Dennis Coffey - Hot Coffey in the D: Burnin' at Morey Baker's Showplace Lounge

Resonance Records is proud to announce the release of Dennis Coffey's Hot Coffey in the D: Burnin' At Morey Baker's Showplace Lounge, previously unreleased live recordings made during the legendary guitarist's residency at Morey Baker's Showplace Lounge in Detroit in 1968 featuring Motor City staples on the scene — organist Lyman Woodard and drummer Melvin Davis.

In the late '60s, Dennis Coffey was a fixture in the fertile Detroit soul recording studio scene, where he helped shape the sound of countless hits for Detroit's indie soul labels Golden World, Ric-Tic, Kelmac and Revilot, among others. Jack Montgomery’s "Dearly Beloved," The Reflections' "Just Like Romeo and Juliet" and Darrell Banks's "Open the Door to Your Heart" are just a few of the Northern Soul classics of that era that Coffey played on. At the same time, organist Lyman Woodard was the musical director for Martha Reeves and The Vandellas (“Heat Wave”) and Melvin Davis was busy cutting 45s of his own as a vocalist on the Groovesville, Fortune and Mala labels and landing a number regional hits including “This Love Was Meant To Be”/“Save It (Never Too Late).”

As Coffey's renown as a top funk studio guitarist grew among the movers and shakers of the Detroit music scene, on the recommendation of legendary Motown bass player James Jamerson, producer Norman Whitfield recruited Coffey to play on records he was producing for Motown. Thus Coffey became established as a “Funk Brother,” a member of one of the world's preeminent studio ensembles, which formed the backbone of countless Motown hit records and which was the subject of the celebrated GRAMMY® Award-winning feature-length documentary film, Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002), in which Coffey is featured.

On Norman Whitfield's productions for Motown, Coffey contributed to the evolving soul and funk sound coming out of Detroit by introducing guitar innovations like fuzz-tone distortion, Echoplex tape delay and wah-wah, previously the exclusive province of rock and roll players. This new style developed by Coffey can be heard on such mega-hits as the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)," Edwin Starr's "War," and the Supremes' "Someday We'll be Together," among many others. Coffey's sound was something new and different and lent a modern feel to all the records he played on. Eventually, the demand for Coffey's magic touch led to appearances on recordings by Quincy Jones, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and many others.

In addition to the virtuosity he imparted on other artists' records, Coffey, along with his producing partner, Mike Theodore (co-producer with Coffey of the original recordings that make up this album), also produced recordings for a number of successful artists, as well as hit projects of their own. The iconic music executive Clarence Avant engaged Coffey and Theodore, through their production company Theo-Coff, to produce sessions, create arrangements and write songs for projects he released on his labels, Maverick/Venture and Sussex Records.

As producers, writers and talent scouts, Coffey and Theodore looked beyond soul and funk and ventured into new stylistic areas: rock, pop, folk and Latin. Coffey and Theodore discovered and produced albums by Sixto Rodriguez, the subject of the Oscar®-winning documentary, Searching for Sugar Man (2012). They had a million seller rock hit, "Nice to be With You" by the band Gallery and Coffey had his own million-seller instrumental funk hit "Scorpio," which Theodore produced.

Coffey may have been toiling in the studios making classic funk records during the daylight hours, but by night, he and fellow Detroit soul and studio funk masters organist Lyman Woodard and drummer Melvin Davis were doing their own thing holding forth in local Detroit clubs as a jazz/funk ensemble billed as the Lyman Woodard Trio, fronted by Coffey's distinctive guitar playing and arrangements. Their first gigs were in 1966 at a club called the Frolic Show Bar. In 1967, the trio left the Frolic and began an extended tenure at Morey Baker's Showplace Lounge, where this set was recorded.

Melvin Davis says about Woodard, “Lyman Woodard was probably one of the premier organists to come out of the east coast actually. He was a very accomplished musician; he was a person that had a very extensive following in the city of Detroit.”

At Morey Baker's, the trio played to a loyal following of discerning listeners who came every night just to listen to them play, rather than simply to dance. Therefore, it was important for the trio to maintain a distinct and compelling musical identity that evolved over time. They couldn't just revisit the same material over and over and expect to hold onto their audience. Coffey says, “We played there once a week and always packed the house. Much of our audience was middle to upper class folks who were judges, attorneys, businessmen and women who just loved listening to our brand of funk, jazz, rock and soul. I even hooked up a strobe light to the stage and would hit the switch that shut off the main lights. The strobe would go off while we'd jam on stage. It blew their minds!"

Coffey was always on the lookout for new and interesting repertoire and he would constantly bring in new music from different genres, having worked out all the musical arrangements in advance, as is evidenced by the repertoire on this album, which includes covers of soul classics such as "Casanova (Your Playing Days Are Over)" that Coffey played on the original Ruby Andrews studio version of; pop hits of the day such as the rousing version of Jimmy Webb’s "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" treated in Coffey's signature style; a smoldering version of the Burt Bacharach classic “The Look of Love” made popular by Dusty Springfield in 1967; a faithful adaptation of the Herbie Hancock classic “Maiden Voyage;” as well as two Coffey originals — the opening distortion-laden funk opus "Fuzz” and the infectious and grooving “The Big D.”

The music on this album, Hot Coffey in the D: Burnin' At Morey Baker's Showplace Lounge, represents the trio in a raw and unfiltered display of their prodigious musical gifts. Indeed the recordings that make up this album served as the springboard for Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore to be picked up by Clarence Avant on his own Sussex Records label, effectively launching their producing career in earnest. Another springboard was the seminal soul-funk instrumental album, Hair and Thangs, which was released on the Maverick label (distributed by Venture Records) in 1969 under Dennis’s name featuring both Lyman Woodard and Melvin Davis, and included a psychedelic version of the Isley Brother’s hit “It’s Your Thing.”

The release of this unique album is the direct result of the long friendship between Resonance producer Zev Feldman and the respected music journalist Kevin Goins, recognized expert on the Detroit music scene. They have been colleagues and friends for years dating back to Goins's days in retail at the HMV store in New York in the '90s when Feldman was rising in the ranks of the PolyGram organization. In early 2016, Goins learned from Coffey that these performances at Morey Baker's had been recorded using studio quality gear and immediately called Feldman to alert him to the availability of this previously unheard session. Feldman recalls, “I was so excited when Kevin first told me about the existence of these tapes. Right off the bat I was intrigued and felt compelled to release these recordings and tell the story of Dennis Coffey, who is to me one of the unsung heroes of guitar.”

To Feldman, Dennis Coffey was a fascinating figure and an essential member of the guitar pantheon of popular music. Already aware of Coffey's stellar history, it impressed Feldman that Coffey's career as a guitarist/producer/arranger and artist spanned a myriad of styles and that he had a distinctive guitar sound that influenced so many guitarists of the day and many who followed. In 2011, the Fuel 2000 label released Absolutely The Best of Dennis Coffey, a collection of all of Dennis’s 1970s output on Sussex, and Feldman handled the marketing of the album. This experience solidified Feldman's conviction that this music deserved to be heard; that there was an audience for this music, indeed a loyal audience that would be thrilled that this previously unknown music would be available to them. “In my time working as the SVP of Sales and Marketing at Fuel 2000 Records, we released many of the masters from Clarence Avant’s catalog of albums. I became a big fan of Dennis and Mike Theodore during that time and knew the importance of their legacy and Dennis's artistry.”

