Rodney Whitaker Releases All Too Soon: The Music Of Duke Ellington

For emminent bassist, Distinguished Professor of Jazz Bass and Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan State Rodney Whitaker, the release of his latest record All Too Soon is both an essential artistic undertaking and a lavish fiftieth birthday gift to himself.  The record is the second installment of an extensive five-CD homage to Duke Ellington that takes its title from the maestro’s romantic blue ballad from 1940 on which the iconic tenor saxophonist Ben Webster uncorked a solo that still stands as a masterpiece of boudoir tenor saxophone. 

“To some people, 50 is not old,” says the Detroit native, who performs on some 200 recordings. He’s led nine of them, most recently When We Find Ourselves Alone (Mack Avenue), from 2014. “But I grew up in a community where a lot of people died very young, from diabetes, cancer, violence — and I started thinking more and more about my time on the planet. It was therapeutic for me to think about all the things I’ve done up to this point, and having surpassed a lot of the dreams I had as a young musician.”

 Whitaker continues: “I think about recordings as a diary, and I wanted to document what I’ve been thinking about since I made my last recording five years ago. In jazz, you’re often asked questions about innovation, about things that are new. But to me, the music is just honest, and in order for me to go on, I needed to get all this out of my system.”

 The first installment, released in June, is a Whitaker collaboration with composer Gregg Hill titled Common Ground (Origin Records). Scheduled for subsequent release are a solo bass recital titled Me, Myself and I that includes tributes to such early heroes as Paul Chambers, Milt Hinton, and Ron Carter, and a trio encounter with trumpeter Etienne Charles and guitarist Mark Whitfield comprising original compositions dedicated to his wife and seven children, titled Love Letter. Whitaker will soon assemble an ensemble to record two suites titled When Love Beckons and Light and Shadows.

As for All Too Soon, Whitaker convened an exceptional instrumental sextet and vocalist Rockelle Fortin to animate the iconic Ellington repertoire contained herein.

Trumpet maestro Brian Lynch functioned as a co-equal sideman with Phil Woods and Eddie Palmieri after serving consequential 1980s apprenticeships with Horace Silver and Art Blakey. Among his 20+ albums as a leader are the 2006 Grammy-winning Simpatico, and, more recently, the 2017 Grammy-nominated Madera Latino: A Latin Jazz Interpretation on the Music of Woody Shaw.

Two of Whitaker’s colleagues from Michigan State University fill out the front line. Tenor and soprano saxophonist Diego Rivera, a Johnny Griffin devotee who Whitaker describes as “my first call saxophonist,” is the Associate Director of MSU’s world class jazz studies program. Trombonist Michael Dease, a one-time student of Whitaker’s LCJO colleague Wycliffe Gordon, has established an international reputation by dint of ten leader recordings that showcase his efflorescent instrumental and compositional skills and endless will to swing.

Ann Arbor-based pianist Rick Roe is a long-standing colleague who made the 1994 “cult classic,” Monk’s Modern Music, in trio with Whitaker and drummer Greg Hutchinson (partners in Roy Hargrove’s quintet from 1991 to 1994), and, in 1996, recorded Changeover in trio with Whitaker and Detroiter Karriem Riggins on drums

Now 43, Riggins — best known for his bona fides as a hip-hop producer and beatmaker —  played on Whitaker’s first two albums, Hidden Kingdom and Children of the Light, from 1994 and 1996, respectively. At that time, Riggins was lighting fires with Hargrove in preparation for consequential tenures with Ray Brown and Mulgrew Miller, while Whitaker had recently joined the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, where he began the process of expanding his scope from bebop, hardbop and free jazz to an embrace of what used to be called “mainstream swing”.

“When I was younger, I didn’t like Ray Brown or Oscar Peterson or any of what I called ‘happy jazz,’” Whitaker recalls. “I thought it was corny. But when I was 16, I got an album called Soulmates by Joe Zawinul and Ben Webster. I bought it because I was listening to Weather Report a lot; I wasn’t even hip to what Joe had done with Cannonball Adderley’s sextet until I was 18. Anyway, I fell in love with Ben Webster’s sound, and checking him out sent me to Ellington and all the others.”

Initially a dedicated violinist, Whitaker switched to bass in junior high school. His band director Ed Quick and artist in residence Herbie Williams taught him harmony, and he evolved conceptually in a teenage group called Bird/Trane/Sco/Now!, led by Donald Washington, Whitaker’s string instructor in sixth and seventh grade and Hosea Taylor had him switch to the bass violin in eighth grade. Following Charles Mingus’ philosophy that jazz is the art of the moment, the ensemble spanned bebop to free jazz. During these years, Whitaker also participated in trumpeter Marcus Belgrave’s jazz group, performed European classical music with the Detroit Civic Orchestra, studied privately with members of the Detroit Symphony, and worked with such Motor City luminaries as pianist Kenn Cox and drummers Leonard King and Francesco Mora Catlett. A devotee of Paul Chambers and Ron Carter from the jump, Whitaker also credits Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford, James Jamerson, Charles Mingus, Charlie Haden and Dave Holland as crucial influences on his style.

After leaving Detroit in 1988 with the Donald Harrison-Terence Blanchard Quintet, Whitaker joined Hargrove in 1991 for a four-year run. “That’s the gig where I really got myself together,” he recalls. “We toured eight months a year, and we got to play and interface with everybody, and with all the press we had as the new young guys on the scene, we had to step up our game and deliver. It was more than you could ever get in a school”

During 1995 and 1996, when he freelanced with Bob James, Kenny Garrett and Diana Krall, Whitaker recorded his first two CDs, Children of the Light and Hidden Kingdom, both comprised primarily of original music.  In 1996, Wynton Marsalis brought him into the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.

“During my eight years with LCJO, I played every major work by Ellington, studied all the scores, and read every book about him that I could find,” Whitaker says. “I had my mind blown by Duke’s and Strayhorn’s brilliance by playing works like ‘The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse’ or ‘Such Sweet Thunder’ or ‘The Far East Suite.’  I looked at it as graduate school, getting my Ph.D in performance. I picked Wynton’s brain, and we had conversations where sometimes my opinions were polar opposite to his on, let’s say, whether Ellington or Strayhorn had written parts of a particular tune. To be able to debate him, I had to learn more about music.

