NEW MUSIC: LOUIS VEGA & OTHERS – STARRING XXVIII; ANOUSHKA SHANKARS – LAND OF GOLD; ERIC CLAPTON - I STILL DO

LOUIS VEGA & OTHERS – STARRING XXVIII

A massive project from the great Louie Vega – a man who's given us plenty of majestic moments since his early years in Masters At Work and Nuyorican Soul – but an artist who's maybe outdone himself here, thanks to help from a huge amount of guests and singers! The "starring" in the title doesn't refer to Louie, but to the key talents who help shape the individual tracks on the set – a talent roster large enough to include Vikter Duplaix, Tony Momrelle, N'Dea Davenport, The Clark Sisters, Winans Brothers, Zara McFarlane, Funkadelic, Jocelyn Brown, Kenny Bobien, Josh Milan, Lisa Fischer, Byron Stingily, Leroy Burgess, Caron Wheeler, and others – all of whom work perfectly with Louie – not in a way that has their talents thrown in for extra spice, but instead very deeply woven into the fabric of Vega's music – in a richly collaborative spirit that makes the album a gem all the way through! All the cuts are in the positive, soulful, inspirational vibe we've always loved in Louie's projects – and titles include "Gift Of Love", "Angels Are Watching Me", "Ain't That Funkin Hard On You", "You Are Everything", "Joy Inside My Tears", "You've Got It Bad Girl", "Es Vedra", "Everlasting Love", "I Deserve To Breathe", "Ain't No Stopping Love", "Gimme Some Love", "Can We Keep This Going", and "See Some Light".  ~ Dusty Groove

ANOUSHKA SHANKARS – LAND OF GOLD

Land of Gold is Anoushka Shankars fervent response to the humanitarian trauma of displaced people fleeing conflict and poverty. The virtuoso sitar player explores an expressive range, conveying an evocative journey infused with a message of enduring hope. With exquisite arrangements blending genres and musical collaborations, Land of Gold is a narrative communicated with conviction and poetic beauty. Land of Gold originated in the context of the humanitarian plight of refugees. It coincided with the time when I had recently given birth to my second child. I was deeply troubled by the intense contrast between my ability to provide for my baby, and others who desperately wanted to provide the same security for their children but were unable to do so. Anoushka Shankar. The narrative thread carried throughout the album evokes themes of disconnection, vulnerability and the underlying hope that persists in our darkest experiences. My instrument is the terrain in which I explore the gamut of emotional expression evoking shades of aggression, anger and tenderness, while incorporating elements of classical minimalism, jazz, electronica and Indian classical styles. Notable electronic producer Matt Robertson (who is a long-term collaborator of Bjork) added cinematic soundscapes and textures, enhancing the initial compositions. Anoushka worked with a core-team of gifted musicians: At its base the album is designed as a trio of Anoushka, the famous Hang Drum player Manu Delago who performs on and co-wrote many of the pieces, and Sanjeev Shankar who was a student of her father Ravi Shankar, playing the Shehnai, a beautiful reed instrument from India.Top notch female guest artists lend their voices to the album: M.I.A. with the Song, Jump In (Cross the Line), the wonderful singer Alev Lenz on Land of Gold and the actress and activist Vanessa Redgrave on Remain the Sea (reading a poem by Pavana Reddy). Not only do they add different musical styles and voices of different generations but all of them represent strong women known for using their voices for equality and against injustice. The music is mainly based on western harmonics, features great electronic programming, string arrangements, hip hop elements, beautiful songwriting and virtuoso sitar performances embedded in exciting contemporary arrangements. ~ Amazon

ERIC CLAPTON - I STILL DO

Music legend Eric Clapton has reunited with famed producer Glyn Johns for his forthcoming 23rd studio album I Still Do, set for release on May 20, 2016 on his Bushbranch Records/Surfdog Records. Clapton and Johns who has also produced albums for The Eagles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and The Who most famously worked together on Clapton's iconic Slowhand album, which is RIAA-certified 3x-platinum and topped charts globally. The 12-track record includes some original songs written by Clapton. This album follows his last release, the 2014 chart-topping Eric Clapton & Friends: The Breeze, An Appreciation of JJ Cale. Includes: Alabama Woman Blues; Can't Let You Do It; I Will Be There; Spiral; Catch The Blues; Cypress Grove; Little Man, You've Had A Busy Day; Stones In My Passway; I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine; I'll Be Alright; Somebody's Knockin'; and I'll Be Seeing You.

