R&B-jazz saxophonist Dante’ releases "Mint"

It’s common. You go to school and prepare for a certain career path, but somehow the focus shifts. Years can go by before you realize that you have veered off course. R&B-jazz saxophonist Dante’ caught himself drifting and after some soul searching, realized that his joy would be found in music as a recording artist. He assembled an experience crew of proven producers, songwriters and musicians to help him craft “Mint,” his debut album that drops October 4.   

Dante’ is a Berklee College of Music graduate who was featured on rapper J. Cole’s 2011 heralded first album, “Cole World: The Sideline Story.” As an entrepreneur, he created Dante’ Neck Straps, handcrafted performance straps used by sax stars Dave Koz, Paul Taylor, Jackiem Joyner, Marcus Anderson, Walter Beasley, Mike Phillips, Joe Lavano and others. There were other successful business ventures outside of music that Dante’ spearheaded, but his spirit wasn’t fulfilled. After introspection, he felt that what would satiate his artistic expression would be making records as an artist. 

“I’m constantly tangled up in multiple projects. One day I said to myself, ‘What do I really want to do? What will bring me the most joy?’ The answer was music. Instead of dropping everything and start chasing gigs, I decided to create a record and put myself out to the world through music,” said Dante’, who plays soprano sax throughout “Mint” with the exceptions being an alto sax on two songs: “Kansai Groove” and “Before We Begin.” 

He knew his first single had to be “something fun to get people moving,” introducing his sound – a fusion of contemporary jazz, soul, funk and pop – with the help of an established hitmaker. Dante’ tapped fellow saxophonist and chart-topping artist-producer-songwriter Darren Rahn to craft “Vibin’ Out,” which goes for playlist adds on September 9. 

Dante’ co-wrote all of the original songs for “Mint,” writing half the tunes with Grammy and Emmy nominee Rex Salas (Janet Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Boyz II Men). “I owe a lot to Rex because he gave me my first shot and believed in me when no one else did.” 

The melodies and rhythms on the session were played by an accomplished crew consisting of guitarists Darrell Crooks and Allen Hinds; keyboardists and programmers Rahn, Greg Manning and Daniel “Doc Junya” Hargrove; bassists Anthony Crawford, Nate Kearney and Mel Brown; and drummers Eric Valentine, Tarell Martin and Nate Barns. Dante’ produced “Mint” with Manning, who co-wrote and plays piano on the Japanese tinged, New Jack Swing cut “Kansai Groove.”  

  

The album’s lone cover is Daniel Caesar and H.E.R.’s “Best Part,” which Dante’ re-envisions as an atmospheric instrumental.    

“I would say the best part of doing this record is the fact that I got to learn a lot about the process to the point where I could help someone else make a record. I’m a jack of all trades and I learn very quickly. Add to that the fact that I had access to some of the best talent in the business, which made everything possible. Watching and learning how they do what they do was priceless,” said the Los Angeles-based Dante’.

“Lately, I have been trying to focus on fewer things and doing them well instead for doing lots of things and overlooking fine details. With ‘Mint,’ I really focused and made sure I had the right people on my team to execute every component of the record. It was a lot of trial and error, but in the end, I came out with a project that I am very proud of.”

“Mint” contains the following songs:

“Vibin’ Out”

“Breathe”

“Take It Slow”

“Mint”

“Kasai Groove”

“The Wish”

“Before We Begin”

“Best Part”

“The Wish (Acoustic)”

https://dantesax.com

 

Marvin Gaye 'What's Going On Live' Newly Mixed For Its First Standalone Release

May 1, 1972 was a whirlwind day of celebration in Marvin Gaye's hometown of Washington, D.C. Designated "Marvin Gaye Day," it began with Gaye giving a speech to students at Cardozo High, the school he'd attended, before he and his parents were ushered by motorcade to other points around the city. They visited the office of D.C.'s mayor, Walter Washington, who presented Gaye with a key to the city. A VIP reception followed at the U.S. House of Representatives' Rayburn House Office Building, before the evening's hotly anticipated main event at the Kennedy Center: Marvin Gaye's first live performance in four years. After opening acts and onstage testimonials by others, Gaye finally 

The legendary concert – Marvin Gaye's only live performance of his iconic 1971 What's Going On album in full – was recorded. After being shelved for decades, the recording was eventually released on CD in 2001 within Motown/UMe's expanded deluxe edition for Gaye's What's Going On album. Never before issued on vinyl or as a standalone CD, What's Going On Live is newly mixed by John Morales at M+M Mix Studios and mastered by Alex Abrash at AA Mastering for its October 18 release by Motown/UMe. The album is making its vinyl debut in black 2LP and limited  turquoise 2LP editions with deluxe gatefold packaging, in addition to CD and standard digital, ADM (Apple Digital Masters), and 96kHz/24-bit HD digital audio editions. The vinyl and CD packages include rare photos from Gaye's performance and new liner notes by Marvin Gaye biographer David Ritz.

What's Going On Live includes the only known live recordings of Gaye performing four songs: "That's The Way Love Is" and "You," which he opened the D.C. concert with as part of a meditative 13-minute medley; "Right On;" and "Wholy Holy." Due to an unfortunate lag in switching the first reel-to-reel tape to a second one during the concert, Gaye's performance of "Mercy Mercy Me" from the What's Going On album was not successfully recorded.

  

Gaye did not tour in 1972, and he had not toured in years prior, following the collapse and subsequent tragic death of his singing partner Tammi Terrell. While he was on top of the world with the massive success of What's Going On, he much preferred the studio to live performance, suffering from acute stage fright throughout his career. That year, his only live shows were the D.C. concert and one other, a brief set in Chicago on September 27, which was filmed and recorded for the Save the Children documentary film.

Years later, Gaye reflected on his "Marvin Gaye Day" experience in Washington, D.C., telling David Ritz, "I understood that I'd been punishing myself by staying away so long. I'd been denying myself love, and that's one of the most foolish things a man can do. It was certainly the biggest day of my parents' life. Here they came to Washington in the thirties without a penny, and their son was being honored by the mayor as some sort of hero. At least on this one day I felt like I made Father proud."