“The sound of their chord voicings, the style of the song forces you to play in the style of a particular person, almost like an actor going into character, to bring out the life from that music. But you have to force yourself not to do that.  Duke wouldn’t want you to play in the style of him — his ‘A Train’ sounds totally different in 1948 than in 1960. Once we played a “Blanton-Webster Years” concert with John Lewis, who told us: ‘Quote the solo, but then do your own thing.’ If you don’t do that, you’re not playing jazz. Any music has to be allowed to live.”

Whitaker wanted this date to be “like a cutting session where a lot of the music is not arranged,” a dictum that he and his partners uphold throughout the proceedings. Fortin finds fresh ways to articulate the lyrics of “All Too Soon,” “Take The A Train,” “Mood Indigo,” “Do Nothin’ Til You Hear From Me,” “Azure,” and “Come Sunday.” Each soloist tells stories with the tropes of blues expression, melodic change playing, and the will to swing. Whitaker displays his gifts as a nonpareil melodic soloist (“A Train,” “Just Squeeze Me,” and “Perdido”) and locks in for the duration with Riggins, whose kinetic swing feel, unfailing taste, and ability to sustain timbral interest is downright preternatural.

There’s a lot of music, but it leaves the listener wanting more. ““I could release another volume,” Whitaker says. “There are 12 tunes — including some more obscure ones — that we didn’t use.”

Pianist Jason Yeage Releases New Songs of Resistance

New Songs of Resistance, a recording born of its time and for its time, is an artful musical response to today’s undeniable political and social tensions. As interpreted through the penetrating vision of Jason Yeager, a pianist, composer and arranger of uncommon skill and inventiveness, the album makes stunning use of three distinctive vocalists and a host of agile instrumentalists to assert its positive message of defiance and unity. Yeager blends his own compositions–instrumentals, and others with original lyrics–with songs by the celebrated Latin American composers Chico Buarque, Violeta Parra, Victor Jara, and León Gieco. Maintaining the original Spanish and Portuguese lyrics for these works as a token of respect and solidarity, Yeager aligns the anger and confusion felt by the peoples of both the United States and Latin America. (Significantly, Yeager’s composition “Somos Cinco Mil” adapts excerpts from Jara’s poem of the same name, the last work the activist artist completed before his 1973 execution at the hands of Chile’s repressive military government.)  Suffused with rage yet also infused with courage, New Songs of Resistance attempts to speak truth through the power of music. 

The album was released on October 4, 2019 via Outside in Music, with earlier releases of two tracks as singles: “Gracias a La Vida” (on September 6) and “Apesar de Você” (on September 20), both arranged by Yeager and performed by his evocative and virtuosic ensemble. Yeager and his group will perform an album release concert at the Regattabar in Cambridge, MA on October 23 at 7:30 PM (www.regattabarjazz.com).

Utilizing the expressive vocals of Erini, Farayi Malek, and Mirella Costa, the clarinets of Matthew Stubbs, the trumpet of Cosimo Boni, the flugelhorn of Milena Casado and the cello of Naseem Alatrash alongside the electric bass of Fernando Huergo, the drums and percussion of Grammy winner Mark Walker, and his own adroit piano work, Yeager constructs an atypical and alluring musical palette. Although he speaks of Danilo Pérez, Edward Simon, Miguel Zenón and Guillermo Klein as models of composers who have integrated jazz, Latin, and chamber music, Yeager’s work as a composer-arranger has a style of its own, one that honors the overall shape of a piece rather than spotlighting any particular soloist. Even his own skill as a pianist is thoroughly and intentionally assimilated into the fabric of the music.

“I have a deep connection with Latin folk music,” Yeager states. “Eleven years ago, I spent five months in Argentina as an International Relations exchange student while also studying traditional folk songs and instruments. I developed a love for the nueva canción movement of songwriters like Violeta Parra and León Gieco, the folk music that galvanized the people of Latin America against the region’s oppressive governments. This music was joined with a social movement that addressed political themes. This made a huge impact on me. I can connect this music to my work because for me, the term ‘jazz’ as a genre is just a label, a construct. While jazz is certainly rooted in African American traditions and culture, I also think of it as a process of engaging with all categories of music--to deeply absorb sounds in an authentic manner and creatively express them in new ways. And we see jazz as a form of resistance in the work of many of my musical heroes, like John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach.” 

Make no mistake, Yeager is unhappy with the current situation in our country and is straightforward in his criticism. As Farayi Malek declares in Yeager’s composition “In Search of Truth,” “Do you deny the past?…do you deny the truth?…do you deny the warming planet?…We must be better than this.” Yet, for Yeager, hopelessness is not an option. Indeed, Chico Buarque’s “Apesar de Você” (“In Spite of You”), a buoyant samba sung by the exuberant Brazilian singer Mirella Costa, is a form of hopeful resistance that points to better days ahead. And in an effort to connect this politically charged and socially relevant music with real-world action Yeager is donating a portion of the proceeds from all album sales (CD hardcopies and digital downloads) to RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services), a leading organization that serves immigrants and refugees from Latin America and beyond at the U.S.-Mexico border. “People are hurting and I’m trying to make sense of all this through music. This is my way of pushing back against oppression, exclusion, and violence, my way of standing up for inclusion and truth. I always intended to have the music express an uplifting and inspiring message. In spite of all that is happening, we will persevere. Let’s move forward and fight for what is right—this situation is only temporary.”

  

Originally from Boston and now based in New York City, award-winning pianist, composer, and educatorJason Yeagercreates music that is deeply expressive and multi-faceted, defying convention while reveling in the traditions of jazz, blues, 20th century classical music, and Latin American folk songs. Yeager has recorded five albums under his own leadership, including the critically acclaimed United(with Jason Anick), which was awarded 4.5 stars and rated one of the best albums of 2017 in DownBeatMagazine. He has performed with such noteworthy artists as Luciana Souza, Steve Wilson, Ran Blake, Noah Preminger, Sara Serpa, Ayn Inserto, Matt Wilson, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Sean Jones, and George Garzone. As both a bandleader and sideman, Yeager has played in such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Blue Note, Birdland, Smalls, and in clubs, concert halls, and festivals across the US and internationally. A committed educator, Yeager currently serves as Assistant Professor of Piano at Berklee College of Music, where he has taught since 2012.

www.jasonyeager.com

Damien Sneed Releases New CD, ‘Jazz In Manhattan’

Damien Sneed, composer, pianist, and vocalist released his new digital CD, Jazz In Manhattan on Friday, September 20 on his boutique label, LeChateau Earl Records. Jazz In Manhattan focuses on Sneed’s considerable chops as a jazz interpreter and includes such classics as “Over The Rainbow,” “Nature Boy,” and “Pure Imagination,” as well as other standards and gospel favorites, “Moanin’,” “Come Sunday,” “God Bless The Child,” and “Wade in the Water.” The album features Grammy Award winner Ben Williams (bass), Jonathan Barber (drums), and Julius Rodriguez (piano). Jazz in Manhattan is available on Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, and all digital platforms everywhere.

