NEW RELEASES: CEU - LIVE; LEE DELARIA - HOUSE OF DAVID: DELARIA SINGS BOWIE; NICHOLAS BRIDGMAN - WHEEL OF LIFE

CEU - LIVE

Ceu's album was recorded in celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the release of her first album. The recording was made in just 1 day and took place at the Centro Cultural Rio Verde in São Paulo, in the center of Vila Madalena (a neighborhood in São Paulo), where Céu has lived all of her life and where she started her musical career. She wanted to record all of the major songs of her career with her live band, Bruno Buarque (drums), Lucas Martins (bass), Dustan Gallas (guitar) and DJ Marco (Turntable, MPC). Although the repertoire mostly focused on the songs from her most recent album Caravan Sereia Bloom, fans favorites such as Lenda, Malemolência, Cangote, Rainha, Concrete jungle, and others were included in the show. She also included Mais uma Noite de Amor, an eighties hit by Brazilian pop artist Pepeu Gomes, which she has never previously recorded. 'This version was originally performed at a special show in 2013 during the carnival of Recife. The song brings back good memories of my teenage years' - she reveals. - 'The funny thing is that I only met Pepeu a couple of weeks ago after including this version of the song in my shows for two years.' The show is presented in a half-light scenario, with palm trees, chandeliers and even a marble parrot. They help to reinforce the sensual and hypnotic mood of Céu's performance. ~ Amazon
  

LEE DELARIA - HOUSE OF DAVID: DELARIA SINGS BOWIE

DeLaria is currently best known as Carrie Big Boo Black in the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black. The first major jazz reworking on Bowies beloved catalog, the album features tracks such as a smooth bossa nova interpretation of Golden Years, a trenchant Life On Mars? and a roof-raising gospel take on Modern Love.Delaria boasts a multi-faceted career as a comedian, actress and jazz musician; she holds the distinction of being the first openly gay comic on television in America which led to countless television and film roles; selected TV credits include Awkward, Clarence, Californication, The Oblongs, One Life to Live, Law and Order: SVU, Will and Grace, Friends and Matlock; selected film credits include The First Wives Club, Dear Dumb Diary and Edge of Seventeen. ~ Amazon

NICHOLAS BRIDGMAN - WHEEL OF LIFE

Nicholas Bridgman composes and performs contemporary jazz.  He is classically trained, having debuted at age 16 with the New West Symphony, performing the Shostakovich First Piano Concerto.  He studied with classical pianist Gloria Cheng and composer Miguel del A guila.  Throughout his studies, he took an interest in jazz, becoming familiar with voicings, performing arrangements of jazz standards, and playing jazz-influenced classical works such as Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Over the coming years, Nicholas wrote many songs ranging from ballads to straight ahead to fusion pieces.  A common thread in his writing has been the combination of inspiration from jazz greats such as Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock with modern influences from dance, folk, new age, and classical music.  He strives to create music that is fun and easy to listen to, yet harmonically and melodically sophisticated at the same time.  His newest album, Wheel of Life (to be released 11/1/2015) includes the following tracks: Spiral Staircase; Wheel of Life; Swingtown; Planar Texture for Gloria; Kickin' It; Prismatic; Black Orpheus (L. Bonfa); Gravitation; Cantaloupe Island (H. Hancock); and Summer in December.

Saxophonist Ivo Perelman Explores Relationship Between the Senses on Trio of New Releases - Complementary Colors, Villa-Lobos Suite and Butterfly Whispers

Each of the three new recordings from Ivo Perelman - albums entitled Complementary Colors, Villa-Lobos Suite, and Butterfly Whispers (Available October 30 via Leo Records) - exhibits a different approach to improvised music from the indefatigable Brazilian-born saxophonist. Each album represents a unique "first" for Perelman. For most artists, releasing three such iconoclastic forays at once would constitute a burst of the imagination, but Perelman is not most artists. He has documented his current creative fervor with nearly 25 albums over the last five years; you would think that by now the wellspring of imagination might start to run dry. The fact that he can still find a different format to frame his music - or in this case, three different formats - should boggle the minds of most listeners as well as his fellow musicians.

On the duo recording Complementary Colors, Perelman and his longtime collaborator, acclaimed pianist Matthew Shipp, explore the ties that bind the visual and the aural arts. In addition to his work as a groundbreaking improviser, exploring the outer limits of the saxophone's tonal range, Perelman is also a prolific and respected visual artist, whose work hangs in collections across four continents; at the time of these releases, he was in Brazil, overseeing the third major exhibit of his paintings and drawings in his native land. But for all that, Complementary Colors represents the first time he has sought to unite these two aspects of his artistic vision.

Perelman titled each track with the name of a color, which he chose after the recording. As usual in his music, these improvisations arose from literally nothing, with neither previous rehearsal nor any written music in hand; given this methodology, something as programmatic as a color-coded "concept" would be unthinkable. But the titles came naturally, since Perelman - by his own admission - experiences synesthesia, the sensory phenomenon by which some people "hear" colors, "taste" music, or "see" aromas, for instance.

Up until now, this has primarily manifested itself in his canvases. "I paint using musical impulses, translated, and transmuted into the shapes and colors," he explains. "When I paint, I feel my synesthesia is rhythmic; I visualize a rhythm and it's very strong in me." From there, the rest of the painting takes shape: "The rhythmic structure almost dictates what the colors will be; the rhythms in my paintings ask for the colors - 'This should be a red,' for instance." But on Complementary Colors, he applied the process in reverse, allowing the recorded playbacks to dictate the titles, based on the hues and mixtures that came to mind. And apart from any crisscrossed sense or extramusical pigments, the music itself occupies the high plateau achieved by Perelman and Shipp on their previous release, Callas, on which they attained a new level in their already telepathic musical communication.

On Villa-Lobos Suite, Perelman again discovered a deeper context for the music after it had been recorded: despite the fact that it bears the name of his countryman Heitor Villa-Lobos, this "suite" took shape without any preparatory study or even discussion of the man who is generally considered the 20th century's leading Latin American composer of classical music. In fact, the project originally had another name altogether; it was only after Perelman listened back to the recording that he found qualities unexpectedly redolent of his youth, when as a classical guitar prodigy he studied Villa-Lobos's music extensively. "That music is to me my second skin," he says; haunting echoes of it bubbled from the raw mixes of the album.

