Led Bib - It's Morning

From the Homeric invocation of ethereal opener "Atom Story," it becomes stunningly clear that It's Morning, the latest album from the uncategorizable UK ensemble Led Bib, is meant to take the listener on a journey. The wide-ranging and evocative set is also a testament to the distance the band has travelled on its own evolutionary path. If not the endpoint, it at least sits at a far-flung guidepost along a transformative odyssey undertaken by the eclectic ensemble.

Led Bib has long been renowned for its skronky, livewire fusion of exploratory jazz improvisation with the brute force of heavy rock and the labyrinthine architecture of prog. It's Morning retains an identifiable sense of adventure and virtuosity while marking a vast departure from previous recordings, veering into the realm of elusive, poetic narrative and lysergic beauty.

"Led Bib has developed an identifiable improvisation language over the last 15 years," explains drummer and bandleader Mark Holub. "After all that time we started to wonder what it might be like to take that language into a whole new area."

  

The most immediately apparent change from past Led Bib outings is the addition of vocals, folding the band's boundary-stretching vocabulary into gorgeous if complex song forms. The band's core line-up - Holub, bassist Liran Donin, saxophonists Chris Williams and Pete Grogan, and new keyboardist Elliot Galvin - are joined by a pair of gifted vocalists: Sharron Fortnam, a co-founder of the North Sea Radio Orchestra whose intoxicating mezzo soprano has also graced recordings by the noted British prog-punk band Cardiacs; and Jack Hues, best known as frontman for the 80s new wave band Wang Chung.

Bookended by a pair of atmospheric miniatures that frame the album as an imaginative Odyssey, It's Morning embarks on an immersive quest over psychedelic seas. That sense will only be amplified in live performances, when the music will be supplemented by a concert length film created by filmmaker Dylan Pecora. Pecora has made a film which explores and expands upon the album and in live performances it will be manipulated by VJ Oli Chilton. "I want our shows to feel like [author Ken Kesey's] Acid Tests," Holub declares. "I'm hoping people are transported somewhere else. The experience of just sitting down and being quiet and engrossed in something for an hour is a meaningful thing."

In a very real sense, It's Morning is a reaction to the turbulence of the modern day, from the cautious optimism of its title to the otherworldly sensation of its music. Holub tentatively refers to the set as "protest music" - not that there's a single lyric that directly addresses the politics of the day, but in the sense, which has always characterized Led Bib's output, that the band is swimming against the currents of the mainstream.

In retrospect, Holub finds the roots of It's Morning in his formative listening to bands like Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead. The influence isn't literal; there's nothing on the album that directly echoes the work of Jerry Garcia or Syd Barrett. What Holub learned from those bands is a sense of what he reluctantly terms authenticity, the idea of following one's own instincts however far afield they may lead.

As unified and flowing as the end results may sound, It's Morning was created with as much spontaneity and in-the-moment invention as any of Led Bib's music. While they were intent on a new direction, the sound of the new album arose organically in the studio from the raw materials that had been shared between the bulk of the band in England and Holub in his adopted home of Vienna. Add to that the addition of Galvin, who stepped in when regular Led Bib pianist Toby McLaren was forced to withdraw from the sessions.

The mystical "Atom Story" leads into the distorted urban groove of "Stratford East," with Hues' lyric conjuring past civilizations paved over by concrete slabs, wistfully recalled as the violin of Irene Kepl leads the band into a combination of Afrobeat funk and quirky angular melodies reminiscent of Deerhoof and its ilk. Modern life intrudes in the brief interlude of the title track, with Fortnam's lament over the ubiquitous digital screen accompanied by the moaning bass clarinet of Susanna Gartmayer.

By far the album's most sprawling piece, the 11-minute "Fold" implores listeners to "Change the storyline" following a cosmic group improvisation redolent with the interstellar questing of the Floyd's most outré excursions. The pulsating minimalism of "Cutting Room Floor" accompanies Hues' instructions to "Let the film run backwards," giving perspective a 180-degree twist. Sense itself becomes lost as the two vocalists mutter simultaneously in stereo, a device recalling the Velvet Underground's brain-splitting classic "The Murder Mystery."

The intimacy of a cloud-shrouded cityscape is summoned in Fortnam's introspective lyric for "To Dry in the Rain," which builds from hushed contemplation to explosive intensity before fading back into Galvin's elegiac solo, which segues into the vox humanathrob of "O." The abstract clamour of "Flood Warning" finally gives way to the closing moments of "Set Sail," which casts its gaze to future wanderings on the far horizon.

While a definite departure for the band, It's Morning is more the exception than the rule in being an unexpected turn for the always unpredictable Led Bib. The band was originally formed by the New Jersey-born Holub in 2003 for a masters project at Middlesex University. The five-piece played its first gig in front of ten people in the backroom of a North London pub; five years later they were performing on primetime TV to millions, having been nominated for a Mercury Prize.

In 2011 the group released Bring Your Own, followed by two releases to celebrate their 10th anniversary in 2014: the studio album The People in Your Neighbourhoodand the limited-edition live vinyl The Good Egg, both hailed as modern classics and their best yet. In 2017 the band made its debut on genre-defying London label RareNoiseRecords with Umbrella Weather, followed by a digital only live recording

Stranahan / Zaleski / Rosato - Live at Jazz Standard

Convening three of modern jazz’s most in-demand rising stars, the trio Stranahan / Zaleski / Rosato returns with its long-awaited third album

Stranahan, Zaleski, and Rosato were all at a formative stage in their respective careers when they met more than a decade ago. While their trio, known simply as Stranahan / Zaleski / Rosato in acknowledgment of their equal and personal contributions to a distinctive group sound, has remained a key priority for all three, their collaboration has become something of a victim of their own individual successes. Six years after their last album, the trio has managed to shake off the demands of rising jazz stardom and reconvened for their long-awaited follow-up, Live at Jazz Standard. 

Despite the intervening years, this exhilarating set finds the trio’s chemistry not only intact but flourishing with the passage of time. In part that’s due to the members’ shared commitment to continuing to maintain their collaboration as a going concern. But it also reflects the individual successes and experiences that each of them has enjoyed apart from the others as in-demand bandleaders and sidemen. All of those elements converge in electrifying and captivating fashion throughout the six tracks on Live at Jazz Standard, due out September 20, 2019 via Capri Records. 

“There was a lot of time between our second and third records when we all got busier as sidemen,” Zaleski explains. “But our chemistry only deepened in that time. As we grew we were gathering professional experience, and I think that has definitely seasoned our chemistry together.” 

