Dave Liebman, Adam Rudolph, Hamid Drake - CHI

 A transcendent collaboration deeply possessed of fresh inspiration and deep roots, ancient traditions and modern invention.

Chi brings together these three master musicians for a breathtaking excursion into spontaneous composition, an extended, adventurous set of free improvisation that maintains a through line of resilient architecture and unexpected twists and turns. Nowhere revealing the tenuous moments that might be expected in an initial collaboration, the music is vivid and powerful from beginning to end, evoking timeless traditions while surging forward with ferocious abandon.

"Taoism is all about being in tune with our true nature," Rudolph explains. "Chi is all about the yin and yang of receptivity and action. Musically, that becomes the ebb and flow of listening and generating ideas. The music on Chi was so successful because everyone was listening and letting the music happen in a very natural, organic, spontaneous way."

Chi captures what was, until that moment, the only time these three pioneering artists had shared the stage together. Recorded on a spring evening at The Stone at the New School in New York City, the freely improvised set is fueled both by the vitality of new encounters and the unparalleled chemistry of longstanding relationships.

"There's real freedom going on in this music," Rudolph continues. "I feel like anything that I can imagine, Dave and Hamid will be able to hear and understand it, and respond to it through their creative action."

Rudolph and Drake share a nearly half-century of history together, dating back to their teenage years in Chicago. The two met in a downtown drum shop when both were 14 years old, and have since enjoyed a profound personal and creative friendship. In the decades since they're worked together with such greats as Don Cherry, Yusef Lateef, Fred Anderson, Pharoah Sanders and Hassan Hakmoun and in each other's ensembles.

"We grew up sharing a similar pursuit," Drake says. "The music, of course; not only the history of the various musical traditions that we're interested in but also the cosmology of those traditions, the spiritual practices that informed or fed those musical genres."

In both Drake and Rudolph, that spiritual element has fueled a never-ending search that has led both to constantly pursue new avenues of expression and exploration. Traveling those parallel pathways, that continual seeking has allowed their decades of collaboration to be renewed and invigorated each time they've convened. "When you've known someone for a long time but you also share a creative pursuit, that feeds into and gives energy to the relationship," Drake says. "My relationship with Adam continues to be refueled. It's not just the embers; new logs are always being put on the fire."

The addition of Liebman's singular voice certainly stokes that already blazing flame. While this recording marks the veteran saxophonist's first meeting with Drake, he's been enjoying a fruitful collaboration with Rudolph over the last several years. The pair first worked together during another of the percussionist's residencies at the original Stone in 2016, then expanded to a trio with the inventive Japanese-born percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani for the RareNoise release The Unknowable.

Long before that, however, Rudolph and Drake had deeply immersed themselves in Liebman's voice via his influential work with such icons as Miles Davis and Elvin Jones. "Dave Liebman was one of the people who was committed to pushing the music forward," Drake says. "When Adam and I were studying Miles' music, at the time when he started moving into other dimensions, Dave was a strong force in that movement. So as players coming up and trying to delve into that, he was one of the exemplars for us. And he continues to remain open to many different types of music and musical vocabularies."

Liebman has always found a great source of inspiration in the sound of the drums, making him an ideal partner for the two virtuosic percussionists. As far back as 1974, his Liebman's second album as a leader was titled Drum Ode and featured a stellar gathering of percussionists from various traditions that included Bob Moses, Barry Altschul, Badal Roy, Patato Valdez, Collin Walcott and Jeff Williams.

Rudolph pays Liebman the high compliment of calling him a "rhythmist," a term he reserves for only the most simpatico of improvisers. "Not every 'melody' player is a rhythmist," he explains. "That means having a really evolved sense of phrasing and timing. Dave went through the Elvin Jones and Miles Davis schools, and you have to be a supreme rhythmist to go through those experiences. Hamid and I have developed a unique language together, and Liebman can not only hang with that but thrive in it and add to the mix with a multiplicity of layers and interweaving thematic threads."

"The drum has always been a focal point of my playing career," Liebman says. "The more the better. In this case, when I turned around and saw what these two guys had in back of me, it was like a Hollywood set. If you sit in the middle of all that rhythm, you're definitely going to play something different and hopefully adventurous."

That battery of instrumentation includes Rudolph's trademark hand drumset, which includes kongos, djembe and Tarija, as well as a variety of other percussion instruments and the three-stringed Gnawa lute known as the sintir. Drake supplements his drumset prowess with the thunderous frame drum and his own arsenal of percussion. In addition, both Rudolph and Liebman take turns at the Stone's piano, while Rudolph adds multiphonic vocals as well as the limitless possibilities offered by electronic processing.

Liebman is particularly excited by the transformative effect of Rudolph's electronics, an interest that dates back to the percussionist's days in the groundbreaking electronic music program at Oberlin College. "I love the different textural elements it contributes," Liebman says. "If my back is turned and I hear something going on, I don't know if it's coming from Adam or from Hamid, from a machine or form outer space."

The album initiates with otherworldly electronic shimmers on "Becoming," as the sound of bamboo flute is mutated into ricocheting breaths against the stark tolling of piano keys and Drake's subtle interjections on his cymbals. The piece builds in intensity with the entrance of Liebman's soulful tenor before abruptly dissipating.

"Flux" begins with the subtle, interlocking rhythms of Rudolph and Drake, which Liebman then weaves a serpentine path through and around. The momentum builds like an avalanche before hanging suspended for a moment on the saxophonist's breathy soprano. His wisps of melody become warped into spirals of sound via Rudolph's processed echoes, which Drake engages in a playful tug of war.

A suspenseful, prodding dialogue between the two percussionists opens "Continuum," eventually pierced by the plaintive wail of Liebman's soprano, establishing a tension that is maintained thrillingly through the remainder of the piece. "Formless Form" begins on a dark, ominous note with Liebman's ruminative piano accented by faint percussion atmospherics. The piece is a masterpiece of slow build, from the gripping use of space to an exhilarating cavalcade of discordant eruptions.

The compelling power of the drums is evident in the rapturous conversation that opens the album's longest piece, "Emergence." The instant rapport of these three masters is nowhere more in evidence than in the sustained structure and organic evolutions of this 14-minute piece, which moves from the sinuous dance of Liebman's soprano with Rudolph's vocals to hypnotic grooves and wrenching howls. Rudolph's sintir provides the foundation for album closer "Whirl," utterly mesmerizing in its fluid momentum.

While the life force it attempts to describe has been given many names across a wide swath of cultures, the trio chose the Taoist word Chi due to Rudolph's and Drake's shared study of the Chinese martial art and health exercise T'ai chi ch'uan. "This life philosophy has informed our worldview," Rudolph says. "Being in tune with each other's chi and the chi around and about us is where this group works really well. Approaching the musical moment with humility and receptivity: that's the philosophy of this music."

Marilyn Mazur's Shamania - An all-female band, a gathering of ten of Scandinavia's most inventive and respected female musicians

In 1978, Danish percussion master Marilyn Mazur founded the bold, innovative Primi Band, an all-female music-theater ensemble that drew from a deep well of primal energy and experimental audacity. Four decades later, Mazur reinvents the core concepts in an adventurous new fashion with Shamania, a gathering of ten of Scandinavia's most inventive and respected female musicians.

