NEW RELEASES: ROB HARROW - HEAR RIGHT NOW; OSARU - STEPPING UP; LIZ ALLEN HOPE - HERE"S LOVE

ROB HARROW - HEAR RIGHT NOW

Rob's musical journey began when as a young man on his paper route, he found a Cannonball Adderly and other records someone was throwing away. By his early teens, Rob was playing the trumpet in high school and various bands, and later years switched to playing the alto sax. He also plays the soprano and tenor saxophones as well. His musical influences are: Grover Washington Jr, Gerald Albright, Kirk Whalum Kim Waters, Courtney Pine, Art Porter, Cannonball Adderly, Najee and many other saxophonists. With producer Gordon Worthy, Rob debut released " It's In Your Hand Your Hands" and now with "Hear Right Now. Features Waine Jonze on guitar on various track, along with his wife Helen Harrow on background vocals and the smooth vocals of Kimball Scott. Nice Up The Place features Recordo Dobson on bass and guitar.

OSARU - STEPPING UP

Osaru, a NC-based musician and physician, releases a a smooth jazz effort that features lead soprano, and tenor saxophone sounds. 'Stepping up the B-Side' is an alternate version of his recently released album, Stepping Up. All of the songs have been remixed. In 'old school terms', these would be classified as singles... except you have all 10 singles packaged in a very thoughtful cohesive album.  Most striking is the more laid back feel to this version. He removes all the background vocals, creating a totally different experience for the listeners, who can now interpret the songs in any way they want to. Strategically placed mutes and various other sounds replace the background vocals. All 10 tracks are originals written, performed and produced by the artist. They feature smooth, melodic tenor and soprano sax phrasing, sprinkled with subtle keyboard, guitar and mute trumpet lines on a background of punchy, laid-back grooves. The perfect music for 'chilling out' when the need arises. Osaru described 'Stepping Up' as 'smooth jazz with attitude.' On the B-side version, he combines his skills on the keyboards, saxophone and wind controller with his song writing, arranging  and production skills. The end product is a chilled-out, positively charged, groove swathed album. From the mid-tempo funk of 'The Music Train' to the slow dance of 'Remember', you will find yourself tapping your foot and bobbing your head as each groove unfolds. By the time 'What A Great Day!' comes on, with its contemporary R and B beat, you can truly feel the optimism in the album. The album closes on a high note with the aptly titled song, 'Let's Go', which is an all-out jam with tenor sax, soprano sax, electric guitar and piano all accounted for in this splendid conclusion to the album.

LIZ ALLEN HOPE - HERE"S LOVE

Liz Allen Hope, the voice, power and energy behind Lizpiration Entertainment Group, is sitting on top of the world. With a new album, video and a schedule of performance appearances before her, she is going full speed ahead with an exhilarating and satisfying career. Born in Sedalia, Missouri, Liz grew up in Hokkaido, Japan and Guam, Plattsburg, New York and Columbus, Ohio with her military parents. Following a career as a model and airline stewardess, she met and married her husband, musician, soul mate and performance partner, the late Paul Hope.  Paul was a saxophonist, flautist and “Jazz Man” who played in Gulfport area bands and opened for James Brown, Bobby Blue Bland and the like. He also played in the Army Special Service band during the Vietnam Era. Paul was the wind beneath Liz’s wings, who helped her polish her talent and told her “you can do this.” Starting in 1988, they produced beautiful music together, including two albums “The Power of Love” and “High Plateaus.” After Paul’s untimely death in 1998, Liz, with three daughters still in elementary and middle school, took a step back from her music career. Then, convinced that Paul would want her to gather the strength to continue, she rejoined the entertainment world. A world class performer, she has appeared in The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Jamaica, and Hong Kong as well as all over the United States. Today, she is passionate about her art and eager to share her experiences and help others realize success in this exciting industry.  In addition, Liz is seeking worldwide jazz stages to perform for the upcoming seasons.  Here latest smooth jazz release is "Here's Love." Visit THE JAZZ NETWORK WORLDWIDE "A GREAT PLACE TO HANG" at: http://www.thejazznetworkworldwide.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

Alto Saxophonist & Flutist Mark Lewis Releases "The New York Session"

Mark Lewis The New York Session As well-traveled and widely recorded as alto saxophonist Mark Lewis has been over the past four decades, his new CD The New York Session is likely to be the album that helps rectify his current under-the-radar reputation. Recorded last year in Brooklyn with a world-class rhythm section -- pianist George Cables, bassist Essiet Essiet, and drummer Victor Lewis -- the new disc will be released by Lewis's Audio Daddio label on January 27. It's the work of an artist clearly reveling in the company of fellow masters making the most of his tasty compositions.

"There's so much to savor and admire here," writes critic Ted Gioia, a self-professed Mark Lewis fan who contributed the CD booklet notes. "Lewis's musicality, his inventiveness, his humor, his ability to immerse himself in the soundscape of the performance with total emotional commitment -- these all stand out here in track after track."

Whether he's inviting his listeners to a carnival on "Boberto's Magical World" or waxing philosophical on the introspective "Not As Beautiful As You," Lewis displays an utterly personal mix of authority, playfulness, and interactive immediacy. He's at home in the blues, playing with relaxed soul on the strolling, minor key "DL Blues," and draws on his deep love of African music for several pieces, most obviously on the lilting "Sierra Leone" and the boisterous 12/8 closer "Roll 'Em Joe."

Legally blind, Lewis hasn't let his disability slow him down, traveling the world and establishing deep creative bonds wherever he's landed. But not being able to assess a colleague's immediate reaction to his music may shape his approach to recording. 

"I don't see well enough to see facial expressions," Lewis says. "I used simple compositions because I didn't want to clutter the purity of the sound we were trying to get. I think pieces of music are like places or rooms. You play in those spaces as a musician, in those settings, and they'll make you into slightly different people doing different things, which I think is good."

Mark Lewis Born in Tacoma (in 1958) and raised on a farm outside of nearby Gig Harbor, Mark Lewis absorbed music from both sides of his family. A standout player in middle school, he formed his first band at 14. By high school, Lewis's waking hours were filled with music as he played lead alto in the stage band and clarinet in the concert band. Leading several bands around the region, he supported himself while studying composition, flute, electronic music, and piano at Western Washington University and the Cornish Institute of Allied Arts.

Settling in Seattle, Lewis started performing regularly at Norm Bobrow's Jazz at the Cirque showcase and quickly found invaluable mentors amongst resident masters. Drummer Otis "Candy" Finch, who'd moved to Seattle after a sterling New York career, recognized Lewis's budding talent and took him under his wing. He also encouraged him to get out of town, and in 1978 the 20-year-old saxophonist flew to Europe with a one-way ticket, his alto sax, and virtually no contacts.

He ended up making Rotterdam his homebase for the next 14 years, and established himself as a vital force on the international jazz scene as a player, label owner, and producer. Building an extensive network of musical peers amongst Dutch players and American ex-pats ("Johnny Griffin got me my first gig in Europe," Lewis recalls), he maintained three working Dutch groups.

