Jazzmeia Horn Releases Second Album "Love And Liberation"

In the two years since Jazzmeia Horn bowed with her first album, the GRAMMY Award®-nominated A Social Call, she’s been busy on the road, honing her vocal skills to a finely tuned level, writing songs of personal relevance and social message, and perfecting a fearless approach to improvisation and performance in general. The convergence of this drive and development has resulted in what is sure to be hailed as one of the most courageous recordings of 2019—Love and Liberation—filled with songs of daring musicality, emotional power, and messages of immediate relevancy. 

Horn chose the title she did for her second album because, “Love and Liberation is a concept and mantra that I use consistently in my everyday life. For me the two go hand in hand and they both describe where I am in my life and career right now. An act of love is an act of liberation, and choosing to liberate—oneself or another—is an act of love.” 

Love and Liberation, scheduled for release on August 23, 2019 via Concord Jazz, marks a formidable leap forward for Horn as a singer, bandleader and songwriter, the result of an almost non-stop touring schedule that followed the release of her debut album and which benefitted her vocal chops as well as her band sound. “I have evolved,” she says. “It’s like I’m really understanding music in a different way.” 

“Once A Social Call was released in May of 2017, I hit the road and I am still on tour. The album literally came out two years ago. I’m really tired but grateful because I’ve had the opportunity to travel and practice and improvise night after night in a room full of people with some of the best musicians playing today. We’d experiment, using a trumpet player on a song one time and a saxophonist the next, or sometimes just drums and voice in the beginning of a song, trying out different combinations and ideas, challenging ourselves. This was worth more than gold to me—understanding how to utilize my instruments: my voice, my body, the band that I’ve hired.” 

Horn has substantial experience with all the A-list musicians on these tracks: pianists Victor Gould (her regular accompanist) and special guest Sullivan Fortner, tenor saxophonist Stacey Dillard and trumpeter Josh Evans, bassist Ben Williams, and drummer/singer Jamison Ross. Chris Dunn, who produced Horn’s debut disc, is producer on this album as well. 

Eight of the dozen new tracks are original tunes, a point of pride and significance for the 28-year old Horn: “All of these songs are about me and my experiences, but also as part of any young person’s journey. The message they all share is that you just have to learn—about people, about relationships, about business, love, or whatever. They don’t just tell one person’s story, they tell many people’s stories.” 

The songs on Love and Liberation comprise an impressive variety of styles, approaches, and feel—some with full band, some just voice and one instrument, even an a capelladuet—each with a precise message to convey. There are songs that resonate with a powerful sense of African American identity, and others that speak with intention about her stature as a strong, independent woman. Still others deal with matters of love and attraction—with tenderness and humor. 

“Some of these songs are very cute and fun,” Horn admits. “But a lot of them are meditations and have deep meaning that people can listen to, to help free up their minds. People of all creeds and races, and even all generations because there’s a lot of tradition in this music. My godfather gave me the best compliment when I played the album for him. He said, I’m really proud of you because this music sounds like what Ella [Fitzgerald] or Billie [Holiday] or Abbey [Lincoln] or Nina [Simone] would have evolved into.” 

Musically, Horn’s compositions both breathe and bend jazz tradition, with tasteful touches of R&B and hip-hop, revealing a marked inventiveness and a love for a good melodic line. On Love and Liberation one can hear it on the opener “Free Your Mind” (a plea for more human interaction and less focus on digital media) and the coy yet firm “Time” (urging an avid suitor to take a breath and cool his jets), to the upbeat, off-kilter, rhythmic slam of “Out The Window” (warning of the other woman) and the intelligence and nuance of the a capelladuet, “Only You” (weaving the inner words of two lovers as their thoughts connect, diverge and reconnect.) 

Horn is quick to point out that she is constantly writing while on the road, and that many of the originals on Love and Liberation are not exactly new. “We’ve been playing ‘Legs And Arms’ for about a year now, and some, like ‘Searching’ goes back to 2013! We’ve also been doing ‘Green Eyes’ which is by Erykah [Badu] and then a bunch are brand spanking new.” 

The four covers on Love and Liberation are equally impressive, both in which tunes Horn chose to cover and how she approaches them, finding fresh takes on Jon Hendrick’s “No More” (as clear and strong a statement on Horn’s own philosophy of personal empowerment), Badu’s “Green Eyes” (Horn’s interpretation giving it a shot of gravitas with a more spiritual feel), Rachelle Farrell’s “Reflection of My Heart” (a poignant vocal duet with drummer/singer Jamison Ross), and Jimmy Van Heusen/Johnny Mercer’s “I Thought About You” (the sole classic standard of the set.) 

Blessed with a fitting name for her chosen path—it was Horn’s jazz-loving, piano-playing grandmother who chose “Jazzmeia”—the singer was born in Dallas in 1991, grew up in a tightly knit, church-going family filled with musical talent andstarted singing as a toddler. She attended Booker T. Washington High School for Performing and Visual Arts, known for launching such musical greats as Roy Hargrove, Norah Jones, and Erykah Badu. Her education included steering herself to the mentors who would guide her passion for jazz, like Bobby McFerrin, Abbey Lincoln, and Betty Carter. 

In 2009, Horn moved to New York City to enroll in The New School’s jazz and contemporary music program. An intense four years of training and performing followed, when she met many of the musicians who appear on her recordings, including Gould and Dillard. In short order, her talent began to be noticed. In 2013, she entered and won a Newark-based contest named for an initial inspiration—the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition. In 2015, she won the Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition,the most coveted award a jazz musician can hope to attain. Part of her prize was a contract with Concord, which led to A Social Call and now Love and Liberation.

  

“Honestly, I’m way more excited now about Love and Liberation because this is mostly my original music,” says Horn with palpable giddiness. “Don’t get me wrong, I love A Social Call and all the acclamations were great—the reviews in Downbeat, The New York Times and London Times. But now I’m like, You guys don’t really know what’s coming. Boy, do I have something in store for you!” 

