamin and some of the best sidemen in contemporary jazz. The up-tempo collection recalls Braun’s past playing in War and invokes the potent horn-ignited fun of the mighty Tower of Power.   

Smoke Sessions Releases New Albums by Cyrus Chestnut, Orrin Evans and Eric Reed

Smoke Sessions Records, the new imprint of New York City's influential uptown club Smoke, releases new live recordings by a trio of three masterful jazz piano peers, Cyrus Chestnut, Orrin Evans, and Eric Reed. Smoke has a reputation among a number of pianists as "the place" in New York City and these recordings will only help to reinforce this claim. "Smoke is the best place musically to play in New York," says pianist David Hazeltine, who released an album on Smoke Sessions Records earlier this year. "It's very intimate and they get a great sound: it's studio quality with the added energy of a live audience." 

CYRUS CHESTNUT - MIDNIGHT MELODIES

Cyrus Chestnut, the soulful straight-ahead piano master, releases his first live recording, captured in front of an enthusiastic and appreciative audience in the club's comfortably intimate setting. In addition, Chestnut boasts that Smoke's Steinway B is the best piano in the city. "It's just my ticket. We connect. It's warm and it's sharp at the same time with a lot of earth in it. I like clubs like the Jazz Standard or Smoke, where you can sit down at the piano and get down-home, because that's the kind of audience they attract."

Joining Cyrus are bassist Curtis Lundy and drummer Victor Lewis, two veterans of the John Hicks' trio. Together they take listeners on a musical odyssey that includes music by Billy Strayhorn, John Coltrane, and, of course, John Hicks like the album's penultimate masterpiece, "Naima's Love Song." Cyrus is one of the great piano voices of his generation as he proves again with this rewarding live debut. Midnight Melodies is available for purchase as an 8-panel CD-Deluxe Album complete with liner notes, interview and additional photos or as a high resolution download mastered for iTunes.

Cyrus Chestnut · Midnight Melodies / Smoke Sessions Records · Release Date: July 8, 2014

www.CyrusChestnut.net

ORRIN EVANS - LIBERATION BLUES

Orrin Evans - pianist, bandleader and musical catalyst - is a bona fide, jazz original. Brimming with music and ideas, Orrin's Liberation Blues debuts one of his most impressive projects yet, a new quintet lineup that includes Sean Jones, JD Allen, Luques Curtis, and Bill Stewart. It's a group wholly of Orrin's imagination that pairs established stars Sean Jones and JD Allen for the first time. It's also hard to miss Bill Stewart's presence. When planning for this project, Orrin recalls a conversation with his wife and main sounding board, "Let me do something that people wouldn't expect, somethin' that I wouldn't even expect," the pianist explains. "Listen...now is the time for Bill Stewart!"

The recording, made live at Smoke Jazz Club in New York City, occurred immediately following the passing of Orrin's close friend and fellow Philadelphian, the bassist Dwayne Burno and is dedicated in his memory. The opening selections comprising the "Liberation Blues Suite" are also dedicated to Dwayne and feature two of his compositions. Orrin explains, "In my eyes, Burno is now a 'Free Man'... but with that freedom, we've lost a great man right here on earth. So, there's still a blues we feel missing our brother and friend." Simply put, the playing is inspired. The varied program with compositions by Paul Motian, Trudy Pitts, Miles Davis, and, of course, Orrin, concludes with a memorable surprise visit from Philadelphia vocalist Joanna Pascale on a impassioned version of "The Night has a Thousand Eyes." Liberation Blues is available for purchase as an 8-panel CD-Deluxe Album complete with liner notes, interview and additional photos or as a high resolution download mastered for iTunes.

Orrin Evans · Liberation Blues / Smoke Sessions Records · Release Date: August 12, 2014

 www.OrrinEvansMusic.com

ERIC REED - GROOVEWISE

When pianist Eric Reed decided he wanted to make a live record at Smoke Jazz Club, he didn't want to make a good record...he wanted to make a great one. "I could have got guys who play exactly what I want, but it wouldn't have been very interesting. It would have been good. It would have been swinging or it would have sounded nice, but there wouldn't have really been a spark. You don't just want it to sound good, you want it to be killing," states Reed. His Groovewise is that record. Though Reed is usually heard in trio, the new album features a quartet with Seamus Blake, Ben Williams, and Gregory Hutchinson and is the first recorded meeting of Reed and Hutchinson in over 15 years.