What's Going On Live's extended time spent unreleased parallels the long-delayed release of another shelved Marvin Gaye project from 1972. The Kennedy Center concert was recorded just as Gaye's new single, "You're The Man," was released, but he did not perform the song in his set. Earlier this year, Motown/UMe released Gaye's never-issued 1972 Tamla/Motown album, You're The Man, in 2LP gatefold vinyl, CD, and digital editions. The album's release has been met with excitement and widespread critical acclaim.

  

Leon Lee Dorsey Explores the Music of Thelonious Monk On "MonkTime"

Recording Features Eight Monk Compositions, Performed by His DSC Trio Featuring Guitarist Greg Skaff, Drummer Mike Clark

Twenty years after the release of his last album, bassist Leon Lee Dorsey reassumes the mantle of a recording artist in his own right with the September 13 release of MonkTime (Jazz Avenue 1 Records). The debut of Dorsey's DSC Band, which also includes guitarist Greg Skaff and celebrated drummer Mike Clark, features the trio applying their potent chemistry to eight compositions by jazz titan Thelonious Monk.

While Dorsey is himself a talented, accomplished composer and arranger, he brings a minimal, spacious treatment to bear on MonkTime -- preferring to let the tunes speak for themselves. "We wanted to retain the original character of Monk's music," Dorsey says. "We weren't looking to reinvent the wheel on masterpieces. We wanted to keep the essence of the songs, that timeless commonality they have, while blending in our own spices and flavors."

Those spices and flavors are simultaneously bold and subtle: a paradox that Monk would surely have appreciated. Skaff, as the DSC Band's principal soloist, favors lean single-note lines that tend toward the low and middle registers (as on "Blue Monk"), imbuing them with a distinctive round, dark tone. It gives extra oomph to the chords and high crescendos he does employ in places like "Little Rootie Tootie." Clark reins in his famously brawny chops; he keeps the swing supple and assured but eschews pyrotechnics, even in his solos on "Monk's Dream" and "Epistrophy."

Dorsey, meantime, sets the pace. Whether it comes through his beautiful reading of the melody on "Monk's Mood" or the gentle pulse and solo he lends to "Ugly Beauty," the bassist's command of both the repertoire and ensemble avoids flash, yet is nevertheless unmistakable.

Dorsey keeps it tight on MonkTime; only one of the eight tunes strays beyond to the six-minute mark, and then just barely. "We took a page out of the vinyl era in keeping the songs at a manageable length," he says. It brings a sense of clarity and focus to the performances, spotlighting the trio's interplay as much as the individual improvisations. 

Leon Lee Dorsey was born March 12, 1958 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to a family that was plugged in to the Steel City's storied jazz lineage. He began playing piano in third grade and, the following year, switched to classical cello studies with members of the Pittsburgh Symphony at the famed Center for the Musically Talented, where he remained throughout high school. He also picked up electric bass in the seventh grade and, later, in high school, was drawn to the double bass, having always loved the instrument.

Dorsey attended Oberlin College Conservatory, graduating with double degrees in music in 1981. Under the tutelage of bass legend Richard Davis, he received his first master's at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a second master's from the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Dorsey then pursued doctoral studies at the City University of New York under Ron Carter, finishing his doctorate at Stony Brook University.

In 1986, Dorsey began a two-year stint with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, including performances with Frank Sinatra and visits to the White House, which honed his skills for his next endeavor, namely as a Jazz Messenger. In 1988 he joined Art Blakey's most fabled of jazz finishing schools, which left a lasting impact on his subsequent career.

Since arriving in New York, Dorsey has performed and recorded with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Hilton Ruiz, Cassandra Wilson, James Carter, Freddie Hubbard, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He released his acclaimed debut album, The Watcher, in 1995 and followed it up with 1999's Song of Songs. In 2003 he founded Leon Lee Dorsey Studios in New York City, at which more than 100 albums have since been produced.

Dorsey is also prominent as a jazz educator. From 2008 to 2011 he was Coordinator of Jazz Studies and Director of the Jazz Seminar at the University of Pittsburgh. Currently, he teaches harmony and jazz arranging and composition at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He looks forward to working with the DSC Band and hopes to be announcing performance dates soon. "I felt from the start that with the chemistry of this band -- there's no horn and no piano, the two instruments that defined Monk's sound -- we could go to the magical music level." 

Herbie Hancock Institute International Jazz Guitar Competition

Herbie Hancock Institute International Jazz Guitar Competition To Take Place December 2-3 in Washington, D.C. Applications Due By October 11, 2019

The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Competition will be presented on December 2-3 in Washington, D.C. Open to musicians age 30 and under from across the globe, this year’s competition will shine a spotlight on the guitar.

For over three decades, the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Competition played a pivotal role in identifying and empowering the next generation of jazz musicians, educators, and influencers. Building upon this important legacy, the newly minted Hancock Institute Competition represents a changing of the guard for one of the jazz world’s most renowned institutions.

The Semifinals of the 2019 Guitar Competition will be held on Monday, December 2nd, from noon to 5:00 p.m. at the Smithsonian Institution. The semifinalists will compete before an all-star panel of judges including jazz guitarists Stanley Jordan, Russell Malone, Pat Metheny, Chico Pinheiro, Lee Ritenour and John Scofield. Each semifinalist will perform for 15 minutes accompanied by a professional rhythm section.

From this group, the judges will select three finalists who will perform in the final round at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Tuesday evening, December 3rd. At stake is more than $150,000 in scholarships and prizes, including a $30,000 first place scholarship and guaranteed recording contract with Concord Music Group; a $15,000 second place scholarship; and a $10,000 third place scholarship.

According to Institute Chairman Herbie Hancock, whose career epitomizes the ideals of the jazz tradition and innovation, “We look forward to discovering and hearing from the next generation of young jazz guitarists, with their innovative styles and unique approach to the music. We are particularly excited to pay homage to the guitar, which has a rich and colorful history that continues to play a pivotal role in the development of jazz. I have no doubt that this year’s Competition will show that the future of this instrument, and of our music, is in good hands.”

The application for the 2019 Guitar Competition can be found at hancockinstitute.org. All materials must be submitted no later than Friday, October 11, 2019. Please submit any questions to Leonard Brown or by phone at +1 (202) 364-7272.