- By Ashley Kahn

 

Grammy-Winning Conguero Poncho Sanchez Pays Tribute To John Coltrane On His Latest Album

On his first new album in seven years, GRAMMY Award-winning conguero Poncho Sanchez celebrates the life and music of the iconic saxophonist John Coltrane. Due out September 20, 2019 via Concord Picante, Trane’s Delight is a love letter from one musical pioneer to another, as the Latin Jazz legend pays homage to one of his earliest and most indelible influences. The joyous album arrives just in time for the late tenor titan’s 93rd birthday on September 23.  Throughout his career Sanchez has held aloft the torch lit by such Latin Jazz innovators as Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente and Cal Tjader, embraced by each of those icons and entrusted to carry forward the traditions of Latin Jazz. But Sanchez’s influences are numerous, and Coltrane looms large in Sanchez’s pantheon alongside those pioneers. On his latest album Trane’s Delight, Sanchez pays tribute to the late jazz legend with Latin-tinged reimaginings of Coltrane classics as well as new pieces composed in honor of the tenor titan.  “I’ve always loved John Coltrane,” Sanchez says, “ever since I was a kid and first learned about jazz. I’ve recorded tributes to a lot of my heroes in life – Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente, Cal Tjader – so I thought it was definitely time to do a tribute to the great John Coltrane.”
 Trane’s Delight also continues Sanchez’s remarkable 37-year relationship with Concord, a rich legacy that has now yielded 27 albums. The album features the conguero’s longtime band, featuring trombonist and musical director Francisco Torres, trumpet and flugelhorn master Ron Blake, saxophonist Robert Hardt, pianist Andy Langham, bassists Rene Camacho and Ross Schodek, and percussionists Joey DeLeon and Giancarlo Anderson.  The 11-track album features three classic Coltrane compositions and a pair of new compositions written in honor of the sax master, alongside a host of original pieces and classic favorites chosen to represent Sanchez’s wide spectrum of influences. At its heart, though, Trane’s Delight provides a direct link from the 67-year old conguero to his 11-year old self, staring in the window of his local record store at the entrancing, blue-tinged cover of the 1962 album Coltrane.  “I had eyeballed this record for about a month, looking at it with not enough money to buy it,” Sanchez recalls. “I played a couple little gigs around town and saved up the money, so it was the first album I ever bought by myself. I used to have a little space in my mother’s garage with my record player and my drums and congas. I put that record on, and that first track, ‘Out of This World,’ kicked in and I was blown away. I listened to that record daily for years.”

The wonder with which Sanchez first heard Coltrane’s singular voice is still present more than a half-century later in his vibrant reimagining of the saxophonist’s compositions. Trane’s Delight features a buoyant Latin spin on “Liberia,” from 1964’s Coltrane’s Sound; the classic “Blue Train” rendered as a cha-cha-chá; and a rumba twist on the immortal “Giant Steps,” that perennial proving ground for jazz musicians, its challenge not only embraced by Sanchez’s virtuosic collaborators but taken at a breakneck pace that leaves no room for trepidation.  In collaboration with Torres, Sanchez also penned two brand-new pieces inspired by Coltrane. The bustling title tune is a lively encapsulation of the saxophonist’s adventurous spirit, highlighted by DeLeon’s rollicking timbale solo. “Yam’mote,” meanwhile, coins a new hybrid term combining two cultures’ words for the same food: yams and camote. The music, as warm as the comfort food that it references, was inspired by another of the young Sanchez’s brushes with his idol.  “When I was in high school, I would lay in bed listening to Los Angeles’ jazz radio station,” he says. “One night, the DJ announced, ‘Tomorrow I’m going to interview John Coltrane at 11am.’ It was during the week, but I had to hear this interview, so the next day I woke up and started coughingand told my mother that I didn't feel good, so I didn't have to go to school that day. It ended up being a short interview, but the part that stuck with me the most was at the very end. The host asked Trane his favorite food. My ears grew huge and I leaned in to the radio, thinking he’d say BBQ ribs or fried chicken or something, but he said sweet potato pie.”  Dumbstruck, Sanchez asked his mother if she knew how to make sweet potato pie. Instead, she offered to make the candied camotesthat is a favorite dish in Mexico and across Central America. “I ate that camote every day for like two weeks because I loved John Coltrane,” Sanchez laughs. “I just thank God that he didn't say dog food, because I would’ve run out and got some dog food. That’s how much he meant to me.”  As always with Sanchez’s wide-ranging interests, Trane’s Delight casts its sonic net much wider than just Coltrane’s sphere of influence. The blissful Duke Ellington composition “The Feeling of Jazz,” provides a bridge: the lovely, relaxed tune, here featuring eloquent turns by Torres and Camacho, was recorded on 1963’s Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, the sole meeting of the two jazz icons.  Trane’s Delight opens with “Soul Bourgeoisie,” a Hubert Laws composition originally recorded by the Jazz Crusaders on their 1965 album Chile Con Soul. Featuring a soulful Hardt solo, the upbeat tune sets the exuberant tone for the album. The classic bolero “Si Te Dicen” slows things down to an elegant sway, with Sanchez’s heartfelt vocal harkening back to Joe Cuba’s 1966 version featuring singer Cheo Feliciano.  Pianist Andy Langham contributed “Sube” (which translates as “ascend” or “go up”), a bristling 6/8 piece ornamented by the mesmerizing kalimba playing of Cornelius Alfredo Duncan Jr. Sanchez befriended the percussionist more than 40 years ago, and reconnected when he saw a YouTube video of Duncan playing the African thumb piano. He immediately reconnected with his old friend and invited him to join the band for the occasion.  A sequel to the medley of classic tunes that appeared on the conguero’s last release, Live in Hollywood, “Poncho Sanchez Medley #2” combines three old favorites: “Baila Mi Gente,” from 1979’s Poncho, which Sanchez cites as his first original composition; “El Sabrosón,” co-written by Sanchez’s longtime pianist and musical director, the late David Torres; and “El Shing-A-Ling,” a song born from Sanchez’s impromptu singing in a Fayetteville, Arkansas convenience store.  The album closes with “Todo Termino,” a song written by Bobby Manrique and immortalized by another Sanchez idol, the great Puerto Rican singer and bandleader Tito Rodríguez. For the occasion he invited the Los Angeles vocalist Norell Thomson, a standout voice on the city’s salsa scene, to front the ensemble.  Ultimately, Trane’s Delight offers a tribute not only to the stellar music and influence of the great John Coltrane, but a spotlight for the myriad ways that the tenor giant’s explorations have fueled courageous artists like Poncho Sanchez. The results, as on this passionate new album, would no doubt delight Trane’s searching spirit.

Visionary pianist/composer Satoko Fujii and drummer Ramon Lopez release their debut album Confluence

There are times-and they are very rare-when musicians just click instantly. Confluence (available July 26 via Libra Records) captures just such a moment between pianist-composer Satoko Fujii and Spanish drummer Ramon Lopez. Although Lopez and Fujii had known each other for several years, they had only played together once before in a trio. When the opportunity arose for them to record as a duo in New York, they knew they had to seize the chance to make an album. With no advance planning, they simply began to play in the studio and something very special happened.

"This recording was a kind of a miracle for me," Fujii says. "We didn't talk about anything before we played. Ramon is a person with a big and deep heart. When we started recording, something came down to me that I didn't expect. I felt that the room was filled with music and love. It was such a beautiful moment that I ended up playing in a very quiet and peaceful way."

