NEW MUSIC: RENE MARIE - SOUND OF RED; OMER AVITAL - ABUTBUL MUSIC; MAKAYA MCCRAVEN – IN THE MOMENT

RENE MARIE – SOUND OF RED

Rene´Marie's sensational 'Sound Of Red' finds the singer at the top of her already sizzling game and breaking new ground with her first album of entirely self-penned originals. After landing a Best Jazz Vocal Album GRAMMY nomination with her last release, Marie shoots for the stars again with 'Sound Of Red' as she literally writes a new chapter in jazz for her ultra-sexy, wise, provocative and daredevil self. Her brilliance as a writer who draws equally on jazz, folk, R&B and country prove an easy match to her widely-acclaimed brilliance as a performer. These richly personal songs explore the sweetest, saddest, brightest and darkest corners of human existence. Marie is joined on the project by musical guests that include saxophonist Sherman Irby, trumpeter Etienne Charles and guitarist Romero Lubambo. Includes: If You Were Mine; Go Home; Lost; Stronger Than You Think; Certaldo; Colorado River Song; This is (Not) a Protest Song; Many years Ago; Joy Of Jazz; and Blessings.

OMER AVITAL – ABUTBUL MUSIC

That big, woody bass of Omer Avital pictured on the cover has plenty to do with the sound of this record – a rich, soulful grounding that really sets the tone – while tenorists Asaf Yuria and Alexander Levin take off in these beautifully well-blown lines! As with most of Avital's recent records, this one's a gem from the very first note – beautifully expressive, but in a nicely understated way – with a strong batch of original tunes penned by Omer, who we love as much for his writing as we do for his work on bass! The rest of the group includes Yonathan Avishai on piano and Ofri Nehemya on drums – and Yuria also plays a bit of soprano sax too. Titles include "Muhammad's Market", "Three Four", "Bed Stuy", "Bass Hijaz", and "Ramat Gan". ~ Dusty Groove

MAKAYA MCCRAVEN – IN THE MOMENT

A totally unique record from drummer Makaya McCraven – and a great one too! The set's built around improvised performances recorded over the period of a year – with some of Chicago's best underground jazz talents, including Matt Ulery on bass, Marquis Hill on trumpet, Jeff Parker on guitar, Justefan on vibes, Desean Jones on tenor, Tony Barba on tenor and electronics, and Josh Abrams on bass – and the performances are then edited down into these shorter, focused tracks that are really wonderful! The music is still quite live in its approach at most moments – and often given a very rhythmic pulse in the way it's put together, but never in any sort of hokey or heavy-handed remix way. The basslines are wonderful – full, round, and very modal – and titles include "The Jaunt", "Time Travel", "The Encore", "The Drop", "Finances", "Just Stay Right There", and "Three Fifths A Man". Expanded 2CD edition – with a record's worth of additional material, the E & F sides of the project – titles that include "Next Step", "Trading Bars", "50 Thousand Miles", "The Master", "The Dimmer", "She Knows", and "Standing On Shoulders". ~ Dusty Groove

Arclight, Julian Lage’s Mack Avenue debut, marks his first recorded outing on electric guitar and in a trio format

Arclight, Julian Lage’s Mack Avenue debut, marks his first recorded outing on electric guitar and in a trio format, backed by double bassist Scott Colley and drummer Kenny Wollesen. Like that titular intense white light, Lage is a performer who burns brightly: The pace he sets is brisk, the mood often upbeat, the playing so quick-witted and offhandedly dazzling that one is compelled to immediately press “repeat,” especially when tracks like “Persian Rug” and “Activate” whiz by in under two and a half minutes. For a thoughtful artist like Lage, who will research and ruminate on a project long before he sets foot in a studio, this was a liberating experience, plugging in and playing with a kind of abandon. He was encouraged along the way by his producer and friend, the eclectic singer-songwriter Jesse Harris, who helped maintain an air of spontaneity and discovery throughout the trio’s three-day stint at Brooklyn Recording.

Lage has long been heralded for his virtuosic ability as an acoustic guitarist. In fact, he was well known in musician circles as a guitar prodigy whose early genius was captured in a 1997 Oscar-nominated documentary short, Jules At Eight. As an adult, he’s fulfilled the promise of his extraordinary youthful talent. The New Yorker’s Alec Wilkinson declared, “He is in the highest category of improvising musicians, those who can enact thoughts and impulses as they receive them.” Nate Chinen of The New York Times called Lage “one of jazz’s breezier virtuosos, possessed of an unflappable technical facility and a seemingly boundless curiosity.” After independently releasing a solo acoustic set of largely original material called World’s Fair in 2014, that curiosity prompted Lage to reconsider the electric guitar—specifically a Fender Telecaster, “the most refined embodiment of the modern guitar,” as he puts it.

“The Telecaster has been around for more than 60 years,” says Lage, “and it’s still so present. I took that as a parameter: Arclight focuses on my love of the electric guitar, specifically the Telecaster. And even more specifically, it’s centered on a jazz trio. It’s basically a realization of this recessive obsession I’ve had for a long time, but had never followed. I wanted to do songs that I feel maybe fell through the cracks for me when I was growing up, but now feel like a brand new kind of music.”

Though up to now Lage has largely recorded and performed original material, he wanted to explore his interpretive skills on Arclight, concentrating on music from the early to mid-20th century, “jazz before be-bop.” This was a period that had also inspired his composing for World’s Fair. As he did then, Lage consulted Brooklyn-based guitarist, banjo player and music scholar Matt Munistiri, who had already pored over the more obscure pages of the American Songbook. Explains Lage, “I had this conundrum. I was looking for minor songs and slightly more melancholy music from the ‘20s. Matt sent me about 20 songs that ranged from Willard Robison to Sidney Bechet to Jack Teagarden, Bix Beiderbecke and Spike Hughes, a British band leader who had a recording of a song called ‘Nocturne’ that ended up on our record. He nailed this melancholy zone of jazz that I felt was kind of forgotten. It was really poignant, melodic music that had a quirk to it. I think of it as the pre-be-bop generation, when country music and jazz and swing were in this weird wild-west period.”