New Music Releases: David Sanchez; Laura Lee; Mental Abstrato

David Sanchez – Carib (LP)

David Sanchez kicks off the album's liner notes with a great discussion on the African diaspora and its influence on music – one that's always been strongly felt in David's recordings, but which seems to come through even more strongly here! The record's definitely jazz, but borrows lots of rhythmic conceptions from around the globe – using a fair bit of percussion at the bottom of the sound, which is balanced nicely with strong, soulful tenor lines from Sanchez, waves of color on the guitar from Lage Lund, and a mix of piano and Fender Rhodes from Luis Perdomo! There's some especially great interplay between the angularity of the tenor and the warmer, rounder currents of the guitar – on titles that include "Madigra", "Wave Under Silk", "Mirage", "Fernando's Theme", "Canto", "Land Of The Hills", and "Iwa". ~ Dusty Groove

Laura Lee - I Can't Make It Alone (LP)

Sublime soul from the mighty Laura Lee – one of the best deep soul singers of the 70s, even though she recorded with the mostly-northern team of Holland Dozier Holland! The set shows that the trio really knew how to change it up after leaving Motown – and although Lee had recorded for Chess in the 60s, she really finds her groove here – mixing southern soul with a dose of 70s funk – all of which really stands out from most of her contemporaries! Laura's voice is sweet and dusky, in the mode of some of the best underground singers of her day – but also rises above the rest, thanks crack arrangements by HB Barnum and Eugene Moore – who mix strings and soul into a stellar blend of styles! Titles include the breakbeat classic "Crums Off The Table", which begins with some great hard drums – plus the cuts "Every Little Bit Hurts", "I Can't Make It Alone", "Mirror Of Your Soul", and "I Need It Just As Bad As You". ~ Dusty Groove

Mental Abstrato - Uzoma

Really great work from a Brazilian combo that somehow manages to work in a mode that's completely rootsy, but also completely contemporary too! The music here mixes together heavy percussion, bits of jazz, and just the right touches on keyboards, beats, and samples – so that the organic and electric elements are perfectly balanced – at a level that's wonderfully illuminating, and which shifts nicely from track to track on the album – partly because of some of the guests who appear throughout. Titles include "Khamisi", "O Mar", "Mr Cal", "For You", "James Bongo", "Blue Skies", "Afroonirico", "Suco De Acerola", "Samambaia Rainha", and "Down". ~ Dusty Groove

Newly Restored and Expanded Editions of 12 Classic Albums from Acclaimed Jazz Legend Erroll Garner

Mack Avenue Music Group and Octave Music proudly announce the Octave Remastered Series, a historic year-long, 12-album project featuring newly restored and expanded editions of classic Erroll Garner releases from the 1960s and 1970s. Each album contains a newly discovered, unreleased bonus track. Utilizing the Plangent Process playback system for analog tape, these new transfers were remastered and, when needed, remixed by the GRAMMY® Award-winning Garner team.

The Octave Remastered Series -- produced by Peter Lockhart and Steve Rosenthal -- continues Garner’s resurgence, following his return to the top of the Billboard Jazz chart with 2015’s GRAMMY® Award-nominated The Complete Concert by the Sea, which was the first release from the Erroll Garner Jazz Project—a collective formed to curate Garner’s monumental archive. The Garner Project followed The Complete Concert by the Sea with the critically acclaimed, newly unearthed studio record Ready Take One in 2016, and the midnight concert album Nightconcert, which reached #1 on the iTunes and Amazon jazz charts upon its release in 2018.

The first four titles in the new series – Dreamstreet, Closeup in Swing, One World Concert, and A New Kind of Love – will be released simultaneously on September 27. The subsequent series rollout features one album per month – A Night at the Movies, Campus Concert, That’s My Kick, Up in Erroll’s Room, Feeling is Believing, Gemini, Magician, and Gershwin & Kern – leading up to Garner’s centennial in June 2020.

The master tapes for all 12 albums in the series were transferred and restored using the Plangent playback system. Employing a wideband tape head, preamp and DSP package to capture and track the original recorder’s ultrasonic bias remnant, the Plangent Process removes the wow and flutter and FM/IM distortion from the recorded audio. This returns the listener to the original session experience, bringing to life Garner’s incomparable performances of his own compositions, as well as classic works from the jazz canon.

During his 40-year career, Garner published more than 200 compositions, the most famous of which, “Misty,” was ranked by ASCAP as the twelfth most popular song of the 20th century. Since 1954 no other song has been recorded by more jazz artists except Duke Ellington’s “Satin Doll.” In 1971, “Misty” was the centerpiece of jazz aficionado Clint Eastwood’s film Play Misty For Me. It has also been featured in numerous television shows (Cheers, Saturday Night Live, Magnum PI, The Muppet Show) and films (Oscar® nominated Silver Linings Playbook). A previously unreleased studio performance of “Misty” is included in the Octave Remastered Series, on the Gemini album.

The newly minted bonus tracks in the series are all Garner originals, eight of the 12 being previously unreleased compositions. “It’s truly shocking, and one of the greatest joys of this work, to find these fully realized tunes just sitting there on tape,” says Peter Lockhart, senior producer of the Octave Remastered Series.

One of the most prolific composers and performers in the history of jazz, as well as a courageous advocate for African-American empowerment and artistic freedom, Garner is a legend among jazz pianists. His unique approach melds bebop and swing influences into a unique, unrivaled mastery.

Asked to define his musical genius, the late pianist Geri Allen, who was director of the jazz program in Garner’s hometown at the University of Pittsburgh, best captured the essence of Garner’s utterly original vision. “Erroll Garner personifies the joy of fearless virtuosity and exploration. His playing celebrated the greatest swinging big bands through an innovative and impossible pianism,” she explains. “Singular yet all embracing, Garner blurred the line between great art and popular art, and he was a staunch journeyman of the blues and his Pittsburgh legacy.”

In addition to his brilliant keyboard artistry, Garner is also a notable figure in popular music history for the hard-won precedents he set for artistic freedom that still stand today. In 1959, because he had rights of approval on what was released, Garner successfully sued Columbia Records to remove an album they had released without his permission.

His victory was the first of its kind for any American artist in the music industry. Garner and his manager, Martha Glaser, subsequently founded and launched Octave Records, whose 12 releases make up the Octave Remastered Series.