NEW MUSIC: CANNONBALL ADDERLY – MUSIC, YOU ALL; SERGE GAINSBOURG – LONDON PARIS 1963-1971; WALKER FAMILY SINGERS – PANOLA COUNTY SERIES

CANNONBALL ADDERLY – MUSIC, YOU ALL

Julian “Cannonball” Adderley first gained notice as the bluesier saxophone voice on Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue (John Coltrane being the other), and in the late ‘60s and early ’70s, he was engaged in an ongoing artistic conversation with Miles, often trading musicians with him and taking the electric innovations of Bitches Brew and filtering them with through his own earthy sensibility. The height of Cannonball’s fusion phase arguably came in 1970, a year that yielded no less than three live albums—all produced by David Axelrod—that have since ascended to cult favorite status. Drawn from the same 1970 Troubadour performances that yielded the album Black Messiah (also issued by Real Gone Music), and featuring the same line-up (the two Adderley brothers, Cannon and Nat; keyboardist George Duke; bassist Walter Booker; drummer Roy McCurdy, and special guests guitarist Mike Deasy, percussionist Airto Moreira and saxman Ernie Watts), Music, You All displayed the same uncompromisingly eclectic rock/soul/jazz fusion as did its companion release. But on Music. You All, Cannonball’s warmly iconoclastic stage personality really comes to the fore…witness the two tracks simply entitled “Cannon Raps!” And George Duke fans will flip over this album; check his solo on “Capricorn” for starters. One of those live albums that REALLY makes you wish you were there!

SERGE GAINSBOURG – LONDON PARIS 1963-1971

Stunning work from the great Serge Gainsbourg – a special set that takes a look at the strong work he recorded in London studios during the late 60s, presented here with some ultra-groovy cuts from Paris as well! You'll know a few of these cuts if you're a fan of Serge at all – but the set also mixes in some lesser-remembered gems from this monumental moment in his career – including some excellent instrumentals, and one title that appears here for the first time ever! British work includes recordings with arrangers Arthur Greenslade, Harry Robinson, and David Whitaker – and both Michel Colombier and Jean-Claude Vannier help out on the frew Parisian tracks. Titles include the unreleased "69 Anne Erotique (inst mix with orig backing vocals)" – plus "Danger", "L'Hotel Particulier", "Roller Girl", "Vilaine Fille Mauvais Garcon", "Hold Up", "La Horse", "Bloody Jack", "Torrey Canyon", "Ford Mustang", "L'Anamour (single mix)", "Breakdown Generique", "Requiem Pour Un C", and "Docteur Jeckyll & Monsieur Hyde". ~ Dusty Groove

WALKER FAMILY SINGERS – PANOLA COUNTY SERIES

Maybe the best title so far in the Como, MS series from Daptone Records – a very earthy, very rootsy set of harmony vocals sung by the Walker Family Singers – a group headed up by sometime Sam Cooke backing singer Raymond Walker! Yet the music here is quite far from the Cooke reference mentioned on the cover – and even quite far from Sam's roots in the Soul Stirrers, too – because the recording style is very stripped-down, and the group works with no other instrumentation at all – just their magnificent voices, in a timeless gospel style that's still alive and well down in Como. Titles include "Sweet Home", "Old Ship Of Zion", "Living Testimony", "Shake My Mother's Hand", "He Didn't Have To Wake Me", "My Time Will Come", "Chilly Jordan", and "Had My Chance". ~ Dusty Groove

 

