BRIAN CULBERTSON SET TO EMBARK ON "FUNK!" TOUR AND READIES NEW ALBUM

Message to funk received from the Mothership: hit-maker Brian Culbertson is in the studio conspiring with his cosmic group of musical soul brothers on his second funk collection, “Funk!,” which will be released September 16 on his BCM Entertainment label. Less than a week after his seventeenth album streets, the award-winning multi-instrumentalist will launch a coast-to-coast concert tour on a scale unlike any trek ever mounted by the vivacious showman who will be flanked by the same band showcased on the album. To help set the stage for the 11-song set plus three playful interlude sketches, all produced by Culbertson, radio stations will be serviced “Been Around The World” in early July.   

Those who have caught a Culbertson show over the last year might have had a premonition that the R&B-jazzman was about to again morph into an emissary of funk, a mission that began with his 2008 recording “Bringing Back The Funk,” which he co-produced with the late Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire and featured legendary funksters Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham. His set list at recent gigs included a pair of funk classics, “Got To Give It Up” and “Play That Funky Music,” which made it onto the new album. The Chicago-bred musician who plays piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, clavinet, Hammond B3 organ, synths, trombone, bass, drums, percussion and sings on the entire record wrote or co-wrote nine new songs for “Funk!” that showcases his live band – Marqueal Jordan (vocals & sax), Tyrone Chase (guitars), Eddie Miller (keyboards, organ & vocals), Rodney Jones, Jr. (bass, guitar & vocals), Chris Miskel (drums) and Michael Stever (trumpeter & horn arrangements) - along with Chance Howard, a nasty R&B keyboardist, bassist and vocalist who has toured and recorded with fellow Minnesota native Prince. Noted trumpeter Patches Stewart will replace Stever for the Funk! Tour.

Next month, Howard will join Culbertson on stage to premiere a few choice cuts from “Funk!,” including the first single, at Culbertson’s fifth anniversary Napa Valley Jazz Getaway, a wine and jazz lifestyle experience in the heart of California Wine Country taking place June 8-12. 

“The concept for ‘Funk!’ was to make an old-school, throwback funkadelic record in the style of P-Funk meets Prince and to tour with the same band that appears on the album - my band plus Chance (Howard). We finished tracking and are mixing this week. The show we will be taking out on the road is unlike anything anyone has ever seen from me before. It’s on an entirely different level. Yes, we’re taking it there! I’m also very excited about capturing the magic by shooting a Blu-ray to be taped on tour this fall,” said Culbertson, who as an imaginative and trend-setting artist, producer and songwriter has architected 28 Billboard No. 1 singles along with a library of chart-topping albums. 

Once again, Culbertson has opened the doors to the recording studio by posting a series of video blogs from the “Funk!” sessions on his website (http://www.brianculbertson.com/funk) as well as engaging his followers through Facebook Live. And like his most recent studio release, he’s offering fans the opportunity to get involved with the process by launching an Indiegogo campaign (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/brian-culbertson-s-funk--2#/) that provides a menu of unique options, including VIP concert tickets, tickets for the Blu-ray filming, autographed CD, limited edition vinyl album, a private personalized video message, sheet music and a bobble head Funk! doll.         

The songs that comprise “Funk!” are:

 “Get Ready”

 “The Call”

 “Been Around The World”

 “Take It Up”

 “Let’s Take A Ride”

 “We Got What You Want”

 “Sunshine” (interlude)

 “Hey Girl”

 “Damn, I’m Hungry” (interlude)

 “Got To Give It Up”

 “Mile Sauce”

 “Play That Funky Music”

 “Spend A Little Time”

 “To Be Continued…” (interlude)

The Funk! Tour itinerary is listed below (additional dates will be added):

September 22-25 - Seattle, WA @ Jazz Alley 

September 26 - Portland, OR @ The Aladdin

September 27 - Bend, OR @ Tower Theater

October 5 - Fresno, CA @ Tower Theater

October 6 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Lobero Theater

October 7 - Newport Beach, CA @ Hyatt Newporter

October 8 - Temecula, CA @ Thornton Winery

October 9 - Scottsdale, AZ @ Livewire

October 11-12 - Denver, CO @ Soiled Dove  

October 13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The State Room

October 14-15 - Las Vegas, NV @ Aliante Casino

October 16 - Catalina Island, CA @ Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival

October 20 - Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theater

October 21 - Cincinnati, OH @ Ludlow Garage

October 23 - New Albany, OH @ Schottenstein Theatre

October 25 - Pittsburgh, PA @ MCG Jazz 

October 26-27 - New York, NY @ B.B. King’s

October 28 - Cranston, RI @ Park Theatre

October 29 - New Haven, CT @ John Lyman Center

October 30 - Boston, MA @ Scullers Jazz Club 

November 4 - Collingswood, NJ @ Scottish Rite Auditorium

November 5 - Mount Pocono, PA @ Mt. Airy Casino Resort

November 11 - Minneapolis, MN @ Dakota 

November 13 - Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre

Nov. 28-Dec. 2 - London, England @ Pizza Express

Drummer Matt Wilson Celebrates the Memory of His Late Wife Felicia and His Extended Musical Family on Beginning of a Memory

Both a joyous act of communion and a solemn farewell, Beginning of a Memory is a celebration of life, community and family expressed with the virtuosic wit and embracing humor that has made Matt Wilson so beloved in the jazz community as a drummer, composer and human being. Returning to the studio as a leader for the first time since his wife Felicia lost her battle with leukemia in June 2014, Wilson convenes the closest members of his extended musical family, including all the members, past and present, of his longest-running ensembles: the Matt Wilson Quartet, Arts & Crafts, and Christmas Tree-O.

Due out May 27 from Palmetto Records, the result is a warm and loving commemoration, featuring new renditions of many of Felicia's favorite tunes from Wilson's past recordings interspersed with snippets of studio dialogue that capture the spirit of the session. The release also marks the 20th anniversary of Wilson's tenure on Palmetto and of his collaboration with producer/label founder Matt Balitsaris, making Wilson's behind-the-scenes collaborators as much a part of the Big Happy Family as his bandmates.

"I made this album to celebrate a community of people and how much their love and support through all of this has meant to me," Wilson says. "It also celebrates her relationship with all these folks, because Felicia had a really special relationship with each and every one of them."

Wilson's Big Happy Family is a raucous clan whose members span a considerable stylistic spectrum, spotlighting Wilson's sonically inclusive versatility. The horn section alone brings together saxophonists Jeff Lederer, Joel Frahm and Andrew D'Angelo with trumpeter Terell Stafford and cornetist Kirk Knuffke; they all gathered together in the studio with Wilson and bassists Martin Wind and Paul Sikivie.

Improbably, that recording session was done without written arrangements, adding to the raw, informal feeling of the album and showcasing the camaraderie among Wilson and the various members of the family. "Just letting the cats play is risky business," Wilson admits, "but I was really into that. It was nice to see what would emerge. I love the courageous trust that everyone had. It was a pretty vulnerable situation to be in, but the vulnerability opened up everybody's sound to put them in a different light. Each and every one of them are characters, but the moment and the surroundings welcomed them into other territories.

