PDX Jazz Celebrates Mingus Dynasty: Rarely Performed 1957 Tijuana Moods Masterpiece

The Western Jazz Presenters Network, a consortium of 25 presenting organizations, will celebrate the legacy of the iconoclastic jazz legend Charles Mingus through a series of concerts to be presented in Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Tijuana and Portland, Oregon. The auspicious occasion by the majestic Mingus Dynasty celebrates the historic 1957 Tijuana Moods recording.

Mingus Dynasty, which rarely tours in the U.S., will feature: tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, alto saxophonist/flautist Brandon Wright, trumpeter Alex Sipiagin, trombonist Ku-umba Frank Lacy, pianist Theo Hill, bassist Boris Kozlov, and drummer Adam Cruz.

While considered one of Mingus' masterworks, the Tijuana Moods album has not been played

in its entirety since the formation of Dynasty shortly after Mingus' death in 1979, and the

performance featured an all-alumni group spearheaded by the exuberant Dannie Richmond and arranger Jimmy Knepper. The albums' genesis came from a trip to Mexico in the late '50s by Mingus who reflected, "...with the sting of tequila, salt and lime in my mouth and burning my nostrils, I decided to benefit musically from this experience and set out to compose and re-create what I felt and saw around me."

Considered one of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, Charles Mingus was a virtuoso bass player, accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer. He is often mentioned alongside Duke Ellington as one of the most important composers in jazz history. Active from the 1950s through his death in 1979, Mingus created a rich repertoire of jazz standards and an impressive catalog of major recordings, and fostered generations of musicians who had their apprenticeship in his band.

After his death, Mingus' widow, Sue, continued the Mingus Big Band and the smaller Dynasty band, which draws its musicians from first-chair players in the larger ensemble. The big band -- and on occasion Mingus Dynasty -- plays Mingus' music every Monday night at one of NYC's most important jazz venues, the Jazz Standard, and includes some of the top jazz musicians in New York.

Legendary jazz bassist and composer Charles Mingus Jr. was born at the Camp Little Army Hospital in Nogales on April 22, 1922. His father, a sergeant, was stationed at the camp with his wife and two daughters who were born at Camp Little before him. Although the family soon left this segregated camp for a new life in the Watts area of South Central Los Angeles, the birth of this jazz great is reminder of the legacy of African Americans in southern Arizona.

While rumors perpetuate of Mingus visiting Nogales and playing in clubs in Sonora, there is no proof of this romantic notion. But he did spend time in Cuernavaca, Mexico seeking a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and died there on Jan. 5, 1979. Nevertheless, Mingus revisited this border town in spirit through projects generated by southern Arizona music fans and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Arizona Commission on the Arts.

"Jazz on the Border: The Mingus Project" was produced in April 1993 by the Tucson Jazz Society and the Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce. It included youth education, a performance of Mingus' Epitaph including the world premiere of a long-lost movement from that masterwork, and free concerts on both sides of the border.

  

The Santa Cruz Advocates for the Arts was formed in 2007 to renew the celebration of Mingus' legacy by producing the annual Charles Mingus Hometown Music Festival around his birthday, and by building The Mingus Memorial Park at the former entrance to Camp Little at Western and Bejarano streets. The park is a public/private partnership, the City of Nogales having donated the land, infrastructure and upkeep.  A pocket oasis of plants and art, the park is easily transformed into a performance facility which may be used by other local non-profits as well.

Dan Atkinson, a leading jazz presenter for UC San Diego and the Athenaeum, conceived of the Tijuana Moods project as a way to strengthen ties with Mexico and the neighboring border city of Tijuana. "We live here at the busiest border crossing in the world, where the 8th largest city in the US meets the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Mexico. In a region where the US and Mexico are constantly exchanging influence in every sector, what better way to express this reality than to present an American jazz giant's creative reflections on Tijuana, and to see this music performed there for the first time ever by his own legacy band?"

"Charles Mingus has cast an imposing influence over post war modern jazz and Dynasty musically and politically speaks to the heart of his various ensembles. Dan Atkinson is to be commended for initiating this project, and Network Director Yvonne Ervin for collaborating with the Nogales community and network partners," concludes PDX Jazz Executive Artistic Director Don Lucoff.

  

Mingus Dynasty on Tour is presented by WJPN and funded in part by

WESTAF Tour West, The Bright Moments Fund and the Oregon Cultural Trust.

Jan. 19: Tucson, AZ, HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival, Fox Theatre

Jan. 20: Phoenix, AZ, Musical Instrument Museum

Jan. 21: Tijuana, Baja CA, Mexico; CECUT Cultural Center

Jan. 22: San Diego CA, TSRI Auditorium (Athenaeum Jazz at TSRI series)

Jan. 23: Portland OR, Revolution Hall (PDX Jazz)

San Francisco Bay Area Guitarist George Cotsirilos To Release "Mostly in Blue"

George Cotsirilos Quartet Mostly in Blue Jazz guitarist/composer George Cotsirilos had previously recorded mostly in a trio setting with longtime associates Robb Fisher on bass and Ron Marabuto on drums. For his forthcoming sixth CD, Mostly in Blue, he expanded to a quartet, with pianist Keith Saunders, to shake up his approach a bit but also in the interests of being true to the music he was hearing in his head. OA2 Records will release the new CD on January 19.

"I started hearing a little different sound connected to the tunes I was writing," Cotsirilos says. "It seemed more amenable to a quartet, with a little more harmony underlying the melody line."

The trio tested out its chemistry with Saunders, a mainstay of the New York jazz scene with whom the guitarist had never played but both Fisher and Marabuto had. "When we first got together, it wasn't hard to tell it was working," he says. "We kind of jelled immediately. In the studio, even before we started playing tunes, when we were playing to get the sound, the chemistry was there. It's stunning how quickly Keith was there, on top of everything." Every track on the album was recorded in one or two takes.

In addition to six Cotsirilos originals, the repertoire includes a luminous arrangement of the Harry Warren-Mack Gordon classic "I Wish I Knew," where Saunders's presence liberates the stylistically wide-ranging guitarist to play legato more than he usually does. Another highlight is a feverishly fast performance of the Charlie Parker classic "Crazeology."

The band worked as their own producers in collaboration with engineer Dave Luke, a decorated veteran of Fantasy Records with whom Cotsirilos had worked several times. "We wanted the album to have a live feel," says Cotsirilos, and this live-in-studio sound can be heard as much in the playing as in the engineering, whether on Bird's bebop burner or the guitarist's slinky "Ms. Luna," written for his "troublemaking" cat.

"Blue Dusk," another Cotsirilos original, is a darkly shimmying tune with a swaying movement that puts the listener in the best kind of mood to greet the evening. And then there's "Down, Not Out," which in speaking to and for the underdog in these agonizing times suggests a cure for the melancholy many people are feeling today.