Once again, consistent with its mission to honor the traditions of great American music in all its glory, Resonance Records has pulled out all the stops in creating this release. The deluxe CD & LP packages feature stunning original cover art by acclaimed cartoonist and Metro Detroit native Bill Morrison, who was one of the original illustrators on The Simpsons, art director of Futurama and one of the co-founders of Bongo Comics with Matt Groening. Feldman was searching for a particular vibe for this project that harkened back to the feeling he would get gazing at psychedelic 60s LP covers like Sgt. Pepper’s and reading Mad magazine. “We struck out trying to get Robert Crumb and Al Jaffee,” Feldman explains, “so our associate producer Zak Shelby-Szyszko suggested we look into artists that have Detroit roots. When he sent me Bill Morrison’s work, I knew right away he was the guy. And working with him was such a treat. We’d provide buzzwords about the characters, look and vibe we were going for and he delivered this masterpiece.”

The package also includes extensive liner notes with rare photos by acclaimed Detroit photographers such as Leni Sinclair, essays by Resonance producer Zev Feldman and veteran music journalist Kevin Goins, plus interviews with Dennis Coffey, Melvin Davis and Mike Theodore, along with music industry icon Clarence Avant and Detroit soul singer Bettye LaVette. The LP version, available as a Record Store Day exclusive for their Black Friday Event, is presented in a limited-edition, hand-numbered pressing on 180-gram black vinyl mastered by the legendary Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering and pressed at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI).

Track Listing:

1. Fuzz (8:17)

2. By the Time I Get to Phoenix (7:09)

3. The Look of Love (11:45)

4. Maiden Voyage (7:06)

5. The Big D (4:13)

6. Casanova (Your Playing Days Are Over) (7:04)

NEA Jazz Master David Baker's big band legacy celebrated on Basically Baker 2, featuring special guests Randy Brecker, Rich Perry, and Dave Stryker with the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra

The music of the late NEA Jazz Master and world-lauded jazz educator David Baker is featured on Basically Baker 2, a new recording out September 23 on Patois Records.  The two-CD set showcases the renowned Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra in Baker's own big band arrangements of his music. Proceeds generated by sales of the recording will go to the David N. Baker Scholarship Fund to benefit students of the Jacobs School of Music Jazz Studies Program.

Basically Baker 2 employs former Baker students and proteges such as trombonist Brent Wallarab, saxophonist Tom Walsh, trumpeters Mark Buselli and Pat Harbison, and pianist Luke Gillespie in music previously heard almost exclusively at Indiana University concert performances.  Another IU alum, trumpeter and multi-Grammy winner Randy Brecker, provides a lovely cameo appearance for "Kirsten's First Song," as does IU jazz faculty guitarist Dave Stryker, whose easy, elegant swing evokes 21st-century echoes of Baker's good friend Wes Montgomery.  Saxophonist Rich Perry of Maria Schneider's award-winning orchestra checks in for solos as well playing on the lyrical "Soft Summer Rain," "Sweet Georgia Peach" (Baker's abstract take on "Sweet Georgia Brown"), and "Shima 13."  Trombonist and Patois Records label founder Wayne Wallace also steps up with a bold contribution to one of Baker's most significant compositions, "Honesty."

The Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, with Baker's blessing, first ventured into the realm of his large ensemble compositions with 2007's Basically Baker.  That recording landed on DownBeat's top-100 list of jazz CDs for the 21st century, and is now being reissued by Patois Records in conjunction with Basically Baker 2.

The idea of Basically Baker 2 had been in the works for some time, but the project gained poignance and momentum after Baker passed away this March at the age of 84. "David and Lida approached me in 2005 to record the first volume, which was a great experience for everyone involved," says Wallarab.  "Since then, we talked a number of times about doing a second volume and especially in recent years, he mentioned it frequently. It was important to David that his music 'live on' as he would say and not languish away in the library at the music school. This project was a way we could all channel our grief into something productive that honored David's wishes to care for his music after he was gone."

The passion and skill of Baker's musical progeny was matched by their dedication and desire to be a part of Basically Baker 2.  "I was amazed by the overwhelming commitment and enthusiasm of everyone I asked," says Wallarab.  "Many musicians cancelled or rescheduled other commitments already on the books to participate."

Basically Baker 2 extends the far-reaching impact of Baker's life and accomplishments. When he was born David Nathaniel Baker in Indianapolis, Indiana on December 21, 1931, the United States was a racially segregated country, either by law or socially enforced custom, and jazz was a young and controversial form of music.  By the time of his departure on March 26, 2016, an African-American was serving as the country's president, and jazz education programs were thriving at various institutions across the land.  Jazz and America had gone through some changes, and Baker made a major contribution, as a jazz education pioneer, a master trombonist and cellist, a prolific composer, a builder of cultural bridges, and an innovator who used the past in service of the future.  George Russell, the jazz composer and theorist who helped shape David's late-1950s Indianapolis hardbop group into one of the most progressive ensembles of the early 1960s, coined an appropriate term for David's compositions, calling them "21st century soul music."

During Baker's formative years in the 1930s and 40s, he listened to the great big band orchestras of Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and numerous others, as well as gospel, blues, pop, classical, and country music.  By the late 1940s the bebop revolution had taken hold, and Baker was an enthusiastic convert, sneaking into the clubs along Indianapolis' Indiana Avenue with his teenage friends to hear the exciting new sounds being propagated by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and other musical torchbearers of the times.

Throughout the 1950s Baker continued his studies, worked with orchestras of Fred Dale, Stan Kenton, and Maynard Ferguson, and taught in classrooms and privately.  By the end of the decade he was leading a hard-charging big band at Indiana University, touring with Quincy Jones' orchestra, and being praised in print by Gunther Schuller. In 1966 he took over Indiana University's fledgling jazz studies program and spent close to 50 years there, building the foundation of the modern jazz education movement and codifying the lingua franca of 20th-century jazz for generations to come through his teaching, writings, performances, and recordings.

Significantly, much of the material on Basically Baker 2 comes from Baker's first decade at Indiana University as head of jazz studies, stretching from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s.  "I think he was a little more daring as a writer then," says Brent Wallarab. In addition to being a fascinating era for big band music, these were also the years when jazz made its first bold advances into the academy, and in Baker the music found one of its most effective ambassadors. The connections Baker forged in Indiana University's world-renowned classical music program, and his own extensive work in the field of classical composition, played a vital role in jazz's late-20th century cultural elevation, as did his leadership of the repertory-oriented Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.

Baker never ventured too far afield from the primary colors of his musical palette, though: blues, popular song, and bebop.  It's fitting that the sole non-Baker composition on this CD is Baker's arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie's "Bebop," suggested by Gillespie himself, who encouraged Baker to apply his own masterly touch to the composition's bright, frantic, swirl-and-dash contours. There are other salutes as well, to longtime friend Tillman Buggs ("Terrible T"), and grandchild Kirsten ("Kirsten's First Song," which ends with a celeste solo that Wallarab says "is like a little kiss on his granddaughter's forehead before he tucks her away for the night"). "Black Thursday" summons the sound and spirit of Baker's Indianapolis hardbop era in memory of the friends and loved ones who passed on that particular day of the week.  "Shima 13" invokes Baker's love of puns and wordplay in honor of his sister Shirley, and "25th and Martindale" namechecks the Indianapolis neighborhood where Baker spent much of his youth, attending church, working as a caddy at a nearby golf course, and honing his skills as a musician.  "Harlem Pipes," which began as a small group piece and morphed into a big band arrangement, is dedicated to Baker's friend and cohort, pianist Marian McPartland.