What makes this recording unique in Perelman's towering discography is the presence of not one but two viola players as his only accompanists. In recent years, the saxophonist has discovered a new musical soulmate in Mat Maneri, with whom he has worked on several noteworthy projects (starting with the score to the Brazilian film A Violent Dose Of Anything in 2014). But serendipitously, Perelman became acquainted with a second violist - the Canadian musician and author Tanya Kalmanovitch - when he heard Maneri playing an instrument borrowed from her. Perelman instantly fixated on the idea of performing with this small "string section"; in his words, "I suddenly had this idea - 'What would be better than one viola?' Having two violas! . . . . I had never thought of such a thing, because I never thought there would be another Mat Maneri, a viola player someone so compatible with me. But two of Mat Maneri would be better than one!"

Thanks to the instrumentation, the performances on Villa-Lobos Suite have a classical, almost symphonic quality that helped inspire the album's title; in addition, the violas' presence evokes the saxophonist's own ability to mimic the sounds, range, and even the textures of string instruments (which he has explored on previous albums with a string quartet, as well as with Maneri alone). Writes Kalmanovitch in her liner notes to the album:

"Listen to the relationship between the saxophone and the strings: we are constantly exchanging our roles as soloists and accompanists. Melodies are handed off, in constant motion from one voice to another. . . . Ivo would probably add that his studies of the cello infused his breath with the quality of a bow: for him, the saxophone and the cello are not so distant after all. And Ivo would certainly add that the viola and the tenor saxophone share not just a register, but also a spirit - mysterious, imbued with melancholy and longing - so that the instruments know something of one another's story before they've ever spoken."

The third new release by Perelman, Butterfly Whispers, teams him with pianist Shipp and another frequent collaborator, drummer Whit Dickey. So what distinguishes this recording is not the particular personnel, but rather the overriding concept of the album as a unified piece of "program music" - an artistic concept that, in its attempt to invest instrumental performance with specific extramusical meaning, could not differ more profoundly from Perelman's own methodology of total spontaneity.

The titles of the individual pieces, supplied by Brazilian poet Diva Galvao - titles like "Pollen," "Wet Land," "Plowed Field," and "Secret Garden" - suggest some hidden saga awaiting discovery. "Most modern listeners (myself included) shy away from attaching literal narratives to instrumental music," writes Grammy® - Award winning annotator Neil Tesser. "But on Butterfly Whispers, Perelman actively encourages us to do so - to make up our own stories to fit the music, whatever form those stories might take. . . It may also result from Perelman's conscious decision to pare things down," Tesser continues. "His improvisations have become shorter and correspondingly more focused: the tracks on Butterfly Whispers average less than five minutes, whereas albums from a few years ago often included tracks of two and three times that length. Here, he says, 'I went for a more compositional approach, a more condensed way of distilling and presenting the ideas. I wanted to edit more the musical thought.'"

Ivo Perelman · Complementary Colors, Villa-Lobos Suite, Butterfly Whispers

Leo Records  ·  Release Date: October 30, 2015  

ST GERMAIN RETURNS TO THE STUDIO TO CREATE HIS FIRST ALBUM IN 15 YEARS

St Germain (aka Ludovic Navarre), whose albums Boulevard (1995) and Tourist (2000) originated a genre of French electronic music that later included artists like Daft Punk, has returned to the studio to create his first album in 15 years. The self-titled record marries percussive grooves, which have always been central to St Germain’s sound, with a new element: traditional Malian music.

The album features various musicians and singers from the African diaspora including Malian kora players Mamadou Cherif Soumano and Cheikh Lo Ouza Diallo, Malian violinist Zoumana Tereta, and Senegalese bass player Alioune Wade (Ismael Lô) amongst others. Notably, St Germain also includes contributions from revered Malian guitarist and n’goni player Guimba Kouyata whom Brian Eno recently heralded as “the greatest guitar player I’ve heard for years and years.”

St Germain’s move closer to the source of the jazz and blues elements that were essential ingredients in Boulevard and the internationally acclaimed Tourist led to his interest in those genres’ roots in West African music. Tourist, which sold nearly three million copies worldwide, was equally embraced by jazz and electronic music circles, reaching #1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and being named one of the Best Albums of the Year by Rolling Stone. In France, the album won three Victoires de la Musique awards (the French equivalent of GRAMMYs), including Best Jazz Album, Best Electronic Album and Best Live Performance.

On the 250-show Tourist tour, St Germain performed at venues ranging from London’s historic Royal Albert Hall to the Glastonbury and Coachella festivals, with guests including Herbie Hancock, Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin, Jamaican jazz pianist Monty Alexander and legendary French jazz vocalist Claude Nougaro. Following the release of St Germain, Navarre will return to the road, beginning a European tour in November. A spring U.S. tour will be announced at a later date.

 

     

NEW RELEASES: TENORS OF KALMA – ELECTRIC WILLOW; DAWAN MUHAMMAD – GATEKEEPERS BLUES; THE SOUL SURFERS – SOUL ROCK!

TENORS OF KALMA – ELECTRIC WILLOW

One of the coolest projects we've heard from Jimi Tenor in a while – and a set that's a really great sideways-step from some of his other recent music! There's still elements of the spiritual jazz currents that Jimi's been exploring for the past decade or so, but the group's also leaner, and has a sharper electric quality too – bits of fuzz and distortion that sound especially great when things get funky – which turns out to be a fair bit of the time! The trio features heavy drums from Joonas Riippa, who's often setting a tone followed by Kalle Kalima's fuzzy guitar – while Jimi adds in loads of cool extra elements on a range of keyboards, saxes, and flute – plus some occasional vocals. Some elements are quite acoustic and organic, while others have a spacey moogy vibe – and there's a focused energy here that almost distills all of Tenor's musical ideas of the past decade or two, and finds a whole new way forward. Titles include "Can We Yes", "Go Go Go", "Blind", "Sakura", "Hymn To The Sun God", "The Missing Page 1964", and "100 Ufoa Suomesta".  ~ Dusty Groove

DAWAN MUHAMMAD – GATEKEEPERS BLUES

A sweet little record from west coast reedman Dawan Muhammad – one of the under-acknowledged talents of his generation, and an artist who's really keeping the indie underground strong with records like this! The album features Dawan in some really great company – a shifting lineup that includes excellent trombone from the late Clifford Adams, piano from Elmer Gibson, bass from James Leary, and trumpet from Modesto Briseno – mostly musicians from Muhammad's generation, who have a similar current of spirit and soul in their music! Most tracks are originals by members of the groups – and played with this soulful sense of flow that takes us back to the more spiritual 70s sessions on labels like Muse and Xanadu – handled by players who know all the freedom of the outside reaches of jazz, yet hang nicely inside while still letting their spirits soar. Titles include "Darshan's Love", "Place On High", "Like It Used To Feel", "That's Cool", "Gatekeeper's Blues", and a version of Coltrane's "Dahomey Dance".  ~ Dusty Groove

THE SOUL SURFERS – SOUL ROCK!