Erroll Garner was a rare musician who was equally adored and respected by peers and devoted fans alike. He and his art were best summed up by the late trumpeter Clark Terry: “The man was complete. He could do it all.”

SEPTEMBER 27 RELEASES

Dreamstreet - Recorded in 1959, the Dreamstreet tapes sat unreleased while Garner fought for control over his catalog. Finally issued in 1961 as the first product of his newly formed Octave Records, it heralded Garner’s return with a set of performances worthy of the wait. A new Garner original, “By Chance,” has been added to the remastered release, restored from the original session reels.

Closeup in Swing - The second product of Garner’s Octave Records, this album features Erroll and his classic trio like they’ve never been heard before, restored and remastered from the original master tapes. Marking the beginning of one of the most prolific periods in his life, this new presentation includes the propulsive, never-before-heard Garner composition, “Octave 103.”

         

One World Concert - This was Garner’s first live concert album after his chart-topping Concert by the Sea, recorded seven years earlier. A tour-de-force performance makes this a worthy successor, complete with his trademark improvisational fireworks. This new presentation includes extended introductions as well as an unreleased version of the Garner ballad “Other Voices,” which has never been issued in a trio arrangement.

A New Kind of Love - While the emotionally charged music of Erroll Garner is particularly well suited for the big screen and has been used in countless films over the years, he only ever composed this one film score. A natural orchestrator and with an uncanny ability to sound like an entire orchestra by himself, on this record Garner makes singular use of a 35-piece orchestra, conducted by Leith Stevens, to bring his music to new heights.

New Music Releases: Down To The Bone; Leo Richardson Quartet; Terje Lie

Down To The Bone - Funkin' Around: A Collection Of Remixes And Reworks

The first ever collection of remixes from the UK's leading jazz groove band DOWN TO THE BONE, whose career took off in the US with the release of "From Manhattan To Staten'" which went to No 2 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. This album of dancefloor and Latin-oriented remixes and reworks opens with DJ Spinna's take on "Electric Vibes" with guest Roy Ayers, while the Agent K (alias Kaidi Tatham) mix of "The Flow" features Brazilian jazz vocalist Flora Purim. Other key cuts include Speedometer's rework of "Funkin' Around", the Afro Elements remix of "Wildfire Woman" and Daz-I-Kue's remixes of "Angel Baby" with Mark de Clive Lowe and US vocalist N'Dambi, the remix of "Right On Baby Yeah" by Hoops Havona (alias Ceri Evans, former Brand New Heavies keyboardist) and German act Beanfield's rework of "Black Choice."

Leo Richardson Quartet - Move

Leo is widely recognised as one of London's leading tenor saxophonists, best known for his honest, straight-ahead, contemporary hard-bop style. His influences include John Coltrane, Joe Henderson, Dexter Gordon, Horace Silver and Art Blakey. Leo's 2017 debut album, The Chase, received exceptional reviews from around the world, including the first ever 5 Star review for a debut jazz album by the Observer. The Chase was also selected by The Times as one of the Top Ten Jazz Albums of 2017. In America, Downbeat Magazine praised the album as being straight out of the mid-1960's jazz classics.Leo has performed throughout the world and appeared last year at the Love Supreme Jazz Festival in the UK. This summer, Leo's quartet will be performing at the Rochester International Jazz Festival in the US. He has played at Ronnie Scott's, on numerous occasions.Move, Leo's next Quartet album, features his powerhouse rhythm section of Rick Simpson (piano), Tim Thornton (bass) and Ed Richardson (drums). The ubiquitous tenor Alex Garnett joins the band as guest on the final track. The sophomore album picks up where the debut album left off.As Leo describes, "I never thought I'd release my second album so soon after the first, but I just love playing with the band so, I thought, why not?! The compositions on this record are very much a natural progression from the first album. I feel the music has developed and matured, instilling the essence of hard bop but remaining contemporary. The rhythm section in this quartet is absolutely world class and I'm very lucky to be able to play my music with them and develop it together as a band."Leo has been on Ubuntu Music from the start of his recording days. Concerning the Label, Leo explains, "Martin Hummel has put his life and soul into nurturing and growing Ubuntu. I have no idea how he manages to support all of his artists?".

Terje Lie - Slow Pacific

The quintessential cool and laid-back California song, “Slow Pacific” finds Norwegian-born, Southern Cali saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Terje Lie reflecting passionately on his love for the West Coast lifestyle and a calm day gazing out at the ocean. After several hit recordings collaborating with Grammy winners Jeff Lorber and Jimmy Haslip, Lie marks his dynamic emergence here as the producer of his own music. On this seductive track, he leads the tight ensemble of Alex Al (bass), Tony Moore (drums) and Joey De Leon (percussion), while showcasing his own exciting talents on the keyboards and piano. ~ smoothjazz.com

Pianist Leslie Pintchik Releases Same Day Delivery: Leslie Pintchik Trio Live

In a personal note that follows the liner notes of her vibrant new album Same Day Delivery: Leslie Pintchik Trio Live (available October 18 via Pintch Hard Records), pianist/composer Leslie Pintchik writes, “In some ways, the release of this album is a happy accident. It was recorded casually—on a Wednesday evening gig at Jazz at Kitano in Manhattan—just so that I might listen back, at my leisure, to the live performance. When I did listen to the recording, it felt like a special evening; we were fortunate to have had a packed house as well as supportive listeners with generous ears, and they obviously spurred us on. The name of the album reflects the relative ease and speed with which the project came together: a ‘Same Day Delivery’ indeed.”

What a pleasure it is to hear this band and material with the energy and enthusiasm of a live audience. As a pianist, Pintchik plays this music with the wit, nuance and beauty her fans have come to expect. Moreover, the trio—with the exceptionally expressive bassist Scott Hardy and the genre-bending drummer Michael Sarin—has been playing together for over eight years, and it shows. The band and music are tight, but also alive and fresh: both cohesive and vibrant, the best of both worlds.

Pintchik’s new recording showcases her gifts as both composer and arranger, and features six of her original tunes and three standards, each one imbued with a singular character and flavor of its own. The wide range of grooves—swing, New Orleans second-line, samba and various Latin-based rhythms—coupled with the wide range of feeling inherent in the tunes inspire the trio to take this vibey material and run with it.