"This was a very special occasion," adds Martin Wind. "Matt creates a very special atmosphere because of his style of leading. He picks the guys who he trusts and loves and then he puts the music in front of us. He trusts our instincts and decision-making and he's exceptional in the sense that he embraces everything that you could possibly come up with. There's no such thing as a wrong musical decision when you play with Matt."

Chris Lightcap added his bass parts later, as did pianist, organist and accordion player Gary Versace. Long-distance contributions also came in from Larry Goldings, who contributes a loving and tender solo rendition of "How Ya Goin'" on prepared upright piano from L.A., while original MWQ bassist Yosuke Inoue chimes in all the way from Japan with an unexpectedly moving solo version of '80s schlock-pop masterpiece "Endless Love."

Most of the pieces on the album have been associated exclusively with one of Wilson's groups or another, making nearly every track simultaneously a revival and a discovery for the various members. The conjoining of bands also carries that feeling of familiarity and freshness into the ensemble itself. At the same time it felt like a homecoming with Balitsaris producing and engineering, Michael MacDonald mastering, and former label GM Pat Rustici cooking for the band.

The most deeply personal moment comes on "Flowers for Felicia," a heartwrenchingly intimate piece that combines the melodies of Wilson's "Orchids," written for his wife, and one of her favorite songs, the Carter Family classic "Wildwood Flower." She's also there in spirit on the title track, on which Knuffke plays the melody that Felicia originally performed on violin for the original recording on 2003's Humidity. But equally indebted to Felicia's memory is the album's most unruly moment, an impromptu romp through "Schoolboy Thug," originally recorded on 1998's Going Once, Going Twice and a song that she adored.

"She liked the music that was pretty nutty at times," Wilson says with a chuckle. "I know she would love that version of 'Thug.'"

"We all knew we were gathering that day for a special purpose," recalls Jeff Lederer. "It was a day of remembering, it was a day of celebration - of Felicia, of Matt, of the special bond between them which was music, and so much more.  Each one of us in the room had our own unique relationship with Felicia and with Matt and knew that, even more than usual, there was a special purpose to the music we played that day."

That spirit infuses every note on Beginning of a Memory. Moments of uninhibited joy collide with passages of bittersweet sadness, but all of it combines with Matt Wilson's emotional openness, empathy and exuberance to conjure a mood of wistful optimism.

"I wanted this to be a landmark representing new beginnings and celebrating all the new memories that are starting," Wilson sums up. "No matter what goes on in life, we have to welcome new things all the time but also celebrate the gifts that we've been given - and all of these musicians are full of gifts."

www.mattwilsonjazz.com

The neo-jazz sextet Ratatet - led by drummer/composer Alan Hall - dissolves genres and expands musical horizons on debut album, Arctic

With its audacious frontline of trombone and electric bassoon, the Bay Area-based sextet Ratatet is no run-of-the-mill jazz ensemble. The adventuresome spirit exemplified by the band's novel instrumentation is also reflected in leader Alan Hall's cliché-free and melody-rich compositions on Arctic, the outfit's genre-dissolving debut recording. Incorporating prime elements of jazz (from mainstream to fusion), funk, rock, South American idioms and classical music, Ratatet categorically rejects rigid categorization. The band, featuring Alan Hall on drums, Paul Hanson on bassoon and tenor saxophone, John Gove on trombone, Dillon Vado on vibraphone, Greg Sankovich on keyboards and Jeff Denson on acoustic and electric bass and vocals, blends sterling musicianship with unbounded creativity, taking full advantage of the inclusive freedom that characterizes the best of new millennium jazz. In addition, Paul McCandless, a member of the famed group, Oregon, is a guest on the album's last track.  

Hall's eleven strikingly melodic original compositions can build off of spirited rhythms ("Electrick," "Red State, Blue State,"  "Word By Word," "Gataxi") or paint effectively moody landscapes ("Arctic," "Returning"). Binding everything together is the singable quality of Hall's writing. "I thought in terms of tight pop song-like structures" he says, "melodies that were stimulating yet accessible and memorable." Full blooded yet succinct improvisations from Hanson and Gove, along with concise and noteworthy contributions from the others, enrich the performances. The darker, low-toned quality of the unique trombone-bassoon front line is cushioned by an active and supportive rhythm section bolstered by the inspired inclusion of Vado's atmospheric vibraphone. Although Hall cites such significant influences as jazz icons Pat Metheny, Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea, as well as classical masters including Ravel, Debussy and Copland, his own music has thoroughly assimilated its sources and found its own voice. The result is thoroughly contemporary jazz that owes its identity to no other composer or ensemble.

A respected drummer and educator, who has taught at Berklee College of Music, and worked with Cirque Du Soleil, Lee Konitz, Art Lande and Geoffrey Keezer, Hall brings the full range of his broad experience to his sextet. "It's hard to define Ratatet's music," Hall claims, "I purposely avoid limiting it to one genre. I also want to explore the full range of what the band's instrumentation can offer. Some songs call for funky electric bass, others for bowing on the acoustic bass. Some songs need organ, some need a muted trombone and a vocal. It's great having this sonic versatility."

Of special interest is bassoonist Paul Hanson's occasional employment of startling sonic effects on his electrified instrument as in "Gataxi," where his unaccompanied introduction and vigorous exchanges with trombonist Gove reveal a boldly altered bassoon tone. Hanson emerges as an integral key to the band's unique approach. "Paul is a Bay Area fixture." Hall asserts, "Anyone who has heard him knows he's one of a kind." Paul and the other members of Ratatet have performed with such celebrated artists as Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Lee Konitz, Ralph Alessi, Dennis Chambers, Cuong Vu, and Pete Escovedo.

A visual artist as well as a musician-composer, Hall was inspired by celebrated works from a host of iconic painters. Song titles including "Basquiat (inspired by Jean Michel Basquiat)" "What Cy's Eyes See (inspired Cy Twombly)" and "The Marriage of Arnolfini" confirm the links between his passions. For the musicians in Ratatet, Arctic is as personally revealing as an artist's brushstroke. As Hall states, "the truth of who you are is on display."

Ridgeway Records is dedicated to the recording and perpetuation of jazz and related styles of music. The label is committed to providing artists a platform to promote improvisation, artistic growth and audience development. The label is a part of Ridgeway Arts, Inc. - a new non-profit serving the Bay-Area jazz scene led by renowned jazz bassist, composer, educator, and community activist Jeff Denson.  The organization is built upon a series of initiatives designed to enhance and fortify the Bay Area scene, and to make a strong contribution to the national landscape of jazz and the arts in general. Ridgeway Arts will present concerts, organize educational and community outreach activities, and more.

http://www.ratatet.com/

MOPDtK pianist Ron Stabinsky to release debut recording Free for One

Mostly Other People Do the Killing pianist Ron Stabinsky's debut recording Free for One is a seamless collection of eight adventurous, genre-hopping solo piano improvisations showcasing the artist's technical virtuosity and unerring musicality. The recording will be released June 10, 2016 on Hot Cup Records, home of MOPDtK.