Inspired in front of a live audience, the creative energy flies off the bandstand. Groovewise opens with what was a spur-of-the-moment reading of Clifford Jordan's "Powerful Paul Robeson" for Jordan's wife, Sandy, who was in attendance and it closes with the extended title track "Groovewise." In between these solid bookends is a swinging program heavily influenced by the weight of loss. Eric celebrates the memories and music of Mulgrew Miller, Cedar Walton, and Marian McPartland with original compositions dedicated to them. His original title, "Until the Last Cat has Swung," makes the explicit point that the music is alive and well and will continue to be in the hands of new generations who are dedicated to the art form. Although Eric confesses that he'd like a few more years before he is responsible for being a "keeper of the flame," Groovewise makes the point that jazz is much better off that he already is. Groovewise is available for purchase as an 8-panel CD-Deluxe Album complete with liner notes, interview and additional photos or as a high resolution download mastered for iTunes.

Eric Reed · Groovewise / Smoke Sessions Records · Release Date: September 9, 2014

www.EricReed.net

  

Several new titles for 2015 are already in production including recently recorded dates from Eddie Henderson (with Gary Bartz, George Cables, Doug Weiss, and Carl Allen) and Steve Turre (with Bruce Williams, Xavier Davis, Gerald Cannon, and Willie Jones III.) Henderson's set reimagines some of his heavily sampled '70s hits in an acoustic jazz context and includes an energized version of Miles' "Gingerbread Boy." Turre's program includes his highly original arrangements of Gershwin's "S'Wonderful" and Rodgers and Hart's "With a Song in my Heart," as well as moving originals like "Trayvon's Blues." Both recordings were made at the legendary analog studio Sear Sound in NYC. Look for these releases to arrive in early 2015.

All Smoke Sessions releases are produced using vintage techniques and audio paths - i.e.; Rupert Neve-designed mixing consoles (Amek-Angela), Studer mastering decks, and Manley tube equalization - in combination with modern high definition recording techniques. Label co-founder Paul Stache records the sessions and works closely to mix the dates with GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Roman Klun who then masters them. Each release features original photography by Jimmy Katz, as well as an original 2,000-word artist interview. The recently released limited edition 200-gram audiophile collection was mastered for vinyl by celebrated engineer Kevin Gray and includes a classic "tip-on style" gatefold record jacket. Smoke Sessions titles are handsomely packaged as an 8-panel CD-deluxe album complete with liner notes, interview and additional photos or as a high resolution download mastered for iTunes.

SmokeSessionsRecords.com

Jonathan Butler releases 'African Breeze" first single to radio from "Living My Dream" album

“Each album is a page of your life and this is the season of Jonathan Butler, the season of me,” said the South African singer-songwriter-guitarist about his just released “Living My Dream.” The two-time Grammy nominee and crossover chart-topper has always worn his heart on his sleeve while ruminating about his colorful life in his musical tales. He puts it all out there lyrically and on emotionally-charged instrumentals with the new set of original songs that he produced chronicling his struggles over the past couple of years. 

Embodying his native land’s sound and spirit, “African Breeze,” the first instrumental serviced to radio from the new session, is No. 6 on this week’s Billboard Smooth Jazz Singles chart. The tune featuring Butler’s crafty nylon string guitar work was originally penned by the artist 30 years ago for “The Jewel of the Nile” soundtrack and was completely overhauled for the new disc. Fans of Butler’s impassioned vocal numbers will soon hear “Heart and Soul” on the air at urban adult contemporary radio stations. His music has been a staple at multiple radio formats ever since he inked with Jive Records in the mid-1980s. But Butler’s recording career dates back even earlier to when he grew up under Apartheid and won two South African Grammy Awards as a child star, the first black artist played on white radio stations.   

“Living My Dream” is a balanced mix of soulful R&B vocals and expressive guitar poetry - love songs, spirituals and melodic meditations on family, country and faith. Butler has come through the fire tested yet never more aware of his blessed life thus the material conveys a profound sense of gratitude. The tracks were recorded using a live band in the House of Blues studio in Los Angeles and includes collaborations with George Duke, Marcus Miller and Elan Trotman.

  

Butler is performing music from the new release while touring the U.S. with Grammy winner Norman Brown and keyboardist Alex Bugnon. Next week, he will tape an interview and a performance to air on PBS’s Tavis Smiley Show.

Laurie Antonioli Sings The Music of Joni Mitchell On Her New Origin CD, "Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light," Set for August 19 Release

Laurie Antonioli Songs of Shadow Songs of Light Vocalist Laurie Antonioli delivers the most personal and soul-baring statement of her esteemed career with the release, on August 19, of Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light: The Music of Joni Mitchell. The CD, her first for the Origin label, finds the acclaimed Bay Area jazz singer returning with obvious passion and inspiration to her earliest musical influence.