That experience has been estimable for all three. Stranahan has traveled to India with Herbie Hancock to commemorate the 50thanniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s visit to the country, and toured the world as part of guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel’s trio and quartet. Zaleski has made a name for himself playing with the likes of Ravi Coltrane, Lage Lund, and Ari Hoenig, and was a semi-finalist in the 2011 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. Rosato is an in-demand bassist who has toured and recorded with artists like Gilad Hekselman, Joel Ross, Melissa Aldana, David Kikoski and Will Vinson. 

While their previous two releases, Anticipation (2010) and Limitless (2013) were studio dates, the trio was intent on capturing the thrill and intensity of their live shows this time out. For the occasion they chose one of New York City’s most revered jazz rooms, the Jazz Standard, to capture four sets of music. “The Standard has always been very supportive of this trio,” Zaleski says. “It feels like a home for us, and we’re very lucky to have that relationship with one of our favorite clubs. We were really able to open up playing live in a great room with great sound and an enthusiastic audience.” 

Though all three members contribute compositions to the trio, Live at Jazz Standard is largely dominated by Zaleski’s tunes. Reprised from Limitless, “Forecast” opens the album with a simmering and malleable sense of swing, its 9-minute length exemplifying the way that these renditions stretch the material much further than the studio originals. Zaleski and Stranahan both take compelling solos, but it’s the intricate interaction and instantaneous conversation between the three that is most striking. 

Zaleski also contributed “Sullivan Place,” a new composition that reflects the view from the pianist’s Brooklyn window with a gentle but bustling hum of activity. The angular, Monk-inspired “On the Road” is taken from Anticipation and highlighted by Rosato’s elastic bass solo and the charged, playful back and forth between Zaleski and Stranahan. The crystalline beauty of “Chorale (for Fred Hersch)” is an apt dedication to the legendary pianist, who has been an avid supporter of the trio. The depth of emotion that shines forth from the piece could only have been intensified by the fact that Hersch was in the audience during its performance. 

In addition to Zaleski’s pieces, Rosato contributed the elegantly powerful “Waltz for MD.” Given those initials’ prominence in the jazz pantheon, the composer remains mum about whom “MD” actually refers to – even his bandmates are unsure, and the guessing game has evolved into a running joke in the trio. The set is rounded out by a gorgeous exploration of the standard “All the Things You Are,” more than doubled in length from the version that opens Anticipation. 

Stranahan and Zaleski initially met in 2005, when both were students at the Brubeck Institute at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. Two years later Zaleski matriculated at the New School in New York City, where his assigned roommate in the dorms was bassist Rick Rosato. The three first crossed paths when Stranahan paid a visit while on break from his own studies at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in New Orleans, though they didn’t play as a trio until 2010, when Rosato was curating a series at the club Upstairs in his native Montreal and wanted to “bring a taste of the rich musical experience I had in NYC to my hometown.” 

“From the first note we realized there was something there,” Stranahan recalls. “It was almost instantaneous; we just sensed that connection and playing together felt so effortless. The music was just flowing out of us. Since then I’ve felt that way every time we’ve played together. The friendships and the music have only gotten stronger, and that’s a unique situation.” 

“This trio really feels like home for me,” Rosato adds. “We've been playing together as a band for almost a decade now, and so we've gotten to know each other on a very deep level both musically and personally during that time.” 

At Stranahan’s urging the trio quickly entered the studio to document their newfound connection, recording Anticipation in the drummer’s hometown of Denver. The session was among the earliest recording experiences for all three of them. For Zaleski, the fact that each of the bandmates was at a similar point in their fledgling music careers played a vital role in their burgeoning relationship. 

“There’s something special about the connections that you forge when you’re that young,” Zaleski says, pointing out that all three were under 20 years old when they met. “As you grow into an adult and a professional, you don't really get to have that kind of quality time together. I think that comes out in the music. We have a personal history: we came up together, we were figuring out how to have a career in music and learning how to play at the same time. One of the reasons it’s so important for us to keep this band going is because relationships like that can’t ever really be forged again.” 

Stranahan / Zaleski / Rosato is an acclaimed trio bringing together three of modern jazz’s most exciting young players. Drummer Colin Stranahanhas had a passion for music since he was a child, making music his life’s focus and passion from the first time he sat down at a drum set at age eight. He studied with Ari Hoenig and Nasheet Waits at the New School before attending the prestigious Monk Institute in New Orleans, where Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter were his main educators. 

Colin currently performs and tours with a wide array of artists including Maria Neckam, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Fred Hersch, Niia, Dan Tepfer, Ron Miles, Glenn Zaleski, and Rick Rosato. Glenn Zaleskiis a Brooklyn-based pianist who originally hails from Worcester, Massachusetts. He maintains an active performance career in New York City and abroad, including a duo with his brother Mark. In 2011 Glenn was a finalist for the APA Cole Porter Fellowship in Jazz as well as the Thelonious Monk Institute’s International Piano Competition. A 2010 graduate from the New School, Montreal-born bassist Rick Rosatowas a precocious young talent, gigging around Montreal by the time he was 18 years old. He has since performed at notable locations including Smalls Jazz Club, the Jazz Gallery, the Bern International Jazz Festival, the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, and many more. The versatile and virtuosic bassist is in demand, lending his skills and sound to such leading names in jazz as Ari Hoenig, Tigran Hamasyan, Dan Weiss, and Aaron Parks, among many others.

Vocalist Youn Sun Nah | "Immersion"

Describing the music of South Korean vocalist Youn Sun Nah can leave even the most articulate at a loss for words. Her voice, one of the most versatile and powerful of a generation, belies her modest stage presence between songs -- evoking a Jekyll and Hyde dynamic in the best way possible. That tension between delicacy and raw power is ever apparent on her upcoming release Immersion, due out September 27 through Warner Music Group's ARTS MUSIC Division. The lead single, "In My Heart," will be available Friday, September 6 with a companion music video, coinciding with the pre-order launch.

Youn Sun Nah typically performs to sold-out theaters throughout Europe and has had two gold records in France and Germany. Immersion, Youn Sun Nah's American debut, is an eclectic snapshot of emotionally riveting originals, traditional American folk and her takes on Marvin Gaye, Leonard Cohen and Supremes classics.