Whereas Primi Band culled its members from risk-taking but non-professional musicians, Shamania comprises ten highly respected (but equally daring) artists from the Danish, Swedish and Norwegian avant-jazz scenes. Their stunning debut album is a vivid combination of primeval forces and virtuosic musicianship, fiercely original imaginings and deeply organic emotions, communal energies and singular voices.

The core tenet of Shamania, as with Primi Band before it, is the Danish term urkraft - which translates roughly as "primeval power" or "primitive force." As Mazur interprets it, urkraft represents "getting back to instinctive ways of expressing yourself. I had the vision of some kind of tribal female gathering from the past. This ritual feeling was the main idea of Primi Band and the starting vision for Shamania."

The distinctive atmosphere that arises in both bands, Mazur explains, stems in part from the unique opportunity they provide. Most of these musicians are used to being the minority in male-dominated ensembles - Mazur herself has the distinction of being the only woman ever to have been a member of a Miles Davis group. While she's hesitant to differentiate musicians by gender, Mazur does stress that Shamania thus tips the scale back to a more equitable position.

"It feels good to have this group to help balance out things in the world," she says. "In the jazz world, it's very much been men that have created the language. It's nice to be able to be a part of creating the modern sound of jazz. I don't think you can really hear a difference -- you can hear each individual contributing their qualities to the music - but it provides a very special feeling to everyone in the band, and allows us to bring some fresh energy to the music."

  

Regardless of any categorization, the ten musicians that make up Shamania are a remarkable gathering of artists, with a decades-spanning age range from 28-year-old drummer Anna Lund to Mazur, taking on elder stateswoman status at 64. Danish saxophonist Lotte Anker was an original member of Primi Band, and has since gone on to perform with such esteemed improvisers as Craig Taborn, Sylvie Courvoisier, Fred Frith, Gerald Cleaver, Ikue Mori, Marilyn Crispell, Tim Berne, and countless others.

Award-winning Swedish vocalist Josefine Cronholm and Danish percussionist Lisbeth Diers are both frequent collaborators of Mazur's, including as part of the now-defunct quintet Percussion Paradise. Japanese-Danish keyboardist Makiko Hirabayashi has also enlisted Mazur for her own trio as well as working in several of Mazur's other ensembles.

The remaining members of Shamania are largely new acquaintances for the veteran percussionist. Norwegian vocalist and saxophonist Sissel Vera Pettersen has brought her experimental approach to the music of composers like John Hollenbeck, Theo Bleckmann, and Chick Corea, while trumpeter Hildegunn Øiseth (also from Norway) offers the unfamiliar sound of her hand-made goat horn to Shamania's already wide-ranging palette. Lis Wessberg is one of the leading trombonists in Denmark, where she's played with such world-renowned artists as Randy Brecker, Ray Charles, and Kid Creole and the Coconuts.

Norwegian bassist and singer Ellen Andrea Wang blends genres in new and unprecedented ways, merging jazz and pop elements with a unique balance of the lyrical and the rough, the acoustic and the electric, creating a unique sound with her own trio as well as the critically acclaimed indie-jazz band Pixel. Swedish drummer Anna Lund is the founder of the uncategorizable indie-jazz band Hurrakel.

Live, Shamania also features the improvising dancer Tine Erica Aspaas, reinvigorating the ancient bond between music, percussion and dancing while joining the ensemble in forging new paths forward. "I've always been very much into dancing when I play music," Mazur stresses. "It's not even a conscious thing; my approach to playing is just naturally very physical and also very visual -- at least that's what I hear from people. When people go to hear concerts they're looking at all these musicians playing, so it really adds a lot to the music to have someone concentrate on visualizing the music with their movement."

"New Secret" opens the album with the insistent, rhythmic chanting of an invocation. The cyclic piece is built on one of the core elements that Mazur has carried forward from Primi Band, which she calls "Primi ostinatos." These small, repeated sonic units were inspired by the minimalist composers of the 1970s, game-changing pioneers like Philip Glass, Mike Oldfield and Steve Reich. Mazur put her own spin on that lineage, however, imbuing these repetitions with a more vigorous momentum, her rhythmic impulses in conflict with the minimalists' inherently static compositions. 

"Rytmeritual" and the later "Kalimbaprimis" are also made up of these ostinatos, in this case two variations on the same melody and repeated figures. Both pieces reveal Mazur's deeply personal absorption and reinterpretation of diverse musical cultures and traditions, emerging with hints of Indonesian gamelan and African folk traditions. Mazur insists that these globe-spanning accents are unintentional, arising organically from her expansive tastes rather than any attempt at some kind of world music fusion.

"I listen to a lot of different music, and of course it influences me and becomes part of my subconscious musical language," she says. "But I write more by having visions and dreams and putting them into the music. The tribal feeling of the music in Shamania might draw parallels to gamelan music, to African music, to Indian music. But it's not a conscious choice to use those musical languages."

"CHAAS" is one of several pieces drawn from the Primi Band repertoire. This piece takes its name from the Danish notation for the four notes of the basic melody - in English, these would be C, B natural, A, and A flat. The origins of the self-explanatory "Old Melody" may date even further back - Mazur says the tune has been around so long she can't remember when she conceived it originally - but it has remained on the shelf until now, unused but memorable enough to emerge decades later to find its proper place in this group.

"Fragments" is a free improvisation ripple effect, with each member of the ensemble contributing a brief exclamation, which is responded to and carried forward by the next artist in line. It's something of a functional piece on the bandstand, serving to introduce each member of the band in turn through their own musical voice. "Space Entry Dance" enjoys a similar position, its African-inspired melody used to usher the musicians and dancer onstage during live performances; here, it closes the album on a thrilling, upbeat note.

"Time Ritual" is another composition conceived for the live stage, usually a showcase for Aspaas, with the musicians reacting in real time to the dancer's improvised movements. In the studio, without the dancer present, it's transformed into a sonic sculpture, built on the hypnotic rhythms of human breath.

"Crawl Out & Shine," with its celebratory, sinuous melody, is the sole piece on the album with lyrics. It was written after Mazur won the prestigious JAZZPAR Prize in 2001, and entreats the audience to join in the band's communal spirit, to enjoy life and music together with the musicians. "Behind Clouds" is a landscape rendered in percussion, a solo improvisation by Mazur that strives to illustrate the diverse colors of light streaming through the clouds as the sun sets over the ocean.

"Shabalasa" combines the name of Shamania with the balafon from Mali, which Mazur plays with unbridled joy. "Heartshaped Moon," like the majority of the album, was composed specifically for Shamania, reflecting on the powers of the moon and its echo in the female cycle. Vera's ferocious vocal improvisations, engaged in a back and forth with Diers' tribal percussion, gives the feel of a frenzied primitive ceremony to "Surrealistic Adventure." The two brief pieces titled "Momamajobas" were written for Mazur's duet performance with pianist Jon Balke at the 2008 Moldejazz Festival, its name a combination of MOlde, MArilyn MAzur, and JOn BAlke. They bookend a dialogue between the percussionist and Anker called "Talk for 2."

Shamania is the latest stunning venture in a consistently intrepid career. Since she emerged on the Danish scene in the mid 1970s with Primi Band and the fusion group Six Winds, Mazur has been an invariably original percussionist and composer. She toured the world with Miles Davis as well as the Gil Evans Orchestra and the Wayne Shorter Quintet in the 1980s, before returning to her own visionary music with the 7-piece international orchestra Future Song, then later with the Marilyn Mazur Group, Celestial Circle and Mystic Family, among other ground-breaking ensembles. At the same time she spent more than a decade touring and recording with Norwegian sax giant Jan Garbarek.