"Joni's music is such a part of me, it's like a second skin," says Antonioli. "So is jazz, of course, but this goes even deeper. It's where I started. It's both a personal and a generational thing."

Repertoire is largely drawn from early-period Mitchell, including "Marcie" from Mitchell's 1968 debut album Song to a Seagull and the obscure "Eastern Rain," recorded by Fairport Convention in 1969 but never by the composer herself. Antonioli puts her stamp on some of Joni's less frequently covered songs, such as "Woman of Heart and Mind," "Hissing of Summer Lawns," "Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire," and "People's Parties," on which Theo Bleckmann contributes the background-vocal choir effects.

Also included is "Both Sides Now," Joni's most recorded song. For that reason, Antonioli wasn't sure about tackling it, but "each day, at the end of the session, [pianist] Matt [Clark] and I did one or two takes to see if we could get something. We didn't rehearse or even talk about it, other than to agree we wanted to find a different approach to it. The song evolved into a haunting jazz ballad."

Clark and the other members of Laurie's band of eight years' standing -- guitarist Dave MacNab, bassist John Shifflett, drummer Jason Lewis, and reed player Sheldon Brown -- are her full collaborators on this project, handling arrangements as well as helping to shape the material in performances in the year before it was finally recorded in December 2013.

Laurie Antonioli In fact, Antonioli recalls the moment, three years ago, when she decided that she had to do this project. Clark started playing "Boho Dance" and "I started singing along. I asked: do you know this tune, do you know that one? And he knew them all, by heart, just about every song she ever wrote."

Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light was recorded "live" at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, with "each of us isolated so we could all play at the same time. Thus the improvisational sections and endings and all the interaction were happening as it would in a concert. This is generally not how people make records anymore," adds Antonioli. "Most singers get their 'tracks' and redo or practice their parts and then record."

Early on in her career, Bay Area native Laurie Antonioli was a protégée of Joe Henderson, Mark Murphy, and Pony Poindexter, who recruited the 22-year-old singer for an extensive European tour that turned into an eight-month sojourn in 1980.

Following the release of her 1985 recording debut Soul Eyes, a duo album with George Cables, Antonioli was one of the region's most visible singers, booked at leading venues and festivals with her own band, performing regularly with Bobby McFerrin, and sitting in with luminaries like Tete Montoliu, Jon Hendricks, and Cedar Walton at Keystone Korner. Raising her daughter, combined with Antonioli's work as an educator, subsequently kept her off the U.S. scene for too many years.

Laurie Antonioli In the summer of 2006, she returned to the Bay Area from a four-year tenure running the Vocal Department at The Jazz Institute in Graz, Austria to take a position as the Chair of the Vocal Program at the Jazzschool in Berkeley. The Jazzschool is now an accredited institution known as the California Jazz Conservatory, Antonioli's unique eight-semester vocal program holding up under the rigors of the reviewing committees.

Laurie's second album, 2004's Foreign Affair, is a bracing blend of post-bop jazz and Balkan music created with players from Serbia, Albania, Germany, and the U.S. In 2005, her long-running partnership with Richie Beirach culminated in the release of The Duo Session on Nabel Records, a critically acclaimed album featuring Miles Davis jazz standards and Antonioli's lyrics set to the pianist's compositions.

Her fourth album, American Dreams (2010), was inspired by feelings that arose during her years abroad and features a number of her collaborations with Austrian pianist Fritz Pauer. "It is not hyperbole to say," wrote C. Michael Bailey in his All About Jazz review of the CD, "that Laurie Antonioli is emerging as the most important vocalist, let alone jazz vocalist, this decade. Let us hope for much more music from this brilliant constellation in the west."

Laurie Antonioli and her American Dreams band will perform a CD release show for Songs of Shadow, Songs of Light at Yoshi's San Francisco, Sunday 9/28.

Tracklist:

People's Parties (2:41)  Court and Spark

Rainy Night House (5:01)  Ladies of the Canyon

Barangrill (3:26)  For the Roses

Eastern Rain (4:27)  [Not previously recorded by Mitchell]