These guys are plenty darn funky – and don't let the "surf" or "rock" on the cover make you think otherwise! The core quartet is super-tight, and work with this blistering barrage of funky drums, fierce Hammond, and lots of riffing guitar – which is then often augmented with lots of extra-cool guest elements – including vocals from Myron & E, drums from Malcolm Catto, guitar from JJ Whitefield, vocals from Shawn Lee, and vibes from Didier Selin – all underground funk giants who not only lend their talents to the set, but also give the Soul Surfers a plenty solid seal of approval in the process! There's plenty of classic funk elements in the mix, but the overall sound is pretty fresh and unique, too – and drawing from the array of extra guests helps throw lots of twists and turns into the group's great approach too. Titles include "Astra", "Straight Up", "TSS Groove", "Stop Fooling Around", "Time Is A Gun", "Raw", "Phoenix", and "You Can Run But You Can't Hide From My Love". ~ Dusty Groove

SLOBBER PUP'S POLE AXE - Potent Improv Group returns with second chapter in their saga of powerful music and noise, their lineup bolstered by the presence of Swedish sax master MATS GUSTAFSSON

Two years after debuting with critically acclaimed debut album Black Aces, Slobber Pup are back with their sophomore release, titled Pole Axe.The original core lineup of renowned American keyboardist and pianist Jamie Saft (JS Trio, New Zion Trio, John Zorn's Masada, Merzbow, The New Standard, The Spanish Donkey), American guitar and double bass free music legend Joe Morris and Hungarian hardcore drummer Balazs Pandi (Wadada Leo Smith, Jamie Saft, Merzbow) is here augmented by the presence of Swedish sax titan Mats Gustafsson. 

Jamie Saft's, Joe Morris' and Balazs Pandi's artistic relationship has been steadily developing on RareNoiseRecords since late 2012 : Saft and Pandi both played on Metallic Taste Of Blood; all three played on Slobber Pup's first release, and again with Wadada Leo Smith on Red Hill; Saft and Morris both played on Plymouth (with Mary Halvorson, Chris Lightcap and Gerald Cleaver) and The Spanish Donkey (with Mike Pride)

Recorded December 2013 in Jamie Saft's Potterville International Sound studio in the beautiful Catskills mountains, Pole Axe leverages the afore-mentioned chemistry and the tumultuous, monolithic yet psychedelic vigor of Mats Gustafsson's reeds, yielding three boundless free-form excursions .

This journey, which starts with the torrential "Pole Of Combustible Memory", continues with the equally extended "Bring Me My Desire And Arrows To Shoot" (a title inspired by William Blake) and concludes with Incendiary Axe, is a chiaroscuro stream of consciousness that might have been burned on 35mm analog reel. Visions relentlessly follow visions, temperature and texture changes flow into another without hardly rest. (PLEASE NOTE: The order of the tracks stated on the CD is incorrect.)

The endless depth of Saft's and Morris' interplay, multiple analog synths and organs engaged in a at times vertiginous dance with the guitar, is here deeply complemented by Gustafsson's saxophone multiform saxophone, sustained by Pandi's at times restrained, at times virulent drumming. Here again one can sense the manifestation of the notion of glacial time theorized by Morris - a state of deep listening between musicians, when time is felt and understood by all, but does not need to be overtly stated. Everyone is experiencing the pulse, yet everyone's focus is on the larger arc of the music.

TRACKS

1. Pole Of Combustible Memory (29:35)

2. Bring Me My Desire And Arrows To Shoot (17:50)

3. Incendiary Axe (4:35)

Guitar Virtuoso John Jorgenson to Release Limited Edition, 3-CD Box Set Divertuoso

Much to the excitement of guitar players and musicians worldwide, John Jorgenson will release Divertuoso, a limited edition, 3-CD box set of three separate, all-new full-length albums featuring three of Jorgenson’s band configurations (gypsy jazz, bluegrass and electric) via Cleopatra Records on October 16, 2015.

Jorgenson's career has been wide-ranging, including playing lead guitar in Elton John's band for seven years; being a co-founder of both the groundbreaking The Hellecasters and The Desert Rose Band; being widely known as the U.S. Ambassador of Gypsy Jazz; and portraying Django Reinhardt in the Hollywood feature film Head In The Clouds. Jorgenson has recorded or toured with the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Luciano Pavarotti, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, The Byrds, Johnny Cash, Bob Seger, Willie Nelson and many others. Jorgenson is a GRAMMY Award-winner and has won many other awards, including being three-time Academy of Country Music (ACM) Guitarist of the Year.

Totaling 40 tracks in all, Divertuoso showcases Jorgenson's incredible virtuosity as both a musician and songwriter in a variety of styles. Considered a master of the electric and acoustic guitar, and many other instruments, Jorgenson plays 12 instruments on the box set (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, clarinet, mandocello, soprano sax, bass, hammond organ, bassoon, keyboards, percussion), as well as vocals, and he composed a majority of the material. This release is a singular accomplishment not only for Jorgenson, but also for the guitar community as a whole. His mastery of these three disparate styles (gypsy jazz, bluegrass and rock) is on full display throughout these recordings.

The three records that are part of Divertuoso are:

John Jorgenson Quintet - Returning

J2B2 (John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band Featuring Herb Pedersen, Jon Randall & Mark Fain) - From The Crow's Nest

John Jorgenson - Gifts From The Flood

“I feel like a huge overview of my musical life is contained in this project,” Jorgenson said. “It incorporates many of the diverse styles that all co-exist in my world. Had I thought very long beforehand, I could have easily gotten overwhelmed at the amount of actual work it would take to create such a large body of work, but it really came together pretty naturally. I'm both relieved and proud to have Divertuoso out in the world.”

Returning is the latest recording by gypsy jazz veterans the John Jorgenson Quintet. Their music, both live and recorded, is a time-and-space transcending experience. All but two of the album's 13 tracks were written by Jorgenson himself. Jorgenson plays acoustic guitar, bouzouki, clarinet, mandolin, mandocello, and soprano sax on the record, and sings on one song. The New York Times has been quoted as saying: “Jorgenson is perhaps the best jazz guitarist alive.”