 “‘Jazz In Manhattan’” is an exciting release because not only is it my first release as a bandleader in the jazz genre but recording each tune has been on my wish list for some time now. Many members of my audience base are only familiar with me in other genres of music, but this gives people an opportunity to experience a different side of me artistically.”

                                                                                

The multi-genre recording and arts educator recently joined the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, where he teaches graduate-level courses in conducting, African American Music History, a singer/songwriter ensemble, a gospel music ensemble, and private lessons in piano, voice, and composition. Sneed studied at some of the finest conservatories and universities, including Howard University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music – Piano Performance; the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University; New York University, where he earned a Master of Music in Music Technology: Scoring for Film and Multimedia; and the Manhattan School of Music. Sneed will also graduate with his doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from USC in 2020.

Sneed was a member of the faculty at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and Nyack College. His other professional affiliations have included The Juilliard School as a staff accompanist, Jazz at Lincoln Center as an artistic consultant, and the City University of New York (CUNY) as a professor of music. In 2015, Sneed established the Damien Sneed Performing Arts Institute, a division of the Damien Sneed Foundation.

The multi-genre recording artist has worked with jazz, classical, pop, and R&B with legends including the late Aretha Franklin, Wynton Marsalis, Jessye Norman, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Ashford & Simpson, and many others. He established his label, LeChateau Earl Records in 2009, which reflects his varied musical interests and features critically-acclaimed artists from classical, jazz, gospel and other musical genres. He has released several CD projects, Damien Sneed: We Shall Overcome (January 2019), The Three Sides of Damien Sneed: Classical, Jazz and Sanctified Soul (July 2018), Broken To Minister: The Deluxe Edition (March 2015), Spiritual Sketches (June 2013), and Introspections LIVE (January 2010).

17th Annual Panama Jazz Festival Dedicated to Reggie Johnson

17th Annual Panama Jazz Festival, Dedicated to Reggie Johnson, Announced for January 13-18, 2020

Uniting internationally acclaimed jazz artists, renowned educators and jazz fans from around the globe, the 17th Panama Jazz Festival will be held January 13-18, 2020 at The City of Knowledge in Panama City, ATLAPA Convention Center and the Old Quarter of Panama City. The festival will celebrate its 17th anniversary and will honor Panamanian saxophonist Reggie Johnson. Johnson’s is one of Panama’s premier saxophone players. He has performed with diverse groups and renowned national and international musicians for over five decades and has shared the stage with jazz and salsa stars alike including Celia Cruz, Armando Manzanero, Julio Iglesias, among others.

Among the headliners for this year's festival are Dianne Reeves, Cuban star Isaac Delgado, Danilo Pérez, Ravi Coltrane, John Patitucci, Terri Lyne Carrington, Cyrus Chesnut, and David Sanchez. Additional headliners include Detroit All-Star, a band composed by Detroit’s musicians Chris Collins, Mike Dease, Wesley Reynoso, Marion Hayden, Nate Winn; and Chilean artist Patricia Zarate Perez who will be presenting her latest recording Violetas featuring Colombian singer Lucia Pulido, bassist Ben Street, and drummer Adam Cruz.

Other national groups include this year’s honoree Reggie Johnson’s All-Star, the all-female Panamanian band Las Hijas del Jazz directed by Berklee Global Jazz Institute’s alumni Jas Kayser, Panama-Cuba Collective, Joshue Ashby’s C3, and several Fundacion Danilo Perez Ensembles.



Bands from all over the world will be featured at the Global Stage and other venues including Fundacion Armonía Colectiva (Costa Rica), Quinteto de Orion Lion (Chile), Niki Campbell & Masuco, pianist Kevin Harris (USA), drummer Guillermo Nojechowicz (Argentina), among many others.

Furthermore, the festival will host the 8th Latin American Music Therapy Symposium which theme is Music and Health, bringing music therapists and doctors from Chile, Argentina, Panama, Colombia, USA, among other countries to present on the therapeutic effects of music; the 4nd Symposium of the cultural, artistic and musical expressions of the Afro-descendants of Panama; and the classical music program Encuentro de Música Clásica, lead by distinguished international guests and assisted by teachers and staff of the New England Conservatory

Participating educational institutions include Boston-based institutions, Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory, which will be holding auditions for admission and scholarships. Other institutions include New York Jazz Academy, Perdue University, Crossroads High School, Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, Newton South High School, and Shea Welsh Institute of Jazz. The Berklee Global Jazz Institute will hold master classes, perform social work with Panamanian youth and perform in various settings throughout the festival. Berklee will repeat last year's innovative program where students will earn college credit.

Since its inception in 2003, the Panama Jazz Festival has attracted over 350,000 jazz fans worldwide and announced over 4.5 million dollars in national and international scholarships. Its educational component brings 5,000 music students from all over the world every year and in January of 2019 the festival brought together over 30,000 people from all over the world.

Bowman Trio - Peristance

‘Persistence’ is a strong effort, showcasing the young trio's knack at creating dynamic, sparse and memorable music which carries well the term "loft jazz" occasionally attached to it. Here, drummer Sami Nummela, trumpeter Tomi Nikku and bassist Joonas Tuuri present 9 strong originals, 8 of which are penned by Nummela and one by Nikku.

On the course of the new album, Bowman Trio moves from the introspective, calm moments of 'Badwater', "Mac Elliot" and 'Mä en jaksa' to the full swing of 'The Chase' and the solid grind of 'Persistence'. The album closing track 'Sista sommardagen' ("The last day of summer" in Swedish) is a hauntingly beautiful, delicately breezy ballad. Two years in the making, the album is a testament to the album title and a fine example of a band taking time in developing their sound to perfection.

