For saxophonist Michael Thomas, his new album from Giant Step Arts, the groundbreaking non-profit led by noted photographer and recording engineer Jimmy Katz, also marks an enormous leap into an unknown future.
“Getting invited to do a project like this is kind of like winning the jazz lottery,” Thomas says. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience to work with Jimmy, who goes out of his way to do everything right. He makes sure the band is taken care of, he hires the right people, he takes care of all the details; all you have to do as the bandleader is worry about the music. It’s an incredibly freeing experience.”
Thomas responded to this unprecedented opportunity by assembling a dream band to realize a new set of outstanding compositions. The frontline reunites him with trumpet great Jason Palmer, who recently released his own second album for Giant Step Arts and with whom Thomas worked regularly for two years as part of Palmer’s long-running house band at Boston’s historic Wally’s Jazz Café. The quartet also features Miguel Zenon Quartet bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Johnathan Blake, whose exhilarating album Trion was among Giant Step’s inaugural releases.
Creating such once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for artists, freeing them from the usual demands of record label and sales chart expectations, is precisely why Katz founded Giant Step Arts.
Recorded live over two nights at New York City’s renowned Jazz Gallery, Event Horizon muses on the role technology plays in modern life while responding to both its advantages and its drawbacks. “Technology is something that we deal with every day: computers, smartphones, things like that,” Thomas says. “It can definitely work on our side, but we can also end up relying on it too much. We’re always checking our calendar and checking our email, which can impose a framework on our lives that can lead to feeling trapped. The music I wrote for Event Horizon has an element of structure that comes from a lot of the technology that we use, but I wanted to give the band a lot of freedom once we got into the tunes.”
The live recording cast this uneasy relationship with technological into stark perspective. While a studio may offer any number of modern conveniences, Thomas felt the old-school method, while inevitably a tightrope walk, also inspired daring performances that might not have happened with a safety net in place. “All the classic recordings we love were recorded in a similar way to this, where the band is just being the band and somebody documented it. But while we recorded in an old-fashioned way, I didn’t want the music to have an old-fashioned feel. This is very new music – challenging for the band, and challenging for the individual players.”
Katz founded Giant Step Arts in order to support artists like Palmer, Blake and others whose talents he felt had not been sufficiently recognized or supported. Thomas is a slightly different case, a less established talent at the outset of a promising career. Not that he doesn’t already boast impressive credentials: since his debut album, he’s appeared on more than 30 recordings and co-founded the Terraza Big Band with bassist Edward Perez, releasing the ensemble’s heralded debut, One Day Wonder, in May 2019. But Katz impressed upon the gifted saxophonist the ambitious expectations he holds for the artists who record for GSA.
“Look at the other saxophonists who have recorded on Giant Step Arts projects,” Katz points out. “Chris Potter, Mark Turner, Eric Alexander – some of the greatest players on the scene today. The truth is I’m looking for someone who really wants to step up their game and show the highest level of creativity in their art. Michael is capable of extraordinary things, and I’m really happy with how committed he was to this project and to trying to make a bold new statement.”
That may the only demand Katz makes on the artists he works with, but it’s a tall order indeed. “I want to be sure everyone involved is trying to make a masterpiece,” he insists. “The goal on each one of these projects is to make a modern A Love Supreme or a modern Kind of Blue. Obviously those are very high standards, but we’re going into each one of these projects with that as the goal. I’m not interested in professional performances; I’m interested in performances that history is going to remember.”
Grammy-winning saxophonist, composer, and arranger Michael Thomas has been an active member of the New York City jazz community since arriving in 2011. Holding degrees from the University of Miami, New England Conservatory, and The Juilliard School, Michael has performed throughout the United States and abroad, including tours in Central and South America, Australia, Europe, Japan, and Russia. He has appeared as a sideman with Brad Mehldau, Dafnis Prieto, Nicholas Payton, Miguel Zenón, Etienne Charles, and Jason Palmer, and Michael’s talents can be heard on over 30 recordings. As a composer and arranger, Michael has been commissioned by school and professional ensembles throughout the United States, and he is currently a member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in New York City. Since 2015, Michael has co-lead the Terraza Big Band, and the ensemble’s first album, One Day Wonder, was released in May 2019 on Outside In Music. Michael’s work has been recognized by DownBeat magazine as well as the “Keep an Eye” competition in Amsterdam, NL, and in 2016 he was a winner of the New York Youth Symphony’s First Music commission series. Since September 2018, Michael has been on faculty at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music as an Artist Teacher of jazz saxophone in the Jackie McLean Jazz Studies Institute.
Producer Omar “Jallanzo” Johnson produced, composed, arranged and mixed all of the music in addition to playing most of the instruments on the album. Jallanzo has successfully brought out some of the best songwriting and has introduced a new sound from the artist that is sure to please his existing fans as well as open the door to many more. Jah Sun adds, “One of the biggest takeaways from the process that took place with this record was realizing the synergy between me and my producer Jallanzo. We discovered that we worked really well together and have that ‘artist-producer’ magic.”