NEW MUSIC: THE STAPLE SINGERS – AMEN / WHY; JERRY WELDON – ON THE MOVE; LA YEGROS – MAGENETISMO

THE STAPLE SINGERS – AMEN / WHY

One could make the argument that no gospel group before or since has so successfully straddled the sacred and secular worlds as has The Staple Singers. The enormously influential blues guitar stylings of Roebuck “Pops” Staples, the astonishing, wise-beyond-their-years lead vocals of Mavis Staples, and the exalted harmonies of Cleotha, Pervis, and (later) Yvonne Staples packed a punch whether singing about salvation or civil rights. Now, Real Gone Music welcomes “God’s greatest hitmakers” into the fold with its release of two classic albums by The Staple Singers, their second and third releases and first two studio records for the Epic label, both produced by Billy Sherrill. 1965’s Amen! features the infectious title track along with Pervis’ doleful recitation on the powerful “Be Careful of the Stones You Throw,” while 1966’s Why actually scored a minor hit with the timely “Why (Am I Treated So Bad),” and highlights Mavis at her deep, moaning best on “Move Along Train.” CD debuts for both records, with annotation by Gene Sculatti and remastering by Mike Piacentini at Battery Studios in New York. Two fantastic records…get ready to move and be moved!

JERRY WELDON – ON THE MOVE

A record with an unassuming cover – but a set that smokes like our favorite organ and tenor dates from years back! The album's issued under the name of tenorist Jerry Weldon, but it's more of a partnership with Hammond genius Bobby Pierce – who's still very much at the top of his game here, and wonderfully deft, wonderfully personal on the keys – playing here in the kind of really soulful, special way that only a key handful of players could do back in the day – and which you don't always find on contemporary sessions like this. Guitarist Steve Hoffman brings a lot to the quartet too – a sharp edge on the strings, which carves out some chromatic lines that illuminate the record nicely – and even drummer Mike Clark knows how to kick things in all the right ways. Titles include "Donald Duck", "Black Velvet", "On The Move", "Stringin’ The Jug", and "Do You Know A Good Thing When You See One". ~ Dusty Groove

LA YEGROS – MAGENETISMO

A great update of older cumbia modes – served up here in a style that's extremely fresh, and very fitting for the fierce vocal approach of La Yegros! Yegros spends her time between Buenos Aires and Paris, and that global range definitely shows in the music – as she mixes a host of electronic elements with an older rootsy, rhythmic core – all handled by producer King Coya, who recorded the whole album with La Yegros in Argentina. The sounds here are way beyond both classic cumbia and pop cumbia – and the rhythms are too – and titles include "Carnabailito", "Hoy", "Suenitos", "Arde", "Fragil", "Dejate Llevar", and "Atormentada". ~ Dusty Groove

NEW MUSIC: THE CANNONBALL ADDERLEY QUINTET – THE PRICE YOU GOT TO PAY TO BE FREE; ELEPHANT 9 WITH REINE FISKE – SILVER MOUNTAIN; MISHA TSIGANOV – SPRING FEELINGS

THE CANNONBALL ADDERLEY QUINTET – THE PRICE YOU GOT TO PAY TO BE FREE

Julian “Cannonball” Adderley first gained notice as the bluesier saxophone voice on Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue (John Coltrane being the other), and in the late ‘60s and early ’70s, he was engaged in an ongoing artistic conversation with Miles, often trading musicians with him and taking the electric innovations of Bitches Brew and filtering them with through his own earthy sensibility. The height of Cannonball’s fusion phase arguably came in 1970, a year that yielded no less than three live albums—all produced by David Axelrod—that have since ascended to cult favorite status. We at Real Gone have already issued one of them, the double-album Black Messiah; now, we’re back with the CD debut of his double-album The Price You Got to Pay to Be Free. Drawn from a performance at the 1970 Monterey Jazz Festival and “live in the studio” tracks cut at Capitol, Price  was a testament to Cannonball Adderley’s sprawling artistic vision, embracing abstract improvisation, funky soul-jazz, hard bop, and world music. It also offered the lone lead vocal of the saxman’s entire career (on Milton Nascimento’s “Bridges”), and was the last Cannonball Adderley album to feature keyboardist Joe Zawinul, who contributes the key compositions “Directions,” “Painted Desert,” and “Rumplestiltskin.” The record went to #5 on the Billboard Jazz chart and #169 on the Top 200, quite a remarkable showing given the avant-garde stylings of such numbers as “Out and In” and “Alto Sex,” although the album also did include such trademark populist Cannonball fare as “Down in Black Bottom” and “Get Up off Your Knees.” Features liner notes by Bill Kopp that include quotes from Cannonball’s drummer at the time, Roy McCurdy, and remastering by Mike Milchner at SonicVision!