Bowman Trio debuted in 2016 with the group's first LP also being the first release on Helsinki's We Jazz Records, and since then their reputation has grown in Finland and beyond. The trio is known for making music which invites the listener in and takes it sweet time in unraveling its secrets. Their sound is somewhat dry, naturally relaxed and there's a lot of room for manoeuvre within it for all of the players.

That being said, each of the musicians in the trio know how to play for their team, and the compositions move forward constantly and effortlessly. Bowman Trio makes music which always feels close to you, like you're right there in the room with the band. That's "loft jazz”.

 

Leon Ware - Rainbow Deux

Co-produced by Taylor Graves, it has stellar musical contributions from the likes of Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, Ronald Bruner Jr, Rob Bacon and Wayne Linsey. The melodically adventurous soul of Leon Ware continues its expression in his final opus Rainbow Deux, released on double vinyl.

The album features new songs recorded and performed by Leon before his health turned, leading to his transition on February 23rd 2017.

Taylor Graves came into Leon’s musical family in 2002 when he, his brother Cameron and the Bruner brothers Ronald Jr and Stephen (Thundercat) were playing along with their schoolmate Kamasi at an L.A. jazz club. Taylor, Cameron, Ronald and Stephen became Leon’s band for his debut shows in Japan in 2002 and Taylor continued to work with Leon as his mentor and collaborator over the next 15 years.

“Leon was ALWAYS writing something or developing his musical palette” his wife Carol Ware tells us, so it’s impossible to pinpoint any single moment of Rainbow Deux’s genesis. Six of the songs go back to 2012/2013 and were released in 2014 as part of Sigh, a Japan-only CD collection heavy with Rob Bacon’s tasteful licks and Wayne Linsey’s piano vibes. The rest of the material comes from Leon’s sessions with Taylor.

Describing Leon’s and his process, here’s Taylor: “We’d start by having some great homemade food! Then a glass of wine ‘to slow down time’. After we’d have our fill and smoked our joints we’d go into his studio room to listen and create.”

The album was finished-up around August of 2016 in a back-and-forth between Leon and his go-to mastering engineer Toni Economides in the UK.

Leon worked on Rainbow Deux with life’s greatest challenge looming over him, yet it is one of his most focused and cohesive solo offerings since the 1980s. The entire record is a vibe: mellow, deep and smooth as silk. The lyrical themes are eternal, and the music is elegant, soulful and sensual. The album opens with the hypnotic throb of “For The Rainbow”, coming on like a percussive, slow-mo house shuffle. Gilles Peterson is a fan. The exotic “Let Love In” follows, with its gradual-build Island Funk, intricate guitar picks and sassy female vocals. It explodes when it hits its stride. 

“Sigh” is the stylish slow jam close-out to side A. Serene guitars and polished drums create neck snapping funk, with a swaggering finger-snap strut. 

Side B opens with the easy-burning broken-beaty “The Darkest Night”, the centrepiece of the album. Kamasi Washington’s lurking sax, restrained and beautiful, unfurls into the dank, sticky atmosphere of Thundercat’s signature creeping bass laid over his brother’s in-the-pocket drums. Leon’s vocals are perfect, a masterclass in seductive sax-soul. 

“Surrender Now” conjures waves of vocals to swell and wash over the glossy piano, subtly bumping hip-hop drums and bubbling synth-bass stabs. It’s got the trademark Leon layers. “Summer Is Her Name” has Kamasi’s effortless, melancholic sunshine sax give way to rising tempos and propulsive rhythms. 

“Are You Ready” is a total highlight (and we’ve been playing it out for ages). It’s a nimble groove of piano and synth rolling around Theo Croker’s sensual trumpet playing. Digi-soul at its finest. 

With lush G-Funk sensibilities “Streets (Keep Me Runnin’)” sounds like a lost Dam-Funk produced gem. All tough kicks and snares and street sounds. Leon’s hood pass will be forever intact. 

“Samba Dreams” is the first of two tracks that bring a little Rio magic to Rainbow Deux. Leon created a whole body of work in partnership with Brazilian legend Marcos Valle that includes “Rockin’ You Eternally” – a hit for Leon – and “Estrelar” – a hit for Marcos. Leon channels his obvious love of Brazilian music here through more of Croker’s sumptuous trumpet, played over loose percussion. 

“Let’s Go Deep” is next up. A dreamy between-the-sheets quiet storm anthem and a real showcase for Leon’s vocals. 

The dripping, honeyed harp-funk of “We Should Be Laughin’” marks the star turn of the brilliant Kimbra. Leon first met her on-stage to do an impromptu duet of “Inside My Love” during an open-air celebration of Minnie Riperton in July of 2014. Kimbra was working with Taylor on her music and he brought her to Leon’s house to do some writing. This was the result. Warm synths radiate shuffling samba soul on “Wishful Thinking” as those Brazilian rhythms return to bring Rainbow Deux to a close.

During an apartment move Leon and Carol rediscovered some watercolours Leon had done years ago. One of these paintings had been dubbed “Deux Hearts” and Leon decided it should be on the cover of Rainbow Deux, getting as far as approving a draft concept for the artwork.

Carol has overseen developing that draft into the final gatefold sleeve. It brings together quotes, photographs and tributes in what is a reflection on the music, relationships and philosophy of the sensual minister. Jerry “the gov” Brown, Leon’s long-time sound engineer, was by his side throughout the project, recording and mixing. The album was mastered by Toni Economides and Simon Francis’ additional sensitive work makes sure this double LP sounds like it should on vinyl.

Be With’s first ever release was Leon’s eponymous LP. Re-issuing that album planted the seed of a relationship that has grown to grant us the privilege of presenting his crowning achievement. We know that Leon’s fans all over the Earth will love Rainbow Deux. But we also hope that this album, the final entry in a phenomenal body of work, will reach new fans and find fresh conduits for the spirit of this oft-unsung hero of Soul.

Leon always said “they will get it when I’m gone.”

He also said that “the spirit never dies”…

Prince masterpiece 'When Doves Cry' re-imagined by former Temptations lead singer, Louis Price

Prince masterpiece 'When Doves Cry' re-imagined for the song’s 35th Anniversary by former Temptations lead singer, Louis Price, and gold record recipient, pianist, and producer, Starr Parodi.