The 15-track From The Crow's Nest by bluegrass supergroup J2B2 (John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band featuring Herb Pedersen, Jon Randall & Mark Fain) was recorded at Sheryl Crow's home barn studio in Nashville over the course of three days. Pedersen (The Dillards and Old And In The Way) is a legendary vocal arranger and musician who also co-founded The Desert Rose Band with Jorgenson. Hit songwriter Randall, a former member of Emmylou Harris' Nash Ramblers, has toured with Earl Scruggs and Sam Bush. Fain is the long-time bassist for Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder. The record includes lead and harmony vocals by Jorgenson, Randall and Pedersen, and when the three sing together, a magical 60's/70's folk air transforms the typical bluegrass “high lonesome harmonies” into an entirely different dimension. In addition to his vocal work, Jorgenson plays mandolin and acoustic guitar. Songwriters contributing to the record include Jorgenson, Pedersen, Randall (co-writer of the CMA Song of the Year, “Whiskey Lullaby,” with Bill Anderson, included in this set), Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, JD Souther, Mitchell Jayne and Rodney Dillard (members of The Dillards) and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Member Chris Hillman (The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers).

The third album, Gifts From The Flood, is a John Jorgenson solo electric record. Jorgenson plays everything on it (guitars, bass, Hammond organ, clarinet, bassoon, keyboards, and percussion) with the exception of drums, which are played by Greg Morrow. The concept is an interesting one; Jorgenson had many guitars and amps completely ruined in the Nashville flood of 2010. As the guitars were restored and each one came back to him, new songs seemed to flow out of each one. The gratitude Jorgenson had just for having them back is captured on this record. Each song was named simply after the guitar that was used to create it, and all of the songs were written by Jorgenson alone. With everything from straight-ahead rock, to country-flavored picking (including a special guest appearance by Brad Paisley on one track), to cool surf-flavored grooves, Gifts From The Flood is anything but standard.

  

Track Listing:

DISC 1: John Jorgenson Quintet - Returning

1. Sonora Spring

2. Sand Away The Years

3. San Sebastien

4. Waiting For The Fog To Rise

5. Born Too Late

6. It Only Takes A Secret

7. Istiqbal Gathering

8. If I Only Knew You Cared

9. Black Swan

10. I've Got My Fingers Crossed

11. Inches And Feet

12. Wistfully Waltzing

13. Sonora Spring (Reprise)

DISC 2: J2B2 (John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band Featuring Herb Pedersen, Jon Randall & Mark Fain) - From The Crow’s Nest

1. Beautiful Sound

2. I Will Shelter You

3. Wait A Minute

4. Wandering Boy

5. There Is A Time

6. Lady’s Bluff

7. Travelin’ Angels

8. No One Else

9. Die Tryin’

10. If You Could See

11. Feather

12. A Heart Always True

13. Let Me Get Out Of This World Alive

14. Gina

15. Whiskey Lullaby

DISC 3: John Jorgenson - Gifts From The Flood

1. ‘61 SGLP

2. Jazzmaster 1

3. ‘70 LP Custom

4. ‘64 SG Custom 3

5. ‘57 Strat 2

6. Firebird

7. Sunburst Tele 1

8. ‘57 Strat 1

9. Sunburst Tele 2 (with Brad Paisley)

10. Paisley Tele 1

11. Jazzmaster 2

12. ‘66 Silvertone 1

CELEBRATING BOB BELDEN A Musical Evening In Memory of A Visionary Bandleader, Arranger, Saxophonist and GRAMMY® Award-Winning Producer With Friends, Family, Band Members, Industry Colleagues, And More

The unexpected silence left by the recent passing of Bob Belden—whose ceaseless stream of musical projects, production credits and boundless energy earned him the respect of an international circle of musicians and fans—will be filled with music, memories, and much more on Monday, November 2 at (le) poisson rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, New York City. CELEBRATING BOB BELDEN is the title of this special memorial evening, which is free and open to the public.

Doors open at 6:30pm, the event will begin at 7:30pm and run through the evening, with three different groups (The Treasure Island Band, Animation/Imagination, Animation), all originally formed by Belden performing music that he composed and featuring musicians he recruited, as well as special friends like Wallace Roney. Belden’s longtime confidante and collaborator, trumpeter Tim Hagans, will serve as the musical director of the evening. Friends and family members will speak and share stories, in person or by video, including Chick Corea, Tim Ries and Herbie Hancock. The event is lovingly produced by Belden’s sister Elizabeth Belden Harmstone, Tim Hagans, Julie Lokin and Danny Melnick under the auspices of Audiences for the Arts, Inc.

Belden was a true rara avis: a student of music history who was committed to leaving his own mark on the musical timeline. He wrote music and led his own ensembles—including The Treasure Island Band, Imagination and most recently Animation—the group with which he recently toured Iran to sellout crowds, generating major headlines (“The first time an American musician had played in Iran since 1979,” jazz critic Ben Ratliff noted in The New York Times.). He earned six GRAMMY® Award nominations for his own recordings, and as a reissue producer and writer of especially insightful liner notes; of these, he won three. His most celebrated albums include the critically acclaimed orchestral jazz suite Black Dahlia (a Downbeat magazine “Masterpiece” in 2001), and his blending of world folk sources with the music of Miles Davis: Miles from India (2007) and Miles Español: New Sketches of Spain (2011).  (“As a bandleader and record maker, he often looked for ways to connect the jazz tradition to other energies,” Ratliff also wrote.)

Born James Robert Belden in Evanston, Illinois in 1956 and raised in South Carolina, Belden began his career playing in the reed section of Woody Herman’s famed Third Herd big band. In 1983, he moved to New York City where his career grew wide and deep. In the 1980s, he served as a sideman with Donald Byrd and Mel Lewis, as staff arranger for ESPN, and scored films. In the ‘90s, he became an artists-and-repertoire (A&R) executive at Blue Note Records, and arranged and/or collaborated on albums with such jazz greats as Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Nicholas Payton, Paquito D’Rivera, Wallace Roney, James Moody, Tom Harrell, Renee Rosnes, and Benny Green. He created albums that found the jazz spirit in music by an unlikely array of giants: from Puccini, Prince, and the Beatles, to Miles and Sting. He spearheaded reissue programs that brought new life to timeless recordings by Miles, Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and countless others.

Belden’s two most recent recordings continue to add to his legacy and garner critical acclaim. In an Ambient Way, released this past June by Chesky Records, reinterpreted Miles Davis’ classic In a Silent Way recording used modern recording technology and sonic textures to help shape the improvisations, and introduced Powerhouse, a group led by Belden and featuring Roney (trumpet), Oz Noy (guitar), Kevin Hays (Fender Rhodes), Daryl Johns (bass) and Lenny White (drums). The release was part of the Chesky’s Binaural + Series, recorded with a single microphone; Norman Chesky executive produced.