"David's legacy as educator, author, and classical composer is well documented through many publications, recordings, and through thousands of his academic progeny continuing his pedagogy in schools worldwide," says Wallarab.  "As a composer for jazz big band, David has an important and distinct voice that most of the jazz world does not yet know. It is truly an honor to be involved in presenting his music to the global jazz community."

Basically Baker 2 extends its predecessor's contribution to the modern jazz canon and furthers the mission and legacy of David Baker's life in music: to create, to swing, and to teach. At the same time, it offers a deeper portrait of an artist whose place in jazz history is destined to grow ever more significant with the passing of years, and whose music is filled with nuance, humor, melodicism, and the blues-at once earthy and sophisticated.  It is a celebration of a remarkable individual's vision of jazz, expanding that vision's recorded element, just as Baker himself, through his composing, performing, and educational efforts, expanded the consciousness of jazz around the countries and cultures of the world.

The Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, founded by Mark Buselli and Brent Wallarab in 1994, includes many of the top jazz artists in the Midwest.  The group has given over 1,000 public performances, played every Tuesday night over a 12 year tenure at The Jazz Kitchen, recorded seven CDs, and given hundreds of jazz education presentations in dozens of schools.

Jazz fusion guitarist Tyler Reese's new album, “Reminiscence” debuts at No. 5 on the Billboard chart

Guitarist Tyler Reese has been releasing jazz-rock records since he was 15, but the now 23-year-year-old finally reached Billboard’s Top 5, which is where his newly-released “Reminiscence” debuted on the contemporary jazz albums chart. News of the No. 5 chart entry opened a memorable week for the guitar prodigy whose new collection, produced by Jeff Silverman (Rick Springfield, Hiroshima, The Allman Brothers Band, Tim Weisberg) and Reese, is up for two trophies at Thursday’s Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Reese will end the week back home on Sunday night in Fredericksburg, Virginia playing the first of two local concert dates to celebrate the release of the record comprised entirely of his original jazz fusion compositions and showcases his guitar artistry that once scored him an invite to play for and jam with Prince at Paisley Park.       

An abundance of national airplay for the first radio single from “Reminiscence,” the mood-elevating “Moving On,” helped pave the way for the high chart debut. The affable tune collected a nomination in the jazz category from the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Also earning a nod was the scorched earth electric guitar and horn section fire starter “2Funk,” a cut from the disc that competes in the production category.       

A busy first-call, Nashville-based session player and touring guitarist who once studied with 20-time Grammy-winning jazz guitar master Pat Metheny, Reese reignited his passion and imagination for “Reminiscence” by reconnecting with his roots in jazz fusion. The result is a collection swirling various hues of jazz, rock, funk and a hint of blues. On most tracks, the fretman uses an electric guitar to slash and burn through borderless fields of fusion. On gentler numbers, he wields an acoustic guitar to strum reflectively and pick poetically on melodic gypsy jazz wanderings and new age contemplations. Midwest Record was among the first to review the record writing, “He's an old soul that knows which end is up. A super solid tasty treat for anyone that needs a well-guided trip back to the day, fusion ears are sure to enjoy the chops and diversity that power this set. Hot stuff.”

After Reese’s homecoming show this Sunday (Nov. 20) at the Riverside Center, he will take the stage at The Tin Pan in nearby Richmond, Virginia on November 23. To get a taste of Reese’s music live, he lensed a video of the album’s “Emancipation,” which can be viewed at http://bit.ly/2fUCEK8.

www.TylerReeseMusic.com

THE 5TH DIMENSION: THE COMPLETE SOUL CITY/BELL SINGLES 1966-1975 (3-CD SET)

A 50th anniversary celebration calls for some champagne…champagne soul, that is! Back in 1966, Billy Davis, Jr., Florence LaRue, Marilyn McCoo, Lamonte McLemore, and Ron Townson first started making beautiful music together, and the world of pop music has never been the same. Now, in 2016, 50 years later, Real Gone Music is proud to present the most comprehensive 5th Dimension collection ever compiled, a 3-CD set containing their complete singles for the Soul City and Bell labels (plus their first single on the Bronco label as The Versatiles and their lone single release for Arista), 61 tracks of swinging, soulful harmonies, brilliant arrangements, groundbreaking production, and some of the best songwriting to come out of the ‘60s and ‘70s. 

This 3-CD set—which is housed inside a sumptuous, 8-panel digipak mini-album featuring rare photos—not only includes 30 Pop and 15 R&B hits, all in their hard-to-find, mono mixes (only the last four tracks on the set are in stereo), featuring such legendary recordings as “Up—Up and Away,” “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” “Wedding Bell Blues,” “One Less Bell to Answer,” “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All,” and “If I Could Reach You,” but also some rare, non-LP single sides and single edits, nearly all making their CD debuts here! 

With production by the great Bones Howe, vocal arrangements by Bob Alcivar, and the instrumental accompaniment of the famed Wrecking Crew, the confluence of talent on these sides is simply staggering. And, of course, The 5th Dimension brought the songwriting genius of Laura Nyro and Jimmy Webb to the masses; their collaborations with Webb in particular remain among the pinnacles of ‘60s pop. Remastered by Mark Wilder at Battery Studios, and with notes by Paul Grein featuring quotes from all four living members (Billy Davis, Jr., Marilyn McCoo, Florence LaRue and Lamonte McLemore) that trace the historic arc of the group, The Complete Soul City/Bell Singles 1966-1975 isn’t just the definitive look at The 5th Dimension; it’s a collection that defines the whole sunshine pop genre.

Disc : 1

1. You're Good Enough for Me

2. Bye Bye Baby

3. I'll Be Lovin' You Forever

4. Train Keep On Movin'

5. Go Where You Wanna Go

6. Too Poor to Die

7. Another Day, Another Heartache

8. Rosecrans Blvd.

9. Up Up & Away

10. Which Way to Nowhere

11. Paper Cup

12. Poor Side of Town

13. Carpet Man

14. The Magic Garden

15. Stoned Soul Picnic

16. The Sailboat Song

17. Sweet Blindness

18. Bobbie's Blues (Who Do You Think Of?)

19. California Soul

20. It'll Never Be the Same Again

Disc : 2

1. Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine In (The Flesh Failures)

2. Don't Cha Hear Me Callin' to Ya

3. Workin' on a Groovy Thing

4. Broken Wing Bird

5. Wedding Bell Blues

6. Lovin' Stew

7. Blowing Away

8. Skinny Man

9. The Declaration

10. A Change Is Gonna Come/People Gotta Be Free

11. The Girls' Song

12. Puppet Man

13. A Love Like Ours

14. Save the Country

15. Dimension 5ive

16. On the Beach (In the Summertime)

17. This Is Your Life

18. One Less Bell to Answer

19. Feelin' Alright?

20. Love's Lines Angles & Rhymes

21. The Singer

Disc : 3

1. Light Sings

2. Viva Tirado

3. Never My Love

4. Together Let's Find Love

5. I Just Wanta Be Your Friend

6. (Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All

7. The River Witch

8. If I Could Reach You

9. Tomorrow Belongs to the Children

10. Living Together Growing Together

11. What Do I Need to Be Me

12. Everything's Been Changed

13. There Never Was a Day

14. Ashes to Ashes

15. Flashback

16. Diggin' for a Livin'

17. Harlem

18. My Song

19. No Love in the Room

20. I Don't Know How to Look for Love

 