Lewis's record company Audio Daddio became one of the era's essential outlets, releasing recordings by Art Foxall, Vonne Griffin, Al Hood, Art Lande, and David Friesen. The label's last European recording The Rotterdam Session features tenor saxophonist Clifford Jordan, who brought his ambitious "Presidential Suite" to the studio, and legendary jazz drummer Philly Joe Jones, in one of his last recordings. Lewis also maintained a strong presence back in the States, spending several long stints in the Bay Area in the 1980s. He gained a considerable following with a quartet featuring drum maestro Eddie Moore, pianist Mark Levine, and a brilliant young bassist named Larry Grenadier (the group featured on most of his critically hailed 1988 album In the Spirit on Quartet Records).

Now based in Bremerton, a small city west of Seattle on the Puget Sound where he returned to be close to his family, Lewis maintains a busy schedule that includes teaching private students and college clinics. He continues to expand his daunting book of compositions, which number over 1,700. Though he's recorded more than 20 albums, only a fraction of his compositions have been documented on record, another reason why The New York Session is a particularly important release. The discovery of a master improviser is always thrilling, but finding a player/composer at the peak of his powers is a rare occurrence indeed. Though fully aware of his accomplishments, Lewis sees himself as part of a modern jazz continuum. "I try to approach each composition, each performance, with knowledge and technique from studying the masters who came before and also the innocence of a child," he says. "I hope it keeps the music authentic and genuine."   *

Mark Lewis Quartet on Tour:

Wed. 1/4 Lighthouse Café, Hermosa Beach, CA, 6-9 pm

with Ron Kobayahi, p; Baba Elefante, b; Steve Dixon, d.

Thurs. 1/5 Jazz at the Merc, The Mercantile, Temecula, CA, 7:30-9:30 pm

with Ron Kobayahi, p; Baba Elefante, p; Steve Dixon, d.

Thurs. 1/12 Sacred Grounds Jazz Coffeehouse, Scottsdale, AZ, 7:30-9:30 pm

with Nick Manson, p; Jack Radavich, b; John Lewis, d.

Thurs. 1/19 Café Stritch, San Jose, CA, 8:30-11:55 pm

with Eddie Mendenhall, p; John Wiitala, b; Jason Lewis, d.

Web Site: marklewismusic.com

Tohpati Ethnomission is back with the brand new album of high-octane progressive ethno-jazz-rock-fusion of the highest caliber - Mata Hati

For those of you who haven't forgotten Tohpati's electrifying emergence as a freshman bandleader in 2010 – catapulting onto the global stage with the critically acclaimed initial offering of Tohpati Ethnomission, "Save The Planet" – "Mata Hati" will come as a most welcomed follow-up.

Although six years is a lengthy gap between recordings, it is obvious that the players involved have been doing anything but resting. On the contrary, the proceedings are highlighted by a vibrant, cohesive group dynamic where powerful individual performances are subtlety interwoven into the exotic fabrics of its nine acute, ambitious and amazingly diverse musical tapestries. The power and authority of its improvisational content doesn't steal the show, but works as a perfect compliment to the ingenious underlying framework; this is truly a group effort, and a most potent delivery.

Featuring all the six-string acrobatics one would expect from a guitarist of Tohpati's considerable scope and creative brilliance, equally on display here is his mastery of western harmony and his uncanny melodic sense as both a player and a composer. Tohpati Ethnomission rocks with authority; they slither through the grass, unnoticed; they provide enticing glimpses of a rich, mystical music culture, begging to be further revealed ... and they dance on air.

Besides being one of Indonesia’s most well known and celebrated guitarists, Tohpati is also one of its busiest session men. In a career which has seen him work as both a band leader and support player for many of his country's most celebrated popular pop, rock and jazz artists – in addition to seven albums with simakDialog (spanning more than 20 years), and three previous marquee projects for MoonJune -- his chameleon-like ability to tailor his playing to suit a variety of diverse styles has always served him well. But on this particular outing, he reveals even further depths of both his dexterity and his creative genius.

This potent, engaging set features masterful work by: veteran Indo Hardjodikoro, on bass guitar; Diki Suwarjiki, on suling bamboo flute and tarompet (Indonesian clarinet); and is propelled by the flowing rhythmic combination of Endang Ramdan, on kendang percussion, and; Demas Narawangsa, on drums. (The opening tune, "Janger," also features the Czech Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michaela Ruzickova.)

This is music which transcends boundaries, genre and expectations, capturing some of Tohpati's finest, most profound musical statements to date – this is one you certainly won't want to miss!

New Origin Records CD by Pianist/Composer Bill Anschell, "Rumbler"

Bill Anschell Rumbler One of the most valuable players in Seattle's thriving jazz scene, pianist Bill Anschell is a prolific composer and adept arranger who's explored those aspects of his craft since debuting on disc 20 years ago. His new Origin Records CD, Rumbler, which will be released January 20, is Anschell's ninth album as a leader and his first full ensemble jazz recording in a decade. Throughout the recording, Anschell embraces odd meters, shifting tonalities, and other striking effects.

"I've written enough conventional tunes," he says. "I don't need to do that anymore. I'm more interested in going beyond the 32-bar form. I like to set up unusual compositional challenges for myself and try to solve them in a way that still allows the band plenty of room for improvisation and interaction."

Rumbler is anchored by his longstanding trio, including bassist Chris Symer and drummer Jose Martinez. Jeff Coffin makes a memorable guest appearance on one tune on soprano saxophone, while Rich Cole shines on tenor saxophone on another. In addition to the fine guitarist Brian Monroney, to whom Anschell was introduced by Symer, the contributors include versatile flutist and saxophonist Hans Teuber and percussionist Jeff Busch.

From the opening strains of Thelonious Monk's "Misterioso," it's clear that Rumbler is less a showcase for Anschell's piano playing than for his writing and arranging. For "Misterioso," he heard in his head distorted guitar and a kind of power-rock countermelody. With guitarist Monroney providing the sonic edge, the frequently performed classic takes on intriguing new life.

Anschell's favorite composition on the album, "Captive Light," written in 5/4, "sounds clean and simple, but it's very challenging for the improviser as the meter turns around against itself," he says. His distinctive take on the Beatles' "For No One" (from Revolver) pointedly avoids the tendency of many jazz artists to perform pop songs as written, just adding a facile swing feel.

With a wide range of ethnic styles at his fingertips, including the Afro-Peruvian lando (as heard on "Dark Wind") and South Indian rhythms, Anschell has myriad directions to go in issuing those challenges to himself -- and the listener.

Born in Seattle in 1959,  Bill Anschell was a self-taught pianist who did not take formal music lessons until he enrolled at Oberlin College. He transferred to Wesleyan University, where he had the good fortune to study with esteemed saxophonist and composer Bill Barron and mridangam master T Ranganathan, whose teachings had a powerful impact on Anschell's approach to rhythm.

