JON LUNDBOM & BIG FIVE CHORD RELEASE FIFTH STUDIO ALBUM JEREMIAH

Hot Cup Records has announced the release of Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord's newest album Jeremiah on February 10, 2015. This recording is their fifth studio album and comes on the heels of 2014's live double-album release Liverevil, which was named "Wild Card Album of the Year" by Greg Edwards. Like its predecessor, Jeremiah expands the core quintet with the addition of Hot Cup associate Sam Kulik on trombone and frequent collaborator Justin Wood on alto saxophone and flute.

Few groups in jazz today have such a long history of collaboration and musical growth as Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord, and the rapport between the musicians of the core quintet allows affords each member the freedom and security to take musical risks and constantly push the boundaries of group improvisation.  When looking for other musicians to add to the Big Five Chord ensemble, Lundbom consistently chooses improvisers with a long history of personal collaboration.  Sam Kulik attended the Oberlin Conservatory with bassist Moppa Elliott and has performed with members of Big Five Chord for the last ten years, and Justin Wood has been the most frequent sub for the front line players in the quintet since 2009.  As was the case with Matt Kanelos on Liverevil, the new members of Big Five Chord not only fit perfectly into the established aesthetic of the band, but also provide new energy, creativity, and inspiration.

The album is named after the biblical Jeremiah (the "weeping prophet") and the larger idea of a Jeremiad or "long literary work...in which the author bitterly laments the state of society and its morals in a serious tone of sustained invective, and always contains a prophecy of society's imminent downfall" (Wikipedia).  On Jeremiah, Jon Lundbom & Big Five Chord expand their musical palate to include everything from open-ended free improvisation to standard practice jazz melodies and harmonies maintaining a core of frenetic collective energy firmly rooted in the jazz-rock tradition.  This recording marks the first time bandleader and guitarist Lundbom has invited other musicians (Kulik and Wood) to arrange material for the band, resulting in an album with a wider emotional range, greater musical variety, and a palpably collaborative spirit.

The album opens with "The Bottle," a quintet composition by Lundbom named after a small town in Alabama, as a nod to bassist Elliott's practice of titling compositions after towns in his native Pennsylvania.  The power and intensity of the longstanding quintet is on full display as is the compositional style Lundbom has honed over the past decade.  The tune begins with a series of passages alternating between written and improvised material over a fragmented figure in the rhythm section before giving way to a guitar solo in which Lundbom combines serpentine chromatic lines with angular chordal clusters over Monaghan and Elliott's constantly shifting interpretation of the written material on the composition's bridge.  The rhythm section returns to the opening figure to support Bryan Murray's balto! solo which exploits the unique characteristics of this bizarre instrument.

"Frog Eye," also named after a small town in Alabama, features the septet performing a Lundbom composition with a haunting initial melody interspersed with short improvised sections before opening up for a soprano saxophone solo by Jon Irabagon.  The horn section provides a transition to a guitar solo in which Lundbom's personal guitar vocabulary is on display.  Few guitarists of his generation have been able to define their playing as personally as Lundbom has and his integration of both the jazz and rock guitar languages is as distinct as it is personal.

The third in his "Alabama" series, "Scratch Ankle" uses written passages to isolate two duo improvisation sections, the first between Bryan Murray on tenor saxophone and Justin Wood on alto, and the second featuring Sam Kulik on trombone and Jon Irabagon on soprano saxophone.

On 2014's Liverevil, Lundbom arranged several compositions based on Wiccan prayer songs that proved to be very compatible with the ensemble's performance style.  For Jeremiah, Lunbom asked both Justin Wood and Sam Kulik to arrange some of these same songs for Big Five Chord.  "First Harvest" is an arrangement by Wood that features a reharmonization of the original melody, beautifully crafted for the septet.  The arranger is the first soloist followed by Bryan Murray on tenor saxophone.  The tonal and blues-based harmonic structure provides an opportunity to hear a new side of the ensemble as they navigate this elegant arrangement.

"Lick Skillet" (AL) opens with an improvised trombone cadenza showcasing Sam Kulik's mastery and control of extended techniques, pacing, and compositional approach. The composition itself is a series of dense chords played by the horns over a jagged, unsettled series of accents by the rhythm section which turn out to be part of a 4/4 swing feel.  This rhythmic figure continues under a flute solo by Justin Wood incorporating a variety of timbral effects and building in intensity

Sam Kulik's Wiccan payer song arrangement takes several melodies and alters their rhythms to fit a single rhythmic sequence which repeats with variations creating layers of contrasting melodies and rhythms as the different layers go in and out of phase.  These composed sections alternate with space for each of the members of the ensemble to improvise in a variety of contexts from unaccompanied to buried under dense ensemble textures.

The album closes with a live recording of "Screamer" performed by the quintet.  When a group of musicians builds a strong rapport over many years, it enables greater risk-taking by each musician.  The energy captured in this recording is wonderful to hear and the ensemble's ability to spontaneously interact places them among the most exciting bands working today.

Formed in 2003, Big Five Chord is the primary vehicle for the music of Austin, TX-based guitarist, composer, and bandleader Jon Lundbom.  Jon's music - described as "Hardbop + Zeppelin + Schoenberg" (Dave Madden, 'SLUG') - is a showcase for his "intense phrasing and mind-altering solo spots" (Glenn Astarita, 'All About Jazz'), a "boundary-shattering shot of adrenaline that screws with your head and messes with your soul" (Jordan Richardson, 'The Seattle PI').  Jon has been called "an idiosyncratic genius harboring boundary-stretching notions in his musical make up" (CJ Bond, 'JazMuzic.com'); "hopefully Lundbom will start getting more attention for his fresh perspective, both as a writer and player" (Mike Shanley, 'ShanleyOnMusic'), "[Jon's playing brings] new ideas to what jazz guitar can be" (Paul Acquaro, 'Free Jazz Blog'); "Big Five Chord, individually and collectively, is one of the most important [ensembles] around today" (Gregory Applegate Edwards, 'Gapplegate Guitar and Bass Blog'). "Olympic-caliber guitar gymnastics" (Bob Gendron, 'Downbeat'). In addition to Big Five Chord, Lundbom performs with many other groups, most notably Bryan & the Haggards.

www.jonlundbom.com

www.facebook.com/BigFiveChord

www.twitter.com/BigFiveChord

NEW RELEASES: BELLA GAIA – BEAUTIFUL EARTH; JOHN ZORN – OLYMPIAD VOLUME 1: DITHER PLAYS ZORN; KEITH JARRETT / CHARLIE HADEN / PAUL MOTIAN – HAMBURG 72

BELLA GAIA – BEAUTIFUL EARTH

World-fusion ensemble Bella Gaia have released their new album, Bella Gaia - Beautiful Earth. Having played over 200 shows in 10 countries at such venues as The Smithsonian Institution, The Guggenheim Museum, and The Museum of Natural History, Bella Gaia is world renowned for their “haunting classical/world fusion music...interspersed with stunning depictions of what climate change is doing to our world.” (The Huffington Post) Now, they’re capturing their “iridescent landscape of gossamer melodies and labyrinthine rhythms” (Nooga) on record for the first time, gaining nods from taste makers like NPR, BBC, and USA Today who said, “this music is out of this world.” Bella Gaia is an unprecedented audiovisual experience that combines NASA satellite imagery of Earth, time lapse nature photography, and cultural heritage footage with stirring live performances of music and dance from around the world.