Indeed, Confluence features some of the most delicate and nuanced playing in each of the participant's careers. Fujii opens "Asatsuyu," one of two of her own originals included on the disc, with a solo that emphasizes the graceful freedom and subtly of her line. Lopez enters discretely on brushes, a nonintrusive and supportive presence. The hushed calm of the moment provides ample opportunity to fully appreciate his unique orchestration of the drum kit and the conversational flow of his rhythms.

Their easy rapport continues on "Road Salt." Fujii begins by plucking sounds on the inside of the piano and Lopez matches the metallic ping of the piano wires with gentle swirl of brushes on cymbals. When Fujii proposes a melody from the keyboard, Lopez taps his approval and they start off in a new direction. It's a quietly joyful performance that climaxes in an ecstatic burst of rhythmic energy and is so perfectly structured it's hard to believe it's all improvised.

In fact, attention to structure and detail are hallmarks of the entire album. "Three Days Later," another Fujii original, showcases the growing refinement of Fujii's improvising. She speaks volumes with a mere two chords or a distilled turn of phrase. She's never been more poetic. Lopez finds the perfect sound or gesture to support or embellish the evanescent beauty of her playing. "Tick Down" evolves from soft-focus prepared piano through unsettled melodic pathways to blissful vamps, absorbing different techniques and ideas into a unified whole. A high-pitched, eerily beautiful drone from the piano strings frames "Quiet Shadow," providing a rich backdrop for the subtle sound manipulations of Lopez.

- over -

"Run!" begins and ends with fast, sharply articulated phrases and crashing chords from the piano and a skein of drum rhythms that help define the ebb and surge of the music. Each improvisation on the album feels complete and distinct.

Spanish drummer, percussionist, and composer Ramon Lopez is a master of many styles. Besides his deep involvement in free jazz and improvisation, he studied tabla with Krishna Govinda K.C., and performed with some of the world's leading flamenco artists. His first recording under his name, 11 Drum Songs (Leo Lab), an album of solo percussion, was released in 1997. From 1997 to 2000 he was drummer in the renowned French Orchestre National de Jazz under Didier Levallet. His musical endeavors have always been challenging, from his interpretation of songs from the Spanish Civil War to his duos dedicated to Roland Kirk (2002). The French government named him Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2008. Recently he's had a fruitful association with English bassist Barry Guy, recording a duet with him, and appearing as a regular member of his Blue Shroud orchestra. In addition, he has recorded or performed with Joachim Kuhn, Angelica Sanchez, Agusti Fernandez, Joe Morris, and many others.

Critics and fans alike hail pianist and composer Satoko Fujii as one of the most original voices in jazz today. She's "a virtuoso piano improviser, an original composer and a bandleader who gets the best collaborators to deliver," says John Fordham in The Guardian. In concert and on more than 80 albums as a leader or co-leader, she synthesizes jazz, contemporary classical, avant-rock, and folk musics into an innovative style instantly recognizable as hers alone. A prolific band leader and recording artist, she celebrated her 60th birthday in 2018 by releasing one album a month from bands old and new, from solo to large ensemble. Franz A. Matzner in All About Jazz likened the twelve albums to "an ecosystem of independently thriving organisms linked by the shared soil of Fujii's artistic heritage and shaped by the forces of her creativity."

Over the years, Fujii has led some of the most consistently creative ensembles in modern improvised music, including her trio with bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Jim Black and an electrifying avant-rock quartet featuring drummer Tatsuya Yoshida of The Ruins. Her ongoing duet project with husband Natsuki Tamura released their sixth recording, Kisaragi, in 2017. "The duo's commitment to producing new sounds based on fresh ideas is second only to their musicianship," says Karl Ackermann in All About Jazz. Aspiration, a CD by an ad hoc quartet featuring Wadada Leo Smith, Tamura, and Ikue Mori, was released in 2017 to wide acclaim. "Four musicians who regularly aspire for greater heights with each venture reach the summit together on Aspiration," writes S. Victor Aaron in Something Else. As the leader of no less than five orchestras in the U.S., Germany, and Japan (two of which, Berlin and Tokyo, released new CDs in 2018), Fujii has also established herself as one of the world's leading composers for large jazz ensembles, leading Cadence magazine to call her, "the Ellington of free jazz."

 

Pianist Victor Gould Reaches New Melodic and Conceptual Heights on Thoughts Become Things

Hailed as “a composer of great ambition and skill” from All About Jazz, pianist Victor Gould returns in brilliant form on Thoughts Become Things, his third album as a leader. In the spirit of his 2016 debut Clockwork, Gould constructs a rich and involved ensemble sound with multiple horns, string quartet and percussion along with bassist Vicente Archer and drummer Rodney Green in the rhythm section.

But taking a page from his 2018 sophomore release Earthlings, a more stripped down and piano-centric effort appears, Gould features his piano virtuosity to a greater degree on Thoughts Become Things, highlighting one horn soloist per song and foregrounding his consummate skill as a player — a quality that has earned this young pianist major engagements with Wallace Roney, Ralph Peterson, Terri Lyne Carrington, Donald Harrison, Louis Hayes, Vincent Herring, Eric Alexander and more.

Gould’s steadiest gig of late has been with trumpet sensation Jeremy Pelt, as documented on Make Noise!, Noir en Rouge: Live in Paris and Jeremy Pelt The Artist. Archer plays bass in Pelt’s band as well, along with percussionist Ismel Wignall; Gould recruited the lot of them for Thoughts Become Things. There’s been percussion, in fact, on every Gould album to date, as he explains in the liner notes: “I really love to accentuate the connection between the swing feel and African drums. The percussionists I’ve worked with so far have really accentuated African rhythm, and that’s an important connection to me.”

Flutist/alto flutist Anne Drummond, alto/soprano saxophonist Godwin Louis and tenor saxophonist Dayna Stephens join Pelt, functioning as a vibrant horn section (and each as a brilliant soloist). We also hear from a full string quartet with Yoojin Park and Jim Tsao on violins, Jocelin Pan on viola and Susan Mandel on cello. Lucas Pino’s bass clarinet and Aaron Johnson’s bass trombone bring additional color and weight to the arrangements on several tracks.

Gould in the liner notes muses on the title Thoughts Become Things: “I’ve been thinking recently about how we manifest our own future, and how our thoughts mold our reality, both negative and positive.” The title track and other songs, including “Karma,” “Let Go” and “What Do We Need,” touch on this quasi-spiritual theme, elevating the perspective beyond the personal and individual to encompass the broader society. “The simplest rule,” Gould concludes, is “just to be kind to everyone and think positively.”