Hailed by The Guardian as "a style-blending star," her story is as unique a her innovative approach to music. Youn Sun Nah was born into a musical family in South Korea and quickly earned a reputation for her astonishing musical prowess. After relocating to Paris to study chanson and jazz, her new home embraced her with the distinction "Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres" by the French Ministry of Culture. She has performed on some of the world's great stages, such as the Sochi Winter Olympics and with Herbie Hancock at International Jazz Day festivities in Havana. She has also repeatedly appeared at the Monterey, Montreux, Montreal, North Sea and Red Sea Jazz Festivals -- among others.

With Immersion, U.S. audience will experience the musical prowess that has been astonishing audiences overseas for years. True to herself and her voice, Youn Sun Nah leaves her imprint on every musical idea she touches throughout this wondrous 13-song journey...an immersion of a stunning talent destined to enthrall North American pop and jazz fans alike.

YounSunNah.com

Nicolas Bearde Pays Tribute to Nat's 100th Birthday on "I Remember You: The Music of Nat King Cole"

Recording artist Nicolas Bearde has established himself as a powerful presence on the contemporary vocal jazz scene over the past couple of decades. His silky baritone, wit and engaging rapport captures and draws in audiences at his live performances.  

I Remember You: The Music of Nat King Cole is Bearde’s newest CD and the sixth he’s released on his own label, Right Groove Records. Bearde has long appreciated the music of Nat Cole, one of his earliest influences, and produced this album in celebration of Nat’s 100th birthday. Though the ten songs on this project are associated with Cole, Bearde breathes new life into the tunes with his rich, warm voice and supple phrasing, imbuing each song with his own soulful and romantic interpretation. 

Being a big fan of tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander's phrasing and tone, Bearde brought him out from New York as a special guest for this project. Alexander is featured on “Funny (Not Much),” “Thou Swell,” and “That Sunday, That Summer.” Bearde was part of McFerrin’s ground-breaking a cappella group Voicestra. He was also a long time member of SoVoSò, a vocal improvisation group that has won numerous awards and honors, among them 1st place at the renowned Casa a cappella summit awards, and nominations for "Best Group" and "Best Album,” and Bearde as "Best Lead Vocalist." 

Besides his own solo and group performances, Bearde has had a fruitful acting career. He has performed in several plays, including "Master Harold"… and the Boys, as well as in film (Final Analysis with Richard Gere and Kim Basinger, True Crimes with Clint Eastwood) and television (Nash Bridges and Monk). Bearde is a master storyteller. There is a certain elegance to Bearde’s singing that makes the songs on I Remember You: The Music of Nat King Cole, with their updated, hip arrangements, as fresh and evocative as when they were originally performed.

Tenor Saxophonist Noah Preminger Releases Zigsaw: Music of Steve Lampert

Zigsaw: Music of Steve Lampert, tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger’s 14th album, is easily his most ambitious one to date. Combining jazz improvisation, electronics, backbeat grooves and powerful melodic sections, it all adds up to a cohesive and highly listenable piece of music. The latest in a series of brilliant albums that have established Preminger as a leading saxophone voice and an important figure in today’s jazz scene, Zigsaw represents the apotheosis of the 33-year-old tenor man’s recording career — thus far.

Zigsaw is the product of Preminger’s enduring friendship and collaboration with composer/trumpeter Steve Lampert, an under heralded jazz figure whose heady compositions lay down a gauntlet for even the best players. “Steve is absolutely brilliant,” Preminger says of the artist whose recording resume includes five extremely innovative albums as a leader. “He’s the highest-level cat. It doesn’t get any deeper than Steve.” 

The project dates back more than two years, when Preminger asked Lampert if he would compose a piece of music for him and an ensemble. Lampert readily agreed and, as is his custom, did not enter into the endeavor lightly. Rather than deliver a collection of tunes, Lampert concocted something akin to a magnum opus — a single 49-minute piece that’s at once highly structured and consummately open. 

Zigsaw — a portmanteau of “zigzag” and “jigsaw” that Lampert says sums up the character of the piece — is divided into 12 sections. Each is divvied into four subsections — a vamp-like sequence, explosive “open blowing,” a return to a part of the central melody, and a floating “fantasy section” — that create serpentine avenues for Preminger’s ace band of improvisers to explore. 

“For all my projects, I write a kind of musical virtual reality within which instrumentalists can react to the piece and with each other,” Lampert explains. “I want them to be who they are as improvisers, to not tie their hands in any way, to put them in a strange new world and have them do their thing.”

Preminger needed musicians with the skill to not only execute the music technically, but improvise effectively within such an imposing composition. The saxophonist didn’t have to look far. Trumpeter Jason Palmer has been a regular bandmate of Preminger’s for several years. Likewise, alto saxophonist John O’Gallagher, pianist Kris Davis, bassist Kim Cass and drummer Rudy Royston have been consistent Preminger cohorts. All are absolutely monster musicians. 

“These are all people who I really admire, and it was a privilege to share the studio with them,” Preminger says. “I really felt they brought out the best in me as an improviser. And Steve’s composition opened doors for all of us and brought things out of players you don’t typically hear.” 

The ensemble’s wild card is Rob Schwimmer, a pianist/keyboardist who also is also one of the world’s leading theremin players. Here he plays the Haken Continuum, a futuristic fingerboard, creating atmospherics that course through the sections and provide one of many sonic elements that distinguish Zigsaw from shopworn jazz. Schwimmer provided a sonic foundation that took “the improvisation sections into a zone that would not have been fully realizable with only acoustic instruments,” Lampert explains. 

It wasn’t just the musicians’ improvisational acumen that was tested. “The melody that Steve wrote is literally the most difficult thing I’ve had to learn,” Preminger says. “I had to practice it exhaustively in order to perform it accurately on the session.” 

As music writer Eric Snider says: “Zigsaw is a thrill ride, like nothing I’ve heard, challenging but eminently listenable. Steve Lampert’s epic composition opens new doors of perception for player and listener alike.” 

Zigsaw: Music of Steve Lampert continues Noah Preminger’s penchant for making intriguingly themed albums. His masterful Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground (2016) puts Delta blues into a jazz quartet context. The following year, he released Meditations on Freedom on Inauguration Day, 2017, as a musical protest in response to ominous political developments in America. In 2018, the saxophonist formed the Dead Composers Club with drummer Rob Garcia and released The Chopin Project, the first in a series that explores the music of legendary deceased composers outside the jazz milieu. Also last year came Genuinity, a collection of the tenor man’s originals that earned a top pick in the Jazziz magazine annual critics survey. 