Along with “Nocturne,” Lage tackles W.C. Handy’s “Harlem Blues,” a Gus Kahn-Neil Moret piano roll number called “Persian Rug,” and “I’ll Be Seeing You,” which starts off tenderly but gives way to a lively improvisational mid-section before finding its way back to the gentle, classic melody. The rest of the album consists of originals, which, notes Lage, “celebrate the other period I’m obsessed with, the Keith Jarrett American quartet period, an improvisational jazz era that had such a rich connection to songs and to folk music. This was the concept for the album.”

Playing a Telecaster is also an affectionate nod to Lage’s childhood: When he was four years old, his dad, a visual artist, had made him a plywood guitar based on a Fender Esquire he’d traced from a Bruce Springsteen poster. Lage “played” that guitar until his dad bought him a real electric guitar a year later, and they started practicing blues progressions and improvisation together. Similarly, Lage’s all-star rhythm section on Arclight recalls the sounds, the bands and the gigs that inspired him as a young musician. Lage remembers seeing Colley and Wollesen at famed Bay Area jazz club Yoshi’s backing his hero, the late guitar icon Jim Hall, as well as his early mentor, Gary Burton: “I would go to these shows, sit up front, put my head on the stage and watch. They were the most formative jazz guitar experiences of my life. And they were with these guys. I didn’t specifically intend to reassemble that dream crew but then I thought I had a chance, why not call them? I love them, I know their sounds; they would get my vision. And that’s what tied everything together. This was not only a band where I could get to play all this stuff that I’ve come up with, this is a band of people I love listening to. And that was so refreshing coming from the solo guitar thing, which was a very personal quest to build a solid individual foundation of music on the guitar.”

Jesse Harris became both observer and arbiter as the sessions unfolded, an invaluable role. While Lage would perceive a take as merely the first in a series,Harris, as Lage recounts, would say: “‘That’s it! Do you hear the spirit, the narrative, the build? Do you see how you struggle there but nail it here? That’s the ebb and flow.’ I absolutely loved it. This was very different than the solo guitar record, where Ifelt as though only I knew when it was done. I was outnumbered on this one, and by all my favorite people and musicians. Arclight also has a spirit to it, this raucous energy, a thing that I felt was so strongly connected to this music and this band. There was a concept, a philosophy, a tonal palette; but that kind of energy, that almost dance-bandvibe—Jesse could see it a mile away. It was so much fun to turn it up loud in the studio, and feel the music that way.”

Concludes Lage, “I feel like I’ve been on this very focused mission to make certain things a part of my musical life, and the electric guitar was one of the things that was missing. I’m very excited to share this.”

Guitarist Peter Bernstein Stays Loose and Relaxed with All Star Quartet on Smoke Sessions Records Debut, Let Loose

Guitarist Peter Bernstein is justly renowned as an interpreter of other people's music. His unerring, relaxed swing, his stunning gift for crafting and developing sophisticated melodies, the un-showy but absorbing narrative arc of his solos, the just plain rightness of his in-the-moment choices -- all of these account for his well-established status as one of the most in-demand musicians on the New York jazz scene.

Let Loose, Bernstein's debut release for Smoke Sessions Records, shifts the focus to Bernstein the composer. Five of the album's nine tracks stem from the guitarist's pen, each of them fulfilling the essential criterion that he sets forth for a worthwhile composition: "The tune has to be fun to play." It's a mantra that Bernstein has rehearsed regularly at the club that gives the label its name -- even before it had that name. He's been a regular at Smoke since the days when it was Augie's, and continues to be a regular presence on its stage.

Due out May 6, Let Loose features a quartet of artists who are equally well versed in tradition and innovation, who can breathe ecstatic life into these pieces while simultaneously anchoring them with deep roots. Bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Bill Stewart are longtime collaborators stretching back nearly three decades to their time together with Bernstein at William Paterson College. Gerald Clayton is the newcomer to the fold but brings along a reputation as one of the most respected pianists of his generation. The quartet found their opportunity to flesh out a sound on one of the most revered stages in all of jazz during a weeklong stint at the Village Vanguard, where they quickly forged their collective voice.

The spirit of the session is pithily captured in the title of the album: Let Loose, another case of simplicity masking complexity. The surface meaning suggests an unbridling of passion, an opening of the floodgates of expression that definitely characterizes the playing of all four members of the quartet. But there's also the suggestion of the need to allow oneself to be loose, free, open to whatever may come -- a guiding principle on the stage as well as off.

"That's the only way to get through life," Bernstein says, "to be loose and relaxed, to let things happen. The only way to truly improvise is to deal with the situation at hand and do your best with what's in front of you."

That attitude may help to explain why Bernstein can surface in so many vastly different contexts, always retaining his profoundly individual voice while fitting so ideally into whatever situation he finds himself. From his earliest experiences with saxophone giant Lou Donaldson, Bernstein has gone on to work with countless legends, including Sonny Rollins, Lee Konitz, and Jimmy Cobb, forming a particularly lasting and significant bond with organ legend Dr. Lonnie Smith. At the same time, he's worked with a broadly diverse swath of his peers, including Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, Eric Alexander, and a two-year stint with Diana Krall.

The ability to shift so effortlessly from one style to the next has made him in many listeners' minds the epitome of the New York musician, and it's a quality he shares with his band mates. Clayton is a second-generation jazz star, the son of bassist John Clayton and nephew of saxophonist Jeff Clayton. He's become an integral member of their Clayton Brothers band and also spent time on the road and in the studio with Diana Krall; in addition to leading his own bands he's worked with Roy Hargrove, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Charles Lloyd; he was recently tapped to represent the Monterey Jazz Festival as part of an all-star touring ensemble alongside Nicholas Payton, Ravi Coltrane, and Raul Midón.

Weiss has formed rhythm section partnerships with an eclectic roster of drummers, from Al Foster to Brian Blade to Billy Drummond, and anchored bands led by Brad Mehldau, Eddie Henderson, and Marc Copland. The ever-versatile Stewart has worked with everyone from John Scofield to Maceo Parker to Jim Hall, placing his own stamp on the music whether it's swinging or funky or modernist.