Released just this past week by RareNoise, Machine Language is the latest—and now last—project by Belden’s youthful Animation ensemble. The album is a rock-jazz meditation on man and artificial intelligence conceived and composed by Belden, narrated by Kurt Elling, and featuring the saxophonist along with special guest bassist Bill Laswell, plus Animation keyboardist Roberto Verastegui, trumpeter Pete Clagett and drummer Matt Young.

Belden was unusually wide-ranging in his cinematic and literary tastes, and up-to-date on matters of music and technology. His memory for musical details—melodies, voicings and rhythms, as well as personnel and dates—was uncanny. He did not survive long as a staff producer. “He was a vocal critic of the state of the music industry, music education and other aspects of the world in which he traveled,” journalist Jeff Tamarkin pointed out in JazzTimes, “Yet he traveled easily within it because he understood it so well, and was loved and respected for his individuality and the sheer magnitude and breadth of his talent.”

When Belden died from a heart attack on May 20 this year, obituaries appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, JazzTimes, and other national and international publications in the UK, Brazil and Venezuela. In Downbeat, John Ephland wrote:

“The cat had lots of appetites… during his all-too-short lifetime, Bob Belden accomplished 10 times as much as the average person would in a lengthy one. Getting to know him, one couldn’t help but be stunned at the breadth of his many passions and projects—all driven by a generous spirit, a huge heart and boundless, soulful imagination.”

Bob Belden will be missed, and his musical contributions will continue to be celebrated

CELEBRATING BOB BELDEN is generously made possible by donations from Andrew and Elizabeth Belden Harmstone, David and Norman Chesky at Chesky Records, and Giacomo Bruzzo of RareNoise. We encourage attendees and the community to contribute to the Jazz Foundation of America, which provides emergency assistance to musicians in times of crisis, in Bob's name. Please send checks payable to Jazz Foundation of America (with memo: "In Memory of Bob Belden") to Jazz Foundation of America, 322 West 48th St., 6th Fl., New York, NY 10036 or visit visit www.jazzfoundation.org/memory_honor to make a donation online.

SAM SADIGURSKY DEBUTS NEW BAND AND ALBUM - FOLLOW THE STICK

Sam Sadigursky, a first-call sideman and bandleader across a broad spectrum of music, and an award-winning composer (Chamber Music America, The Jerome Foundation), debuts a brand new band on his new recording, Follow The Stick, to be released on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records on November 6, 2015. Follow The Stick is a sophisticated collection of original music from one of the most respected musicians on the New York scene. It is also Sam's "coming out party" as a clarinetist, which he has put front and center as of late. He explains, "It was a natural evolution in many ways, both practically and creatively. I started on saxophone, but began studying clarinet pretty early as well ­ my father is a classically trained clarinetist and accordionist from the Soviet Union, who now plays mostly Klezmer and Eastern European folk music. I remember interviewing him for a 5th grade project and asking him what some of his dreams in life were, and he told me about wanting to learn to play jazz clarinet, something he's always loved. About four or five years ago something really clicked for me with the instrument and I've put most of my energies into it, and people have been calling me more and more for my clarinet playing since then. Unlike the endless sea of jazz saxophone players, there aren't that many improvisers today playing clarinet at a high level, so it's allowed me to really create a little niche for myself, and creatively, I feel there's so much more room to explore with it. I really feel that it's my voice as an instrumentalist."

This new recording follows up Sadigursky's five acclaimed The Words Project albums on New Amsterdam Records, where the music is based on text and poetry. With Follow The Stick we now have an opportunity to hear why Sadigursky is considered a "musician's musician", and so revered as a collaborator/sideman. "The Words Project material sort of allowed me to hide behind the singers. There's not that much stretching out on those albums, since I was always conscious of this larger compositional scheme, being faithful to the text and not allowing it to get overshadowed by the music," said Sadigursky. "We stretch on this one."

The music on Follow The Stick is comprised of new, and some not so new, original compositions, plus a modern take on the Glenn Miller hit, "String Of Pearls". Originally, Sadigursky planned on writing all new music for this group; things with a more overt sort of swing associated with this instrumentation (clarinet, trumpet, vibraphone, piano & drums), such as "Do The Dance", but, "when I started to fish through old notebooks for ideas I found so many nearly-completed old tunes of mine that never had life breathed into them. Having focused on those vocal albums for nearly ten years, there is still a huge backlog of instrumental material that I'm sifting through. However, I did write some new tunes for the group, things like 'Deadly Sins' and 'Math Music', and these might better reflect my thinking today - lots of meter changes and metric modulations - where many of the older tunes are more lead-sheet oriented and open," explained Sadigursky.

"Follow The Stick" is musician's slang for following a conductor, but it also applies to the clarinet, which has been subjected to a host of (mostly) derogatory nicknames, due primarily to its unforgiving nature as an instrument (i.e. the licorice stick, the agony stick, etc.). "The clarinet is such an unyielding instrument - the technical difficulty of it can be really controlling; as a player you often have to follow wherever it wants to go. There's just a lot more to trip over technically on it. Really though, I just liked the sound of those words, their directness and the sarcastic suggestion of dictatorship, which is of course so counter to music­making. Plus, I wanted this to be a real band, so I figured the first thing that any band needs is a name," said Sadigursky.

The Follow The Stick band began as a trio featuring Bobby Avey on piano and Jordan Perlson on drums, an instrumentation inspired by the great clarinet trios of the '40s led by Benny Goodman, which didn't have a bass player. "Bobby Avey is really the whole package ­ he plays the whole piano with a real sound, has such a compositional sense, and he's an instigator, totally fearless, something I really value in the people I play with. His left hand is so developed that he fills the space left in the group by not having a bass player so naturally, without ever slipping into cliches," commented Sadigursky. "I heard Jordan on Bobby's records, and was really blown away. I had known him for years through his playing with Becca Stevens (who is on several of The Words Project albums), so I called him for one of the informal sessions with Bobby. What I didn't know was that Bobby and Jordan grew up playing together in Pennsylvania, so they go back a long time. It felt like a band to me from the first moment, and immediately after that session I remember taking them out to lunch and basically getting down on one knee and asking them to be part of something more ongoing. Jordan is so well versed in so much music ­ he can play the hard stuff, but then is one of the best rock drummers I've ever heard. 'Math Music', the last tune on the album, is basically a big ol' feature for him, and he kills it."