A 44 1/2-minute program comprising eight contrasting solo piano improvisations recorded on a single day in January 2015, Free for One documents a critical point in the evolution of Stabinsky's improvised solo work which he began in 2002 under the mentorship of Bill Dixon. After more than a decade of experimentation and constant reassessment, Stabinsky entered the studio with no preconceived musical framework, allowing his keen instinct, intuition and past musical experience to converge. The result is a technically impressive and deeply artistic program of music from which new layers of meaning unfold with each hearing. The simple, looping notes of the ironically-named first track "After It's Over" quickly lead to more complicated, animated patterns that display Stabinsky's pianistic expertise. In tracks like "Viral Inflection," "Gone Song," and "Rapture," he demonstrates the intelligence of his musical ideas and his ability to convey them in stirring ways. From the crystalline, almost danceable trills of "For Reel," to the keyboard mastery in "31," to the improvisational tour de force of "Not Long Now / Long Now" (the record's longest track), and the jazzy feel of "Once, But Again," Free For One is the rare work of a rare pianist, one who cares little for labels and deeply for music, one whose love and command of his instrument shines through in every note.

Stabinsky's passionate interest in the quality of sound recordings and equipment made finding a sensitive, responsive instrument a necessity. Recorded with vacuum tube microphones to 2-inch analog tape on the Hamburg Steinway D at Oktaven Audio in Yonkers, New York by Ryan Streber, with mastering by Seth Foster at Sterling Sound in New York City, Free for One utilizes the best of analog and digital technologies. The uninterrupted performance in the Compact Disc and 96kHz/24-bit download formats closely mirrors the feeling captured by the original analog tape recording

Pianist Ron Stabinsky first started playing with MOPDtK in 2011 as part of a project at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam commemorating the anniversary of Eric Dolphy and Booker Little's Live at the Five Spot.  After collaborating on this and the subsequent Blue project, Stabinsky's presence in the group was solidified. He performs in both the quartet and septet versions of the band and is featured on MOPDtK's three most recent albums Red Hot, Blue, and Mauch Chunk. Stabinsky fits into the aesthetic of the group perfectly, contributing virtuosic solos packed with the irreverence that MOPDtK is known for, as well as musical non-sequiturs, quotations, and references to everything from Philip Glass and Conlon Nancarrow to Billy Joel and earlier MOPDtK material.

In addition to his work with MOPDtK, Stabinsky is an accompanist in virtually every possible context from classical recitals, to community choirs, to improvised music, jazz, pop and everything in between.  Since 2013, Stabinsky has been the pianist for the Peter Evans Quintet, appearing on Destination:Void, the group's epic sci-fi adventure of an album based on the Frank Herbert novel of the same name.  Stabinsky also performs in projects with the Philadelphia New Music Ensemble Relâche, the Charles Evans Quartet with NEA Jazz Master David Liebman, and his collaboration with Cris Kirkwood, bassist of the Meat Puppets.  Stabinsky lives in Plains, PA.

NEW MUSIC: THE DELFONICS – 40 CLASSIC SOUL SIDES; BROOKE BENTON - RAINY NIGHT IN GEORGIA: THE COMPLETE REPRISE & COTILLION SINGLES A's & B's ; THE TIBBS – TAKIN’ OVER

THE DELFONICS – 40 CLASSIC SOUL SIDES (2-CD SET)

Real Gone Records is release (by far) the biggest anthology ever afforded the trio that pioneered the Philadelphia Sound, The Delfonics, featuring 40 sweetly soulful tracks, most of ‘em recorded under the watchful eye of the great Thom Bell and featuring the potent songwriting team of Bell and lead singer William Hart. In fact, this collection is so comprehensive that it’s missing only six tracks from the group’s four classic Philly Groove studio albums, and has thrown on three non-LP sides to boot! Every key track is here, including “La-La Means I Love You,” “You Got Yours and I’ll Get Mine,” “(Didn’t I) Blow Your Mind This Time,” “Trying to Make a Fool of Me,” “I’m Sorry,” “Break Your Promise,” “Ready or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide from Love), and more, all beautifully remastered by Vic Anesini at Battery Studios in New York. And for an extra special treat, Joe Marchese’s notes include exclusive quotes from Thom Bell, William Hart, and legendary Philly Soul sideman Bobby Eli. Undeniably definitive Delfonics!

BROOKE BENTON - RAINY NIGHT IN GEORGIA: THE COMPLETE REPRISE & COTILLION SINGLES A's & B's (2-CD SET)

He’s one of the all-time great soul balladeers, with 58 pop and 38 R&B hits to his credit, and his beautiful baritone is one of the most recognizable voices in all of pop and soul music, but Brook Benton has never had any kind of collection devoted to his last great body of work, the Jimmy Bowen-produced sides he recorded for Reprise and the Arif Mardin-produced material he recorded for Cotillion during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Now, in true Real Gone fashion, we’ve put together a two-CD package that includes the A and B-side of every single side Benton recorded for the two labels, all but one (see below) in their original mono single mixes and, after an exhaustive vault search, all but three from original tape sources. These 31 sides display a staggering stylistic versatility ranging from R&B takes on pop standards like “My Way” (yes, that song can be funky, and it’s here in a rare stereo single mix!), “I Gotta Be Me,” and “The Glory of Love,” to gospel songs like “If You Think God Is Dead,” topical tunes like “Heaven Help Us All” and “A Black Child Can’t Smile,” and, of course, some Southern-dipped soul like the #1 R&B hit “Rainy Night in Georgia” and the seven single sides he recorded with the Dixie Flyers, including the hits “Shoes” and “Don’t It Make You Want to Go Home.” Remastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision and annotated by Gene Sculatti, Rainy Night in Georgia—The Complete Reprise & Cotillion Singles A’s & B’s is a major soul find and deserves a place on the shelf right next to Brook’s classic Mercury material.

THE TIBBS – TAKIN’ OVER

From floor-shaking soul tunes like 'Dog Days', 'Get Back Tuesday' and 'Next Time', to the deep soul of 'Wild Way' and funk stormer 'Suffocated', singer Elsa Bekman - supported by a super tight big band - will impress everybody with her unique, raw, gritty vocals that do not fear comparison with big names such as Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse and Duffy. Based around Amsterdam and founded by a bunch of northern-soul and funk disciples, The Tibbs started in 2012 taking inspiration from the golden age of Soul Music. In 2014 they self-released a demo EP and they also released a 45 vinyl on German funk label Tramp Records. Now, after a few exciting years turning heads and spreading soul tunes all around the country - including appearances at the legendary North Sea Jazz Club and a live performances at national Radio 6 and Radio 2 - The Tibbs are finally ready to make their official debut on Record Kicks.Take notice, The Tibbs are the new name to watch!

NEW MUSIC: CYRUS CHESTNUT - NATURAL ESSENCE; COLUMBIA NIGHTS – IN ALL THINGS; IL COMPLESSO DI TADA!