Let Loose is centered on four new originals written by Bernstein that both seemed of a piece and complementary to one another. The pairing of Bobby Hutcherson and McCoy Tyner wasn't far from Bernstein's mind when he wrote the title track, and traces of the two legends' barbed soulfulness are evident throughout. Bernstein's solo rides its roiling momentum with bold, stinging lines, followed by Clayton's sharp-elbowed harmonic convolutions.

Translated from Spanish, "Resplendor" means shine, brightness, glimmer. The obvious English analogue would be "resplendent," and it's an apt description of this warm, sun-dappled ballad with its hint of Latin accent. Bernstein opens "Hidden Pockets" with a lyrical statement cushioned by Clayton's cloud-like accompaniment. The title comes from a line in "Only You," a love poem by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi. Once the band enters, the tune shifts from the contemplative to the ecstatic, reflecting the consuming passion of the source material.

The last of the four new pieces is "Lullaby for B," a gently lilting tune inspired by Bernstein's young son Bruno. The final original is "Cupcake," a reworking of Bernstein's tune "Carrot Cake" with, as the title implies, the sweetness turned up. It's got a joyously funky swagger that allows Bernstein to show off his tasteful blues licks and spotlights Stewarts ability to elaborate and ornament a deceptively simple groove.

The album is filled out with four well chosen but far from obvious covers. Cuban songwriter Osvaldo Farrés' swooning "Tres Palabras" is best known for Nat "King" Cole's lush rendition, though Bernstein's interest can be traced once again to Bobby Hutcherson, who recorded it on his 1999 album Skyline. Woody Shaw's "Sweet Love of Mine" uncoils at a slow, scintillating burn, while "Blue Gardenia," familiar from Dinah Washington's beloved version, is a gorgeous ballad featuring Bernstein's precisely articulated lyricism and a dose of wry Ellingtonia folded into Clayton's solo. The album closes with Kurt Weill's "This Is New," its briskly played melody sparking a barrage from Stewart that picks up on the acute-angle percussiveness of Clayton's solo.

Peter Bernstein · Let Loose

Smoke Sessions Records · Release Date: May 6, 2016

Sonny Rollins's "Holding the Stage: Road Shows, vol. 4" Contains 7 Tracks Recorded Between 1979 & 2012

Holding the Stage Road Shows, vol. 4 For his new album Holding the Stage: Road Shows, vol. 4, the great tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins once again taps into his vast archives of his own concert recordings to compile superior performances for release in the acclaimed Road Shows series. The album encompasses some 33 years (1979-2012) yet coheres with all of the compelling logic and narrative force of an extended Sonny solo.

Holding the Stage, to be released by Doxy Records digitally April 8 and on CD April 15, the second album in a distribution agreement with Sony Music Masterworks and its jazz imprint OKeh, is truly a treasure chest that includes tunes Rollins has never before recorded and musical relationships previously undocumented. "This album consists of various periods of my career, with something for everybody," says Rollins. "It's who I am, and the music represents just about every aspect of what I do."

Three Rollins originals pay tribute to departed friends and colleagues. The soulful blues "H.S.," for Horace Silver, has been a concert staple since its appearance on Sonny's 1995 Milestone album Sonny Rollins +3. Saxophonist/arranger Paul Jeffrey, who died last year at 81, is remembered in the funky "Professor Paul," a new composition making its recorded debut here. Of "Disco Monk," from 1979's Don't Ask (Milestone) and rarely performed since, Rollins told CD annotator Ted Panken: "It was disco-disco-disco then, everywhere you went, but I heard something juxtaposed with [Thelonious] Monk within this disco craze, and I wanted to meld them in a way that both styles would be themselves and yet be one."

Another highlight is a previously unreleased 23-minute medley (and concert closer) from his September 15, 2001 Boston performance, most of which had been immortalized in Rollins's final Milestone album, the Grammy Award-winning Without a Song: The 9/11 Concert. "Sweet Leilani," introduced on his This Is What I Do album of the year before, morphs into a richly evocative solo cadenza and an epically ecstatic "Don't Stop the Carnival."

In the Harlem of his youth, Rollins told Panken, "music was happening on every street corner. So the idea of 'keep the music going' is in that song. Don't stop the carnival. In the case of 9/11, that was especially prophetic."

 Sonny Rollins Since launching his Doxy Records imprint in 2006 with the Grammy-nominated studio album Sonny, Please, Sonny Rollins has been turning to his concert recording archive dating back nearly 40 years for release on the label. The selections in Volume 1 (2008) spanned nearly three decades and included a trio track from the saxophonist's 50th-anniversary Carnegie Hall concert, while Volume 2 (2011) focused primarily on his historic 80th-birthday concert at New York's Beacon Theatre. Volume 3 (2014) marked the first recording of "Patanjali" and hinged on a stunning 23-minute excavation of Jerome Kern's "Why Was I Born?"

Holding the Stage: Road Shows, vol. 4 was produced by Rollins and his longtime engineer, Richard Corsello. Personnel includes trombonist Clifton Anderson; pianists Stephen Scott and Mark Soskin; guitarists Bobby Broom, Peter Bernstein, and Saul Rubin; bassists Bob Cranshaw and Jerome Harris; drummers Kobie Watkins, Perry Wilson, Victor Lewis, Jerome Jennings, Al Foster, and Harold Summey Jr.; and percussionists Kimati Dinizulu, Sammy Figueroa, and Victor See Yuen.

Women’s History Month Special: Valerie Simpson Sings Terri Lyne Carrington’s Arrangement of “Somebody Told A Lie”

“I have always loved the songs of Ashford and Simpson and have always been inspired by the genius of their musical contributions to American culture,” says Terri Lyne Carrington. “I knew I wanted to include something of theirs on this CD, as The Mosaic Project: LOVE and SOUL pays tribute to many male artists and composers that have inspired or influenced me. I was between “Somebody Told A Lie” and “Send It” because I felt like both could possibly lend themselves to a jazz influenced approach, but “Somebody Told a Lie” won out. I asked Valerie Simpson to sing it on the CD and was quite nervous about playing the demo for her, but in the end, she liked it and I was extremely honored to have her sing it on the CD. It’s an important addition because it helped to shape the direction of the entire project. This song also features

the great Geri Allen on piano.”