NEW RELEASE:AARON ABERNATHY - MONOLOGUE; BARBATUQUES - AYU; BURAK BEDIKYAN - AWAKENING

AARON ABERNATHY - MONOLOGUE

This album's hardly a monologue – given that Aaron Abernathy's got some great help on the whole thing – from artists who include Phonte, Zo, and Deborah Bond – each of whom add a special slice of their talents to a tune! Yet undeniably, Aaron's the main man on the whole thing – a fantastic funky drummer, a great singer with a nice sort of edge to his voice, and a top-level talent who composed, arranged, and produced the whole thing on his own! There's a chunky sort of electro funk groove on most tunes – a vibe where the keyboards and basslines are bumping the speakers nicely, as the lyrics crackle over the top with a very vibrant energy. We're almost tempted to call the whole thing a Zapp for the 21st Century – but there's a much earthier feel overall – and titles include "Son Of Larry", "Kiss Me Again", "Pretty Kind", "Bachelorette", "AB Is Gone Away", "I Need To Know", and "Play It Cool". ~ Dusty Groove

BARBATUQUES - AYU

Very cool sounds from this unique Brazilian group – an ensemble whose music mostly comes from their voices and percussive sounds made on their bodies! The approach is surprisingly great – and maybe not nearly as squishy as you'd expect – as there's a clean, clear sound to the music – one that almost feels sampled or electronic at times, without any of the hippie-dippy elements that could come from such a project. Instead, the percussive elements at the core really keep things bristling – and seem to infect the vocals too – creating a sharpness throughout, one that's only echoed and magnified when guests artists Nana Vasconcelos, Marcelo Pretto, or Hermeto Pascoal come into the mix. Titles include "Barra Do Dia", "Valsa Manca", "Skamenco", "Kerere", "Ta Na Roda", "Totem", "Eh Eh", "Tudo Fica", and "Samba Lele".  ~ Dusty Groove

BURAK BEDIKYAN - AWAKENING

A rock-solid set from pianist Burak Bedikyan – a player who seems to grow tremendously in the space between each new album! This set features all original material by Burak – songs that can be dark one minute, quietly sensitive the next – with a beauty that's not just captured by Bedikyan's work on piano, but also by the sinewy alto sax of Loren Stillman – who's deft enough to move in all the right ways along the melodies, then open up for his own interpretations on the solos. The rest of the group features the great Donald Edwards on drums and Ugonna Okegwo on bass – and titles include "Ad Infinitum", "Do Not Fear", "Unfair Blues", "All Alone", "Idee Fixe", and "Mother Earth". ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES: KENYA – SKIN DEEP: THE COLLECTION; NATE LAPINE – QUARTET: VORTICES; JARI HAAPALAINEN TRIO – FUSION MACHINE

KENYA – SKIN DEEP: THE COLLECTION

A sweet collection of work from Kenya – one of the freshest voices on the neo soul scene in recent years – presented here in a set of remixes that only further expand her groove! The album's a great companion to Kenya's studio records – and often has her wonderful vocals stepping up strongly over some more club-oriented grooves – work that's never in a cheap dance music mode, nor just a simple house-ified approach to her songs – and which instead provides some very thoughtful reworkings of her tunes. Titles include "Take Me Away (Tom Glide rmx)", "My Heart (Mark De Clive-Lowe rmx)", "Brown Soul (Edgewood Agents acoustic rmx)", "Makusmile (Tom Glide rework)", "Let Me (Sean McCabe classic soul rmx)", "Never Giving Up (Edgewood Agents rework)", and "Wednesday Girl (Opolopo rmx)". ~ Dusty Groove

NATE LAPINE – QUARTET: VORTICES

A really wonderful album from the hard-burning contemporary Chicago scene – a set that may not get the global attention as some other records on bigger labels, but one that's equally well-deserving of recognition! Tenorist Nate Lepine is at the head of the group, but the whole quartet is a very cohesive ensemble – working with this equally spaces sense of composition and freedom – very much in the spirit of the Chicago scene of players like Mike Reed or Josh Berman, but also with some of the newer, more personal energy we've really been feeling in recent years too! Nick Mazzarella plays alto sax in the group, and the pairing of horns is wonderful – interlocked at all the right moments, but bursting out with individual voices when needed – and given strong support by the subtle bass work of Clark Sommers, and the well-timed drums of Quin Kirchner. Titles include "Ice Shirt", "Youngblood", "Eve Yeti's Ready For Spring", "Aye Lads", "Hennies", and "The Grass Is Rizz". ~Dusty Groove

JARI HAAPALAINEN TRIO – FUSION MACHINE

No fusion here – at least not in the traditional sense – but the album is a really made fusion of drums, electric bass, and tenor saxophone – the last of which is played by the great Per Texas Johansson, with a force that's more than strong enough to match the other two instruments! The electric bass really rumbles with a lot of power here – modes that are much more dynamic than in traditional jazz, but not really rock or familiar fusion, either – and there's an elasticity from the instrument, as played by Daniel Bingert, that really seems to communicated back and forth between the other two points of the triangle. Jari Haapalainen is on drums – driving the whole thing onward – and titles include "Ingrid 20", "Risk For Halka", "Begynnelsen", "Morka Rummet", and "Ich Bin Ein Berliner". (Limited to 300 copies!) ~ Dusty Groove

Jazz Fusion Orchestra BANDZILLA Feat. Guest Appearances By Randy Brecker & Leo Sayer To Release Long-Awaited Second Album “BANDZILLA RISES!”

What happens when a group of top studio musicians get together in their free time? A unique mixture of sophisticated composition, passionate improvisation, scathing social commentary and biting humor, BANDZILLA play furious funk, sleazy soul, punk jazz and heartfelt ballads. Led by acclaimed composer/arranger/guitarist Richard Niles, the 25-piece jazz-fusion orchestra was originally formed in the studio to play on the seminal Grace Jones track ‘Slave To The Rhythm’. Since then, Niles & BANDZILLA have performed and recorded with Paul McCartney, Ray Charles, James Brown, Kylie Minogue, Mariah Carey, Pet Shop Boys, Michael McDonald, Cher and Tina Turner.

Says Richard, “When I formed BANDZILLA, I used the hottest young studio players in London, a band of ‘monsters’: BANDZILLA. We were featured as the house band on a British TV series and released our first album, “Blue Movies” to great critical acclaim. As well as being the ‘go to’ band for some of the biggest artists in the world, we toured with our own music, but eventually it became too impractical to take such a big unit on the road. However, a couple of years ago my friend John Thirkell (who had played trumpet in Bandzilla) called and suggested we do another album. And so, here we are. Bandzilla rises!!!”

