NEW RELEASES: MILES DAVIS – SAN FRANCISCO 1970; CECIL RAMIREZ - PARTY IN THE BACK; BOBBY HUTCHERSON - HAPPENINGS

MILES DAVIS – SAN FRANCISCO 1970

As the 1960s wound to a close, Miles Davis was fearlessly forging ahead into new musical directions. Following the transitional In a Silent Way, the groundbreaking double album, Bitches Brew would signal an entirely new musical form that found Davis embracing electronic instrumentation and amplification. By 1970, Davis was performing before the largest audiences of his career, often opening for popular rock bands of the era. He had opened for The Band at the Hollywood Bowl, and on Fillmore East bills for headliners Laura Nyro and Neil Young & Crazy Horse. He also played a multi-night run in April '70 opening for the Grateful Dead at Fillmore West. These performances brought Davis a new younger audience that might not have understood the genesis of his music, but dug it just the same. It's a telling comment on Miles' relentlessly forward-looking vision that a mere sixteen months after recording Bitches Brew, and barely eight months after releasing it to unprecedented commercial success, he had effectively dropped most of its material from his live repertoire. On this performance, Davis focuses primarily on new compositions (What I Say, Honky Tonk, Funky Tonk, and Yesternow), with only eleven minutes of the hour-plus performance exploring established cuts Bitches Brew and Sanctuary. Yesternow, a ferocious track Davis had recorded the previous April for the Tribute to Jack Johnson film, is followed by the title track from Bitches Brew, concluding with another new composition, Funky Tonk. During the nearly 35 minutes of music contained in these last three pieces, the group's power and precision is nothing short of astounding. Apart from the set-closing cue of The Theme, little of this music derives from Miles' jazz period, nor does it fall into the free jazz category that it is so often mistakenly associated with. This music is much funkier, often comprised of deep, one chord, cyclical grooves that have little in common with jazz. ~ Amazon

CECIL RAMIREZ - PARTY IN THE BACK

"Party In The Back" is Cecil's homage to the R&B grooves that he grew up with, listened to and played as part of an R&B band on tour in the 80's. The album is a collection of 7 hook-laden original tunes and 3 covers of Cecil's favorite songs. Cecil invited some of his buddies to play on Party In The Back and the album features amazing guest performances by sax men Michael Lington, Darren Rahn, & Phil Denny; guitarist Adam Hawley; and pianist and producer Brian Culbertson playing synth solos on the new single "Remember The Time".

About "Party In The Back:, Cecil says, "I wanted to create an album that showed where my music is today, but still reflected where I came from. Playing gigs in the 80's with a 7-piece group was a unique experience; I have great memories of the music and musicians I met during that time. Hopefully, the album will take listeners on a fun trip back to where they were in the 80's." From reviewer Jonathan Widran: Well known for his performances at Brian Culbertson's Napa Valley Jazz Getaway, elegant funk pianist Cecil Ramirez creates a dynamic contemporary style rooted in a classic, R&B throwback vibe on a mix of covers and originals. A dual celebration of soulful sensuality and high octane grooves, PARTY IN THE BACK rolls with big name invites like Culbertson (featured on a wild jam version of Michael Jackson's "Remember The Time"), Michael Lington, Darren Rahn, Phil Denny and Adam Hawley. Ramirez's lush ivories provide the melodic thrust on the bright, bouncy "J Street," the dreamy, laid back "Weekend in Napa" and the perfectly titled, divinely disco-fied "Party in the Back." Keep the fun front and center and find the PARTY IN THE BACK! ~ CD Universe

BOBBY HUTCHERSON - HAPPENINGS 

"Happenings" was vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson's fourth Blue Note release as a leader. Where its predecessors "Dialogue" and "Components" were packed with challenging avant-bop, "Happenings" instead brings things down a notch. With pianist Herbie Hancock, drummer Joe Chambers, and bassist Bob Cranshaw on board, Hutcherson keeps the tone fairly light, performing his original compositions (the exception is Hancock's "Maiden Voyage") with a mellow, swinging style that emphasizes modal exploration. The performances are all top-notch, and the album still weighs in as one of the best in Hutcherson's fine catalogue. Personnel: Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone, marimba); Herbie Hancock (piano); Bob Cranshaw (bass); Joe Chambers (drums). Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on February 8, 1966. ~ CD Universe

Bob Baldwin continues to blaze the charts with his tribute to Stevie Wonder on "MelloWonder"

Whatchu know `bout that “MelloWonder” - those songs on a Stevie Wonder album that send you not half a mile from Heaven but to and through the hallowed gates? Lovers dissolve into the creamery slow swirl Milky Way of Stevie balladry. It melts in your heart…intoxicating your mind. Cap’n Bob Baldwin knows all about it and has set his keyboard instrument panel on a singularly bliss-driven musical course he calls MelloWonder: Songs in the Key of Stevie.

Bob met Stevie once in `69 when his father accompanied young Wonder singing “My Cherie Amour” at Memorial Field in Mount Vernon. It was after the turn of the decade when Bob completely fell in love with Wonder’s gifts by way of four Tamla/Motown LPs in his sister Deborah’s collection released between `71 & `74: Music of My Mind, Talking Book, Innervisions and Fulfillingness’ First Finale.

These were the “core four” album upon which “Little Stevie” graduated into the full maturity of his Steveland Morris destiny - from his Motown Hitsville studies in the midst of an enviable collective of professors at every stair step of musical creation to the progressive experimental incubator provided by producers/sound designers Robert Margouleff and Malcolm Cecil: creators of the behemoth early synthesizer T.O.N.T.O. (The Original New Timbral Orchestra). Wedding his composing, singing and multi-instrumental playing skills to the otherworldly sounds that T.O.N.T.O. brought to Stevie’s fingertips unlocked a vault of artistry unparalleled and unprecedented.

Across a career for which a two-decade milestone was achieved in 2013 with his CD Twenty, Bob Baldwin has twice honored the canons of giants; Never Can Say Goodbye: A Tribute to Michael Jackson (2010) and Betcha By Golly Wow: The Songs of Thom Bell (2012). He’s wanted to do a tribute to Stevie almost from his studio beginnings. Over the last two years, everything finally came together.

It is essential to note that a full-album homage to Wonder by a contemporary jazz artist has, surprisingly, never been done. Singers from Barbara Streisand to B.B. King have sung his songs. Ensembles from Brazilian Jazz trio Azymuth (featuring the late Jose Roberto Bertrami on keyboards) to the London Symphony Orchestra have also done songs. Ramsey Lewis collaborated with Stevie on two new songs for his 1977 LP, Love Notes. Elsewhere, Ronnie Foster produced tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine’s 8-song audiophile Blue Note Records offering Wonderland: The Music of Stevie Wonder in`87, and the late, great George Duke produced winds master Najee’s CD Najee Plays Songs From the Key of Life: A Tribute to Stevie Wonder in `95. However, neither album was theirs. For the closest thing to what Bob has done, one must reach back to 1974 for Hugo in Wonder-Land: a 10-song space oddity by Hollywood composer/arranger/conductor Hugo Montenegro experimenting with synthesizers utilizing Stevie’s music. Cool but no comparison.