“Why do we scream at each other?”  The question Prince asked 35 years ago inspires Los Angeles artists in acoustic neo-soul arrangement that explores lyric’s current relevancy to global relationships. Available now.

In the summer of 1984, the world-renowned musician, Prince, released his iconic 'Purple Rain' album that would go on to receive multiple awards during his lifetime and beyond.  One of the album’s signature songs, 'When Doves Cry', earned the American Music Award for Favorite Song – Soul/R&B in 1985.  Recently, multi-award-winning pianist and composer, Starr Parodi, and former Temptations lead singer, Louis Price were moved by current events to re-imagine this preeminent song.

Parodi met Prince while playing keyboards in the Arsenio Hall Show house band in the 90's.  “When I recently reflected on the lyrics, ‘why do we scream at each other'”, Parodi explained, “the significance of those words hit me like never before. They embody the heartbreak and division of what I’m seeing every day in the news and on social media”. Parodi is an award-winning pianist who won an RIAA Gold Record for her popular version of The James Bond Theme. In 2017, she was awarded Best Piano Album-Solo by ZMR International Radio Broadcasters for her work on “The Heart of Frida”.  Parodi also serves as the President of the Alliance for Women Film Composers.

Louis Price, former Temptations lead singer, had his own take on the lyrics from 1984. “Why did Prince write this song? I feel it’s because there was a lot of confusion going on in the world at that time, and it’s going on in our world right now”.  Louis has performed globally on stage and in studio, and can be heard on films including The Lion King, Happy Feet, and Superfly.  He has also performed on recordings with Elton John, Carole King, and Mary J. Blige.

Parodi and Louis re-imagined 'When Doves Cry' in an acoustic neo-soul arrangement that blends Starr’s haunting Steinway piano textures and melodies with Louis’ vocal depth and heart. Both artists spontaneously performed the song for a benefit audience in Santa Monica, California.  “We received such an incredible response,” Parodi recalled, “that Louis and I decided we needed to capture the emotion of this new take on ‘When Doves Cry’”. Louis added, “We got people fussin’ at each other all the time, making a lot of noise and creating a lot of pain. The sentiment in this song can really help bring people together.”

Central to reimagining “When Doves Cry” is their respect for Prince and his legacy.  Parodi said, “We wanted to pay homage to Prince and his call for peace through his art.” Louis agreed. “The time to release this new arrangement is now.”

PETROLOUKAS HALKIAS and VASILIS KOSTAS : THE SOUL OF EPIRUS

Veteran Clarinetist PETROLOUKAS HALKIAS and Young Laouto Master VASILIS KOSTAS Improvise on the Soulful and Mysterious Music of Northwestern Greece

The story behind The Soul of Epirus begins years ago, in a little village in the heart of northwestern Greece. It’s the story of a young Greek boy named Vasilis who would grow to become an acclaimed musician, performing with some of the world’s best. But before that, there was the village, and a family who lived immersed in the soulful mystique of Greek folk songs. During seasonal festivities, the entire village would gather in the main square and Vasilis would dance to the sound of the clarinet. He didn’t know it then, but eventually he would become a master of the stringed instrument known as laouto – the Greek version of the lute – and create an innovative new place for it in contemporary music.

On October 4, the release of The Soul of Epirus (Artway Technotropon) marks the culmination of a lifelong exploration of the beauty inherent in the music of Epirus – its slow tempos, reflecting the isolated nature of this mountainous region close to Albania, and its haunting pentatonic scales, based on five notes instead of the more common seven-note scale. A collaboration between Berklee College of Music graduate Vasilis Kostas - a member of Danilo Perez's Global Messengers -- on laouto and veteran clarinet master Petroloukas Halkias, the album delivers a rare opportunity to go beyond the usual clichés associated with Greek pop, illuminating the gorgeous melodies and superb musicianship to be found in Epirus’ folk traditions of decades past, its ability to evoke both the inescapable sadness of the human condition and its life-affirming joy.

“The dialogue between Petroloukas’ clarinet and my laouto opens up a new window into traditional music,” reflects Kostas in a lilting Greek cadence that resonates with the accent of his hometown. “As a kid, dancing in those country festivities allowed me to experience that specific groove not only through my fingers and mind – by playing an instrument – but through my entire body.”

When Kostas turned 15, his grandfather introduced him to his friend Andreas Fakos, a clarinet player who had experienced fame in Australia and retired in the village of Klimatia, in Epirus. “I spent the next three years studying with him,” he recalls. “The lessons would last four to five hours. He would challenge me to learn the harmonies of old Epirus tunes and play lines designed for violin and clarinet on the guitar. Andreas would play his clarinet in rehearsals and start crying, overwhelmed by the depth and emotional power to be found in our music. I later understood what a gift it was to grow up with such a teacher.”

By the time he was 18, Kostas dreamed of establishing himself as a jazz guitarist. He auditioned for a spot at Berklee College of Music and was granted a scholarship. Once in Boston, he was chosen as part of a group of musicians that would travel to Spain representing traditional Greek music. Before leaving, he realized that he wanted an authentic 8-stringed laouto to be his instrument of choice as a tribute to the music of his childhood. He dropped the guitar and practiced a difficult folk piece in the trademark Petroloukas Halkias style – “Skaros,” which ended up The Soul of Epirus CD – before flying to Madrid.

“As it turns out, two legends of flamenco were present at the show: Pepe Habichuela and José Mercé,” Kostas says with a nervous laugh. “Mercé came to see me after the show and told me: ‘Young man, the laouto is the future for you; it will lead you down unexpected paths.’ It was the green light that I was looking for. I returned to Berklee as a full time laouto student, learning to play Coltrane’s ‘Giant Steps,’ learning to sight read and improvise.”

In 2015, Halkias traveled to the U.S. for a concert and Kostas performed with him for the first time. Halkias had developed a style of spiraling, highly complex melodic lines pioneered in Epirus by virtuoso clarinetist Kitsos Harisiadis during the ‘20s and ‘30s. Halkias was the only musician who preserved Harisiadis’ complex aesthetic, allowing it to survive for over 90 years since its inception. 