George Cotsirilos was born in Chicago in 1951. Under the influence of his aunt, a classical music devotee, he chose violin as his first instrument. His involvement in jazz was elevated when an uncle who'd played drums with the Woody Herman Orchestra took him to hear Louis Armstrong. Seeing Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner play at Chicago's venerated London House turned him on to the piano. But during his teen years, with local notables including the Butterfield Blues Band and Michael Bloomfield making a national noise, he became strongly involved in blues guitar.

In 1969, Cotsirilos enrolled at UC Berkeley as a sociology major. He taught himself blues riffs, using his background in piano to improve technique. A turning point for him came when he commenced music studies with Warren Nunes, a phenomenal jazz guitarist and prolific writer of guitar books.

Nunes shifted Cotsirilos's attention to jazz and had him listen not just to great guitarists such as Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass but also luminaries on other instruments, among them John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Bill Evans. Cotsirilos studied classical guitar privately as well through the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

George Cotsirilos Music wasn't the only thing vying for Cotsirilos's future. Born into a family of lawyers -- his late father, George, Sr., the son of Greek immigrants, was a prominent Chicago defense attorney -- Cotsirilos acquired a law degree with thoughts of getting involved in social causes. He became an assistant public defender, then moved on to a successful criminal defense practice in San Francisco and a faculty position at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law, where he taught criminal trial practice for fifteen years. At the same time, Cotsirilos continued to practice, perform, and record jazz, releasing co-led quartet and quintet albums featuring venerated drummer Eddie Marshall, and, in 2003, his first solo album, Silenciosa. He subsequently released three trio recordings with Fisher and Marabuto.

While he finally retired in recent years from practicing and teaching law, he has remained deeply involved in music. "I have done what I have for a number of reasons, both personal and socio-philosophical," he reflects. "Involvement in criminal law, while still trying to maintain and grow as a musician, was a life experience that was intense, often very rewarding, but also frenetic. Music, which was always there as a salvation, really, remains and now gets my full attention."  

The George Cotsirilos Quartet will be performing CD release shows at the following: 2/10 Bird & Beckett, San Francisco; 2/18 St. Albans Church, Albany, CA; 2/25 Chez Hanny, San Francisco. 

  

Kate McGarry Releases First Trio Album featuring Keith Ganz and Gary Versace On The Subject Tonight Is Love

Countless poets, philosophers, artists, musicians, writers and dreamers have taken up that same subject since Hafiz's day, but despite seven intervening centuries of exploration love continues to offer an inexhaustible supply of complexities and mysteries. On The Subject Tonight Is Love, their first album as a trio, vocalist Kate McGarry, guitarist/bassist Keith Ganz and keyboardist/accordionist Gary Versace rise to that eternal challenge, investigating the concept of love in its many forms and from several different perspectives over the course of a dozen alluring songs, from timeless folk tunes to transformed jazz standards, celebratory pop songs to evocative originals.

Love is not only the subject but the very substance of this project. The Subject Tonight Is Love (due out February 2, 2018 via Binxtown Records) is the culmination of more than a decade of work and friendship. McGarry and Ganz are partners in life as well as in music, while Versace has been a close and frequent collaborator with both, dating back to McGarry's 2007 album The Target. In various combinations the three have worked together under each other's leadership, alongside drummer/composer John Hollenbeck and with the vocal supergroup MOSS.

Only such longstanding relationships could lead to such free-ranging but sharply focused sounds as are captured on The Subject Tonight Is Love. Beginning from McGarry's gift for bringing a lyric to life, the trio improvised cinematic settings for each song, painterly enough to conjure vivid imagery in the listener's mind while leaving space for their own spontaneous creations to shape each piece anew and allow an audience to make its own discoveries. Both Ganz and Versace pick up a variety of instruments throughout the session, with Ganz supplementing his acoustic and electric guitar with acoustic bass and, on one piece, drums, while Versace plays piano, keyboards, organ and accordion. McGarry also takes over the piano for her own "Losing Strategy #4."

  

"Kate's music is very story-oriented," Ganz says. "There's a soundscape or mood that goes with each particular tune, so this trio offers an unusual situation where we're all improvising within a specific mood. With just Gary and me, it's easier to get a hold on the little world for each song and shape it or move it around in the moment each time we perform it."

"I really appreciated that they were so receptive and sensitive to the origins of the stories behind the songs," McGarry adds. "That's always the driving force for me emotionally. Keith and Gary were able to be an extension of that, forwarding the narrative in instrumental ways. That's a rare thing."

Another kind of love was an important factor in bringing The Subject Tonight Is Love to fruition - namely, the love of their fans for McGarry, Ganz and Versace. The project was supported by a PledgeMusic crowdfunding campaign, which permitted the trio to take their time to discover an approach to the music and record at a more leisurely, exploratory pace. "We wouldn't have had that kind of freedom in other circumstances," McGarry points out. "It was really beautiful to see so many people jump up to the plate and say, 'We want this music to get made and we're going to make sure that happens.'"

The title piece, a stark, atmospheric recitation of the Hafiz poem, sets the elusive mood for the album, followed by a gentle, diaristic take on the classic "Secret Love" that captures the song's shift from the surreptitious to the celebratory. Their breezy, intimate "Gone With the Wind" meets the notion of lost love with a resigned, "easy come, easy go" shrug, while Ganz's hushed, intimate arrangement of "My Funny Valentine" is a perfect fit for McGarry's unique sincerity, overcoming a lifetime of resistance to what she rightly calls "this most abused of love songs." Joy pervades "What a Difference a Day Made," combined in a medley with Ganz's "Mr. Sparkle."

While these familiar tunes span the spectrum of love songs, the remainder of the album steps back for an even broader interpretation of the core idea. McGarry's haunting "Climb Down" depicts a dream-like venture onto her own family tree, offering both a challenge and an expression of gratitude to the spirits of her forebears. The Irish folk tune "Whiskey You're the Devil," with Obed Calvaire making a guest appearance on drums, emerges at the end like an ancestral memory. Co-written by Benny Golson and Kenny Dorham, "Fair Weather" is an expression of brotherly love sorely-needed in these most divisive of times, while "Indian Summer" is saturated with the wistfulness of time gone by. Egberto Gismonti's carnivalesque "Playing Palhaço," with new lyrics by singer Jo Lawry, finds love peeling back the layers of masquerade we tend to hide ourselves beneath.

McGarry's confessional "Losing Strategy #4," with Versace's expressive accordion supplying the voice of conscience, is a reckoning with the notion of retaliation, coming to terms with the fact that vengeance tends to backfire on oneself. "She Always Will" finds the trio revisiting a song, with music penned by guitarist Steve Cardenas, that the three originally recorded a decade earlier on The Target, now deepened and reflecting on the idea of maternal love. Finally, an impromptu romp through The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" provides an inviting epilogue, with a guest appearance by trumpet great Ron Miles to enhance the all-embracing message.