Bob Baldwin brings the totality of his musicality as a player, composer, arranger, keyboard/synth specialist (and sometimes singer) to his14-song voyage into MelloWonder, honoring that magi-mystical sweet spot that Stevie’s sound sends us. He showcases a few guest players and singers including flautist Ragan Whiteside on several seamless contributions as well as tenor saxophonist Ryan Kilgore (of Stevie’s current Wonderlove band) tenderly blessing the exquisitely brushed beauty of “You and I.” Baldwin even brings string players to the playground not for lush padding but a soulful rhythmic workout on “The Real Thing / Keep It Real,” one of two songs Stevie originally gifted to Sergio Mendes to help set his New Brasil `77 concept apart from his super successful Brasil `66 incarnation.

However, MelloWonder’s very best moments are moments in which all or most of the music emanates from Baldwin himself - in layers of aural keyboard delight. His tasteful shifts from acoustic piano to Rhodes on “Love’s Light in Flight / Love Trippin’” over deliciously dispatched digital percussion…his use of the hand-held melodica as both a second voice and a horn section on “Creepin’”…his speaking the poetry of “Where Were You When I Needed You” in the second half of “Superwoman” to add emphasis to the words, This is high level inspiration. Who could listen to Bob’s fully engaged renderings of “Lately,” “Looking For Another Pure Love” and “Rocket Love/Back to Earth” and not be impressed that every drum, bass and keyboard lick was played by Bob & Bob alone? And there’s more. Baldwin also composed two new songs: one in his own heart-stilling, pitch- bending style (“Stevie”) and the other in the key of Stevie (“Wonderland”).

So close your eyes to see and feel where Bob Baldwin is coming from within the artistry of Wonder…allow the layered melodies, harmonies and rhythms to send one you love’s head and yours on slow floating figure eight swivels into infinity…

- A. SCOTT GALLOWAY

BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS THE COMPLETE ISLAND RECORDINGS AND THE COMPLETE ISLAND RECORDINGS: COLLECTOR'S EDITION

Bob Marley's 70th birthday year-long celebration (2015) continues with the release of two new box sets, The Complete Island Recordings and The Complete Island Recordings: Collector's Edition.  These two stunning vinyl collection sets will release September 25th, 2015, and feature 11 albums on 180-gram vinyl spanning a decade's worth of Bob Marley & The Wailers releases on Island Records. The Complete Island Recordings will include 11-LPs packaged in a rigid card box with lift top lid, and wrapped in silver paper that simulates the brushed metal finish of a hinged lighter. The Complete Island Recordings: Collector's Edition will included 11-LPs, a 70th anniversary slip mat and two photos in glassine envelopes, all packaged in a unique metal box set, numbered and lined with velvet and connected to truly emulate a hinged lighter.  Both boxes will include Bob's 70th Birthday logo and all nine Bob Marley & The Wailers studio albums recorded for Island Records, featuring some of their most celebrated releases, including "Catch A Fire," their 1973 label debut, and "Rastaman Vibration," their 1976 breakthrough album in the United States, along with two live albums "Live!" and "Babylon By Bus."

The 11 LP's from the box set will also be broken out and released individually on 180-gram vinyl beginning September 25th. Apart from the actual disc labels which will feature more recently reissued artwork, the LP's will faithfully replicate the original album pressings.  The "Live!" album will include the original poster with the vinyl, while the "Exodus" album will feature the original gold metallic jacket with embossed lettering.  The "Babylon By Bus" album will feature the die-cut cover with the color printed inner sleeves showing through.

Bob Marley, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, is notable not only as the man who put reggae on the global map, but, as a statesman in his native Jamaica, he famously brought together the country's warring factions — symbolized by rival politicians Michael Manley and Edward Siega joining hands on-stage -- during his legendary "One Love Peace Concert" in Kingston, which took place on April 22, 1978, less than six weeks before this Music Hall performance in Boston. It was five years since Marley and the band arrived from Jamaica, with the 1977 release of EXODUS, recorded in London just after an assassination attempt on his life, turned into not just a socio-political statement, but one which included such hits as the title track, "Waiting In Vain" and "One Love," paving the way for their next release Kaya and a world tour in '78.  Together with his music's theme of liberation, Marley's own rags-to-riches story brought inspiration to subjugated people around the world, where he was revered as a larger-than-life leader.

Today, Bob Marley remains one of the 20th century's most important and influential entertainment icons. Marley's lifestyle and music continue to inspire new generations as his legacy lives on through his music. In the digital era, he has the second-highest social media following of any posthumous celebrity, with the official Bob Marley Facebook page drawing more than 74 million fans, ranking it among the Top 20 of all Facebook pages and Top 10 among celebrity pages. Marley's music catalog has sold millions of albums worldwide

Thirty years after its original release, Bob Marley & The Wailers', LEGEND, shared the top of the charts, holding the No. 5 spot on Billboard's 200 Album Chart among Maroon 5 (#1), Jeezy (#2), Guardians of the Galaxy Soundtrack (#3), and Ariana Grande (#4). LEGEND also holds the distinction of being the longest-charting album in the history of Billboard magazine's Catalog Albums chart and remains the world's best-selling reggae album. Marley's accolades include inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1994) and ASCAP Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010), a GRAMMY® Lifetime Achievement Award (2001), multiple entries in the GRAMMY® Hall Of Fame, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2001).  

  

LP'S INCLUDED IN BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS - THE COMPLETE ISLAND RECORDINGS & THE COLLECTOR'S EDITION:

•Catch A Fire

•Burnin'

•Natty Dread

•Live!

•Rastaman Vibration

•Exodus

•Babylon By Bus

•Kaya

•Survival

•Uprising

•Confrontation

Saxophonist James Brandon Lewis Releases Days Of FreeMan, A Tribute To His Hip-Hop Roots

Visionary composer and tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis's bravest, yet most palpable artistic feat, Days Of FreeMan, opens with a poignant and profound introductory monologue from a maternal sage. She says: "The best thing of living is living who you are. You can't be somebody else; you gotta be what God gave you to be and who you are. You look in the mirror and see yourself and say 'I'm James Brandon Lewis."' Next, bass and drums congeal around the sapphire melodic motif of "Brother 1976," recalling one of those jazzy jewel-like hooks from a 1990s Native Tongue hip-hop jam. The effect is like 1990s hip-hop's fascination with jazz being spit back by a prodigious jazz innovator. Welcome to Days Of FreeMan (OKeh) available July 24, 2015.

For his third album, James uses ideas from 1990s hip-hop to masterfully weave together threads of cultural identity, cross-generational identity, and personal reflection.

Days Of FreeMan is imaginatively organized in chapters with classic hip-hop style breaks and interludes functioning as chapter breathers. Like the cross cultural and generational mosaic on Freeman Street proper, the album invites the listener into many dialogues. It is a nod to 1990s hip-hop, and explores rhyme-scapes and the musical conventions of that golden age of hip-hop in a revolutionary way. The album also explores hip-hop as a culture through taking inspiration from the original four pillars of hip-hop: dance, rapping, graffiti, and DJ-ing.