 “‘Somebody Told A Lie’ is the song that Terri Lyne rearranged and produced in her own inimitable style,” says Simpson. “She gave it another treatment and that’s what a songwriter wants—you want a new treatment, it already exist in its old form, so why do that again.  She took it to a whole new place, I love it.”

SoundCloud Link of “Somebody Told A Lie”

https://soundcloud.com/terrilynecarrington/somebody-told-a-lie-feat-valerie-simpson-single/s-DDFhW

Facebook: https://goo.gl/DpFQMk

Twitter: https://goo.gl/v9xM5R

YouTube: https://goo.gl/dyoEgy

Instagram: https://goo.gl/Y7JBGS

FANTASY RECORDS TO RELEASE 4-LP COMPILATION JAZZ DISPENSARY: COSMIC STASH EXCLUSIVELY FOR RECORD STORE DAY 2016

From acid-jazz groovers and jazz-funk movers to spaced-out cosmic explorations and beyond, Jazz Dispensary: Cosmic Stash opens the door to a heightened musical experience. Comprised of four distinct musical strains—“Soul Diesel,” “Purple Funk,” “OG Kush,” and “Astral Travelin’”—there’s a trip for every mood. This unique, 4-LP collection includes sought after tracks from the likes of the Lafayette Afro Rock Band, the Blackbyrds, Pharoah Sanders, Bernard Purdie and many more. Listeners will instantly recognize many of these vintage soul, jazz and funk tracks for their use in some of the biggest modern-day hits. Housed in a special four-way fold-out box, each LP comes in its own unique jacket, combining texture and visuals for a truly extrasensory experience. Pressed on translucent-colored vinyl with custom “prescription” labels, each record is designed to reflect the intended effects of the music: orange, purple, green and clear. Just what the doctor ordered.

The first LP, Soul Diesel, is an invigorating strain of high-energy ’60s soul-jazz, including the 7” edit of Rusty Bryant’s “Fire Eater” as well as Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers’ “Got Myself a Good Man,” which contains the well-known drum break from the Chemical Brothers’ hit “Block Rockin’ Beats.”

Disc 2, Purple Funk, will induce a fusion of cerebral euphoria with physical relaxation, kicking off with one of the most widely used drum breaks in hip-hop: Lafayette Afro Rock Band’s “Hihache,” heard in hits by LL Cool J, Biz Markie, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. Other highlights include Funk, Inc.’s “Kool Is Back” and the Blackbyrds’ “Rock Creek Park.”

LP 3, OG Kush, comprised entirely of sampled songs, contains the musical DNA of some of the most recognizable tunes of the genre. The opening notes of Ronnie Foster’s “Mystic Brew” should conjure memories of the early ’90s for any fan of classic hip hop – A Tribe Called Quest took it and flipped it into “Electric Relaxation” for their 1993 album Midnight Marauders, while “Free Angela” by Bayeté was used by De La Soul for “Sunshine” (on 1996’s Stakes Is High) and, most recently, by Kendrick Lamar on “Little Johnny” for his 2011 mixtape Compton State of Mind.

Rounding out the set is Astral Travelin’, a highly psychoactive strain of tunes guaranteed to deliver listeners to a higher consciousness. Leave the planet for a little while with tracks by Pharoah Sanders, Lonnie Liston Smith and Jack DeJohnette. This is music to get lost in; both densely textural but with a loosely flowing groove.

Jazz Dispensary: Cosmic Stash will be available in limited quantities, exclusively at participating Record Store Day outlets on Saturday, April 16th. For a full list of stores, please visit recordstoreday.com/Stores.

Jazz Dispensary: Cosmic Stash

Track Listing

LP 1: SOUL DIESEL

An invigorating, fast-acting and lively strain of high-energy tuneage. Named after its funky, potent diesel engine-like drive. Provides long-lasting, toe-tapping relief of stress, pain, and depression.

SIDE A

1.Rusty Bryant – Fire Eater [7” Edit]

2.Boogaloo Joe Jones – No Way

3.Bernard Purdie – Cold Sweat

4.Eddie Jefferson – Psychedelic Sally

SIDE B

1.Charles Kynard – Greeze

2.Sonny Phillips – Sure ’nuff, Sure ’nuff

3.Pucho and The Latin Soul Brothers – Got Myself a Good Man

4.Billy Hawks – O’ Baby (I Believe I’m Losing You)

LP 2: PURPLE FUNK

A hybrid fusion of cerebral euphoria and physical relaxation, this strain delivers effects detectable in both mind and body. Common side effects include couch lock, head-nodding, and a heightened sense of well-being.

SIDE A

1.Lafayette Afro Rock Band – Hihache

2.The Pazant Brothers and The Beaufort Express – A Gritty Nitty

3.Funk, Inc. – Kool Is Back [Edit]

4.The Round Robin Monopoly – Life Is Funky

5.Roy Lee Johnson and The Villagers – Patch It Up 

SIDE B

1.The Blackbyrds – Rock Creek Park

2.Pleasure – Bouncy Lady

3.David Axelrod – Mucho Chupar

4.Patrice Rushen – The Hump

5.Azymuth – Dear Limmertz [12" Mix]

LP 3: OG KUSH

Although largely considered a West Coast phenomenon, the OG Kush strain contains the musical DNA of many additional sub-strains popularized by hip-hop legends of both coasts from the golden era and beyond. A generally euphoric and enlightening experience.

SIDE A

1.Ronnie Foster – Mystic Brew

2.Isaac Hayes – Hung up on My Baby

3.Ernie Hines – Our Generation

4.Bayeté – Free Angela (Thoughts…and all I’ve got to say)

SIDE B

1.Jean-Jacques Perrey – E.V.A.