"Love is the substratum of all things," McGarry says. "I wanted to look at love from a lot of different angles. The point wasn't to sing about some idyllic love; it was more thinking about how love functions in our lives. What brings it to us? What keeps us from it? What helps us connect with it inside ourselves? What helps us connect to humanity? Having that current flowing through everything really affected the way we played."

CD Release Concert on Valentine's Day, Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at The Jazz Standard, NYC

o Fri. Feb. 2 - The Velvet Note, Atlanta, GA  

o Sat. Feb. 3 - The Oak Room at Serenbe Inn, Chattahoochee Hills, GA 

o Sat. Feb. 17 - The Sharp Nine Gallery, Durham, NC

o Wed. June 27 - Rochester Jazz Fest, Rochester, NY

katemcgarry.com

Ray Angry and Warren Wolf Present ‘JAZZ-AGEDDON’ A Pre-Grammy Celebration and Live Recording at the Blue Note Jazz Club

Jazz fans are in for an unprecedented and tasty musical treat to kick off a week of GRAMMY Awards celebrations in New York City. Acclaimed jazz artists, band leaders, and music producers Ray Angry and Warren Wolf are teaming up to present JAZZ-AGEDDON, a unique pre-GRAMMY Celebration and Live Recording with a who’s who of special guests, including James Carter, Sean Jones, Wycliffe Gordon, Jeremy Pelt, Marcus Gilmore, Myron Walden, Ali Jackson, Ben Williams, and Willie Jones III. The three-night jazz spectacular starts on Monday, January 22, 2018 and runs through Wednesday, January, 24, 2018 with two shows nightly at the legendary Blue Note Jazz Club, located in New York’s Greenwich Village.

With a lineup featuring critically hailed and genre-pushing all-stars, JAZZ-AGEDDON presents a thrilling musical exchange between innovative contemporary craftsmen at the top of their game, all celebrating America’s one true indigenous musical art form, Jazz, in the days leading up to the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which take place January 28 in New York for the first time in 15 years. The lineup and setlist of covers and originals will shift each night, ensuring that JAZZ-AGEDDON cooks up a unique gumbo of jazz flavors with each show.

“What an honor to start off 2018 performing at the Blue Note with Warren Wolf and present new music with a cast of world-renowned musicians,” says keyboardist Angry, who fronts the band Mister Goldfinger, among other projects. “Each night will be something that you won’t want to miss. Can’t wait to bring you music that will feed your mind, body, and soul.”

Baltimore-based vibraphones master Wolf adds, “I look forward to performing in Jazz-Ageddon with the great pianist and keyboardist Ray Angry. Many of our friends, Jeremy Pelt, Sean Jones, James Carter, Ben Williams, Wycliffe Gordon, Willie Jones III, Myron Walden and more will bring the very best sounds in jazz music and beyond with Ray Angry and myself at the helm.”

Shows are scheduled for 8 and 10 p.m. The Blue Note is located at 131 West 3rd Street, New York, New York 10012; for reservations, please call 212-475-8592. Tickets are available at the Blue Note Club website. The lineup for the three nights is as follows:

Monday, January 22, 2017

Ray Angry (keyboards), Warren Wolf (vibes, mallet percussion), Jeremy Pelt (trumpet), James Carter (saxophone), Ali Jackson (drums and percussion), Ben Williams (bass), Marcus Gilmore (drums and percussion), and Wycliffe Gordon (trombone).

Tuesday, January 23, 2017

Ray Angry (keyboards), Warren Wolf (vibes, mallet percussion), Willie Jones III (drums, percussion), Ali Jackson (drums, percussion), Myron Walden (saxophone, bass clarinet), Ben Williams (bass), and Sean Jones (trumpet).

Wednesday, January 24, 2017

Ray Angry (keyboards), Warren Wolf (vibes, mallet percussion), Willie Jones III (drums, percussion), Myron Walden (saxophone, bass clarinet), Ben Williams (bass), Marcus Gilmore (drums and percussion), and Sean Jones (trumpet).

Ray Angry is an acclaimed pianist, producer, composer and musical director, Angry has collaborated with a wide range of pop, jazz, R&B, and hip-hop artists including Jeff Beck, Wynton Marsalis, Mark Ronson, Q-Tip, Yolanda Adams, Joss Stone, Sting, Me’Shell Ndegéocello, Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, Cindy Blackman, a duo of Mick Jagger & Dave Stewart, Estelle, Richard Smallwood, Dionne Warwick, Dianne Reeves, Queen Latifah, D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Kelis, Christina Aguilera and ongoing associates The Roots. His compositions have been featured on TV shows, including “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.” His performance of “Celebration of Life Suite” was included on the Revive/Blue Note label’s compilation Supreme Sonacy, Vol 1. This summer, Angry is releasing his debut album, Ray Angry One.

Warren Wolf is a respected recording artist as well as an alumnus and former percussion professor at the world-renowned Berklee College of Music, vibraphone and marimba specialist. Wolf is the leader of Warren Wolf & WOLFPACK. With his mallet and percussion skills, he has served as a member of bassist Christian McBride’s group Inside Straight as well as the Bay Area’s all-star SFJazz Collective, the David Sanborn/Joey DeFrancesco Group, and the Aaron Diehl Quartet. His most recent recording as a leader is Convergence.

James Carter is multi-instrumentalist and Detroit native. Carter is best known for his innovative saxophone sound. A winner of Downbeat Magazine’s Critics and Readers’ Choice Award for baritone saxophone several years in a row, Carter is also an authority on vintage saxophones with an extensive collection. He has performed, toured and played on albums with jazz notables Lester Bowie, Julius Hemphill, Karryn Allison, Cyrus Chestnut, Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Dee Dee Bridgewater and his cousin, jazz violinist Regina Carter. He has recorded numerous albums as a leader.

Marcus Gilmore is a young-gun drum star. Gilmore has played with the likes of Ravi Coltrane, Clark Terry, Nicholas Payton, Chick Corea, Kenny Garrett, and Cassandra Wilson, among others. Born into a musical family (his grandfather is jazz drummer Roy Haynes) and raised in Queens, New York, Gilmore is currently a member of pianist Vijay Iyer’s band.

Wycliffe Gordon is considered one of the reigning trombone masters of his generation, Gordon has earned Downbeat Magazine’s Best Trombone for four years running, as well as eight honors from the Jazz Journalists Association, among other awards. A music educator and author as well as a performer and composer, Gordon frequently tours with his Wycliffe Gordon & His International All-Stars, composes for a variety of ensembles as well as stage and film projects. He has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Natalie Merchant, Rene Marie, Anat Cohen, Dianne Reeves, Ricky Skaggs, and Arturo Sandoval, among others.

Ali Jackson is a composer, educator, and percussionist. Jackson left Detroit to attend the New School University for Contemporary Music in New York, where he studied with Max Roach and Elvin Jones. A member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for more than a decade, Jackson has also performed and recorded with Wynton Marsalis, Jon Batiste, Willie Nelson, Tony Bennett, Faith Hill, Karriem Riggins, Bobby McFerrin, Norah Jones, Eric Clapton, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Harry Connick, Jr., Marcus Roberts, Joshua Redman, Vinx, Diana Krall, Gerald Albright, Jacky Terrasson, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and the New York City Ballet, among others.