Cold Blue Steel and Sweet Fire (4:52)  For the Roses

Both Sides Now (5:18)  Clouds

Hissing of Summer Lawns (4:56)  The Hissing of Summer Lawns

Woman of Heart and Mind (5:02)  For the Roses

This Flight Tonight (4:37)  Blue

River (4:41)  Blue

I Don't Know Where I Stand (4:39)  Clouds

California (4:32)  Blue

Marcie (5:49)  Song to a Seagull

Web Site: laurieantonioli.com

SAXOPHONIST RICHARD ELLIOT RELEASES "LIP SERVICE" NEW ALBUM ON HEADS UP

Richard Elliot has been blowing audiences away with his talent for more than 30 years and is now set to release Lip Service, an album that celebrates romance, on July 15. Currently playing on the “Summer Horns” tour with fellow saxophonists Dave Koz, Mindi Abair and Gerald Albright, Elliot has delivered a 10-song album featuring seven new original compositions and three covers of soul and pop hits from the ’80s (“Shining Star” by The Manhattans), the ’90s (“Anytime” by Brian McKnight) and today (“When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars). In collaboration with contemporary jazz guitar giant Paul Brown, this is the 17th solo project by Elliot.

“It’s not a radical departure,” Elliot says with a chuckle, “just a softer edge. The intensity is still there, just channeled in a different way. I’ve been madly in love with my wife Camella for 20 years (courtship and marriage combined). Romance has always been an important part of our relationship. With five children, there’s never a dull moment in our home but we always take time away for us…something we never had to work at. It just gets better every year - and that’s not lip service!”

A Southern Californian to the core, slow burning intensity has been Richard Elliot’s stock-in-trade since debuting as a member of the novel Chapman Stick-based quartet Kittyhawk in 1979 at the age of 19. With influences ranging from Grover Washington, Jr. to John Klemmer, his broad range of saxual expression knows no bounds. He has topped charts and toured the world as a leader as well as with innovative groups such as Guitars & Saxes and Tower of Power.Lip Service Set for Release July 15 (international release dates may vary).

Complete Track Listing:

1. Desire (4:16)
2. Lip Service (4:35)
3. Givin'It Up (4.01)
4. Sweet Spot (3:58)
5. Sookie Sookie (3:38)
6. All the Way (4:16)
7. When I Was Your Man (3:35)
8. Shining Star (4:52)
9. City Lights (4:02)
10.  Anytime (5:27)

NEW RELEASES: PAUL HARDCASTLE - MOVIN' & GROOVIN'; ALMA - FOR A POET; STEVE LEHMAN OCTET - MISE AN ABIME

PAUL HARDCASTLE - MOVIN' & GROOVIN'

Cutting his musical teeth beginning in the 70's when disco, bell bottoms and Soul Train were king, super producer of sexy and syncopated sides Paul Hardcastle comes out of the woodshed with back to back new projects, the latest in the Jazzmasters series VII and this a dance down memory lane with a 21st century twist. Moovin And Groovin is a collection of disco infused pieces that recall an era where music was all about getting your 'move on' with Barry White, Donna Summer and

Saturday Night Fever casting their respective spells on the masses. You'll feel instantly transported back in time with this highly infectious romp that brings to bear all of the feeling moods and vibes that made the 70's and 80's what they were, yet all spun with musical yarns of today.Disco has made a bit of a resurgence since 2013 with disco styled songs released by Daft Punk, Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars, and now from a name that has been synonymous with disco infused beats.This is Hardcastle at his absolute best, highly syncopated infectious grooves done in his own inimitable style, one that has earned him a place in musical royalty. For you lovers of his multi genre classic 'Rainforest', M and G is an extension of that classic sound and will be sure to energize his already rabid base and cause a seismic shift in this new century with this nod to the past but his eye solidly on the future. As the title suggests, this set will get you doing just that. Come and get your groove on. ~ Amazon.com

ALMA – FOR A POET

Chicago-based Pop and Soul vocalist Alma has released her new single “For A Poet.”  Through witty lyrics, tight vocal harmonies and a laidback groove, Alma weaves a story about the tension faced by someone who realizes that the one they love might not be a great fit for them.  The song is stylistically accessible and will appeal to fans of adult contemporary and neosoul genres, particularly listeners who favor Corinne Bailey Rae, Joss Stone and Jill Scott.  Alma is currently planning a full length album entitled Tactics, which will lean more heavily into her neosoul sensibilities.  ~ www.hearalma.com

STEVE LEHMAN OCTET - MISE EN ABIME

Mise en Abîme is the highly anticipated return of the Steve Lehman Octet, and the follow-up to 2009 s Travail, Transformation, and Flow, which was named the #1 Jazz/Pop CD of 2009 by the New York Times and described as a breathtaking accomplishment for its unprecedented synthesis of spectral harmony, complex rhythms, and torrid soloing. It was also named one of the Top 10 Jazz CDs of the Year by over 30 media outlets, including ArtForum, Newsweek, Village Voice, and NPR, universally heralded as futuristic, funky, and engaging in both the jazz and new classical communities. ~ Amazon.com