Multi-Grammy winner Pat Metheny has called Richard Niles “one of the best composer/arrangers around and a truly exciting musical force.” For his jazz work with Metheny, Bob James, John Patitucci, Martin Taylor, Billy Cobham, Jane Monheit and Bob Mintzer, and his work on over 40 pop hits, Sound on Sound called Niles “the most versatile man in modern music.”

The new album, “BANDZILLA RISES!!!” is an unparalleled musical event - music that defies definition performed by artists beyond category.

Co-producer/trumpet player John Thirkell played with the Buddy Rich and Gil Evans Orchestras as well as on 23 UK & US No.1 records with Artists such as Jamiroquai, Level 42, Tina Turner, Phil Collins and Bruno Mars. Other sublime soloists include Nigel Hitchcock (Tom Jones, Incognito, Mark Knopfler), Mark Nightingale (Clark Terry, John Dankworth) and Steve Hamilton (Billy Cobham, Tommy Smith). Drummer Ian Palmer is the nephew of Carl Palmer (ELP) and has performed with Michael Brecker and Don Grolnick.

Says Richard, “I have worked in many styles - from pop with McCartney, to jazz with Metheny, rock with Michael McDonald and funk with James Brown - and the album reflects this. My songs are driven from the lyrics which might be social commentary, romantic reflections or fantasy stories, using humor to express serious ideas. This is not a traditional jazz record. My artistic imperative is to express myself freely, helped by some of the most brilliant musicians and singers on earth.”

A stellar line up of singers includes Leo Sayer (16 top 10 hits), jazz icon Randy Brecker (The Brecker Brothers), Lamont Dozier Jr. (son of the Motown hit-maker), Daisy Chute (from million-selling vocal group All Angels), Kim Chandler (ace studio singer and vocal coach), Brazilian jazz star Clarice Assad and Polish chanteuse Julia Suzanna Sokolowska. Niles also sings some of his own surprising lyrics.

CURTIS STIGERS CHANNELS THE HIP, SWINGING CHEMISTRY OF FRANK SINATRA AND THE COUNT BASIE ORCHESTRA ON "ONE MORE FOR THE ROAD"

The genre-hopping singer, songwriter, and saxophonist celebrates the 50th anniversary of Sinatra at the Sands with the Danish Radio Big Band on new live recording One More for the Road

50 years ago, magic was made on the stage of the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, when the timeless cool of Frank Sinatra met the robust swing of the Count Basie Orchestra. Sinatra at the Sands has remained a beloved classic ever since, the perfect marriage of old-school pop and big band jazz.

Singer, songwriter and saxophonist Curtis Stigers has been bringing those worlds together in his own music for the last three decades (along with touches of nearly every other genre one could call to mind), which makes him an ideal candidate to reinterpret Ol’ Blue Eyes’ cherished repertoire for modern ears. On his twelfth album and ninth release for Concord Records, One More for the Road, Stigers captures the rare alchemy of hipness, elegance, playfulness and feeling that made Sinatra’s renditions of these songs immortal while adding his own unique twist.

On One More for the Road, due out January 20, 2017 via Concord Jazz, Stigers finds his own version of that elusive Sinatra-Basie chemistry with the virtuosic and ebulliently swinging musicians of the Danish Radio Big Band. Recorded in the band’s headquarters, the acoustic marvel that is the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, the bristling live recording features the DRBB playing vibrant takes based on the original Nelson Riddle and Billy May arrangements, which can’t help but spark inspired vocal performances from Stigers.

Singing in front of a great band executing flawless reinvigorations of those arrangements “is just extraordinary,” Stigers says. “It’s like sex. I don’t think there’s a more swinging band in the history of music than the Count Basie Orchestra, and then you get these classically trained Danish musicians who have really studied this stuff and played together so much, it makes it easy to fit into that and sing these amazing songs. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had, and I think it shows on the record.”

One More for the Road isn’t meant to be a recreation of Sinatra at the Sands, but uses that classic album as a launching pad for a full-blooded set of Sinatra’s best-loved tunes. Eight of the new album’s ten songs, recorded during Stigers’ now-annual January concerts in Copenhagen, come from that 1966 concert in the Sands’ Copa Room, but the setlist is also supplemented by Stigers’ takes on “Summer Wind” and “They Can't Take That Away From Me.”

Just as the album’s track listing isn’t a carbon copy of its inspiration, Stigers was careful to avoid being a slavish imitation of Sinatra, making each song its own while retaining the essence of the Chairman’s unforgettable interpretations. “Singing these songs live is a lot of fun,” Stigers says, “but going into the recording I had to figure out how to make this not be just the most fun karaoke that you can possibly do with an incredible band. I seldom sing a song the same way twice, so I made the songs my own as much as I could. I try not to sing like Sinatra, but there’s no way that some Sinatra doesn't get in there. There are certain phrasings that he used that work so well with the arrangements that I couldn’t not use them. It’s a fine line to walk, but as a jazz singer and as a recording artist, I’ve always tried to do everything different every time.”

That’s an apt summation of Stigers’ wildly diverse career, which has never stopped taking interesting turns ever since he released his self-titled 1991 debut on Clive Davis’ Arista Records, spawning the hit singles “I Wonder Why,” “You’re All That Matters to Me” and “Never Saw a Miracle.” He also contributed a cover of Nick Lowe’s “(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” to the soundtrack of The Bodyguard, which went on to sell more than 40 million copies. During the next decade he released two more genre-blurring albums on Arista and Columbia while touring extensively, always letting his jazz roots bleed over into his pop, soul, blues and Americana endeavors.

As the millennium turned, however, Stigers decided he wanted to more deeply explore those roots. He signed to Concord Records, where his mentor, soul-jazz piano great Gene Harris, also recorded. Beginning with Baby Plays Around in 2001, Stigers has released a series of albums on Concord that explore the full range of his musical interests, often giving a classic jazz spin to rock, pop and country songs by everyone from Sting and Paul Simon to Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson.

His restless imagination has also led him into a variety of unusual opportunities, including recording a version of Cole Porter’s “Well, Did You Evah!” with Seth McFarlane, creator of Family Guy and American Dad, who then invited Stigers to make a cameo in his movie Ted and perform a song in Ted 2. Stigers also co-wrote and sang the theme song for the acclaimed TV show Sons of Anarchy, which earned him an Emmy nomination, and made multiple appearances on The Tonight Show, The Late Show with David Letterman and The Today Show, among other television programs worldwide.

Stigers has been a voracious listener ever since he bought his first record, Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, when he was just a second grader in Boise, Idaho. While he didn’t come around to Frank Sinatra’s music until later, he remembers the iconic singer always being a presence in the popular culture of his youth. “Sinatra was everywhere,” Stigers recalls.

“Even in the ’70s when he wasn't ‘cool’ anymore for a while, he was still always a part of my world. He didn't really mean anything to me, though, until I got into college and I discovered this record called Frank Sinatra Sings for Only the Lonely that just knocked me out. Suddenly it hit me that the way he told a story was better than anybody ever in popular music. His ability to take the lyrics that somebody else wrote and make them a part of his life, as if they were written about him—that’s what kills me. He becomes that song when he sings it.”