2.Johnny "Hammond" Smith – Can’t We Smile

3.The Blackbyrds – Mysterious Vibes

4.Gary Bartz – Gentle Smiles [Saxy]

5.Paulinho da Costa – Love till the End of Time 

LP 4: ASTRAL TRAVELIN’

Guaranteed to give you an out of body experience, this recently discovered, highly psychoactive strain induces a higher consciousness and inspires a feeling of “oneness” with the universe. Leave the planet for a while—you might like what you find. 

SIDE A

1.Charles Earland – Leaving This Planet

2.Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes – Expansions

3.Pharoah Sanders – Astral Traveling  

SIDE B

1.Jack DeJohnette – Epilog

2.Gary Bartz NTU Troop – Celestial Blues

3.Flora Purim – Open Your Eyes You Can Fly

4.Johnny Lytle – Tawhid

2016 Essence Festival New Orleans to feature Maxwell, Robert Glasper Experiment, The Brand New Heavies, Lalah Hathaway, Mariah Carey, Leon Bridges and more

The ESSENCE Festival, one of the largest consumer live events in the country, with more than 550,000 attendees, today revealed the first round of its all-star lineup of performers for the nighttime concerts at the 22nd annual celebration, which will take place in New Orleans, LA, from June 30 to July 3.

“The ESSENCE Festival is back in New Orleans with an extraordinary roster of the biggest names and best performers in entertainment—from global music icons to the industry’s rising stars,” said ESSENCE President Michelle Ebanks. “We are welcoming Kendrick Lamar, Mariah Carey and Maxwell to headline the Superdome main stage. In addition, we will be embracing newcomers like Leon Bridges, Jeremih, Lion Babe, Dej Loaf and The Internet, as well as fan favorite Charlie Wilson for the ultimate cultural experience in New Orleans this July 4th weekend.”

Artists confirmed to perform at the 2016 ESSENCE Festival nighttime concerts at the Superdome include: Babyface, BJ The Chicago Kid, Charlie Wilson, Ciara, Cyril Neville, Daley, DeJ Loaf, Digable Planets, Doug E. Fresh, Eric Bellinger, Estelle, Faith Evans, Jeremih, Jidenna Judith Hill, Kelly Price, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Leshurr, Lalah Hathaway, Leon Bridges, Lion Babe, Little Simz, Mali Music, Mariah Carey, Maxwell, MC Lyte, New Breed Brass Band, New Edition, Robert Glasper Experiment, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, St. Beauty, The Brand New Heavies, The Internet, Tyrese, Tink and V. Bozeman. More will be announced soon.

In addition, the ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans will present its first-ever World Music Superlounge, featuring artists from across the globe, including performers Wizkid, Zakes Bantwini and Skye Wanda representing Durban, South Africa (in partnership with the eThekwini Municipality).

Yo-Yo Ma And The Silk Road Ensemble Releases New Album Featuring Special Guests Including Rhiannon Giddens, Bill Frisell, Sarah Jarosz, Abigail Washburn, Gregory Porter And Others

The latest album by Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble will surprise and delight, with guest performers and imaginative sounds that transform the traditional musical landscape. Sing Me Home is the sixth album by the Grammy-nominated Silk Road Ensemble and its founding member and guiding light Yo-Yo Ma — available from Sony Music Masterworks on April 22, 2016.

                  

Sing Me Home is a companion album, developed and recorded alongside The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, a documentary feature from Oscar® and Emmy-winning director Morgan Neville that tells the story of the Ensemble and Silkroad, its parent organization. The Music of Strangers is slated for theatrical release in June.

                  

Produced by Silk Road Ensemble member Johnny Gandelsman and Grammy Award winner Kevin Killen (U2, Kate Bush, Elvis Castello, David Bowie), the album examines the ever-changing idea of home, with original and traditional tunes composed or arranged by members of the Ensemble's unique collective of global artists. Each piece invites listeners to explore the "music of home" through the individual experiences of Ensemble members, many of whom are immigrants. The result is a compelling collection of innovative and deeply moving tributes to the rich cultural heritage of the Balkans, China, Galicia, India, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Mali, people of the Roma, Syria, and the United States.

                  

"Throughout the Silk Road Ensemble's travels and performances, we have come to understand the wealth of creative potential that exists when cultures intersect," says Yo-Yo Ma. "The music composed, arranged, and performed by Ensemble members for Sing Me Home demonstrates the power of curiosity, evolving tradition, and cultural exchange."

                  

In one example, the stunning voice of rising guest star Rhiannon Giddens, along with influences of music of the Roma, infuses the American folk tune "St. James Infirmary Blues" with a gripping intensity. On another track, improvisation by acclaimed guitarist Bill Frisell layers rich texture onto an enticing melodic conversation between shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) and tabla (Indian percussion).

                  

Grammy-nominated singer Sarah Jarosz pays homage to the late Pete Seeger in an arrangement of the classic folk song "Little Birdie," featuring pipa (Chinese lute) and sheng (Chinese mouth organ). "Going Home" reinvents the wistful melody from the slow movement of Dvořák's "New World" symphony, transformed into a beloved spiritual by Paul Robeson. The song is interpreted in both Chinese and English by vocalist and banjo player Abigail Washburn and Ensemble member Wu Tong.

                  

From a haunting Irish march with renowned fiddler Martin Hayes to the musical realization of a Syrian village wedding, each track tells a unique story reflecting the artists' own passions.

                  

Sing Me Home saves one of the biggest surprises for last, closing with an exquisite interpretation of the pop standard "Heart and Soul" by the Ensemble with jazz vocalist Gregory Porter and — from Oscar®-winning 20 Feet from Stardom — two-time Grammy award-wining singer Lisa Fischer.

                  

Additional guest artists include Grammy-winning vocal octet Roomful of Teeth, Cristina Pato's dynamic Galician band Rustica, the world's most prominent Malian kora player Toumani Diabaté, and the great Indian sitarist Shujaat Khan, among other international icons and virtuosos.

                  

Eager to forge connections across cultures, disciplines, and generations, cellist Yo-Yo Ma founded the nonprofit organization Silkroad in 1998. Since 2000, the Silk Road Ensemble has welcomed more than 70 performers and composers from nearly 25 nations into what the Boston Globe has called "a kind of roving musical laboratory without walls." Through performances, the creation of new music, and recordings, the Ensemble is an inspirational musical collective that draws on the rich tapestry of each other's traditions to redefine classical music for 21st century audiences.