Anne Drummond’s role as a central melodic voice is clear throughout. Gould readily cites the importance of flute in his composing, not least because his father is a flutist; he grew up hearing the instrument live and on records. Drummond plays both flute and alto flute, the latter notably in a rousing solo on “October.” Godwin Louis, one of Gould’s dearest friends, stretches out on “Karma”; Dayna Stephens soars on tenor on “Let Go”; Jeremy Pelt shines not only on “Inheritance” but also with Gould on a luminous duo rendition of the standard “Polka Dots and Moonbeams.” Through it all, the lushly voiced horn harmonies and string counterpoint, buoyant percussion and tight, sophisticated rhythmic concept come together in what is for Gould a personal ideal: an instrumentation that can express the fullness of what he hears, yet light enough to allow the piano to speak, in some of the most fluid and mature improvising you will hear on the scene today. And in the sublime solo piano meditation “Brand New,” we hear from him even more directly, freely improvising out of tempo on a theme, opening the album in poetic style.

Thoughts Become Things, one could say, began as a thought; it is now a thing, a document charting Gould’s course, an experience to savor, from one of jazz’s very best.

Tenor saxophone master Eric Alexander takes a Leap of Faith into new territory with adventurous chordless trio featuring Doug Weiss and Johnathan Blake

Alexander's new album is the third release from Jimmy Katz's Giant Step Arts, a groundbreaking, artist-focused non-profit with a single mission: to help modern jazz innovators create their art free of commercial pressure

"[Eric Alexander] is invariably eloquent and persuasive, reinforcing his stature as one of the jazz world's most astute and accomplished tenor saxophonists." - Jack Bowers, All About Jazz

"A lot of magic and beauty can come out of the freedom to explore that Jimmy [Katz and Giant Step Arts] granted us. I think the reason the music sounds the way that it does is because there was so much trust and freedom." - Johnathan Blake, drummer and Giant Step Arts recording artist

A modern-day master of the tenor saxophone, Eric Alexander is revered in hard bop and post-bop circles for his muscular tone, sophisticated expression, and exhilarating melodic invention. On his latest album, Leap of Faith, Alexander takes an unexpected plunge into the unknown with a set of far-reaching excursions with a brilliant chordless trio featuring bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Johnathan Blake. Recorded live at New York City's Jazz Gallery, the stunning, surprising new album will be released May 17, 2019 thanks to the groundbreaking new non-profit Giant Step Arts, led by noted photographer and recording engineer Jimmy Katz.

It was at Katz's suggestion that Alexander decided to take this leap in the first place. The two men have known one another for more than 25 years, crossing paths shortly after the Illinois native arrived in New York City in the early 90s. Hearing the passion and imagination in Alexander's playing, Katz would often suggest that the saxophonist explore a more expansive setting than his usual bop métier afforded. Being an artist with a particular vision (and a dose of the accompanying stubbornness), Alexander's instinctual response was to reject any suggestion of where he should take his own music.

"I know what I feel and what I'm enthusiastic about as a musician, so I have a built-in knee-jerk reaction to people telling me I should do something different," Alexander explains. "You have to trust what you're doing, or it can be very hard to be genuine. Once the idea began to set in, though, I realized it could be really exciting and rewarding on many levels. I started trying to figure out what type of material would satisfy the mission of the project and also make me feel like I was being honest, and I came up with something that was a little more than slightly different from what I've done before."

Creating the environment to do just that - embark on daring new endeavors, freed from the usual demands of record label and sales chart expectations - is precisely why Katz founded the innovative Giant Step Arts. Katz launched the organization in January 2018 in order to provide some of the music's most innovative artists with the artistic and financial opportunity to create bold, adventurous new music free of commercial pressure.

For the artists it chooses to work with, by invitation only, the nonprofit:

- presents premiere performances and compensates the artists well

- records these performances for independent release

- provides the artists with 800 CDs and digital downloads to sell directly. Artists will own their own masters.

- provides the artists with photos and videos for promotional use

- provides PR support for the artists recordings

"Giant Step Arts will not be selling any music," Katz says. "We have two goals: help the musicians and raise more money so we can help more musicians."

That model, Alexander says, is for him as radical a departure from the norm as the music on Leap of Faith. "It's diametrically opposite in every single sense of that term from everything else that I've done. It feels like a test for a very different model and I'm anxious to see what's going to happen. It's a leap of faith, appropriately enough."

While Leap of Faith falls squarely into a tradition of unbridled tenor exploration that dates back to some of Alexander's major heroes, notably Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, it represents a first for Alexander in a few ways. He has rarely played in, and almost never recorded in, a chordless trio setting. It also marks the first time, in a discography that counts more than 40 releases, that Alexander has recorded an album consisting solely of his own original tunes.

Aside from Katz's persistent urging, Alexander was also inspired to undertake this bold new endeavor by a turbulent period in his life that included the death of his father, who is paid heartfelt tribute on the tender and searching ballad "Big Richard." That was the most potent of the several "mid-life bumps in the road" that Alexander found himself facing upon turning 50 in 2018. "That may have put me, emotionally and creatively speaking, in a bit more of a raw space," he concludes. "I thought I could use this project to vent, that maybe it would be cathartic to just let things fly."

Inaugurated by Alexander's roving melodic tendrils, the trio begins the album with a brief free investigation that snaps into the bristling, brawny "Luquitas," built upon and opened up from an earlier Alexander original dedicated his second-born son, "Little Lucas." The piece is an out-of-the-gate showcase for the trio's boundless energy, surging forward with unceasing momentum for more than eight minutes. It's followed by "Mars," which borrows the harmonic progression of a surprising source: the Bruno Mars megahit "Finesse."

"My kids liked it," Alexander explains. "If your kids actually want to share something with you, it's good to stop and listen for a second. I really liked it, then I took that ball and ran with it."

Meditative piano chords open "Corazon Perdido," which breaks the chordless pattern by having Alexander accompany himself for a few ruminative minutes. It's followed by some of the saxophonist's most electrifying blowing, on the swaggering "Hard Blues." Blake's powerful rumble provides the bed for the blistering, volatile "Frenzy," while Weiss' deep, moaning bowed bass becomes the undercurrent of "Magyar," based on a reduction of themes from Béla Bartók's "Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta." Coltrane's influence rears its fiery head on the far-reaching finale, "Second Impression."

For those who've heard Alexander stretch out live, some of the more explosive playing on Leap of Faith may not be quite so shocking. Alexander says it's also not such a departure given his own wide-ranging tastes, which have not always emerged so strongly in his music. "Despite the fact that people believe that they have a pretty good idea of what my 'brand' is, I'm not really a bebop purist. I've always incorporated bits and pieces of what people might consider the avant-garde into what I do, so this was just a matter of letting that take over. That was really the giant step for me, and it felt at times like an out of body experience."