The Jerome Kern/Otto Harbach chestnut “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” is played as a samba with a recurring hook in a traditional samba rhythm that bookends the melody. A terrific groove—as well as the crowd’s enthusiasm—sets the tone for the evening. Pintchik has suffused the Lerner and Loewe standard “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” with a deep sense of longing. The poignant melody has been re-harmonized and given an extended form with a repeated ostinato rhythm. The performance of Pintchik’s up-tempo swing tune “There You Go” has great energy and verve, and the group’s fine-tuned hookup makes the trio feel like one instrument.

“I was inspired to play ‘Falling in Love Again’ by Friedrich Hollaender and Sammy Lerner,” Pintchik recalls, “when I heard it sung by Marlene Dietrich in the film The Blue Angel.” The trio achieves a beautifully seated mid-tempo “tipping” groove, both sweet and sparky. “Terse Tune,” an up-tempo minor blues that spans two twelve-bar choruses, has a spare melody, hence its name. Pintchik describes her original as “a brief tune with astringent harmonies that ends not with a bang but a whimper.”

This live version of “Your call will be answered by our next available representative, in the order in which it was received. Please stay on the line; your call is important to us.” captures all the zany comic energy of Pintchik’s original. Pintchik’s tune, “Tumbleweed,” features a Brazilian bossa feel with an underlying hint of afoxé, and is a beautifully relaxed hang. “Let’s Get Lucky” starts life as a low-key samba, then morphs into an R & B groove before returning to the original samba feel and a final drum solo; the groove is the star in this Pintchik original. “I’d Turn Back if I Were You” —an extended blues with a New Orleans second-line groove—takes its name from a sign at the entrance to the Haunted Forest in the classic movie The Wizard of Oz. Pintchik shines on an extroverted, enormously playful solo.

  

Before embarking on a career in jazz, Leslie Pintchik was a teaching assistant in English literature at Columbia University, where she also received her Master of Philosophy degree in seventeenth-century English literature. She first surfaced on the Manhattan scene in a trio with legendary bassist Red Mitchell at Bradley's, and in the ensuing years Pintchik formed her own trio which performs regularly at New York City and East Coast jazz venues. Pintchik has performed and/or recorded with saxophonists Steve Wilson and Rich Perry, trumpeter Ron Horton, percussionist Satoshi Takeishi, drummers Michael Sarin, Clarence Penn, Mark Ferber, Rogerio Boccato and Keith Copeland, and the accordion player Shoko Nagai. Pintchik’s debut album So Glad To Be Here was released in 2004, followed by Quartets in 2007. In 2010, she released her third record, We’re Here To Listen, as well as a DVD Leslie Pintchik Quartet Live In Concert. Jim Wilke, creator of the nationally syndicated "Jazz After Hours" radio show included We're Here To Listen on his "Best CDs of 2010" list. Pintchik’s fourth album, In The Nature Of Things, was released in 2014, and 2016 saw the release of Pintchik’s fifth album, True North. Released in 2018, Pintchik's sixth album You Eat My Food, You Drink My Wine, You Steal My Girl! reached #4 in the country for radio spins on JazzWeek, and also remained in the top 10 for five weeks. Also in 2018, two tracks from Pintchik’s releases were included in the soundtrack of the recently released Orson Welles movie The Other Side of the Wind.

Leslie Pintchik · Same Day Delivery: Leslie Pintchik Trio Live

Pintch Hard Records · Release Date: October 18, 2019

Canadian Pianist Martin Mayer to Headline 20-City China Tour

Martin Mayer will be sharing his music with audiences in 20 Chinese cities during his whirl-wind 27-day tour of the Celestial Empire, starting Sunday September 1. The cross-cultural China tour will offer Chinese audiences a unique experience of Canadian music, and is presented by Poly Culture's Vancouver-headquartered North American subsidiary, Poly Culture North America.

The Vancouver-based award-winning Canadian pianist and composer's style is known as instrumental fusion, a symphonic blend of smooth jazz, classical music, pop, rock and various styles of world music.

Martin Mayer started his music education under the watchful eye of his father, and proceeded to continue with his studies at Canada's Royal Conservatory of Music, as well as graduating from Edmonton's Grant MacEwan University, where he majored in Piano Performance and Composition.

Martin Mayer proceeded to compose, perform and produce a number of albums. All of them have met with enthusiasm from the listening public, and all have received heavy international airplay on traditional, internet and satellite radio stations.

Martin Mayer's concert tours of China began after a Chinese Arts Agency saw the recordings of his self-produced debut concert with a 20-piece orchestra. A 16-city-six-week tour of China took place as a result in 2001, dubbed the biggest tour of any artist in China's modern history.

That is when the Chinese media started calling Martin Mayer Canada's 'Prince of Piano.'

All dates during his subsequent tours of China have played to sold-out houses, entertaining thousands in concert, and millions on Chinese national television.

One of Martin Mayer's proudest moments came recently when his latest album "Unbreakable" was listed as one of the Top 25 New Music Critiques of 2018 (Music Connection Magazine, December 2018). It is one of the few independent Canadian records available on Chinese music-streaming platforms QQ, NetEase, QianQian and Kuwo.

The Beijing Times have taken to calling Martin Mayer Canada's 'Prince of Piano, while Canada's National Post predicts that he's poised to take over the world stage.

 

New Music Releases: Maxi Priest, Steel Pulse, David Kirton

Maxi Priest – It All Comes Back To Love

International superstar Maxi Priest’s newest album It All Comes Back To Love is now set to release on September 20th, 2019 via S-Curve Records. It All Comes Back To Love was produced entirely by Shaggy, and features special guests including Anthony Hamilton, Estelle, Bounty Killer, Inner Circle, and more. Tracks include: I'm Alright (feat. Shaggy); Free Falling; Cool Nuh (feat. Shaggy); If I Was Your Man; It Call Comes Back To Love; If I Could Change It; It's A Summer Vibe (feat. Bounty Killer & Che Sav); Anything You Want (feat. Estelle, Anthony Hamilton & Shaggy); Out In The Rain (feat. Inner Circle); My Pillow (feat Shaggy); Baby Can You Love Me Slow; Hateful Celebration; Bridge You Burn; and Hard As Me (feat. Noah Powa).