This year saw the release of Preminger Plays Preminger — where the saxophonist interpreted and wrote music associated with the films of his distant cousin, director Otto Preminger — on the French, vinyl-only label, Newvelle Records. It features pianist Jason Moran, bassist Kim Cass and drummer Marcus Gilmore. 

Born in 1986, Preminger grew up in Canton, Connecticut. His debut, Dry Bridge Road, released just after his 21st birthday, was named Debut of the Year in the Village Voice Critics Poll. In 2017, he was the winner of DownBeat magazine’s Rising Star Best Tenor Saxophonist and has been listed regularly in both the Rising Star and Tenor Saxophonist categories for almost a decade. The Boston Globe has hailed Preminger as “a master with standards and ballads, as well as an adventurous composer.” The New York Times declares: “Mr. Preminger designs a different kind of sound for each note, an individual destiny and story.”   

The saxophonist has performed on key stages, from the United States to Asia, and he has played and/or recorded with the likes of Jason Moran, Dave Holland, John Patitucci, Fred Hersch, Dave Douglas, Billy Hart, Rob Garcia, Joe Lovano, Victor Lewis, John and Bucky Pizzarelli, Cecil McBee, George Cables, and Roscoe Mitchell.

https://www.noahpreminger.com

Gentleman's Dub Club - Lost In Space

UK REGGAE TRENDSETTERS DROP LATEST SINGLE FROM LOST IN SPACE ALBUM ALONG WITH A COVER OF GROOVE ARMADA DURING FESTIVAL SEASON

It’s summer 2019, and the Gents aren’t stopping. Today sees the release of their single “Out Of This World,” featured on their Lost In Space album, with the single including an exclusive remix of Groove Armada’s “Superstylin’” as well as a remix of the title track from the highly celebrated General Roots (with a guest spot by UK dub legend Dennis Bovell).

Lost In Space has been dubbed “a euphoric journey through time, space and bass” by Reggaeville, while GDC itself was dubbed “possibly the most dapper and coolest reggae band on the live circuit” by Reggae Roots Review. About this single, lead vocalist Jonathan Scratchley says, “Out of this World marks the point in our story during Lost In Space where we finally left planet earth far behind us and decided to go into the black and see what we could find, confidently knowing that there was gold in those stars.”

As to their tackling of Groove Armada: “Supersytylin’ was born out of a late night writing session in the depths of the Welsh valleys in late 2016. After the very first time we played it, we knew it was going to be a special tune. It really gets to the heart of what we are as a band in its depth and its nod to dance music, dub music, and its soulful vibe.”

Gentleman’s Dub Club still has a number of festival shows of note coming in Europe, including appearances at Boomtown (UK), Rototom Sunsplash (Spain), Ostroda Festival (Poland), and Outlook Festival (Croatia). The group will perform in a different live iteration of their set in July, with a stripped down 8 track approach, including tape loops from studio recordings mixed with live vocals and instrumentation. They will debut the show with label mates Easy Star All-Stars in Birmingham and Oxford this month.

New Music Releases: Dave Mascall; Chameleonize; Freddy Butler

Dave Mascall – Acid Lounge Vol 5

And so the musical journey continues with Acid Lounge Vol 5. The 5th in this series of recordings where Dave has been combining his smooth and jazz flavored guitar style with his love of soulful, funky, upbeat and laid-back dance grooves. Dave’s compositional and songwriting skills are particularly highlighted on this album with no less than 5 tracks reaching high positions in the Official UK Soul Chart.  Brand new mixes of “BBQ House”, “Sweet Feelings” and “Clap Your Hands” , “Nothing’s Gonna Stand” are included here together with the most recent single release “Carnival Latino”. Dave is fortunate to be surrounded by many like-minded talented musicians and vocalists and is proud to have such fine talent contributing to this project over the last few years. Superb vocal performances from the Groove Association’s Georgie B, Marc Quan, Julia Quinn and special guest Ben Carver from Dimension Productions have given this album a truly soulful feel and together with fantastic instrumental contributions from saxophonist Ian Thompson, Mike King on keyboards and Graham Hunter on trumpet and flugel horn, Acid Lounge Vol 5 scores high on every level.

Chameleonize - Day Job

Chameleonize’s new song, “Day Job,” tells a relatable story about growing up. The newest release by New York City-based soul/prog band: “Day Job,”  is a grooving tune that combines R&B, Funk, Jazz and Rock, and with Pop vocal melodies. Its quirky female lyrics narrate the struggle of uncertainty many young people face as they become adults in a world of "expectation." It is a lyrical satire, criticizing the perceived “rules” that dictate how we grow up. The band wrote this song at a time when all the members were going through a similar stage in life and attempting to juggle advice from conflicting sides. “Day Job” tells a relatable story that bounces between these conflicting viewpoints about growing up, just as the band-members experienced themselves. Conceptually, the song reminds us to simply find a groove and pursue happiness above all.The band will be celebrating the release of “Day Job” alongside Funk You and Bencoolen at Brooklyn Bowl on September 16th at 8pm.

Freddy Butler - With A Dab Of Soul

A wonderful album of uptown soul – the only full length record cut by Freddy Butler, a heck of a great singer with a really unique voice! Freddy hails from Detroit, and like the best of Detroit singers of the 60s – such as JJ Barnes or Darrell Banks – he's got a style that's got some rootsy touches, especially on the vocals, mixed with production that's tight and focused – which really gives the album a lot of swing! Instrumentation includes some nice use of vibes and piano, and the album also features some great early compositions by Nick Ashford. Titles include "This Thing", "You'd Better Get Hip Girl", "Never Let Love Go", and "I Fell In Love". ~ Dusty Groove

Urban-jazz harpist Mariea Antoinette releases "All My Strings"

Urban-jazz harpist Mariea Antoinette making a “Thing” about her new single and also previews her forthcoming “All My Strings” album with an imaginative take on Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing),” dropping September 23.

Strip away Lauryn Hill’s scathing admonition to men and women on her 1998 hit, “Doo Wop (That Thing),” and you are left with an innovative rhythmic track that astutely balances jagged hip hop edginess and a melodic R&B soul. It’s an unlikely composition for a classical harpist, which makes it Mariea Antoinette’s sweet spot. She has made it her mission to tackle unexpected funk, rhythm and blues, and pop songs, creating new possibilities for her instrument by presenting them with harp as the protagonist. Teaming with producer and arranger Allan Phillips, Antoinette’s reimagined “That Thing” goes for playlist adds on September 23. 