Watch video: http://vimeo.com/46343461

JOHN ZORN – OLYMPIAD VOLUME 1: DITHER PLAYS ZORN

Early "game" pieces by John Zorn – the kind of groundbreaking improvisational creations that made him an instant legend on the New York scene – performed here by the Dither quartet of guitars and other stringed instruments! The pieces here all pre-date the famous Cobra – perhaps the best-known of Zorn's game works – and Dither presents the music in different modes, with a few different performances of some of the works – some electric, some acoustic, and some mixed. Includes performances of "Hockey", "Curling", and "Fencing".  ~  Dusty Groove

KEITH JARRETT / CHARLIE HADEN / PAUL MOTIAN – HAMBURG 72

Never-heard music from the great Keith Jarrett – a beautifully-recorded concert performance from 1972, and one that draws together so many wonderful strands of his music at the time! The date's a trio one, but has a feel that's quite different than some of the more famous trio dates that Keith would record for ECM in later years – no standards here, just original tunes – and a very free-flowing lineup that has Charlie Haden on bass, Paul Motian on drums and percussion, and Jarrett himself playing a fair bit of flute, soprano sax, and percussion – in addition to his usual piano! That use of multiple instruments echoes some of Jarrett's music for Atlantic or Columbia, but with a bit more focus too – a vibe that really ties together Keith's earlier trio recordings and his early 70s experiments on Impulse – but with a very different feel here. The whole thing's very spiritual, and while there are some echoes of the freer Jarrett piano live dates to come, the structure is what really makes the whole thing great – on titles that include "Rainbow", "Everything That Lives Laments", "Piece For Ornette", "Song For Che", and "Take Me Back". An instant ECM classic!  ~ Dusty Groove

NTJAM ROSIE Returns With Finest Album To Date THE ONE

Ntjam Rosie, the Cameroon-born, Dutch-based Afro-European artist who has become a tastemaker both with her music and her fashion sense, is set to make a big mark in 2015 with her fourth album, The One.

The singer and songwriter, who arrived in Holland from a small village in Cameroon at the age of nine, is now based in Rotterdam and has been turning heads in her adopted home country. A truly independent woman, who runs her own record label, Gentle Daze, Ntjam’s striking creativity in the world of fashion has made her into a style icon. Meanwhile, her blend of soul, jazz, folk, gospel and world music is now set to reach a wider audience than ever before.

The fourth instalment in an increasingly distinguished album catalogue, The One is a huge creative step forward. That’s both in terms of its confident, seductive songwriting ethic and because it marks Ntjam Rosie’s debut as a producer of her own work. It has invigorating elements of India.Arie’s roots-fuelled R&B, Patrice Rushen’s sultry jazz, and even the vocal independence of Beyoncé, all in an atmospheric soundscape that is purely her own.

The new record follows 2013’s At The Back Of Beyond, which was warmly received creatively and commercially, and inspired Ntjam to perform throughout Holland and across Europe. “That was an album that was a part of me, and that needed to explore my poppy side,” she says. “I’m grounded in jazz and soul, and pop. But as a songwriter, I really needed to go through that album to learn how to play the guitar, to see and hear what kind of songs I would write, and also to put the guitar on the palette — literally being able to pick the guitar up to write.”

The songs for The One were written around the time Ntjam got married, in January 2014, and was made with her regular band and engineer Vincent Helbers at her side. Martin Fondse added strings, and there are guest appearances by friends and fellow artists Pink Oculus, Eric Vloeimans and Ronald Snijders.

Her graduation as a cosmopolitan, 21st century woman and musician included nominations both for Holland’s Edison Awards, twice, and the Elle Personal Style Awards; playing the North Sea Jazz Festival, and gigs from Thailand to Turkey and Estonia to China.

Ntjam has already started to introduce The One during her live shows, and looks forward to touring it more in 2015. The future is bright. The future is Rosie.

BASSIST & VOCALIST KATIE THIROUX RELEASES DEBUT ALBUM "INTRODUCING KATIE THIROUX"

Katie Thiroux, an exceptional bassist, captivating singer and gifted composer, is a West Coast phenomenon ready to be shared with all who love swinging jazz. On her debut recording as a leader, Introducing Katie Thiroux, it's impossible to determine what grabs the ear first, her effervescent singing or the delightful swagger of her oak-solid bass work. What is certain is that both gifts embody Thiroux's natural affinity for no-nonsense music making of the highest caliber. Guided in the studio by Jeff Hamilton - the esteemed drummer who here takes on the role of sharp-eared producer --Thiroux and her seasoned ensemble (guitarist Graham Dechter, tenor saxophonist Roger Neumann and drummer Matt Witek) oxygenate American Songbook standards and jazz classics while also introducing fine new original material.

The album's opening track, the 1936 Rodgers and Hart gem, "There's A Small Hotel," immediately presents us with the impressive dimensions of Thiroux's multidimensional strengths. Her beguiling voice -- light, ever airborne, always emotionally direct and free of both grandstanding virtuosic turns and coy blandishments -- remains at the service of the song, while her muscular and melodic bass playing speaks of her devotion to such giants of the instrument as Ray Brown, John Clayton, Paul Chambers and Israel Crosby. The same zeal for straightforward swing can be heard in such riveting vocal tracks as  "A Beautiful Friendship," "I'm Old Fashioned", "Shiny Stockings," (the Count Basie classic, with its infrequently heard lyrics on display), "The One I Love (Belongs to Somebody Else) -- which transforms itself effortlessly from a delightful waltz to an uptempo swinger and back again - and an extraordinary solo bass-and-vocals performance of "Wives And Lovers" (the Bacharach and David ode to the responsibilities of marital eroticism, offered here with irony-free conviction) that trains the spotlight on Thiroux's outsized talents.

The instrumental pieces are equally arresting. The Thiroux originals, "Ray's Kicks" (an affectionate dedication to Ray Brown, inspired by a pair of the master bassist's stylish shoes gifted to Thiroux), "RoseBird," a snappy bop workout built on the framework of both Earl Hines's "Rosetta" and Charlie Parker's "Yardbird Suite," and the gorgeous, Ellington-esque ballad, "Can't We Just Pretend," offer up outstanding improvising from each of the quartet while also exhibiting the hand-in-glove unity of the band as a whole. "We sat with these tunes for awhile until everything just clicked with the band, before we decided to record," Thiroux recalls. "We immediately recognized an affinity between us -- our initial encounter as a quartet came together at a jam session that lasted fifteen hours!  We've worked out an ensemble sound that builds on the special chemistry created by the bass, guitar and drums; Roger can then come in almost as a guest voice, a singular musical flavor. It all works because there's no ego involved; we all respect each other as musicians and people."