The album also loosely functions as a memoir with an underlay of nostalgia for the carefree boyhood days of fly nicknames, basketball, and those first encounters with the transformative power of music. Adding to the power and emotionality of this thread on growing up, are pontifications on love, identity, and God peppered throughout the album, culled from informal conversations James recorded with his grandmother, Pearl Lewis.

James's immersive creative process to realize his vision for Days Of FreeMan include pouring over hip-hop documentaries for up to eight hours a day, and dissecting albums by KRS-One, Digable Planets, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, A Tribe Called Quest, Medeski, Martin & Wood, along with fearless jazz trumpeter Don Cherry's 1985 album Home Boy and Lauryn Hill's 1998 masterpiece the Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill.

How all of this preparation plays out musically is stunning. For years instrumentalists held fast to the lofty notion of "singing through the instrument," but on Days Of FreeMan, James aspires to MC through his tenor. The album's title track perfectly captures the clipped cadence of a master MC with speech-like phrases and a long flowing solo that conjures up a blazing freestyle battle rap session. "Black Ark" traces the legacy of hip-hop from the balmy and pioneering dub explorations of Lee "Scratch" Perry in Jamaica ("Black Ark" is the name of his famed studio) to the burgeoning sounds of hip-hop blaring out in the Bronx.  On "Lament for JLew," in five vigorous minutes James ties together the dual lineages of classical music to hip-hop and classical music to rock using original classical-flavored motifs to illustrate the overlaps.

The second to last track of Days Of FreeMan is the political and timely "Unarmed With A Mic" and is a reminder of hip-hop's power as a form of protest music. On this track, James plays with seething sentimentality. The album concludes with "Epilogue," a reprise of the infectious melody of the opening track "Brother 1976."

On the album, James is accompanied by drummer Rudy Royston. Both took the weighty undertaking of album deeply, researching 1990s hip-hop jams for inspiration and vision. Their attention to the vocabulary of the era James sought to explore, and their panoramic musicality and sympathetic musical skills, match James's artistic ideal to authentically and thoroughly fuse genres and cultures without pandering to trends in jazz-groove records. The record also features a guest spot from the gifted freestyle rapper Supernatural on the track "Days Of FreeMan."

Days of FreeMan is one of James Brandon Lewis's most ambitious works and his most accessible. Reflecting on this intriguing duality he says: "The artist is charged with taking creative risks, but the universe lined up this time and I was able to connect with my audience conversationally."

About James Brandon Lewis

James Brandon Lewis is one of the modern titans of the tenor sax. Hailed by Ebony Magazine as one of "7 Young Players to Watch," James has shared stages with such icons as Benny Golson, Geri Allen, Wallace Roney, Grammy® Award-winning singer Dorinda Clark Cole, and the late "Queen of Gospel Music," Albertina Walker. In bold contrast, James has also worked with such intrepid artists as Weather Report bassist Alphonso Johnson, William Parker, Gerald Cleaver, Charles Gayle, Ed Shuller, Kirk Knuffke, Jason Hwang, Marilyn Crispell, Ken Filiano, Cooper Moore, Darius Jones, Eri Yamamoto, Federico Ughi, Kenny Wessel, Marvin "Bugalu" Smith, and Sabir Mateen. In addition, he has collaborated with the dance company CircuitDebris under the direction of Mersiha Mesihovic. James attended Howard University and holds an MFA from California Institute of the Arts.

Currently, James resides in New York City where he actively gigs as a sideman and leads his own ensembles. In NYC, he is a co-founder of "Heroes Are Gang Leaders" with poet Thomas Sayers Ellis—a collective of poets and musicians—and he is a member of the collective "Dark Matter," a conceptual musical collaboration exploring that which is invisible but is detected by it's gravitational effects. Outside NYC, James is an active national and international touring artist. Some career highlights are playing such esteemed festivals as Winter Jazz Festival/OKeh Records showcase with William Parker and Gerald Cleaver; The Eric Dolphy Festival with an ensemble featuring Grachan Moncur III, Richard Davis, Andrew Cyrille, Angelica Sanchez, Ted Daniel, and Alfred Patterson; and Princeton University as part of Fred Ho's "Journey to the West," an interdisciplinary dance and music project.

GRAMMY-WINNING GUITARIST LEE RITENOUR SET TO RELEASE A TWIST OF RIT ON AUGUST 21, 2015

Featuring John Beasley, Dave Grusin, Patrice Rushen, Ernie Watts, Melvin Lee Davis, Michael Thompson, Wah Wah Watson, David T. Walker, Makoto Ozone, Tom Kennedy, Dave Weckl, Paulinho Da Costa, Ronald Bruner Jr., Chris Coleman, Bob Sheppard and Rashawn Ross

“The concept for A Twist of Rit combines new material and tunes selected from earlier albums. We twisted, flipped and reconstructed those songs with a twelve-piece band. Several of the songs are from my very first album, First Course, recorded in 1975 and the Rit album in 1980.” - Lee Ritenour

GRAMMY-winning, guitarist Lee Ritenour, AKA Captain Fingers, has a wide-ranging array of material to revive, as evidenced by A Twist of Rit. 2015 commemorates 40 years since his debut recording, First Course, on Epic Records.  A Twist of Rit, set for release on August 21, 2015 via Concord Records, is a magnificent follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2012 album Rhythm Sessions.

A Twist of Rit spotlights Ritenour with several long-time musical cohorts, including keyboardists John Beasley, Dave Grusin and Patrice Rushen; saxophonist Ernie Watts; bassists Melvin Lee Davis, Tom Kennedy and Dave Weckl; and percussionist Paulinho Da Costa. That core group is augmented by drummers Ronald Bruner Jr. and Chris Coleman, along with Bob Sheppard on saxophone and Rashawn Ross playing flugelhorn. Joining Ritenour for the first time are guitarists Michael Thompson, Wah Wah Watson and David T. Walker, plus Japanese pianist Makoto Ozone.

A Twist of Rit features Ritenour’s soaring guitar lines with 12 of his compositions ranging from the funky fusion and sophisticated jazz that he has become so well known for. All of the material was captured by his longtime GRAMMY Award-winning engineer Don Murray and the tracks were recorded with everyone performing together, old-school, but with modern, state-of-the-art recording techniques. Another album highlight will be the debut of Hungarian guitarist Tony Pusztai, Grand Prize Winner of Ritenour’s biennial, 2014 Six String Theory Competition. Pusztai was selected from over 500 entries and 72 participating countries.

“People like Ernie, Patrice, Dave and John Beasley, who worked closely on [my album] Wes Bound – along with Melvin Davis and percussionist Paulinho Da Costa, go back with me to the very beginning,” Ritenour says. “Ernie had been on so many of my projects. And, of course, I couldn’t do this without Dave Grusin, who is my best buddy, and who has been involved in almost all of my recordings. All of these people are very close friends of mine. We’ve had this musical mafia for twenty, thirty, forty years.”

With his formidable fellow travelers, Ritenour revisits several selections from his iconic albums including First Course (1976), Friendship (1978) – an LP consisting of the Ritenour-led super-group that included Ernie Watts, Don Grusin, drummer Alex Acuna, percussionist Steve Forman, and bassist Abraham Laboriel – Rit, Vol.1 (1981), Earth Run (1986), Stolen Moments (1990) and This Is Love (1998).