CYRUS CHESTNUT - NATURAL ESSENCE

Cyrus Chestnut's got that wonderfully full, rich sound we always love in his piano – and he's working here with a group who really brings out the best in his style – bassist Buster Williams and drummer Lenny White! Williams is always a treat on any sort of trio date – and this album is a great showcase for his ability to swing rhythmically and keep things in a very melodic mode as well – and the album's maybe as much a showcase for Buster's talents as it is for those of the leader! White's great, too – but more in a manner of understatement – which leaves plenty of room for Chestnut and Williams to interact. Titles include "Mamacita", "My Romance", "Dedication", "Faith Amongst The Unknown", "My Romance", "Minority", and "Toku Do". ~ Dusty Groove 

COLUMBIA NIGHTS – IN ALL THINGS

We waited years for the full length debut of Columbia Nights, and not only was it worth the wait, it's a stunner – a beautiful batch of timeless spacey soul! Essentially the multi-instrumentalist trio of John E Daise, Jason "Brotherspanky" Edwards and Hayling Price, they have really expansive sound – built from bass, synths, keys, percussion that lifts it cosmic heights – in a perfect mix of atmospheric instrumentals and vocal-led tracks. The sound carries influences for soaring 70s soul jazz, to post millennium electronic soul – which mingle seamlessly, and carry a really depth of genuine earthy soul, however spacey the composition! The guest vocalists are top notch, including Diggs Duke, Aaron "AB" Abernathy, Vaughan Octavia and others, and titles include "Sphere", "Cerulean", "In All Things", "Circle", "Now" with Diggs Duke, "The Rhythm" with Sarai Abdul-Malik, "Coming Home" with Aaron "AB" Abernathy, "Neverend/All For You" feat Siara Shawn, "Ever Between" with B Jamelle and "Glide" with Vaughan Octavia. ~ Dusty Groove

IL COMPLESSO DI TADA!

Welcome to a new adventure in the world of the Italian coolest 60s sound. If Calibro 35 explores the weirdest side of Italian soundtracks, Massimo Martellotta's new creature Il Complesso di Tadà focuses on the grooviest and hip-shaking side of Italian mid 60s TV Shows music. Recorded in Milan and mixed by Grammy Award Winner Tommaso Colliva in London, the album goes from the opening single, the cover of the Muppet Theme masterpiece by Piero Umiliani "Mah Na Mah Na", to the beat explosion of "Il Surf Delle Mattonelle" and "Ma Che Colpa Abbiamo Noi" and to classic italian treasures such as "Sapore di Sale" and "Guarda Che Luna". Thanks to Mr Martellotta’s direction and meticulous care of all details, the sound is super tight and punchy from start to finish, full of percussive rhythms, wild organs and groovy percussions, leading you into a pure and super cool mid60s experience.Alongside the list of the unforgettable Italian pearls, there's also place for a bunch of irresistible groovy instrumental tracks such as "Veloce, Non Troppo", "Allegro" and "Movimentato" all composed by Massimo Martellotta, which mostly reflect his admiration for one of the Italian greatest soundtrack composer of all time Piero Umiliani, as it is also remarked on the album's liner notes that have been written by Piero Umiliani's family.

Austin’s 10-Piece Collective and Purveyor of African Funk HARD PROOF Releases PUBLIC HI-FI SESSIONS 03

Austin’s Hard Proof has confirmed the release of its new record, Public Hi-Fi Session 03, out on June 24 on Jim Eno’s Public Hi-Fi Records. The release will be available on 12-inch vinyl (180gram/45rpm), digital download, and to stream.

The award-winning 10-piece collective is the finest purveyor of African funk, world music, and jazz inspired by the sub-Saharan African continent in the state of Texas. Formed in 2008, Hard Proof features members of Black Joe Lewis, The Calm Blue Sea, Ocote Soul Sounds, Spanish Gold, The Echocentrics, and several other notable Austin acts.

Public Hi-Fi Sessions 03 is the fourth release from Jim Eno’s (Spoon) record label after three successful vinyl releases from Dupree, Dana Falconberry and Sondre Lerche. This release was recorded in two separate sessions at Eno’s Public Hi-Fi studio in Austin. What makes this release so unique is that the recording sessions were live and 100 percent analog from top to bottom. Stephen Bidwell, the drummer for Hard Proof states, “The first half of the tracks were recorded in December 2015, and Eno was teaching a class from Ohio University, so we had half a dozen ‘interns’ running around learning how to track a large group live to tape. This was sort of a no-pressure situation, but the tracks we got out of it were so solid that we knew we needed to release it. After some talking with Jim, we came back with three more songs in February 2016 and rounded out the record.” Jim Eno expresses: “I first saw Hard Proof at the Continental Club in 2012. It was an amazing show. The 10-piece band had a great feel and magnetic energy. I’d recently recorded the jazz band Dupree live to 1/2-inch tape, and it hit me that Hard Proof would be perfect for this type of project. To record live to tape, the band needs to be incredibly tight because no overdubs are possible, and no mixing occurs after tracking; the tracks are mixed as the band plays in real time. I was confident that Hard Proof could pull this off.”

The six songs on the record each pack their own punch but holistically showcase the band at a new level with its compositions and dynamic live-to-tape performances. The three main composers for the release are Derek Phelps (trumpet), Joe Sokolik (bass), and Joe Woullard (bari sax/flute). Phelps breaks down some of his inspiration and creative process around the songs he composed. He states: “For ‘The Break,’ I was on a break from playing the trumpet due to a busted lip, but that helped me break through my writer’s block, and this tune is one of the first to come out of that.” ‘Popemobile’ was built off a melodic figure created around the beginning of the band, which we played a handful of times, and then I sat on it for many years. When I knew this recording was coming up, I brought it back with a different perspective. It’s one of those simple songs that leaves a lot of room for the group’s interpretation. ‘Institution’ is about the idea of religion and the institutions it creates because I started questioning the religion I was brought up in. Being an instrumental tune, communicating something as complicated as religion is not really possible, but it can be an inspiration.”

Woullard explains his inspiration of compositional songs: “‘Painted Flowers’ is about a grocery store in Texas that sells flowers painted in bright, unnatural colors. Why would you want to paint a flower? Flowers are already beautiful as they are. Some of the prettiest ones are free, growing wild on the side of the road. ‘Revenge’ is a great tune where the ensemble locks into in an aggressive rhythm. Sparse melodies weave between percussive barks and stabs; harmony emerges as lines converge in urgent dialogue. Revenge is a cycle of tension.”

Sokolik rounds out the compositions with ‘Default,’ mentioning that, “The song is a result of an externally imposed deadline where I got to cranking out melodies and overlapping rhythm parts. After running it a few times with the band, we decided it needed to be a lot faster. Then Gerardo came up with the concept for the deceptive introduction, and we ran it in the studio until it worked.”

While Hard Proof’s releases are always well-received, there seems to be universal agreement that the band’s live shows are something not to be missed. KUTX tastemaker Laurie Gallardo put it best. “This local ensemble always puts on an electrifying live show,” she says, “an absolute blowout of nonstop percussion action and blasting brass, bringing the best of both worlds to the stage by mixing classic styles and plenty of their personal panache.” Stay tuned for Hard Proof’s upcoming shows and a new full-length album later in 2016. 

  

Hard Proof is:

Stephen Bidwell – Drums, Tommy Spampinato – Percussion, Tony Cruz – Congas, Joe Sokolik – Bass, Aaron Sleator – Guitar, Gerardo Larios - Guitar/Keyboards, John Branch – Guitar, Joe Woullard - Bari Sax/Flute, Jason Frey - Tenor Sax, Derek Phelps – Trumpet

MJ12 Featuring Bass Legend Percy Jones To Release Debut Album

MJ12, featuring Brand X bass legend Percy Jones, will be releasing their eagerly awaited debut album on Gonzo Multimedia UK on June 24, 2016. Recorded in the summer of 2015 at Shelter Island studios in Manhattan, MJ12 is jazz, fusion, and progressive music at its finest. Featuring virtuosic performances by all four band members, in many ways this album is an extension of what Percy Jones created with Brand X!