Steel Pulse - Mass Manipulation

The first new album in 15 years from UK reggae legends. Acclaimed as the greatest British reggae band when it emerged in 1978, Steel Pulse is perhaps the last great old-school reggae band left. Mass Manipulation marks Steel Pulse's first album since 2004's African Holocaust. Hinds said of the new LP, For when it comes to addressing the current issues of the world, we hope that this album will be able to sharpen the minds of man to uproot all negativity, and foster embracement; presenting each and every one of us a higher level of consciousness for a harmonious future. In the years since African Holocaust, Steel Pulse has released a handful of singles such as ''Put Your Hoodies On (4 Trayvon),'' in honor of Trayvon Martin, and ''Paint it Black,'' which was released in 2013 to mark what would have been the 100th birthday of Rosa Parks. Steel Pulse will embark on a massive world tour this spring in support of Mass Manipulation. The group's North American leg kicks off March 30th at the Warfield in San Francisco and runs through September 1st, where they'll play the Dry Diggings Festival in Placerville, California. The group plans to announce more tour dates soon.

David Kirton - All Island

David Kirton is an award-winning Reggae crossover singer-songwriter from the Caribbean island of Barbados and has been a quiet storm over the past decade, building a solid catalogue of radio friendly guitar driven songs with reggae rhythms. Kirton says "It was Roots Reggae that captured my senses. My progression as an artist came because I was more relaxed, didn't try to fit into a trendy box, just let my songs flow and represent what I felt inside when I sat down to write them. I feel very comfortable making music my own way, rather than trying to fit in anyone's boots. I love having the freedom to touch people and find success following my own vision. "It all started in a beach side wood shack, quickly moving to a well-received Midem Cannes Showcase in 1999. David has since been awarded multiple Barbados Music Awards including Reggae Artist of the Year and toured the US, opening for the likes of Third World, Steel Pulse, Maxi Priest and Joseph Culture Hill. His trajectory has continued with US and UK tours, multiple festival appearances and various renowned events including Royal Chelsea Flower Show, Toronto Youth Day, Hollywood Bowl Summer Sounds, Reggae on the River, SXSW, Greek Theater Berkeley, Bob Marley Day Long Beach, The Virgin Atlantic Music Festival and Reggae on the Boardwalk in Barbados. Kirton's previous album 'Time For Change' produced the hit Green Camouflage, which charted in Canada, Barbados and dominated the MTV Tempo Charts for over 14 weeks. David's unique and accessible 'feel good' sound is displayed on his fifth studio album 'All Island', produced and recorded in Jamaica with Mikie Bennett. Peppered with infectious hooks, solid drums and bass and tight harmonies, we find reflections of personal and universal truth. Topics like weaponized mosquitoes, human displacement and green industries make you dance, shout, rally, love and laugh

DAVID BOWIE BLACKSTAR BAND LEADER & COLLABORATOR DONNY MCCASLIN RELEASES TWO NEW SINGLES

Saxophonist and David Bowie Blackstar bandleader Donny McCaslin today released two new singles, collectively building on the momentum of his critically-acclaimed and genre-transcending album Blow. (released less than one year ago on Motéma Music).

Vocalist and fellow Bowie collaborator Gail Ann Dorsey is featured on McCaslin's first new single “Head of Mine.” The collaboration is timely for Dorsey, who was most recently featured on The National’s new album I Am Easy to Find and subsequent tour dates (as well as working with McCaslin on Blow.). The track centers on the classic personal conflict we go through navigating between our better suited intentions versus our impulsive actions.

“Working with Gail Ann Dorsey is a gift of life for me,” says McCaslin. “She’s a most deeply expressive artist, and absolutely radiates on this track. She and I share a profound ancestry that I humbly cherish. This song is an extension of Blow. For me, It beautifully demonstrates the feeling of restless tranquility. It’s unusual for me not to have saxophone featured on a track but it gives the opportunity for me to lead in a different way and is very in line with the direction I’m headed.”

“There have been many amazing opportunities that have come my way because of my association with David Bowie. One great perk has been the outstanding musicians I’ve had the honour of working with that were part of Bowie’s extraordinary creative circle during my years as a member of that illustrious group,” reflects Dorsey. “Although Donny McCaslin and I did not work together under David’s guidance and vision, there was a ‘connection’ when we met after David's passing, and I could not be happier with the collaborations that have since materialized; first, ‘Eye Of The Beholder’, and now the release of ‘Head Of Mine’. Something about Donny’s compositions and my vocals is a very comfortable and complementary fit, and I think our friend David would agree.”

The second single, “Tokyo,” is an instrumental composition depicting the dense, yet tranquil nature of the city’s iconic “late night” landscape, inspired by McCaslin’s experience touring there.

McCaslin’s latest album Blow. fully realizes McCaslin’s evolved artistic direction and is the most daring work of his two-decade career. As NPR’s Bob Boilen nicely puts it on the popular All Songs Considered when introducing “What About the Body", “It’s that place in music where it’s not anything, and it’s everything...I love this…”

Produced by Steve Wall (Tall Heights, Lucius), Blow. features a top-notch cast of musicians including vocal collaborations with Dorsey, Sun Kil Moon's Mark Kozelek, longtime collaborator Jeff Taylor, and singer-songwriter Ryan Dahle (The Age of Electric, Limblifter, Mounties). Additional heavy hitting instrumentalists include Nate Wood, Zach Danziger, Ben Monder, Jonathan Maron as well as keyboardist Jason Lindner, who was featured on Bowie’s Blackstar with McCaslin. "The idea was to just really go for exploring these collaborations and documenting everything," explains McCaslin, adding that the project had a "good gestation process" and developed "in a way that didn't feel rushed.” "Going all in with new territory is really stimulating to me."

For more information on Donny McCaslin, visit donnymccaslin.com

SJZ COLLECTIVE 2019 ASIA TOUR

This September 18th the SJZ COLLECTIVE embarks on a multi-country Asian tour with performances on some of the most important jazz festivals and clubs in the region.