Save for “Pearl,” a heartfelt, Latin-tinged tribute to Ritenour’s mother, as well as the mid-tempo, bouncy title track and the surging, organ-filled “W.O.R.K.n’ It” (Weckl, Ozone, Ritenour, Kennedy) – another version, “More W.O.R.K,” will be released on an upcoming 5-LP retrospective box set – the  rest of the album features the new-and-improved vintage Ritenour tracks. “When I first proposed this record to Concord, I didn’t want it to be perceived as a ‘best of’ rehash of my old tunes,” Ritenour says. “I love to write new material. So there is new material on the record. But I wanted to take a look at my earlier tunes – not necessarily the major radio hits – but in general, I wanted to take material that could have a fresh look today, that we could ‘twist,’ or flip. This is the first record where all of the tunes are mine. It was really fun to look back at my catalog, which stretches back forty years, and pick certain tunes to take a fresh start.”

From the LP First Course, “Wild Rice” and “Fatback” swing with some grooving, mid- and up-tempo Muscle Shoals-meets-Malibu horn lines, originally arranged by Tom Scott and re-arranged by Ritenour and Beasley that ring with the spirit of the late B.B. King and Steely Dan. Two more selections from First Course include the Crusaders-coded, Michael Omartian-arranged “A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That” and the funky, 9/4-time, Head Hunters-inspired “Sweet Syncopation.” The spry, festive “Bullet Train” from Friendship bounces with the air of a Brazilian love affair, and “Soaring,” from Earth Run, is rhythmically laced with a Latin lilt.

“Ooh Yeah,” from This Is Love, is reincarnated as a laid back, Quiet Storm selection, topped by Ritenour’s luscious, Wes Montgomery-esque chords. “Waltz for Carmen” from Stolen Moments, written for Ritenour’s wife, is an intricate duo featuring Tony Pusztai. “Tony, who is an insane classical guitarist from Hungary, has got some incredible jazz chops, too,” Ritenour proudly says. The zenith of the release is Ritenour’s re-imagination of “Countdown” from Rit, Vol 1., a surging, anthemic contemporary jazz classic of the highest order. “I did some sampling of my original recordings,” he says. “I was able to hunt down the original tracks and have them transferred to digital. We used a sample of the original “Countdown” vocoder [track]. As we were playing live, we were triggering the sample and playing along with it.”

Ritenour is able to draw upon a diverse body of work that reflects his polyglot musical upbringing. Born on January 11, 1952 in Los Angeles, Ritenour grew up listening to a wide variety of music. His father was an amateur pianist who exposed him to Peggy Lee, Ray Charles, Nancy Wilson, Erroll Garner and Stan Kenton while he took his first guitar lessons at eight. Ritenour experienced his first jazz “eureka!” moment three years later when his father took him to the record store.

“We bought three records by Howard Roberts, Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass. I was influenced heavily by all three guys,” Ritenour says. “A lot of people don’t know Howard, but he was an incredible studio player. And, of course, everybody knows Joe. My dad called Joe on the phone, and said, ‘I’ve got this fourteen year-old. Will you give him a lesson?’ So I went to Joe’s house a couple of times and we became friends. And I was also influenced by Wes’ rhythmic and melodic approach and his tone.”

Along with his love of R&B, rock and fusion, Ritenour started his career early. He played in a band that featured Patrice Rushen and Dave Grusin at the L.A. club The Baked Potato, while making a name for himself working with The Mamas & the Papas and Tony Bennett. Ritenour’s work with Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Dizzy Gillespie, Simon & Garfunkel, Herbie Hancock and Frank Sinatra, to name a select few, made him the most ubiquitous guitarist of his generation. In 1986, he received a GRAMMY Award for his collaboration with Dave Grusin on his recording Harlequin, and has been a perennial chart-topper in numerous critics polls. In the 1990s, he was a founding member of the contemporary jazz supergroup Fourplay, with Bob James, Harvey Mason and Nathan East.

A Twist of Rit aurally illustrates Ritenour’s delicate balance of maintaining his individuality while working with an array of diverse artists. “Even though I was a studio player, I was trying to establish my own identity,” he says. “The live thing is just as important as the studio thing. And when I did my first album, where a lot of the songs [on this album] are from, in 1975, I didn’t think I had a ‘Lee Ritenour sound.’ But then, a few years later, I listened to the record, and I realized that wow, I did have my own sound then.”

Along with A Twist of Rit, Concord Records will release a five LP vinyl box set of some of Ritenour’s classic records, including Wes Bound, Festival, Color Rit, Portrait and Earth Run. Ritenour will be touring and promoting these projects throughout 2015/16.

LIZZ WRIGHT MAKES HER CONCORD RECORDS DEBUT WITH THE POWERFUL FREEDOM & SURRENDER

Five years after the release of her critically acclaimed, gospel-laden disc, Fellowship (Verve), Lizz Wright makes her Concord Records debut with the powerful Freedom & Surrender, set for release on September 4, 2015. The 35-year-old singer-songwriter – renowned for her earthy alto voice and emotive yet straight-forward vocal serenading – teams with four-time GRAMMY-winning bassist and producer Larry Klein, who’s best known for his work with such leading lights as Joni Mitchell, Madeleine Peyroux and Tracy Chapman.

Wright enlisted Klein based upon the recommendation of trusted colleagues. Already a fan, she was well aware of his production brilliance, particularly through his work with strong-minded women artists. “We talked over the phone; then we met and did as much talking as we did laughing,” she recalls. “I don’t laugh to just mess around and make people feel good; I laugh because I actually get you. Just the fact that I felt that way with him – I just said, ‘OK, we’re cool.’”

For the sessions, Klein and Wright gather a cadre of great musicians that includes drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, bassist Dan Lutz, percussionist Pete Korpela, guitarists Dean Parks and Jesse Harris; and keyboardists Kenny Banks, Pete Kuzma, and Billy Childs. In addition, Klein also recruited his longtime songwriting partner David Batteau to collaborate with Wright in the songwriting process. “I loved writing with them,” Wright enthuses.

Freedom & Surrender was initially supposed to be a disc of mostly cover-songs, centered on themes of “the circuitous dance of love.” Instead, it became the very opposite – an album of mostly originals – while keeping the initial theme intact. Wright explains, “There’s a time for everything. There’s a time to do cover-song records, which can be like sharing good homework after doing really beautiful research. It can be amazing and very creative in that way. But I just knew it wasn’t time for me to be doing that. I had to prove it and buckle down and make it happen.”

Without a doubt, Wright certainly made it happen with Freedom & Surrender, her sexiest, most sensual album yet. She wrote ten of the disc’s 15 songs, six with Klein and Batteau. The three penned “The New Game” – the disc’s original working title – a rollicking, country-blues ditty with poetic lyrics and verses. The album as a whole touches upon fresher emotional terrain, especially the ethereal, acoustic guitar and Hammond organ-powered “Somewhere Down the Mystic,” the beautiful lament “Here and Now,” (which was inspired in part by the passing of Maya Angelou), the salty and spiteful “You” and the tender R&B ballad “Blessed the Brave.”