When Kostas performed “Skaros,” the veteran master told him that he played it on the laouto with the exact same phrasing that he favored on the clarinet. He encouraged Kostas to continue delving into his repertoire, but also to “let himself go,” creating extended musical phrases on his instrument. Their artistic partnership took off with the spontaneity of two musicians who hail from neighboring villages and speak the same dialect. For the first time in the history of this unique repertoire, the laouto assumed equal footing with the clarinet as an improvisational instrument.

At the time, Kostas had graduated with a Masters degree from Berklee and was invited by visionary Panamanian jazz pianist Danilo Pérez to become a member of his group Global Messengers, effectively bringing the laouto into a refined jazz context. But the idea of making an album going back to the music of his youth was impossible to resist.

“When Petroloukas told me it was time to think of our first album, I felt like the earth was shaking under my feet,” says Kostas. “He has been a musical hero not only to me but to my family and many other families. I was very happy that it was he who suggested recording an album together.”

“Throughout my life, I have tried to express different emotions through my clarinet,” adds Halkias. “Happiness, sadness, vulnerability, pain. There’s no end to music, and it is my deepest hope that a new generation of musicians will take what we created and develop it even further.”

The Soul of Epirus was recorded in Athens, during three days of feverish collaboration at the renowned Sierra Studios. Kostas then returned to Boston, where he spent additional time at Futura Productions adding new material and perfecting the mix. Eight of the album’s nine tracks are old Epirus classics – songs about rivers and villages, shepherds and laments for the dead - with one original composition by Kostas, “To Parapono tou Laouto”, paying tribute to Andreas Fakos, his first music teacher.

“It is rare for a master of Petroloukas’ stature to connect with a musician from a younger generation,” Kostas concludes. “He appears to be very enthused by our collaboration. And I’m eternally grateful for that.”                                                                                                                          

CHICK COREA REUNITES WITH CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE AND BRIAN BLADE FOR "TRILOGY 2"

When an iconic pianist like Chick Corea gets together with such modern masters as bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade, perhaps it should come as no surprise that the music they create together is absolutely magical. Their 2014 release Trilogy earned universal acclaim, including a pair of GRAMMY Awards (Best Jazz Instrumental Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo for “Fingerprints”), and confirmed the trio as one of Corea’s most revered ensembles. 

Despite sprawling across three jam-packed CDs, Trilogy left fans everywhere clamoring for more. So when the three virtuosos reunited for another world tour, the results were captured for posterity and the highlights are now collected on the long-awaited follow-up, Trilogy 2. Set for release on October 4, 2019 via Concord Jazz, the double album is another treasure trove of sparkling energy and thrilling in-the-moment invention. 

Each member of this trio is a giant in the jazz world and beyond, but the peerless chemistry they share elevates their collaborations into the realm of the truly special. Even before coming together as a self-contained unit, the three had gelled on tour with Corea’s Five Peace Band, an electrifying all-star ensemble he co-founded with fellow legend, guitarist John McLaughlin, and featuring Kenny Garrett on saxophone. On their own, the trio pairs high-caliber musicianship with an easy camaraderie, making for music that is as artistically exhilarating as it is fresh and playful. 

“In every group that I work with, the fun factor is the number one criterion,” Corea says. “This trio is incredible fun. That’s not something you can dictate, but if that’s the experience then the music just flows. With Christian and Brian, we have a blast on the road.” 

That feeling is captured throughout Trilogy 2, which features tracks hand-picked by Corea from throughout the trio’s recent world tour. The albums capture the feel of a concert program, both in the flow of the music and in the illuminating recording by Bernie Kirsh, Corea’s longtime engineer. The material spans a range of inspirations, from American Songbook standards to jazz classics, reaching back into Corea’s own catalogue as well as that of some of his most renowned collaborators, including Miles Davis and Joe Henderson. 

Corea likens the experience of playing live with this trio to “taking a stroll down the street and having a casual conversation. We have a pretty extensive repertoire of songs, and because of the looseness of the trio each one becomes a new thing every time we approach it.” 

After briefly welcoming an audience in Bologna and introducing his “genius partners,” Corea kicks off the program with an incisive, querying solo introduction to “How Deep Is the Ocean?” – one of only two tracks reprised from the original Trilogy. Over the next twelve minutes the trio plumbs the depths of the familiar standard, seemingly intent on exhausting every possible answer to the titular philosophical question. From the depths to the heavens, they follow up with Corea’s own “500 Miles High,” originally recorded by the first incarnation of Return to Forever in 1972.

The trio delves into Corea’s composition book for two other pieces on the album. “La Fiesta” dates back to the first Return to Forever album and showcases the pianist’s passion for Latin music, a side that he explored earlier this year with the release of Antidote, the debut of his Spanish Heart Band. “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” is the title track to Corea’s first-ever trio album (and only the second release to his name), recorded in 1968 with Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes. This marks his first official recording of the tune since then;  McBride and Blade both requested it for this tour, and the result is the set’s most expansive excursion. 

“More than being a pianist,” Corea says, “I always think of my basic purpose as being a composer. Though I love playing the piano, too. Thelonious Monk was a model for me in that regard. He was a composer, a piano player, and a bandleader, who defied so many conventions and created a body of work that is completely up there with Stravinsky and Mozart, in my opinion.”

Monk’s compositions are as ubiquitous a part of Corea’s live repertoire as are his own tunes, and Trilogy 2 offers a pair of the jazz icon’s eccentric pieces. “Crepuscule with Nellie” is a favorite of jazz pianists (despite Corea’s admission to a lifelong misreading of the title), taken here at a warm, leisurely pace. “Work” is a more obscure selection, though a particular favorite of Corea’s; it also appears on the first Trilogy, and he recently arranged it for Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.

“‘Work’ is a quirk,” Corea jokes. “Monk was a quirk, for that matter – the most genius, amazing quirk in the music world. His tunes are incredibly fun to play and rework.”

The trio’s romantic side emerges on a lovely reading of Jimmy Van Heusen’s “But Beautiful,” featuring lush brushwork from Blade, an elegant, wistful solo by Corea and a breathtakingly lyrical turn from McBride. The pace picks up for bassist Steve Swallow’s “Eiderdown,” its sharp turns unleashing a ricocheting, rapid-fire back-and-forth between Blade and Corea. 