Boasting a warm, finely burnished tone and a robust melodic and harmonic imagination, tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander has been exploring new musical worlds from the outset. He started out on piano as a six-year-old, took up clarinet at nine, switched to alto sax when he was 12, and converted to tenor when jazz became his obsession during his one year at the University of Indiana, Bloomington. At William Paterson College in New Jersey he advanced his studies under the tutelage of Harold Mabern, Joe Lovano, Rufus Reid, and others. Eric has appeared in many capacities on record, including leader, sideman, and producer, as well as composing a number of the tunes he records. By now, Alexander has lost count of how many albums feature his playing; he guesses 80 or 90. While he has garnered critical acclaim from every corner, what has mattered most has been to establish his own voice within the illustrious bop-based jazz tradition.

Through his award-winning photography with wife Dena Katz, and his esteemed work as a recording engineer, Katz has spent nearly 30 years helping to shape the way that audiences see and hear jazz musicians. Katz has been hired to participate in over 540 recording projects, many historic, and has photographed nearly 200 magazine covers. Whether taken in the studio, in the clubs, on the streets or in the musicians' homes, his photographs offer intimate portraits of the artists at work and in repose and capture the collaborative and improvisatory process of jazz itself. Recipient of the Jazz Journalists Association award for jazz photography in both 2006 and 2011, Katz's work has been exhibited in Germany, Italy and Japan. Among the world-renowned artists he's photographed are Sonny Rollins, Keith Jarrett, Ornette Coleman, Freddie Hubbard, Roy Haynes, Cassandra Wilson, Ray Charles, Dave Brubeck, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, John Zorn, Pat Metheny, and Dizzy Gillespie. In addition to his well-known visual art, Katz is an esteemed recording engineer who has worked with artists including David S. Ware, Joe Lovano, Harold Mabern, William Parker, Benny Golson, and Chris Potter, among others.

Bassist Rodney Whitaker Celebrates Finding Common Ground

Common Ground is the first of five CDs that bass maestro Rodney Whitaker intends to release in 2019 in acknowledgment of his fiftieth birthday year. It’s his seventh album, and embodies the musical values that Whitaker has projected on antecedent dates like When We Find Ourselves Alone, from 2014; such turn-of-the-century gems as Winter Moon,  Ballads and Blues: The Brooklyn Session and Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow; and the critically acclaimed Mack Avenue recordings Get Ready (2007) and Work To Do (2011) by his co-led band with drummer Carl Allen.

As on those recordings, Whitaker convenes an all-star unit of generational contemporaries, each a modern master and colleague of long standing (trumpeter Terrell Stafford, saxophonist Tim Warfield, pianist Bruce Barth, and drummer Dana Hall). He guides the flow with a mammoth sound and harmonic acumen, interpolating an occasional well-wrought solo, as his partners apply their individualistic instrumental voices and “team-player” orientation to eight tunes that Whitaker describes as “modern bebop and 21st century soul jazz,” emphasizing melodic development and the will to swing.

That unified, collective sensibility is one layer of meaning that filters into the title “Common Ground.” You can find another in the nature of the relationship between Whitaker and the composer of the songs, which have the flavor of new discoveries from the 1960s canons of Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane and Eddie Harris. His name is Gregg Hill, 73, an autodidact who started writing music seriously in 1984.

These unlikely collaborators live in East Lansing, Michigan, near the campus of Michigan State University, where Whitaker — who is University Distinguished Professor of Jazz Bass and Director of the Jazz Studies program at MSU since 2000 — moved in 2006.

A native of Detroit, Whitaker began playing bass in junior high school, where he met string instructor Donald Washington, whose student group Bird/Trane/Sco/Now!, which spanned bebop to free jazz, shaped his broad conception of musical expression. As he progressed through high school, Whitaker participated in trumpeter Marcus Belgrave’s jazz group, performed European classical music with the Detroit Civic Orchestra, studied privately with members of the Detroit Symphony, and worked with Motor City luminaries like pianist Kenny Cox and drummers Leonard King and Francesco Mora Catlett. A devotee of Paul Chambers and Ron Carter from the jump, Whitaker also considers Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford, James Jamerson and Dave Holland to be crucial influences on his style.

Whitaker left Detroit in 1988 with the Donald Harrison-Terence Blanchard Quintet, then joined Roy Hargrove in 1991 for a four-year run. During 1995 and 1996, when he freelanced with Elvin Jones, Kenny Garrett and Diana Krall, Whitaker recorded his first two CDs, Children Of the Light and Hidden Kingdom, both comprised primarily of original music.  In 1996, Wynton Marsalis hired him to play with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, where he remained until 2000.

“Working with Wynton was the closest I ever got to going to graduate school,” Whitaker says. “I played so many different styles, and was inspired to learn the history of the music in depth. It made me realize that music is just not about notes. It’s about a story and it’s about lives.”

That storytelling ethos also informs Hill’s approach to composition.  A self-described “lifelong jazz fan and follower” from Midland, Michigan, Hill played saxophone in his high school band. He hoped to matriculate at Berklee, but couldn’t afford tuition, so matriculated at MSU;  in 1973, after consequential stays in New York and Detroit, he settled in East Lansing for good. He drove a truck, got married, had a family, and invested wisely. In 1984, he says, “my family life gave me some freedom to plunk at the piano for a couple of hours every day, and I took the opportunity to start writing.” He applied his analytical skills to absorb “every theory book I could get my hands on,” and “used my ear to take me somewhere with the music, and to get out my feelings and ideas — then it evolved, took on a life of its own.”

Around 2000, Hill tabled musical activities to involve himself in a family-based technology company. As the decade progressed, he and his wife, Lois Mummaw, founded a non-profit presenting organization called Jazz Alliance of Mid-Michigan, and took positions on the board of the East Lansing Summer Solstice Festival, which brought Whitaker into the fold as Music Director in 2008. In 2015, Hill retired, freeing him to devote all his time to musical self-expression.

Shortly before retirement, Hill assembled a composition book with ten favorites. He gave Whitaker a copy. In 2017, he published 81 of his tunes in two volumes, titled Outrospectives and Spontaneity (another 40 pieces will appear in a yet-to-be-titled third volume, scheduled for winter 2019 publication). That summer, Hill decided to present a two-concert series for which he asked seven bandleaders, including Whitaker, to perform his music.

About a year later, Whitaker approached Hill, suggesting that he record his tunes with the personnel featured herein, who’d previously performed on Hall’s excellent 2009 CD Into The Light. “We’ve all played together in different configurations for 25-30 years, and I knew it would immediately sound like a band,” Whitaker says. “I thought Gregg was writing some cutting-edge things and also things that sound out of the tradition. All of them were interesting and fun to play. Some of the tunes look easier than they really are. Some remind me of the 1960s, but some remind me of now.”