Says Percy, “We took the name from Majestik 12, which was supposedly a group of 12 scientists and engineers assembled in the late 40's to investigate UFO's. There is an ongoing debate as to whether this group actually existed or not. Stephen Moses and I had been doing  gigs for a while where we would invite  guests to sit in. We did all improv, so this was actually M&J +1 or 2.  After a while we started using David Phelps and Chris Bacas on a regular basis if they were available. At this point we started writing stuff, but keeping a lot of the improv thing going to keep it spontaneous. The end result was bits and pieces of ideas coming from everybody that were all tied together to try and make a coherent tune, but with lots of blowing inside. By last Summer we felt like it had shaped up well enough to record it, so we went in and recorded it over 2 days.”

Track listing:

1) Call 911

2) Bad American Dream Pt2

3) Magic Mist

4) Talk Time

5) The Wow Signal

6) Big Daddy Road

7) The Phantom Maracas

8) Guns And Pussy

9) Magic Mist Reprise

MJ12 is:

Percy Jones

Percy Jones grew up near Llandrindod Wells, Wales. He studied electronic engineering at the University of Liverpool before joining Liverpool Scene in 1967 He was a member of jazz fusion band Brand X from 1974 to 1980, and a reformed version which lasted from 1992 to 1997. He was in NYC based band Tunnels from 1990 until 2005. Still residing in New York, he is currently a member of MJ12. Jones is best known for his unique fretless bass sound. Jones was also briefly a member of the jazz fusion group Soft Machine, and has contributed to recordings by David Sylvian, Brian Eno, Steve Hackett, Roy Harper, Paranoise, Suzanne Vega, Richard Barbieri, Nova and Fovea Hex, amongst others.

Stephen Moses

After several years playing as part of “the loft jazz scene” in NYC with the likes of James Chance, John Zorn, Phillip Johnston, Ken Simon, Dave Hofstra (and many others) drummer/trombonist Stephen Moses started getting busier with more rock and jazz/rock in the CBGB's scene with Giant Metal Insects and Quality Trio with Jim Matus & Percy Jones. Alice Donut formed after that and took Stephen on the road and the studio for several years and a dozen albums followed by a few tours with Rasputina. Then a few years ago Stephen rejoined Percy to do what we do today.

Dave Phelps

Guitarist David Phelps is currently a member of Peter Apfelbaum's 11-piece band The New York Hieroglyphics, which includes many of today's best creative musicians, including drummer Dafnis Prieto, bassist Patrice Blanchard, trombonist Josh Roseman and vocalist Abdoulaye Diabate. Their newest album “It Is Written” was released in August 2005 on the ACT label. He also leads his own band the Eclectic Troubadours. David grew up in Denton, Texas, the home of the University of North Texas, formerly known as North Texas State. As a youngster, he started playing the bass clarinet and later played in bands with many of the children of North Texas faculty members. David, along with his twin brother, bassist Drew Phelps, attended North Texas, studying with Rich Matheson and guitar guru Jack Peterson, among others. David then traveled to Alberta, Canada where he studied at the Banff Centre with jazz greats Dave Liebman and Dave Holland (both Miles Davis alumni). He also studied with John Abercrombie, Steve Coleman and Kenny Wheeler.

Chris Bacas

Saxophonist Chris Bacas began his career at age fifteen as a sideman with a club band in York, PA, and after attending North Texas State, he began his jazz performance career in earnest. Beginning in 1983, Chris played in the Glen Miller Band, The Tommy Dorsey Band, the Artie Shaw Band, and Buddy Rich's legendary Big Band until Rich's passing in 1987. Over the past twenty years, Chris has appeared at festivals all over the world, including the Nice, North Sea, Cork, Santiago, Montreal, Moers Texaco, Annapolis, JVC New York, and Central PA Jazz Festivals. He has performed in Copenhagen at the Tivoli Gardens; in Los Angeles at The Hollywood Bowl and LA's Comedy Store; in New York's Blue Note and Birdland; at Chicago's Jazz Showcase; and in Washington D.C. at Blues Alley and One Step Down.

In conclusion Percy has this to impart, “Well, I hope people like this record. I have a lot of appreciation for everyone who supported Brand X back in the day, or any of the other projects I was involved in. The band follows on from stuff  I've done in the past, trying to keep the music unpredictable, interesting and moving in a  new direction.”

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http://www.percyjones.net/

Never Before Released Charlie Parker Sessions - 'Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes'

Discovering previously unheard music is a consistent hope for serious jazz fans. Finding unreleased music from legends, especially those who departed far too early with their legacies incomplete, is a true joy; one of those legends whose every note leads to an adventure of innovation is the immortal Charlie "Bird" Parker. On July 1, Verve/UMe brings a thrill to jazz lovers worldwide with the release of Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes, a comprehensive two-disc set featuring a cornucopia of previously unknown music - 58 never listed studio takes from Charlie Parker. The set was co-produced by Phil Schaap, the eminent jazz historian who is currently Curator at Jazz At Lincoln Center and the foremost expert on Ornithology.

"These previously unknown takes are a blockbuster," Schaap says, "providing heretofore-unheard Bird improvisations, and in high fidelity." Discovered in a cache of materials owned by a former associate of Norman Granz, the founder of Verve Records and visionary producer of these sessions, the newly discovered takes allow the listener inside the private domain between Parker and Granz as they developed some of the most important music in jazz. In his highly detailed liner notes, Schaap provides overview, session-by-session history and track-by-track analysis, further illuminating the creative process of Bird's genius.

Originally issued on Mercury and Clef, but ultimately housed on Verve, the Parker/Granz studio collaborations were well-designed and thoughtfully conceived to display Bird's unparalleled talents in a variety of contexts. These included Parker's four to six piece ensembles (both working and pick-up groups); Latin Jazz efforts, some of which were labeled "South of the Border;" the orchestral Charlie Parker including his masterpieces with strings; standard Big Band; and Parker's prescient view of the Third Stream. Unheard Bird touches on all of these, including a couple of brief false starts on "If I Should Lose You" that were not included in the remarkable 2015 companion set, Charlie Parker With Strings: Deluxe Edition.

From the Latin side, there are five tracks with Parker as the featured soloist with Machito and his Orchestra; and 13 "South of the Border" tracks that feature a rhythm section of Walter Bishop, Teddy Kotick and Roy Haynes or Max Roach, along with Jose Mangual and Luis Miranda on bongos and congas, respectively, and joined on a pair by trumpeter Benny Harris. As a bonus we hear snippets of studio chatter, including Bird discussing tempo; on "Tico Tico" he asks studio guests to quiet down lest they ruin the session.

There is a fascinating set of ten tracks from a Cole Porter project that was never completed due to Bird's illness and untimely passing. Featuring a Big Band that included such heavyweights as Oscar Peterson, Freddie Green, Flip Phillips and Ray Brown, Bird digs into three Porter classics - "Night and Day," "What Is This Thing Called Love" and "Almost Like Being in Love," with brilliant results.

More than half of the package features Bird in the small group hardcore bop settings for which he was best known. This features a reuniting of Parker's quintet, referred to as The Golden Era BeBop Five, the only Granz-produced recordings by this ensemble. These 14 tracks feature Kenny Dorham, Al Haig, Tommy Potter and Max Roach. They are joined for four more by trombonist Tommy Turk and Carlos Vidal on conga.