Video (Jazzahead 2017):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPMU8SAIv70

Vocalist Alicia Olatuja Releases Intuition: Songs From The Minds Of Women

Once you have listened to acclaimed vocalist, composer and arranger Alicia Olatuja (A-LEE-see-ah Oh-la-TU-ja), you won’t soon forget her. Praised in The New York Times as “a singer with a strong and luscious tone,” Olatuja combines the earthy with the sublime, bringing a grounded relatability to genres as lofty as classical, as venerated as jazz, and as gritty as R&B. On her stunning Resilience Music Alliance debut, Intuition: Songs From The Minds Of Women, Olatuja lends her distinctive approach to celebrating the artistic output of noted female composers.

Olatuja’s vocal excellence stunned a global audience of millions during the second inauguration ceremony for President Barack Obama, the nation’s first African American president, in 2013 with a soaring featured solo during the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir’s rendition of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Though most didn’t know her name, her pristine voice and poise made a visible impact on the dignitaries in attendance, with reporters and social media lavishing her with praise. “They weren’t there to see me or anybody else sing, what brought them there was this monumental historical event, but to see their reaction was another piece of validation for me as a performer,” she says.

Since this historic performance, opportunities to expand her repertoire and earn fans have only snowballed. Olatuja has performed extensively with The Juilliard School’s various jazz ensembles, shared the stage with Chaka Khan, BeBe Winans, Christian McBride, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Billy Childs, and others, and appeared at national and international music festivals with her own band, earning accolades from fans and the press. She released a previous music collection, Timeless, independently in 2014.

Intuition features songs by Sade, Angela Bofill, Brenda Russell, Linda Creed, Imogen Heap, Tracy Chapman, Kate Bush, and others. Produced by Olatuja, Kamau Kenyatta and Ulysses Owens Jr., with arrangements by noted jazz musicians, Intuition is a showcase for Olatuja’s broad vocal range, deft lyrical interpretation, and elegant phrasing, a sound that may draw comparisons to current soul-pop finds like Ella Mai and H.E.R. while evoking such treasured soul divas as GRAMMY winners Lalah Hathaway, Rachelle Ferrell, and Dianne Reeves.

Intuition is a perfect musical commentary for the times, as women reassert their rights, gain more political clout, and speak out against harassment, abuse, and exploitation in all walks of life.

“When we hear the word ‘intuition’ we think of a woman's intuition, that inner, gut-instinct thing that goes beyond mere information,” says Olatuja of the album’s title concept. “There is something powerful and beautiful and something to be celebrated in that. The subtitle From the Minds of Women reminds people that we're not just intuitive, emotional beings. We are intellectual as well. We do know how to connect the emotional and the rational. And when we do that, especially through our work, beautiful and unimaginably creative things are made.”

Alicia Olatuja - Obama Inauguration 2013

 "The young lady was breathtaking... fantastic... unreal." – The View

See Alicia Olatuja Perform at Barack Obama's Inauguration

Olatuja is perfectly suited to deliver a meditation on the depth of women’s musical expression. She puts her distinctively soulful stamp on every track, giving beloved South American anthem “Grácias A La Vida” by Violeta Parra a funky update with Memphis-style horns while acing the Spanish lyrics; building bridges to the Motherland with African choruses on Angela Bofill’s “Under The Moon And Over The Sky,” and adding a Caribbean jump-up beat to the Linda Creed co-composition “People Make the World Go Round.” Her creative approach also reimagines Brenda Russell’s “So Good, So Right,” the focus track Sade Adu’s “No Ordinary Love,” Joni Mitchell’s “Cherokee Louise,” Tracy Chapman’s “Give Me One Reason,” Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work,” and Imogen Heap’s “Hide And Seek.” The set includes an original tune by Olatuja, as well as compositions by a new composer and an Australian colleague.

The striking vocalist made sure to pick songs that represented a variety of themes, perspectives, and ages, as well as geographic areas, emphasizing the power of diversity. Many of the tracks begin either a cappella or with a single instrument accompaniment for the first few bars. This technique spotlights the classically trained artist’s vocal control and interpretive abilities. “I enjoy when people speak of my voice as if it’s an instrument, because it’s just as valid and legitimate as piano, bass or guitar,” Olatuja notes. “But the voice also has the power to communicate text, and that's what I want, to communicate my interpretation of the song to the listener.”

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Olatuja focused her relentless energy on music at a young age. Singing in her church choir and in various school ensembles, she was exposed to everything from gospel anthems, R&B grooves and pop fare to Latin oratorios and a cappella harmonies. Though she had planned a career in veterinary medicine while at the University of Missouri-Columbia, her music interests led to being cast as the lead in an operetta commemorating the bicentennial of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Preparations included more than two years of intense vocal training, workshopping and live performances that only sharpened her prodigious gifts. With a Master’s degree in Classical Voice/Opera from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, the singer has performed in regional theater, opera companies, gospel conclave and jazz festivals across the globe, returning often to Brooklyn, the culturally diverse, artistically progressive enclave that has influenced dozens of successful neo-soul, jazz, hip-hop, and rock talents.

For this new project, Olatuja decided to celebrate the musical contributions of women composers by reinterpreting their songs through her own lens of classic, jazzy soul. As such, Intuition: Songs From The Minds Of Women is a dazzling journey through time, tempo, genre, language, and culture from some of the most respected women artists of our generation. With the recording initially supported through a crowdfunding campaign, the project was picked up in 2018 by the Resilience Music Alliance label and is launching in the first quarter of 2019.

Thanks to her diverse musical choices and gorgeous musical interpretations, Olatuja’s Intuition is a carefully crafted statement of female empowerment at a pivotal moment in our cultural history.

Drummer Mark Guiliana Creates Adventurous Electronic Music with Expansive Ensemble BEAT MUSIC

Hailed by The New York Times as “a drummer around whom a cult of admiration has formed,” Mark Guiliana brings the same adventurous spirit, eclectic palette and gift for spontaneous invention to a staggering range of styles. Equally virtuosic playing acoustic jazz, boundary-stretching electronic music, or next-level rock, he’s become a key collaborator with such original sonic thinkers as Brad Mehldau, Meshell Ndegeocello, Donny McCaslin, Matisyahu, and the late, great David Bowie.

Guiliana’s forward-leaping BEAT MUSIC is more than a band – it’s a community. Over the last decade the drummer has gathered around him a family of like-minded artists who share a passion for the limitless possibilities of electronic music combined with an in-the-moment creativity rooted in jazz improvisation. On April 12, Motéma Music will release Guiliana’s third plunge into that vast musical ocean, the emphatically titled BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! (available now for pre-order). The in-your-face exclamation of that title is no accident; Guiliana’s third recording with his BEAT MUSIC cohort is a bold and vigorous exploration of window-rattling grooves, cinematic imagery, ecstatic atmospheres and a captivating tapestry of textures and voices.