Antoinette’s elegant stringed siren provides a surprising contrast over the buoyant beats Phillips constructed. Lush harmonic accoutrements are provided by a vibrant live horn section - trumpeter Derek Cannon, tenor saxophonist John Rekevics and trombonist Jordan Morita - and dramatic strings from the APM Allstars Strings along with Evan Marks’ guitar and Phillips’ keyboards. Antoinette debuted “That Thing” with her band on stage last month at the San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival, garnering an enthusiastic standing ovation.    

“I chose the track for its funky, innovative rhythm and the beats are very cool. It’s a perfect song for harp that people are not expecting. Lauryn Hill is a music pioneer and a leading voice for women and for her style, ingenuity and edginess. The stories she tells through her music and lyrics are fresh and unique. ‘That Thing’ schools both women and men on motivations, keeping your eyes open and being wise in relationships. Everyone loved it when we played it live in San Diego,” said Antoinette. 

“That Thing” offers an alluring glimpse into Antoinette’s forthcoming album, “All My Strings.” She and Phillips are busy tracking material for her third album that is slated to drop January 31, 2020 on the Infinity Productions/MAH Productions label. Antoinette’s last outing, “Straight from the Harp,” went top five at Billboard when it was released in 2015. The San Diego-based musician has been balancing her solo career with being a member of the all-star female ensemble Jazz in Pink since 2007. In June, she made her Playboy Jazz Festival debut at The Hollywood Bowl playing with Jazz in Pink, with whom she has performed at several prominent festivals this year, including Seabreeze Jazz Festival, Capital Jazz Cruise and the upcoming Barbados Jazz Excursion and Cancun Jazz Festival. The award-winning harpist collected three statues last year for Instrumentalist of Year (San Diego Prestige Awards), Best Jazz Single for “Overture” (Black Women in Jazz & The Arts Association), and a BMA Image Award from the Black Music Awards. Her high-profile performances include playing for President Barak Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, with Ne-Yo at the BET Awards, at Vanity Fair’s Grammy party with Jamie Foxx and on American Idol. 

https://www.marieaantoinette.com

THE BLACK SEEDS Announce the release of the ‘REFABRICATED: Fabric Remixes & Rarities’ EP

Ahead of their European tour, New Zealand reggae-soul legends, The BlackSeeds, are pleased to announce the upcoming release of ‘REFABRICATED: Fabric Remixes & Rarities’ - a tasty selection of unreleased tracks, remixes & versions from their 2017 ‘Fabric’ album catalogue.

The 6-track companion EP is out now and features 3 new, unreleased tracks from the ‘Fabric’ sessions, as well as album re-workings from the likes of DJ Mu (Fat Freddys Drop), MC Gardna (UK), Israel Starr (NZ) & Deep Fried Dub (AUS).

The Black Seeds have earned a reputation for rocking dancefloors around the world and are set to return to the UK & Europe for 14 shows in August, including mainstage slots at the UK’s Boomtown Fair and Beautiful Days Festivals.

Listen to the opening track, 'Hypnotized Again' below, a poignant slice of social commentary over a stone-cold groove that see’s The Black Seeds return to their classic "roots reggae" sound that many of their long-time fans know and love.

'Hypnotized Again' Listen here: https://youtu.be/KwQPk9uBQdI

Over the past two decades, The Black Seeds have gone from humble beginnings to take their boundary-crossing reggae fusion to the world. One of New Zealand’s most-loved acts, at home the multi-platinum-selling band are revered stalwarts of the touring and festival circuit, while abroad they’ve spearheaded New Zealand’s internationally renowned roots movement alongside the likes of Fat Freddy’s Drop and Katchafire.

Firmly rooted in the bass-heavy Jamaican sounds that inspired the birth of the band, The Black Seeds’ continue to push the boundaries of reggae without compromising the music’s heart. Seamlessly blending funk, soul, dub and Afrobeat into their reggae foundation, along with their own South Pacific influences, the result is a unique sound that stays true to the bands New Zealand roots.

The band’s 6th studio album ‘Fabric’ was released successfully in 2017, reaching #3 on the U.S Billboard Reggae Album chart & NZ album charts, and #3 on UK & German iTunes Reggae charts.

The Black Seeds – REFABRICATED: Fabric Remixes & rarities EP Tracklist:

1: Hypnotized Again

2: Ariel

3: Every Part Of Me ft. Israel Starr & Gardna

4: Mariana Trench

5: Fabric (Bolt42 & Mu Remix)

6: Everybody Knows (Deep Fried Dub Remix)

Watch ‘So True’:

https://youtu.be/2fOFWRqy98k

PERRY SMITH QUARTET - LIVE IN BROOKLYN - Featuring Melissa Aldana, Matt Aronoff & Jay Sawyer

Guitarist, composer, and bandleader Perry Smith thrives in taking part of the building and sustaining of a community; a community of artists connected and united by swing, the blues, improvisation and the long legacy of this music. A vital element for a community of jazz artists is the jam session, as it has, for many years, been the place to meet and fraternize with colleagues and potential collaborators, to check out the "competition," to share, borrow and steal, to play!

Smith, recognizing the need for an all-inclusive, everyone-is-welcome "hang", began his weekly forums, originally called "The Soda Session" at The Soda Bar in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn in 2015, then becoming "The Nest Session," after moving to The Nest in Leffert's Gardens on December 6, 2017. 

Smith's new recording, his fourth, Live In Brooklyn, is the culmination of the four years he, and bassist Matt Aronoff, spent cultivating and growing this jam session, and also celebrates the guitarist's 10th year on the NYC scene. "Something that was important to me was booking a diverse collection of artists and being inclusive to women and artists of all backgrounds. It proved to help many of my colleagues feel welcome at our session, and I believe it influenced the booking culture at other sessions and helped promote diversity within the NYC jazz scene," explains Smith. "This model of jam session was not really happening back when I started curating this series, so it's good to see that this inclusive and open model still continues today at the Nest Session, now run by bassist Noah Garabedian. I'm really proud of the work we did. I think it was a great benefit to the overall scene and to my own artistic development. I want this CD to represent that legacy alongside the great playing showcased on this particular night, when I was so fortunate to have Melissa Aldana on tenor, Matt Aronoff on bass and Jay Sawyer on drums."