Dizzy Gillespie - Bird's co-conspirator in the Bebop movement - joins Bird for ten tracks, along with Thelonious Monk, Curley Russell and Buddy Rich. The all-Parker program includes complete run-throughs of "An Oscar for Treadwell," "Bloomdido" and "Mohawk." A quartet setting brings Hank Jones, Ray Brown and Buddy Rich to the bandstand for explorations of the beautiful Raye/DePaul gem "Star Eyes" and Bird's "Blues (Fast)."

To round out the new, 69-track set, included are the songs' master takes. (The mismatched math - 58 unreleased takes plus 20 master takes somehow equaling 69 - is due to the producers combining some of the shorter takes for this release.)

Spanning the years 1949-1952, Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes displays the immortal master of the alto saxophone Charlie Parker at the peak maturity of his prodigious talents. Accompanied by so many of the era's giants, and allowed the time, space and support to produce art at its highest level, this set is a monumental addition to a legacy of artistry that is breathtaking in its scope and majesty. With Phil Schaap's erudite and perceptive delineation of the ways and means by which this artistry was achieved, and his portrait of the era in which it all took place, Unheard Bird: The Unissued Takes is an essential addition to the library of all serious fans of jazz.

Universal Music Group Forms Verve Label Group; Danny Bennett Named President & CEO

Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today announced the formation of the Verve Label Group and appointed veteran industry executive Danny Bennett, a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning music, film and television producer, and long-time manager of his father, legendary singer Tony Bennett, as the label group's President & CEO, effective immediately.

The Verve Label Group will be comprised of Verve and UMG's U.S. classical music labels including Deutsche Grammophon, Decca Records, Decca Classics, Mercury Classics, and distributed label ECM. The new structure marks UMG's continued investment in jazz and classical music and the company's unwavering commitment to building upon its rich history in both genres, while also opening up new opportunities, developing global cross-over artists and delivering innovative jazz and classical experiences to fans.  The jazz and classical labels will maintain distinct A&R, marketing and promotions teams, while also leveraging UMG's global reach to provide artists with deep resources and expertise to develop their careers.

Under Bennett's leadership, Verve will relocate to New York, where the label was originally founded 60 years ago as home to jazz legends Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Stan Getz and Billie Holiday. With his proven strategic marketing skills, Bennett will expand the awareness and reach of UMG's historic jazz and classical catalogue, and develop and promote emerging artists on a global scale.

Bennett will report to Michele Anthony, Executive Vice President of UMG. Bennett and Dickon Stainer, President and CEO of Global Classics for Universal Music Group, will announce shortly a President of Verve Label Group's classical music labels.

David Foster, one of the most successful record producers in history, who led the Verve label since 2012, has decided to return full-time to producing, and will continue to work closely with UMG's labels and artists. Foster is currently producing albums for UMG artists Carla Bruni and Jordan Smith. 

In making the announcement, Michele Anthony said, "By forming the Verve Label Group and attracting an industry veteran of Danny's stature and expertise, Universal Music is making a strong statement about the high value we place on building on our robust jazz and classical repertoire. We are committed to growing our presence in these genres even further and creating crossover successes that deliver artists to new audiences around the world. I want to thank David for the immense creative impact he had at Verve. On behalf of everyone here at UMG, we look forward to recording many more hit records with David for years to come."

Bennett said, "Universal Music is home to the largest and most historically relevant jazz and classical recordings. It's a tremendous honor, and I am humbled to be chosen to lead the newly formed Verve Label Group. I'm indebted to David Foster for leading the iconic Verve label and I look forward to working with him on many future productions. Additionally, I offer my profound appreciation to Lucian Grange and Michele Anthony for this amazing opportunity."

Foster said, "I have loved every minute working with Verve's incredibly talented roster of artists and staff. At the same time, during the last few months, as I thought about where I'm happiest, it's in the recording studio working closely with artists on developing new material. I'm thrilled Danny is now at the helm of the Verve. The label couldn't be in better hands and I'm looking forward to working on many more projects together."

Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, Verve is Universal Music Group's American contemporary label with an active artist roster that includes Andrea Bocelli, Diana Krall, Mark Knopfler, Sarah McLachlan and Barry Manilow. The label was founded in 1956 and quickly made a name as the home of jazz legends. Verve also oversees the catalog of the legendary Impulse! Records with an artist roster that includes John Coltrane, Charles Mingus and many more.

Danny Bennett is a veteran manager and a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning music, film and television producer. Bennett founded RPM Productions in 1979, an artist management and strategic marketing company. He is most known for using progressive marketing skills to redefine the career of his father, Tony Bennett, prompting Advertising Age to name him one of the Top 100 Marketers. Bennett has been profiled in a variety of publications including Time Magazine, The New York Times, Forbes and Billboard. Bennett has also represented recording artists from diverse musical genres including Elvis Costello and Jamiroquai and spearheaded innovative and multi-faceted strategic marketing campaigns for Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, and John Legend to name a few.

Bennett has managed his father's career for over 35 years, a period that includes 17 Grammy awards; the release of Duets: An American Classic, Tony's best-selling album of performances with artists including Paul McCartney, Elton John, Barbra Streisand and Bono; the Rob Marshall-directed television special Tony Bennett: An American Classic, which won seven Emmys and was the most-honored program at the 2007 Emmy Awards; the release of Duets II featuring performances with Amy Winehouse, Michael Bublé, Aretha Franklin, Josh Groban, Lady Gaga and John Mayer; as well as the #1, Grammy-award winning album Cheek To Cheek with Lady Gaga.

In addition to his management and strategic marketing endeavors, Bennett has produced a variety of feature documentary and broadcast productions, including Tony Bennett: An American Classic, the Emmy Award-winning PBS American Masters documentary in association with Clint Eastwood, Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends, and the Emmy Award-winning live music series Live By Request, 36 shows that ran for 9 seasons on the A&E Network showcasing such artists as David Bowie, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Don Henley and the Bee Gees. Live By Request's unique interactive concept was developed by Tony and Danny Bennett and went on to become the longest-running live music performance special on U.S. television. Bennett also collaborated with Academy Award-winner T-Bone Burnett on The Words and Music of Cold Mountain, a live multimedia event and DVD for Miramax Films. Most recently, Danny created, produced and directed in partnership with Netflix, the critically acclaimed documentary film, The Zen Of Bennett, which was theatrically released and is available on Netflix.

Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries.  Featuring the most comprehensive catalog of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world.  Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans.

Five composer-performers join forces on the leading edge of classical and jazz as Alchemy Sound Project

Ensemble's debut release explores the common ground between two diverse traditions, giving rise to innovative, breathtaking new sounds. Works by Erica Lindsay, Sumi Tonooka, Samantha Boshnack, David Arend, and Salim Washington, composers brought together by Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute

"Alchemy Sound Project is speaking with confidence, creating art that is bold, art that speaks from the soul. Here, in this collective approach, these musicians share in musical discovery and hear their own ideas expertly executed. What jumps out and above the powerful, nuanced performances is the fresh writing." - Music Documentary Producer Steve Rowland

Medieval alchemists were known to have sought a way to turn lead into gold, but the actual purpose of their experiments was to transform the very soul of the alchemist. Alchemy Sound Project follows a similar course, experimenting with combinations and distillations of jazz, African traditions and Western classical music in an effort to transform themselves and their audience. On Further Explorations, the band's debut due out May 27, 2016 on Artists Recording Collective, five composer-musicians and their invited guests find a way to meld their distinctive approaches and voices to create a unique sound with the lushness and intricacy of a symphony orchestra combined with the spontaneity and interplay of a small jazz group. Alchemy, indeed.