To realize his ambitious vision for the project, Guiliana has enlisted a host of collaborators who’ve become part of the BEAT MUSIC community over the years, including such genre-defying artists as bassists Chris Morrissey, Stu Brooks, Jonathan Maron, and Tim Lefebvre; keyboardists Jason Lindner, BIGYUKI, and Jeff Babko; electronicists Troy Zeigler and Steve Wall; and spoken word samples from longtime collaborators Cole Whittle and Jeff Taylor, as well as Guiliana’s wife, singer Gretchen Parlato (along with his son, Marley).

“I feel very lucky to have people that I genuinely consider to be my favorite musicians as part of the BEAT MUSIC family,” Guiliana says. “It was important for me to have all of those collaborators represented on this record, to reap the rewards of the hundreds of hours of gigs we’ve spent improvising and discovering together.”

BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! doesn’t feature improvisation in the traditional sense that Guiliana’s previous release, the acoustic quartet album Jersey, did. The music was composed entirely by Guiliana, albeit drawn from his extensive interactions with each of these musicians. But each of his collaborators brings a distinctive voice and attitude to the mix, so that even when playing a thoroughly written line they imbue each note with an individual essence.

“Even when I’m asking the musicians in BEAT MUSIC to play a part, I’m still very much asking them to play it the way they play,” Guiliana explains. “This music is mostly through-composed, but there’s microscopic improvising in every moment. In each note there are sonic choices to be made about articulation, duration of notes, where to leave space, and myriad aspects like that. Those things might not be considered ‘improvising’ in a jazz sense, but in this genre those decisions make a world of difference. No decision I could make would be better than what these guys choose to do; they really bring the music to life.”

Guiliana took a circuitous route to electronic music. He initially came to the drums via the grunge-dominated music of his teenage years: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden (whose drummer, Matt Cameron, would later enlist Guiliana for his own solo project). As he began to study the instrument, he was introduced to jazz in high school and was captivated by the music’s complexity, nuances and diversity. Leaving the relative isolation of his suburban New Jersey home to find a wealth of like-minded acquaintances at William Paterson University, he heard Feed Me Weird Things, the debut album by UK electronica pioneer Squarepusher, for the first time. That opened up a whole new world of sonic possibilities for Guiliana, who began to pursue electronic music in parallel with jazz.

No matter the focus of a particular album or project, Guiliana’s music blends those three major influences in varying balances: the raw power and intensity of hard rock; the spiritual questing of John Coltrane and the aggressive musical curiosity of Miles Davis; the brain-twisting manipulations and cut-up hybridizations of Squarepusher and Aphex Twin.

Those diverse influences have converged in different ways throughout Guiliana’s career. On one end of the spectrum is his Jazz Quartet and on the opposite is BEAT MUSIC, with which he’s recorded twice before – on a self-titled 2012 EP as well as the 2014 album The Los Angeles Improvisations – and the similarly-inclined outings A Form of Truth (2013) and My Life Starts Now (2014).

In between are a multitude of combinations, from the electro-acoustic duo Mehliana with Brad Mehldau to the increasingly electronic-influenced work of the Donny McCaslin Quartet, which also features Lindner and Lefebvre. Those four players, three of whom are featured on this album, also became the core band for David Bowie’s acclaimed final release, Blackstar. The chameleonic rock icon specifically cited BEAT MUSIC’s Los Angeles Improvisations as a guidepost for that album’s enrapturing sound.

“Being in the same room as David and watching him realize his vision was huge for me,” Guiliana says. “He balanced knowing from the outset what he truly wanted to do with being extremely open and creating a very democratic environment. Those are seemingly contradictory qualities, but he so beautifully danced between the two, attacking every moment in the music with great spirit and love, making the art that he believed in. I really try to carry that with me.”

BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! does that vividly, from the implacable, steamrolling pulse of opener “GIRL” through the retro sheen of “HOME” straight to the glistening reggae grooves of finale “STREAM.” The dub mesmerism of “BUD” deepens its already mysterious layers with a half-heard, one-sided phone message, while the insistent “BULLET” features a Japanese voice seeming to echo through a PA system. The dance-y “ROAST” undergirds a forceful diatribe, followed by the bouncy zigs and zags of “HUMAN.”

While most of the spoken word elements of the album are used as almost instrumental elements, introducing unpredictable textures and intriguing ambiguities into the songs, many of the pieces are also profoundly personal. “BLOOM” offers an intimate glimpse into Guiliana’s family life, with a tender moment between his wife and son. “BONES,” meanwhile, features the bandleader himself reciting a poem inspired by the recent death of his mother.

That meld of the communal and the personal is just one of many distinctive fusions that make BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! the striking and singular album that it is – including blends of the electronic and acoustic, the composed and spontaneous, and deeply-rooted inspirations channeled into perceptive, forward-looking modern invention.

Bassist John Patitucci to Release Most Intimate & Revealing Solo Album with Soul of the Bass, Available April 5

Take a look at the long musical lineage paved by the titans of bass, and invariably there’s a point where each turns inward to express themselves with just their hands and their instrument, unaccompanied. For John Patitucci that time is now. Soul of the Bass, Patitucci’s 16th solo record, is his most intimate and revealing. Centered around melodic, concise improvisations on acoustic bass, the sound of wood, skin on string and open air serve to heighten the expressiveness of the melodies. Patitucci explains, “I think as you get older you prioritize the sound and the feel of everything you play, which if rendered with integrity, will result in a clarity that communicates to the listener and draws them in.”

Patitucci continues his trailblazing ways on his 6-string electric bass guitar, offering a stirring interpretation of the Allemande from Bach’s “Cello Suite No. 5,” and exploring new sonic terrain by applying his six as a color to some of his acoustic bass inventions. In the record’s most dramatic departure, John throws down an R&B groove with drummer Nate Smith, layering additional bass guitars on top, in a historic nod to the instrument.

Living in a musical household also impacts the album. Patitucci enlists daughters Gracie (greisun) and Bella in a vocal-and-6-string meditation rich in tension and resolution, and he further pushes harmonic and orchestrational boundaries with his cello/bass choir, featuring his wife Sachi. Another key to the proceedings is engineer and co-producer John Davis, a former student of Patitucci’s, who built and runs The Bunker Studios in Brooklyn, where the 13-track album was recorded. Enthuses Patitucci, “John knows my playing and my music, and he came up with some terrific ideas that enhanced the album musically and sonically.”

Inspiration for the project initially arrived in 1979, when Patitucci bought Dave Holland’s acclaimed solo side, Emerald Tears. “I was taken by Dave’s solo bass recording, but I guess I knew instinctively I had to wait until I was quite a bit older to make my own.” Patitucci is calling the album a sequel to his landmark 1991 effort, Heart of the Bass—which featured acoustic bass and 6-string in an orchestral setting—and a contrasting minimalist bookend it is. Of the cover image, a lone, exposed Acacia tree in Kenya, Africa, he offers, “It’s a fitting symbol, because the Acacia is the most durable of trees, able to survive all kinds of weather and climate, and it also replenishes the soil. The connection for me is that the soul of a bass is in the wood. The wood evokes the spiritual sound of the player. And the instrument lives on, long after the player is gone, ready to reflect the soul of the next owner.”

Patitucci admits the current political climate impacted the record, with titles like “Seeds of Change,” “The Call,” “Truth” and “Trust.” “Right now it seems like we’re at a low point when it comes to topics like truth and care and empathy for the poor and for immigrants. As a person of faith, I’m committed to fighting against racial and social injustice. I like to use the artistic platform I’m fortunate to have to speak out, engage people and try to be uplifting.”