After a few gigs with the trio, Sadigursky was looking for a bit more color for the group, a musician who could thicken the textures and also give the piano some support during solos, and support the melodic content as well. He elaborated, "I thought about which instrument I would like to try adding, and vibes came to mind first, since they have such a history alongside the clarinet - Benny Goodman/Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw's Gramercy Five, Buddy DeFranco/Terry Gibbs, etc. I had never played with Chris Dingman before, but remember being really impressed by his first album, Waking Dreams. After doing a session with him I knew he was the guy. It takes a lot of sensitivity for a vibes player and a pianist to play well together, and it seemed to come so easily for Chris and Bobby. One of my favorite parts of the record is the extended intro they play to 'Heart' ­ they sound like they've been playing together for years." Boston-based trumpeter Jason Palmer plays on five tracks. Sadigursky had a trumpet player in mind for some tracks, and was blown away by Palmer's playing on a European tour they did with Darcy James Argue's group. "It's rare that I hear a trumpet sound that I love, and Jason's gives me goosebumps every time I hear it," said Sadigursky. Ljova plays viola on just one track, "Looks Can Be Deceiving," an open sketch with no written melody, just a sequence of chords and a vague notion of how they should be played. "Although he's not a jazz improviser, his sense of melody is so great, and I love the sound of the viola, it has a very similar ruminative, dark quality to the clarinet. I love how they sound together."

"In addition to all the different folk traditions that the clarinet is part of, there's such a great tradition of jazz clarinet that I'm still in the midst of discovering. I'm amazed at how much of it goes unnoticed these days - these clarinet greats were so prodigious. However, having come up as a saxophonist listening to Coltrane, Rollins, Henderson, Lovano, etc., I have all these other sounds in my head as well - you play any of that stuff on the saxophone and most people have heard it a thousand times, but play those influences on the clarinet and it actually sounds pretty fresh. To me, at least."

More on Sam Sadigursky - Since moving to New York in 2002, Sadigursky continues to make his mark both as a leader and sideman. His series of albums of original music based on poetry and text entitled The Words Projecthave been acclaimed internationally. Noted music critic Steve Smith called them, "compelling and touchingly intimate...that rare anomaly: a jazz-and-poetry record that sounds utterly natural and convincing", and went on to name Sadigursky's debut album as one of Time Out New York's "Top Ten Albums of 2007". The New York Times has called them "gracefully high-minded explorations of poetic form." Sadigursky has toured and recorded as a saxophonist and clarinetist with artists such as Brad Mehldau, Lucia Pulido, Gabriel Kahane, Tom Jones, Edmar Castaneda, Linda Oh, The Mingus Orchestra, Jamie Baum Septet, Ljova, Pablo Mayor's Folklore Urbano, La Cumbiamba eNeYe, and has been nominated for two Grammy awards for his work with Darcy James Argue's Secret Society. As a composer, he has written for film and modern dance and has also published three books of original etudes for clarinet and saxophone. Sadigursky has appeared at some of the world's most prestigious venues and festivals, has performed for numerous Broadway shows, and appears on over twenty-five albums as a sideman. 

2016 Lineup Set For Biamp PDX Jazz Festival John Coltrane @ 90 Celebrates 13th Annual Gathering of Living Legends, NEA Jazz Masters, Established and Emerging Artists

Charles Lloyd / Ravi Coltrane

The 13th Annual Biamp PDX Jazz Festival is set to commence Thursday, February 18 through Sunday, February 28 with 30 featured concerts at venues throughout the Portland metro region. Tickets exclusively available to PDX Jazz members beginning October 4, and to the general public November 2.

This year's 11-day celebration will also boast the second annual Jazz Forward Competition, a high school competition drawing students throughout the western region. In partnership with Portland State University, the JFC was created to establish a scholarship program in the tradition of other prestigious regional events held in Reno, Nevada; Monterey, California and Moscow, Idaho. Finalists will compete in seven categories (two college level solo categories have been added) and the winners will receive main stage exposure.

The thematic centerpiece performances are two For Portland Only concerts featuring special guest Ravi Coltrane in celebration of his father's 90th birthday and mother's influence and artistry. Friday, February 26, The Africa Brass Ensemble, under the direction of Portland Jazz Master Charles Gray, will re-imagine the five singular pieces from John Coltrane's debut impulse! sessions. Anchoring this performance is Philadelphia pianist and McCoy Tyner inspired, Orrin Evans and his esteemed rhythm mates. On Saturday, February 27, Ravi will pay tribute to his revered mother, Alice Coltrane, in a highly anticipated program titled, Universal Consciousness, featuring Reggie Workman (a prominent collaborator with John and Alice Coltrane), pianist Geri Allen (she and Alice are both Detroit natives), harpist Brandee Younger and drummer Andrew Cyrille. 

Diana Reeves / Alicia Olatuja

Coltrane's mastery will be reflected through legacy performances in special groupings through tribute projects: Gary Bartz (Coltrane Rules) and Javon Jackson/Jimmy Cobb (We FOUR); Olé Coltrane featuring the Bobby Torres Ensemble with special guest Azar Lawrence, the West Coast debut of Reggie Workman's RW WORKz, and a week-long residency of nightly Coltrane tributes from top Portland performers.

Coltrane will also be explored through his association with Elvin Jones around a seminal project titled Puttin' It Together, featuring Jones' celebrated sidemen Sonny Fortune and Azar Lawrence, led by Portland icon Alan Jones (no relation). Fortune, a Philadelphia native, will make his Portland debut as a leader on the Festival's opening night at Jimmy Mak's. Coltrane's stellar collaborations with guitarist Kenny Burrell and lesser known work with Wes Montgomery will be will be honored in two programs: Freight Trane featuring Dan Balmer under the direction of Tony Pacini and West Coast Blues, under the leadership of Portland drummer Mel Brown with special guest guitarist and former impulse! recording artist Henry Johnson. The Festival will also pay homage to the historic Saxophone Summit - which originally featured Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, and David Liebman and later Ravi Coltrane. Recast For Portland Only as the Saxophone Summit Supreme, the Orrin Evans Trio will be joined by JD Allen, Jimmy Greene and Devin Phillips. Allen will also collaborate on another program with Evans' Trio billed as The Classic Quartet.

States Executive Artistic Director, Don Lucoff, "This will be the first themed Festival since 2011. I can't think of a more fitting figure than John Coltrane, who transcends jazz music and serves as a guiding influence for so many human beings in their daily lives. Through the ensuing generations, Coltrane has served as a cultural touchstone, and it's an honor to have his son, Ravi Coltrane represent his cherished legacy, and pay loving tribute to his mom, Alice Coltrane."