ELEPHANT 9 WITH REINE FISKE – SILVER MOUNTAIN

A group that's as heavy as its name – working here in a wonderful array of keyboard sounds from Fender Rhodes, Hammond organ, mellotron, and minimoog – all set to some nicely lumbering rhythms, and topped with guest guitar from Reine Fiske! The style's a mix of spacey moments and funky currents – yet all served up without any sort of easy retro style at all – and instead with a personality that's very much the group's own – kind of in the way the contemporary Kullrusk can take older modes and really change them up into something new and fresh. Tracks are all relatively long, and build up their sound in space, to eventually find a groove – which is then let loose almost with a sonic intensity that takes us back to classic Can, but with more jazz than rock. Titles include "Occidentali", "The Above Ground Sound", "Kungsten", "Abhartach", and "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life". ~ Dusty Groove

MISHA TSIGANOV – SPRING FEELINGS

Plenty of spring feelings here – not just the sense of warmth and new growth that pianist Misha Tsiganov brings to his performance, but also the bounce in his step that makes even the mellower tunes groove, and the more upbeat ones really take off! Part of the album's strength is its horns – wonderful work from Alex Sipiagin on trumpet and Seamus Blake on tenor – both of whom really seem to bring out the best of each other here, especially in terms of tone and color – working in a group that also includes Hans Glawischnig on bass and Donald Edwards on drums. Titles include the original tracks "Spring Feelings", "Jed's Place", "October In Kiev", and "Blues For Gerry" – plus nice takes on Wayne Shorter's "Yes Or No" and "Infant Eyes". ~ Dusty Groove

NEW MUSIC: BILL LAURENCE – AFTERSUN; FREDDY COLE – HE WAS THE KING; MAX RICHTER – SONGS FROM BEFORE

BILL LAURENCE – AFTERSUN

Bill Laurance returns with Aftersun, a paean to space exploration and life in the cosmos. The music is filtered down to its roots in a quartet that features fellow bandmates from Snarky Puppy Michael League and Robert Sput Searight, along with legendary New Orleans percussionist Weedie Braihma. With flavors of Dance music and African percussion at its heart, the album combines deep world grooves with Laurances signature genre-bending exploration. Bill Laurance was named JazzFMs Breakthrough Artist of 2015. Includes: Soti (no I); The Pines; Time to Run; Madeleine; Bullet; Aftersun; First Light; Golden Hour; and A Blaze.

FREDDY COLE – HE WAS THE KING

Freddy Cole serves up a tribute to his famous brother Nat – in a small combo set that also features some nice tenor work from Houston Person and Harry Allen too! Cole's a singer who's ultimately had a lot more of a career than Nat – and we're not entirely sure why he's so often lumped together in settings like this – but the record's a real testament to Freddy's talents in the way he doesn't slavishly repeat Nat's phrasing, and instead makes these classic Cole tunes very much his own. The more jazz-based presentation helps a lot with that – and in addition to the tenor solos, the record also features work from Joe Magnarelli on trumpet, Josh Brown on trombone, Randy Napoleon on guitar, and John DiMartino on piano. Titles include "Love Is The Thing", "Jet", "Exactly Like You", "That's My Girl", "The Best Man", and "Maybe It's Because I Love You Too Much". ~ Dusty Groove

MAX RICHTER – SONGS FROM BEFORE

Beautiful work from Max Richter – a sublime album that mixes his own electronics and keyboards with contributions from a small group of string players – all in that post-classical approach that's made Richter such an important force in recent years! Robert Wyatt also provides readings of text by Haruku Murakami on five of the album's thirteen selections – and Richter's music is in that spacious, moody and blue style he did so well on Sleep – maybe slightly less somnambulant, but still with a very dreamlike quality overall. The mix of electronic elements is very subtle – and the use of viola, violin, and cello really deepen the sound – on selections that include "Flowers For Yulia", "Fragment", "Lullaby", "Verses", "Time Passing", and "From The Rue Vilin".  ~ Dusty Groove

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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