The group is really excited to be able to showcase the bay area's brand of jazz overseas and connect with the wonderful people and audiences in all these places.

The tour will pass through Japan, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.

09/20 - MOTION BLUE - Yokohama, JAPAN

09/22 - 2019 HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL - HONG KONG

09/24 - DDC CLUB - Beijing, CHINA

09/25 - JZ CLUB - Shanghai, CHINA

09/27 - JZ CLUB - Guangzhou, CHINA

09/28 - SAPPHO LIVE - Taipei, TAIWAN

09/29 - BLUE NOTE - Taipei, TAIWAN 

SJZ COLLECTIVE FUNDRAISING CONCERT

Just before their departure for Asia the SJZ Collective is performing a special fundraising show at the Art Boutiki (one of the premiere music venues in San Jose, CA). All the proceeds form ticket sales will go towards the group's fundraising campaign aimed at offsetting the immense costs of international travel for the formation.

They will be performing their Mingus & Monk program.

Saturday, August 31st

7:30pm

Art Boutiki

San Jose, CA

FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN

The "SJZ Collective" - a formation that showcases some of the leading jazz players and improvisers from the Bay Area and especially San Jose has been invited on a multi-nation tour of Asia and has been selected by San Jose Jazz as jazz ambassadors for the city of San Jose.

The group will be traveling to Japan, Hong Kong, all over China, Macau, and all over Taiwan. It is an amazing 14 days tour where they will have the chance to share what the Bay Area has to offer from its extremely diverse and rich musical and cultural traditions with thousands of people is some of the leading cities and communities in Asia with performances at some of the most important jazz clubs and festivals on the region.

The group will also be conducting some workshops and education events as well.

However, with the hardships of the music industry and business in our modern world it is extremely hard or close to impossible to realize this without further financial support and backing from our community and our friends as the expenses of sending 6 people to a different country and city every day are so big that can never be offset by the compensation that the clubs, festivals, and performance organization in Asia can offer.

San Jose Jazz has started a fundraising campaign for the Collective and with all the mutual help of fans, friends, and family they are trying to raise the remaining funds needed to make this a reality.

Every dollar and any amount counts and will greatly help them reach their goal. The campaign is now 33% funded and hopefully they reach the goal by September 15th.

San Jose Jazz is a non profit organization and all donations are also tax deductible.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sjz-collective-asia-tour-2019#/

Camille Harris - New Hip Jazz Album "Baby On The Subway"

Award-winning, Brooklyn-based "silly jazz" singer Camille Harris returns for her fourth release with a team of brilliant jazz players who are in perfect sync with her own blazing vocal and instrumental talents. Camille's wildly creative new album, Baby on the Subway, is set for release on September 13, 2019.

Mixing sparklingly fresh, re-imagined renditions of well-loved traditional children’s songs with her own effervescent tunes, Camille had the benefit of a five-year seasoning at Brooklyn Public Library branches, where she “kid-tested” her music in front of thousands of children.

A sweet sense of humor is never far from the surface of Camille Harris’s songs, and many were originally written to play for adult audiences. “Children have the ability to appreciate sophisticated harmonies and playing, so I wanted to make an album that is both silly and complex, using the most skilled musicians I know,” explains Camille. “Listeners will hear influences ranging from Stevie Wonder, Esperanza Spalding, and Snarky Puppy to Tom Lehrer, Stephen Sondheim, and the joyful sounds coming from today’s NYC jazz scene.”

Because she comes from a musical theater, stand-up comedy, and vocal jazz background, Camille Harris brings to the proverbial children’s music table a body of work that honors all of those traditions. Her own quirky sense of humor and wide-ranging vocal abilities (she’s a classically trained soprano as well as a “Broadway style” belter and an accomplished jazz songstress) set her well apart from the crowd.

Baby on the Subway kicks off with an explosion of up-tempo “Jiggly Wiggly” energy that speaks with a decisive Latin accent, courtesy of a fabulous trumpet solo by Wayne Tucker, Camille’s irrepressible vocals, and outstanding work by drummer Dave Tedeschi and pianist Hila Kulik. Next up is “Chopsticks,” a fun number that jumps into some splendid four-part vocal harmony inspired by the legendary vocal jazz group Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, employing rhyme after rhyme paying homage to Camille’s favorite Chinese restaurant in her home town of Boulder, Colorado.

One of Camille Harris’s first compositions, the pun-filled “Muffin Man” is a fine warm-up for the many puns and jokes heard throughout Baby on the Subway. Here the band employs an elegant swing style that provides a great setting for Camille’s superb jazz improv chops as well as her classy way of handling lyrics. In the funny, Latin-tinged “Procrastination Song (Untitled)” the joke is that Camille has been putting off writing the song’s lyrics, and, alas, she has yet to get around to giving the song a real name!

Camille Harris is a musician, comedian, published playwright, and composer, born and raised in Boulder, Colorado and now living in Brooklyn. Holding a BFA in Musical Theater from Boston’s Emerson College, she teaches music theory, musical theater, piano, and voice. Her compositions have been featured on projects and commercials for clients such as Nickelodeon, Adobe, Merrill Lynch, and more.

A "silly jazz" singer and pianist, Camille has previously released three albums: Where I Go, Silly Jazz, and Beneath the Moon (available on all streaming services).

Baby on the Subway will be available for digital download and streaming at iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, and other digital retailers. CDs will be available at select retail outlets in NYC, at Sidetracks in Charlottesville, VA, and at Camille Harris’s&& live shows.

www.camilleharris.net

Autographed Johnny Mathis Deluxe & Expanded Editions

Real Gone Music’s long love affair with The Voice of Romance continues to burn brightly with two more deluxe and expanded Johnny Mathis releases, both remastered by Mike Piacentini at Sony’s esteemed Battery Studios! First up is a single CD pairing 1976’s I Only Have Eyes for You and 1977’s Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, two albums that reunited Mathis with a pair of his favorite collaborators, producer Jack Gold and arranger Gene Page, for silky renditions of the day’s pop smashes as only Mathis could deliver them.  Page brought the same style of lush orchestration he perfected with Barry White to these sets featuring songs by the top songwriters of the day including Neil Sedaka (“The Hungry Years”), Alan O’Day (“Do Me Wrong, But Do Me”), Stephen Sondheim (“Send in the Clowns”), Marvin Hamlisch (“One”), and the team of Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin (“Do You Know Where You’re Going To,” “I Always Knew I Had It in Me”).  I Only Have Eyes for You introduced the artist’s longtime concert favorite “Yellow Roses on Her Gown” and the Christmas perennial “When a Child Is Born,”while Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me found Mathis saluting his Columbia Records labelmate Barbra Streisand with the romantic “Evergreen,” breathing new life into the vintage standard “All the Things You Are,” and giving a classy spin to the Annie anthem “Tomorrow.” Two outtakes, “Experience” and Stevie Wonder’s spellbinding “If It’s Magic,” round out the package, whose liner notes by The Second Disc’s Joe Marchese feature not just fresh quotes from Johnny himself but also observations from songwriter Harriet Schock (“Ooh, What We Do”)!