Corea’s arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s classic “Pastime Paradise” was sparked by a suggestion from the soul genius himself. “I’ve been friends with Stevie since he used to come around to listen to Return to Forever in 1973 at The Bitter End,” Corea says. “A few years ago Stevie sat in with us at Catalina’s in Los Angeles and we went out to dinner afterwards. We were talking about songs and I was using the term ‘standards,’ and Stevie turned to me and said, ‘Hey Chick, what do you think about playing some new standards?’ I thought that was interesting and asked, ‘What do you mean?’ And he said, ‘You know – my music!’ He was kind of kidding around, but not completely, and I thought that was a great idea.” 

“All Blues,” of course, harkens back to Kind of Blue, the landmark album by Corea’s famed former bandleader, Miles Davis. The trio takes the tune at a loose, buoyant tempo that’s as infectiously fun to listen to as it undoubtedly was to perform. Corea also spent some formative years in the band of tenor giant Joe Henderson, whose “Serenity” (another McBride suggestion) is rendered in a smoldering take featuring the bassist’s fleet, muscular solo. The piece is tied in Corea’s memory with the closing tune, Kenny Dorham’s “Lotus Blossom.”

As the pianist recalls, “I spent a great, memorable week playing with Kenny at the Jazz Workshop in Boston when he and Joe Henderson had their quintet with Reggie Workman and Joe Chambers. We played ‘Lotus Blossom’ and ‘Blue Bossa’ and some of Joe’s tunes. That was a really pleasant memory for me.” 

At the age of 78 Corea continues to generate indelible memories for audiences around the world. No doubt the performances captured on Trilogy 2 have lingered in the imaginations of the audiences fortunate enough to catch them live; now they get to live on in the minds of jazz lovers everywhere. 

Track Listing

Disc 1:

How Deep Is the Ocean

500 Miles High

Crepuscule with Nellie

Work

But Beautiful

La Fiesta

Disc 2:

Eiderdown

All Blues

Pastime Paradise

Now He Sings, Now He Sobs

Serenity

Lotus Blossom

THE ANDREW SCHILLER QUINTET - SONORAN

Sonoran is the second album from bassist/composer/bandleader Andrew Schiller featuring an adventurous quintet of like-minded musicians. The artist explores the limits of his unique writing style in this evocative nine-part suite, written as a contemplation of the Sonoran Desert landscape, a setting that he called home for most of his childhood. A diversely beautiful region located across the American Southwest and Northwestern Mexico, the area has historically and recently become subject to contentious debates on political borders. The desert, though, does not abide by man-made boundaries and drawing a line through the region, physically or figuratively, cannot break the connectedness of people and cultures sharing the same harsh and astonishing environment.

Sonoran is a cinematic suite embodying some of the unique elements of the desert-the blistering heat of an inescapable sun, the surreal mountain ranges with jagged rock formations, needled flora and venomous fauna, and hauntingly vast stretches of barren earth. The composition is built on contrasting and interlocking themes, bridged together by the exploratory improvised dialogue from members of the quintet. By experimenting with techniques in counterpoint, harmonic layering, and motivic development, Schiller blends jazz stylings with folk melodies, contemporary classical, third stream, and avant-garde.

The album's title track Sonoran simmers with an intertwining ostinato of alto saxophone and bass clarinet, introducing a swelling unison melody shared by tenor saxophone and arco bass. Tension increases gradually during the harmonic progression of the piece, and dissipates at the arrival of four sustained chords followed by a pause. An accelerated bass line introduces a flurry of full-group improvisation, which evolves into the piece's climax, a howling chant played together by three horns.

OSTINATO - POUR ME A GROG: THE FUNANÁ REVOLT IN 1990s CABO VERDE

In the 1950s, a few young men, known as Badius, embarked on a nearly 2,500-mile (4000 km) journey from the northern rural interior of Cabo Verde’s Santiago Island to the island of São Tomé off the Atlantic coast of central Africa. Incredibly, they made the arduous journey not to earn a better living or send money back home — but to simply buy an accordion, locally known as a gaita. They would work years in harsh conditions to earn enough to buy the instrument and then a few more years to buy a ticket back to Santiago.

Returning home, they slowly formed an elite class of self-taught gaita players, who achieved a status similar to the griots of West Africa: venerated, wise elderly men archiving Badiu history in their diatonic button accordions. The gaita became the maximum expression of Badiu identity, one defined over centuries by a persistent culture of revolt and rebellion against domination and injustice. In a land lacking electricity, the acoustic instrument is king.

The gaita masters marriage to a hard-won instrument gave birth to raw Funaná music, undoubtedly a trans-Atlantic sibling of Colombian Cumbia. Hypnotic notes on aged accordions, tuned and flavored in ways found nowhere but Santiago, became infused with inviting baselines, raucous rhythms, blade-on-iron percussion and the bubbling lyricism and lament of the island’s finest ambassadors, their lyrics spoke of the trials of daily scarcity and playfully crafted whole metaphors within songs.

Their music was outlawed under colonial rule, with strict curfews monitored by the ever watchful eye of Portugal’s secret police to prevent gatherings since Funaná was dance music meant for large crowds, centered on one of the many star gaiteiros. Yet, naturally defiant, Badiu Funaná continued unfazed at the risk of arrest, detention, or worse.

Funaná remained an isolated style, largely an affair for Badiu ears only. But in 1991, Cabo Verde had its first democratic election. Elections are tricky business anywhere, let alone a state divided into several islands, each needing a tailored approach. Political parties found a novel solution, perhaps even a model, to successfully get their campaign messages out to large audiences with ears wide open: music festivals. Until today, Cabo Verde plays host to dozens of festivals a year, some sponsored by the government.

The music of the proud African interior became the soundtrack of choice at campaign rallies and music festivals. It drew large crowds, engaged the youth, kept people content, and undoubtedly won votes, setting the stage for traditional Funaná’s entry into the mainstream. But professional production and recording remained elusive. Younger artists empowered by the politically-backed proliferation of Funaná in the early ‘90s began traveling inland to learn the trade secrets from the gaita griots, taking up the once maligned artform to counter what they saw as global pop sounds diluting Cabo Verdean output and preventing genuine local music from competing on the airwaves.

Another revolt was afoot, and in 1997, an “earthquake shook the country,” a Cabo Verdean newspaper wrote, when a group of youths, calling themselves Ferro Gaita, “dared to make a disc based on the gaita, ferrinho and bass guitar.” That best-selling first album — 40,000 copies in a country of just 400,000 — changed the entire trajectory of the country’s music.