The Session also served to help others outside of the jazz scene as Smith organized a fundraiser (on 11/29/17) for the non-profit, RAINN.org. The band donated their weekly funding and together with special guests and patrons they raised over $1k in one night for the organization. A testament to the importance and value of these weekly congregations lies in the fact that they became grant funded in August 2016 through KeyedUp.org, a non-profit run by James Polsky who owns the Jazz Standard in NYC. 

 

On Live In Brooklyn Smith leads the Quartet through six tunes, played live, all first takes with an enthusiastic audience along for the ride. The repertoire is split evenly with three Smith originals/contra-facts, "Starlit Skies" (based on "I Hear A Rhapsody," in which one of the lyrics in the song is "Starlit Skies"), "Premonition" (Smith's take on "Milestones," which allows the band to improvise in more of a modal setting around the key of G minor), "Golden Days" (a contra-fact on the standard "Yesterdays," in which one of the lyrics is "Golden Days." "I really love the way it opens with just Aronoff and I playing duo. It's a nice moment that shows some of the great chemistry we created through four years of playing regularly together," says Smith); and three standards, "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" (an old standard that Sinatra made famous. "I love Melissa's cadenza at the end, it's one of my favorite parts of the record," says Smith), "Eternal Triangle" (a barn burner, and Smith elaborates, "I really love Jay Sawyer's drum solo on that track. He shows is unique combination of traditional language alongside modern phrasing, which is the very thing that I love about his playing."), & "All The Things You Are" (played here in a bouncy three feel. Smith comments that, "I really like how it starts with just Melissa Aldana and myself playing the melody. This track is so dynamic, with each solo very musical and interactive . . . it's the proverbial "icing on the cake!")

"A huge inspiration for this project comes from decades of listening to Wes Montgomery's landmark album Full House. That disc was recorded live in Berkeley (in 1962) which is close to where grew up in the SF Bay Area. Over the years I've always come back to it because the energy of the band is so joyful. The interactive playing is incredible and the scope of repertoire includes swinging tracks, straight grooves and beautiful ballads . . . a lifetime of inspiration," states Smith. "Ultimately I'm really proud of the playing on Live In Brooklyn. It's more straight-ahead than my previous recordings and it truly captures the essence and vibe of the session I ran with Aronoff for four years."

Guitarist Perry Smith combines the tradition of jazz with broad influences from contemporary music to create his signature style. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Smith is now based in Brooklyn where he leads his own groups and is a sideman for local and touring artists. Smith's extensive performance resume includes notable venues and festivals such as the Blue Note Jazz Club (NYC & Tokyo), Smalls Jazz Club (NYC), Dizzy's Club (NYC), Montreal Jazz Festival, Java Jazz Festival (Indonesia), Jazz a la Calle (Uruguay), Rochester Jazz Festival, Philippine International Jazz Festival, The Healdsburg Guitar Festival and SFJazz.

In 2018 Smith released his third album as a leader "New Angel" on his own label Smith Tone Records. The project features 10 original compositions for his quintet featuring Jon Irabagon (sax), Glenn Zaleski (piano), Matt Aronoff (bass) and Allan Mednard (drums). The music expands on the traditions of jazz with a fresh approach to modern composing and improvising.

Smith is an active player in the greater New York jazz scene and from 2014-2018 he hosted a weekly series in Brooklyn called "The Nest Session. Every Wednesday for four years he performed with a different group of NYC's finest jazz musicians. The Nest Session was generously supported by a grant from KeyedUp.org, in conjunction with the Jazz Foundation of America. Smith built the session from scratch along with bassist Matt Aronoff starting at a venue named Soda Bar. The session continues today at the Nest as a grant funded series providing opportunities to a wide array of jazz artists in New York City.

In addition to leading his own projects and working as a sideman, Smith is a founding member of the critically acclaimed New West Guitar Group. Based in Los Angeles featuring guitarists John Storie and Will Brahm, NWGG has been performing internationally for over ten years and they are recognized as one of the premier guitar ensembles in the country.

In 2005, Smith received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Flora L. Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he studied guitar with jazz legend Joe Diorio. In 2011 he completed his Masters in Music at New York University studying with the great John Scofield. Smith was named the "Outstanding Graduate" for 2011 in the NYU Jazz Department.

Perry Smith On Tour

(All dates with his Quartet unless otherwise noted)

NYC CD Release Celebration! - October 10 @ Smalls Jazz Club

October 11 - Jimmy Can't Dance, Louisville, KY

October 12 - Rudy's Jazz Room, Nashville, TN

October 17 - Bar Next Door, NYC (w/Perry Smith Trio)

October 23 - Angel City Jazz Festival, LA, CA (w/New West Guitar Group)

October 25 - Laughing Planet, Reno, NV

November 6 - Twins Jazz, Washington, D.C.

November 8 - Nighttown, Cleveland, OH

November 19 - Halyards, Brooklyn, NY

New Music Releases: Out To Dinner; Michael Musillami / Rich Syracuse; Kid Millions & Sarah Bernstein

Out To Dinner – Different Flavors

Listeners everywhere are invited to join the fun with the Out To Dinner band and audition a variety of their Different Flavors. Our trusty producer Marc Free continues on an ambitious course of cooking up a visionary series of demand building releases. This latest project features a musical menu of inspired presentations from a curated group with unique instrumentation. It also prompts listeners to expand their sonic palettes to include this adventurous exploration of the jazz genre. This engagingly enjoyable album is a stellar quintet date featuring front line performances from vibraphonist Behn Gillece, trombonist Michael Dease and saxophonist Tim Green moving freely over the solid harmonic foundation of bassist Boris Kozlov and the explosive metrics of drummer Rudy Royston. With the menu full of Different Flavors, we are confident that the collaborative journey of Out To Dinner will bring delight to the ears of every jazz fan and hopefully encourage navigation steadily away from the known and familiar and towards the uncharted depths of modern collective improvisation.