Willie Jones III has studied under legendary drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath in college. The band he founded, Black Note, won the John Coltrane Jazz Competition and went on to record a series of albums. Jones has recorded with Roy Hargrove, Kurt Elling, and Eric Reed; he has also worked with Sonny Rollins, Ernestine Anderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Wynton Marsalis, Cedar Walton, the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, Houston Person, Billy Childs, Eric Alexander, Bill Charlap, Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock and Hank Jones, among others. In 2000, Jones released his debut CD, Vol 1...Straight Swingin’, on his label, WJ3 Records, and continues to record as a leader.

Sean Jones is a trumpeter, composer, and educator. The Ohio-born musician has captured attention for his unique sound. He held the trumpet chair in the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and has also been featured as a soloist with Illinois Jacquet, Jimmy Heath, Frank Foster, Nancy Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Gerald Wilson, and Marcus Miller, and toured with Miller, Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter on the 2011 Tribute to Miles tour.  A member of the SFJazz Collective, Jones has released several solo sets on Mack Avenue Records.

Jeremy Pelt is a respected traditional and contemporary trumpet player. Pelt has worked with Bobby “Blue” Bland, Ravi Coltrane, Frank Foster, Winard Harper, Jimmy Heath, Vincent Herring, John Hicks, Charli Persip, Ralph Peterson, Lonnie Plaxico, Bobby Short, Cedar Walton, Frank Wess, Nancy Wilson and The Skatalites, to name a few. Pelt has numerous album recordings as a leader.

Myron Walden learned woodwinds in high school and became so skilled on the alto sax that he was handpicked for a guest spot with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The Miami-born, Bronx-bred musician played with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Eddie Henderson, Kevin Hays, Stephen Scott, Greg Hutchinson and Eric Harland before earning a regular gig on Wednesday nights with his Apex Trio. He moved on to guest spots with Brian Blade’s Fellowship Band and The New Jazz Composers Octet, which made three recordings as a unit and two with Freddie Hubbard. Also a noted tenor and soprano sax player, Waldon has dozens of recordings as a sideman and several projects as a leader.

Ben Williams raised in Washington, D.C., earned a BA from Michigan State University and a MA from the esteemed Juilliard School. The acclaimed bassist is a winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk Jazz Competition in 2009, Williams has gone on to record as a leader. He is also a member of noted jazz guitarist Pat Metheny’s Unity Band, which won a 2013 Grammy Award.

About the Blue Note Jazz Club

Since its inception in 1981, Blue Note has become one of the premier jazz clubs in the world and a cultural institution in Greenwich Village. Owner and founder Danny Bensusan had a vision to create a jazz club in Greenwich Village that would treat deserving artists with respect, while allowing patrons to see the world’s finest jazz musicians in a close, comfortable setting. The club simultaneously strives to preserve the history of jazz, while fostering progression and innovation within the art form.

NEW RELEASES - ELVIN JONES - GENESIS; HIROSHIMA – EAST / PROVIDENCE; IVAN BLANUSA - LOUNGIN'

ELVIN JONES - GENESIS

Elvin Jones rose to fame in the company of one of the greatest saxophone players ever – the mighty John Coltrane – and his post-Coltrane work like this really continues a keen respect for the role of the reeds in jazz – and really does a lot to push it forward as well! There's a compelling edge to the record that's light years from Elvin's work with Coltrane – a completely new sensibility that can be spacious one minute, extremely powerful the next – and quite possibly realized to its fullest potential here, thanks to the mindblowing contributions of Dave Liebman on tenor and soprano sax, Frank Foster on tenor and flute, and Joe Farrell on alto and soprano sax. All three players work together on each track – and all shift reeds throughout the session – opening up majestically with inspiration from Elvin's drums, and some wonderful work from Gene Perla on bass. The sound is beyond easy categorization or simple style – and the record's filled with wonderful titles that include "PP Phoenix", "For All The Other Times", "Three Card Monty", and "Cecilia Is Love". (SHM-CD pressing!) ~ Dusty Groove.

HIROSHIMA – EAST / PROVIDENCE

A pair of later albums from one of the most unique fusion groups of their generation! First up is East, a record that really has Hiroshima embracing both their name and their previous approach to tight jazzy fusion – a set that's very electric, but also uses plenty of koto, taiko, and shamisen to give the music a strong Japanese flavor! The strongest lead comes from Dan Kuramoto, whose keyboard work and reed lines get plenty of space – but the set's also a definite group effort, with a warm sense of sympathy between the players – something you'd definitely need to blend acoustic and electric elements in this way! Machun sings lovely lead vocals on a few tracks – and titles include "East", "Tabo", "Streetcorner Paradise", "Daydreamer", "Living In America", and "Thousand Cranes". Providence showcases the continuing evolution of the Hiroshima sound – a set that still features the group's blend of electric fusion and more traditional Japanese elements – but which also marks a bit of a shift in the style of electric instruments at the time! In other words, the vibe here is more early 90s fusion than the sound of their earlier records – a shift in the choice of keyboards used by leader Dan Kuramoto, which are mixed alongside koto, shamisen, taiko, and percussion. Jeanette Clinger sings lead vocals in a few spots – and titles include "Turning Point", "Island World", "Time On The Nile", "With This Heart", "Kazen", "Providence", "One Of Us", and "Ribbon In The Sky". ~  Dusty Groove

IVAN BLANUSA - LOUNGIN'

Serbia based musician and saxophonist Ivan Blanusa presenting a fresh two track single release under the title 'Loungin'. The single is loaded with a smooth variety of jazz, funk and fusion spiced with modern stylish urban r'n'b & soul grooves. For this release the mighty and very well known producer Basement Freaks has joined on the release giving a touch with his great skills on the production. Both tracks are diving into r'n'b and jazz with deep & burning grooves and great arrangements. 'Loungin is going down & under with a smoky breath, blended with hiphop beats & brass section, with nice hooks and memorial sax-lines. While 'Sunday Chill' is travelling deeper, a slo-mo urban exploration with easy-going attitude and sophisticated saxophone solo & jazzy house vibes. Produced by: Basement Freaks. 

NYC PHENOMENON - THE EBONY HILLBILLIES - STIR UP THE ORGANIC SOUL, FUNK, ROMANCE & SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS ON THEIR LATEST ALBUM, ‘5 MILES FROM TOWN’

From the street corners of Manhattan to the hallowed stages of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to TV appearances on the BBC and ABC’s “Good Morning America,” The Ebony Hillbillies are a true phenomenon, reviving the lost art form and American legacy of string band music for a whole new generation.