Anschell subsequently studied arts administration at the University of Wisconsin. In 1989, armed with a master's degree, he went to Atlanta to become Jazz Coordinator of the Southern Arts Federation.

While with the organization, he created "JazzSouth," an internationally syndicated radio show; published a book on grant writing; and dove headlong into the city's jazz scene as a sideman and leader of his own trio. The trio performed at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and Atlanta Montreux Jazz Festival and toured South America four times.

During the early to mid-1990s, Anschell worked with singer Nnenna Freelon as her accompanist, arranger, and music director, contributing to several albums of hers in one or more of those guises. He made his own album debut in 1995 with Rhythm Changes, a mix of originals, bebop classics, and standards, and followed it in 1998 with the eclectic a different note all together, which was selected as one of the top 10 jazz albums of the year by UPI.

In 2002, Anschell, his wife, and their four-year-old son moved back to Seattle to be near their extended families. To say the Pacific Northwest has been good to him would be a huge understatement, judging by the regional honors and awards that have been bestowed on him and the opportunities he has had to alternate between his own projects and a multitude of ones involving first-rate players in collective-style settings.

Anschell and his trio will celebrate the release of Rumbler at Tula's in Seattle on Saturday, Feb. 11. He'll also be appearing with his quartet (Brian Monroney, g; Chris Symer, b; Brad Boal, d) at the Mount Baker Theater in Bellingham on Sunday, Jan. 29 (4:00pm), presented by The Jazz Project. "Each of the tunes on Rumbler has a very distinct personality," Anschell says. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what directions they take when we stretch out and explore them in concert."

Web Site: billanschell.com

Saxophonist Noah Preminger Releases an Album of Musical Protest Meditations on Freedom on Inauguration Day

Featuring Preminger and his quartet – with trumpeter Jason Palmer, bassist Kim Cass & drummer Ian Froman – in searching originals and reimagined classics by Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Sam Cooke & Bruce Hornsby

“He designs a different kind of sound for each note, an individual destiny and story.” — Ben Ratliff, The New York Times on Noah Preminger

As a musical protest at ominous political developments in America, jazz saxophonist Noah Preminger presents his sixth album – Meditations on Freedom – on Inauguration Day: January 20, 2017 (for digital release via Dry Bridge Records, with CD on Feb. 3). It’s the third album featuring the tenor player’s current quartet, with Jason Palmer (trumpet), Kim Cass (double-bass) and Ian Froman (drums). Following two albums inspired by Delta blues, this new recording finds Preminger and company reimagining – in intense, emotive instrumental versions – classic politically charged songs by Bob Dylan (“Only a Pawn in Their Game”), Bruce Hornsby (“The Way It Is”), Sam Cooke (“A Change Is Gonna Come”) and George Harrison (“Give Me Love, Give Me Peace on Earth”). The saxophonist’s deeply felt original compositions are titled “The 99 Percent,” “Women’s March,” “Mother Earth,” “Broken Treaties” and “We Have a Dream,” reflecting pressure points in contemporary society. Meditations on Freedom was recorded – live on the studio floor with no edits – by engineer Jimmy Katz, as with the two previous albums, Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground and Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar. Not available on any streaming sites, Preminger’s most recent recordings are exclusively offered for purchase, whether as digital download or on CD, at noahpreminger.com.

Praising his “creativity and passion,” DownBeat called the 30-year-old Preminger “an old soul,” while the UK’s Jazzwise magazine declared that the saxophonist “oozes integrity, authority and gravitas.” In other words, Preminger has something to say and the means to say it. About Meditations on Freedom, he explains: “I hope the titles of the original tunes – and the encoded messages in the covers – can serve as a conversation starter for listeners and ultimately raise awareness of some subjects I care about, whether it’s women’s rights or climate change or the well-being of Native Americans. I realize that the key thing I can hope to do with music – particularly instrumental jazz, with no words – is to heighten emotions. That said, some of the most beautiful, meaningful creations in the history of jazz have been poetic statements of protest, like John Coltrane’s ‘Alabama’ or Sonny Rollins’ ‘Freedom Suite’ and so many more great examples. I would never put myself in that category, but I’m not alone among jazz musicians today who wonder why it is that we do this. Ultimately it’s important to care about something larger than yourself and that’s what I am trying to convey with this music."

“Artists should always try to really matter, and that includes jazz musicians – we should strive to be relevant to the wider conversations of our time,” Preminger continues. “I started writing the music for this album on Election Day and came into the session a few weeks later with just sketches for the tunes. I wanted Jason, Kim and Ian to react to the music with immediacy – and with the hard feelings from the election fresh in our minds. I come at the issues of the day from a progressive place, as do the guys in the band. This group is made up of open-hearted, forward-minded people, and that’s ideal for conveying emotion in a strong way, whether the music is the deepest blues or about spiritual protest. The recording process was honest, unadulterated. And our recording engineer, Jimmy Katz, is integral to that process. He and I see eye to eye when it comes to intensity in music.”

To Katz, a renowned photographer as well as a recording engineer, the content of Meditations on Freedom matched the method of capturing it, just as with the previous studio album of blues interpretations, Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground. “Noah likes to record live with everybody right next to each other just like on the bandstand, with no booths or headphones – so there’s a lot of subtle communication among the band,” he explains. “And we’re presenting full, unedited takes, no edits or fixes. It’s indeed as honest as it can be, so that the true emotion and intensity of the music comes through to a listener as if the band were right there in front of you, like with a performance in a club.”

Preminger’s previous albums Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground and Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar earned wide acclaim for their emotional intensity and individualist engagement with the blues. Of Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground, the Boston Globe said: “Tenor saxophonist Preminger – a master with standards and ballads, as well as an adventurous composer and bandleader – continued the exploration of the blues that began with last year’s Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar, this time with a collection of early Delta bluesmen, in original, imaginative arrangements…. Preminger lets a little Ornette into his sound to join Coltrane and Rollins. One of the most emotionally satisfying discs of the year.” All About Jazz, reviewing Pivot – recorded in 2015 at the 55 Bar, a gritty Greenwich Village nightspot – extolled the saxophonist’s record-making virtues at length: “In an age when accomplished young jazz musicians are prone to making recordings that are simply too cautious, too precious, obviously ‘dressed to impress,’ or too complicated to digest in one sitting, Pivot: Live at The 55 Bar is a welcome blast of gritty, fearless, sweaty, and intelligent hard-core jazz.” Meditations on Freedom is cut from much the same musical cloth, albeit with the aforementioned political thoughts to the fore.