Studying both bass and voice since her pre-teenage years, Thiroux eventually went on to study at the Berklee College of Music where she performed with Branford Marsalis, Greg Osby, Dr. Billy Taylor, Terri Lyne Carrington and others. In 2013, a year after receiving her Master's degree in Jazz Studies from California State University, Long Beach, Thiroux formed her present quartet, which will be making East Coast appearances in early 2015.  For full bio: http://www.katiethiroux.com/about.html

http://www.katiethiroux.com

NEW RELEASES: MICHAEL HAGGINS - DARE TO DREAM; LOWELL HOPPER - SOULFUL FEELING; PHIL TRAYNOR - STILL LIFE

MICHAEL HAGGINS – DARE TO DREAM

Michael Haggins is a successful contemporary bass player and songwriter in the L.A. scene. Michael, who was born in Pasadena and began playing music in his early teens, has worked and recorded with many artists while also working in the Network Television industry. Dare to Dream reflects Michael's personal view that we all have greatness within us. Featured Musicians include "Jimmy Roberts" Saxophone, "Andre Frappier" Acoustic & Electric Guitars, "Dee & Brittani Cole" Vocals, "J Michael O'Neal" Keyboards, "Lew Laing" Keyboards, "Adam Hawley" Electric Guitar, "Lance Beckford" Drums. Tracklisting: Dare To Dream; There's Nothing More Beautiful Than You (Instrumental); Natural Wonder; Here I Come; Summer's Gone; World of Dreams (Remix); There's Nothing More Beautiful Than You; and In Your Lifetime (Remix).

LOWELL HOPPER - SOUFUL FEELING

Lowell Hopper is a “soul-jazz” guitarist known for his heavy use of 1970s- and 1980s-style musical nuances. Currently based in Panama City, Florida, Lowell has a distinct funky-jazz style that is a product of performing with a variety of rock, RnB, blues, and fusion jazz bands over the years. Besides playing electric and classical guitars, Lowell is well versed on keyboards, four- and five-string electric basses, and produces as well. He performs regularly in jazz/funk bands in northern Florida. Musicians: Lowell Hopper - Guitars, basses, guitar synth, keyboards, and programming; Vernon Burrell, Jr. - additional programming on "Breakthrough". Tracklisting: Soulful Feeling; Live and Learn; All Night Cruise (Version 2); Picture This; Could Be True Love; Dream Come True; Bay View (Version 2); Breakthrough; Inspiration; and Listen to Your Heart.

PHIL TRAYNOR - STILL LIFE

Still Life is Phil Traynor's fourth CD, and represents over two years of work. Collaborating with some of the finest national and international guitarists, including national fingerstyle champion and Emmy® nominee Pete Huttlinger, Guitar Player Magazine "Guitar Superstar" winner Vicki Genfan, international jazz and fingerstyle virtuoso Adam Rafferty, and some of the Tampa Bay area's finest talent; including Stacey Knights on flute , Dan O'Hara on keyboards , Douglas Lichterman on guitars, Austin Vickrey on saxophone, Kevin Clark on trumpets, and Chris Barbosa on the viola, and dear friends like sax and flute virtuoso Brian Dyre; Still Life is a delightful collection of old-school smooth and contemporary jazz compositions spanning three decades, and bursts with the joy and love that poured into its creation.

Italian Jazz-Funk Supergroup CAMERA SOUL Releases Third Studio Album DRESS CODE

On January 20, 2015, Italian jazz-funk group Camera Soul will release its third studio album, 'Dress Code', through Azzurra Music in Europe and TIMKAT Entertainment in the Americas.

The 14-track 'Dress Code' comes as a progressive follow-up to 2013's 'Not For Ordinary People', and also heralds the debut of lead vocalist Maria Enrica Lotesoriere (aka "Maria Enrica").

For the first three years after the group's formation in Bari, Italy in 2011, Camera Soul worked exclusively as a studio outfit, and its first album, 'Words Don't Speak', did not feature an accompanying tour.

However, with the release of second album 'Not For Ordinary People' in the summer of 2013, its Internet radio popularity grew and the album topped at #2 on the UK Soul Chart, just behind the legendary Earth, Wind & Fire. 'Not For Ordinary People' remained on the chart's Top 30 most-played albums for an impressive 15 weeks. During this time, the group's leaders, composing-brothers Piero and Pippo Lombardo (aka "The Brothers Lombardo"), determined that the band needed to continue to book more live shows in order to satisfy Camera Soul's growing public.

Beginning in the spring of 2014, the Brothers Lombardo held auditions for a new lead vocalist and drummer. They chose the lively Maria Enrica to front the growing band and the excellent Fabio Delle Foglie on drums. Throughout 2014, Camera Soul and its powerful horn-line toured southern Italy, opened the famous Multiculturita Jazz Festival in Capurso, and continued to build an international fan base, primarily on Internet radio.

With the release of 'Dress Code', beginning in spring 2015, Camera Soul intends support the album by performing at several notable jazz festivals throughout Europe and is currently making plans to bring their show to the United Kingdom, the home of the majority of its fans.

"Dress Code" will be available for purchase both on CD and digital download after January 20 at azzurramusic.it and all major digital music stores worldwide. TIMKAT Entertainment expects to release in the Americas around the first week of February and will use CDBABY and its partners for further distribution.

Daryl Hall & John Oates: Recorded Live From Dublin’ Brings Epic Emerald Isle Concert to U.S. Movie Theaters

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Daryl Hall and John Oates come to the big screen for a special one-night concert event on Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 7 p.m. local time, presented by Fathom Events, Cinema 1 and Eagle Rock Entertainment. The number-one selling duo in music history, they played before a sellout crowd in July 2014 at Dublin’s Olympia Theatre which will now come to select theaters as “Daryl Hall & John Oates: Recorded Live From Dublin.” Their set list included their smash hits such as “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do),” "Rich Girl, "Kiss on My List," "Private Eyes," "Maneater," “She’s Gone,” "Out of Touch" and many more. Over 90 minutes of concert content will be shown along with special interviews and exclusive backstage footage.

“It was the perfect storm for a band, a concert and an audience. There are very few first-time experiences after you’ve been doing this for more than 40 years.”

“Ireland has a very music-oriented culture and a proud musical heritage,” said Hall. “It was the perfect storm for a band, a concert and an audience. There are very few first-time experiences after you’ve been doing this for more than 40 years.”

Daryl Hall & John Oates are soul survivors. Signed to Atlantic by Ahmet Ertegan in the 1970’s, from the mid-’70s to the mid-’80s, the duo would score six #1 singles, including “Rich Girl” (also #1 R&B), “Kiss on My List,” “Private Eyes,” “I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) (also #1 R&B), “Maneater” and “Out of Touch.” By 1987, the R.I.A.A. recognized Daryl Hall and John Oates as the number-one selling duo in music history, a record they still hold today. In May 2008, the duo was honored with the Icon Award during BMI’s 56th annual Pop Awards. In 2014, the two musicians hit another high as they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

 

NEW RELEASES: OSCAR D’LEON – CLASICOS DE BIG BAND (BIG BAND CLASSICS); SPIKE WILNER - LIVE AT SMALLS; UNIVERSAL TOGETHERNESS BAND

OSCAR D’LEON – CLASICOS DE BIG BAND (BIG BAND CLASSICS)