 For the Common Ground project, Whitaker and Hill each chose material, which Whitaker then “rearranged from the original source material, particularly the solo forms.” He told Hill that “I wanted his heart and soul connected in it musically,” towards which end Hill presented four numbers to vocalist Rockelle Fortin, the oldest of Whitaker’s seven children, and asked her to write and sing original lyrics, based on conversations in which she interrogated Hill on the content and meaning of each tune.

“Bringing in Rockelle at a creative level and showcasing her vocal talent is a highlight of the album,” Hill says. “Singers are my main source of musical inspiration. A good sax or trumpet solo can make you feel good, but only a singer can give you the goose-pimples where you’re overwhelmed by feeling.”

On the sprightly title track, Fortin’s affirmative message of mutual respect reflects Hill’s sense that “ordinary people tend to be considerate of each other in the daily rounds of life,” in contrast to the “acrimonious tone of the political world.” It also mirrors the common ground that Whitaker and Hill have found through their interaction in the world of jazz.

“Rodney’s genius was to put his own take on all these arrangements,” Hill says. “That’s what makes them special. He’s a master arranger and the heartbeat of the band. He frees up the soloist. That’s also in line with philosophy of writing. I’m very oriented towards melodies, but I don’t try to marry them to my changes. I write material that turns the soloist loose, down their own territory. So this is a dream band for me, and even before this project came along, Rodney was my favorite bass player.”

Whitaker also draws inspiration from his most recently established partner. “It’s always been Gregg’s life dream to do this,” he says. “So many times people just table their dream. You don’t want to do that. You’ve got to keep pushing, and you’ve got to figure out the next thing in your journey. You shouldn’t be afraid to go after your dream.”

New Music: Lauren Henderson - Alma Oscura; Charnett Moffett - Bright New Day; Rob Ryndak / Tom Lockwood - Gratitude

Lauren Henderson - Alma Oscura 

Lauren Henderson is a prolific vocalist, composer, and arranger, as well as a budding entrepreneur. Alma Oscura is Henderson’s fifth CD since her self-titled, debut release in 2011. Based in New York City, Henderson has been performing in major venues around town, as well as shuttling back and forth to Miami, where her Latin sounds are particularly popular with the area’s large Cuban population. She has also toured extensively internationally and is returning to Europe in 2019.Henderson’s music is strongly inflected with jazz, Latin, soul, and fusion elements, and Alma Oscura, like all her previous work, reflects Henderson’s multi-cultural background. Alma Oscura means “dark soul” in English. According to Henderson, “The project  is an exploration of culture, the poisons of social norms, race relations, and the complexities navigated through society as we encounter love and death.” Sung in both English and Spanish, these compositions paint stories reflecting journeys imposed through the African diaspora and filtered through Henderson's multi-cultural heritage and American upbringing. Henderson’s voice has a soft, smoky quality that seems to float above the music, yet conveys great emotional depth and a bittersweet longing. The tunes on Alma Oscura are painted with a somber hue, but are never maudlin. Rather, the entire vibe of the album creates the impression of a person engaged in an inner monologue, looking for the answers to some of life’s most important questions.

  

Charnett Moffett - Bright New Day

Inspired by the electric periods of three chief influences - Jaco Pastorius, Ornette Coleman, and Miles Davis - legendary jazz bassist Charnett Moffett's Bright New Day represents a new chapter in his expanding legacy of jazz innovation.    Internationally acclaimed for his pyrotechnic upright acoustic bass work on his own recordings and with a virtual "who's who" of jazz, Moffett changes the game here, appearing for the first time exclusively with his fretless electric bass guitar and a new powerhouse touring band featuring rising-star violinist Scott Tixier, keyboard specialist Brian Jackson (known for his innovations with Gil Scott-Heron), drummer Mark Whitfield Jr, and electric guitarist Jana Herzen, a fellow Motema recording artist and founder and President of Motema. 

Rob Ryndak / Tom Lockwood - Gratitude

On "Gratitude,” Chicago-based pianist and percussionist Rob Ryndack and reedman Tom Lockwood present a program of 12 original compositions. The two artists contributed six works each, creating a montage of jazz tunes with a distinctly Latin accent and a few dashes of pop and funk. This is Ryndak’s sixth CD as a leader or co-leader. He’s recorded and played with a long list of Chicago greats, and he’s performed with his ensemble at festivals throughout the Midwest. A versatile musician, on “Gratitude” Lockwood plays tenor, alto, soprano, and baritone sax, as well as clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute. Lockwood has led several CD projects with different bands, and has also been a sideman on numerous recordings. He currently performs in several bands and orchestras, including a couple of salsa bands. Ryndak and Lockwood brought on board for this project some of the top players based in Chicago and Michigan, as well as Grammy-winning trumpeter Brian Lynch, who flew out from Miami to be part of this album. “Gratitide” is a project with a lot of heart and soul. The two artists have imbued the music not only with their expansive musical visions, but also with their personal stories and philosophies.  It is a journey through different musical styles all held together through the masterful writing and performing of Ryndak and Lockwood. ‘Gratitude” is a recording that is filled with lush imagery and rife with vivid emotions and spiritual affections.

GRAMMY® Award-Winning Composer Vince Mendoza Releases Constant Renaissance, Inspired By Philadelphia Jazz Greats

Six-time GRAMMY® Award-winning composer, arranger and conductor Vince Mendoza was at Temple University and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts this past March as part of a week-long residency with students at the Boyer College of Music and Dance. This culminated with the world premiere and recording of Constant Renaissance, available August 2 on the College's own label, BCM&D Records, which has produced 30 recordings and garnered three GRAMMY® nominations.

Constant Renaissance is a new work featuring trumpeter Terell Stafford, alto-saxophonist Dick Oatts and the Temple University Studio Orchestra. Mendoza wrote the piece with Stafford and Oatts in mind, both of whom are on the jazz faculty at the university. Mendoza was inspired by Philadelphia’s history with jazz and its connection to innovation, reinvention and rebirth. “You might say that the city is in a ‘constant renaissance,’” Mendoza states, "and although some might say that jazz was the “other” sound of Philadelphia, in reality, many of the important innovations in jazz were born in the clubs and streets of this city after World War I, riffing and morphing, and eventually cross pollinating with the work of other artists in Philly."