Michael Musillami / Rich Syracuse - Dig

Playscape Recordings is proud to release Dig - music inspired by and dedicated to Bill Evans, a duo recording by veteran guitarist/composer Michael Musillami and master bassist and co-leader Rich Syracuse. This is the duo s third recording, following Of the Night - the music of Wayne Shorter, released in 2016 and Bird Calls - the music of Charles Mingus, released in 2017. After continually adding music composed or inspired by Bill Evans to their live performance repertoire, Musillami and Syracuse felt a strong desire to document an open and expansive vision of Evans often played pieces. The duo, manipulating harmonic content, time and color wanted to put their stamp on the music they had been listening to for 40+ years. In veteran pianist Peter Madsen s liner notes, composed for this release, he writes, For me the artistic expression of inner feelings through music reached a highpoint with the playing of this genius poet of the piano! Bill Evans presence in the jazz world through his improvisations and compositions has strongly affected not only pianists but also musicians on all instruments who strive to follow in his path of beauty, creativity and deep communication. The CD you are now holding is a perfect example demonstrating how his influence has motivated two great musicians of today to honor the great Bill Evans by using his compositions and pieces he has made famous as vehicles for their creative musical explorations! On this CD, brilliant guitarist Michael Musillami and creative double bassist Rich Syracuse dig deep into standards like Blue in Green, Nardis and All Blues as well as some not so famous masterpieces like 12 Tone Tune, Bill's Hit Tune and How My Heart Sings. The CD s second track, Twelve Tone Tune takes the listener on an open-ended avant-romp that tugs on the strings of convention, says Musillami. On Nardis, written by Miles Davis and one of my favorite pieces, we deconstructed the song form to suit the moment with unpredictable results

Kid Millions & Sarah Bernstein – Broken Fall

When Kid Millions and Sarah Bernstein conceptualized their new album, they decided to move away from well-trodden improvisational approaches and towards more transcendental, otherworldly sounds. Pulling inspiration from disparate influences such as early liturgical music, Ornette Coleman, Yoko Ono, masters of dub and drummer Milford Graves, they set out to create a cyclical form of spontaneous thematic music. The result is driving and expressive, with pieces of gem-like brevity placed alongside others of sustained evolving intensity. The duo started playing together regularly in 2014. Their early performances were surprising, suggesting new avenues of spontaneous composition. They gradually developed an approach that utilizes an extreme range of dynamics and note density, from pin-drop violin pizzicato and cymbal scraping to powerful electronics, wild vocalizations, and unrelenting drum textures. 'Broken Fall' is their second album with 577 Records. This recording is the first to include Sarah's poetry as lyrics. The text is barely decipherable, intertwined musically with her otherwise wordless vocal expression, yet the rhythm of the words and the meaning drives the temperament of the album. "Broken Fall" is a huge step forward for the duo; an album that fully captures their fluent musical relationship.

Notes From The Road: A Message From Chick Corea Live from the Tokyo Jazz Festival

Here's an update from Chick Corea from his current tour...

1 September 19 – from Tokyo, Japan

Hi all!

The Akoustic Band and the Elektric Band were back at it for a jam-packed, exhilarating three days of shows in Japan this past week!

Kicking things off in Osaka was The Akoustic Band at Billboard Live, a high-end entertainment club housing well-known acts from all over the world. The trio performed to two sold-out crowds and featured a rich setlist of songs, including "Humpty Dumpty," "In A Sentimental Mood," a Scarlatti sonata and, fittingly, "A Japanese Waltz." The night was a hit, and the responses from the two wonderfully appreciative Japanese audiences certainly reflected that. 

Next was the highly-anticipated Tokyo Jazz Festival. The setting for this festival was NHK Hall, an immaculate-sounding 3,500-seat auditorium owned and operated by the largest broadcasting network in Japan: NHK. A completely full house greeted the Akoustic Band with booming applause as they entered and kept it going throughout the night—from the opening "On Green Dolphin Street" through the encore of "Spain." Friends and fellow musicians backstage, by the likes of Avishai Cohen, Kamasi Washington, etc., also expressed how magical it was to see the trio do their thing that night.

Osaka, Japan // 28 August 2019

The following night, and the final night of Tokyo Jazz, was the Elektric Band—performing for the first time together in over a year. The group came out and absolutely "galvanized" the sold-out crowd with "Charged Particles" and continued on with favorites like "CTA", "Alan Corday", and finally, a smoking performance of "Got A Match?" (a snippet of which you can catch here). No one in the crowd wanted that night to end. One musician backstage said afterwards, of the experience of watching the Elektric Band play: "It was like watching 5 superheroes on stage, firing off laser beams the whole night."

Though it was a short stint in the Land of the Rising Sun, it was a wildly successful one, replete with high-flying musicianship and elated audiences. Chick will find himself back on the road at the beginning of October with Christian McBride and Brian Blade—stay tuned!

Regards,

Jordin & the Corea road crew

New Music Releases: Booker T. & The MG's; Rob Mazurek; Mats Eilertsen

Booker T. & The MG's - The Complete Stax Singles Vol. 1 (1962-1967)

First of all, as the house band of the hallowed Stax label and studio, The MG's pretty much invented the sound of Southern soul, playing on records by everybody from Otis Redding to Wilson Pickett to Carla Thomas. Second, on their own as Booker T & the MG's, they came up with some of the most indelible instrumental jams of all time, including but by no means limited to! "Green Onions." And, third, each member of the band was an absolute monster on their instrument, to this day revered and copied by untold numbers of musicians. Indeed, by the time the mid '60s rolled around, bands on both sides of the Atlantic wanted to sound like Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson, Jr, and Lewie Steinberg (replaced about halfway through this collection by the great Donald "Duck" Dunn). And what was that sound? Well, a typical MG's tune started from the bottom-up, resting on the rock-solid drumbeat of Jackson and the in-thepocket bass work of Steinberg and, later, Dunn, over which keyboardist Jones and guitarist Cropper traded slinky and/or stinging licks. But these cats weren't just riffhappy groove masters; Jones basically codified the classic Hammond organ sound and Cropper's guitar tone remains the Holy Grail of anyone who's ever picked up a Fender Telecaster. Together, they recorded 49 single sides for Stax under the name of Booker T. & the MG's, and you'll find the first 29 (yes, 29!) of 'em right here, released on a single CD or double-LP pressed in blue vinyl and limited to 1000 copies. As for the music, it pretty much speaks for itself: 29 songs, 15 of which reached the charts, including, along with "Green Onions," such classics as "Boot-Leg," "Hip Hug-Her," and "My Sweet Potato." Get ready to get into the groove and stay there for a nice, long while!