A really unique album from this salsa legend – a set that has Oscar D'Leon paying tribute to the era of big bands, both Latin and jazz – with full orchestral backing alongside his vocals! The package has a really unusual presentation – in that it features two different CDs of the same material – one set with English language lyrics, one with Spanish – a wise idea, given that this album could be the one to reintroduce Oscar to a larger world outside the Latin music scene! The arrangements are great – very jazzy, and in a classic sort of Nelson Riddle style, but with some more Latin moments – and title sinclude "Strangers In The Night", "New York New York", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "Fly Me To The Moon", "My Way", and "Cachito Mio". ~ Dusty Groove

SPIKE WILNER – LIVE AT SMALLS

Beautiful work from pianist Spike Wilner – an artist we already respect for his tireless work running the Live At Smalls series – and one that we've grown to love even more for the fresh new sound of this wonderful record! Spike's always had a way of linking styles and generations with his piano – sometimes very traditional, sometimes very personal – yet here, he finds this really wonderful groove that's somewhere in between, but very unique as well – a trio format that has the guitar of Yotam Silberstein and bass of Paul Gill often dancing alongside his own lines on piano – so that all three instruments resonate out strongly in the melody, and find new ways to spiral out together! The approach is very individual, and especially well-tuned to the wide range of material here – which includes Wilner compositions, and some other surprising choices. Titles include "Blues For The Common Man", "Pathetique", "Variations On A Popular Theme #1", "Magnetic Rag", and "Hopscotch".  ~  Dusty Groove

UNIVERSAL TOGETHERNESS BAND - UNIVERSAL TOGETHERNESS BAND

A Chicago group who never hit the big time during their short run at the start of the 80s – but one who definitely know how to groove! There's a vibe here that really lives up to the "togetherness" in the group's name – a way of coming together with a tight, sharp sound throughout – but one that's never too slick, just surprisingly strong for such an underground funk group from the Windy City! And although the music is upbeat, the style is less disco than it is the kind of faster funk that percolated strongly in the underground scene in the pre-house years – almost more akin to some of the best indie club work coming out of the east coast, but with a very unique vibe too. As usual with Numero, the set does way more than just bring this lost music to light – it also tells the tale of the Universal Togetherness Band, and their never-flagging sense of energy and inspiration during their short but important run. Titles include "Ain't Gonna Cry", "Try Try Try", "My Sentiment", "Real Thrill", "Once In A Lifetime", "Call For Love", "I Want You", and "Taken By Love". ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: THE LIONS - SOUL RIOT; JOHN ZORN - HERMETIC ORGAN VOL 3: ST. PAUL'S HALL; LERON THOMAS - TAKE IT

THE LIONS – SOUL RIOT

The Lions seem to get deeper and deeper with each new release – moving past their start as a funk band with a focus on Kingston sounds – into a group who've got a really fresh feel of their own! Sure, some cuts here are great reggae numbers – the kind of mellow, head-nodding cuts The Lions have always given us – but there's also some more complicated elements going on too, these little touches of darkness at times, especially on the rhythms, which can break from obvious patterns into something nicely unique. Plenty of guests help flesh out the tunes – including Malik The Freq Moore, Black Shakespeare, Alex Desert, and Myron Glasper – and titles include "My Girl", "Going Nowhere", "Rhythm Rock", "Feels Good", "At A Loss", "Smoke & Mirrors", and "When It Rains". (Includes download! Pressed at 45 rpm – for even more booming sound!)  ~ Dusty Groove 

JOHN ZORN - HERMETIC ORGAN VOLUME 3: ST. PAUL'S HALL

Insanely great organ improvisations from John Zorn – an artist you might know best for his groundbreaking reed work, but who turns in a tremendous performance here on a full-voiced church organ! Zorn's range of sounds is mindblowing here – sometimes bold and bracing, sometimes just at the very edge of the sonic spectrum – used in these subtle, quiet ways that build beautifully as John deftly makes his ways over the keys and different stops on the instrument – with almost a building's worth of breadth in the results. All tracks are long – and titles include "Spectral Angels", "The Fall Of Satan", and "The Revelation Of St John".  ~ Dusty Groove

LERON THOMAS - TAKE IT

Totally wonderful work from Leron Thomas – an artist we're only discovering with this full length album, but one who we totally love already! Leron's got this hip style that's a mix of funky soul and darker, more sci fi-styled touches – some crispness on the beats, weird processing on his vocals, and a nice sense of abstraction that really inflects some great moments on the album's lyrics! Leron's worked before with Jason Moran, Guts, and Zara McFarlane – but this full length set on his own is a real revelation – with a sense of power and presence that should well have us hearing a lot more from him in years to come. Titles include "Enemy", "Kept", "Take It", "Appear To Stack", "Cover Band", and "Ass Kickin". (Includes download.) ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: DUANE EUBANKS QUINTET - THINGS OF A PARTICULAR NATURE; COMPLICATED ANIMALS - IN THIS GAME; DAVID GIBSON - BOOM!

DUANE EUBANKS QUINTET - THINGS OF A PARTICULAR NATURE

A damn great album from trumpeter Duane Eubanks – soaring, soulful, and tremendously powerful right from the very first note! The album's got Eubanks working with an excellent lineup that includes Abraham Burton on tenor, Marc Cary on piano and Fender Rhodes, Steve Nelson on vibes, Dezron Douglas on bass, and Eric McPherson on drums – all really top-shelf players who come together beautifully on a set of all original material by Eubanks – compositions that are often nicely compact, but which really show an expansive vision from both the leader and other soloists. There's a real sense of the classic going on here – not rehashed classic jazz, but new material that will soon deserve it's own standing alongside a larger legacy. Titles include "Aborted Dreams", "As Is", "Beer & Water", "Purple Blue & Red", "Rosey", "Holding Hands", and "Slew Footed".  ~  Dusty Groove

COMPLICATED ANIMALS - IN THIS GAME 

Complicated Animals is Monica da Silva and Chad Alger. Their debut EP In This Game (out February 10, 2015 on Socialite Fiasco Music) features 6 songs in the duos’ self-coined Indie Nova genre. The style mixes breezy, Indie Pop with a touch of vintage Brazilian Bossa Nova. Monica and Chad released their first album together, Brasilissima, under Monica’s name in 2011. The album featured songs in both English and Portuguese. In This Game - Tracklist: Roadmap, Que Passou, Phoenix,

Bees Take To Honey, Drive Around In Cars, and Sempre Aqui.

DAVID GIBSON - BOOM!