Written by Wright, Klein and celebrated songwriter J.D. Souther, “Right Where You Are” is a mesmerizing love slow jam featuring Wright in an amorous duet with Gregory Porter, while “Real Life Painting,” written by Wright and Maia Sharp, is a bucolic evocation about dwelling in the momentary carnal bliss of a love affair.

Souther invited Wright to his small farm in Nashville for a writing session where she recalls playing a lot of piano in his barn. “I gave him a few chords and turned them around into something that we liked. I didn’t think he was going to do anything with them but then he sent me part of the song all the way through to the B section,” Wright recalls. “I respect his clarity and speed.”

Wright was also delighted to have the song feature Porter, whom she toured with in 2013. “The song is very tender and slow. To trust him with that was easy; to hear him move through a suspended, vulnerable space, you can get into the machinery of his voice,” she offers.

Wright is equally enthusiastic about her writing sessions with Sharp, which yielded “Real Life Painting,” containing reflections with cinematic-like qualities. “She is a real fast writer and a wonderful guitarist,” Wright notes.

On “Freedom” and “Surrender” – two songs which bookend the disc – Wright reconnected with Toshi Reagon, who played tremendous roles on her three previous discs – Dreaming Wide Awake (2005), The Orchard (2008) and Fellowship (2010). The gentle yet lusty waltz “Surrender” showcases Wright in a seductive splendor, while Reagon’s declarative, funk-driven “Freedom,” displays Wright in a feisty independent mode. ‘Freedom’ is so unapologetic; it has weight to it that differs from the other songs,” Wright explains. “Larry totally got it; he thought the song was just killing. There’s something about Toshi in which she always calls my spirit to be true in whatever I do.”

Jesse Harris, another longtime collaborator of Wright, co-wrote the lulling, erotically charged ballad “The Game” and the slinky “Lean In,” which moves to a midnight groove that Marvin Gaye might have concocted with Leon Ware.

When it came to covers, Wright chose wisely. She slows the Bee Gees’ 1967 ballad “To Love Somebody,” to a smoldering crawl that maximizes both her gorgeous voice and the song’s pleading lyrics. On bonus track Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger’s classic “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” – a song made famous in 1972 by Roberta Flack – Wright delivers a haunting, almost noir-ish interpretation. And on Nick Drake’s immortal folk classic, “River Man,” Wright uncoils newfound emotional clarity through her mesmerizing delivery and the spectral arrangement, which also features noted German trumpeter Till Brönner blowing a blustery solo.

Wright has reached new heights of singing and songwriting, and has delivered an album destined to become a classic.

GUITARIST AND SINGER JOHN PIZZARELLI PERFORMS REPERTOIRE FROM PAUL McCARTNEY’S RICH MUSICAL CATALOG ON "MIDNIGHT MCCARTNEY"

Paul McCartney had a great idea for an album. He just needed the world-renowned guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli to make it.

“I got an idea got in my head,” McCartney wrote to Pizzarelli in late May 2014.  “It might be interesting for you to do a few of my songs that are lesser known than some of the others. I realize this may be a little immodest, if not pushy.” “I imagine the songs would include post-Beatles melodies of mine like ‘Love in the Open Air’ (from the soundtrack to 1967 film The Family Way), ‘Junk,’ ‘Warm and Beautiful’ and, possibly, ‘My Valentine.’”

“My Valentine” was the one McCartney composition on his album of songs from the '30s and '40s, Kisses on the Bottom (MPL/Hear Music/Concord). Pizzarelli played guitar on the album and backed Sir Paul on a handful of prestigious live performances, including the GRAMMY Awards, MusiCares Person of the Year gala and the initial iTunes/Apple TV live broadcast. Hailed as one of the prime contemporary interpreters of the Great American Songbook, Pizzarelli has expanded his repertoire by performing the music of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Antônio Carlos Jobim and Lennon-McCartney.

McCartney concluded in his letter, “The attraction for me is lesser-known tunes done in a mellow jazz style and, if it gets some traction, maybe the album could be titled Midnight McCartney. As I said, this may tickle your fancy or you may decide these are the ramblings of a deranged composer with too much time on his hands.”

To say Pizzarelli was tickled is putting it mildly.

Pizzarelli, his wife Jessica Molaskey – co-producer of Midnight McCartney - and pianist Larry Goldings immediately went into research mode, digging through McCartney's albums of the last 45-plus years to find songs that could be re-harmonized and adapted for Pizzarelli's trademark style.

“I immediately found 'Warm and Beautiful' and 'Junk'; Larry Goldings brought in 'Waterfalls'; my wife found 'Heart of the Country',” Pizzarelli says. “We started to realize how brilliant these songs are. He's obviously a rock 'n' roller, but they were really easy to break down.

“When I did the Beatles record in 1996 (Meets the Beatles), I found you can really re-harmonize that stuff, find nice harmonies and not get too crazy. That's the challenge and the fun of the whole thing.”

Concord Records will release Midnight McCartney, Pizzarelli's 11th album for the label, on September 11, 2015.

The idea of Midnight McCartney was an easy one to warm to: A half-dozen of Pizzarelli's albums have been devoted to a single artist or style: Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, bossa nova. The title, too, captures the treatment of the songs.

“It's like the Sinatra thing – Songs for Swingin' Lovers or Moonlight Sinatra – it gives people an idea to hang their hat on,” Pizzarelli says.

The project started with Pizzarelli and Goldings making demo recordings of ballads – “My Love,” “Some People Never Know,” “Heart of the Country” and “Waterfalls” – and while Pizzarelli was touring, he would work on other songs, among them the up-tempo numbers. The intensity of the sessions, Pizzarelli says, was higher than for most recordings – every musician knew that Paul McCartney would be listening to their work.

“It's amazing what the power of McCartney means to so many people,” Pizzarelli notes. “Everyone elevates their game. Not that they wouldn't play their best normally, but there was this special thing. You tell a Paul McCartney story to the string section before a take and they're saying, 'Let's make sure we get this right.' Michael McDonald, my guys, the Brazilians – the second they hear 'Paul McCartney' they get really, really excited.”

The Beatles broke up when Pizzarelli was nine years old, and his fascination with their albums lingered, particularly Abbey Road and Rubber Soul through his teen years, and their early work when he was in his 20s, which included playing the songs the Beatles covered in his own rock band in New York.

Long a McCartney fan, Pizzarelli has kept up with his work over the decades, noting a strong affinity for his albums Tug of War and Pipes of Peace.

“I always loved finding his new records and hearing what he was up to,” Pizzarelli says. “When this record came along I had a lot of fun revisiting things like Venus & Mars.”

Rather than record in New York City, they moved the operation to the Jacob Burns Film Center and Media Arts Lab in Pleasantville, N.Y.

“The beauty of the project was having a lot of time to sit and listen to these things and make sure it was right,” Pizzarelli says. “There were a lot of things we had never done before – a lot of background vocals, additional horns and handclaps. That really made it into something.”