Rob Mazurek - Desert Encrypts Vol 1

A really beautiful record from Rob Mazurek – and one of his most different recordings in years! The set's a quartet date, recorded live – and has especially strong input from Kris Davis, who plays both piano and prepared piano – using the acoustic instrument to inflect the music of Mazurek in a really different way! Also great is bassist Ingegbrigt Haker Flaten – always a great presence, but maybe more conventionally swinging at times here than usual, if that's possible. Although the bass may well be driven strongly by the drums of Chad Taylor – a longtime partner of Rob's, but also really showing the growth he's experienced since their more frequent projects from ten to twenty years back. Mazurek himself is almost understated, but in a way that lets the whole group work strongly as a whole – and Rob plays piccolo, trumpet, and modular synth! ~ Dusty Groove

Mats Eilertsen - Reveries And Revelations

"It is a sort of solo album, I guess, but not in the way I would normally do it", Mats Eilertsen says. "I wanted to do something that came out of the bass itself. Whereas normally I would record a lot of tracks and see what I had in the end, but more or less as they were played, this one is produced, cut, edited and layered from the beginning." Eilertsen is well-established as one of Norway's most internationally recognised jazz musicians, as well as one of Europe's leading double bass players. His new album is an unusually constructed self-build project whose contents were put together ("arranged and assembled" is the credit on the sleeve) by Eilertsen using contributions recorded separately by each of his chosen cast of collaborators. "It's me fooling around in a way I haven't done myself before, and also playing organ, some guitar and additional stuff. Then I imagined some musicians that I would like to have adding their own touch to it."'Reveries & Revelations' presents the listener with an immersive blend of sound and music that, like the experimental score for some yet to be realised film - part tense thriller, part Tarkovsy-like art movie, and, perhaps, part horror film - conjures up a wealth of richly allusive and atmospheric detail. The sonic events that make up the ten separate tracks of the album (although the whole sequence can function very successfully as a continuous suite). 

New Music Releases: Raphael Saadiq, Enrico Rava & Joe Lovano, Moonchild

Raphael Saadiq - Jimmy Lee

The deepest, most political album we've ever heard from Raphael Saadiq – a set named after his brother, Jimmy Lee – an addict who died an unfortunate early death! Saadiq takes all the pain from his brother's trauma, and works it into a series of songs that go farther than anything we've ever heard from the singer before – music that still carries that full, rich punch that's always made the mature Raphael far more of a soulful force than we ever would have expected in his youth – but in ways that are tremendously resonant today, and do a fantastic job of linking the personal and the political. Titles include "This World Is Drunk", "So Read", "Kings Fall", "Something Keeps Calling", "My Walk", "Belongs To God", "Glory To The Veins", "Rearview", and "Rikers Island Redux". ~ Dusty Groove

Enrico Rava & Joe Lovano - Roma

A beautiful pairing of two very distinct jazz talents – trumpeter Enrico Rava and tenorist Joe Lovano – each masters of phrasing, but in very different ways – working here together in a relaxed live setting that really lets them shine! The set was recorded in Rome, with open tracks that have a different feel than they would if ECM had captured the duo in the studio – and support is from a very thoughtful, sensitive trio that features Giovanni Guidi on piano, Dezron Douglas on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums – two rhythm players who keep things soulful, but in subtle ways – and a pianist who can punctuate the solos wonderfully, and really keep them moving along. Titles include "Secrets", "Interiors", "Divine Timing", "Spiritual", and "Drum Song". ~ Dusty Groove

Moonchild - Little Ghosts

We've been loving Moonchild over their past few records, but this set may well be their greatest moment so far – a really well-conceived set of 21st Century soul – put together with a style that's lean, but a sound that's rich and vibrant all the way through! The group are just a trio, with great lead vocals from Amber Navran – and although most tracks feature beats and keyboards, they've evolved the approach strongly past more familiar modes used a decade or two back in the neosoul underground – to a point where the style is completely fresh, and very well-suited to the vocals! Titles include "Wise Women", "The Other Side", "Get To Know It", "Nova", "Whistling", "Come Over", "What You're Doing", "Sweet Love", and "The Other Side". ~ Dusty Groove

New Music Releases: Dusty Springfield; Parker Louis; Wendy Kirkland

Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis

Recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, Dusty in Memphis, is her greatest LP. Dusty worked with a stellar team of musicians and producers that included Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, Tom Dowd, conductor Gene Orloff, backing vocalists The Sweet Inspirations, bassist Tommy Cogbill, and guitarist Reggie Young. Initial reaction and sales were disappointing on release, but the album has since been rediscovered and critically lauded as one of the greatest records of all time. In 2001, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Features songs by the cream of 20th century songwriters – Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil, Goffin/King, Randy Newman & Burt Bacharach/Hal David. Includes Dusty’s classic takes on Son of a Preacher Man (a top-10 hit in the UK), Breakfast in Bed, Just One Smile, I Don’t Want to Hear About It Anymore, So Much Love and Just a Little Lovin’ – in all cases improving on the originals! This 50th anniversary edition has been remastered at half-speed at Abbey Road Studios, London. Includes download card.

Parker Louis - All Good Things

A definite good thing from Parker Louis – a soul singer with a great ear for a mellow groove, and a style that really wraps his vocals up with the wider glow of the overall production! The approach is a bit hard to describe – almost as if Parker's got an ear trained on the sound of 70s AOR, but wants to deliver things with a more homegrown quality that's nicely personal and never slick at all – and also a bit free from some of the cliches that some of of his contemporaries might hit, if they're not too careful to stray from their influences. The record's a very personal one – very warm and winning, with titles that include "Someone To Love", "Wide Open", "Only Fire", "Vibe", "No Love Lately", and "Waiting". ~ Dusty Groove

Wendy Kirkland – The Music’s On Me

'The Music's On Me' is the much anticipated new album by jazz pianist and vocalist Wendy Kirkland. Described as 'the unsung heroine of British Jazz' by The Jazz Mann and 'mellow and Stylish' by the Sunday Times, Kirkland continues to consolidate her status as a force on the international circuit, not least in the space occupied by Piano Divas the title of her debut album, described by The Observer as 'proper jazz piano, excellent band. A very classy debut.' Her new album, 'The Music s On Me', is a selection of original and lyricised pieces Kirkland having written her own words to songs by Michel Petrucciani ('September Second'), Russell Malone ('Playground'), Wes Montgomery ('West Coast Blues') and Don Grolnick ('Pools') alongside her own compositions. Joining her long term collaborators Pat Sprakes on guitar, Paul Jefferies on bass and Steve Wyndham on drums are guest musicians Tommaso Starace on sax and Roger Beaujolais on vibraphone. Wendy Kirkland's voice has been likened to Blossom Dearie with hints of Diana Krall, though insists on being called a pianist-singer rather than a singer-pianist having been classically trained from an early age, then developing a love for jazz through inspiration from her father, who played piano and organ in social clubs as backing for guest singers and musicians.