Trombonist David Gibson has been giving us really great work with his recent albums on the Positone label – and each one seems to have the artist sounding even better and better than before! We're really wowed with the music David gives us this time around – a set of nearly all original compositions, blown with a strength and confidence that's as compelling as the songs themselves – with Gibson's trombone perfectly matched with the trumpet of Josh Evans in the frontline! The pair come together with a special sort of magic – maybe like Curtis Fuller and Freddie Hubbard in a key version of The Jazz Messengers – a unified voice on the leads, but very much their own folks on the solos. The rest of the group includes tight piano from Theo Hill, who really helps move things along – plus Alex Claffy on bass and Kush Abadey on drums – on titles that include "The High Road", "Rare Truth", "Grass Fed", "Eyes Of Argus", "Persephone", and "The Dance". ~ Dusty Groove

Three Swinging Singers - Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner & Melissa Stylianou - Make Their Trio Debut as Duchess

Sure-footed swing, sweet-toned harmony and ever-insouciant charm are embodied in the new jazz vocal trio Duchess, featuring notable New York singers Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner and Melissa Stylianou. The group's debut album - Duchess, to be released by Anzic Records on Febuary 17, 2015 - channels the 1930s inspiration of the virtuosic Boswell Sisters into a wonderfully entertaining and contemporary package. Produced by Oded Lev-Ari, who helmed previous acclaimed Anzic releases by Cervini and Stylianou, Duchess pairs the vocal trio with an ace New York band: pianist Michael Cabe, bassist Paul Sikivie and drummer Matt Wilson, plus saxophonist Jeff Lederer and guitarist Jesse Lewis. The songs of Duchess range from the Peggy Lee number "I Love Being Here With You" and Johnny Mercer's "P.S. I Love You" to new twists on "Que Sera, Sera" and the indelible standard "I'll Be Seeing You." There's a playful Gershwin rarity with "Blah, Blah, Blah" and a direct Boswell Sisters homage with their arrangement of "Heebie Jeebies." And there are solo spots for each of the Duchess ladies with "My Brooklyn Love Song" (Hilary), "A Doodlin' Song" (Amy) and "Humming to Myself" (Melissa). A blend of the vintage and the fresh, Duchess is a fizzing cocktail of an album.

Duchess - backed by the same band as on the album - will perform an album-release show at New York City's Jazz Standard on March 3, 2015. The group promises "three good-time gals singing together in harmony," Hilary says. "There's a big wink in what we do, a mix of levity and sincerity." Amy had sung previously many times with Hilary and Melissa, separately. It was the suggestion of Amy's husband - producer-arranger Oded Lev-Ari - to convene a threesome at one of her regular nights at the 55 Bar in the West Village, as he envisioned the trio sound in his head. Amy says: "We sang old Boswell Sisters and Andrew Sisters charts, and it went so well that Oded was inspired to write custom arrangements for us. He has a voice in this group, so much so that it's almost a quartet." 

About the magical rapport among the three singers, Amy says: "The chemistry with the three of us was special from the beginning - the sort of chemistry you can't predict and that doesn't happen very often. Honestly, the audience response had a lot to do with us pursuing the group. People were having such a good time, bobbing their heads and bopping in their seats. As Hilary said, Duchess is all about combining swinging with fun. There can be a fine line between entertaining and schtick, but we take care to fall on the right side of that. It's serious fun, in that we take the music seriously but not ourselves."

The historic muses for the Duchess sound are the Boswell Sisters, a trio from New Orleans whose pioneering close-harmony records for Brunswick in the Thirties are a prize in the jazz canon. "The Boswell Sisters were such originals," Hilary explains. "This kind of music got more conservative a decade later in the 1940s, with the Andrew Sisters taking the vocal trio format more mainstream, even though they were swinging and super-tight in their own way. But the Boswell Sisters had a kind of instrumental approach to harmony singing, and there was a wildness to what they did, with abrupt tempo changes, crazy harmonies and ensemble scatting as if they were singing from one brain. We love them. That said, we're not doing re-creations at all. Our voices, personalities and 21st-century sensibilities help impart individuality to what we're doing. We're making these songs our own, naturally. Oded's arrangements are tailored to our singing, and what Jeff Lederer plays isn't something that you'd hear on a Boswell Sisters record. It sounds like now." 

Along with their craft-honing, crowd-pleasing New York shows at the 55 Bar (including a three-month residency) and the Jazz Standard (joining in with Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O), Duchess brought the house down in New Orleans, native ground for the Boswell Sisters sound. The group was invited to the Crescent City to participate in a celebration of the Boswell Sisters by Kyla Titus, a granddaughter of one of the sisters and who runs an association for preserving their music. Melissa recalls: "Groups specializing in Boswell Sisters material from all over the world went down for the event. It was amazing how well they could do the Boswell Sisters music note-for-note. We only do a handful of numbers from the Boswell Sisters repertoire - we're more inspired by the spirit than the letter. But when we sang at Snug Harbor down there, people were so into it. I think they appreciated this tongue-in-cheek, slightly down-and-dirty thing we have going on."

Aside from the original Boswell Sisters chart for "Heebie Jeebies," producer Oded Lev-Ari arranged the songs on Duchess. As Hilary pointed out, the goal was never just a re-enactment of something ultra-hip from the Thirties. "That would be a museum piece, and that isn't what we wanted to create," Oded says. "But there is this playful correspondence with history of the music and the sound of the Boswell Sisters and others. Some of my arrangements for the group are informed by the old-school sound, with parallel movement for the voices, melody in the middle, triad-like structures like in 'A Little Jive' and 'It's a Man.' When I write, I usually try to make very singable melodic lines for musicians to play, and singers are no exception. There is a tradition in big-band composition - particularly with Duke Ellington - that emphasizes writing for the individual playing the instrument, not necessarily for the instrument itself. And getting to know the trio's voices and colors allowed me to do that. It has been a ton of fun. At this point, I can hear what a specific note would sound like when Melissa sings it versus Amy or Hilary, and it makes it possible to really refine the sound and expression." 

As for the band, all-star drummer Matt Wilson is a longtime Amy associate, as is pianist Michael Cabe, who played on her first two solo albums. Guitarist Jesse Lewis plays alongside Amy in their trio Jazz Country. And saxophonist Jeff Lederer and bassist Paul Sikivie are members of Wilson's Christmas Tree-O. Amy sums them up: "The band is just so good. They're really essential to our musical vibe and the humor, too, the way they play off each other and us."

Melissa shares a story about one of the best responses to the Duchess sound and sensibility: "It was from a musician, a vibes player who had a set after us at the 55 Bar. He came up to us and said, 'You know, the audience doesn't realize how difficult what you're doing really is. They're having too good of a time'."

  

Duchess:

1. "I Love Being Here with You" (Peggy Lee, Bill Schluger)

2. "There Ain't No Sweet Man" (Fred Fisher)

3. "Que Sera, Sera" (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans)

4. "My Brooklyn Love Song" (Ramey Idriss, George Tibbles)

5. "A Doodlin' Song" (Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh)

6. "A Little Jive Is Good for You" (Ralph Yaw)

7. "P.S. I Love You" (Johnny Mercer, Gordon Jenkins)

8. "Hummin' to Myself" (Sammy Fain, Herb Magidson, Monty Siegel)

9. "It's a Man" (Cy Coben)

10. "I'll Be Seeing You" (Irving Kahal, Sammy Fain)

11. "Lollipop" (Beverly Ross, Julius Dixon)

12. "Blah, Blah, Blah" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin)

13. "Heebie Jeebies" (Boyd Atkins)

Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner, Melissa Stylianou, voices

Michael Cabe, piano; Paul Sikivie, double-bass; Matt Wilson, drums

Jeff Lederer, saxophone (1, 5, 6, 9, 11); Jesse Lewis, guitar (1, 2, 7, 8)

Produced and arranged by Oded Lev-Ari

Recorded by Chris Allen at Sear Sound, NYC

Mixed by Brian Montgomery

Mastered by Mark Wilder at Battery Studios, NYC

www.duchesstrio.com

CARMEN LUNDY Celebrates Banner Year: Release of 14th CD; Garners Widespread Critical Acclaim, Tour Dates Around The World, Radio Airplay And A Wealth Of Opportunities In 2015

2014 was an incredible year for vocalist, songwriter, producer and musician Carmen Lundy. “Soul To Soul,” a passionate new song cycle and the artist’s 14th CD, was released to critical raves from publications ranging from Jazz Times to Monsters & Critics to AXS Entertainment to Downbeat. Lundy performed to packed houses in Los Angeles, New York City, London, Paris and more and tracks from the CD have been receiving airplay on stations across the country including such tastemaker stations as Los Angeles’ KCRW and New York’s WBGO. Additionally, Lundy was chosen and interviewed to be a part of The History Makers, a series celebrating the achievements of African Americans, which will be housed permanently at The Library Of Congress in Washington, D.C.