Jah Sun displays a style on Magic & Madness not yet heard on his previous albums. The lyrics are still conscious and positive but expressed in a more poetic way as well as being more melodic than the earlier “rap/sing jay” style. The songs have a timeless feel to them, which came about from recording in Jah’s home studio. Jah Sun reflects, “There was no pre set plan for the album it happened very organically and natural one song at a time. My main goal was to be honest and write from a place of personal experience. Most of my past albums were recorded in ‘big’ studios with high end equipment with a list of big names that recorded there. For this album, I wanted to see what we could do in my little home studio that came with a more relaxed intimate atmosphere. I feel like that fostered the personal touch that came across in these songs.”
It’s always a challenge for an artist to recreate and evolve their sound to stay fresh and gain new supporters without alienating their existing fanbase. Magic & Madness succeceeds in doing that! Featuring elements of roots reggae, dub, and fusion the album offers something for the pure reggae enthusiast and for those just being introduced to the genre.
Jah Sun concludes, “I chose the title of the album after returning from month long tour in India. The region deeply inspired me and in my down time I was able to meditate, pray and reflect on life. We truly live in a world of Magic and Madness.”
“What’s unique about Jah Sun’s sound is his lyrical virtuosity, along with precise arrangements and an abundance of charisma that affects his music with a palpable energy…” - Huffington Post
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Chip Wickham returns with Blue to Red, his most absorbing and cosmically-charged offering to date. Soaring flute melodies, lush harp arpeggios and glistening Rhodes keys interact across six journeying, spiritual jazz compositions, leaning on a rich palette of sounds beyond borders, space and time.
Channeling the spirit of Alice Coltrane and Yusef Lateef via the lens of a hip-hop, electronic and club music educated ear, Blue to Red encompasses Wickham’s disparate set of production influences with his Manchester and spiritual jazz education.
The album not only seeks to forewarn Earth’s possible Mars-like future, but seeks to tap into the interplanetary, cosmic nature of music. “It’s a culture crisis rather than a climate crisis, one that can only be solved if we go right to the core of how we live as human beings”.
Born and raised in Brighton, UK, Wickham moved to Manchester to attend college. He soon moved into music going on to perform and record with a formidable and diverse list of artists from his Manchester base including Nightmares on Wax and Andy Votel as well as regular funk excursions with The New Mastersounds. However it was upon his meeting of Mancunian trumpeter/bandleader of Gondwana Orchestra, Matthew Halsall, and other influential players connected to the Manchester’s spiritual jazz circuit such as Nat Birchall that Wickham’s musical course was re-routed for good.
Leaving the UK for Madrid in 2007, Wickham set out on his Iberian-facing debut a decade later with La Sombra (2017), before moving again from Madrid to Doha (Qatar), where Wickham released his follow up Shamal Wind (2018), a lively and international melding of modal jazz, Arabic sounds and other disparate sonic territories, that blends Wickham’s penchant for ethereal, beatless composition and Dingwalls-esque, jazz dance numbers.
Having recorded, produced and mixed everything himself, Wickham’s meticulous approach to production and unswerving ambition for Blue to Red, led him to a phenomenal group of musicians across the UK’s thriving jazz scene, including Sons of Kemet and Mulatu Astatke drummer, Jon Scott, Fingathing head honcho, Simon ‘Sneaky’ Houghton (double bass/cello) and Nightmares On Wax affiliate Dan ‘JD 73’ Goldman (keys). Making up the lineup is Gondwana Orchestra alumni Amanda Whiting, whose celestial and mystical harp playing is a particularly prominent and enchanting feature of the record.
With his group (that will feature British jazz pillar, Greg Foat on keys), Wickham will be embarking on a tour across the UK and Europe this April with headline dates at London’s Ronnie Scott’s and Paris’s La Petite Halle. Alongside playing with Dwight Tribble, Allysha Joy (30/70), The Sorcerers, Scrimshire and Joe Tatton (The New Mastersounds), Chip's previous and recent live endeavours saw him perform at the mainstage of Love Supreme last year and he continues to tour the world with Halsall and The Gondwana Orchestra.
Whilst we pray Wickham’s prediction that the planet’s decline from Blue to Red is proven incorrect, it’s hard to imagine a time in the future where pieces of music do not represent markers of our own personal growth or catalysts for structural, societal change. The vanguard of spiritual jazz past and present are no stranger to this, and on Blue to Red, Wickham not only salutes but earnestly contributes to this legacy.
With the release of his last album, New Playground, soprano saxophonist Stéphane Spira celebrated a period of new beginnings: a flourishing second career in jazz in his adopted home of New York City, and a new family with the birth of his son. Spira’s new release, Improkofiev, finds the saxophonist embarking on another new chapter, this time more of a homecoming. He’s recently moved back to his native France after a decade abroad; and the newly formed quartet Spirabassi reunites him with Italian-born pianist Giovanni Mirabassi, with whom he first recorded in 2009, just before embarking for the States.