The composer chose three jazz luminaries who all hailed from the City of Brotherly Love – Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday and John Coltrane. The first movement of the piece, “Bebop Elation,” through its rhythmic bounce and acrobatic melodic nature, evokes Gillespie’s impact on Philadelphia’s progressive music scene and integrated audiences in the early 1940’s. The city named him "Dizzy," and the name stuck -- and there was no other Dizzy Gillespie. John Birks Gillespie arrived in Philadelphia in 1935 at the age of 18. Even then he was a pioneer, with his trumpet playing reaching for the stars and Philadelphia embraced him. In November 1942, Dizzy Gillespie secured an extended engagement at the venerable Philly jazz spot, The Downbeat on Ludlow Street, most known for its embrace of progressive music and its racially integrated audiences. It was a key location in the history of jazz in the city. It was there that Dizzy honed his already original musical ideas and set the stage for his later encounters in New York City that cemented Bebop as the new music for the next generation.

The second movement, “Solace and Inspiration,” is dedicated to Billie Holiday, whose voice, according to Mendoza, “was a source of solace and inspiration." Mendoza continues, "there is indeed something transcendent and mysterious about the voice of Billie. Her sound was about beauty, but also pain, love and longing. Her phrasing seemed to float in mid-air. She sang her life, but she always kept her inner self in a private space. She was the unmistakable soulful voice of jazz." A Philadelphia native, Holiday often came back to Philly to perform during her short career, most often seen at the ornate Earle Theatre on Market Street.

Saxophonist and composer John Coltrane inspired the third movement, “Love, a Beautiful Force,” which embraces the use of ostinato as a sense of meditation and nod to improvisation. Coltrane lived and worked in Philadelphia from 1943 to 1958, but it was toward the end of that period, after leaving the Miles Davis Quintet in 1956, that Coltrane, struggling with drug addiction, returned to his Strawberry Mansion house to kick his habit, and find his inspiration and spiritual awakening. The compositions and recordings following this period became some of the most defining works in 20th century music and a continued guiding light followed by generations of jazz musicians. "The ostinato motive of this movement is in constant variation from beginning to end. The conclusion of the piece morphs into a more contemporary treatment of the ostinato, in a constant ascension to the heavens, in gratitude for the path Coltrane has cleared for us" Mendoza states.

 

Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance regularly commissions major composers to write or arrange new pieces for student ensembles. “It’s an invaluable experience for our students to rehearse, perform and record new works,” said Robert T. Stroker, Dean and Vice Provost for the Arts at the university, “having a composer of Vince Mendoza’s reputation and stature on campus for a week gives our music students a unique opportunity to learn from one of the best in the field.”

Vince Mendoza has been at the forefront of the Jazz and Contemporary music scene as a composer, conductor and recording artist for the last 25 years. According to All About Jazz, Mendoza “daringly expands the vernacular by including elements of abstract impressionism, romanticism and a highly unorthodox palette to position him as the clear and natural successor to the late Gil Evans.” The composer has written scores of compositions and arrangements for big band, extended compositions for chamber and symphonic settings, while his jazz composing credits read like a “who's who” of the best modern instrumentalists and singers in the world today. Mendoza was recognized as 'Best Composer/Arranger' by Swing Journal's critics poll in Japan. His album Epiphany features his compositions played by the London Symphony Orchestra. El Viento and Jazzpaña further pushed the boundaries of Jazz and Flamenco Music. Mendoza’s 2011 solo release Nights on Earth features his compositions arranged for small and large ensembles, with guest appearances by Luciana Souza, Malian vocalist Tom Diakite, and musicians from Spain, Africa, and Brazil. His GRAMMY® nominated big band release Homecoming celebrates his compositions for the WDR Big Band in Koln, Germany while his trumpet concertino, “New York Stories”, and his “Concerto for Orchestra" commissioned by the Czech National Symphony weave his individual approach to jazz rhythms and instrumental colors through a grand symphonic tapestry.

Mendoza's arranging has appeared on many critically acclaimed projects that include dozens of albums with song writing legends and vocalists such as Björk, Gregory Porter, Chaka Khan, Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin, Diana Krall, Melody Gardot, Sting and Joni Mitchell. He has 6 GRAMMY® Awards and 33 nominations. Mendoza is the composer in residence with the West Deutsche Rundfunk in Koln, Germany. He is also the Conductor Laureate of the Netherlands Metropole Orkest, of which he was Chief Conductor for 9 seasons. In addition, he appeared as a guest conductor with the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonic, as well as other orchestras throughout Europe, the U.S., Japan, Scandinavia, and the U.K. Mendoza has also written commissioned compositions and arrangements for the Turtle Island String Quartet, Brooklyn Rider, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, the Metropole Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, The Hollywood Bowl, West Deutsche Rundfunk, The Czech National Symphony and the BBC. Mendoza’s music was featured at the Berlin Festival and he has frequently performed at the Monterey, Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals.

Vince Mendoza · Constant Renaissance // BCM&D Records · Release Date: August 2, 2019

GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING ELIANE ELIAS RELEASES LOVE STORIES ON CONCORD JAZZ

Eliane Elias ascends to a new echelon of artistic expression with the August 30, 2019 release of Love Stories on Concord Jazz. A multi-hyphenate musician whose recent releases Made in Brazil (2015), Dance of Time (2017) and Man of La Mancha (2018) have earned her multiple GRAMMY Award wins and No.1 Billboard chart debuts, Elias’ new orchestral project serves as a classic homage to love in its many facets and forms. 

Love Stories is an orchestral album, revealing Elias’ mastery and preeminence as a multifaceted artist – a vocalist, pianist, arranger, composer, lyricist and producer. Sung almost entirely in English, the album features three original compositions plus seven superb arrangements of pieces from bossa nova’s golden age, including songs made famous by Frank Sinatra and Antonio Carlos Jobim. 

As both an interpreter and composer, Elias inhabits the rich tradition of bossa while bringing the music into the present. She infuses familiar songs with unexpected twists that intensify the music’s evocative power – whether by creating harmonic modulations that enhance a lyric or shifting the rhythmic feel of a section to heighten its emotion – allowing the subtle complexities of her voice to take centerstage, all the while. 

Noting that romantic love is just one of a wide range of ways the emotion gets manifested, Elias says, “The idea for this album was to bring to life various stories of love and loving through this collection of songs.” 

As she tells those stories, Elias brings a depth of feeling to the album that comes courtesy of her evocative approach as a pianist and singer as well as the precision with which she’s able to execute her musical vision. 

“From the moment of conception, it couldn’t be more integrated,” she explains. “From the first note that’s chosen, every color I create in the arrangements, the modulations, the choice of keys, the small group arranging, the possibilities for orchestra – it’s as deep into my personal taste as it can go…because I’m envisioning the arrangement; deciding how to convey the song and perform it with the band, and being mindful of the future orchestrations all at once.”