                  

"Every tradition is the result of successful invention," Yo-Yo Ma says in the documentary The Music of Strangers. "Human beings grow by being curious and receptive to what's around them. A lot of people are scared of change, and sometimes there's reason to be fearful. But if you can welcome change, you become fertile ground for development." Sing Me Home is a vivid musical realization of that philosophy.

                  

Sony Music Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, OKeh, Portrait, Masterworks Broadway and Flying Buddha imprints. For email updates and information please visit www.sonymusicmasterworks.com.

                  

Sing Me Home Tracklisting

1. Green (Vincent's Tune) (feat. Roomful of Teeth)

2. O'Neill's Cavalry March (feat. Martin Hayes)

3. Little Birdie (feat. Sarah Jarosz)

4. Ichichila (feat. Balla Kouyaté and Toumani Diabaté)

5. Sadila Jana (feat. Black Sea Hotel)

6. Shingashi Song (feat. Kaoru Watanabe)

7. Madhoushi (feat. Shujaat Khan)

8. Wedding (feat. Dima Orsho)

9. Going Home (feat. Abigail Washburn)

10. Cabaliño (feat. Davide Salvado, Anxo Pintos and Roberto Comesaña of Rustica)

11. St. James Infirmary Blues (feat. Rhiannon Giddens, Michael Ward-Bergeman and Reylon Yount)

12 If You Shall Retur...(feat. Bill Frisell)

13 Heart and Soul (feat. Gregory Porter and Lisa Fischer)

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Miles Davis: Two Special New Releases: MILES AHEAD - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack & EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL, The Recordings of Miles Davis Reimagined by Grammy Award Winning Musician Robert Glasper

Columbia Records will commemorate the 90th birthday of globally renowned music innovator Miles Davis with the release of two very special new Miles Davis album projects:

                  

MILES AHEAD - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will be available Friday, April 1. A cinematic exploration of the life and music of Miles Davis, the movie feature "MILES AHEAD" marks the directorial debut of Don Cheadle, who co-wrote the screenplay (with Steven Baigelman) and stars as the legendary musician in the film. 

                  

EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL, reimagined interpretations of Miles Davis' music produced by Grammy Award winner Robert Glasper (who also served as coproducer of the MILES AHEAD soundtrack) with musical guest artists including Bilal, Illa J, Erykah Badu, Phonte, Hiatus Kaiyote, Laura Mvula, KING, Georgia Ann Muldrow, John Scofield and Ledisi, and Stevie Wonder. A visionary exploration of the music of Miles Davis, EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL incorporates Davis' original recordings into new collaborative soundscapes and will be available Friday, May 27 (the day after Miles' 90th birthday). The Miles Davis track featuring Bilal "Ghetto Walkin", from the upcoming release 

                  

MILES AHEAD - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack explores the breadth and depth of Miles Davis' musical innovations, combining 11 highlights from the legendary trumpeter/composer/bandleader's Prestige and Columbia Records catalogs with original new compositions written and performed by Grammy Award-winning jazz/hip-hop artist Robert Glasper. Select new tracks on the soundtrack album include guest appearances by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, rapper Pharoahe Monch and more. Both the CD and LP packages for MILES AHEAD - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack feature revelatory new liner notes penned by Don Cheadle.

                  

"We culled the library for every style Miles touched…looking for cues to bridge key moments, bring others into focus. The stuff a good score is supposed to do. Miles made it easier. His music is multi-faceted and score friendly," wrote Cheadle in his notes.

                  

For new and future fans, MILES AHEAD - Original Motion Soundtrack provides an ideal introduction to the music of Miles Davis. For seasoned aficionados of the influential 20th century musical pioneer, the album and film provide fresh perspectives and new insights into Miles' transformative musical and cultural genius.

                  

MILES AHEAD - Original Motion Soundtrack features 11 essential tracks spanning 1956 to 1981, select dialogue from the film featuring Cheadle in character, and five original compositions written, co-written, produced or performed exclusively for MILES AHEAD by Robert Glasper. These include "What's Wrong with That?" (a jam that closes the movie imagining Cheadle as Miles playing in the present day with guest performers Glasper, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Gary Clark, Jr. and Esperanza Spalding and Antonio Sanchez) and "Gone 2015," an end-credits song featuring guest verses from rapper Pharoahe Monch.

                  

The 2016 SXSW Festival in Austin, TX will premiere the long-awaited, critically acclaimed feature film "MILES AHEAD" on Wednesday, March 16th at 8:00pm at The Paramount Theatre.

                  

A special "MILES AHEAD" panel led by Don Cheadle, with NPR's Felix Contreras onboard as Moderator, will discuss the making of the film, along with the music, with intimate behind-the-scenes anecdotes provided by Erin Davis (son of Miles) and Vince Wilburn, Jr. (nephew of Miles). Additional panelists include Robert Glasper, who scored the film's soundtrack; Oscar-winning supervising sound editor, re-recording mixer and sound designer Skip Lievsay; and Keyon Harrold, a sought out trumpeter/producer/arranger/songwriter who performs with GRAMMY-winning group D'Angelo and The Vanguard, and is featured as the trumpet sound of Don Cheadle playing Miles Davis. The panel will take place on Thursday, March 17 at 12:30pm in ACC Room 18ABC, and will be open to Music, Film, Platinum and Gold badges, as well as Showcasing Artist wristbands.

                  

MILES AHEAD Film Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssfTNCTVT5U

                  

EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL is beautifully crafted collection produced by Robert Glasper, blending a diverse group of master takes and outtakes from across the incomparable Miles Davis Columbia catalog with an impressive lineup of contemporary artists and musicians to create original interpretations.