And like most Pizzarelli records, it's a family affair: wife Jessica Molaskey co-produced the album and provides background vocals; John's father Bucky adds rhythm guitar on several tracks and a stunning solo on “Junk”; brother Martin is on bass throughout; and teenage daughter Madeline got into the act, transcribing “Warm and Beautiful” for her father to sing in a different key.

“We're McCartney fans and this is our way of letting people know these are good songs,” he says. “It's a take on the songs within a style we're comfortable with. If one became a hit, we'd be fine with playing it for the next 20 years.” 

Pizzarelli offered background on his approach to the music of McCartney:

  

“ Silly Love Songs”

“Larry Goldings was on the road and he did a fast version of 'Silly Love Songs' with a drum machine, singing in faux-Portuguese. He sent that in as a joke and I played it for my wife and we said, 'Oh, that works.' When we put the two Brazilians on it, we freaked at how well it worked.”

“ My Love”

“My father Bucky plays rhythm guitar on a couple of things. He plays beautiful rhythm on 'My Love' and a great Freddie Green thing on 'Coming Up,' so you get that freight-train thing going in the rhythm section.”

“ Heart of the Country”

“When we started the project everyone went into song-finding mode. My wife found 'Heart of the Country,' a song I wasn't familiar with. It sets itself up to be a great little rhythmic tune.”

“Coming Up”

“Our piano player Konrad Paszkudzki came up with a Gene Harris, swinging shuffly thing for 'Coming Up.' We messed around with it on the road as kind of a soul song. I sent it to Michael McDonald and he sang the whole thing, sent it back to us and it was just a matter of plugging myself in.”

“ No More Lonely Nights”

“It's amazing how wide-ranging vocally this stuff is. My wife asked to take it down; the high stuff is too high – you have to be aware of that. On 'No More Lonely Nights' you have to start really low or else you'll end up being Barry Gibb.”

“ Warm and Beautiful”

“It set itself up to be harmonized so that it sounds like a typical wonderful ballad from the Great American Songbook. If you played it at a club, you could say 'that came out in 1952' and it would be believable.”

“Hi, Hi, Hi”

“I had that song on my iPod and I knew I couldn't sing the words so we made it work as a B.B. King-ish instrumental or even Wes Montgomery meets the blues. Then Don Sebesky put the horns on there and made it happen.”

“Junk”

“We did it at our first session but it was too fast. We cut it slower, then put Harry Allen and my father on it. It's a brilliant song.”

"My Valentine”

“'My Valentine' really started this. Every time there was a break at rehearsals (for the GRAMMY week events) guitarist Anthony Wilson and I would play it as a bossa nova.  At the GRAMMY rehearsal, Paul said, 'I want to hear the samba version.' When we were thinking about the project I knew I already had a vibe on that.”

“ Let 'Em In”

“That's based on a bass figure Ray Brown who used to play in a song called “Squatty Roo. ” [Bassist] Martin is the constant through the whole thing – he always knows where to put in a Ron Carter moment or where to sit on quarter notes. People gravitate toward what he's doing.”

“ Some People Never Know”

“I ran into a buddy of mine, Gary Haase, on the subway.  He said, jokingly, 'Have you heard from Sir Paul lately?' As a matter of fact I had and he responded, '“Some People You Never Know” is a song you have to do.' I thank him on the record.”

“Maybe I’m Amazed”

“I think of it like a rolling prayer. I play a Sondheimian figure – the chords are the same, but we add a little more life to it with that figure. There really wasn't a lot to do harmony-wise.”

GRAMMY-WINNING DRUMMER TERRI LYNE CARRINGTON RELEASES LOVE AND SOUL

August 7, 2015 release spotlights vocalists Oleta Adams, Natalie Cole, Paula Cole, Lalah Hathaway, Chaka Khan, Ledisi, Chanté Moore, Valerie Simpson, Nancy Wilson, Jaguar Wright and Lizz Wright

After receiving worldwide praise and a GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her 2011 disc, The Mosaic Project, drummer extraordinaire Terri Lyne Carrington releases its hotly anticipated follow-up, The Mosaic Project: LOVE and SOUL, on August 7, 2015 via Concord Records. (International release dates may vary)

Like its predecessor, The Mosaic Project: LOVE and SOUL presents Carrington leading a rotating cast of superb female instrumentalists and vocalists that includes Oleta Adams, Natalie Cole, Paula Cole, Lalah Hathaway, Chaka Khan, Chanté Moore, Valerie Simpson, Nancy Wilson, Jaguar Wright and Lizz Wright, as well as saxophonist Tia Fuller, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen; bassists Meshell Ndegoecello and Linda Oh; and keyboardists Geri Allen, Patrice Rushen and Rachel Z.

On The Mosaic Project: LOVE and SOUL, Carrington juxtaposes her salute to female artists by paying homage to various male artists who have either influenced her professionally and/or informed her musicality, such as Nick Ashford, George Duke, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Luther Vandross and Bill Withers. “Whenever I do something that celebrates women, I never want it to feel like it’s something that excludes men,” she explains. “On this record, I consciously wanted to celebrate the various relationships women have with men either through original songs of mine or cover songs by male composers and song writers.” The male presence and perspective on The Mosaic Project: LOVE and SOUL is even more realized by Billy Dee Williams, who contributes insightful spoken-word interludes through the disc.

Carrington’s musicianship has already catapulted her into the upper echelon of jazz artists of her generation. But on The Mosaic Project: LOVE and SOUL, her gifts as a producer, songwriter, and arranger emerge more to the fore with a collection of tunes that places a greater emphasis on her love for R&B.  “When I grew up I wanted to be Diana Ross,” she says as she explains her wide musical influences that range from classic music and straight-ahead jazz to R&B and hip-hop. “I loved all forms of Black music and eventually started listening from a production standpoint, finding Missy Elliot, Q-Tip and Questlove to be some of my favorites.”

While she never sacrifices the intricacies of jazz, Carrington’s knack for crafting R&B recalls that of the late keyboardist and composer George Duke because the results are at once adventurous and accessible.  Carrington also expands her talents as an instrumentalist by playing guitar, bass and keyboards on several tunes.

“Duke Ellington said ‘jazz means freedom of expression’ and he also said ‘there’s nothing demeaning about playing music for dancing,’” Carrington explains. “I’m in agreement and this album is my spin on jazz meets soul, with danceable grooves as well as a jazz aesthetic that comes not only from the arrangements, but also from the singer’s sophistication and ability to go between genres.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, her strategies for recruiting singers reminisce those employed by Ellington, who wrote arrangements and charts specifically for each individual in his orchestra. “When I choose which singers to ask, it’s always because I hear their voice in my head while writing an arrangement,” she explains. “I then demo the song, singing all the vocals myself in the style of the person I’m hearing. I feel this has been the key to my success in garnering such amazing talent.”

The Mosaic Project: LOVE and SOUL started out as a collection of love songs. But over the course of its development, Carrington noticed influences of music from the black American church seeping inside the song’s harmonic and melodic movement – hence the disc’s subtitle. “I felt that I didn’t really do all the things I wanted to on the first Mosaic Project and that I needed to dig deeper. Right now is a soft period in my life where I’m allowing myself to express vulnerability - a contemplative period where I recognize more the importance of soul work and spiritual connection. For me, that’s all wrapped up in this project of love songs,” she says.