The five core members of Alchemy Sound Project were brought together by the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute, a program initiated by the American Composers Orchestra and the Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University to encourage jazz composers to explore writing music for the symphony orchestra. Directed by composer, trombonist, and educator George Lewis, JCOI selects 38 jazz composers at various stages of their careers, chosen from a competitive national pool of applicants, for a one-week summer intensive with leading composers, conductors and performers.

Tenor saxophonist Erica Lindsay attended the first JCOI session in 2010; at her encouragement, both pianist Sumi Tonooka (a frequent collaborator) and trumpet player Samantha Boshnack (a former student of Lindsay's at Bard College) enrolled in the second round in 2012. There, Tonooka and Boshnack met and bonded with bassist David Arend and multi-reedist Salim Washington. By day they studied aspects of music history and the orchestral palette, while by night they shared inspiration over dinners and walks around the UCLA campus. A year later, the five reconnected at Tonooka's behest to further explore the ideas they'd studied in the program.

"It was a very intense experience," Tonooka says of JCOI. "It got me really excited about being able to apply my own experiences to the instrument that is the orchestra."

For their debut release, each composer was encouraged to bring in two new pieces for the group, supplemented for the recording by trombonist Willem de Koch and drummer Max Wood. The result is an artful and boundary-stretching amalgam of jazz and classical ideas that shows off the chemistry formed during the bandmates' brief but enlightening time studying together. "The JCOI concept is about blurring

these lines, hybridizing jazz elements with classical music," Arend says. "It's up to us to figure out what that means, but the synergy of the band is awesome - we're inspiring each other, teaching each other, pushing each other, and it feels like new territory even though we're drawing on centuries-old traditions."

The connection between the Alchemy participants is exemplified by Washington's "Charcoal, Clear, Beautiful All Over," which opens the album. The title is taken from the English translation of the Japanese name "Sumi," while the piece itself was penned to spotlight the bass clarinet, Tonooka's favorite instrument. Washington, a Professor of Music at South Africa's University of KwaZulu-Natal and a collaborator with jazz visionaries like the late Fred Ho, also contributed the closing track, "The Call." The tune was written in tribute to Solodeen Muhammad, whom the composer calls "one of the hipsters of my father's generation. This piece is in his honor and in appreciation of the psychic and spiritual support, the cultural continuity that he represents in my life as a musician. It attempts to channel the hipness and the energy that this streetwise, musically savvy father figure has passed on to me."

Lindsay, an artist-in-residence and teacher at Bard College who has performed and recorded with artists ranging from McCoy Tyner and Oliver Lake to Frank Zappa and Melba Liston, says that her piece "Further Explorations" is intended to "connote a journey of discovery" that parallels the creative act. The richly-hued piece, which slowly builds from a tense alto flute theme over a bass/drum pulse to accumulating horns, contrasts moments of free improvisation with lush composed sections. The piece, Lindsay explains, "explores the balance and necessary tension between the unknown and the known that exist within the creative mind. As one sets out to leave the known world and fall into unknown territory, there is a certain wonder and innocence involved as well as the courage to let go of the known." Lindsay's second piece, the sprightly "Beta," is more through-composed, though it carries the playful dodge-and-weave energy of the written lines into its solo sections.

"I was listening to a lot of orchestral works as I was writing," says Boshnack, "and trying to incorporate and highlight classical counterpoint and grandeur in my music. I was listening to and inspired by the music of my colleagues and trying to give them a space in which to shine." A mainstay of the Seattle jazz scene with her own B'Shnorkestra and as co-leader of Reptet. Boshnack begins her first piece, "Alchemical," with a fanfare of classical counterpoint for the horns and drums before bursting into a heavy groove, prompting intense solos from Tonooka and Lindsay. "Divergency" sets up a tension between light and dark, with airy melodies and starker rhythms. Both reflect the hybrid nature of the ensemble in their apt mash-up titles, combining alchemy and chemistry in the first, diversity and urgency in the second.

Tonooka, a Philadelphia native now based in Seattle who has written symphonic and chamber works and film soundtracks in addition to working with jazz greats from Philly Joe Jones to Rufus Reid, set out to write two entirely different compositions for the band. The stunning, crystalline-then-jarring "Waiting" was born from a difficult personal situation, while the celebratory "Joie de Vivre" combines the composer's love of Malian music and the contrapuntal approach of composers like Bach.

The most classically-oriented member of the ensemble, Arend is a longtime member of the Oakland Symphony as well as a composer and performer in jazz, electronic, avant-garde, and singer-songwriter contexts. He adapted "Her Name Is Love" from a piano piece by Czech composer Leo_ Janá_ek, reharmonized with piano removed from the equation entirely. The title of Arend's second contribution to this recording, "Archetype," refers to one of the most archetypal formats in jazz, the big band, the sound of which Arend recreates with the band's seven pieces.

Each of these pieces is striking in its own right, but together Alchemy Sound Project provides thrilling new avenues for exploration - which its members are eager and committed to explore. "You could think of it like a dinner," Tonooka muses. "Everybody brings different dishes to the table and we're all enjoying and tasting and delving in and creating something new out of it. That makes it fun for us and interesting to the listener because it's not just one flavor. It's all of us."

www.alchemysoundproject.com

Todd Clouser Joins Forces With Members Of Abraxas On Magnet Animals: Butterfly Killer

On the heels of his genre-defying A Love Electric trilogy and subsequent song project, Man With No Country, guitarist-composer-poet-lyricist C Todd Clouser joins forces with drummer Jorge Servin and the potent one-two punch of Abraxas guitarist Eyal Maoz and bassist Shanir Blumenkranz in forming Magnet Animals. Their slamming and startlingly unique debut, Butterfly Killer -- full of skronking noise guitars of blast furnace intensity and stream of conscious raps over righteous riffs and humungous backbeats -- stands as one of the most strangely compelling outings in the extensive and wildly eclectic catalog of London-based RareNoiseRecords.

From the opening salvo of "Headphone Girls" to the jarring punk-funk of "Martha Fever," the eerie Ennio Morricone-styled spaghetti western vibe of "I Give Up And Love Somebody" and the sinister title track, Butterfly Killer sidesteps convention at every turn while boldly stepping to a different kind of muse. Throw in a B-52s-styled '80s dance party number ("Igual, Pero Peor"), a throbbing jam with a haunting, an evangelist preacher styled incantation ("Little John The Liar") and an ode to a late junkie author/hipster ("Bill Burroughs") and you have one of the most daring, fully self-realized creations of the current year.