From his transformative playing on both basses in such lofty settings as the ensembles of Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Michael Brecker and Herbie Hancock, to his leading-edge solo career, to his highly-respected works as a commissioned composer in the modern chamber music realms, Patitucci has put in the requisite time and effort to finally make his solo bass statement. Soul of the Bass speaks volumes.

 

CHAKA KHAN release first new album in 12 years 'HELLO HAPPINESS"

The Queen of Funk Chaka Khan made a phenomenal return with her latest single ‘Like Sugar’. Initially launched as a limited edition release for Record Store Day, it earned airplay from Annie Mac, Nick Grimshaw, Pete Tong, Benji B, Danny Howard and Gilles Peterson before receiving a full release in the summer.

It immediately captured the imagination of fans with countless entries from all over the globe for her #LikeSugarChallenge and numerous bootleg remixes. The accompanying Kim Gehrig-directed video extended that love with two wins at the UK Music Video Awards, while live sets at Bestival and the Pitchfork Music Festival were widely heralded as highlights of the summer. The track has become one of the year’s biggest club anthems with support from Mark Ronson, The Magician, Horse Meat Disco, The Black Madonna and many more.

Now the 10-time Grammy Award winner continues the reemergence of the year with the news that her new album ‘Hello Happiness’ will be released on February 8th 2019 via Diary Records / Island Records, the new label formed by Major Lazer founder and Grammy-nominated producer Switch with artist/songwriter Sara Ruba Taylor.

‘Hello Happiness’ is an album which sets Chaka Khan’s timeless vocal to an empowering collection of songs with cutting-edge production. With an eye on the future and a respect for the past, Chaka Khan has delivered an album with the contemporary edge to entice newcomers to her world class talent and the quality to excite long-term fans.

That’s exactly what the title track and new single ‘Hello Happiness’ achieves. A tribute to the life-affirming power of music, it combines the sass of ‘I’m Every Woman’ with the invention of ‘I Feel For You’ while also feeling precisely in tune with the current zeitgeist.

It’s a trait that echoes throughout the album. The soaring ‘Like A Lady’ feels like Switch has been teleported back to the great late ‘70s New York disco scene, while Chaka rolls back the years with one of the most powerful performances of her career. That’s something she also demonstrates with the swaggering strut of the sultry R&B anthem ‘Too Hot’. ‘Isn’t That Enough’ and particularly ‘Don’t Cha Know’ find her embracing bold new elements to her sound, while the laidback, minimalist groove of ‘Ladylike’ gives her the space to prove that her vocal has clearly grown in stature over the years.

Chaka Khan first collaborated with Switch and Ruba Taylor as a potential featured artist on a different project. Inspired by the power of both her voice and personality, the duo suggested working on an original Chaka Khan album – something which she didn’t have in mind. But she was soon convinced when she heard some of Switch and Ruba Taylor’s songs, which coincidentally were influenced by Chaka Khan but written for their own project.

Chaka chose her favourites and stamped her identity all over them, with her inimitable vocal gift and dynamic energy taking each track to new heights. Switch and Ruba Taylor also provided the groundwork so that Chaka Khan could concentrate on making her first set since 2007’s ‘Funk This’.

Chaka Khan is one of the world’s most gifted and celebrated musicians. A songwriter, actor, author, philanthropist, entrepreneur and activist, Chaka has influenced generations of recording artists. She has the rare ability to sing in multiple genres, including R&B, pop, rock, gospel, country, world music, jazz and classical. Throughout her legendary career, Chaka has released 22 albums and racked up 10 US #1 singles; seven RIAA certified gold singles; and ten RIAA certified gold and platinum albums. Her list of high profile fans and collaborators, past and present, includes Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Quincy Jones and Mary J. Blige.

After forty years in music, ‘Hello Happiness’ celebrates a lifetime in music and proves that Chaka Khan is as inspiring as ever.

First Wave of Artists Announced for the 65th Edition of the Newport Jazz Festival®

Powerful pianists, singing storytellers, swinging big bands, a beat scientist and some of the baddest ensembles on the jazz scene make up the First Wave of artists announced today for the 65th edition of the Newport Jazz Festival® presented by Natixis Investment Managers. Curated by Artistic Director Christian McBride, the Festival takes place August 2-4 at Fort Adams State Park and the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino.

The First Wave of artists includes Herbie Hancock, Corinne Bailey Rae, The Bad Plus, Buika, Terence Blanchard Featuring The E-Collective, Sons of Kemet, Makaya McCraven, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Ravi Coltrane/David Virelles, ELEW, Marcus Strickland Twi-Life featuring Smithsoneon, Christian Sands – 3 Piano Erroll Garner Tribute! featuring Helen Sung and Tadataka Unno, Dafnis Prieto Big Band, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Sun Ra Arkestra, Jenny Scheinman & Allison Miller’s Parlour Game, Joel Ross ‘Good Vibes,’ Tia Fuller’s “Diamond Cut,” Sammy Miller & The Congregation and Laurin Talese.

“We’re all excited about this year’s Festival, and this First Wave of artists is just a sample of the great musicians that will grace the four stages at Fort Adams,” said McBride. “From the return of the legendary Herbie Hancock and Marshall Allen leading the Sun Ra Arkestra to the debuts of beat scientist Makaya McCraven, dynamic vocalist Buika and Shabaka Hutchings and his band Sons of Kemet, the Festival has something for everyone. Remember, Friday is just as happening as Saturday and Sunday! Herbie Hancock, Corinne Bailey Rae and more will perform on Friday, so grab three-day tickets if possible.”

A breeding ground for the best and brightest shining stars since the Festival started 65 years ago in 1954, the Newport Jazz Festival celebrates a bevy of award-winning artists, including 2019 GRAMMY Award winners Cécile McLorin Salvant (Best Jazz Vocal Album), Terence Blanchard (Best Instrumental Composition), Dafnis Prieto (Best Latin Jazz Album) and Spanish Harlem Jazz Orchestra (Best Tropical Latin Album).

Rising Israeli Jazz Pianist/Composer Guy Mintus To Release Ambitious New Album on 2/15

New York-based, Israeli jazz pianist-composer Guy Mintus is set to issue a new trio album, Connecting the Dots, scheduled for worldwide release on February 15, 2019 on France's Jazz Family label.  Mintus is a learned, well-traveled and much honored musician.  His awards include the Prix du Public at the Montreux Jazz Festival's solo piano competition, two  ASCAP Foundation/ Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Awards and, in 2018, the ASCAP Foundation Leonard Bernstein Award.  In addition, the Mintus Trio's debut album, A Home In Between, was selected as a DownBeat "editor's pick." DownBeat's Brian Zimmerman called Mintus "an artist of prodigious talent and boundless ambition.  In reviewing A Home in Between, All About Jazz said it is an "outstanding piano trio disc that heralds the arrival of a significant talent and a superb band." And New York Music Daily raved, "best trio album of 2017 by a mile, so far."

A descendant of Polish, Iraqi and Moroccan Jews, Mintus has made New York his home for the past six years and has taken his music to locales as varied as India, Turkey, Brazil, Canada and many European cities.  He has collaborated and/ or shared the stage with such artists as Jon Hendricks, Trilok Gurtu, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra and ska-punk band Streetlight Manifesto.