Stigers absorbed those lessons in his own music, always focusing on telling the story of the song, touching and communicating with an audience, rather than showing off his (admittedly prodigious) vocal chops. “The older I get the more I think of myself not as a singer who can do cool things with his voice,” he says. “When I was a kid all I wanted to do was scat sing and prove that I was a great. Now I just want to tell a story. Now I want to have the people in the audience or the people listening to my records feel the same way about these songs that I do, that they’re these amazing little three- or four-minute short stories.”

Tony Bennett Celebrates 90, Standard And Deluxe Edition CDs Available Worldwide December 16

Tony Bennett celebrated his 90th birthday in August and this milestone occasion continues with the RPM Records / Columbia Records release of Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 set for pre-order on November 11th and worldwide release on December 16. TONY BENNETT CELEBRATES 90 will be released as a Standard and Deluxe Edition. The standard CD is a companion to the forthcoming NBC prime-time special, "Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best Is Yet To Come," which airs on December 20th at 9pm ET/9pm PT.  The special was filmed in front of a live audience at Radio City Music Hall on September 15th and features performances by Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Michael Bublé, Andrea Bocelli, Kevin Spacey, Tony Bennett and many others. Additionally, performances by Billy Joel and Elton John were taped at alternate locations and will appear in the broadcast and on the CD. The CD also includes an extended 28-page booklet featuring appreciation essays contributed by President Bill Clinton, Martin Scorsese, Harry Belafonte, Johnny Mandel, Bill Charlap and Everett Raymond Kinstler.  All pre-orders will include an instant grat track of Tony's recording of "I Got Rhythm" from the CD.

"Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Deluxe Edition" is a 3 CD set that is an Amazon exclusive, which includes the standard CD as well as two additional CDs featuring rare and previously unreleased studio and live performance tracks of Tony's throughout his career. The set also includes a 28-page booklet with a comprehensive decade-by-decade account of Tony's life and career written by Will Friedwald.

In addition to the new CDs and NBC special, Tony's fifth book, JUST GETTING STARTED, will be released on November 15th. Bennett collaborates with renowned journalist Scott Simon to celebrate the people and places who have helped, influenced and steered him along the way, among them his parents, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Lady Gaga, Pablo Picasso, the city of San Francisco, among others. JUST GETTING STARTED also features over 80 color images of Tony's original artwork and is being released by HarperCollins.

Tony Bennett will also be performing in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which also celebrates its 90th Birthday this year and "Christmas in Rockefeller Center" both airing on NBC on November 24 and 30th, respectively.

TRACK LISTING FOR TONY BENNETT CELEBRATES 90: (STANDARD)

1. THE LADY IS A TRAMP/Lady Gaga

2. THE GOOD LIFE /Michael Bublé

3. AVE MARIA/Andrea Bocelli

4. AUTUMN LEAVES /Leslie Odom Jr.

5. I'VE GOT THE WORLD ON A STRING /Diana Krall

6. NEW YORK STATE OF MIND/Tony Bennett and Billy Joel

7. I CAN'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE /Rufus Wainwright

8. A KISS TO BUILD A DREAM ON/k.d. lang

9. VISIONS /Stevie Wonder

10. LA VIE EN ROSE /Lady Gaga

11. CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE TONIGHT/Elton John

12. THE VERY THOUGHT OF YOU / IF I RULED THE WORLD MEDLEY/Kevin Spacey

13. WHO CARES?/Tony Bennett

14. THE BEST IS YET TO COME/Tony Bennett

15. I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO/Tony Bennett

16. I GOT RHYTHM/Tony Bennett

17. HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING?/Tony Bennett

18. HAPPY BIRTHDAY/Stevie Wonder

TRACK LISTING FOR TONY BENNETT CELEBRATES 90: THE DELUXE EDITION

CD1

Same as Standard CD listing above

CD2

1. FASCINATIN' RHYTHM

Vocal by Joe Bari (Tony Bennett)

2. ST. JAMES INFIRMARY BLUES

Vocal by Joe Bari (Tony Bennett)/The 314th Army Special Services Band Of the European Theatre

3. VIENI QUI (COME TO ME) Joe Bari (Tony Bennett) with Pat Easton

4. WE MUSTN'T SAY GOODBYE *

5. CLOSE YOUR EYES with The Pastels

6. A BLOSSOM FELL

7. SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE

8. WHATEVER LOLA WANTS

9. HEART

10. IMAGINATION* with Ralph Sharon, piano

11. IT'S A SIN TO TELL A LIE *

12. THE HEART THAT BROKE WAS MINE *

13. VANITY *

14. YOU CAN'T LOVE 'EM ALL

15. DAY DREAM with Herbie Hancock, piano; Stan Getz, tenor sax; Ron Carter, bass; Elvin Jones, drums, Bob Brookmeyer, trombone

16. I'VE WAITED FOR A WALTZ*

17. GOT THE GATE ON THE GOLDEN GATE *

18. THIS IS ALL I ASK * with John Bunch, piano

19. (I'VE GOT) BEGINNER'S LUCK * with The Ralph Sharon Trio

20. LOVE YOU MADLY *

(*denotes previously unreleased track)

CD 3

1. THE LADY'S IN LOVE WITH YOU

2. GEORGIA ROSE

3. LIMEHOUSE BLUES

4. I'VE GOT JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING I NEED

5. DON'T WAIT TOO LONG

6. PENNIES FROM HEAVEN

7. BLUE MOON

8. FROM THIS MOMENT ON

9. DON'T GET AROUND MUCH ANYMORE

10. COUNTRY GIRL

11. BROADWAY

12. DAYS OF LOVE

13. I'M WAY AHEAD OF THE GAME

14. QUIET NIGHTS OF QUIET STARS

15. FIREFLY

16. ONCE UPON A TIME

17. CHICAGO (THAT TODDLIN' TOWN)

18. LULLABY OF BROADWAY

MILI BERMEJO AND DAN GREENSPAN CONFIRM THEIR MASTERY IN ARTE DEL DUO

Since first joining forces over a quarter-century ago, vocalist Mili Bermejo and bassist Dan Greenspan have created a recorded library of timeless music with a number of cherished partners.  For those fortunate enough to experience them in live performance, however, the lingering memory of this brilliantly skilled and totally compatible couple is likely to be the moments when they stand alone.  "We have always wanted to make pure music," Greenspan explains, "and have always included duo tunes in our sets."  On October 7, 2016 the pair released their first all-duo program in two decades, Arte de Duo, on Ediciones Pentagrama.

Bermejo, born in Buenos Aires, raised in Mexico City and a professor at Berklee College of Music since 1984, and Greenspan, a New Haven native and classically trained cellist who became one of the Boston area's leading freelance bassists, have created a unique body of music that applies jazz improvisation to original songs and music from throughout the Americas.  Themes of political liberation, environmental responsibility and interpersonal commitment have defined both their music and their career and led them to a major life decison.  "The business changed so much post-9/11 that we had to decide whether we should reinvent ourselves," Bermejo notes.  This led to what Greenspan describes as "an entire creative undertaking of another kind" - a move to New Hampshire, where the couple built their own house.

"We decided to live the right way," Bermejo says of their relocation to a nature reserve.  "It has brought us closer and closer to `do it yourself,' including growing as much of our own food and making as many of our own clothes as possible.  It has purified us, and removed many of our frustrations."  But, Greenspan adds, "For a while, the move replaced music.  Finding opportunities to rehearse in Boston when everyone we worked with had so many other gigs became hell."  The bassist also turned his attention to baking and has built a growing reputation with his Dan's Brick Oven Bread, while a construction accident also left him unable to play for several months.  The future of their performing partnership became unclear.