After an ethereal intro, featuring Williams reciting insightful kernels of wisdom that were passed on to Carrington from legendary saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter, The Mosaic Project: LOVE and SOUL launches into the soul-electronica makeover of Ellington’s 1943 classic, “Come Sunday,” which features Natalie Cole rendering the hopeful lyrics over Carrington’s skittering drum patterns. “Come Sunday” makes for an ingenious introduction to The Mosaic Project: LOVE and SOUL because Carrington’s previous disc was the GRAMMY award-winning, Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue (Concord), on which she puts a 21st century modern sheen on Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach’s classic 1963 LP, Money Jungle.

Soon after, The Mosaic Project: LOVE and SOUL presents another timeless jazz standard – Sinatra’s 1951 ballad, “I’m a Fool to Want You” – this time underscored with a mid-tempo groove and a modern soul-jazz landscape on which Chaka Khan powers her distinctive and soulful phrasing.

The disc then delves into modern R&B repertoire with the splendid cover of Vandross’ 1988 ballad, “For You to Love,” featuring Oleta Adams, and Carrington’s original, “So Good (Amazing),” a gospel-inflected neo-soul tune, on which R&B songstress Jaguar Wright’s demonstrates her distinctive soprano vocal prowess.

Carrington invites Valerie Simpson, of the legendary husband-and-wife duo Ashford & Simpson, to sing on a remake of their 1976 song, “Somebody Told a Lie.” Carrington’s arrangement underscores the spirituality brimming through the sensual themes, while also being suspenseful, particularly when it moves into the unexpected Afro-Latin breakdown, featuring pianist Geri Allen, percussionist Nêgah Santos and flutist Elena Pinderhughes.

Legendary song stylist Nancy Wilson enlivens the amorous “Imagine This,” an ambitious original bursting with sophisticated harmonies and poetic lyrics addressing the art of realizing an idealistic romance. Carrington is especially proud of this composition because she feels she stretched herself as a lyricist to contribute one of her best efforts yet.

A recording of a humorous voice message from the late George Duke – one of Carrington’s close friends and musical collaborators – introduces the soulful mid-tempo original “Best of the Best,” on which Chanté Moore – who also worked with Duke – sings touching lyrics reflecting on his vivacious personality and influential musical legacy.

Carrington revamps “This Too Will Pass,” an original she wrote 15 yeas ago with long-time friend Lalah Hathaway in mind; Hathaway’s caressing alto amplifies the song’s bittersweet yet self-empowering lyrics. Carrington sings lead on the capricious original “Can’t Resist,” whose serrated, Latin-tinged groove and catchy melody vocals demand repeated high-rotation airplay on jazz, urban and Latin radio formats.

Paula Cole’s vocals enthrall on “You Can’t Smile It Away,” a poignant reading of Bill Withers’ 1985 ballad; Carrington’s interpretation gains even more emotional weight thanks to Regina Carter’s melodic violin solo, which soars alongside Cole’s majestic wails.  The romantic allure continues with longing original, “Get To Know You,” which features soul-jazz vocalist Ledisi singing amidst some of the disc’s most opulent horn arrangements.

The U.S. edition of The Mosaic Project: LOVE and SOUL concludes with Carrington’s breathtaking rendition of Patrice Rushen’s 1978 ballad, “When I Found You” with which she dedicates to her son. The new version, re-arranged in 5/4 with added new hooks, features Rushen sharing keyboard duties with Rachel Z, while Lizz Wright brings darker, more maternal hues to the melody by way of her earthy alto. Sophisticated horn arrangements animate the makeover as well as trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and saxophonist Grace Kelly’s inventive solos. As the song coalesces and crests, Carrington delivers a feisty yet lucid improvisation toward the end.

When asked to reflect upon her artistic trajectory thus far, Carrington says, “If we’re lucky, we can live our lives like a puzzle and just try to keep putting all the pieces together,” which explains both her catholic taste in music and her interests as a music producer and educator. In addition to being a leader in her own right and a much-in-demand drummer and record producer, she’s also the artistic director for Boston’s annual Beantown Jazz Festival and a professor at the Berklee College of Music. “Most of us have many interests but not always able find an outlet to address them,” she says. “I’ve been fortunate to be able to fulfill many of mine under the wide umbrella of the music industry. My interests can be scattered, but I approach it all with a seeking spirit and determination to pursue my goals in a way that I can possibly fulfill most of them.”

The Mosaic Project: LOVE and SOUL is undeniably another triumphant artistic fulfillment.

NEW RELEASES: RAMSEY LEWIS – TAKING ANOTHER LOOK (DELUXE EDITION); BILLY VERA – BIG BAND JAZZ; DJ CAM - MIAMI VICE: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE

RAMSEY LEWIS – TAKING ANOTHER LOOK (DELUXE EDITION)

On Ramsey Lewis’ 80th CD, he rekindles his 1974 career defining album Sun Goddess through a collection of re-recorded tracks from the original disc perfectly balanced with five new tunes. “Jungle Strut” has all the attitude of its 1974 original and Lewis makes magic on the Fender Rhodes in “Tambura.” For the title track, Lewis has beautifully re-edited the original studio recording featuring Earth, Wind and Fire. Lewis and his Electric Band breathe new life into classic covers, such as the new high octane rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Living For The City” and a tender interpretation of the timeless “Betcha By Golly Wow.” Tracks: Intimacy; Tambura; Love Song; Living For The City; Betcha By Golly Wow; To Know Her; The Way She Smiles; Jungle Strut; Sharing Her Journey; Sun Goddess; Jungle Strut (featuring Dr. John); Tambura (featuring Kung Fu); and Sharing Her Journey (featuring TAUK).

BILLY VERA – BIG BAND JAZZ

Big Band Jazz is an album that singer, songwriter, music historian Billy Vera has wanted to record for a long time. The album is a big band salute to the great black songwriters of the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s. The album features “Since I Fell For You,” “Just A-Sittin' And A-Rockin',” and the Lowell Fulson/Billy Vera classic “Room With A View” (originally written for Lou Rawls). Also includes: Cherry; When It’s Sleepytime Down South; I Want To Be Loved (But Only By You); My Little Brown Book; Blue And Sentimental; and I’ll Never Be Free.

DJ CAM - MIAMI VICE: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE

DJ Cam pays tribute to the great moment of Miami Vice in the 80s – but with a sound that's definitely 21st Century all the way through! The music here is mostly composed by Cam – supposedly in Miami – and the whole thing does feel like some revised soundtrack for the famous show, but set in a whole new milieu – from the leadoff track, which samples and snips bits from the original program – to instrumentals which cascade nicely with a sun-drenched, languorous version of hip hop instrumentals. There's a few vocal tracks – two with MC Eiht, one with Earl Davis – and titles include "Welcome To Little Haiti", "Tubbs Theme", "Crockett's Theme", "Move That Dope", "Music To Drive By", "Weather Underground", and "In The Air Tonight". ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: AMY WINEHOUSE - INSIDE AND OUT; JOHN BASILE - PENNY LANE; LARRY NEWCOMB QUARTET - LIVE INTENTIONALLY!;

AMY WINEHOUSE - INSIDE AND OUT (DVD+CD BOX SET] 

The life and music of Amy Winehouse uncovered across a 2-disc set. In the four years since the tragic, premature death of Amy Winehouse - the finest British vocalist since Dusty Springfield - this remarkable woman has become an international icon of rare proportions. Having already charmed most parts of the world with her sublime, emotional songs and the astonishing way she delivered them, she has gone on to become more than a sum of her parts and is today as relevant as ever she was. This boxed set celebrates the life and music of Amy Winehouse and features a DVD telling the full story of her life and career, and a second disc featuring rare interviews with Amy given across her short life and during which she discusses all manner of topics that were close to her heart. Completed in deluxe packaging, this attractive and tasteful collection will delight this maverick performer s legions of fans still holding a flame for the finest musical performer of a generation. ~ Amazon

JOHN BASILE - PENNY LANE

The pop standard has been the jumping off point for jazz artists since jazz s birth. The formula is simple, but not easy. You stay true to the melody and you go where it takes you. But the Beatles? Yes, especially the Beatles. In John Basile s Penny Lane, the guitarist is honest to both of his project s masters. The iconic melodies of Lennon and McCartney and Harrison are given homage, not just simply run through as a starting point for some string gymnastics. They are there and they are honest. Yet, at the same time it is Basile s jazz guitar that let the classics breathe new air and come to life in this form. You hear it; actually you experience it, in the subtle and smooth Eleanor Rigby with its rich tones and lines that recall the original but with a fresh feel. In Norwegian Wood, Basile casts aside any doubt that he is first and foremost a jazz man, as he strays from the melody s path to where he lives. Where he goes, we can follow and the trip is rich and filled with the surprises that his art form promises. This is Basile s show from beginning to end. His guitar does what a jazz guitar has always done, but it also does all the things that today s technology allows for the instrument to do. Sure, the guitar playing is artful but so is the use of the instrument as a MIDI interface to create every sound on this project. Listen and try to remember that every note on this project has come through the guitar. You ll be lost in the music before you can ponder the wonders of digital potential and that s exactly how it should be. More interpretation than tribute, Penny Lane gives us a jazz project that does what the original American art form is supposed to do: it takes where we ve been and brings us someplace new all at the same time. ~ Amazon

LARRY NEWCOMB QUARTET - LIVE INTENTIONALLY!

Guitarist Larry Newcomb performs classic and original jazz and blues both as a soloist and in duo, trio and quartet ensembles. Larry has contributed a wealth of electric and acoustic guitar stylings in performances and on recordings with Bucky Pizzarelli, Jack Wilkins, Seleno Clarke, Billy Kaye, Jon Weiss, Mike Camoia, Larry Newcomb Trio, his duo Jonaitis & Newcomb, the band Wolfgang's Revenge and with Babs Winn & the Kickin' Boogie Band. Newcomb has studied with guitar masters Bucky Pizzarelli, Mark Elf, Pat Martino, Howard Roberts and Randy Johnston. His affable performing style is informed by a PhD in Music History and a seasoned master's understanding of the jazz idiom. "The path to jazz mastery is long, challenging, rewarding and never-ending. I started out transcribing then quoting great blues guitarists including B. B. King, Albert King, Freddie King, Eric Clapton and Duane Allman. In my early 20s, I heard Jim Hall, George Benson, Joe Pass, Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis and Kenny Burrell. My direction was established. I slowly developed a repertoire of standard tunes; and, by transposing the work of the masters, I learned to address each harmonic element of a tune in its own rite--especially the creation and resolution of tension from each dominant chord to the temporary or permanent tonic. Throughout my musical journey, I've strived to play what I hear, and to make each note ring with colorful, clear and heartfelt beauty." - Larry Newcomb

Pianist Catherine Marie Charlton Combines Styles of Contemporary Jazz on Maiden's Voyage

Maiden's Voyage, the tenth album release in Catherine Marie Charlton's twenty-plus year recording career, arcs gracefully through orchestrations and styles ranging from contemporary jazz to the artist's trademark spacious meditations.  The common motif is the pianist/composer's identifiable sound-passion, strength, and power, flowing interchangeably with tender expressiveness. 

Mastered by Grammy® winning engineer/producer Phil Nicolo (Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Bob Dylan, Lauryn Hill), Maiden's Voyage represents a decade-long collaboration between producer Charlton and recording/mixing engineer Eric Troyer (ELO Part II/The Orchestra), who brings his sensibilities and significant musicianship to the project. The lineup of guest musicians on the album include: Elliott Levin (Cecil Taylor, Marshall Allen) featured on "Birds Flower," and "The Lonely Cobbler" playing flute and tenor saxophone, Jeff Oster on three tracks including the piano/flugelhorn duet "Sepia Moon," Steve Meashey on bass, and drummer/percussionist, J. Jody Janetta. The Cincinnati Symphony principal bassist for 28 years, Barry Green, also contributes on "Which You Which World." 

On her partnership with Janetta, Charlton recalls - "15 years ago I was a solo classical pianist beginning to explore improvisation. Jody heard something in my playing akin to the classically-influenced improvised music which had been a big inspiration to him, and he asked me to perform. From the start, our musical connection was magic. Jody introduced me to his jazz record collection and we went on to perform as a piano-percussion duo for many years.  We parted ways for a bit during the time of my solo introspective releases - Red Leaf Grey Sky and River Flow, and have now reunited for Maiden's Voyage. The one-take improvisation on "Beneath the Dream" was the first track captured on the first day of recording, after four years apart."

In addition to seven originals, Maiden's Voyage features Charlton's lyrical improvisation with Sun Ra-inspired chromatic complexity on Eden Ahbez's "Nature Boy," "Adios Nonino" by Astor Piazzolla, Erik Satie's ethereal "Gnossienne No. 4" and two deeply emotional versions of the standard - "Autumn Leaves."  The album's only non-improvisatory piece is Alberto Ginastera's "Dance of the Graceful Maiden (Danza de la moza donosa)," which marks the start of the pianist's "voyage" from classical score interpretation to the seven spontaneous compositions as well as the free improvisations spread throughout the album. A highlight of these originals is the subdued solo piano piece "All That I Feel."

Charlton credits much of her approach to the teachings of long-time mentor and inspiration - the cellist David Darling, and his organization Music for People. Darling was hugely influential to a young Charlton in her earlier years, when he told her that her passion and commitment to the moment was impressive. Humbled by his words the pianist/composer has tried to live up them ever since. 

Catherine Marie Charlton's 2011 recording Red Leaf, Grey Sky won the Independent Music Awards for Instrumental EP and was also awarded "Best Instrumental Album-Piano" in the 8th Annual ZMR Awards, as voted on by broadcasters worldwide.  Most recently, she performed on several tracks of Jeff Oster's Next (Bernard Purdie, Chuck Rainey, Nile Rodgers, etc).  A recipient of grants and residencies from the Delaware Division of the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts, she is currently composing a body of works inspired by the Wyeth family of artists in collaboration with the Brandywine River Museum of Art. Charlton is a Steinway Artist.