                  

"I didn't want to do just a remix record," Glasper noted when discussing the 11-song set. "My idea was to show how Miles inspired people to make new art." Realizing that "Miles didn't have one audience," Glasper recruited a legion of diverse guest artists to add to the magic of the project including familiar collaborators like R&B musicians Erykah Badu, Ledisi, Bilal and KING. They are joined by British soul singer-songwriter Laura Mvula; hip-hop producer Rashad Smith; Grammy-nominated Australian neo-soul quartet Hiatus Kaiyote, rapper/singer Phonte, rapper/producer Illa J; jazz guitarist John Scofield, who was in Miles Davis' band; and the legendary Stevie Wonder.

                  

"I am living in the spirit of Miles when I am doing what I'm doing because I am documenting my time period. I'm documenting what's around me. I'm documenting who I am now, where music is now," notes Glasper. "That's what this project is about. I wanted to do something where we can take some of Miles' ideas, shake them up, and try to show the influence of Miles and make new things. And that's the beauty of this whole album. The whole project is based on Miles, but it is based on Miles' vision, it's based on Miles' trumpet, it's based on Miles' voice, it's based on Miles' composition, it's based on Miles' influence, it's based on Miles' swag."

                  

Miles Davis is a rarity: a pioneering superstar who was constantly voyaging into new directions and genres with an ever changing cast of collaborators. Throughout his discography, sweeping change and innovation could happen based on who was in the studio and what they brought to his stunning musical vision. Few American artists have impacted popular music and culture in as broad and long-lasting a way as he did.

                  

By similar design, pianist/producer Robert Glasper has built a career out of a vibrant fusion of R&B, jazz and hip-hop. As the leader of the acoustic Robert Glasper Trio and the electronic Robert Glasper Experiment, he's pushed the boundaries of each genre he works in to their breaking point. This is the artist whose album, In My Element (2007), featured mashups of Herbie Hancock and Radiohead and tributes to rapper/producer J Dilla. 2013's acclaimed Black Radio featured collaborations with Erykah Badu, Ledisi, Lupe Fiasco, Yasiin Bey and other artists. Black Radio was also capped by a sprawling cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. Most recently, Glasper scored for MILES AHEAD, the Miles Davis film directed by and starring Don Cheadle.

                  

EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL is unlike any other in Davis' discography. From the familiar (riffs and passages within the catalog) to the obscure (samples of Miles' in-studio instructions spoken after false starts), Glasper has built something unique but still unquestionably Miles. The cover art was created by Francine Turk and integrates elements of Miles Davis' artwork. With the cover, Turk creates a visual that is similar to the idea of Robert Glasper taking fragments of Miles music and reinterpreting in a unique and modern way.

Born Miles Dewey Davis III on May 26, 1926 in Alton, Illinois, Miles grew up in East St. Louis, first learning trumpet at age 13. Graduating high school, he moved to New York in 1944 to study at the Juilliard School of Music, developing chops in technique and music theory before leaving Juilliard to become a full-time player on the New York jazz circuit, cutting his first records in 1945. One of the most revolutionary and influential musicians and recording artists of the 20th century, Miles Davis was in the vanguard of virtually every phase of the evolution of post-WWII American jazz, from be-bop to cool jazz to hard-bop to modal to the radical rock-funk-fusion which got him inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Miles Davis died on September 28, 1991, leaving the world an extensive catalog of unprecedented music that's forever timeless and groundbreaking. Trumpeter, bandleader and composer Miles Davis fronted some of the most formidable and adroit ensembles in musical history. Miles was the rarest of artists: an uncompromising avant-garde visionary, and transformative cultural icon (with a larger-than-life persona), who achieved both critical and commercial success. In 2008, Davis's 1959 masterpiece, Kind of Blue, was certified 4x platinum, solidifying its position as the top-selling jazz album of all-time. In December 2009, the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution on Kind of Blue's 50th anniversary "honoring the masterpiece and reaffirming jazz as a national treasure."

                  

Since 1960, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) has honored Miles Davis with eight Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and three Grammy Hall of Fame Awards.

                  

Over the past twenty years, Miles and his music have been commemorated on a variety of critically-acclaimed box sets released through Columbia/Legacy, many of them winning Grammy Awards, charting in the Top 4 of the Billboard Jazz Album charts, and earning Jazz Reissue of the Year and other accolades in Down Beat magazine's Critics and Readers polls, among other accolades. 

                  

In September 2011, Columbia/Legacy launched the Miles Davis Bootleg Series with the release of Live In Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1. Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 won JazzTimes' Readers Poll for 2015 Best Historical/Vault/Reissue, the fourth time that a box set in the critically-acclaimed, best-selling Bootleg Series topped the JazzTimes Readers Poll in this category. The set won the 2016 NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Jazz Album category.

                  

Each of the first three releases in the Bootleg Series--Miles Davis Quintet – Live In Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1, Miles Davis Quintet – Live In Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2, and Miles At The Fillmore – Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3--took home Best Historical/Vault/Reissue from JazzTimes readers.

                  

Miles Davis At Newport 1955-1975 was honored as the Reissues/Archive Album of the Year by the 2015 Jazzwise Albums of the Year Critics Poll. In previous years, the Miles Davis Bootleg Series Vol. 2 and Vol. 3 have won in this category.

               

MILES AHEAD - ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

1.Miles Ahead           

2.Dialogue: "It takes a long time…" (*)

3.So What

4.Taylor Made - Taylor Eigisti

5.Dialogue: "Listen, you talk too goddam much…" (*)

6.Solea (excerpt)

7.Seven Steps To Heaven (edit)

8.Dialogue: "If you gonna tell a story…"(*)

9.Nefertiti (edit)

10.Frelon Brun                      

11.Dialogue: "Sometimes you have these thoughts…"(*)

12.Duran (take 6) (edit)

13.Dialogue: "You own my music…"(*)

14.Go Ahead John (part two C)

15.Black Satin (edit)

16.Dialogue: "Be musical about this shit…"(*)

17.Prelude #II

18.Dialogue: "Y'all listening to them…?(*)

19.Junior's Jam – Robert Glasper, Keyon Harrold, Marcus Strickland

20.Francessence – Robert Glasper, Keyon Harrold, Elena Pinderhughes       

21.Back Seat Betty (excerpt) 