About the members of his quartet, Preminger says: “Jason has amazing technique, along with a beautiful tone and a rare sense of harmony and rhythmic freedom. He’s the complete improviser – a badass dude, as well as a sweetheart of a guy. Kim Cass and I went to the New England Conservatory together. He has this warm, crisp sound. He’s a great texturalist, but you can also hear each note he plays – uncommon among bass players. And Ian Froman has this incredible energy, driving everything. This quartet is devoted to a certain ideal of playing – swinging hard but with harmonic freedom, plus a blues phrasing in our minds. As I said, this band is all about conveying spirit and emotion with immediacy and intensity. The long jazz tradition is inside us even as we’re working very much in the present, with the issues of today on our minds in every sense.”

Noah Preminger has performed on stages from Boston and New York to Europe and Australia, playing with a wide range of jazz greats including Dave Liebman, Dave Holland, Fred Hersch, Dave Douglas, Victor Lewis, John and Bucky Pizzarelli, Billy Drummond, George Cables, Roscoe Mitchell, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Cecil McBee, John McNeil and Frank Kimbrough. As The Boston Globe says: “He plays with not just chops and composure, but a distinct voice: His approach privileges mood and reflectiveness, favoring weaving lines that can be complex but are also concise, without a trace of over-playing or bravado.”  The Boston Phoenix declared: “Preminger’s sound is beholden to no one. That makes him continually unpredictable and continually satisfying.”

A native of Canton, Connecticut, Preminger has released six critically acclaimed albums.  His 2008 debut Dry Bridge Road was named Debut of the Year in the Village Voice Critics Poll, along with making Top 10 Albums of the Year lists in JazzTimes, Stereophile and The Nation.  In 2011 Palmetto Records released Preminger’s next album Before the Rain, an essay in atmospheric romance that blends virtues both modern and old school. Reviewing that album, All About Jazz said: “Sensitivity and an ear for aural sophistication are the hallmarks of tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger.”  Preminger’s third album, Haymaker (Palmetto, 2013), features the saxophonist in mostly original material (plus a Dave Matthews cover and a tune from Annie for good measure). In The New York Times, Ben Ratliff said: “Mr. Preminger designs a different kind of sound for each note, an individual destiny and story,” while Nate Chinen chimed in, too, lauding his “darkly shaded… warmly expressive” tone and his “fluency, prudence and control.” The Boston Globe called Preminger’s music “impressive, challenging and beautiful.”

In autumn 2016, Preminger followed his fiery, blues-fueled quartet discs Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground and Pivot: Live at the 55 Bar by showing his more intimate, romantic side again with a collection of ballads, Some Other Time, released exclusively as a vinyl LP by Newvelle Records. He recorded this with a dream band featuring Monder, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Billy Hart. All About Jazz, reviewing Some Other Time, said: “With this all-star band in tow, Preminger does what he does best: He tells a compelling story without frills – and he does it better than he has ever done before.”

www.noahpreminger.com

SOUL-STEEPED YOUNG MEMPHIS QUINTET SOUTHERN AVENUE SPARKS A ROOTS REVOLUTION WITH SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM ON STAX

Southern Avenue is a Memphis street that runs from the easternmost part of the city limits all the way to Soulsville, the original home of Stax Records. Southern Avenue is also the name of a fiery young Memphis quintet that embodies its home city's soul, blues and gospel traditions, while adding a youthful spirit and dynamic energy all their own. "If Memphis music is a genre, this is it!" proclaims American Blues Scene, and Rock 103FM calls Southern Avenue, "The most-talked-about band in Memphis."

Their self-titled debut album is a breath of fresh air with its own unique blend of gospel- tinged R&B vocals, roots/blues-based guitar work and soul-inspired songwriting. And Southern Avenue’s upcoming release on the fabled Stax label is a testament to the young combo's talent and vision.

Southern Avenue features five young but seasoned musicians who came from diverse musical and personal backgrounds to create music that spans their wide-ranging musical interests, while showcasing the powerful chemistry that the group has honed through stage and studio experience.

Southern Avenue encompasses Memphis-born, church-bred sisters Tierinii and Tikyra Jackson, respectively a soulful, charismatic singer and a subtle, powerful drummer; guitarist Ori Naftaly, an Israeli-born blues disciple who first came to America as an acclaimed solo artist; versatile jazz-inspired bassist Daniel McKee; and the band's newest addition, keyboardist Jeremy Powell, an early alumnus of Stax's legendary music academy.

The band members' diverse skills come together organically on Southern Avenue, scheduled for release on February 24, 2017 via Stax Records, a division of Concord Music Group. Produced by Kevin Houston (North Mississippi Allstars, Lucero, Patty Griffin), the 10-song album features guest appearances from Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars and trumpeter Marc Franklin of the Bo-Keys. But it's Southern Avenue's own potent musical chemistry that drives such sublimely soulful originals as "Don't Give Up," "What Did I Do," "It's Gonna Be Alright," "Love Me Right" and "Wildflower."  The band also pays tribute to its roots with an incandescent reading of Ann Peebles' Memphis soul classic "Slipped, Tripped and Fell in Love."

The seeds for Southern Avenue's birth were planted when Ori Naftaly, who'd grown up in Israel with a deeply rooted passion for American blues and funk, came to Memphis in 2013 to compete in the prestigious International Blues Challenge. That experience led to Naftaly moving permanently to Memphis and successfully touring the United States with his own band.

Although his talents were embraced by American audiences, Naftaly felt constrained in his own band, feeling the need to include a more expansive, collaborative musical vision.  That opportunity arrived when he met Memphis native Tierinii Jackson, who'd gotten her start singing in church, before performing in a series of cover bands and theatrical projects.

According to Ori, "When I saw Tierinii perform, I thought, 'This is why I came to America.' I met her and we clicked. At our first rehearsal, she told me that her sister was a drummer, and she thought it would be great to have her in the band. We had such a good vibe, and suddenly I didn't care so much about my solo thing."

"I initially clicked with Ori really well, but it was his project," Tierinii remembers. "Then he came to me and said 'I want this band to be a collaboration, I want this to be our vision and our music.'  So we started writing together, and that's when I realized that we were really the same, musically."

"We started over," Naftaly continues. "We threw out most of the songs I'd been playing in my solo band, and Tierinii and I wrote a whole new set, and we became Southern Avenue. The more we played together, the closer we got, and the more we became a family. We started getting a different kind of crowd, and from there things escalated quickly."

"Ori said, 'My band is done, this is y'all's band,'" Tierinii recalls. "We all quit our other gigs and started focusing on this, working and writing and living together in a way that you don't experience when you're playing somebody else's music. Now we're playing songs that we wrote ourselves and we're playing them from our hearts. That is when I realized that we had something special."

Despite not having a record deal, Southern Avenue quickly found success touring in America and Europe. They won additional attention playing some prestigious festivals and competing in the International Blues Challenge, in which they represented Memphis. Less than a year after the band's formation, they were signed to the resurgent Stax label.

"I feel like being on Stax is a responsibility," says Tierinii. "I grew up in Memphis, seeing the name Stax everywhere. It was a constant presence, and now it's up to us to live up to that. I feel like this band can be a platform to do a lot of positive things for the city of Memphis. I want to change the world, but Memphis is home."