"But Mili insisted that we couldn't let the music go," Greenspan stresses, and the result is a new focus on the intimate artistry that had previously only been showcased on their 1997 album Duo which was released on Gunther Schuller's GM Records.  "It got us back to the essence of art," he says, "and provides the best opportunity to use all of the classical information that we have."  Yet the new music, developed over a series of monthly gigs at the Lilypad in Cambridge, Massachusetts, takes the pair beyond their previous achievements.  "We didn't want to repeat ourselves," Bermejo adds.  "Now we reduce.  I think of the music like my garden, as being all about beauty after years of work.  And nobody told me how to do it."

The influence of life in New Hampshire is clear in the Bermejo originals "La Casa del Arbol" ("The Tree House"), about "a secret refugeŠamong trees and stars" and "Cosecha" ("Harvest"); but she also contributes two new titles in her string of beautiful love songs, "Los que se Aman" ("Those Who Love") and "No Dejo de Quererte" ("I Don't Stop Loving You").  The duo also links Bermejo's "Décima Muerte I" from their first duo disc and "Décima Muerte II" by the Mexican poet and playwright Xavier Villarrutiga in a medley linked by a powerful Greenspan solo.

Greenspan's bass also launches "Las Orillas del Mar" ("At the Edge of the Sea"), a 13th Century feminist poem with music by Hafez Modirzadeh, the composer-saxophonist who featured Bermejo extensively on his acclaimed 2011 album In Convergence Liberation (Pi Recordings).  "Working with Hafez is the most challenging thing I've done," she notes, "and it has opened both of our minds.  Now I'm improvising more, though not `taking a chorus' in the traditional sense."  This new improvisational freedom is joyously displayed on "Tres Veces Heroica" ("Three Times Heroic"), written by Mexican composer Charlie Dríguez and previously heard on the 2006 live recording De Tierra (Of Earth) (Ediciones Pentagrama), and "End of the Beginning," written for the duo by the Armenian-born pianist and composer Vardan Ovsepian.  "Windmills of Your Mind," by French composer Michel Legrand with Spanish lyrics by Manuel Gurria, was also arranged by Ovsepian.  "Vardan's arrangement got Dan back in shape after his injury," Bermejo notes, adding with a laugh, "it also made me get back in shape."

Two works from Argentina are included, "Equipaje" ("Luggage") by Juan Quintero and "Cambalache" ("Pawn Shop") by E. Santos Discépolo.  The latter, a classic tango, gives Greenspan the opportunity to display his skill with the bow. "Candombe para Gardel" ("Candombe for Gardel"), a tribute to Argentinian tango master Carlos Gardel from the Afro-Uruguayan perspective of Rubén Rada, completes the program.

Arte del Duo is Bermejo's fifth release on Mexico's Ediciones Pentagrama label, which recently received the Independence Award from the Fundación Mediterránea Mar y Tierra in Tarragona, Spain.  "We've stayed faithful to the vision of [label founder] Modesto López: Independence and 35 years of support to Latin American artists dedicated to progressive social change," she notes.

The album will be released at the Lilypad on Sunday afternoon, October 23, where a new audio system created especially for the duo by sound engineer Art Steele will enhance the performance.  "I asked Art for a minimal system, with just two small speakers, Greenspan explains.  "Now my hands are free, just like my mother's were when she sang," Bermejo adds.

Creativity, and the magic that ensues, remain at the heart of Mili Bermejo's and Dan Greenspan's music; and Arte del Duo is their most creative and magical statement to date.

http://www.artedelduo.com/

Red Piano Records To Release JC4: Can You Believe It? JC4 is: JC Sanford - trombone, Mike Baggetta - guitar, Dave Ambrosio - bass, Russ Meissner - drums

Let's start by acknowledging the elephant in the room. JC Sanford - the go-to music conductor for the forward-looking bands of John Hollenbeck, Joel Harrison, Alan Ferber and others, including the legendary Alice Coltrane - has been overlooked as a trombonist.

This is partly JC's own doing. For the past decade and more, when not conducting someone else's band, JC has spent much of his energies writing and arranging for his own equally forward-looking large ensembles: first in conjunction with David Schumacher (Edge of the Mind, 2009), then on his own (Views from the Inside, 2014). He wrote and performed and conducted a luminous score to accompany all 143 minutes of the original 1927 silent classic Ben-Hur for the Syracuse International Film Festival. (Forest Hills, heard on Can You Believe It?), became Ben-Hur's theme for that score.) JC also was busy curating "Size Matters," the weekly, much-heralded, cleverly-titled large ensemble series at the Tea Lounge in his Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. 

And yes: intuitively as well as trivially, size does matter. But it's not everything that matters. We can agree that sound matters, too, and we can then hone in on JC's trombone tone. It's one I find I crave even as I'm listening to it, like relishing a friend's voice you haven't heard in years. It's not the effortless sound of a JJ Johnson; not the frictionless tone of JC's mentor, the great valve trombonist Bob Brookmeyer; but also not the extroverted, rough-edged sonority of a Ray Anderson or Craig Harris. JC's tone suggests the human voice in all its expressive texture, occupying about the same conversational range as the voice of this thoughtful, vegan, animal-loving adult male. There's breath in it, not breathlessness.  It's a sound reflective of the understated Upper Midwest ethos of his youth, seasoned with the aesthetic smarts of a Boston-trained city-dweller repelled by all sorts of showboating BS. When JC solos - as you may have heard on Andrew Green's Narrow Margin (2008) or on Views from the Inside - you hear a sound that is (weirdly) distinctive yet familiar, exploratory yet grounded like home.

Aristotle, that ancient student of jazz interaction, notes that the best friendships (like the best bands) are rare because they take time, and men can't know each other "till they have 'eaten salt together'." You can hear that these four musicians have eaten salt together. (Also dim sum; ask David for the best spots in Queens.) Russ Meissner was drumming back in '03 for JC and John McNeil's retro-radical My Band Foot Foot, a group that pays quirky homage to The Shaggs. He and bassist David Ambrosio have recorded as co-leaders for the SteepleChase LookOut series; as JC puts it, their "hookup is so nice." David goes back even further with JC. He plays with a striking authority and solos with a gymnast's controlled intensity, often revealing - as in Ja-chan on Patrol - elastic strands hidden in the melody. Guitarist extraordinaire Mike Baggetta and JC met up in "a series of these weird fancy men's barbershop gigs near Wall Street." They graduated (for less pay) to this distinctly non-barbershop quartet, where Mike "helped give the group a certain dirty personality that I liked." What he does on DumPac? The dirt shines through. 

All the tunes, save one, are JC's: Can You Believe It? captures the scrappy fortitude of JC's beloved 2004 Boston Red Sox team and their astonishing come-from-behind World Series victory. That's BoSox announcer Joe Castiglione opening the proceedings, after which Mike's distorted guitar enters as if on steroids. (Here's looking at you, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz?) The shifting meter will throw you off like a good slider.

The lovely line of Forest Hills dates from JC's New England Conservatory days. It recalls his peaceful walks in that Boston cemetery with his dog Pepper, who liked to pause and sniff the redolent air.