Continuing to bring a fresh urgency to the genre for a 21st Century world in need of some deep musical education, the dynamic ensemble – led by Henrique Prince (fiddle, vocals) with Norris Bennett (banjo, mountain dulcimer, guitar, vocals), Gloria Thomas Gassaway (on vocals and bones), acoustic bassist William “Salty Bill” Salter (3x-Grammy winning co-writer of legendary pop hits like “Where is the Love” and “Just The Two of Us”), Allanah Salter (shaker, vocals), Newman Taylor Baker (washboard percussion) and A.R. on “cowboy” percussion kit - are releasing their latest full length album, 5 Miles From Town.

Infused with the Hillbillies’ trademark mix of pop, country, bluegrass, folk and jazz, the full length collection reflects a soulful, gritty and alternately funky, romantic and socially conscious place where toes are always tapping, percussion is slapping, fiddles are jamming, front porch chairs are rocking, banjos are plucking and voices are raised in determination and triumph.

Mixing lively instrumentals and vocals over the course of 11 tracks and 3 alternately playful and hard-hitting snippets/skits, the group performs everything from a down home fiddle jam (“Hog”), the gentle romantic cautionary tale "Fork in the Road” and an intimate cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” to the incisive social commentaries “Another Man Done Gone (Hands Up Don’t Shoot)” (about black men and police shootings) and “I’m on My Way To Brooklyn,” which rolls as a lighthearted NYC inspired spiritual until the end...and three gunshots.

The Ebony Hillbillies started out on the streets of Manhattan, but their vibe and influence has extended over the years to acclaimed live performances at legendary venues like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center; appearances on the BBC, Good Morning America, NBC, CBS, etc., international music workshops and festivals, visual artist collaborations at museums (including The Whitney with phenom Kara Walker and The Smithsonian Museum), Guest school programs, Foot stomping and Hand-clapping Dance parties and more. In the digital era, they have sold thousands of hard copies of their four CDs – Sabrina’s Holiday, I Thought You Knew, Barefoot and Flying and 2015's Slappin’ A Rabbit – Live! – at their shows and via their globally popular website, www.theEbonyHillbillies.com.

 

NEW RELEASES: MARION MEADOWS – SOUL CITY; BOB BALDWIN - NEVER OUT OF SEASON (REMIXED AND REMASTERED); AIRELLE BESSON / EDOUARD FERLET / STEPHANE KERECKI - AIRES

MARION MEADOWS – SOUL CITY

'Soul City', Marion's most intimate and heartfelt album to date, is a star-studded event that takes the listener on a sensuous journey through a soundscape of brilliant original compositions and masterful improvisations. The album is co-produced by Marion's long time hit-making collaborators, Chris "Big Dog" Davis (Will Downing, Gerald Albright, Maysa), Rahni Song (Najee, Melba Moore, Freddie Jackson) and Dave Love. With special guests: Will Downing, Norman Brown, Peter White, Peabo Bryson, Maysa and more!! Includes: Soul City; Consequences; You; Playa; Merry Go Round; Be With You;. No Wind No Rain; Time After Time; Dreamin'; and Only.

BOB BALDWIN - NEVER OUT OF SEASON (REMIXED AND REMASTERED)

In 1986, Bob Baldwin helped to lay bricks for the foundation of what is now called "Gospel Jazz" with his work on the Tom Browne "No Longer I" disc. Prior to him, only groups like Koinonia and Seawind preceded both funk-jazz icon Browne and Baldwin, as they both wanted to showcase their love for the creator while being known for the music they enjoy playing...jazz. That said, Baldwin finally fulfills a promise made to his late Aunt (Lettie Ayers) by re-mixing his project of 2011 in high-res 24-bit audio, finally issued on CD for the first time. This Gospel-Jazz piece features Marcus Anderson on sax, opening the disc with an uplifting groove piece called "Be Blessed (no Stress)"...he's later featured on the Donnie McClurkin classic "Speak to my Heart". Pianist Baldwin hearkens us back to the 1600's with jazzed-up classic hymns like "The Lord's Prayer / Let the Church say Amen", featuring Corvina Nielson (Vocals). Baldwin speaks to the current social conditions today with "Where's That Smile?", featuring Washington, D.C. Vocal sensation Lori Williams. Interpretations of "Silent Night", "Hallelujah" and "Jesus Loves Me" round out the set with a piano 'churchy' original "Prologue". This NY pianist shows off his church chops he honed when playing for churches in the 1980's. Those chops were reinforced when he saw Tramaine Hawkins live in college in the early 80's...it was there he envisioned the blend of Jazz and Gospel as a format. While his love for Gospel music is evident, he never strays far from his first love of jazz on this project, staying true to his "Baldwin sound". This is a must-have for Baldwin fans and those in Gospel looking for a new twist in their music collection. - written by the staff at City Sketches, Inc.

AIRELLE BESSON / EDOUARD FERLET / STEPHANE KERECKI - AIRES

Édouard Ferlet has already explored intriguing byways for the Alpha label: in 2015 he and Violaine Cochard recorded Plucked Unplucked , an album associating piano and harpsichord a successful venture that will soon see a follow-up. The bassist Stéphane Kerecki has already made several recordings for Outhere, including Nouvelle Vague , a prizewinner at the Victoires de la Musique. The career of the trumpet player Airelle Besson has been on a high since 2015, when she won both the Prix Django Reinhardt of the Académie du Jazz and the Révélation Award at the Victoires du Jazz.These three jazz musicians met and decided to form a trio in order to combine their universes and their ambitions. Here is the fruit of their first year of companionship, a programme presenting compositions by each of them, an album wearing the colours of jazz but featuring several tracks directly inspired by great standards of the classical repertoire, including Es ist vollbracht from Bach s St John Passion, the Pavanes of Ravel and Fauré, the Valse sentimentale of Tchaikovsky, and Khachaturian's Sabre Dance, which can be recognised behind the Stances du sabre . The refinement of the compositions and the playing and the musicians capacity for listening to each other are a source of endless pleasure and fulfilment.

NEW RELEASES: MATTEO PASTORINO – SUITE FOR MODIGLIANI; RUTH WILHELMINE MEYER - KLANGBIOTOPER; ARON TALAS TRIO – LITTLE BEGGAR

MATTEO PASTORINO – SUITE FOR MODIGLIANI

Suite for Modigliani is a musical journey through the world of the painter Amedeo Modigliani, composed by the Italian jazz clarinettist Matteo Pastorino. The result is immensely pacifying and uplifting jazz music, performed by Pastorino, Damien Varaillon (double bass), Gilad Hekselman (guitar), Jean Baptiste Pinet (drums) and Matthieu Roffe (piano). Matteo Pastorino: "It is an expression of my impressions and emotions about Modi's art and life. The composed music was inspired by key events in his life, his creative process and his artistic pursuit. The pure, abstract beauty of his work reminds me that the past and present in the art of any era can communicate with each other with intense authenticity and graceful respect. This dimension of Modi's art has always fascinated me and guided me in my own musical journey. In painting, sculpture, music and other forms of artistic expression, all spontaneous quests for grace and purity echo, equate and ultimately coalesce with one another."