Then, we cross over into the ‘80s with our Expanded Edition of Different Kinda Different, Johnny’s first album of the decade, which once again teamed Mathis with producer Jack Gold and arranger Gene Page for a set that lived up to its title.  Two sizzling pop-soul duets with singer Paulette McWilliams, “Different Kinda Different” and “I’d Do It All for You,” are at the heart of an eclectic release that also features tunes by Sammy Cahn, Teddy Randazzo, and Steve Dorff, plus a pair of classic standards (“Deep Purple,” “Temptation”), the timeless disco anthem “I Will Survive,” and the haunting film theme “With You I’m Born Again.”  Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records’ definitive Expanded Edition of Different Kinda Different features nearly an entire album’s worth of bonus tracks–nine in total!  These include a brace of exciting session outtakes such as Johnny’s velvety rendition of Lionel Richie’s “Three Times a Lady” and the new songs recorded for Mathis’ 1981 retrospective The First 25 Years–The Silver Anniversary Album.  The deluxe booklet features new liner notes by The Second Disc’s Joe Marchese drawing upon brand-new interviews with Johnny Mathis and Paulette McWilliams.

Johnny has autographed 100 booklets of each release, which Real Gone Music are giving away to those folks who order these titles from directly from them. But by now you also know that these sell out pretty quickly, so don’t take too long to order!

Pianist Andrés Vial To Release "Gang of Three"

Montreal Pianist Andrés Vial To Release "Gang of Three," Modern Jazz Piano Trio Album of Original Compositions With South American & African Influences

   

Andres Vial Gang of Three Gang of Three, the stunning new album of originals by Montreal pianist Andrés Vial (pronounced Vee-al) and his fifth as a leader, was written over a two-year period marked by major life events -- becoming a first-time father, and returning to university to complete a Master's degree in jazz piano. It will be released October 4 on the Chromatic Audio label.

Described as "a crisp, inventive pianist" (Stuart Broomer, The WholeNote) who "eschews the obvious to dig a little deeper" (Mike Greenblatt, The Aquarian Weekly), Vial received critical acclaim internationally for his 2018 Thelonious Monk tribute album, Sphereology Volume One, featuring guitarist Peter Bernstein.

For Gang of Three, Vial reunited with bassist Dezron Douglas (who also appeared on Sphereology Volume One) and collaborated for the first time with drummer Eric McPherson. Vial was "inspired by the deep musicality and in-the-moment risk-taking that Eric and Dez brought to the music. These cats never play a song the same way twice!"

The title track is a tribute to the friendship of three bebop piano icons -- Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and Elmo Hope. After naming the song, however, Vial began thinking about the different trios in his own life: "I love playing in a piano trio precisely because of the magic that can happen between a pianist, bassist, and drummer in that setting," says Vial. "And now that my wife and I have a son, I live with my very own gang of three!"

"Chacarera para Wayne" finds the pianist simultaneously revisiting his roots with a folkloric Argentinian rhythm and paying tribute to Wayne Shorter. "After I wrote the piece," says Vial, "I realized that the pedal point harmony and dark, sparse melodic theme showed the compositional influence of Wayne Shorter, so it made sense to dedicate it to him." 

Other highlights include "Ferguson," a 12/8 gospel ballad inspired by Jason 'Blackbird' Selman's poem "Ferguson/St. Louis Blues"; and "Montaigne," which employs an off-kilter samba funk groove and unusual chord colors that echo dualities and paradoxes discussed in the works of the16th-century French philosopher for whom the song is named.

"Put Your Spikes In" draws inspiration from Central African Gbaya mbira music, while "Samba Fantasma" is named for a friendly ghost known to reside in the concert hall where Vial rehearses.

Andrés Vial was born January 25, 1979, in Montreal. His father was an amateur classical pianist and as early as he can remember Andrés was sitting at the piano improvising little songs, beginning piano lessons shortly thereafter. He also learned from the classical, Latin, and pop records that he heard around the house, until the day when he was 11 that his mother came home with a copy of John Coltrane's Blue Train. "I was just floored," he says. "That was the record that really changed the course of my life, and I was obsessed with it for years to come." He joined his middle school and high school jazz bands and also began playing drums and vibraphone. 

Andrés studied jazz drums and classical percussion at a college in Montreal, before transferring to the New School in New York and completing a degree in jazz piano. Among his teachers were Bill Charlap, Hal Galper, Joe Chambers, and Buster Williams.

After graduation, Vial returned to his hometown, where he recorded his first three albums: Trio/Septet (2007) featuring Malika Tirolien (Bokante, Snarky Puppy), The Infinite Field (2011), and conception/oblivion (2015).

In 2018, he released the critically acclaimed Andrés Vial Plays Thelonious Monk: Sphereology Volume One, a quartet outing featuring Peter Bernstein, Dezron Douglas, Rodney Green, Martin Heslop, and André White. Tor Hammerø (Nettavisen) described Vial as "a brilliant Monk interpreter and pianist." And Scott Yanow (The New York City Jazz Record) wrote that "the high musicianship and obvious affection for the songs make Sphereology Volume One a worthy effort."

Although he has been working steadily on the next Sphereology volumes, Vial didn't want to interrupt the documentation process of his own development as a composer -- hence the arrival of Gang of Three. "I'm looking forward to playing gigs with Dezron and Eric," he says, "and delving deeper into this material. We're just at the beginning of working as a trio together."