The ambitious new Connecting the Dots collection touches on a broad variety of musical worlds and is a musical summation of Mintus's ethnic and musical heritage and his experiences and interests.  It wanders easily from the hard bop of Horace Silver's "Yeah!" to the floridity of "Little Italy," a Mintus original, to the carefree strut of another Mintus original, "Nothing New Under the Sun."  Most striking, perhaps, are the performances that evoke the exoticism and spirituality of Mintus's native Middle East.  A poem, "Hunt Music," by the mystical 13th Century Persian poet, Rumi, is given an inspired musical setting by Mintus, with an English translation of Rumi's words sung by Israeli vocalist Sivan Arbel.  An arrangement of the traditional Jewish High Holy Day prayer, "Avinu Malkeinu" features a haunting sax solo by jazz veteran Dave Liebman.  And, to celebrate his own Mizrahi Jewish heritage, Mintus performs (and sings) a Hebrew language hit associated with the late Israeli Yemenite singer, Zohar Argov. The other members of the Mintus Trio are bassist Dan Pappalardo and drummer Phillipe Lemm.

Aside from his work with the Trio, Mintus has been busy with an array of other projects.  He recently performed Gershwin's" Rhapsody in Blue" with the Bayerische Philharmonic and premiered his own full-length work, a piano concerto inspired by the journey of the Jews of Arab origins immigrating to Israel in its early days, for the Israeli Chamber Orchestra.  He has been commissioned to compose works by the American Composers Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and the Jerusalem East & West Orchestra, In addition, he has contributed original music and piano interpretations to Fiddler, a forthcoming documentary about Fiddler on the Roof, directed by Emmy-nominee Max Lewkovicz. In the spring of 2019, Mintus will make his theater debut, starring as an aspiring young pianist in a new musical at Tel Aviv's Carmeri Theater.

BASSEL & THE SUPERNATURALS RELEASE “CALCULATED LOVE” THE FIRST SINGLE FROM THEIR NEW ALBUM SMOKE & MIRRORS

Chicago’s Bassel & The Supernaturals just released their new single “Calculated Love” and premiered it over at Glide Magazine, which stated “Calculated Love kicks off with a sharp bluesy guitar solo before bursting into a funky disco groove. Bassel Almadani lays his silky smooth and extra suave vocals over harmonic background singers and feisty guitar and brass grooves. The music brings to mind retro acts like Earth, Wind & Fire alongside more modern groovers like Jamiroquai, making for a song that preaches love and invites the listener to grab a partner and hit the dance floor.”

“Calculated Love” is the first song to be revealed from Bassel’s highly anticipated new album Smoke & Mirrors, set for release in May, 2019. The album continues the band’s message of  a “Syrian heart, Chicago soul,” but also dismantles the myth of glamour, glitz and fame that people commonly perceive of entertainers.

  

“Calculated Love” is the perfect tune for this upcoming Valentine’s Day with its upbeat catchy groove that celebrates love for what it is. Bassel explains, “Calculated Love is about everyday real love - watching movies with sweat pants on, eating pizza, exchanging memes... it sets a different tone for meaningful love by contradicting the Hollywood romance we all seem to be chasing after.”

Bassel & The Supernaturals combines funk and soul with captivating lyrics about love, loss, and a war in Syria that has affected Bassel Almadani’s family along with 10,000,000 others. The soulful Syrian-American vocalist and his ensemble broke out with their 2017 release Elements, which earned them critical praise from Noisey, Huffington Post, Associated Press, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Now This, PRI The World, Paste, and more. Bassel also donated over 20% of their merchandise proceeds to humanitarian relief through the Karam Foundation during their campaign. It also landed the band at SXSW’s 2017 “ContraBand: #MusicUnites” showcase featuring musicians from countries affected by the U.S. travel ban. A fantastic showcase that sent the message that music transcends borders to unite rather than divide.

Catch Bassel & The Supernaturals as they embark on their 2019 national tour.

TOUR DATES:

2/08 @ Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL

2/15 @ Knickerbocker Saloon – Lafayette, IN

2/22 @ Rare Bird Brewpub – Traverse City, MI

2/23 @ The Brass Rail – Fort Wayne, IN

2/26 @ Stone Arch Brewpub – Appleton, WI

2/28 @ MOTR Pub – Cincinnati, OH

3/01 @ HI-FI Indy – Indianapolis, IN

3/02 @ Blind Bob’s – Dayton, OH

3/07 @ Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church – Overland Park, KS

3/08 @ The Washington – Burlington, IA

3/09 @ Racoon Motel – Davenport, IA

3/10 @ Zoo Bar – Lincoln, NE

3/12 @ Three Links Deep Ellum – Dallas, TX

3/16 @ Kings Live Music – Conway, AR

3/28 @ Vangarde Arts – Sioux City, IA

3/29 @ First UMC – Lexington, NE

4/02 @ The Dip – Redding, CA

4/03 @ Lagunitas Petaluma TapRoom – Petaluma, CA

4/04 @ Peppermill Reno – Reno, NV

4/05 @ Peppermill Reno – Reno, NV

4/06 @ Peppermill Reno – Reno, NV

4/07 @ McMenamins White Eagle Saloon – Portland, OR

4/08 @ Sam Bond's Foundry – Eugene, OR

4/10 @ Torch Club – Sacramento, CA

4/11 @ Smoked Out Soul – San Francisco, CA

4/13 @ Seven Grand – San Diego, CA

4/14 @ Melrose Trading Post – Los Angeles, CA

4/14 @ Love Song Bar – Los Angeles, CA

4/16 @ Yucca Tap Room – Tempe, AZ

4/18 @ Taos Mesa Brewing – El Prado, NM

4/19 @ Fassler Hall – Tulsa, OK

4/20 @ Deli – Norman, OK

5/17 @ North Central College – Naperville, IL

5/31 @ Constellation – Chicago, IL [Album Release Party]

7/11 @ Music in the Park 2019 – Mackinac Island, MI

New Release on Red Piano Records: Wild Man Conspiracy & Chris Cheek Live At The Bimhuis

Brooklyn-based Red Piano Records have announced the release of Live at the Bimhuis from Amsterdam based Indie jazz trio Wild Man Conspiracy and Brooklyn based tenor saxophonist Chris Cheek.  This third album of Wild Man Conspiracy on Red Piano Records features the group with special guest Chris Cheek in an exciting live setting.  The CD was recorded at the group's March 23, 2018 performance at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, one of the most beautiful venues for jazz in the world. Wild Man Conspiracy and Chris Cheek play eight original compositions on this album.

St. Louis born Chris Cheek is one of the most sought after saxophonists in the jazz world today, having played in the groups of legendary artists such as Paul Motian, Charlie Haden, Steve Swallow and Bill Frisell. As a leader he has performed with the likes of Jorge Rossy, Brad Mehldau, and Kurt Rosenwinkel. His recordings have received rave reviews and been praised widely, becoming favorites among fellow musicians and listeners alike. He is also co-leader of the bands Rudder and The Bloomdaddies. Cheek's music encompasses a wide vista, firmly rooted in the jazz tradition with a foot towards the unknown. As Steve Swallow and Carla Bley put it, "On the one hand, he's the very embodiment of gentle, graceful lyricism. But he's unable to resist the urge to subvert. He's a master of the sucker punch; just when he's convinced you that things couldn't be sweeter, he'll play something that jolts you right back to real life, something as direct and succinct as an uppercut. Do not trust this man! Listen at your peril."  His flexible, dynamic sound, along with his adaptability and inventiveness makes him a perfect fit for the sound of Wild Man Conspiracy.