4 Star Review, Best Albums of 2014 – Downbeat (Reviewed in January 2015 issue)

“One of the most criminally overlooked vocalists in jazz may just be ready to get some overdue attention with Soul To Soul.” – Straight No Chaser

“The finished track [“Grace”] is a jewel, a blissful ode to handed-down lessons in strength and dignity that underscore the entire album’s elegance.” – JazzTimes

“The singer has a commanding presence, her words tumbling, soaring and stretching. Carmen Lundy delivers storytelling lyrics with jazz technique and a fusion vibe.” – London Financial Times

“Carmen Lundy’s New Album ‘Soul To Soul’ Confirms Her Status As The Intellectual Voice of Jazz.” – Monsters and Critics

So what’s next for this ground-breaking artist? On February 13th, Carmen will perform at Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall as part of Terri Lyne Carrington’s “Mosaic Project” – a performance that will be based on Carrington’s Grammy-winning CD and that will feature Carmen as well as Lizz Wright, Nona Hendryx, Tia Fuller, Ingrid Jensen, Helen Sung and more. Also on February 15th - Carmen and her band featuring Patrice Rushen, Kenny Davis, Jamison Ross and Warren Wolf will headline the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival.

Education will play a key role on Carmen’s agenda in 2015. From March 23-April 3 Carmen will be based at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. for the annual Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program. 2015 marks Carmen’s 15th consecutive year of involvement with this globally-recognized composition and performance program and she is the only vocal chair to lead the program since Betty Carter herself. On the heels of The Kennedy Center, Carmen will travel to The Berklee School Of Music in Boston on April 7th and 8th for an intensive two-day performance and master class residency, to be followed by more tour dates in Canada and the US, then culminating in a 4-night stand at Jazz At Lincoln Center/Dizzy’s in New York City September 17th-20th and two nights at the Kennedy Center November 20th-21st.

“It’s been a very exciting and fulfilling time for me,” says Lundy, “I’m looking forward to 2015 and the opportunities it will offer – both musically and on a personal level. I have much to celebrate.”

“Soul To Soul”, Lundy’s 14th album, was released in September (Afrasia Productions) and is the latest chapter in her critically-acclaimed career as both a musical artist and a visual artist; a return to her roots but also an exploration of these roots — and the journey that those roots can take you on.

Carmen Lundy began working on “Soul To Soul” well over a year ago in a very hands-on manner – literally composing, co-composing and arranging eleven of the thirteen tracks and then playing and recording all the instruments – including bass, drums, piano, guitar and percussion – in her home studio to get a working “feel” for how the music might sound. She then “sweetened” the songs by adding string sounds and other software instruments to elaborate and experiment with the aural mood of each track, interpreting and identifying with each track’s sound individually as well as part of the overall song sequence. On the final CD, Lundy plays guitar on all tracks, piano and Rhodes on many tracks, and drums on two. “Soul To Soul” also features the stellar talents of guest artists Patrice Rushen, Geri Allen, Randy Brecker, Mayra Casales, Simphiwe Dana, Bennie Maupin, Carol Robbins, Ada Rovatti, and Warren Wolf along with Carmen’s core rhythm section members Darryl Hall and Jamison Ross.

Carmen Lundy is also a celebrated mixed media artist and painter, and her works have been exhibited in New York at The Jazz Gallery in Soho, at The Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles, and at a month-long exhibition at the Madrid Theatre in Los Angeles, CA.

NEW RELEASES: INTRODUCING PHILOPHON RECORDS; REGGIE CODRINGTON - ALWAYS IN MOTION; DANNY BRYANT - TEMPERATURE RISING

INTRODUCING PHILOPHON RECORDS (VARIOUS ARTISTS)

Philophon is the newly founded record label by Max Weissenfeldt, drummer and co-founder of the Poets of Rhythm, a.k.a the "godfathers of deep funk" (Wax Poetics) or, a little bit more dramatic, as the "unsung heros of the funk-soul revival" (Fred Thomas of the JB's). In cooperation with his brother Jan, he further formed the more globalized outfit the Whitefield Brothers. Under the direction of the multigrammylicious Dan Auerbach, master mind of the Black Keys, he also had the chance to participate in the making of the Grammy-winning Dr. John record 'Locked Down'. With his friend, Stibbo Spitzmüller, Max recently established the Stibbtone Studios at the riverside of Berlins Spree - home of Philophon and as well home to some of the most brilliant musicians in town. Now, with its first three 7-inches by Ghanaian vocalists; Guy One, Alogte Oho Jonas and Jimmy Taylor (AKA Roy X), son of Highlife legend Ebo Taylor, Philophon has started its journey and joins its friends and colleagues - like; Now Again, Truth & Soul, Daptone, Timmion, Jazzman, Soundway, Awesome Tapes From Africa, Kindred Spirits, Honest Jon's... in keeping soulful music alive.

REGGIE CODRINGTON - ALWAYS IN MOTION

Versatile smooth jazz saxophonist Reggie Codrington hits a milestone with his 10th CD, "Always in Motion", which follows 2012's critically acclaimed "Vicarious Experience". He's joined by pianist Jeff Lorber and the late Ricky Lawson, whose deft and skillful drumming is always a welcome addition to the bottom end. Smooth jazz guitarist Nils, a regular presence on radio, produced and wrote much of the vibrant material. Codrington, who commands the soprano sax with verve, drawing comparisons with such icons as Grover Washington Jr. and Kenny G, kicks if off with "Party Time", a smooth groove with guitar wah-wahs and layered brass bursts - a perfect song for a sunny drive along the Pacific Coast Highway. In fact, "Always in Motion" features a number of songs the North Carolina native dedicated to the West Coast.  ~ CD Universe