For the album, Elias invited some of her favorite Brazilian rhythm section players to join her – Marcus Texiera on guitar and Edu Ribeiro, Rafael Barata and Celso Almeida on drums – plus her core collaborators, co-producer and bassist Marc Johnson and co-producer Steve Rodby. Orchestrator Rob Mathes returns for his fourth recording with Elias as well, bringing his lush string arrangements into flawless sync with Elias’ rich harmonic and varied rhythmic approaches, as he did on her GRAMMY Award-winning 2015 album, Made in Brazil.

A celebrated interpreter of Jobim, Elias sees undercurrents of his long collaborative history with orchestrator Claus Ogerman in the working relationship she’s developed with Mathes. 

Says Johnson: “Rob’s orchestrations all go so deep and are so beautifully intertwined with Eliane’s small group arrangements. He also understands voice distribution so well. He’s said that in the process of writing the arrangements, he immerses himself in the recorded basic tracks, and, in even more detail, into Eliane’s piano voicings. Rob is absolutely on the same emotional wavelength as Eliane.” 

This emotional connection is essential given the circumstances from which the album was born. Elias began working on the music for Love Stories through a difficult year in which she lost her father, and four months prior to his passing, fractured her shoulder in an accident in her hometown of Sao Paulo, Brazil. She was rendered virtually immobile for months while recovering in her apartment there. As she recuperated, her window view of breeze-tickled palm trees and balconies against the blue Sao Paulo sky became the backdrop for a new set of musical inspiration. 

“During that period, I wasn’t allowed to move, my left arm was in a sling and so to avoid surgery I had to stay immobilized and really still,” she recalls. “Meanwhile, I created and wrote all of these arrangements in that state.” 

The album opens with a tone-setting bossa nova groove and Elias’ sensual, velvety voice, inspiring us with the message of taking a chance on love, from the vintage pop gem of Frances Lai’s theme song from the Oscar-winning 1966 French film, “A Man and a Woman.” 

It’s a seamless jump from that to Elias’ take on “Baby, Come to Me.” Made famous in the early ’80s by Patti Austin and James Ingram, the song gets reworked here in characteristic Elias fashion, as she smoothly moves from a bossa nova to a hybrid Latin feel, with brilliant harmonic and tempo modulations. Added to the backdrop of soaring strings and rich piano voicings, the tune becomes altogether new. 

“I like the message of cultivating a relationship, of keeping the romance alive when you find someone you love.” says Elias, who enlisted yet another of her go-to collaborators, Take 6’s multiple GRAMMY Award-winning Mark Kibble, to cover the background vocals.

There’s a heartfelt vulnerability to Elias’ lilting, expressive singing on “Bonita,” a dreamy rendition of one of Jobim and Sinatra’s late ’60s collaborations that features some lovely interplay between the piano and orchestra alongside Elias’ delicate and nuanced vocal phrasing. 

“It’s a very pure expression of someone who wants their love to be accepted and returned,” Elias says. 

The Sinatra homage continues with a twinkling, sexy take on “Angel Eyes,” followed by a brilliant rendition of “Come Fly with Me” that’s re-imagined with a Brazilian groove and carries the listener away with a passionate, high-flying piano solo. 

Elias explores yet another aspect of love on her warm toned original “The Simplest Things,” a rich and multi-layered musing on a love that has stood the test of time. The message here – about looking back on a love that’s matured and discovering that “the simplest things are the wonderful things” in that shared life – is a profound and sweet universal truth that we can all relate to. 

On “Silence,” the album’s second original piece, the mood is decidedly more intense as Elias channels the protagonist of the story’s anguish. “My voice here is the most exposed on the album,” Elias says. “I believe that most everyone has experienced disappointment or disillusionment at some point in their lives. The question is how does one respond to that?” 

A bright and buoyant rendition of “Little Boat,” where you can almost feel the waves gently undulating in time with Elias’ rocking piano solo, changes the mood again. Roberto Menescal, the song’s composer, plays the guitar on this track and the opening verse features the only moment on the recording in which Elias sings in Portuguese. 

The album closes with one more original, “The View.” This story is a bit more adult and complicated, given its suggestive imagery. There’s a rendezvous and a vision of a woman rolling down her stockings – but her apparition is almost like a dream or an angel. “The story is about something more internalized,” says Elias, “somewhere between reality and imagination, erotic yet pure in love and love’s expression.” 

It’s also an appropriately complex finish to an album that digs deep musically to shine new light on one of our deepest human experiences. In the process, it offers a portrait of an incomparable artist whose sound resonates from decades of experience – in music as in life.

Of the connection with her instrument Elias has said, “the piano is an extension of my body and the deepest expression of my soul.” Love Stories proves her voice now occupies that place, as well. 

  

Track Listing:

   1.   A Man and a Woman (3:15)

   2.   Baby Come to Me (5:02)

   3.   Bonita (5:52)

   4.   Angel Eyes (5:25)

   5.   Come Fly with Me (5:52)

   6.   The Simplest Things (3:59)

   7.   Silence (4:04)

   8.   Little Boat (5:48)

   9.   The View (4:17)

Website: http://elianeelias.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElianeEliasMusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/4ElianeElias

Jazz Musician Dave Sereny Climbs The Spotify Ranks With Over 29K Fans From Latest Single Come Here Baby

Chart topping Jazz musician Dave Sereny is rapidly rising in popularity on Spotify with the release of his new album “Talk To Me” showcasing one of his all time most popular tracks Come Here Baby”

Additionally the single has gained Sereny coverage on numerous new websites including, Blogarama, We Heart It, Wave Fm, and MightyCoolThings Blog to just name a few. The album, “Talk to Me” has also received rave reviews from publications including Slate Magazine, KurrentMusic, Buzzfeed, and others. Even after a long break he’s doing very well to say the least.

11 years after his last release, the new release Come Here Baby has become a darling of over 35 independent Spotify curators who have added it to their playlists.  All totaled these playlists have a combined total following of over 250,000 followers; bringing his streams up to ½ million and his listener base to nearly 150,000.

With the album and lead track, “Talk To Me” Sereny once again proves that his musical talent has aged like a fine wine. Sereny is not only a singer, but also the writer, composer and guitar player (playing both electric and acoustic) of his entire album.  Sereny’s hands-on approach to his music is what gives “Come Here Baby” the authenticity jazz and country music-lovers live for.

Love & loss are common themes for artists, but Sereny takes it one step further. His ability to meld genres of jazz, soul, and country with lyrics that sound like private thoughts are what fans love about him. In a world of manufactured music, Sereny still has his personal touch. This is why fans have stuck by him through 11+ years of high anticipation for his new album.

Some say hip-hop rules the world, but Sereny is a jazz force to reckon with. The jazz renaissance is here and Sereny is ready to lead the way. Stay up to date with all the news this album is sure to generate at: www.DaveSereny.com.