RUTH WILHELMINE MEYER - KLANGBIOTOPER

One of Europe's leading vocal explorers returns with an audiophile sound environment beyond categories. Ruth Wilhelmine Meyer's second album 'Klangbiotoper' has turned into something few would have expected from the exceptional Norwegian vocalist: A political statement: "When I set out to record this album, I saw the atrocities that we were committing towards our planet and it got me thinking", Meyer recounts, "I reflected on my lack of will to do something about the situation and about our collective failure to take action. In some ways, working on the album was a way for me to enter into a dialogue with the places, plants and creatures of nature." These softly flowing, harmonically open compositions oscillate between folk tunes from Meyer's childhood and associative, almost sculptural instrumental parts, in which her band - made up of tuba, saxophone and percussion - is casting the shapes and outlines of the worlds she is singing about on the retina of the mind's eye. What may sound somewhat eccentric and experimental on paper, turns out to be intoxicating, intense and intimate.

ARON TALAS TRIO – LITTLE BEGGAR

Let's just play around with the idea of a guy in his mid-twenties surfacing in New York as a formidable pianist, an original composer, a drummer good enough to teach his craft at Juilliards and a useful bass-guitar player all rolled into one. His chances of being heard and noted would be pretty good, news of him would travel fast in jazz circles, critics would latch on to this exciting fresh talent and by the time he came to the Old World he would be probably idolized even before he played a note on a European stage. Fortunately for his homeland and, perhaps, unfortunately for him, the brilliant pianist on this album with all the attributes mentioned above, was born, trained and is playing in Hungary. Aron Talas is only 27 but is already one of the go-to keyboard men in his country that is certainly not lacking in great pianists. As for his own compositions - and all the tunes are his own on this album - apart from their startling originality, there is an unpretentious freshness about them that would appeal even to a non-jazz audience. Yet it is just that fresh simplicity which makes these themes terrific vehicles for improvisation. In his playing Aron is equally capable of great lyricism and soaring passion. He never slurs his notes and plays with admirable clarity.One can easily understand his choice of musicians for his trio. Jozsef Barcza Horvath, originally a classical player who finally found his freedom in jazz, is one of the great virtuosos of the double bass whose solos of sometimes astonishing speed invariably display and incredible melodic coherence. Yet, as an accompanist he is humble and is absolutely in tune, in more than one sense, with his fellow musicians. The drummer, Attila Gyarfas is the same age as Aron and already possesses the faultless dynamics that are essential in a combo like this. A Big Talk is a track where the quality of this wonderful rhythm section is well to the fore.

NEW RELEASES: JULIAN LAGE – MODERN LOVE; JAMISON ROSS - ALL FOR ONE; CHARLOTTE DOS SANTOS – CLEO

JULIAN LAGE – MODERN LOVE

On 'Modern Lore', Julian Lage's second studio recording with his trio, the composer and guitarist focuses on the groove, building his melodies and solos around the work of the prodigious rhythm section of double bassist Scott Colley and drummer Kenny Wollesen. It finds Lage playfully flipping the script he followed on his acclaimed 2016 Mack Avenue debut, 'Arclight'. This time he incorporates the sensibility, if not the outright sound, of early rock and roll, a similarly hybrid form driven by rhythm, personality and a passion for the electric guitar. Opening with the exuberant "The Ramble," Lage's set of all-original new material is largely up-tempo, though on tracks like "Atlantic Limited" and "Splendor Riot" the trio adopts a hypnotic, lyrical stride. And, on "Revelry" and "Pantheon", it grows more pensive. Throughout, the beat is concise and steady. Lage's solos are action-packed musical monologues, stuffed with brilliant melodies and off-the-cuff inspiration. The penultimate track, "Earth Science", is an outright scorcher. As one of the most prodigious guitarists of his generation, Lage has long displayed an ability to explore a wide range of sounds, ideas and genres. But what delights him here - and will, in turn, captivate his listeners - is the artful simplicity of Modern Lore. "There's a disarming spirit of generosity in the musicianship of Julian Lage, and a keener sense of judicious withholding. A guitarist with roots tangled up in jazz, folk, classical and country music, he has spent most of his life bathed in a bright, expectant light." - The New York Times

JAMISON ROSS - ALL FOR ONE

'All For One' perfects the intoxicating chemistry of Jamison Ross' debut, which intermingled blues, jazz, R&B and soul effortlessly. The album boasts a cast of musicians of whom Ross has developed a strong rapport from touring - pianist Chris Pattishall, guitarist Rick Lollar (both of whom played on the 2015 debut), bassist Barry Stephenson, and Cory Irvin on Hammond organ and Fender Rhodes. Ross is particularly enthusiastic with the addition of Irvin on the organ because he likens that instrument to an orchestra that would accompany jazz singers like Frank Sinatra or Billie Holiday.Love is a recurring theme on 'All For One' as the material touches on both the romantic kind and the socio-political aspect of love that calls for unity among a diverse and, at times, a divisive community. The album also finds the Jacksonville, Florida born and now New Orleans-based Ross plowing into the rarefied areas of blues and R&B that seldom gets investigated by his peers. Besides the wordless "Tears and Questions," 'All For One' contains no instrumentals like its predecessor; nor does it explicitly showcases Ross' virtuosity as a drummer. "This album is a result of a personal revelation that we all have the capacity to love with empathy in a deeper way. The love you need comes from me and the love I need comes from you. All for one, one for all."

CHARLOTTE DOS SANTOS – CLEO

The debut album for singer, songwriter and producer, Charlotte Dos Santos. Born in Norway, Charlotte combines soul, jazz, rare groove and Afrolatin influences, with a warm sense of storytelling & an angelic voice that seems to float over any track it's on. Currently based in Brooklyn, NY Charlotte has been making waves as of late with her sentimentally-timeless singles Red Clay and Good Sign, and keen visual aesthetic (best seen in her music videos, which she co-directs). Now Charlotte makes good on all of the potential she's shown thus far with the release of her debut project, Cleo. The project compiles a few lost Soundcloud and compilation fan-favorites ( Move On, Take It Slow, and Watching You ) with stand-out pieces (including Good Sign, Cleo, King Of Hearts ) all coming together to paint a singular, yet universal, coming-of-age love story. On the album title's significance, Charlotte explains ''Cleo' is a woman who represents power, femininity, courage and independence. She is ambitious and fearless, yet humble. She is the woman I feel I am becoming, and the woman I feel all girls could be.' Charlotte wrote & produced the project herself, with Oslo beatmaker Fredfades (of the Mutual Intentions crew) contributing on four songs as well. TRACKLIST: 1. Sumer Is Icumen In 2. Good Sign 3. Watching You 4. Move On 5. Cleo 6. (New Beginnings) 7. Red Clay 8. King Of Hearts 9. Take It Slow 10. It s Over, Bobby.