Tierinii views Southern Avenue as "a perfect soundtrack to our first year together. We wrote these songs in our first nine months of being a band. We'd all done so many things and come from so many different places, but the music represents all of us.

"It's been a real crash course," she continues. "We haven't been a band for very long, but what we have feels very special, and it's made us a strong unit. I think that we represent something that people need to see right now."

"This band has already made our dreams come true," Ori concludes. "I've waited all my life to be in a band like this, and it's amazing to me that I get to play with these people every night. Our goal is to keep doing this for a long time and leave our mark. We're trying to build a legacy."

  

Nathan East Releases New Album 'Reverence' Follow-Up to GRAMMY-Nominated Debut Set for Release January 20, 2017

GRAMMY-nominated bassist Nathan East's forthcoming album 'Reverence' will be released Internationally on January 20, 2017 via The Concord Music Group.

With a discography that includes Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven," Michael Jackson's "Bad," and Randy Newman's "I Love L.A.," 'Reverence,' produced by Yamaha Entertainment Group Founder Chris Gero, is the follow up to East's 2014 eponymous debut as a solo artist.

Listen to his lead gospel single "Feels Like Home" ft. GRAMMY-award winning singer Yolanda Adams here: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7525690/nathan-east-reverence-album-feels-like-home-song-premiere.

Nathan East's resume "reads like a music industry's who's who" (Tennessean) and has enlisted an all-star line-up including Phil Collins, Eric Clapton & David Paich to perform on 'Reverence.' The album is a collection of original tracks and covers spanning the R&B, pop, rock and jazz songbook, and includes a groove-heavy take on Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground," a gripping rendition of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Love's Holiday" featuring Philip Bailey on vocals, and a soul stirring interpretation of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," which features East's 16-year-old son Noah on piano.

"Lifecycle" sheds light on East's "seemingly unlimited virtuosity" (Bass Magazine) and his uncanny knack for meshing eclectic instrumentation with dynamic and striking arrangements. Listen:http://bit.ly/2cXFZqf.

Another highlight of the album is a rousing cover of Earth, Wind & Fire's "Serpentine Fire," which was originally recorded with East's brother Marcel in 1991 with Eric Clapton on guitar and Phil Collins on drums. Moogie, East's longtime engineer, who mixed the original cinematic cover, discovered the track 25 years later, and after a long search for the tapes, finally uncovered them in Patti Austin's basement. After the tape was digitally remastered, the three Earth, Wind & Fire members sang (Philip Bailey), played additional bass parts (Verdine White), and added percussion (Ralph Johnson) to the track, resulting in a daring, head-turning, cinematic journey.

As a founding member of renowned contemporary jazz quartet Fourplay, Nathan East is one of the world's most recorded session bassists. With over 2,000 album credits to his name and several GRAMMY-winning songs including "Get Lucky," "Footloose" and "Change the World," East has performed with artists including Daft Punk, Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston & Beyonce. He received a GRAMMY nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for his self-titled solo debut 'Nathan East' on March 2014 which hit #1 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz Albums chart and held #1 for a record-breaking 36 weeks on SmoothJazz.com.

NEW RELEASES: MATT BREWER - UNSPOKEN; RICKEY VINCENT – PHOOL 4 THE FUNK; RUDY ROYSTON TRIO - RISE OF ORION

MATT BREWER - UNSPOKEN

A beautiful album from bassist Matt Brewer – a set that's got a very rich sense of tonal color and melody, but served up in some slightly unusual ways! Matt's bass is a key part of the record, as is his great songwriting – but the overall sound draws plenty from the balance between the piano of Aaron Parks, tenor of Ben Wendel, and guitar of Charles Altura – all musicians who get plenty of space to shine on their own, but who also have a way of weaving together with an incredible sound! Drummer Tyshawn Sorey provides just the right sort of subtle accompaniment for their blend – and Brewer steps out with a few bolder moments from time to time – on titles that include "Lunar", "Tesuque", "Aspiring To Normalcy", "Juno", "Unspoken", and "Evil Song". ~ Dusty Groove.

RICKEY VINCENT – PHOOL 4 THE FUNK

A surprisingly strong set from radio personality and author Rickey Vincent – a set that's got the man himself on the cover, looking like some heir to the George Clinton empire – which is mighty fitting, given the old school vibe of the set! The album's got a definite 80s funk sort of approach – with basslines and beats that really fit the mood – and the set features a some snippets from Vincent's show, with the voices of older stars over the new funky instrumentals – which makes for an impressive lineup of guests that includes Cornel West, Paris, Junie Morrison, Bernie Worrell, Fred Wesley, and even James Brown. The vibe is maybe more of a funk mix CD, than a straight album – but the whole thing's pretty darn compelling, with titles that include "African Americans", "Trippin With Junie", "Deep Sea Divers", "Go Wiggle Extra Wiggle", "Bernie's P Soup", "Hollow Cost", "Welcome To My World", "Ride On It", "Funk-O-Nots", "Thumpasorus Galacticus", and "West World". ~ Dusty Groove

RUDY ROYSTON TRIO - RISE OF ORION

Rudy Royston's fast becoming a player to watch – a hell of a drummer when he works in other people's groups, and a growing leader with a bold, fresh vision in jazz! This set's a killer – a non-stop flurry of fantastic, inventive sounds from a trio headed by Royston on drums, with Yasushi Nakamura on bass and the great Jon Irabagon on saxes – really taking advantage of the open space of the record to blow with the brilliance he brings to his best music! There's almost a vibe here that reminds us of the important Sonny Rollins trio sides of the late 50s – but the whole thing is even more freewheeling, with more of a sense of on-the-fly creation – as just the right sounds seem to spin effortlessly from all players involved. Titles include "Rise Of Orion", "Alnitak", "River Styls", "Kolbe War", "Nautical", "Sister Mother Clara", "Dido's Lament", "Make A Smile For Me", and "Man O To". ~ Dusty Groove

LED BIB Pushes The Envelope On RareNoise Debut UMBRELLA WEATHER

Easily the most adventurous and audacious outfit on today's UK jazz scene, Led Bib has built a reputation over the course of seven albums for expansive improvisations and treks into genre-defying music of throbbing intensity. All Music Guide called their singular brand of jazz "explosive enough to blow up your speakers" while The Wire weighed in with: "This is the sound of a band having fun...like a hot chainsaw through butter." For their RareNoiseRecords debut, the five-piece group from London continues pushing the envelope on Umbrella Weather.

Fueled by the muscular drumming of ringleader Mark Holub and the intense fuzz bass lines of Liran Donin, further tweaked by atmospheric washes and crunchy keyboard action from Toby McLaren and sparked by the pungent twin alto saxes of Peter Grogan and Chris Williams, Led Bib stakes out a unique spot in the musical terrain that falls somewhere between the realms of John Zorn, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy, all imbued with a very strong jazz-rock sensitivity.