DumPac is all about that 7/4 drum groove that Russ sets down. Sometimes it's accentuated by its melodic surroundings, but elsewhere - as in the opening of JC's brilliant solo - it seems to hover stealthily in the background.

Ja-chan on Patrol is a stop-and-start, melodramatic tale whose hero is Jazu, JC's mouse-stalking cat. The slide-guitar textures at the end of Mike Baggetta's solo make me think some poor creature's lost her footing, scrabbling across the linoleum.

"Yamete" is one of the first Japanese words JC learned from his wife (the composer/arranger/pianist Asuka Kakitani) since she used it so often while they were dating. David spells out the title with a 3-beat riff after his exploratory solo. Then it's as if JC's trombone noodles around for a translation (or maybe feigns cluelessness) until the insistent 2-beat drum riff teaches him the English equivalent. ("Stop It!")

Easy for You, John Scofield's backcountry line from his 90s album What We Do, gets a stunning rubato treatment from all involved. Try to close your mouth as Mike's guitar weaves echoes of Jim Hall and Chet Atkins together without skipping a thread.

Chico's First Date is JC's tribute to the late Chico O'Farrill. The band approaches this tuneful, Latin-dance feel, AABA structure without a whiff of irony, but you still know that the mystery implied by those minor-key outer sections won't last long. JC's soaring trombone on the major-key bridge - especially on his solo and in the outro - is all jollification and merry-making.  All in all, sounds like a good first date.

Sanford studied at the University of Northern Iowa and the New England Conservatory where he earned a D.M.A. in Jazz Studies. After relocating to New York in 2000, he became involved with the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop under the direction of Manny Albam and Jim McNeely and remained trombonist/contractor of the BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra until 2016. He has also appeared as a trombonist on recordings with such diverse bands as Andrew Green's Narrow Margin, the Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble, Nathan Parker Smith's jazz/prog rock big band, and Joseph C. Phillips, Jr.'s new music/jazz hybrid orchestra Numinous. His orchestra's album Views from the Inside received worldwide acclaim as well as a coveted recording grant from the Aaron Copland Foundation. In addition to JC4, he's leads the improvisational trio Triocracy featuring saxophonists Chris Bacas and Andy Laster whose new album That's All There Is is due to be released in 2017.

Text used in this press release was excerpted from the liner notes by Bill Day.

NEW RELEASES: MELBA MOORE – STANDING RIGHT HERE: THE ANTHOLOGY - THE BUDDAH & EPIC YEARS; HERBIE HANCOCK – THRUST / MAN-CHILD / SECRETS; HANNAH WILLIAMS & THE AFFIRMATIONS – LATE NIGHTS & HEARTBREAK

MELBA MOORE – STANDING RIGHT HERE: THE ANTHOLOGY - THE BUDDAH & EPIC YEARS

A huge run of greatness from singer Melba Moore – an artist who maybe hit her heights on the late 70s Buddah and Epic Records material featured here! Moore already had a fantastically well-developed voice by the time of these recordings – thanks to time on the stage in a number of key productions, including Hair and Purlie – but the late 70s also shows her really finding the right sort of focus for her unusual talents – maybe pulling back a bit at the right moments, and folding her strength into the overall groove of a tune – spearheaded here with excellent work from producers who include McFadden & Whitehead, Eugene McDaniels, and Van McCoy! CD1 features 17 tracks from her time at Budddah Records, CD2 features 14 more cuts recorded for Epic – and the collection also features some rare b-sides and other material from singles. Titles include "My Sensitive Passionate Man", "Standing Right Here", "I Am His Lady", "This Is It (12" mix)", "Stay Awhile", "So Many Mountains", "Good Love Makes Everything Alright (12" mix)", "You Stepped Into My Life", "Night People (12" mix)", "Next To You", "Rest Inside My Love", "You Stepped Into My Life (special disco mix)", "There's No Other Like You", "Just Another Link", "Night People (12" mix)", and "Burn (UK rmx)". ~ Dusty Groove

HERBIE HANCOCK – THRUST / MAN-CHILD / SECRETS

A trio of heavy-hitting albums from Herbie Hancock – served up together in one collection, with bonus tracks too! First up is Thrust – killer electric work from Herbie Hancock – right on par with his groundbreaking Headhunters set, but a bit spacier too! The album features a Headhunters-solid lineup – with Bennie Maupin on saxes, Paul Jackson on bass, Mike Clark on drums, and Bill Summers on percussion – all grooving wonderfully with Herbie on a set of super-long tracks! Hancock himself handles a host of incredible keyboards – Fender Rhodes, clavinet, Arp, and lots more – all in a lean electric style that still sounds as fresh today as it did way back in the mid 70s – perhaps even more so, given the return to this sort of basic groove that has happened in recent years! Tracks are long, tight, and super funky – and titles include "Actual Proof", "Palm Grease", "Spank-A-Lee", and "Butterfly".

Next is the album Man-Child – funky mid 70s Herbie Hancock – one his funkiest albums of the era! Herbie plays a host of cool keyboards – like Fender Rhodes, Arp, and clavinet – and he's joined by a group that includes just about all of the Headhunters – including Paul Jackson on bass and Mike Clarke on drums – plus help from a great array of other excellent guests – including Bennie Maupin and Wayne Shorter on reeds, Harvey Mason on drums, and even some guest keyboards from Stevie Wonder! The album's great – maybe a bit understated than Thrust, but still equally wonderful – and the whole thing's worth it alone for the classic uptempo cut "Hang Up Your Hang Ups" – alongside other cuts that include "Bubbles", "Heartbeat", and "Sun Touch".

Last up is Secrets – soulful 70s work from Herbie Hancock – a record that tightens things up from the Headhunters and Sextant sessions, but which still retains a lot of their depth and charm! Players here including some previous partners – like Bennie Maupin on reeds and Paul Jackson on bass – plus the mighty Wah Wah Watson on guitars, James Levi on drums, Kenneth Nash on percussion, and Ray Parker on additional guitar. Tracks are tightly electric fusion, but still have some of the sharper tones of Herbie's electric work – weird moogy moments mixed into more straight ahead funk – all with a sound that's not unlike some of Ramsey Lewis' best Columbia work of the period. Herbie plays Fender Rhodes, Arp, clavinet, mini-moog, and more – and titles include "Doin' It", "Spider", "Swamp Rat", "People Music", and a remake of "Cantelope Island" that's pretty darn tasty! 2CD set features 8 bonus tracks – all the single mixes of the 45s from all three albums!  ~ Dusty Groove

HANNAH WILLIAMS & THE AFFIRMATIONS – LATE NIGHTS & HEARTBREAK

It's hard to imagine Hannah Williams having any heartbreak with a voice this great – the kind of all-out soul style that grabs you right away with its power, and never lets you go! The set's the second from Hannah and her group, and it's got even more bite than the first – produced with a great ear for the grittier currents in the grooves, thanks to studio work by Malcolm Catto – who seems to pick up the drums and darkness, which allows Williams to really shine her light over the top of the proceedings! The Affirmations are a funky combo, but one who really know how to mix up their groove, too – and titles include "7am To Seville", "Still In My Head", "Tame In The Water", "Dazed & Confused", "Ain't Enough", "Woman Got Soul", "Fighting Your Shadow", and "Callin Me Back".~ Dusty Groove