Credit Clouser with creating the vehicle for such a powerful statement to take place. "The Magnet Animals record is very impulsive," explains the auteur. "With the A Love Electric records, we write, re-write, edit, produce, cut tunes in half and tour together on 120 dates a year. With Magnet Animals, I wanted to get back to just a creative impulse, honoring that, expressing, and moving on. I wrote the tunes in one weekend in a cabin a week before we had the tour planned. We played a week's worth of shows, recorded on the last day in about an 8-hour session. I took the sessions to Minneapolis to mix, and that was it. I wanted it to be fast, a reflection of the personalities of the players and their instincts, and not think myself out of what I needed to say, and what this group was on its first impulse, instinctively."

Regarding his role as principal wordsmith and narrator of the vivid imagery conjured up throughout Butterfly Killer, Clouser says, "I like lyrics that can survive as poetry -- just on the page. I'm not sure if I am a poet or a lyricist but words are important to me. If I am going to use them, I want them to have purpose. Sometimes it's in humor, like on 'Headphone Girls.' I travel a lot and there are all these thousands of headphones they sell all over airports now -- every color and size and sales pitch, and its a trip! So I wrote that 'look at me listening' little line when I was in the Atlanta airport on A Love Electric tour and thought it was fun to sing, or talk. Other times, like on 'Atayde,' there is this tremendous nostalgia and some kind of sadness to the words. Atayde is the name of a family circus in Mexico City and their circus tent was just ripped down, It was giant, big and blue, with a ball that looked like a clown's shoe on top. It's like a whole block long and it's located right where all the hookers hangout on paydays, on Tlalpan. There's so much absurdity there that somehow there is beauty and calm in it, like complete resignation to our human instincts, failures, all of it. So that was an easy and kind of emotional song to write. That's really more of a spoken piece. In the end, I think it's just about observing and trying to find the humanity, the emotion, in whatever I want to write about."

Clouser details his connection to the three other intrepid improvisers and skilled musicians who comprise Magnet Animals. "Eyal and I have talked about playing together for years and when I was on tour with A Love Electric I visited his apartment a couple times and we just set up and improvised. He is so fearless and himself. He kind of plays how Mexico City sounds to me. I played with Shanir Blumenkranz at the John Lurie tribute show at NYC Town Hall with Billy Martin and John Medeski. We played Marvin Pontiac songs from that Lurie record (1999's The Legendary marvin Pontiac: Greatest Hits). Shanir is so scouted when he plays and his feel is so warm. We got along well and talked about doing something together at some point. I have played now with a lot of the 'Downtown scene' heroes, including John Zorn, Cyro Baptista, Medeski Martin & Wood, and always crossed paths with Shanir. It seemed like it was time to play together."

Though Clouser wrote all of the songs on Butterfly Killer, he says the recording is very much a product of everyone's contributions. "With other players, this could be a corny fusion record, the way the tunes are written. It had to be a crew of guys willing to get into the dirt. Much of what we did and what we captured on record is about the energy of the performance, the risk, knowing we are reading tunes but we are free to abandon them in dramatic ways. Shanir had a big hand in arranging the tunes and working out feels. He's so good at that. Eyal has such a strong and unique voice, it's like having an electric piano player, theremin player and jazz guitarist all at once."

And while modernists may point to the influence of guitar shredders like Sonny Sharrock or Nels Cline or Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore in the skronking metallic interplay heard on harsh tunes like "Headphone Girls," "Martha Fever" and "State of My Face," Clouser explains that the influence actually goes back much further. "A lot of it, honestly, is old Delta blues, the voices as much as the guitars. Listening to Skip James sing, going back to a lot of the Alan Lomax recordings of prison song, field song, gospel...that raw feel is all there. That being said, I grew up in the late 90's, so Sonic Youth was an influence as well as a lot of the NYC downtown stuff I started to listen to. I liked the personality and personalities of it. People there had something to say that I related to. I have spent a lot of time with old blues records and psych rock records, some of the Brazilian psych rock stuff and Os Mutantes, and then, of course, hip-hop.But I have a background in jazz, knowledge of these harmonies, and spent time playing Thelonious Monk music, so some of that creeps in as well."

Clouser also explains that the sparse, lonely, vaguely Americana feel that comes across on tunes like "Atayde" and "I Give Up And Love Somebody" comes from his Midwestern upbringing. "I was born in Kansas City and grew up in Minneapolis. Though I live in Mexico City now, I can only run so far from driving up and down highway 35 through the cornfields, Flying J travel centers, and listening to unreasoned preachers and minor league baseball games on the radio. I did so many van tours up and down that highway, you have time to write. I would write for hours if I wasn't driving, just looking around and being romantic about something so many people are so dismissive of. You find romance, resignation there in the simple. The Coen Brothers are great at putting that to story and film. I love that kind of Americana when it sounds in music."

As for the kind of evangelical fervor that he takes on in his spoken word rants on "Little John the Liar" and the title track, Clouser explains that it comes from the deepest recesses of his childhood. "It's just a character, but I do think I am perhaps unhealthily drawn to talking about religion, Jesus and preaching in my music. My parents, who I love so much, sent me to Sunday school when I was kid, which I hated so much. It was horrible. I knew they were lying to me and I was stand-offish. So I think sometimes I still haven't gotten over that, and gotten over this whole disillusioned idea of a savior who makes you right even when you are wrong. So maybe I lash out in music, or in what I write, or how I sing it. Sometimes the lash is to caricature-ize the 'preacher.' I also think having listened to a lot of spiritual music, a lot of gospel, early jazz, Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite, these types of records, I am drawn to this sort of prophetic voice, and emoting that way."

He further explains that "Bill Burroughs" was an homage to someone he greatly admired and felt a kinship with. "I never met him. I didn't share much time on Earth with him but I live about a mile away from where he did when he was in Mexico City. I love his writing. His story is tragic and heroic and offensive and teaching. I almost died from being an addict and I am gay. That's two big ones. From there on, its pretty easy to relate."

  

Of his current place of residence, Clouser couldn't be happier. "In Mexico City I fell into a great thing. I had no plans to live there but I met two musicians, Hernan Hecht and Aaron Cruz, and that became our group A Love Electric. This was about three years ago. We all had the same impetus, to go out and share our music wherever we could but in the most human, non-pretentious way possible. For example, we just got a grant from he US Embassy some months ago. We had offers to take it and go to a couple big festivals for free or a reduced rate. We decided to go to Honduras, Nicaragua and South Mexico and play in community centers and bars instead. And I would do that again in a second, and these two guys are the same way.

"There are songs everywhere in this city. I have been assaulted by way too many ideas since I moved here that I am still trying to sort through and make records or bands or whatever might be next. There is an energy here that I am attracted to, a chaos, but at the same time something very human. Because at some point you have to help each other out or the whole thing is going to blow up and the city will drown in itself. And now touring a lot in Mexico, going to places like Oaxaca up in the mountains to work with traditional wind musicians, or on the Yucatan to a town where Maya is the only language spoken, these things are fascinating, invigorating, exciting. I am able to learn by living all day long, and when that is happening there is no escape from inspiration."

It takes an inspired person to come up with something as audacious and uncompromising as Butterfly Killer. Clouser and his Magnet Animals crew deliver goods on this provocative new release on RareNoise Records.

TRACKS

Headphone Girls

Atayde

Martha Fever

Baby Gods

Butterfly Killer

I Give Up And Love Somebody

State Of My Face

Bill Borroughs

Little John The Liar

Igual, Pero Peor