From the odd-metered opener "Lobster Terror" to their raucous textures on "Too Many Cooks," from the fuzz-inflected mayhem of "Skeleton Key to the City" to the turbulent "At The Shopping Centre," the expansive 5-minute ambient jam on "Insect Invasion" and the surprisingly lyrical waltz-time closer "Goodbye," this renegade outfit never fails to inject an element of surprise into each potent track. And while certain pieces like "Ceasefire", "The Boot" or the groove-heavy "Women's Power" may seem like well-crafted and tightly executed compositions, Holub explains that most of the music heard on Umbrella Weather comes about organically in the studio through a keen sense of collective intuition honed over the past 13 years of playing together. "In general, very little is written. We are mostly working in a typical jazz style of head-solos-head but in almost every tune the solos are completely open. This concept of free improvisation is a tricky one because it has become a genre all its own, but we are looking at it in a different way. With some of the tunes, we are sort of composing in the moment, rather than the sort of free association that is often thought of as free-improvisation.

Led Bib formed in 2003 as Holub's Master's degree project at Middlesex University. "We went through quite a few different people at the very beginning, but by the time of our first release in 2005 (Arboretum, SLAM Productions) the line up was set and hasn't changed since," he explains. Holub runs down the backgrounds of his Led Bib colleagues:

"Chris Williams is perhaps the most involved in the 'jazz' scene of all of us, though this is definitely more on the contemporary side. He is a founding member of Let Spin, a key member of Laura Cole's Metamorphic.

Liran Donin works a lot as a producer outside of Led Bib working both in Jazz, but also in the realms of Pop and World Music, most notably recently with Namvula Rennie, Mulatu Astatke, Arun Ghosh and Chrissie Hynde.

Toby McLaren is working as a producer, mostly in the rock world. He also plays keyboards for The Heavy, a sort of soul rock band that does quite well in the USA. He seems to be over there all the time these days! 

Norwegian Jazz Crew Straddles Free Jazz and Skronk on New Release REFLECTIONS IN COSMO

The fire and fury of '60s free jazz and the tumult of electronic rock-tinged experimental music is on full display on this new powerhouse offering from four cutting edge Oslo-based musicians collectively known as Reflections in Cosmo. With Kjetil Møster on saxes, Hans Magnus Ryan on guitar, Ståle Storløkken on keyboards and Thomas Strønen on drums, these four kindred spirits strike a tumultuous accord on their self-titled debut on RareNoiseRecords, which represents Møster's followup on RareNoise to his edgy avant-jazz collaboration in 2014 with the Hungarian power trio Jü. At times recalling the ferocious intensity of the late '80s free jazz quartet Last Exit (Peter Brötzman, Sonny Sharrock, Bill Laswell, Ronald Shannon Jackson), this potent Norwegian outfit pushes the envelope with Møster's blowtorch intensity on baritone and tenor saxes, Ryan's wailing electric guitar work, Storløkken's crunchy, distortion-laced keyboards and Strønen's thunderous drumming.

"This band was initiated by Thomas and Ståle," explains Møster. "They have been releasing albums on Rune Grammofon under the name Humcrush for 15 years and they wanted to try out an expanded direction, both in terms of band members and references. They asked me and Hans Magnus 'Snah' Ryan from Motorpsycho, actually not being aware of the fact that Hans Magnus just took over for Ståle in my own quartet Møster! Yes, it's a small inbred world, this."

   

This small world that Møster refers to is the world of genre-crossing musicians operating in the twilight zone between experimental electric jazz, noise rock and psych rock. As Møster says, "Instead of the jazz-rock we had in the 70's and 80's, maybe we now can talk of rock-jazz? Jü would definitely be a part of this fellowship, as would Elephant9 and Møster!" Add Reflections in Cosmo to that list. And whether or not they are following in the footsteps of Last Exit, Møster is quick to point out, "Any comparison to Brötzmann I take as a big compliment! He has definitely been a huge influence on me for big periods of my musical upbringing. Last Exit is sure ringing in the back of my head in this band, even though we have not been discussing explicit references like that. We all bring in our own musical backgrounds and add it to the stew."

   

Recorded in spacious Øra Studio in in Trondheim, Norway, Reflections in Cosmo reveals some uncanny group-think by these four Norwegian musicians. "I don't like rules in music," says Strønen, "and with the background we all have, from free-music to hip-hop and contemporary music, that's not going to be an issue."

   

Møster does bring a Brotxzman-like intensity to bear on his bari blowouts like "Fuzzstew," "Cosmosis" and the kinetic "Perpetual Immobile." He switches to soprano sax on the spacious, ambient number "Ironhorse" and blows bold tenor lines on "Cosmic Hymn" and the title track. Ryan unleashes his ferocious guitar chops on the aptly-named "Fuzzstew" and "Balklava." Says Møster of his six-string partner, "Hans Magnus is one of my favorite guitarists of all time. His sense of texture and ability to build tension and raise this hellacious ferocity is quite unique. I think it comes from playing for about 30 years with Motorpsycho, thus rooted in a heavy but detailed rock aesthetic, but still been deeply into a broad variety of improvisational styles.'

   

Drummer Strønen is featured traversing the kit with power and precision on the crushing title track. Regarding his own drum influences, Strønen points to myriad inspirations. "As a kid I was lucky to play a lot with older and better musicians. The first thing I learned was to listen to the other musicians and react to what they did. I played everything from pop/rock music to free improvised music and got the chance to perform on stage quite early. By the time I turned 18 I started to practice seriously. Since then I've been influenced by lots of jazz music, from Pharaoh Sanders, Miles Davis and John Coltrane to lots of European musicians on ECM Records. For a longer time, I was massively into Japanese classical music, West African Wolof music and American minimalist composers. Drumming-wise, I've picked from the history of jazz, Japanese drum ensembles and classical drummers. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what you dig into as long as you dig. It's a long and thorough process of collecting what's great about what you hear and putting that in the big melting pot, and with a large vocabulary you can put what's needed into the music."

   

Their combination of refreshing new ideas, uninhibited improvisations and heavy-duty, throbbing intensity places Reflections in Cosmo in rarefied air. "The main key to the four of us, I think, is that we´re open minded and don't have a presumption of how to play," adds Strønen. "I find Snah, Kjetil and Ståle to be daring, curious and generous in the way they play. Our agenda is to put the music in front and not some solo performance. The instruments and way of playing blends well, I think. We all have a lot of energy too, which can make the music powerful."

   

Indeed, Reflections in Cosmo is one of the more powerful albums you are likely to hear this year.

TRACKS

1. Cosmosis

2. Ironhorse

3. Cosmic Hymn

4. Balklava

5. Perpetuum Immobile

6. Fuzzstew

7. Reflections In Cosmo

LED BIB Pushes The Envelope On RareNoise Debut UMBRELLA WEATHER

Easily the most adventurous and audacious outfit on today's UK jazz scene, Led Bib has built a reputation over the course of seven albums for expansive improvisations and treks into genre-defying music of throbbing intensity. All Music Guide called their singular brand of jazz "explosive enough to blow up your speakers" while The Wire weighed in with: "This is the sound of a band having fun...like a hot chainsaw through butter." For their RareNoiseRecords debut, the five-piece group from London continues pushing the envelope on Umbrella Weather.