Ferro Gaita’s success caught the attention of affluent producers based in Cabo Verde’s large European diaspora, namely Rotterdam. Widespread sentiment was to honor the old gaita masters from the small villages of Santiago by commercially publishing their work for the very first time, giving what was once hidden the bigger stage it deserved.

This compilation curates eight tracks from a short period in the late ‘90s when cherished pioneers, who risked everything to give their proud culture a sound, were finally put in recording studios; an album in itself a revolt in favor of the music of the most marginalized and once deliberately silenced.

Pour yourself a grog, the Cabo Verdean moonshine distilled from sugarcane crushed by bulls, imbibe responsibly, listen carefully, and dance recklessly.

New Music Releases: U-Nam; Kutimangoes; Evgeny Masloboev Ensemble

U-Nam - The Love Vault (Future Love Part 2)

Well known throughout Europe and the US as a musical trendsetter and innovative player in Instrumental Music, Soul, and R&B, Emmanuel “U-Nam” Abiteboul has more than earned his reputation as a virtuosic guitarist and producer. Since his move to the US from Paris, France in 2007, Guitarist U-Nam has had the opportunity to perform, record and produce several of the top artists in the Smooth Jazz, R&B, and Soul genres. He has traveled throughout the US at events and Festivals including the Catalina JazzTrax Festival, Jazz on the Green, the JazzTrax Big Bear Festival, the Dave Koz and Friends Cruise et al. U-Nam has played, recorded and worked with: Barry White, Kool & the Gang, Billy Paul, George Duke, Marcus Miller, Eric Benet, Dave Koz, Najee, Phil Perry, Stokley Williams (Mint Condition), Rahsaan Patterson, Patrice Rushen, Paul Jackson Jr., WahWah Watson, Paul Jackson (The Headhunters), Rick Braun, Jonathan Butler, Jeff Lorber, Jeff Golub, Maysa Leak, Ronnie Foster, Abiodun (The Last Poets), Daddy-O (Stetasonic), Norman Connors, Dennis Chambers, Andreas Oberg, Alsou, Luis Fonsi, Honeyz, MC Solaar, Ophélie Winter, Marva King, Tony Terry, Oleta Adams, Candy Dulfer, Deniece Williams, Brian Simpson, Euge Groove, Bob Baldwin, Tom Braxton,Gregg Karukas, Michael Paulo, Joey Sommerville, James Day, Cool Million and many more…His new album, “The Love Vault” (Future Love Part 2) set for release on 10/11/19.

Kutimangoes - Afrotropism

The Kutimangoes keep on refining their groove with each new release – and really open up with a nice sense of variety from the usual Afro Funk mode! The horn section still has a strong role – two saxes, one trombone – but there are also both instrumental and rhythmic shifts from track to track – so that in the former, a keyboard or guitar might stand out more in the lead – or in the latter, the groove changes from more familiar modes to really help expand their style, and also open up some of the jazzier currents in their all-instrumental approach! There's even some great ngoni at a few points, which really sounds wonderful - and titles include "Call Of The Bulbul Bird", "Thorns To Fruit", "Money Is The Curse", "sand To Soil", and "A Snake Is Just A String". ~ Dusty Groove

Evgeny Masloboev Ensemble – The Book of Ice

Baikal Dream Club invited me to participate in the embodiment of ideas in creating a large-scale performance «Ice Library». That’s how the First Baikal Ice Music Festival started, which I curated, being an audial expert, composer, musician. The result of almost a month of work was a unique acoustic experience. The acoustic properties of Baikal ice and the possibilities of transferring research results to the field of aesthetics from sound images to full-fledged musical compositions were studied. Also, experiments were conducted on the timbre combinations of sound waves extracted from ice structures with audio palettes created by using objects made out of a variety of materials. Experiments with making and extracting sounds from ice marimbas, balafons, horns, ice flutes and ice percussion are a process, in which my musician friends and I are trying the ice for love of fire and in which the tone is checked against the beat of the heart.

New Music Releases: Nate Wooley & Ken Vandermark; Estrada Orchestra; Ethan Iverson

Nate Wooley & Ken Vandermark - Deeply Discounted II

Two fantastic side-long improvisations – but we hardly would have expected anything less, given that the proceedings feature Nate Wooley on trumpet, and Ken Vandermark on tenor and soprano clarinet! The latter sounds really wonderful in Ken's hands – full of these unusual sharp sounds that are matched beautifully by Nate's always-creative work on trumpet – as the pair move together effortlessly through sonic space, and create with a spontaneous intensity that must have been something to watch in person! Oddly, the music was captured in the studio, though – not on stage – but has the energy of some of the best live improvised performances that either musician has given us – on long tracks "Deeply Discounted II" and "Sequences Of Snow (For Michael Snow)". ~ Dusty Groove

Estrada Orchestra - Zucker Tanzclub

Excellent long-form funky work from Estrada Orchestra – a group with plenty of jazz-styled instrumentation over the top, and some monstrous funky drums at the core! The group record here with producer Misha Panfilov, who you'll know from other great material on funky 45s – but the style here is longer and more stretched out – psychedelic jazz, with lots of fuzz on the guitar, keyboards, and even funky flute – working together as one rumbling mass with a heck of a lot of sonic power! Titles include the side-long "Zucker Tanzclub", plus "Hold My Plasticine Hands Tight" and "Fish Sticks Rhapsody". ~ Dusty Groove

Ethan Iverson - Common Practice

Some of the darkest sounds we've heard from trumpeter Tom Harrell in years – really fitting the spirit of this quartet led by pianist Ethan Iverson, as they slowly step their way through a mix of standards and original tunes in a live set recorded at the Village Vanguard! Tom's developed a fantastic range over the years – and here, he finds this really special sonic space to resonate with Iverson's choices on the piano – still very much his own man, especially on the solos, but also a key cornerstone in a group that also features Ben Street on bass and Eric McPherson on drums. The approach is maybe most striking on the mellowest numbers, which really resonate with shadowy depths – and titles include "All The Things You Are", "I Can't Get Started", "The Man I Love", "Philadelphia Creamer", and "Jed From Teaneck". ~ Dusty Groove