PATTI AUSTIN & JAMES MORRISON - ELLA & LOUIS

Following on from their sellout BBC Proms performance, legendary Grammy award-winning vocalist Patti Austin and Australian trumpet maestro James Morrison come together to relive the timeless hits of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong in their new album on ABC Jazz. Recorded live in concert across two sold-out nights at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Austin and Morrison are joined by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in a celebration of the centennial of Fitzgerald’s birth. Patti Austin experienced the legendary pair first-hand: “To grow up watching, learning from Ella and Louis, and now to do my part to hopefully enhance their legacy – it just doesn’t get any better than that!’, she comments. 

Few performers have the credentials to pull off a fitting and genuinely thrilling tribute to ‘The First Lady of Song’ – Ella Fitzgerald – but Austin possesses the heritage, experience and voice to do so. Since debuting at the Apollo Theatre at the tender age of four, with the encouragement of her godparents Dinah Washington and Quincy Jones, Austin’s six-decade career has seen her work with artists as diverse as Randy Brecker, Michael Jackson and George Benson. As a virtuoso instrumentalist and ambassador for jazz, James Morrison has followed closely in the footsteps of Louis Armstrong. 

In 2017, Morrison was invited to perform in a tribute to Armstrong at the BBC Proms, earning stellar reviews across the international press; his Great American Songbook, recorded at Abbey Road Studios, recently won the ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album. Morrison and Austin reunited for this recording after their previous performance together at the Montreux Jazz Festival with Quincy Jones. The landmark collaboration between Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong was the pinnacle of an era. This album features the very finest from their songbook: Let’s Do It, Lullaby of Birdland, Basin Street Blues, Miss Otis Regrets and much more, totalling almost two hours of unforgettable music. “If you enjoy this disc even half as much as we enjoyed making it, you’re having a very, very good time indeed.” – James Morrison “As long as there are interpreters like Patti Austin and James Morrison, there will always be a full house for quality jazz” ~ ArtsHub

NEW RELEASES: MELODY GARDOT – LIVE IN EUROPE; RAMSEY LEWIS – DON’T IT FEEL GOOD / SALONGO / TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD / LOVE NOTES; JULIA BIEL

MELODY GARDOT – LIVE IN EUROPE

Celebrating the international tour success of her career so far, Melody Gardot brings us her first ever album of live recorded music. Presenting live versions of her greatest hits recorded at concerts worldwide between 2012 & 2016. An album personally curated by Melody herself, includes Our Love Is Easy - Live in Paris / 2012; Baby I'm A Fool - Live in Vienna / 2013; The Rain - Live in Bergen / 2013; Deep Within The Corners Of My Mind - Live in Amsterdam / 2012; So Long - Live in Frankfurt / 2012; My One and Only Thrill - Live in Barcelona / 2012; Lisboa - Live in Lisbon / 2015; Over The Rainbow - Live in Zurich / 2013; (Monologue) Special Spot - Live in London / 2016; Baby I'm A Fool - Live in London / 2016; Les Etoiles - Live in London / 2016; Goodbye - Live in Utrecht / 2016; (Monologue) Tchao Baby - Live in Utrecht / 2016; March For Mingus - Live in Utrecht / 2016; Bad News - Live in Utrecht / 2016; Who Will Comfort Me - Live in Amsterdam / 2015; and Morning Sun - Live in Paris / 2015 (DVD Audio).

RAMSEY LEWIS – DON’T IT FEEL GOOD / SALONGO / TEQUILA MOCKINGBIRD / LOVE NOTES

From 1975, 1976 and 1977 come these four albums, originally recorded for Columbia. All four made the US Top 200 reflecting the acclaimed jazz pianist’s standing and popularity. Lewis continues to be involved with music and artistic education. Digitally remastered and slipcased, and with extensive new notes. Includes: Don’t It Feel Good; Juaacklyn; Spider Man; Something About You; That’s The Way Of The World; Fish Bite; I Dig You; Can’t Function; Slick; Aufu Oodu; Rubato; Salongo; Brazilica; Nicole; Seventh Fold; Tequila Mockingbird; Wandering Rose; Skippin’; My Angel’s Smile; Camino El Bueno; Caring For You; Intimacy; That Ole Bach Magic; Spring High; Love Theme From A Star Is Born (Evergreen); Shining; Love Notes; Chili Today, Hot Tamale; The Messenger; and Stash Dash.

JULIA BIEL -  JULIA BIEL

Love, conflict, rootlessness, solitude... Julia Biel wraps her unmistakable voice around profoundly universal themes in timeless songs of spine-tingling beauty on this eponymous third album. Her distinctive melodic flair, her poetic yet conversational lyrical style and an ability to write songs as magical as they are immediate all combine to create an unusual elegance in the world of jazz/pop crossover music. Accompanying herself on either piano or guitar and contributing string arrangements, backing vocals and percussion as well as 11 of the 12 songs presented, Julia once again joins forces with producer Idris Rahman to build on the production style they developed for her MOBO-nominated second album 'Love Letters and Other Missiles' to carve out a unique space in the musical landscape where the classic meets the contemporary.

NEW RELEASES: DON ELLIS – TEARS OF JOY / CONNECTION; SUNNY WILKINSON - INTO THE LIGHT; BONESHAKER (WILLIAMS/NILSSEN-LOVE/KESSLER) – THINKING OUT LOUD

DON ELLIS – TEARS OF JOY / CONNECTION

A pair of classics from Don Ellis – back to back in a single set! Tears Of Joy is one of the greatest albums ever from funky trumpeter Don Ellis – partly because he takes off in a whole new direction of tones and sounds! Don blows both a quarter-tone trumpet and four-valve trombone here – both instruments with a very distinctive vibe, which are then set up in a groovy large ensemble that features more trumpet and trombone, plus woodwinds and a bit of strings – and some great electric touches on Fender Rhodes, clavinet, and ring modulator! The tunes have that bold Ellis punch of a few years before, but also really hit an earthier vibe too – not just new ideas in sound, but also some rhythmic pulsation that really gives lots of the tunes a fresh sort of flavor. Titles include "Samba Bajada", "Strawberry Soup", "Euphoric Acid", "Get It Together", and "Bulgarian Bulge". Connection is a great set of electric groovers released at the same time that Don scored big with his soundtrack for The French Connection! As you'd guess from the title, the feel here is quite similar – funky electric big band jazz, with a very hip 70s action soundtrack feel – one that mixes acoustic sax and trumpet passages with some groovier keyboards and electronic bits – all wrapped up in production that's tight, but never too slick to be funky! The album features a great take on Don's excellent "Theme From The French Connection" – plus great electric jazz covers of "Alone Again Naturally", "Superstar", "I Feel The Earth Move", "Roundabout", and "Lean On Me" – as well as album originals "Chain Reaction" and "Train To Get There".  ~ Dusty Groove