DANNY BRYANT - TEMPERATURE RISING

(2014/Jazzhaus) 9 tracks. The British blues-rock guitarist Danny Bryant embodies the traditional straight for the UK workers attribute the industrious Malochers. Despite extensive live presence to each new album new material regularly get served fans of earthy and sweaty blues rock. Not even one and a half years after the release of its predecessor, Hurricane his new album Temperature Rising appears. Danny Bryant so as to label the chord producing assembly line Blue workers according to the book, however, would it be not at all fair, because at least since the 2007 Output Just As I Am, the man of stature of master in terms of fulminant and soulful attack strings in the pocket. Accordingly, each new Silberling exposes other facets of the sympathetic fingerboard sorcerer. Temperature Rising is the logical continuation of the already mentioned work 2013er Hurricane, but was a little turned in detail at the screws. This will mainly affect the guitar sound that has significantly gained in intensity and this time the predicate deserves extra kräftigdeftig. "I wanted to place more emphasis on the live character in the recordings," Danny explains this development. "Many Solos therefore arose at the first and second attempt. This has helped to transfer the energy of our live shows to the studio atmosphere. " Medium 1 Best Of Me Take Me Higher Nothing At All Together Trough Life Razor Sharp Temperature Rising Time Mystery Guntown. ~ CD Universe

BROOKLYN JAZZ UNDERGROUND RECORDS ARTIST NOAH GARABEDIAN CELEBRATES NEW CD, BIG BUTTER AND THE EGGMEN @ DUENDE IN OAKLAND ON FEB 12 & @ THE CENTER FOR NEW MUSIC IN SAN FRANCISCO ON FEB 13

In demand sideman, bassist/composer Noah Garabedian, who has worked with the likes of Ravi Coltrane, Josh Roseman, Ralph Alessi, Andrew D'Angelo, Myron Walden, Nir Felder, Julian Waterfall Pollack and The Amigos Band, recently released his debut recording as a leader, Big Butter And The Egg Men, on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, featuring his sextet of the same name.  Garabedian now leads the band, featuring Noah Garabedian (bass), Kenny Warren (trumpet), Anna Webber (tenor saxophone and flute), Kyle Wilson (tenor saxophone), Raffi Garabedian (tenor saxophone), Curtis Macdonald (alto saxophone) and Alex Ritz (drums), at Bay Area CD Release Celebrations, February 12 at Duende in Oakland, and February 13 at the Center for New Music in San Francisco.  

The instrumentation of Garabedian's band was inspired by a prolonged Louis Armstrong phase, coupled with the bassist listening extensively to Henry Threadgill's bands Zooid, and Very Very Circus (several of the tracks on the album also reveal Garabedian's love for Bach, and Baroque music in general). He elaborated, "I wanted to create a band where the musicians could all comp for each other, without a traditional chordal instrument, and having a band that can potentially go from being an entire sextet improvising together, to a small duo or trio, was a very exciting prospect for me." Garabedian aimed to compose music that provide a spring board for the improvisers, and that would have a more natural transition between the composed passages and the improvised sections. He explains, "rather than writing in a conventional jazz structures (such as the blues, or AABA forms, etc), I wanted to experiment with several different melodies in a piece, different improvising sections throughout the composition, and a variety of textures within each song." 

The Big Butter And the Egg Men Sextet, featuring Garabedian on bass with Kyle Wilson (tenor sax), Anna Webber (tenor sax), Curtis MacDonald (alto sax), Kenny Warren (trumpet) and Evan Hughes (drums), is made up of musicians who are also friends who have been making music together for a long time. Just to cite one example, Garabedian, now based in Brooklyn, and drummer Evan Hughes (both from Berkeley, CA) have known each other since they were teenagers. "Having that band quality is very important to me, especially in an age where so few steady working bands exist. The trust I have in the musicians is something that I value greatly; not only can I rely on them to perform my music at a high level, but I also welcome their input while we are work-shopping new compositions," said Garabedian.

Guitarist LAWSON ROLLINS Set to Release Fifth Album, TRAVELER

Many people travel from an encapsulated distance, staying at posh brand name hotels and dining under the golden arches while others prefer to explore by blending amongst the natives for a more immersive and organic experience of the actual sights and sounds of a culture. Award-winning guitarist Lawson Rollins lives by the latter philosophy, taking his guitar with him to view and interpret his global journeys. Writing twelve expansive compositions that are wordless diary entries encapsulating his travels, Rollins’s virtuoso guitar parlance speaks a universal language on tales of exhilarating adventure, intriguing mystery and enticing romance on his fifth album, “Traveler,” which will be released by his Infinita Records label and distributed by Baja/TSR Records on February 17.         

Rollins’s traveling companion once again is platinum-selling producer-engineer Dominic Camardella, who has shared the helm on each of the guitarist’s previous releases that, like “Traveler,” are audacious border-crossing quests of melodic and rhythmic jazz and world beat. Joining them to create the intricate aural backdrops upon which Rollins unfurls masterful and impassioned fretwork on intercontinental and coast-to-coast exchanges was a noted ensemble comprised of Grammy-winning violinists Mads Tolling and Charlie Bisharat, Randy Tico (bass), Dave Bryant (drums & percussion) and Cameron Stone (cello). On select tracks they were joined by a horn section in addition to contributions from Big Bad Voodoo Daddy members Scotty Morris, Joshua Levy and Karl Hunter. Both Rollins and Camardella added keyboards and piano to the earthy mix on “Traveler” that Rollins describes as “a gypsy jazz amalgamation of travels.” 

A Billboard singles chart-topper (“Moonlight Samba”) who has hit both the contemporary jazz (Top 30) and world music (Top 10) albums charts while amassing nearly eight million YouTube views for videos showcasing the guitarist’s mesmerizing technique, Rollins says, "‘Traveler’ is a musical travelogue for me, chronicling some of my journeys in life and evoking some of the places I've lived, visited and returned to in my memory. The album starts with the African-flavored title track 'Traveler' and continues north to Spain ('Barcelona Express' and 'Meeting in Madrid'), France ('Cafe Paris'), Germany (‘Berlin Bossa’) and England (‘Across the Moors’), and then over the Atlantic to Louisiana ('Beyond the Bayou') where I lived for a time after college. Next, we head to California with 'Marching West' and 'Journey Home.' The album concludes with the modern, electronica-infused ‘Urban Trilogy’ that evokes my times spent in New York, London, Tokyo and San Francisco. On this journey, my guitar serves as a kind of filter through which my impressions of the world are processed and expressed in the language of music."   

Presaging the album release at radio is “City Electric,” a vibrant, pulsating EDM energizer unlike anything Rollins has ever recorded before. The single starts as one of the most added on this week’s charts. 

In December, Rollins won the prestigious 2014 USA Songwriting Competition’s best instrumental song and was the first ever instrumentalist to place third overall in the 20th year of the international contest that attracts 25,000 submissions from 80 countries. The complex and emotional “Shifting Seasons” appears on the artist’s 2013 release, “Full Circle.” Rollins has topped the most-played chart on SiriusXM Radio’s Watercolors resulting in a guest DJ hosting gig. The San Francisco, California-based musician debuted as a solo artist on 2008’s “Infinita” offering an inventive fusion of Latin, Indian, Persian, Arabic, South American and Euro stylings along with a guest appearance by Brazilian jazz vocal legend Flora Purim. Earlier in his career, Rollins partnered with Daniel Young to form Young & Rollins, a duo that crafted an eclectic mélange on four albums of salsa, bossa nova, flamenco, Latin and jazz grooves, hitting the Billboard Top 25. 