22.Dialogue: "I don't like the word jazz…" (*)

23.What's Wrong With That?  - Don Cheadle, Robert Glasper, Gary Clark, Jr., Herbie Hancock, Keyon Harrold, Antonio Sanchez, Esperanza Spaulding, Wayne Shorter 

24.Gone 2015 – Robert Glasper, Keyon Harrold, Pharoahe Monch

                  

(*) from the soundtrack of the film, Don Cheadle as Miles Davis

All other tracks performed by Miles Davis, except where noted

                  

Soundtrack album produced by

Don Cheadle, Steve Berkowitz, Ed Gerrard & Robert Glasper

                  

Soundtrack Executive Producers:

Don Cheadle, Erin Davis, Darryl Porter &, Vince Wilburn

                  

EVERYTHING'S BEAUTIFUL

1."Talking Shit"

2."Ghetto Walkin" featuring Bilal

3."They Can't Hold Me Down" featuring Illa J

4."Maiysha (So Long)" featuring Erykah Badu

5."Violets" featuring Phonte

6."Little Church" featuring Hiatus Kaiyote

7."Silence Is The Way" featuring Laura Mvula

8."Song For Selim" featuring KING

9."Milestones" featuring Georgia Ann Muldrow

10."I'm Leaving You" featuring John Scofield and Ledisi

11."Right On Brotha" featuring Stevie Wonder

www.milesahead-movie.com

www.sonyclassics.com

www.legacyrecordings.com

"The Music of Jackie McLean," New CD by Saxophonist Steven Lugerner & His Band Jacknife

For the last year and a half, San Francisco Bay Area woodwind expert Steven Lugerner has been digging into the music of jazz legend Jackie McLean with Jacknife, Lugerner’s hard-hitting West Coast post-bop quintet. The group has completed work on an album, "The Music of Jackie McLean," slated for release on April 22 by Primary Records, and will be touring the West Coast next month with special guest Larry Willis, the virtuoso pianist and former McLean sideman.

Exploring tunes from McLean’s seminal early- and mid-1960s Blue Note albums "Jacknife," "It’s Time," "Let Freedom Ring," and "New Soil," the new album brings together a formidable cast of rising talent, including pianist Richard Sears, bassist Garret Lang, drummer Michael Mitchell, and trumpeter JJ Kirkpatrick, all of whom will be on the April shows (with Willis replacing Sears).

Larry Willis made his recording debut on McLean’s 1965 date Right Now and appeared on the original Jacknife album (1966) and other recordings by the saxophonist. Lugerner connected with Willis last summer at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, where Lugerner has been Manager of Education Programs since 2013 and Willis was a visiting artist.

Although Lugerner never had the opportunity to meet McLean, who died in 2006 at age 74, he listened deeply to the alto giant’s recordings as he was coming up. “I studied with alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo, who studied directly with McLean at the Hartt School in the early 1990s,” says Lugerner. “Mike was a huge influence on me when I was in college.” And during his undergrad years at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music Lugerner took an orchestra class with trumpet great Charles Tolliver, who played such an important role in McLean’s mid-60s bands.

The modal opening track “On the Nile,” a piece by Tolliver, debuted on McLean’s "Jacknife," which was recorded in 1965 but only released a decade later. The unaccountably shelved album also provided “Climax,” an impressive composition by Jack DeJohnette, who was making his recording debut. Both tunes eschew harmonic complexity in favor of sinuous melodies that allow soloists to generate hurtling momentum. For Lugerner, it’s a sound that embodies the roiling environment of New York, “the grittiness, the hustle and fast-paced lifestyle, the energy that the city brought to their lives. ‘On the Nile’ takes no prisoners, but it’s accessible, a modal, vampy piece that hits a few key centers. In a way it anticipates developments in rock and hip-hop.”

Like fellow altoists Charlie Parker and Ornette Coleman, McLean infused much of what he played with the feel of blues, whether or not the tune itself was a blues. The jaunty hard-bop anthem “Hip Strut” from "New Soil" was the tune that turned Lugerner into a McLean devotee during his first year at the New School. He included another classic JayMac blues “Das Dat,” from "It’s Time," a consistently thrilling album with Tolliver, Herbie Hancock, Cecil McBee, and Roy Haynes. The best-known piece on the new album, McLean’s mischievously lyrical “Melody for Melonae,” hails from "Let Freedom Ring," a quartet session with Walter Davis Jr., Herbie Lewis, and Billy Higgins.

“I chose all the tunes because the melodies were super-strong,” Lugerner says. “I’d listen to the albums and these are the songs I’d hum walking down the street. I love the juxtaposition of ‘Melody for Melonae’ and then this straight-ahead blues. I think Ornette and Jackie were the two bluesiest players that have ever existed.”

Lugerner’s collaborators are similarly inspired by McLean’s music. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, and based in Los Angeles, trumpeter JJ Kirkpatrick has gained attention with the Sophisticated Lady Jazz Quartet. New York-reared drummer Michael Mitchell is making waves on the Bay Area scene with the electro-acoustic Negative Press Project. Bassist Garret Lang, who’s now based in his native Los Angeles, has recorded with emerging players such as saxophonist Ben Flocks and reed player Levon Henry. And pianist Richard Sears, a Bay Area native now based in New York, is a rapidly rising star who released an acclaimed 2015 trio session Skyline and recently recorded his six-part suite for drum legend Tootie Heath, who’s featured on the project (along with Lugerner and Lang).

In a relatively short period of time, 27-year-old Bay Area native Steven Lugerner has collaborated with a heavyweight roster of jazz masters, including pianist Myra Melford, percussionist John Hollenbeck, tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens, altoist Miguel Zenón, soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom, flutist Jamie Baum, and drummer Matt Wilson. Last year’s digital-only release "Gravitations Vol. II" was a gorgeous duo project that places piano great Fred Hersch in an entirely new context.

A skilled and diversified woodwind doubler on saxophones, bass clarinet, B-flat clarinet, oboe, English horn, flute, and alto flute, Lugerner is suitably focusing on the alto saxophone for his work with Jacknife: “This is one project where I can bring just one horn.”