Fueled by the muscular drumming of ringleader Mark Holub and the intense fuzz bass lines of Liran Donin, further tweaked by atmospheric washes and crunchy keyboard action from Toby McLaren and sparked by the pungent twin alto saxes of Peter Grogan and Chris Williams, Led Bib stakes out a unique spot in the musical terrain that falls somewhere between the realms of John Zorn, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy, all imbued with a very strong jazz-rock sensitivity. 

From the odd-metered opener "Lobster Terror" to their raucous textures on "Too Many Cooks," from the fuzz-inflected mayhem of "Skeleton Key to the City" to the turbulent "At The Shopping Centre," the expansive 5-minute ambient jam on "Insect Invasion" and the surprisingly lyrical waltz-time closer "Goodbye," this renegade outfit never fails to inject an element of surprise into each potent track. And while certain pieces like "Ceasefire", "The Boot" or the groove-heavy "Women's Power" may seem like well-crafted and tightly executed compositions, Holub explains that most of the music heard on Umbrella Weather comes about organically in the studio through a keen sense of collective intuition honed over the past 13 years of playing together. "In general, very little is written. We are mostly working in a typical jazz style of head-solos-head but in almost every tune the solos are completely open. This concept of free improvisation is a tricky one because it has become a genre all its own, but we are looking at it in a different way. With some of the tunes, we are sort of composing in the moment, rather than the sort of free association that is often thought of as free-improvisation. 

Led Bib formed in 2003 as Holub's Master's degree project at Middlesex University. "We went through quite a few different people at the very beginning, but by the time of our first release in 2005 (Arboretum, SLAM Productions) the line up was set and hasn't changed since," he explains. Holub runs down the backgrounds of his Led Bib colleagues: 

"Chris Williams is perhaps the most involved in the 'jazz' scene of all of us, though this is definitely more on the contemporary side. He is a founding member of Let Spin, a key member of Laura Cole's Metamorphic. 

Liran Donin works a lot as a producer outside of Led Bib working both in Jazz, but also in the realms of Pop and World Music, most notably recently with Namvula Rennie, Mulatu Astatke, Arun Ghosh and Chrissie Hynde. 

Toby McLaren is working as a producer, mostly in the rock world. He also plays keyboards for The Heavy, a sort of soul rock band that does quite well in the USA. He seems to be over there all the time these days! 

Finally, Pete Grogan plays with the Alex Horne and the Horne Section, The Brothers Ignatius, The Heavy, while doing session work with Ed Sheeran and scoring and arranging music for a Roald Dahl film well as playing lots of sessions in that genre."

 Holub's own penchant for playing rock influenced jazz, or vice versa, came about over time. As he explains, "When I first started playing jazz, I was coming more from the sort of jam band/experimental rock stuff.... Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart. And then I got more into the free jazz of the '60s, particularly Ornette Coleman, but also Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus and Miles Davis. 

The two-alto frontline of Grogan and Williams is perhaps the distinguishing characteristic of this punk-edged jazz group. "The idea came about just by chance," says Holub. "Someone suggested another alto player and I thought, 'Hey, two altos! That could work!' I think I liked the sort of 'ugly beauty' of that combo. There is something harsh about having the two altos together, which is great for when the music is heavy. But also, there is something almost bittersweet about the crashing of timbres between the two of them in the quieter moments. 

Since its inception 13 years ago, this forward-looking jazz unit has evolved to the controlled cacophony and 'ugly beauty' that we hear on Umbrella Weather. "Over time I think Led Bib has moved quite far away from my original vision," says Holub. "It has become very much a group project with it being as much influenced by the other guys' interests, but I am still steering the ship. To me, that is what has made Led Bib special, that the sound has been a natural evolution, which has naturally taken on everyone's ideas and influences rather than something which has been pre-determined to sound in a specific way."

Billy Childs Reaffirms His Piano Mastery and Reconnects with Musical Beginnings on Rebirth + Album Assembles All-Star Ensemble

Since his first recordings of the 1980s, Billy Childs has developed into one of the most distinctive and distinguished composers of our time. An accomplished symphonic writer, he has also amassed a career's worth of jazz originals that can swing hard, dazzle with intricacy, touch you with direct simplicity, or mesmerize with crystalline lyricism.

On his new Mack Avenue debut album Rebirth, Childs reaches back to the start of his almost astoundingly varied musical experience-leading a small jazz band of state-of-the-art musicians with his piano playing.

At his musical core, Childs is an improvising pianist. He has the ability to equally distill the harmonic and rhythmic languages of classical music and jazz into his playing. The wide-ranging vocabulary on the taut track "Tightrope" begs the question of Childs' love of classical music; "I'm not just jazz," he stresses. His insistent pulse and melodically probing introduction to song is a key to the Childs' musical identity: open to extended harmonic possibilities as they come along, taking a flexible approach to time and leaving an open door for input from his bandmates.

A Los Angeles native, Childs grew up in a home hearing his parents' musical tastes: Bach, Stan Getz and Antonio Carlos Jobim, the Swingle Singers. As Childs developed, he was deeply touched by the music of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, the Modern Jazz Quartet and Laura Nyro, among other contemporary musicians.

Childs aficionados will recognize three tunes from his Windham Hill tenure of the 1980s: "Stay," "Backwards Bop" and "Starry Night." They're recast to reflect his subsequent artistic growth, yet with an acknowledgement of their import; Take For Example, This... (1988) was the first Childs release on a major label. "I did all of those albums on Windham Hill," he points out, "and now all of those recordings belong to Sony. None of it is available on iTunes. That's a shame because those were very important years for me."

As a young player, Childs took his bandstand boot camp in the bands of trombonist J.J. Johnson and trumpet titan Freddie Hubbard. While his compositions and orchestrations have taken Childs into a realm that transcends jazz venues, the fact remains that the improvising pianist is largely the product of his tenures as band pianist with those two late masters.

The percussive electricity of "Backwards Bop" and "Dance of Shiva" taps into that part of his development. "J.J. and Freddie are responsible for the jazz part of my pedigree," Childs asserts. When Eric Harland's drums not only push the ensemble along but fire back at the players in challenging ways, it's not hard to imagine the creative tension of the Hubbard and Johnson performances.

"I learned about comping from Freddie," Childs points out, "in practical application. That's where I learned to expand accompanying into creating environments for the soloists. Sometimes it was like: 'I'll be green; you be blue.' You couldn't listen to him and not know what to play." Accordingly, the piano accompaniment to the vocal on "Stay" is a sublime model of well-placed color and sly musical commentary.