THE TUNES

1. Strawberry Jam - Strawberry Jam was written for a friend who likes those tiny sweet fruits, and who also listens to Jazz and Pop music. Chris tried to find something that could be enjoyed at breakfast or while driving on the open highway. Perfect for a nice jam too.

2. The Other - This cinematic and storytelling piece is more like a suite dedicated to 'the other'. There's a lot of discussion about 'the other' nowadays, but isn't it so? The other, that's you!

3. Parcelas Desiguales - A contemplation about the fact that few people in the world have a lot - and a lot of people in the world have almost nothing. "Unequal parts" is about this human failure.

4. Volver - After a great tour with Wild Man Conspiracy in Catalunya, "we wanted to return to Spain as soon as possible." A tune full of desire and melancholy, with a glimpse of the stunning Spanish actress, Penelope Cruz.

5. Victor - This tune isn't about the Russian president, Victor Putin, because his name is Vladimir. No one knows who this guy Victor is and unfortunately, Guillermo isn't planning to divulge the secret of this mysterious man.

6. Blues Cruise - Writing Blues Cruise was Cheek's way of exploring the experience of being on the open seas and playing music on a ship. The symmetrical part of the tune originates from working with the reciprocal or mirror harmony and melody of the original idea. Cheek likes to think of it as hearing the same thing above and reflected below the horizon of the water's surface.

7. The Adventures of Evil Pancake and Friends - A critic once said: The aliens seem to have landed in the head of Celano whom thankfully used their influence for he has created a new science. This tune is proof of that once more. Dali meets Monk meets Celano.

8. No More Tango - It takes two to tango. This tune shows what happens when the other isn't around. After all, dancing the tango can't save a relationship.

Recorded March 23, 2018 live at the Bimhuis, Amsterdam by Philip ten Brink

Mixed: Dirk Hooglandt and Wild Man Conspiracy / Mastering: Q Point - Peter Brussee. Photography: Tjerk Laan / Artwork: Macarena Baggiani

Previously Unheard Music from the Revered, Adventurous Duo of Vocalist Jeanne Lee and Pianist Ran Blake

The Newest Sound You Never Heard collects nearly two hours of stunning recordings from 1966 and 1967, featuring daring explorations of compositions by Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman, The Beatles, Ray Charles, Charlie Parker, and others

In 1961, two musicians who'd met as Bard College classmates entered the studio to record their mutual debut album. Jeanne Lee and Ran Blake emerged with The Newest Sound Around, an iconic pairing of voice and piano that was simultaneously intimate and adventurous, stark yet boundless, intensely focused but warmly embracing. Lee and Blake would continue to tour together sporadically through the 1960s, but fans had to wait nearly three decades for a follow-up release, You Stepped Out of a Dream, in 1989. Their lifelong friendship and collaboration came to a close with Lee's death in 2000.

Miraculously, The Newest Sound You Never Heard now doubles the material available from this unparalleled duo. The double album was released January 25, 2019, just a few days before Lee would have celebrated her 80th birthday, via A-Side Records in conjunction with the Ran Blake Foundation and New England Conservatory, where Blake has taught for more than 50 years, and under the generous umbrella of VRT-Archive and their employees who were very kind in allowing this material to come out. The Newest Sound You Never Heard collects nearly two hours of previously unheard material recorded in Europe in 1966 and 1967.

These soul-stirring performances sound wholly unique, profoundly moving and thrillingly immediate despite having been captured more than half a century ago. Dominique Eade, another supremely gifted singer and NEC faculty member with whom Blake has enjoyed a fruitful collaboration, writes in her liner notes that, "Hearing these recordings after knowing their previous work so well creates a sensation similar to that of dreaming you have found an extra room in your house: It is at once familiar and otherworldly."

Recorded by the late Belgian composer, producer and Jazz Middelheim festival founder Elias Gistelinck, The Newest Sound You Never Heard was captured at the studios of Belgian radio and television station VRT (then BRT - Belgium Radio and Television) and at a live performance in Brussels. The tapes remained in the VRT archives for nearly 40 years until being rediscovered. Their existence was brought to Blake's attention Eli Kessler, at that time a student drummer at NEC who learned of them while in Brussels. From there, Blake and A-Side founder Aaron Hartley licensed the material for this breathtaking release.

The Newest Sound You Never Heard finds Lee and Blake venturing through a wide range of repertoire, from American Songbook standards to jazz classics by Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker, through more experimental fare by Ornette Coleman, Julian Priester and Abbey Lincoln to then-contemporary pop hits by The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Each piece becomes a thorough reimagining of the source material, often startling in its crystalline beauty and bold unpredictability. The musicians are unafraid to revel in fraught silences or veer off the expected pathways into unfamiliar territory.

"There is no one like Jeanne Lee in the world," declares Blake. "She was the most incredible human being: her sage wisdom, her charm, her wittiness, her humor, her feelings for humanity and her kindness to everybody in the world. She was such a vibrant personality and, of course, what a voice. I felt she'd be in my life till the very end."

Sadly that was not to be the case, but in her deeply-felt and probing duets with Blake, Lee left behind a rich and searching legacy. A fearless experimentalist with a wide-ranging tone, she collaborated with a host of innovative voices including Anthony Braxton, Archie Shepp, Mal Waldron, Marion Brown, John Cage and Gunter Hampel. She also contributed to Carla Bley's masterpiece, Elevator Over the Hill.

Lee and Blake met as freshmen at Bard in 1956. They bonded over their shared love for Billie Holiday and Thelonious Monk; Lee had grown up in the Bronx, next door to Monk's sister-in-law, Skippy. Like their revered debut, which opened with a version of "Blue Monk," The Newest Sound You Never Heard begins with a Monk composition - in this case, a mysterious and enchanting take on "Misterioso" with words taken from a poem by Gertrude Stein.

The album wends its way through a variety of moods, from the wistful "On Green Dolphin Street" to a rambunctious "A Hard Day's Night;" the playful tug-of-war of the nonsensical "Ja-Da" to an ominously urgent  "Something's Coming;" the foreboding moan of Ornette Coleman's "Lonely Woman" to the stunningly aching rendition of "The Man I Love," constantly threatening to get lost in love's reverie.

"The sound just came to us," Blake says in regards to finding their distinctive take on each song. "I wanted to grow in her direction and she would listen to me. We worked on repertoire, phrasing, dark colors, modulation, themes, plots, characters - but the sound took care of itself."

Both Lee and Blake also take a few solo turns: Lee stuns with her sensuous a cappella version of "Billie's Blues," capturing the song's (and Billie Holiday's) complicated whirl of emotions, defiant yet desirous, steely and vulnerable. Blake essays a knotty exploration of Fats Waller's "Honeysuckle Rose," an alternately hushed and thunderous run through "God's Image," and a pair of originals - the cinematic "Smoke After Smoke" and the abstract "The Frog, the Fountain, and Aunt Jane."