SUNNY WILKINSON - INTO THE LIGHT

Into The Night, the newest CD by veteran jazz vocalist Sunny Wilkinson features Wilkinson’s crystalline voice and impressive ability to convey the heart of a lyric with unadorned honesty. For Wilkinson, the CD is all about family— not just her immediate family, but her extended music family, as well. The songs she chose comprise a mix of styles that resonate with Wilkinson because they reflect, in various ways, her experiences and views on love, life, and relationships. Wilkinson wrote lyrics to five of the songs, including the title tune. “Into the Light” embodies the theme for the CD, which is that life is often fraught with challenges and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, but strength and perseverance can deliver you into the light, where “wisdom and beauty abound.” The love for family and the strength and joy it brings her permeate the CD, especially in the songs written by Wilkinson and her husband, pianist Ron Newman, who composed three of the tracks. Whether singing an intimate ballad or a fast paced, bopping scat number, Wilkinson never hits a false or extraneous note. Her silky, warm voice, emotional honesty, and thoughtful approach to lyrics are the hallmarks of an experienced artist at the peak of her powers.

BONESHAKER (WILLIAMS/NILSSEN-LOVE/KESSLER) – THINKING OUT LOUD

Plenty of bone-shaking going on here – thanks to work by this heavy power trio, recording in Chicago with all the harder-burning energy of the scene! Visitor Paal Nilssen-Love is on drums and percussion – playing with all the incredible twists and turns that always make his performances such a delight – while Mars Williams plays a variety of reeds, and Kent Kessler reminds us again why his hands on the bass are always a force to be reckoned with! Despite the intensity, there's also some strongly melodic moments – especially from Williams – and titles include "Wabi Sabi", "Brain Freeze", "Puffy Fluffy", and "Salty Fruity".  ~ Dusty Groove

Nina Simone And Sister Rosetta Tharpe To Be Inducted Into Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Simone Joins Performer Category While Tharpe Honored As Early Influencer

Verve Label Group and UMe are proud to announce the induction of trailblazers Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Late pianist, singer and activist Simone will be inducted into the 2018 Performer Category alongside Bon Jovi, The Cars and The Moody Blues, while Tharpe, the late singer and guitarist known as the "godmother of rock and roll," will be inducted into the hall's Early Influences wing, joining such luminaries as Billie Holiday, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, Bessie Smith and Howlin' Wolf. The 33rd Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place April 14, 2018 at Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio.

Verve Label Group and UMe are proud to announce the induction of trailblazers Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Verve Label Group and UMe are proud to announce the induction of trailblazers Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Known as the "High Priestess of Soul," Nina Simone defies categorization. A pianist, singer, songwriter, composer and activist, she was one of the most gifted vocalists of her generation, an extraordinary artist of the twentieth century, an icon of American music. Rather than being confined to musical boundaries, she knew no bounds and fused jazz, blues, soul, folk, R&B, gospel, pop and showtunes with her classical roots, creating a rich tapestry filled with emotional honesty, spiritual depth and virtuosic musicianship.

Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on February 21, 1933, in Tryon, North Carolina, Simone took to music at an early age and begun playing piano at three years old. After graduating valedictorian of her high school class, her community raised money for a scholarship for her to study classical piano at Julliard in New York City. She left after the money ran out and applied to the prestigious Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, where she was denied entrance, something Simone always felt was racially motivated. Determined to make a living playing music, she began to perform in bars in Atlantic City where she played jazz standards and was required to sing. Word quickly spread and at the age of twenty-four she scored her first record deal.

Simone recorded more than 40 albums, beginning in 1957 with her debut Little Girl Blue, featuring "I Loves You Porgy," which became a Top 10 hit in the U.S. By the mid-1960s, Simone had become known as a main voice for the Civil Rights Movement as her music began to reflect the tumultuous times. She signed to Philips in 1964 at the age of 31 and experienced an exceptional purple patch that included seven albums in three years. Her first for the label, Nina Simone In Concert, captured some of Simone's most committed Civil Rights-era material, including her explosive rendition of "Mississippi Goddam." This period also saw her satisfy her relentlessly questing muse, with collections that focused on Broadway showtunes (Broadway-Blues-Ballads), pop material (I Put A Spell On You) and more, showing the full range of Simone's talents. Pitchfork hailed these recordings, which include classics "Feeling Good," "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," "I Put A Spell On You," "Sinnerman" and "Four Women," as "some of the most important, moving documents of American history."

Since her death in 2003, Simone's influence, significance and cultural relevance has only grown, especially most recently as issues of race, police brutality and civil rights are once again at the forefront of the cultural conversation. The feature documentary, "What Happened, Miss Simone?" — which won the 2016 Emmy for Outstanding Documentary —helped shine a new light on Simone's immense talents and fearless activism, resulting in a new generation discovering her timeless music and indelible impact. Simone's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame serves as a recognition of her influence and contributions to the world of music. 

Upon the news of her induction, Rolling Stone wrote, "no artist has been more overdue for recognition than Sister Rosetta Tharpe, adding, "A queer black woman from Arkansas who shredded on electric guitar, belted praises both to God and secular pleasures, and broke the color line touring with white singers, she was gospel's first superstar, and she most assuredly rocked." Born March 20, 1915 in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, Tharpe defied expectations from an early age as a guitar prodigy. At six years old, her mother left her father to be a traveling evangelist and together they joined the exodus of poor black southerners heading north. They settled in Chicago where young Rosetta encountered the music that migrants had brought with them - blues from the Mississippi delta and jazz from New Orleans. She began performing gospel music as Little Rosetta Nubin with her mother at churches as part of a traveling Baptist roadshow. By the time she was in her 20s, she was a seasoned performer whose distinctive voice and unconventional style, filled with her signature feverish electric guitar playing, attracted many fans.

In 1938, Tharpe moved to New York, where she signed with Decca Records. That year she recorded four songs – "Rock Me," "That's All," "The Man and I" and "The Lonesome Road" – which all became instant hits, establishing Tharpe as a household name and helping to bring gospel music to the mainstream. She remained a star through the '40s and in 1945 her single, "Strange Things Happening Every Day," became the first gospel single to cross over on the Billboard race (later called R&B) charts. In 1947, she gave 14-year-old Richard Penniman his first glimpse of the spotlight which made Little Richard decide to become a performer right then. In the '50s massive audiences were flocking to see her perform in arenas.

"She was there before Elvis, Little Richard and Johnny Cash swiveled their hips and strummed their guitars," NPR proclaimed in their feature of Tharpe earlier this year. "It was Tharpe, the godmother of rock 'n' roll, who turned this burgeoning musical style into an international sensation… Through her unforgettable voice and gospel swing crossover style, Tharpe influenced a generation of musicians including Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry and countless others." Without Sister Rosetta Tharpe, rock and roll would not be the same. As the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame said, "She is the founding mother who gave rock's founding fathers the idea," declaring, "No one deserves more to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame."