Marcin Wasilewski Trio & Joe Lovano - Arctic Riff

The first-time creative teaming of Poland’s Marcin Wasilewski Trio and US tenorist Joe Lovano brings forth special music of concentrated, deep feeling, in which lyricism and strength seem ideally balanced. The alliance plays tunes by Wasilewski and by Lovano, as well as Carla Bley’s classic “Vashkar,” plus collective improvisations with strong input from all four players. Produced by Manfred Eicher, Arctic Riff was recorded at Studios La Buissonne in the south of France in August 2019.

The album opens with Wasilewski’s rubato ballad “Glimmer of Hope” which, the composer explains, is “based mainly on one motive moving through some tonalities. I was very curious to hear how it would sound with Joe’s tone.” The piano gently prepares for the saxophone’s entry, and Lovano’s very first phrase – underpinned by Michal Miskiewicz’s soulful brushwork – establishes the sensitive atmosphere of intense listening that characterizes the session. 

Carla Bley’s “Vashkar” follows, a tune interpreted in many different ways over the last half-century. Wasilewski, who first heard it on the album Footloose by the Paul Bley Trio with Steve Swallow and Pete LaRoca, finds new possibilities inside the world that Carla Bley's theme opens up: “I really like Carla’s compositions, and I wanted to play 'Vashkar'’s beautiful melody with Joe.” Lovano bears down authoritatively on that melody before the Polish trio unravel some of its implications. The tenorist had performed Carla Bley’s music as a member of her band in 1983 and, in 1986, with Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, but the present recording marks a first encounter as player with “Vashkar.” 

“Cadenza” is the first, and at nine minutes the longest, of the collective pieces shaped in the moment on Arctic Riff. “On each of our recordings we’ve tried to explore musical areas that we haven’t documented before. There was no preconceived plan at all for the improvised pieces, but just as we were concluding a musical statement together on ‘Cadenza,’ I had the feeling that it might be good to take it a little further. In that second, I heard Manfred saying through the headphones, ‘Marcin, please continue.’ That was a special moment, and helped to make the whole thing, spontaneously, a better piece of art.”

Wasilewski’s elegant ballad “Fading Sorrow” finds ways to keep the music fresh inside the song format. Slawomir Kurkiewicz’s bass feature here, soloing against Wasilewski's subtle chording and discreet drums, is a highlight. Kurkiewicz is also to the fore in the free piece “Arco” which, as its title implies, takes off from his bowed bass entry. “Free improvisation is a very rewarding experience based on mutual trust and openness,” says Kurkiewicz. “As a working trio we’ve played freely many times and It was so touching to see Joe jumping right in there with such directness and clarity. It is great to hear his voice in such a context.” Lovano’s strengths as a player include his enthusiastic capacity to embrace all the things that jazz has been, including its traditional, modern and experimental expressions.
Lovano's sly, jaunty tenor sets up “Stray Cat Walk,” soon joined on its nocturnal prowl by Kurkiewicz's bass and Miskiewicz’s drums. Miskiewicz: “The beauty of Joe’s melodies and his amazing rhythmical flow encourage you as a musician to be more creative and spontaneous.”

“L’amour fou” is a piece Wasilewski wrote to showcase Lovano’s skills in a fast tempo context; the working title was “Crazy for Lovo.” The tune’s author has a bright sparkling solo here, too, after which Lovano takes flight, buoyed by the spirited rhythm section, and Miskiewicz also has a brief, adroit solo.

“A Glimpse” is a kaleidoscopic free miniature of shifting focus, highly alert throughout. Miskiewicz: “From my point of view it's necessary to be deeply concentrated on each single note, and to predict somehow what may happen in the next second, few seconds or sometimes imagine the whole sequence.”

A second version of “Vashkar” grants more of the solo space to Lovano. Lovano: “’Vashkar’ is a beautiful, expressive piece of music. Each of the two versions has its own feeling, structure and exploration. I’m glad Manfred decided to include both takes. Carla’s music is inspired and inspiring – and I would say the same for the music we created on Arctic Riff.”
Lovano wrote “On the Other Side” for the session, “as a contrast to Marcin’s compositions.” It’s a swinging free flowing piece with a specific sequence of events to be followed: “The drums set up the theme which is a question-and-answer exchange between the tenor and drums and the piano trio. A piano and drums duo follows, then adding bass into a trio moment without piano. Piano then re-enters, leading to the final theme with embellishments. The outcome was just what I was hoping for. “

And, finally, there is Wasilewski's “Old Hat,” a moving ballad in classic jazz style, with tender solos from both Wasilewski and Lovano, its title referencing both the nostalgic flair of the piece and Joe’s penchant for vintage headgear.

The Wasilewski Trio’s members have been playing together since high school days in Koszalin, Poland; the present line-up was established in 1993. Marcin Wasilewski, Slawomir Kurkiewicz and Michal Miskiewicz first recorded for ECM as members of Tomasz Stanko’s quartet on the album Soul of Things in 2001, soon followed by Suspended Night and Lontano. Previous ECM albums in trio format are Trio (2004), January (2007), Faithful(2011), and Live (recorded 2016, released in 2018). For Spark of Life (2014), the trio was joined by Swedish saxophonist Joakim Milder. Wasilewski, Kurkiewicz and Miskiewicz also appear on Norwegian guitarist Jacob Young’s album Forever Young (2013).

Joe Lovano made his ECM debut in 1981 with Paul Motian’s Psalm. Further recordings with the Motian/Lovano/Frisell are It Should have Happened A Long Time Ago, I Have The Room Above Her, and Time And Time Again. Lovano has also recorded for ECM with John Abercrombie (Open Land, Within A Song), Marc Johnson (Shades of Jade, Swept Away), and Steve Kuhn (Mostly Coltrane). 2019 saw the release of two critically-acclaimed recordings with Lovano – Trio Tapestry, introducing Joe’s trio with Marilyn Crispell and Carmen Castaldi, and Roma, a live album with Enrico Rava, Giovanni Guidi, Dezron Douglas and Gerald Cleaver.

Randy Brecker & Eric Marienthal - Double Dealin’

Multi Grammy Award-Winners Randy Brecker & Eric Marienthal Join Forces For Some Double Dealin’ On Shanachie Entertainment Debut Out 9/11 Offering A Soulfully Inspiring Album In Spades  

What do you get when you pair two visionaries who happen to be kindred spirits? You get an ace in the hole! Multi Grammy award-winners trumpeter/flugelhornist Randy Brecker and saxophonist Eric Marienthal and deliver ten thrilling originals on their anticipated Shanachie Entertainment debut Double Dealin’ out September 11, 2020. It’s all aboveboard on Double Dealin’ as Brecker and Marienthal opt not to follow suit but rather let the spirit of the moment be their guide as they draw some wild cards and the blur boundaries between traditional and contemporary jazz. Randy Brecker, who was a key player in numerous ground-breaking fusion bands like Blood, Sweat and Tears and Larry Coryell’s The Eleventh House, states “Duke Ellington said ‘There are only two kinds of music, good and bad' and we both love the latter!” Double Dealin’ marks Brecker and Marienthal’s first co-led recording. Danny Weiss, Shanachie Entertainment VP Of Jazz A&R says, “This album is a rarity - funky and brilliant at the same time. One plus one equals five with these two jazz giants.”

Brecker and Marienthal have built careers being musician’s musicians. Randy Brecker has remained at the forefront of creative music for over six decades collaborating with everyone from Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, The Brecker Brothers (with his late tenor titan brother, Michael Brecker), Bruce Springsteen, Parliament/Funkadelic and Steely Dan. Saxophonist Eric Marienthal’s equally impressive career has allowed him to captivate audiences alongside everyone from Chick Corea’s Elektric Band, Patti Austin, Lee Ritenour, Elton John, Billy Joel and Stevie Wonder, among others. Longtime comrades on and off the stage, Marienthal and Brecker credit one thing for bringing them together. “Pizza” exclaims Brecker who won a Grammy this year for his album with the NDR Big Band. Laughing he adds, “We dig each other's playing and personalities. We also like each other’s families. Eric and I have played together many times throughout the years with different ensembles including Jeff Lorber, The GRP Big Band and always 'clicked' as a section, so we were long overdue in doing a project together.” Marienthel adds, “Yes, definitely pizza! Besides being one of the world’s great musicians and trumpet players, Randy is a very open and cool guy. Getting to play with Randy is like getting to make a pizza with Mario Batali! You just know that no matter what you do it’s going to end up being great.”         

         

Bringing Double Dealin’ to fruition was a bi-coastal affair as both musicians created from their own home based studios with Brecker in Long Island and Marienthal in Los Angeles. The duo sent files back and forth to one another and Brecker even admits that his attire for some of the session was PJs. “When the pandemic hit the mixing phase was about to begin,” recalls Marienthal who is the musical director of both the Blue Note At Sea Cruise and The Smooth Jazz Cruise. “I have to say it was a welcome distraction to deep dive into this music.” Double Dealin’ unites the dynamic duo with keyboardist and producer George Whitty, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave Weckl. “George Whitty is one of the very best musicians and record producers out there,” comments Marienthal. “Dave Weckl and John Patitucci are longtime bandmates of mine with the Chick Corea Elektric Band and good friends. Their playing on this record is exceptional and really put the icing on the cake!”

The thrilling ten-track album opens with the first single and title track. All bets are off as Brecker and Marienthal get down to business on this funky and free wheeling ditty that sets the tone for the joyous excursion ahead. The composition “Three Deuces,” takes us out for a bluesy cruise while “Fast Lane” shift gears for a high-octane affair propelled by Dave Weckl’s driving rhythms. Double Dealin’ also features tender moments like the gorgeous ballad “Mine The Fire,” penned by Marienthal and Whitty in memory of guitarist and friend Chuck Loeb. “Chuck was one of my closest friends,” reflects Marienthal, who appears on Loeb’s last two Shanachie recordings Bridges (Co-led by Marienthal) and Unspoken. In 2018, Marienthal organized and played a star-studded memorial concert at the Berks Jazz Fest for Loeb that featured Brecker among numerous others. Brecker who has long had an affinity for Brazilian music offers “Sambop,” where Samba rhythms and Bebop harmonies joyously collide. Brecker’s no-holds barred track “You Ga (Ta Give It),” is a delight as he and Marienthal create maximum firepower from the opening note to the exhilarating end. Eric Marienthal and George Whitty’s intriguing and intensely beautiful “True North” lends itself to some memorable interplay and soloing including that of bassist John Patitucci. It’s all about the groove on “The Hipster,” while the meandering and percussive “Jetlagged” takes us down a totally different path. Double Dealin’ comes to a finale with “Habañero,” which lives up to its name offering the perfect combination of hot and cool that leaves you wanting more.

Randy Brecker concludes, “Double Dealin’ is uplifting and filled with great vibes and fun beats. I hope it takes everyone's mind off our current problems and I hope people just groove with it and forget about everything else for a while!” Eric Marienthal adds, “This record has a particularly uplifting feel which is a good thing for the times we’re in right now. I know I feel better when I listen to it!”

A Tribute to Alvin Fielder, Live at Vision Festival XXIV

Pianist Joel Futterman and saxophonist Kidd Jordan salute a fallen comrade on Tribute to Alvin Fielder, an energized and eclectic free improvisation. Joined by bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake, their performance was recorded live at the Brooklyn club Roulette during the 2019 Vision Festival in New York. It includes 45 minutes of continuous—and continuously shifting—music. 

Futterman and Jordan were longtime friends and collaborators of Fielder, an explorative drummer and founding member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) who passed away in January of 2019. Parker previously worked with the trio on Jordan’s 1999 New Orleans Festival Suite. With Drake taking the kit, the musicians ably evoke Fielder’s loose, omnivorous approach to rhythm and time and run the gamut of the jazz lineage. From New Orleans tradition to bop to free form, Tribute to Alvin Fielder also pays tribute to the music Fielder loved. 

Although the quartet’s improvisation consistently changes shape and approach, it doesn’t easily break down into sections. The twists and turns are organic, each idea a logical extension of the preceding one. Hard-driving paroxysm evolves into earthy spiritual jazz, evolves into inquisitive solo bass. Time compresses, expands, and vanishes all together. Within those developments, however, are moments of complete spontaneity, whether in Futterman’s quote of Thelonious Monk’s “Crepuscule with Nellie” ten minutes into the proceedings, or Jordan and Parker’s ghostly moans in the closing moments. 

Still, there are constants in the music. They lie in Parker and Drake’s simmering rhythmic lines—which for all their varying forms and directions, never relent even for an instant—and in the raw intensity of the performance. Fielder’s friends and fellow artists grieve his loss, yet also summon the powers of their imaginations to create sublime, in-the-moment music. Which is surely the best possible eulogy. Sad though his physical departure (as his onetime employer Sun Ra would say) may be, Tribute to Alvin Fielder makes clear that the creative spirits that inspired and animated the drummer’s 83 years not only live on but thrive. Indeed, they show no sign of fading anytime soon. 

"Trois Rangs," the recording debut of Southern Louisiana Creole Zydeco group, Soul Creole

Nouveau Electric Records has released "Trois Rangs," the recording debut of Southern Louisiana Creole Zydeco group, Soul Creole. The band is fronted by Grammy nominee Corey Ledet, Ashlee Wilson Michot, and Louis Michot of the Grammy winning Cajun band Lost Bayou Ramblers. 

"Trois Rangs" was recorded by Mark Bingham at Nina Hwy studios, and co-produced by Korey Richey (LCD Sound System, Arcade Fire) and Louis. Coupled with a dub mix, "Trois Rangs" is being released as a 45RPM vinyl 7", digital download and will be available for streaming on all major platforms.

Written and sung by Ashlee in Louisiana French, the song features Louis on fiddle and guitar, Corey on accordions and drums, and a guest appearance on bass by Richey. The track melds Creole, Zydeco, and Cajun musical traditions together with contemporary pop influences to create a determinedly modernist sound. The B-side, "Trois Rangs Dub" is a ground-breaking blend of Zydeco and Dub genres that is both danceable and meditative.

The song's title and lyrics acknowledge the central position 3's play in Louisiana: the fiddle, accordion and t-fer in Creole music; the three sides of the triangle itself as well as religious and culinary significance. The concept of the Trinity invokes a focus on ancestral knowledge in Louisiana French culture.

Soul Creole was formed in 2012. All three members sing lead and harmony, and are always backed by the best drums and bass around. They are known throughout South Louisiana for their dynamic, genre-bending performances, and have been featured on NPR's World Café, and at festivals like Zydeco Crossroads, Festival International de Louisiane, French Quarter Festival, and Festivals Acadiens et Creoles. 

Soul Creole is a crossroads for the diverse cultures and music celebrated in South Louisiana. All the members boast French last names, and though the terms "Cajun" and "Creole" have acquired specific, divisive racial connotations in recent decades, Soul Creole proudly utilizes the term "Creole" to embrace ALL Louisiana's ethnic roots: Spanish, African, French, Italian, Acadian, and Native American among them.

They all share experience of many styles of music; Blues, Cajun, Reggae, Zydeco, Pop, Soul...anything a Creole raised in the 80's would have been exposed to. Soul Creole brings uniquely authentic and fresh perspectives to a music that continues to evolve within the rich Louisiana soundscape - a groove for the whole world to dance to.

French Pianist Benjamin Moussay Releases "Promontoire"

After three ECM albums with Louis Sclavis’s groups – Sources (recorded 2011), Salt and Silk Melodies (2014) and Characters on a Wall (2018) – each of them drawing upon his improvisational resourcefulness, French pianist Benjamin Moussay was invited to make a solo recording. A fresh addition to ECM’s line of distinguished solo piano albums, Promontoire is also effectively a self-portrait of its maker, touching upon many aspects of Moussay’s life and interests across the arts.

Promontoire finds its shape through careful preparation and spontaneous risk-taking. Moussay calls it “a solitary dance with the flow of inner rhythm,” one that deploys and abandons the compositional process along the way: “Written pretexts are infinitely altered according to the moment. Playing solo piano, I know the starting point and the destination. Mystery lies in the surprises of the journey.”

Although it was the solo piano recordings of Thelonious Monk that first fired Benjamin Moussay’s imagination, instilling a love of jazz subsequently nurtured in parallel with classical studies, it is only in recent years that he has embraced the solo format himself. “I was working a lot with my trio, playing as a sideman with many bands, but the idea of solo music kept calling to me. It seemed to me like quite a step to take, because there is so much history around solo piano. But, finally, I decided to do it. My first solo concerts were almost like classical recitals with very much written material, but the more I played solo the more I wanted to let go and improvise. The compositions became more and more reduced, often to just the essential elements of a melody and a few chords.” Going further, a number of the pieces on Promontoire are total improvisations, although Moussay’s structural instincts blur distinctions between the written and the discovered-in-the-moment; the album feels like a story unfolding in twelve chapters, twelve reflections.

It opens with “127,” inspired by Danny Boyle’s biographical survival film about climber Aron Ralston, 127 Hours. “I saw the film, was very impressed by it, and the melody came to me,” recalls Moussay, who is himself a committed climber and Alpinist. Rugged landscapes and mountains are evoked or alluded to also in title track “Promontoire,” “Monte Perdido,” and “Don’t Look Down.”

“Promontoire” is named for “a place in the Vosges mountains that is very important to me, a small rocky peak above a lake. The composition has changed a lot since I wrote it. It was originally in four parts, with an introduction and two other themes. Now it’s much sparser.” “Monte Perdido,” completely improvised, references the “lost mountain” of the Spanish side of the Pyrennees. “Remote and difficult to reach,” Moussay summarizes.
The pianist likens “Don’t Look Down” to scaling a steep rock face: “It’s a little scary technically.” The idea for the piece, with its very fast activity in the right hand, emerged during a Louis Sclavis soundcheck. “In concert, this piece gets expanded a lot, but I like the concentrated version we have on the album.”

Moussay has on several occasions been commissioned to write new music to accompany old silent films and three of the pieces on Promontoire have their origins in such work. Though each has gone through several transformations, “Theme for Nana,” “Horses” and “The Fallen” were all written to accompany scenes from Jean Renoir’s classic 1926 film Nana, based upon Émile Zola’s novel of the same name. “‘Theme for Nana’ describes the central figure, of course. I think of the piece as a bit ‘Sclavisian’ in a way, every curve of the melody suggesting a different atmosphere, color or emotion.”

“Horses” interprets the famous racecourse sequence in Renoir’s film, with rhythmic figures suggestive of the elegant motion of hooves. And “The Fallen” initially a character sketch of Count Muffat in the film and novel, dragged down by his love for Nana, has come to acquire a broader significance: “It’s for all those guys who try to go up only to go down – whether in the mountains or in life. It’s kind of a blues!”

“Villefranque” is named for the commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées where the piece was born. “Improvisation is often the starting point for my pieces which I subsequently develop by selecting elements and working on them. But in this case – I was recording myself on the piano at a friend’s house – the music arrived complete. I transcribed the improvisation and that became the piece.”

“Sotto voce,” in contrast, reveals Moussay’s “Chopin romantic side. I like it to be played really softly and simply. It’s like a small picture of something.”

The sprightly “Chasseur de plumes” is dedicated to the memory of a young cat who loved to chase birds, while “L’oiseau d’or” refers to the Golden Bird of the Grimm fairy tales. Finally, there is “Théa," a musical portrait of Moussay's young daughter. “This is also a total improvisation and was actually the first solo piece I recorded in La Buissonne. I like to think it conveys some of Théa’s dancing energy.” The album was recorded and produced by Manfred Eicher at Studios La Buissonne in January 2019.

Benjamin Moussay studied classical piano at the Strasbourg Conservatory, before turning to jazz composition and arrangement at the Paris Conservatory, where his teachers included François Jeanneau and Jean-François Jenny-Clark. In 1998 he won the Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition and has gone on to become a key figure in the French and international jazz scene, working with Louis Sclavis, Glenn Ferris, Marc Ducret, Archie Shepp, Tony Malaby, Vincent Courtois, Daniel Humair and many others, and leading his own groups, including his long-running trio with drummer Eric Echampard and bassist Arnault Cuisinier. Promontoire is his first solo piano album.

Derrick Hodge - Color of Noize

With his third record, 2-time GRAMMY winner Derrick Hodge unleashes his freest work yet. Color of Noize available on Blue Note Records — is the band, the concept, and the album, and if that name evokes more questions than answers for you, then you’re reading it right. The title is perfectly wide-open and inquisitive for a composer, bandleader, and bassist (etc.) with Hodge’s history. 

Color of Noize reflects a melting pot of influence and experience with jazz flow, hip-hop groove, soulful depth, spiritual uplift, and creative fire — but the concept is best described in more abstract terms. As Hodge lays it out: “It’s the contrast, it’s the beauty, it’s the chaos, it’s the freedom — all of that.”

This album also includes a few firsts. It’s the first Hodge record to use a live band throughout. It was that band’s first time playing together, and their first time hearing the songs Hodge wrote for their session. It was also Hodge’s first time bringing in a co-producer: Blue Note president Don Was.

“It was powerful to see this group of young, brilliant improvisers set up in a circle at Hollywood’s historic United Studio A,” says Was. “It felt like a throwback to what it might have been like on the floor of a Blue Note session at Rudy Van Gelder’s studio in the mid-sixties. These were ‘old school’ sessions yielding modern music so forward-looking and visionary that there is no existing genre within which to categorize it.”

“Don has this selflessness where he really wants to get to the root of what makes a musician tick and what’s pushing them in the moment,” says Hodge. “It felt invaluable to have someone like that in my corner for a project like this, to help see everything through a different lens.”

That goes to the heart of the Color of Noize concept — an intentionally broad thing meant to embrace the fluidity of sound and inspire a sense of collective ownership over that sound’s development and interpretation. “It's an idea I feel is really relevant to our time,” Hodge says. “A new artistic heartbeat that's about acceptance. It all relates to the spirit of now, not overly thinking, and moving forward.”

That’s why Hodge formed a brand-new group, and often just played them a quick run-through of each song on piano before letting them rip. Of course, it took a special crew to bring Color of Noize to life: Jahari Stampley and Michael Aaberg on keys, Mike Mitchell and Justin Tyson on drums, and DJ Jahi Sundance on turntables, with Hodge supplying bass,

keys, guitar, and voice.

In addition to his two prior Blue Note albums — 2013’s guest-packed Live Today to 2016’s almost entirely solo The Second — Hodge been a go-to collaborator for Robert Glasper, Maxwell, Terence Blanchard, and Common alike — and played on GRAMMY-winning albums by all four. He’s helped shape striking sounds in producing albums by Blue Note labelmates Kendrick Scott and James Francies, and teamed with Quincy Jones to co-produce an album by Justin Kauflin on Jones’ label Qwest. He’s brought subtly subversive concepts to world-class orchestras in Atlanta, Chicago, and D.C., and new ideas to the Monterey Jazz Festival as a 2019 artist-in-residence. R+R=NOW featuring Hodge, Glasper, Tyson, Christian Scott, Terrace Martin, and Taylor McFerrin is only the most recent supergroup he’s co-founded. If there’s one takeaway to be had from his career, it’s this: you can put Hodge in a band — any band — but you can’t put him in a box.

Chicago Avant-Jazz Trio Threadbare release "Silver Dollar"

Jason Stein has spent the last fifteen years injecting audiences’ ears with such a singularly unique approach on the bass clarinet that Eric Dolphy may finally find himself denied as the go-to reference for the instrument. Currently Stein leads two bands, Locksmith Isidore and the Jason Stein Quartet, and co-leads Hearts & Minds and Nature Work (with Paul Giallorenzo and Greg Ward respectively). Stein's work with Threadbare, his latest project, places him beside two gifted young Oberlin College graduates and recent Chicago transplants. 

Composers Ben Cruz (guitar) and Emerson Hunton (drums) lock in perfectly as a rhythm section, carefully walking a wire between jazz and rock (they also play together in the indie band Moontype). Cruz is an amazingly versatile guitarist, balancing power chords and intricate jazz runs all over the neck. Both he and Hunton are simple and basic when necessary, but can become absolutely astonishing when appropriate without being showy. Perfect for Stein.

All three members of Threadbare grew up on rock 'n 'roll and their version of it is as thrilling as it is fierce. Cruz’ “Silver Dollar” sounds like he watched the Dead Cs “Armed” writhing on the floor for 25 minutes until he finally proposed the question “Hey, what if we help this thing get up and walk?” To hear Cruz and Stein trade off energy wheezing over Hunton's leg-stomp thudding is a sheer joy. 

So how is Threadbare's jazz game? Well, they have Jason freaking Stein – plus you can go watch a clip of Cruz playing “If I Were A Bell” with a trad bassist and drummer on his website. Check out “And When Circumstances Arrive”, which features a broken melodic structure not unlike the tunes Mary Halvorson composes before flying off into the stratosphere with an especially out solo from Stein. And there's “Funny Thing Is,” which features a lightning fast hard-bop head played in unison by Stein and Cruz before erupting in frenzied bass clarinet spray over abstract jazz guitar block chords and Hunton's out-but-in groove. 

To hear Cruz and Stein trade off on this album is an absolute thrill. The icing on top is the sound of Hunton elevating everything brilliantly. Around the time of The Bells, Lou Reed said something along the lines of “If you can't play jazz and you can't play rock, you put them together and you really have something.” True enough. But what if you can play both fluidly? What if you have a rock 'n' roll heart and a jazz brain and the instincts, chops, and intelligence to pull it all off and make it fly like freedom? You're Threadbare, that's what.

David Broza / New Guitar Instrumental Album EN CASA LIMÓN

A longtime fan of the Spanish guitar, Broza has incorporated many styles of flamenco, jazz, classical into his performance repertoire. Over the years, fans and friends have repeatedly requested a guitar instrumental album. “After 43 years as a singer-songwriter, composing music without lyrics was a challenging task,” shares Broza. “I had to perfect my playing to become a guitarist by trade. It took a while – almost 3 years.”

The album was recorded at the Casa Limón Studios in Madrid, Spain, a “magical place” where some of the world’s greatest guitarists, including Paco de Lucia and Tomatito, recorded their albums. 

Producer Javier Limón directed the undercurrents of nuevo flamenco to a confluence with Broza’s other musical influences. Says Limón: “David Broza is one of the few artists with whom I would embark on any adventure with my eyes closed. The result is the most beautiful and profound journey to the roots of the most popular and beloved instrument on the planet – the Spanish Guitar.” 

In addition to Broza’s Spanish guitar, the album features Israel Suarez “Piraña” on percussion, and Dany Noel on bass. Notable guest artists are Randy Brecker on trumpet, Tali Rubenstein on recorders, Layth Sidiq on violin, Antonio Serrano on harmonica and Delfina Cheb on vocalizations. 

The album is dedicated to the memory of the great guitar luthiers Manuel Contreras and his son Pablo M. Contreras II. 

From his whirlwind fingerpicking to flamenco percussion and rhythms to a signature rock and roll sound, David Broza’s charismatic and energetic performances have delighted audiences throughout the world. Raised in Israel, Spain and England, Broza has performed worldwide since 1977, when his song “Yihye Tov” first hit the airwaves, promoting a message of peace. David Broza is known for his commitment and dedication to several humanitarian projects, especially a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through dialogue, culture, music and tolerance.

www.davidbroza.net 

New Music Releases: Rashied Ali & Frank Lowe, Will Vinson, Charles Rumback / Jim Baker / John Tate

Rashied Ali & Frank Lowe - Duo Exchange: Complete Sessions

A great one from drummer Rashied Ali – issued here on his own Survival label! Ali's perhaps best remembered for his spare backing behind Coltrane's solo sax on the record Interstellar Space – and we're tempted to say that there's a similar vibe going on here – as the record just features Ali on drums and percussion, and the great Frank Lowe on tenor, plus Japanese flute and a bit of percussion too. The approach is nice and open, in a loft jazz mode – and Frank blows with a rough-hewn emotion that brings a lot to the session, and which provides a good grounding for Ali's sometimes loose work on drums! The original album features one long improvisation – "Duo Exchange" – but it's expanded here by more than a full album's worth of bonus material, really great recordings that appear here for the first time ever, pressed up beautifully. ~ Dusty Groove

Will Vinson - 441

Saxophonist Will Vinson works here with a number of different players, in a number of different groupings – yet somehow the album's maybe one of his most personal and focused to date! Vinson's reed work is always a draw – but here, there's a very special quality – as the groups usually feature a pianist in the lead, and gentle rhythms behind – so that Will is carving out these lines of gentle soul that speak volumes with effortless ease – wonderfully expressive, but never in a way that's easy, sentimental, and wrapped around too-familiar modes – a beautiful set of statements by a player who's becoming one of the more distinct saxophone voices in jazz. Players include Sullivan Fortner, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Fred Hersch, and Gerald Clayton on piano; Matt Penman, Matt Brewer, and Larry Grenadier on bass; and Billy Hart, Clarence Penn, and Obed Calvaire on drums. Titles include "Boogaloo", "Love Letters", "Banal Street", "That Happened", "The Way To You", "Oasis", "Cherry Time", and "I Am James Bond". ~ Dusty Groove

Charles Rumback / Jim Baker / John Tate - June Holiday

A sublime trio set from drummer Charles Rumback – a record that has us really appreciating the special touch the leader can bring to a date, as this album may also be one of the best that we've heard from pianist Jim Baker in years! Baker has this great way of sounding soulful and lyrical, yet also moving towards the freer side of his spectrum too – working with the subtle drums of Rumback and the careful bass of John Tate, all with energy that almost takes us back to the groundbreaking Three Waves album by Steve Kuhn – one of our favorite piano dates of all time, which is a hell of a compliment to Baker! The album has an open feel, but one that's also very careful too – not the spaciousness of an ECM record, and instead more intense, but in a very understated way. Brilliant throughout – with titles that include "Here & Now", "Hard Goodbye", "Foglights", "Burning Daylight", "Huh", and "Portrait Of Lorena".  ~ Dusty Groove

Peter Cincotti Sends a Love Letter to NYC "Heart of the City"

Peter Cincotti, singer-songwriter-pianist and native New Yorker, has written a heartfelt missive to his hometown. "Heart of the City" is a love letter to NYC, whose strength, resilience and compassion were so much on display during the height of the COVID 19 pandemic. Peter puts it best, “There is no place like New York and there are no people like New Yorkers. I feel lucky and proud to have been born and raised in this city, and I wanted to share my gratitude in this song.” The video for "Heart of the City," directed by Jordan Lisi, is an interactive affair with fans who submitted their photos and videos of New York and their “hearts” for the city. 

Cincotti began playing piano at age three. While in high school, he regularly performed in clubs throughout Manhattan and by the age of 18 was called “one of the most promising singer-pianists of the next generation” by the New York Times. Peter’s first album, produced by the legendary Phil Ramone, reached #1 on the Billboard jazz charts, making Cincotti the youngest artist ever to do so. Following was a series of acclaimed performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Radio City Music Hall, Paris’ L’Olympia, The Montreux Festival as well as London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Cincotti recorded the follow-up to his debut with 14-time Grammy Award winner David Foster. East of Angel Town was his first album of originals for Warner Brothers Records. His single “Goodbye Philadelphia” took the airwaves by storm reaching the Top Ten on radio playlists throughout Europe, after which he brought the album to the U.S. where he joined the artist Seal on his sold-out American tour. 

Peter made his acting debut in the Bobby Darin biopic film Beyond The Sea, and also contributed to the film’s soundtrack. He then made a cameo appearance in Spider-Man 2 and wrote the title track for the Australian film December Boys, starring Daniel Radcliffe. Soon thereafter, Cincotti became the face of the prestigious fashion house Ermenegildo Zegna, as well as also being named the first male ambassador for luxury designer TOD’S. Cincotti collaborated with the brand on the music video for his single “Madeline”, which was exclusively featured in Italy’s Vanity Fair Spring issue.

People Magazine and WWD featured Peter’s song "Made For Me," a track from his last album, Long Way From Home. Shortly thereafter, Samsung produced a 360 music video of the album’s title track, written, arranged, and produced by Cincotti.

Hailed as “the rebirth of cool” by Elle magazine, Peter explores styles that blend pop, rock, blues and jazz and has collaborated with artists ranging from DJ David Guetta to Andrea Bocelli.

Peter hosts a live show on Instagram and Facebook called ‘That Friday Feeling With Peter’ where he talks with fans, makes drinks, and plays some songs, every Friday night at 6PM EST. Later this year, Peter will begin releasing tracks from his highly anticipated new album 88 Keys and Me. It will mark Peter’s first record honoring some of the most influential piano men and women of all time, ranging from Scott Joplin to Alicia Keys. Peter’s daring arrangements of known material shatter the lines between musical genres, a pursuit that has been a common theme in all of his albums to date.

GROUPE RTD 'The Dancing Devils of Djibouti'

While the music of Somalia is widely celebrated, its neighbor, the Republic of Djibouti, formerly known as French Somaliland, is home to an equally deep reservoir of its own unique Somali music.

The small but culturally grand country on the mouth of Red Sea remains one of the few places in the world where music is still entirely the domain of the state. Since independence in 1977, one-party rule brought most music under its wing, with almost every band a national enterprise, integral to the state propaganda apparatus.

No foreign entities have been permitted to work with Djibouti’s rich roster of music — until now.

In 2016, Ostinato Records met with senior officials of Radiodiffusion-Télévision Djibouti (RTD), a.k.a. the national radio, to discuss a vision for lifting the shroud on Djiboutian music as the young country of less than a million people increasingly opens up to the world. Three years later, in 2019, Ostinato became the first label granted full authorization to access the national radio’s archives, one of the largest and best preserved in Africa, home to thousands of reels of Somali and Afar music.

But just next door, in RTD’s recording studio, a world class band entirely unknown outside the country, whose songs are a living embodiment of the archives, lay in waiting. Composed of sensational new, young talent backed by old masters, the band — Groupe RTD — is the national ceremony outfit. By day, they perform for presidential and national events and welcome foreign dignitaries.

By night, when no longer on official duty, Groupe RTD is clearly one of East Africa’s best kept secrets.

Helmed by Mohamed Abdi Alto, possibly the most unheralded saxophone virtuoso in all of Africa, and mentored by Mogadishu-born guitarist Abdirazak Hagi Sufi — both of whom feature as instrumentalists on our Grammy-nominated Sweet As Broken Dates compilation — Groupe RTD is the finest expression of Djibouti’s cosmopolitan culture.

Situated on the Bab El Mandeb (Gate of Tears) strait, a historic corridor of global trade connecting the Suez Canal and the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean, Djibouti is blessed with influences from East Asia, the Arabian peninsula, India, and even more distant sounds.
Djiboutian music, particularly the addictive brand wielded by Groupe RTD, is, by their own admission, the juncture where Indian Bollywood vocal styles, offbeat licks of Jamaican dub and reggae, sleek horns inspired by Harlem’s jazz era, and haunting and joyous synthesizer melodies of the Red Sea collide.

Sax player Mohamed Abdi Alto — so talented that they added “Alto” to his legal name — honed his trade from a steady diet of John Coltrane and Charlie Parker. Abdirazak’s guitar style draws heavily from his love affair with Jamaican music. Young singers Asma Omar, who won a youth talent contest to join the band, and Hassan Omar Houssein are fluent in the classic hits of Bollywood and Indian music. Synth player Moussa Aden Ainan brings a distinctly dexterous Somali touch, reminiscent of the exceptional keys work of Somalia’s Iftin and Waaberi Band. Their sound is kept afloat by measured Tadjouran rhythms, courtesy of drummer Omar Farah Houssein and dumbek player Salem Mohamed Ahmed’s perfect interplay.

But recording this album was Ostinato’s biggest challenge yet. A web of bureaucracy and strict rules had to be navigated. Djibouti’s authorities gave us only three days to record the entire set, with no extension. Up for the task and eager to deliver, the musicians promptly tore down the “no smoking or chewing khat” sign in RTD’s recording studio and began a heated, three-day, khat-fueled devilish feast of music amid a smokey haze, unleashing the very reason the band was founded: to strut Djibouti’s majestic music on the world stage when the opportunity arrived.

The recording equipment in the radio had not been upgraded in decades and technical neglect meant we had to devise a novel approach to ensure the highest quality recording possible. With the help of Djibouti’s head of customs, we flew in a state-of-the-art mobile recording studio replete with the very best audio interfaces and carefully positioned microphones around a less than soundproof room to achieve a vibrant, professional sound while maintaining the analog warmth of decades prior.

This game-changing setup, a far cry from the old days of field recordings, is Ostinato Records’ vision for the future: to capture the contemporary sounds of Africa and the world flawlessly, in any environment or circumstance.

We proudly present Ostinato’s premier studio recorded album and the first ever international album to emerge from Djibouti — Groupe RTD: The Dancing Devils of Djibouti.

Saxophonist KIM WATERS New CD SHAKEDOWN

Heralded as “Simply one of the planet’s best saxophonists” by JazzTimes Magazine and the “Pied piper of Smooth Jazz” by Upscale Magazine, Kim Waters has enjoyed a career longevity that is rare in the music business. For three decades, the prolific chart-topping saxophonist, composer and producer, has reigned as one of the premier architects of Urban Smooth Jazz and a beacon of light in Contemporary Jazz. He ‘s garnered praise from critics and fans alike, ranking among the top five best-selling instrumentalists in jazz. “New music continues to come out, which gives the world something to lift them up and share with family and friends,” states Waters, whose new and 24th recording as a leader, Shakedown offers a thrilling ten-track escape meant to catapult us to a happier frequency. The Georgia based saxman shares, “Shakedown to me is something that makes you want to get up and dance and move your body! That was my goal for this CD!! Music that makes you happy and soothes the soul!”

 Kim Waters’ instantly recognizable sound has found the perfect equilibrium between sensitivity and brawn, intellect and emotion and technique and soulfulness. On Shakedown the suave, debonair and commanding saxophonist’s ability to transcend the musical boundaries of Jazz, Pop and R&B have made him one of the most sought-after musicians in Contemporary Jazz. In typical fashion, Waters is like a one-man band, playing all the instruments on Shakedown as he creates dreamy melodies, sultry ballads and funky and bluesy dance-inspired grooves. He also reinvents a recent R&B gem. The new album is dedicated to Waters’ wife Dana and his twin daughters Kimberly and Kayla.  “They all inspire me so much and they are truly my best friends! Kayla has become an amazing artist, writer, producer and performer!! Words cannot express how this makes me feel to work together with her and to share the stage together on many occasions! She continues to grow at her craft and she and Kimberly are my heart!” 

Waters composed Shakedown at the piano as opposed to his normal process, which is in the recording studio. “This is the first album where I wrote all of the songs at my grand piano in my piano lounge. I usually write in my studio, but this time I stayed on the piano until all of the songs were written.” Shakedown opens with the jubilant and uplifting title-track and first single. It has a bluesy-old school feel and is reminiscent of the Ramsey Lewis hit and crowd pleaser “The In Crowd.” The composition “Feels Like Friday Night” is a fun-loving celebration marked by Waters’ soulful horn doubling on the chorus and his gorgeous flowing sax melody throughout. We are transported to the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean for the song “Nina In Tortola.” You can feel the island breeze as Waters graceful soprano dances in the rhythms of the island mist. The undeniable groove and funk riffs on “Takin’ The High Road” and “On The Streets” will beckon you to get on your good foot while the tender moments created on the tranquil “With Open Arms” and pensive “The Moment I See You” will move you to a place of peace and quiet reflection. “With Open Arms” is dedicated to Waters’ late father-in-law, Frank Mayo Sr. “We were extremely close and did everything together,” shares Waters. “Whenever anyone came to his house, he welcomed them with open arms and always made sure they had plenty to eat and drink.” 

Shakedown revs into high gear with the edgy, driving and pulsating “In The Fast Lane.” This gear-shifting number is sure to release some much needed endorphins. Always current with what is hot on the scene, Kim Waters has enjoyed great success reworking Hip Hop, R&B and Reggae hits with a jazzy twist on his popular CDs Streetwize and Tha’ Hot Club.  On Shakedown the saxophonist reinvents the Ella Mai hit and a favorite of his sister Joyce, “Boo’d Up.” Waters’ own sensual take on this lovers delight makes its own notable mark on this R&B hit. It is apropos that Shakedown ends with “Hidden Treasure.” At the end of Waters’ ten-track excursion, this song is indeed a hidden treasure and the reward for joining the saxophonist on his musical adventure. The uplifting closer is sure to leave your mood and spirit elevated. “When my fans hear this new CD, I hope that they forget about whatever it is that they may be going through, and that their spirits are lifted up and they are smiling and moving to the grooves!!!” says Waters.

Born in Maryland into a musical family, Kim Waters picked up his first instrument, the violin, at the age of eight. "That didn't go over well with the fellas," says Waters, who later found his calling on the alto and soprano saxophones at 13. Shortly afterwards he began playing in a band with his brothers James (who he still performs with) and Eric and his old friend, pianist Cyrus Chestnut. Kim Waters has been called on to perform with or open shows for the best including Al Green, Isaac Hayes, Phyllis Hyman, Teddy Riley and Guy, and Gerald Albright to name a few. Through the years Kim Waters has recorded a string of successful and chart-topping albums on Shanachie: Love’s Melody (1998), One Special Moment (1999), From The Heart (2001), Someone To Love You (2002), In the Name of Love (2004), All For Love (2005), You Are My Lady (2007), I Want You: Love in the Spirit of Marvin (2008), Love Stories (2010), This Heart of Mine (2011), Rhythm and Romance (2016) and What I Like (2018).

We could all learn a thing from Kim Waters’ Zen-like approach to music and life. He is an advocate of not sweating the small stuff and seeing the big picture. He professes that these are key ingredients to living a long life. Waters is also motivated by the opportunity to reach others. He concludes, “My fans, friends and family inspire me to be the best I can be. It makes me smile when I hear and see people happy because of my music!!! That's what it’s all about.”

Soul-jazz guitarist Gregory Goodloe - Cool Like That

When R&B/jazz guitarist Gregory Goodloe dropped his new single, “Cool Like That,” at the beginning of March before the novel coronavirus outbreak hit the US with a vengeance, it was the No. 1 most added single on the Billboard airplay chart in its debut week and earned the most new spins in its second week. The song that he wrote with and features urban-jazz icon Bob Baldwin has taken on quite a different spin in the face of the health and economic crisis that have put lives, finances, and the future in peril. The track that was conceived to recreate the classic cool contemporary jazz sound and will serve as the title cut of his forthcoming album has become somewhat of an affirmation to Goodloe to stay calm and be fluid during this period of uncertainty
.
“What’s on my mind is the unsureness of life. It’s very fragile. My mother, who is in her 80s, I worry about keeping her safe. My main concern right now is to be able to continue taking care of my mom,” said the Denver-based Goodloe who is doing his best to maintain his even-keeled cool despite so many unanswered questions about what’s ahead for musicians and the music industry.

“Like every other musician right now, we’re going through a transition. We don’t know what’s going to be at the end of the rainbow. We don’t know if everything is going to be more condensed. Is it the end of concerts? Is it the end of festivals? Is everything going to be digital now? Are we just going to be in-house songwriters? That’s the kind of thing that’s going through my mind. This time is about being able to work through that; to have the change, but not let it defeat me. To move like water into the flow of whatever change has to happen in order to continue to create music.”       

“Cool Like That” is Goodloe’s first single since last June when he landed his first Billboard No. 1 single, “Stylin’,” which also topped the Mediabase and Smooth Jazz Top 20 charts. With Baldwin producing and crafting the lion’s share of the new single’s production as well as contributing shimmering keyboard flourishes, Goodloe’s crisp electric guitar recalls two of the legendary guitarists who inspired the track’s conception: George Benson and Wes Montgomery.

“When the idea came for ‘Cool Like That,’ I sought out the writing expertise of Bob Baldwin because he’s almost like a pure jazz enthusiast. I wanted to use his expertise to create that kind of vibe of when jazz was cool. I went through an era of listening to people like Herbie Hancock and wanting to be a musician. We thought it would be cool to be a jazz musician. That era includes your Grover Washington Jr.’s, Wes Montgomery and George Benson when he first came out. It was an exciting time - when classic jazz was the poster of what cool really was. So, I wanted my song to be cool like that, like that whole era. I wanted to reproduce that vibe,” said Goodloe.

Goodloe has been working towards a summer release for the “Cool Like That” album, but the stay-at-home mandate may lead to a delay. For now, he prefers to keep his cards close to his chest when it comes to the identities of the prominent hitmakers with whom he has been writing and recording for the collection. Goodloe admits to struggling to focus on songwriting since the outbreak.

“Some of the songs were written before the virus and I have yet to pen anything of any significance since  the virus hit and the economic downfall. It’s kind of a solemn time and people are reflecting. You have time to create and hone your craft because a lot of things are shutdown.”

At the suggestion of a fan, Goodloe has spent the last few Saturday nights in his home studio playing live and connecting with fans on Facebook Live. He is going to continue what he has now titled “Saturday Night Hang” (7pm Mountain Time), which he sees as an offering to help people get through the crisis.

“The idea is to interact and try to ease people’s minds during this pandemic because a lot of people are panicking. They are frustrated and some are freaking out. The quarantine itself, some people don’t know how to handle it. So, I want to provide an hour escape. I kind of mix it up. Because some of my followers are Christian, I may open with a couple of Christian songs and read a bible passage. After that, I try to play songs that people recognize and they can sing to. I play familiar tunes and throw in some of my own music.”      
   
Goodloe debuted as a solo artist in 2010 and has performed with an array of R&B, jazz and gospel greats including Howard Hewett, Surface, Tank, Ben Tankard, Shirley Caesar, John P. Key, The Rance Allen Group and Angela Spivey, and opened for Dave Koz, Brian Culbertson and Norman Brown. He also played one gig with award-winning blues artist Sista Monica Parker, an experience that perhaps answers the question about whether this crisis will diminish the joyous spirit that permeates his guitar play and songwriting as he works towards completing the “Cool Like That” album.

“I remember playing for Sista Monica and she only hired me one time because she said my blues is like happy blues. I don’t know if I would be able to write a song about the unhappy mood of current times because I don’t know if that part of me will come out. I’d probably just end up playing happy blues.” 

http://gregorygoodloe.com

Elemental Music Presents New Additions to the Famed Jazz Images Series

Elemental Music Presents New Additions to the Famed Jazz Images Series
Photographers Francis Wolff and William Claxton's Musically Iconic Historic Images

It’s always challenging to use one art form to pay homage to another. To capture the essence of a transcendent art form like jazz through photography, while representing its precious substance of sound and structure through a purely visual element is a challenge of the highest order. While many have taken photos of jazz artists in performance and in portraiture, only a treasured few have been able to match their artistry to the level of the music. Two of the most profound of these photographers are Francis Wolff and William Claxton – each of whom is powerfully represented in Elemental Music’s latest pair of releases in its Jazz Images series.

Like the first book in the series, Jazz Images by Jean-Pierre Leloir, Jazz Images by Francis Wolff and Jazz Images by William Claxton are beautifully packaged in 11.5 inch square hardcover editions, each book containing 164 pages with more than 150 images by both of these master photographers. For the most part the images are given a full page each and while Wolff’s are entirely in the black-and-white format that was his trademark, a number of the photos in the Claxton book are in color. Each photograph is underscored with the specific information as to the circumstances in which the photo was taken as well as the identity of all of those who are depicted in the photo. Both editions have highly informative introductions by noted writers/historians Howard Mandel (Claxton) and Ashley Kahn (Wolff). All of this contributes not only to the books as visual feasts, but also as important historical documentation of the glorious art of jazz.

Just as Miles Davis and Clifford Brown were two masters of the same discipline telling their stories through significantly different approaches, so the same can be said of these two giants. Wolff’s tightly contained claustrophobia in the sacred prayer chapel of Rudy Van Gelder’s studio contrasts with Claxton’s airy, open approach that airlifted the musicians out of the smoky club setting and into the natural atmosphere of the outdoors for what the photographer described as jazz for the eyes.

While capturing images of jazz musicians in performance is both compelling and exciting, an even deeper truth is conveyed through the artists as flesh and blood human beings with identities and personae as fully defined as the music they create. The most expressive and revered portrait photographers, from early masters like Dorothea Lange and Alfred Stieglitz to later heavyweights like Richard Avedon and Yousuf Karsh were all brilliant at capturing the essence of their subjects. But they primarily operated in a controlled environment where the photograph was really the only purpose of the action. While Claxton was an experienced fashion photographer, both he and Wolff had to play their instruments in the environment of spontaneity and immediacy that is the essence of jazz. That makes the results even more rewarding, and in truth, a form of jazz expression. 

Francis Wolff’s art was virtually limited to the New York domain of Blue Note Records within the sanctified environs of the peerless recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s fabled studio just outside of the city. A refugee from Nazi Germany and soon after his arrival in NY, co-owner of Blue Note with founder Alfred Lion, Wolff’s ability to remain “invisibly” unobtrusive (despite the use of flash) enabled him to portray artists in the purest moments of making recorded music – whether playing, conversing, writing, listening or even relaxing between takes. This makes Wolff’s photographs like no others.

Just a sample of some of the stunning images in this book -- Hank Mobley, cradling his horn in warm embrace as he listens to a playback; Lee Morgan and Joe Henderson playing face to face with horns positioned so it looks like Lee is pouring his tones into Joe’s welcoming bell; Art Blakey’s cat-like intensity as he squints into his snare waiting for the perfect moment to strike; the magnificent John Coltrane leaning back in passionate concentration as he streams his spiritual essence out through his preaching horn; Miles Davis coolly blowing over his crossed legs with his seemingly relaxed posture betrayed by the intensity with which his hand is grasping the metal back of the chair; Herbie Hancock with his head resting on his hand perched above the keyboard his eyes inches away from his fingers as he sounds out an idea; Elvin Jones’ hand tightly wrapped around Reggie Workman’s shoulder as they share a joyous laugh; Dexter Gordon, Ike Quebec and Alfred Lion poring over session notes – vividly illustrate what makes Francis Wolff so special. 

William Claxton also had an affiliation with a major jazz label as art director of Pacific Jazz Records. This led to a close relationship with Chet Baker, and the book contains 22 images of the iconic and highly photogenic trumpeter. As a native of California, Claxton’s focus was primarily on the West Coast – both its jazz scene and its wide-open sunny environment. That didn’t lessen the intensity of his artistry, just shifted the vibe from the confined to the limitless. And while there is an overall sense of joy and exuberance to his work, he could also create a powerful aura of intensity. This is evidenced by his images of Bill Evans scrunched over the keyboard in contorted internal passion; Stan Getz, playing with face in shadow under the light outside a stage door in Hollywood; Clifford Brown, elbows tight against his ribcage with face compressed as he births a tale from his horn.

It was Claxton’s style to bring the artist out of the expected musical environment and into the healthy outside world. Cannonball Adderley’s quintet clustered under a Chinese beach umbrella on a sunny California beach; Chet Baker hanging arched from the mast on a sailboat above his bandmates; Charlie Byrd playing alone under a tree over the Potomac River; Donald Byrd pensively playing seated among a group of riders on NYC’s “A”Train; John Coltrane, leaning against on a railing in the Guggenheim Museum; the Kenton band in stark silhouette with horns held high in the air outside the Rendezvous Ballroom on the beach in Balboa; Ramsey Lewis’ Trio on the streets of Chicago; Charles Mingus, Ornette Coleman, Max Roach and Kenny Dorham against the Newport RI backdrop on an impromptu stage during the Newport Rebels counter-festival.; Thelonious Monk on the back of a San Francisco streetcar; Art Pepper climbing a hilly street in LA; Sonny Rollins cradling his horn under one arm at the Joshua Tree Monument in California.

Featuring portraits of scores of the most legendary figures in jazz of the second half of the 20th century, Elemental’s founder Jordy Soley has bestowed a monumental gift to jazz fans and musician with this series. And most importantly it provides a firsthand look at the truth and soul embodied in those who make jazz the glorious manifestation of the human spirit that it is.

New Music Releases: David Philips & Abel Boquera,Tansy, Haggis Horns

David Philips & Abel Boquera - The Duo Sessions

David Philips and his good friend and keyboard wizard Abel Boquera have been playing in bands together for the past 10+ years. Last year they decided to get together in Abel's studio to make a few videos playing duo. The audio from this session is what you find here. Abel played an old 1970s Fender Rhodes electric piano and mixed/mastered the session. The first 2 songs are David's originals from his record "Get Along" and the last was a bit of fun; a cover version of the Michael Jackson hit "The Way You Make Me Feel."

Tansy – Full Bloom

New Orleans duo, Tansy, have released their debut album Full Bloom after receiving immense acclaim for their first two singles. Full Bloom is an ode to growth, love, and continuing down the path even when you are uncertain of the future. Full Bloom is a testament to their New Orleans roots and collaborative style, featuring several of New Orleans finest musicians. Their previous singles received high critical acclaim from the likes of IGGY Magazine, Bong Mines Entertainment, LeFuturewave, The Jamwich, and several others. Atwood Magazine described their debut as "Cozy jazzy tones and an R&B soulfulness". Full Bloom is an ode to their growth over the past years, both collectively and personally, as Tansy finds their niche in the contemporary jazz soundscapes of New Orleans. 

Haggis Horns - Stand Up For Love

The Haggis Horns just seem to get tighter and tighter with each new record – to a point where they're way more than just another funk combo with a gimmicky name, and have grown into a really great soul group on their own! The rhythms, arrangements, and horns are great – but there's also plenty of excellent vocals on the set from John McCallum, a singer who helps the group move way past just simple funk modes, and way into more of a fuller-blown style of vintage soul – one that might rival the best of their countrymen, Average White Band – and which almost has the sharp crackle and snap of early work by Brand New Heavies! Titles include "Burning", "Stand Up For Love", "Give It Up", "Haggis Express", "Shoulder To Shoulder", "Don't Give A Damn", and "Suzi Traffic". ~ Dusty Groove

Fabiano do Nascimento - Now-Again

The Brazilian guitarist’s third album for Now-Again, featuring 10 original compositions. Shades of Baden Powell, Hermeto Pascoal, Carioca, Tenorio Jr., Rosinha de Valença.

“To call it magic would be too dismissive of the work Do Nascimento has put into translating both the stunning natural landscapes and rich musical history of Brazil from his perceptions to this album. Blood, sweat, deep love all play vital roles…” – Pop Matters.

Prelúdio is the third album Now-Again Records has issued from the thrilling, young Brasilian guitarist Fabiano do Nascimento. Produced by Mario Caldato, Jr. and Luther Russell and engineered and mixed by Caldato and Jason Hiller, this album features do Nascimento’s longtime drummer Ricardo “Tiki” Pasillas.

It is the first album of solely do Nascimento’s own compositions and, like his previous albums Dança dos Tempos and Tempo dos Mestres, follows folkloric Brasilian music, Brasilian jazz, bossa-nova and samba as experienced through the mind and able fingers of an expansive musician, combing the heady ‘60s and ‘70s experimentalism of Hermeto Pascoal and Baden Powell with the childlike elegance of music played and passed down by native Brasilians for generations.

  

Do Nascimento was born into a musical family, from lineage that stretches back to his great-grand-father Ladario Teixeira, a blind saxophonist who contributed to the re-creation of the instrument by adding more keys to the older incarnation of the instrument in the early 20th century. He was born in Rio de Janeiro and grew up there and in Sao Paulo, where he found inspiration in his uncle, the late Lúcio Nascimento, bassist and composer in Leny Andrade’s band Bom de Três.

While he came from a musical pedigree, he’s largely self-taught, largely in the service of an overarching mission to showcase the folkloric music of his home country as he continue to develop possibilities for language of the guitar itself. His studies ramped up after he moved to Los Angeles in 2001. His first champion was Aloe Blacc, who worked with do Nascimento over the years, including his work on his debut album Shine Through for Stones Throw Records. His collaborators now include Madlib, multi-instrumentalist Sam Gandel, Innovative Leisure chanteuse Claude Fontaine and legendary Brasilian percussionist, bandleader, songwriter and catalyst Airto Moreira.

Moreiera states that Nascimento is “Brazilian but (his mind is) from a place in Brazil that is not common.” Fortunately, we still have some musicians who like to play music and who like to touch the instrument and who like that energy! You see, because that’s the most important thing in music. The energy. That’s why I love to play live. And that’s why I’m playing with Fabiano.”