That sound, writes pianist (and former NEC colleague) Danilo Pérez in his liner notes, takes listeners on "a journey full of beauty and unexpected turns. Their music is a playground for the ear and a trip to incredible places for all souls alike. They may play a song, or they may choose to play the philosophy of the song."

This welcome release is a treasure trove of unexpected delights and mesmerizing storytelling. Jeanne Lee and Ran Blake are both masters of interiorizing and excavating the emotions of a song, and The Newest Sound You Never Heard provides ample evidence of their evocative chemistry and heartfelt relationship. Blake's hope is that Lee "finds her place up there in the history, not just as a singer but as a fabulous musician and innovator." A place where he also belongs by her side, a fact of which these stellar recordings leave absolutely no doubt.

Ran Blake

In a career that now spans nearly six decades, pianist Ran Blake has created a unique niche in improvised music as an artist and educator. With a characteristic mix of spontaneous solos, modern classical tonalities, the great American blues and gospel traditions, and themes from classic Film Noir, Blake's singular sound has earned a dedicated following all over the world. His dual musical legacy includes more than 40 albums on some of the world's finest jazz labels, as well as more than 50 years as a groundbreaking educator at Boston's New England Conservatory.

ranblake.com

necmusic.edu

Ulysses Owens Jr. Explores the Songbooks of Three Female Icons of the Turbulent 1960s with Songs of Freedom

Owens Enlists Acclaimed Jazz Vocalists to Convey Reimagined Works of Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, and Joni Mitchell

In the most trying of times, it can be reassuring to listen back to the voices who’ve carried us through similar struggles. On his stirring new album Songs of Freedom, GRAMMY® Award-nominated drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. explores the songbooks of three female icons of the turbulent 1960s: Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, and Joni Mitchell. To convey the profound emotions of these powerful singer-songwriters, Owens has enlisted René Marie, Theo Bleckmann, and Alicia Olatuja, three of today’s most acclaimed jazz vocalists, along with rising star Joanna Majoko.

Songs of Freedom (available for streaming and physical pre-order now; album available March 15 via Resilience Music Alliance) was originally premiered in September 2016 as part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center celebration of “100 Years of Song.” The program culls inspiring songs from the three icons catalogues expressing the value of and struggle for freedom in America. The repertoire ranges from Mitchell’s soaring evocation of love’s complexity, “Both Sides Now,” to Simone’s acid takedown of the Civil Rights era South, “Mississippi Goddam,” to Lincoln’s rousing protest songs from Max Roach’s “Freedom Now Suite.”

Owens devised the idea for Songs of Freedom when he was approached by Jason Olaine, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s director of programming and touring, to take part in their century-spanning program, with the notion of taking on the period from the 1960s to the present day – a daunting proposition. “I realized that it would either end up a hodgepodge of random songs,” Owens says, “or I could find a defining moment that has influenced everything since.”

The core idea for Owens’ program came from the distressing headlines of the day. “At that time,” he recalls, “social media was blowing up every day with news of police brutality, videos of black men being killed by the cops. So, I thought back to the ‘60s, which seemed like a mirror image of today, and I asked, ‘Who were the figures that were on the front line then?’ I immediately thought about Nina and Abbey, and then I realized Joni would bring more of a love element to this fight.”

Owens quickly grasped that he’d need an equally diverse and versatile cast of modern-day vocalists to capture the full scope of these legendary artists’ visions. The first name that came to mind was Olatuja, a close collaborator who’d recently garnered acclaim for her solo with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration. Her rendition of “Both Sides Now” vividly captures the sensation of floating dreamily amidst the clouds. She brings a heart-rending vulnerability to Bernard Ighner’s “Everything Must Change,” accompanied by David Rosenthal’s tender acoustic guitar, and a gospel-rooted soulfulness to Andy Stroud’s “Be My Husband,” both songs performed memorably by Simone.

Bleckmann hails from a more experimental end of the sonic spectrum, here employing his layered, wordless vocals to transcendent spiritual effect on “Balm in Gilead.” He offers a supple, nuanced reading of Mitchell’s “Borderline” and a sly take on Simone’s reggae-infused version of Randy Newman’s “Baltimore.” Owens describes Bleckmann as “a very adventurous singer pushing all these boundaries musically, but beneath all of that stuff is this beautiful voice and an incredible spirit.”

To complete the initial trio of singers, Owens wanted someone who could bring the gravitas of another generation as well as the rich experience of having lived through the period under examination. Marie provides that voice of wry wisdom and bold strength, whether on the raucous “Driva’ Man” from the “Freedom Now Suite” or on Simone’s infamously virulent “Mississippi Goddam.” As Owens says, “Rene lived through a lot of what we’re talking about in this program. We really needed that weightier spirit, that godmother figure who had a deeper connection to the history.”

Majoko brings her own rich palette to the invigorating “Freedom Day,” written by Max Roach and Oscar Brown Jr. Born to German and Zimbabwean parents and raised in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Canada, Majoko has worked with David Clayton-Thomas and Jane Bunnett, and been a frequent guest when Owens has presented Songs of Freedom live.

Owens’ stellar band gets its own turn in the spotlight on the closing piece, the classic spiritual “Oh Freedom.” Pianist Allyn Johnson is right at home with such material; the Washington D.C. native leads an ensemble called Divine Order dedicated to fusing jazz, gospel and classical music. Guitarist Rosenthal has long worked with Owens in Olatuja’s band, as well as performing with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Christian McBride, Bilal and others. Bassist Reuben Rogers, well known for his work with Charles Lloyd, Joshua Redman and Aaron Goldberg, is one of Owens’ closest compatriots. “I try not to do anything without Reuben Rogers,” the drummer says. “He’s my big brother and really anchors me musically.”

Owens’ virtuosity and imagination are fully on display in his brief interludes, in which he plays duet with the words of the great singers to whom he pays tribute on Songs of Freedom. On “Nina,” “Joni,” and “Abbey,” he paints vibrant percussive portraits of each of these icons through the rhythms of their own words, drawn from interviews and poetry.

While Songs of Freedom looks back more than 50 years, Ulysses Owens Jr. is most concerned with how it touches audiences today. “Art has the ability to help you bide the time and get through,” he says. “Nina, Abbey and Joni were doing that while living in even crazier times. Art lets us say, ‘Ok, I can’t change anything, but here’s some people expressing exactly what I feel and the kind of agreement and resolve I hope our nation can come to, so it gives me some solace and comfort – which then gives me the ability to get through the tribulation. My ultimate goal with Songs of Freedom is to unite people.”

About Ulysses Owens Jr.: Owens himself is one of the most sought-after drummers of his generation. From GRAMMY® Award-winning performances with Christian McBride’s acclaimed trio and Big Band to world tours with Kurt Elling and Joey Alexander, Owens’ artistic command of percussion has earned him positions in some of the most successful jazz ensembles of the 21st Century. Owens’ reverence for tradition distinctly manifests in his straight-away playing style, but it is the versatility of his talent— his unique ability to manipulate texture and create penetrating musical shapes— that attracts the attention of jazz’s heavy hitters. His performance catalog includes collaborations with Nicholas Payton, Wynton Marsalis, Monty Alexander, Dianne Schurr, Renee Fleming and Mulgrew Miller, just to name a few.

Ulysses Owens Jr. · Songs of Freedom

Resilience Music Alliance · Release Date: March 15, 2019

UlyssesOwensJazz.com