Saxophonist Steve Wilson is central to Rebirth. "I met Steve in 1995," Childs explains, "when we played a tour of Japan with bassist Buster Williams. I didn't even like the alto at that time but on the first song where Steve played, I said, 'Who is this guy? I don't know what they're calling modern jazz these days but this is modern jazz!' I knew I wanted to work with Steve on one of my own projects."

Vocalist Claudia Acuña, who co-composed the title tune, is another of the album's stalwarts. Childs produced her 2002 Rhythm of Life album, arranged and orchestrated, and played piano on it. "She went out on a limb and entrusted me to produce that album," he says. "My mother was dying and it was an emotional time for me. I did a lot of writing at her deathbed; it was therapeutic. So Claudia and I just decided to call the song 'Rebirth.'"

Singer Alicia Olatuja sings on the soulful, minor key ballad "Stay." "Dianne Reeves told me about her," Childs says. "She sang on my Laura Nyro project and I knew she'd be perfect for the angular melody of 'Stay.'"

Hans Glawischnig takes the nimble pizzicato bass solo on "Tightrope;" drummer Antonio Sanchez referred him to Childs. "A lot of drummers really like to play with me," Billy notes with pride. "I jump in there with the drums. I really like to write the rhythmic concept and find the people who can make it sing."

Rebirth touches the combustible intimacy that Childs knew in the Hubbard and Johnson bands, and has instilled it into his own ensembles. So is Childs returning to an instrumental posture that he once knew or is he coming to the small ensemble with new perspectives? "A little of both, actually," he offers. "I'm revisiting some familiar ground with different musical eyes. My playing is more evolved now-influenced by newer musical trends."

"You're hearing something on this album that I love doing but that I haven't done a lot of lately: having musical conversations as a member of a group. That's what I love."

  

Four-time Grammy® Award-winner Billy Childs remains one of the most diversely prolific and acclaimed artists working in music today. Childs' canon of original compositions and arrangements has garnered him an additional 10 Grammy Award nominations, the 2013 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship (2009).

Childs released his first solo album, Take For Example, This... in 1988, on Windham Hill Jazz Records. It was the first of four critically acclaimed albums on the imprint, culminating with the celebrated Portrait Of A Player, in 1993. Childs' multiple musical interests also include collaborations, arrangements, and productions for other world-renowned artists, including Yo-Yo Ma, The Kronos Quartet, Wynton Marsalis, Sting, Chris Botti, and Leonard Slatkin, among others. He has received orchestral commissions from The Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Los Angeles Master Chorale, The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and The Lincoln Jazz Center Orchestra. In 2013 he premiered "Enlightened Souls," a commission from Duke University featuring Dianne Reeves and the Ying Quartet, to commemorate fifty years of African-American students attending the school. In 2014 Childs released Map To The Treasure - Reimagining Laura Nyro (Sony Masterworks), which was produced by Larry Klein and features Reneé Fleming, Esperanza Spalding, Alison Krauss, Shawn Colvin, Rickie Lee Jones, Becca Stevens, Ledisi, Chris Botti, Yo-Yo Ma and Susan Tedeschi.

  

Billy Childs · Rebirth

Mack Avenue Records · Release Date: March 24, 2017
www.billychilds.com

CHRISTINE & INGRID JENSEN - WITH BEN MONDER TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM - INFINITUDE

Infinitude - the concept of boundless possibility - is at the center of the music of Ingrid and Christine Jensen. Over the past twenty years or so, as trumpeter and saxophonist respectively, the West Canadian sisters have each shaped prolific careers in contemporary jazz, collaborating with influential names such as Clark Terry, Maria Schneider and Terry Lynn Carrington, working with large and small ensembles, and responding brilliantly to various commissions to compose for jazz orchestras around the globe.

For their Whirlwind Recordings debut, Infinitude, available on January 27, 2017, the Jensens have realized a long-held ambition - to write for and perform in the more intimate setting of a quintet, combining their intuitive, sibling trust with the creativity of renowned guitarist Ben Monder, and the foundational artistry of bassist Fraser Hollins and drummer Jon Wikan. The particular rapport within this grouping is expressed by Christine (composer of half of this album's material), describing the environment as being less about soloing, and with an emphasis on the question, "how are we going to dive into this pool and swim together?" The resulting immersion, recorded at Studio Pierre Marchand in Montreal over two days, sounds both live and organic, with Ingrid confirming her close relationship with her sister: "It doesn't actually feel like we're producing. We already have this flow which continues as we perform together - we can find space, and craziness, and find our way in and out of it, as well." 

The conversational feel which pervades this album's sixty- eight minutes is illustrated in opening track, "Blue Yonder" (Christine Jensen), where Ingrid's mellifluous trumpet technique (sounded through her custom-created flugel-cupped mouthpiece and 'flumpet' bell) melds with Christine's warm, legato alto to conjure the aura of a wordless vocal. Such grace is echoed by the often understated, though lynchpin presence, of Ben Monder (whose effect is explained by Christine as, "something which is intimate, yet full of the future"); and that same quiet fire is evident in the grittier, rock-tinged "Swirlaround" (Christine Jensen), and a freewheeling, even punkish interpretation of Kenny Wheeler's "Old Time".

The soft, melodic beauty of "Hopes Trail" (Ingrid Jensen) transcends its underlying inspiration of political disillusionment, reinforcing our need to, at least, musically rise above (accentuated by ascending, chromatic soprano); and written for a kindred spirit of Christine's, the chirpy mobility of "Octofolk" (Christine Jensen) features especially connected trumpet and alto adventures, all underpinned by Ben Monder's textures and the spirited rhythm team of Hollins and Wikan. Extended lines in the elegant "Dots and Braids" (Ingrid Jensen) - which reflect Christine's lyrical saxophone persona - are contrasted with shorter statements (also informally referencing Canadian pianist/composer David Braid), while the increasing fullness of buoyant, bossa-infused "Echolalia" (Ben Monder) hints at the sisters' expertise in an orchestral jazz setting. 

"Duo Space" (Ingrid Jensen) and "Trio: Garden Hour" (Christine Jensen) provide a different perspective, their reduced instrumentations and improvisations offering further insight into the deep-seated need of these imaginative musicians to express themselves and search out new sounds in an arena which welcomes such freedom. Describing the experience, Ingrid says: "I need that interaction and empathetic experience which comes from playing good gigs with good people; a creative outpouring of my soul. With this line-up and these compositions, it's really easy to channel the freer ideas that are still in the context of the music, but which provide us with the ability to go to that place where we all feel like we're most ourselves - and that truly is a gift." As Christine concludes: "What Ingrid and I have worked on together for so long has now finally been documented in a special way that includes some surprises, especially with our choice of the wonderful Ben Monder - when he says, 'I'm gonna play'... you just know that it's going to be something real special and meaningful. For us, with Infinitude, this is just the beginning."

www.ingridjensen.com

www.christinejensenmusic.com

www.BenMonder.com