"We are presenting music for the first time during the Festival at Revolution Hall, Alberta Abbey and Al's Den. We look forward to nine exciting shows at Jimmy Mak's, including the anticipated return of Portlander Nicole Glover, our popular PDX Piano Perspectives series including Chano Domínguez, Brandee Younger, David Goldblatt, Aaron Goldberg and the American Pianist's Association's 2015 Cole Porter Fellow - Sullivan Fortner. Six shows at the Newmark and three at the Winningstad Theatres, complimented by free Jazz Conversations, music in the Art Bar Atrium of P5, and various hotels and restaurants throughout the downtown corridor," concludes Lucoff.

The BIAMP PDX Jazz Festival was co-founded in 2004 with Travel Portland to establish a cultural tourism initiative in the metro Portland area, and to celebrate Black History Month through education and outreach programming.

'Mr. Dynamite: The Rise Of James Brown' To Be Released On DVD And Blu-ray With Exclusive Bonus Features Award-Winning Documentary

Directed by Oscar® and Emmy® winner Alex Gibney and co-produced by Mick Jagger, Mr. Dynamite: The Rise Of James Brown digs into the career of one of music and culture's towering figures. On November 6, the Peabody Award-winning documentary film will be released worldwide by UMe on DVD and Blu-ray with exclusive bonus features, including feature-length roundtable commentary, extended interviews with original James Brown Revue members and others, the acclaimed music video for "It's A Man's Man's Man's World," and two classic James Brown Soul Train television performances, one of which is an unrehearsed blues romp with Brown's idols B.B. King and Bobby "Blue" Bland, which has not been seen since its original 1975 airing.

Using fresh interviews with James Brown band members and contemporaries, extraordinary historical interview footage, and rare archival performances of such Brown classics as "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag," "I Got You (I Feel Good)," "Out Of Sight," "Please Please Please," "Soul Power," "Sex Machine," "It's A Man's Man's Man's World," "Cold Sweat," and more, the feature-length documentary was made with the cooperation of the Brown Estate, which opened its archives for the first time.

Delving into politics, race relations during the explosive civil rights movement and the raw power behind several of his most famous tunes, Mr. Dynamite was honored with a 2014 Peabody Award, for what the Peabody panel called "its admiring but clear-eyed appraisal of a truly revolutionary musical figure and his legacies, his relationship to America and American culture, to funk, to hip hop, to racial politics, to American history and music history… It's a documentary you could almost dance to, so sure and steady is its pulse."

The Mr. Dynamite: The Rise Of James Brown DVD and Blu-ray packages include a 12-page booklet with an introductory essay by Mick Jagger, rare James Brown photos and detailed credits.

"Deftly encapsulates why Brown's music was so innovative and groundbreaking" - Rolling Stone

Mr. Dynamite: The Rise Of James Brown [DVD; Blu-ray]

Directed by Alex Gibney

Produced by Mick Jagger & Victoria Pearman, Peter Afterman and Blair Foster

Executive Producers: Alex Gibney, Dan Brooks, Mike Singer and Eric Weider

Co-Producer: Trevor Davidoski

Directors of Photography: Maryse Alberti, Antonio Rossi

Editors: Geeta Gandbhir, Maya Mumma

Feature film:

•Total running time:  120 minutes

•Blu-ray Edition – HD Video: 1080p, 16:9 Widescreen / Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Stereo

•Standard Definition DVD Edition – Video: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen / Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo

•Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese

Bonus Features:

•Feature-length roundtable commentary with Ahmir Questlove Thompson, bandleader of the legendary Roots crew; Christian McBride, bassist and bandleader; Alan Leeds, James Brown historian and former Brown tour director; and Harry Weinger, lead producer of Star Time and other James Brown reissues

•27 minutes of additional interview clips from original James Brown Revue members Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis, Fred Wesley, Bootsy Collins, Martha High, Maceo Parker, Melvin Parker, Jab'o Starks, Clyde Stubblefield and "Cape Man" Danny Ray, as well as Chuck D, Mr. Leeds, Mr. McBride, Rev. Al Sharpton, Greg Tate and Mr. Thompson.

•James Brown and The J.B.'s live on Soul Train, from September 1974, performing an incendiary medley of "Cold Sweat/I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me)/Papa's Got A Brand New Bag/The Payback" (7:42)

•From deep in the Soul Train archive, James Brown in March 1975 interviewed by host Don Cornelius, then joining B.B. King and Bobby "Blue" Bland in an impromptu blues medley, "Goin' Down Slow/Gambler's Blues/It's My Own Fault/I'm Sorry" (7:30)

•Acclaimed music video for "It's A Man's Man's Man's World," directed by Xavier Fauthoux, winner of the Saatchi & Saatchi James Brown Music Video Challenge (2:46)

JOAN OSBORNE'S CLASSIC RELISH ALBUM MARKS 20TH ANNIVERSARY

Originally from a small town outside of Louisville, KY, Joan Osborne moved to New York to attend NYU Film School in the late '80s, but gravitated toward the vibrant downtown roots music scene, playing clubs for years.  Osborne then formed an independent label, Womanly Hips, and released her debut, a live album dubbed Soul Show: Live at Delta 88 in 1991, where she showed off her roots in folk, country, blues and rock.  Signing with Mercury Records, Osborne's major label bow, Relish, came out on March 21, 1995. Produced by Rick Chertoff, who released the album on his own Blue Gorilla imprint at PolyGram, Relish features such supporting performers as multi-instrumentalist Rob Hyman, bassist Mark Egan, Jeff Buckley collaborator Gary Lucas, and the Hooters' Eric Bazilian, who not only played guitar, mandolin, sax, harmonica and electric piano, but penned a song called "One of Us," which catapulted the album to #9 on the Billboard charts and eventually triple-platinum in sales. Relish earned a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year and nominations for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for Osborne. In addition, "One of Us" was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

The Relish 20th Anniversary Edition will be available on October 30 in three separate formats, featuring expanded liner notes written by Chris Talbott and a variety of bonus tracks. The single-CD version includes the original demo of "One of Us," with songwriter Eric Bazilian accompanying Joan on guitar; a demo version of "Pensacola" in a completely different, reggae style featuring the entire band, and the previously unreleased track, "Mighty One," from the Relish recording sessions.

The 20-track digital bundle, available in both standard and HD digital formats, includes the three bonus tracks mentioned above as well as the previously unreleased "Here Comes What's Coming," recorded at the same time as Relish and 4 live B-sides, among them a version of "One of Us," performed for WXPN's World Café plus "St. Teresa" and "Spider Web," both recorded for KSGR in Austin.  Finally, there's a version of "Crazy Baby" recorded live from the Gavin Triple A Convention in Boulder, CO.

A double-LP Relish without bonus tracks will also be released at the same time.

Relish was recorded at Big Blue in Katonah, New York, with additional recording at The Crawlspace in Philadelphia and PIE Studios in Glen Cove, New York. The album included Osborne originals like "St. Teresa," "Pensacola," "Ladder" and "Crazy Baby," interspersed with covers (Bob Dylan's "Man in the Long, Black Coat," Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me" and, of course, Bazilian's "One of Us") and collaborations with the band on "Right Hand Man" (including Captain Beefheart), "Spider Web,"  "Let's Just Get Naked" and "Lumina" (the latter two with Bazilian).

But it was "One of Us" that captivated the public with its exploration of the nature of faith and people's belief in God, rising to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Bazilian wrote the song to "impress a girl," who later became his wife, and originally placed the song on a solo album as a hidden track. When producer Chertoff heard it, he asked Joan if she thought she could sing it.  They recorded a live demo of her performing the song, which is included on both the CD and Digital Tracks versions of this reissue.  "When I got into my car and popped the cassette in," said Bazilian, "I started practicing the Grammy speech that I should've gotten to give."

Osborne, who has toured with the Dead as well as her own band for the past 20 years, has also toured with the legendary Motown sidemen, The Funk Brothers, and appeared with them in the acclaimed 2002 documentary, Standing in the Shadows of Motown. She hit the road for a fall tour with Mavis Staples, which started September 25 in San Francisco.  A complete list of tour dates is below. A complete list of tour dates is below.

Sep 25 - San Francisco, CA - Live Nation

Sep 26 - Modesto, CA - Gallo Center for the Arts

Sep 27 - Napa, CA - Uptown Theatre

Sep 29 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Cal Poly Arts

Sep 30 - Davis, CA - Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts

Oct 2 - Agoura Hills, CA - The Canyon Club

Oct 3 - Cerritos, CA - Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts

Oct 6 – Phoenix, AZ - Musical Instrument Museum

Oct 7 - Phoenix, AZ - Musical Instrument Museum

Oct 8 - Tucson, AZ - Rialto Theatre

Oct 10 - The Woodlands, TX Dosey Doe Coffee House

Oct 11 - Baton Rouge, LA - Manship Theatre

Oct 24 - Clinton Township, MI - Macomb Center for the Performing Arts

Oct 26 - Binghamton, NY - Anderson Center for the Arts

Oct 27 - State College, PA - Eisenhower Auditorium (Penn State University)

Oct 28 - Tarrytown, NY - Tarrytown Music Hall

Oct 30 - Stony Brook, NY - Stallar Center for the Arts

Oct 31 - Washington DC, VA - George Washington University

Nov 1 - Newport News, VA - Ferguson Center for the Arts

Nov 3 - Morristown, NJ - Mayo Performing Arts Center

Nov 4 - New York, NY - Kaufmann Concert Hall

Nov 6 - Schenectady, NY - Arts Center & Theatre of Schenectady

Nov 7 - Boston, MA - Celebrity Series of Boston

Nov 8 - Providence, RI - Providence Performing Arts

Nov 10 - Keene, NH - Colonial Theatre

Nov 11 - St. Johnsbury, VT - Lyndon Institute Auditorium (*headliner)

Nov 12 - Portsmouth, NH - Music Hall - Portsmouth

Nov 14 - Englewood, NJ - Bergen Performing Arts Center

Nov 15 - Richmond, VA - University of Richmond

Nov 18 - Atlanta, GA - Georgia Institute of Technology

Nov 19 - Oxford, AL - Oxford Performing Arts Center

Nov 21 - Cutler Bay, FL - South Miami Dade Cultural Center

Nov 22 - Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall

http://www.joanosborne.com/

 

NEW RELEASES: MALIJA – THE DAY I HAD EVERYTHING; TEEMU AKERBLOM QUARTET; BRIAN ELLIS – IN THE DARK

MALIJA – THE DAY I HAD EVERYTHING

London based trio MALIJA releases 'The Day I Had Everything' featuring the new all-star trio featuring Mark Lockheart (saxophones, bass clarinet), Liam Noble (double bass) and Jasper Høiby (piano) on November 27, 2015. brings together a collective empathy and co-leadership with all members sharing the production and writing roles. These names will need no introduction to Edition fans, having played together on Mark Lockheart’s quintet album ‘In Deep’ in 2009, but with their individual international profiles and explosive musical personalities integrated in a trio, there’s no hiding from the fact that this is the band to watch.

TEEMU AKERBLOM QUARTET

An excellent contemporary combo from Finland – but one who are right at home on the Jazzaggression label, which mostly issues rare gems from years past! The sound here is plenty classic – and recalls that great 70s moment on the European scene when the best groups were aware of 60s advances like free or modal jazz, but could also swing as well – often bringing all elements to play in a single tune, but finding a way to make their most creative work still hold very strongly to a larger tradition in jazz! The group here is a quartet, but one with a slightly shifting lineup – the core trio of Teemu Akerblom on bass, Mikko Arlin on drums, and Max Zenger on saxes and flute – plus a changing fourth player from track to track – either Ville Vannemaa or Jarno Tikka on tenor, or Verneri Pohjola on trumpet. The lack of any piano really enforces the importance of the bass to the rhythms – and Akerblom's a player with a strong sense of modal energy, which often sets things up beautifully for the reed and trumpet solos to really soar and do their thing – shifting in intensity from track to track, partly because of that rotating fourth player! All tracks are original, and very fresh – and titles include "Blues For Martin", "Dark Corners", "Gilman's Point", "October 22", and "Harmaata Nakyvissa". CD features two bonus tracks not on LP. ~ Dusty Groove

BRIAN ELLIS – IN THE DARK

Really sweet keyboards from Brian Ellis – a man who's been giving us a surprising amount of music in the past year or so, often in many different flavors! This time around, Brian's got a strong 80s groove – and uses his keyboards in the lead with kind of a post-Herbie Hancock approach to fusion – one that's very comfortable with mostly all electric elements in the instrumentation, but which also still has a really great old school sense of space and timing! By that, we mean that Brian's never too over the top, and always makes these tracks groove in a style that's mighty soulful – maybe somewhere in the territory of Bobby Lyle or Rodney Franklin, but even more electric overall. Titles include "Flipped", "In The Dark", "Banana Seat", "Boogie Box", "Moonlight Shadows", and "One Twenty". ~ Dusty Groove