“Traveler” contains the following songs:

“Traveler”

“Barcelona Express”

”Café Paris”

“Berlin Bossa”

“Meeting in Madrid”

“Marching West”

“Journey Home”

“Beyond the Bayou”

“Across the Moors”

-The Urban Trilogy:

“Metropolis”

“Ancient City”

“City Electric” 

www.LawsonRollins.com

Saxophonist DONNY McCASLIN Releases New EDM-Influenced Album, Fast Future

The only thing predictable about Donny McCaslin's first ten albums was their unpredictability. Each new release arrived with a new line-up and not infrequently a new direction, often providing the perpetually curious saxophonist/composer with fertile new ground to explore.

On the surface, what makes McCaslin's latest release, Fast Future (available March 31, 2015 on Dave Douglas' Greenleaf Music), something of a radical departure from his usual M.O., is that it reprises the stunning electro-acoustic quartet from its groundbreaking, critically-acclaimed predecessor, Casting for Gravity - a project that earned McCaslin a 2014 GRAMMY® nomination for "Best Instrumental Jazz Solo" on the track "Stadium Jazz." However as the title implies, Fast Future finds McCaslin and company - keyboardist Jason Lindner, bassist Tim Lefebvre, and drummer Mark Guiliana, along with longtime producer David Binney - hurtling further into the relatively unexplored crossroads between jazz and electronica with virtuosic musicianship. Long influenced by fusion pioneers like Weather Report and Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, McCaslin integrates those hybrid instincts with innovative modern artists like Aphex Twin and Skrillex.

"I really love the sonic textures and ambient vibe that you hear in a lot of that music," says McCaslin of the influence that electronica and EDM (Electronic Dance Music) has had on his music. "Having these guys improvising and interacting within that sonic landscape feels great."

  

At the core of even the most adventurous soundscapes on Fast Future - McCaslin's fourth album for Greenleaf and the first release during the company's 10th anniversary year - are similar sensibilities that have fueled McCaslin's acoustic music, namely vigorous melodies, taut interaction, and the leader's instantly recognizable, brawny tenor voice. Take "No Eyes," a cover of a song by Baths, the alter ego of L.A.-based electronica artist Will Wiesenfeld. Atop the electronic synth-bass throb sits a gorgeous, singable melody, which Binney enhances via transcendent wordless vocals (an element that was not previously highlighted on Casting for Gravity). "Sometimes in the electronica realm there's not enough harmonic movement or melody for me," McCaslin says. "But that song is a beautiful tune in and of itself and you could play it in a variety of ways." It is in this overall spirit that Fast Future showcases McCaslin in a slightly more commercial context, featuring production tendencies that are more often reserved for non-jazz projects. "Greenleaf has again provided an opportunity for me to experiment and that comes from the openness and sensibility of Dave Douglas," says McCaslin, who was a member of Douglas' quintet. 

McCaslin is well known for his standout playing in the Maria Schneider Orchestra (having recently been featured on the David Bowie/Maria Schneider collaboration, "Sue") and Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Project, and he compares the feeling of playing amid lush electronic environments to soloing against those vivid big-band backdrops. "Standing and playing in front of this bed of beauty is such a joy," he says. "It's so awesome to be surrounded by such deep music." 

The members of McCaslin's quartet have been incredibly busy in the two years since the release of Casting for Gravity. Lefebvre, already in-demand for Hollywood soundtrack work and subbing on Saturday Night Live, joined the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a touring juggernaut that has kept him almost constantly on the road. Lindner remains a commanding presence on the NYC jazz scene, leading his renowned band Now Vs Now and its large ensemble spin-off, Breeding Ground. Guiliana joined with pianist Brad Mehldau to form the electronic duo project Mehliana and founded the independent record label Beat Music Productions, which recently launched with the release of two of his own new projects. 

All of those experiences converge when these individually inventive artists come together in McCaslin's quartet, now with multiple years of experience as a working unit. The saxophonist calls Lefebvre "the DJ of the band," the breadth of his stylistic and sonic range driving the band into different territories from one moment to the next. With his own background in production, drum and bass, and electronic music, Guiliana easily transcends the genre boundaries traversed by McCaslin's music and is so crucial to the band's sound that the bandleader has said, "this record is a drum solo." And McCaslin praises Lindner's "stylistic malleability," noting his gift at finding "these sounds that feel right and are edgy, but he's also able to be so in the moment and so organic." 

Saxophonist, composer and producer Binney, McCaslin's longtime friend, collaborator, and basketball partner, is the fifth member of the quartet. Months before he sets foot in the studio for any project, McCaslin consults with Binney and the two shape a vision for his next project. "I can't overstate the significance of Dave's contribution to this record," McCaslin says. "It was a real partnership. He was never more of an influence on a record than he was on this one." 

One example that McCaslin cites is the haunting spoken word interlude on "Love What is Mortal," performed by Jana Dagdagan, intertwined above McCaslin pristine soloing and treatment of melody. An integral component of the song's melancholy atmosphere, the dialogue was entirely Binney's idea, and he presented it complete and already edited into the track when McCaslin entered the studio one day. "I thought it was perfect," McCaslin says. "How lucky am I to have a friend like that?" 

From the bombastic grooves of the title track, through the lustrous ballad "Midnight Light" and the frantic free-jazz mutation of Aphex Twin's "54 Cymru Beats," to the final dub-tinged stealth of closer "Squeeze Thru," which evokes McCaslin's youth in Santa Cruz, seeing reggae legends like Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Mighty Diamonds, and Burning Spear live, Fast Future offers a thrilling vision of the shape and redefinition of jazz to come. 

Upcoming DONNY McCASLIN Performances:

  

All dates to feature the Donny McCaslin Group unless otherwise noted. 

Personnel for each date varies.

January 29 - 31 / University of Mary (Guest w/ Univ. Big Band)  / Bismarck, ND

February 12 / Regattabar / Cambridge, MA

February 15 / Darulbedayi Caddesi Harbiye Sisli

(w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra) / Istanbul, Turkey

February 20 - 21 / University of Wisconsin -

River Falls (Guest w/ Univ. Big Band) / River Falls, WI

March 7 / The Jazz Bakery / Los Angeles, CA

March 12 - 15 / Cuesta College / San Luis Obispo, CA

March 16 / El Cerrito High School (Guest w/ High School Jazz Band) / El Cerrito, CA

March 19 / Jazz en Rafale (Donny McCaslin Trio

w/ Scott Colley & Jonathan Blake) / Montreal, QC

March 25 - 28 / Mondavi Center / Davis, CA

April 1 / Humber College (Artist-in-Residence) / Toronto

April 3 / Kent State University (Guest Artist) / Kent, OH

April 7 - 8 / The Jazz Standard / New York, NY

April 12 - 18 / Jaazar Festivel (Guest Artist) / Aarua, Switzerland

April 21 - 25 / Reno Jazz Festival (Guest Artist) / Reno, NV

 April 28 - May 3  / Village Vanguard (w/ Enrico Pieranunzi Group) / New York, NY

May 14 - 17 / Jazz Standard (w/ Gil Evans Project - CD Release / New York, NY

June 2 - 6 / Birdland (w/ Maria Schneider Orchestra) / New York, NY

July 18 / Kuumbwa Jazz Center / Santa Cruz, CA

July 19 / Stanford Jazz Workshop / Stanford, CA

www.donnymccaslin.com