Not that Improkofiev, Jazzmax, is aiming to recapture the past. Spira has long reveled in reinvention, both in his life and his music. His growing discography is evidence enough of that; he abandoned a thriving career as an engineer overseeing projects from Paris to Saudi Arabia to pursue his passion for jazz. His return to France finds him not in his home city of Paris but in a bucolic setting near the ocean in Brittany, offering a quality of life for his family difficult to find in Manhattan. And his reunion with Mirabassi builds on the duo chemistry they forged on their initial outing, Spirabassi, to form a stellar new quartet with bassist Steve Wood and drummer Donald Kontomanou.
“Giovanni Mirabassi is an outstanding piano player,” Spira raves. “As soon as I came back to France last summer, Giovanni and I knew that we wanted to get back together. We’ve both evolved over the last ten years, so it’s been really interesting to explore this relationship.”
The title of the new album shows off not only Spira’s love of wordplay, but also his inventive approach to classic repertoire. The three-piece suite that comprises half of the album is based on clever reimaginings of Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1, though the source material is so transformed, embellished or reinterpreted through the three movements that it can be something of a mind game just to trace the pieces back to their classical origins.
Spira was introduced to the Prokofiev piece nearly 15 years ago by a Turkish jazz presenter and radio host, who heard echoes of the Russian composer’s dense harmonies in Spira’s 2006 debut, First Page. “He really opened my ears,” Spira says. “As soon as I heard the Violin Concerto I was struck by the melody, the lyricism and the complex harmonies, which is a combination that I’m particularly drawn to. I love a melody that you can sing but that’s supported by harmony that isn’t obvious but sounds totally natural. I immediately heard it as a vehicle for a jazz band.”
While he didn’t arrange the “Improkofiev Suite” with the Spirabassi Quartet in mind, the band’s formation proved an ideal fit for the music. Originally from Perugia but based in Paris since the early 90s, Giovanni Mirabassi weaves an elegant thread of European classical music into his jazz playing, which is heavily influenced by the impressionistic melodicism of jazz greats like Enrico Pieranunzi and Bill Evans. Spira found him to be the perfect duo partner in 2009, when he was dealing with the death of his father.
“The Spirabassi album was a way for me to process my grief through music,” the saxophonist recalls. “Giovanni is so lyrical that it felt right to go through that experience with him.”
Though they wouldn’t record together again for the next decade, as Spira found his footing in a new country and dedicated himself wholly to his voice on the soprano, they had forged a truly special and singular relationship while creating Spirabassi. The pairing is so distinctive that Spira didn’t hesitate to reprise the hybridized name for his new quartet, acknowledging the centrality of Mirabassi’s contributions to the collective sound. The pairing echoes classic examples like the Dave Brubeck Quartet, with Paul Desmond’s identity so closely linked to the group sound despite the name on the marquee.
That’s not to downplay the importance of the rest of the quartet. Steve Wood became an intimate collaborator and friend to Spira during the saxophonist’s tenure in New York City, bringing a foundational spine to the music that has become one of the keys to Spira’s sound. Donald Kontomanou is a more recent addition, bringing a second-generation instinct as the son of French jazz singer Elisabeth Kontomanou.
The album is rounded out by a selection of pieces that tastefully complement the “Improkofiev Suite.” The album opens with the first of two Spira originals. The flitting melody of “Ocean Dance” offers a vibrant depiction of the composer’s new setting, the feel of the dance provided by Kontomanou’s fleet brushwork and Wood’s nimble bass, over which Spira and Mirabassi waltz gracefully. A timpani-like fanfare on mallets opens “After Rain,” on which the group’s spirited and comradely performance summons the sunshine from behind the clouds of the Prokofiev-inspired harmonies. Carla Bley’s “Lawns” is invested with sweeping, heartfelt emotion, while Erik Satie’s “Gymnopedie No. 1” is rendered with an optimistic verve that proves a perfect bridge to the suite, which closes the album.
Drawing on the lessons and inspirations of the past to create something entirely new and deeply personal is an approach that has been central to jazz throughout its history. While Spira may have come late to the life of a jazz musician he’s invested himself with that attitude in profound ways. Improkofiev, playful and rich, inventive and soulful, is an exquisite example.
French saxophonist Stéphane Spira grew up with jazz the old-school way: in late-night jams and cutting sessions. A protégé of longtime Chet Baker pianist Michel Graillier, Spira's jazz career has taken him from 4 a.m. basement sessions in the underbelly of Paris, through acclaimed collaborations with trumpeter Stéphane Belmondo and pianist Giovanni Mirabassi, to the cutting edge of New York jazz. Trained as an engineer, Stéphane sharpened his chops off the books, after hours, immersing himself in a hard-edged milieu. Perhaps since he honed his chops in the depths of the jazz underground, Spira was spared the awkwardness of growing up in public: Spira's "remarkable maturity” (Radio France) has not gone unnoticed by the critics. Prior to Improkofiev, Spira released five critically acclaimed albums as a bandleader: First Page; Spirabassi (a duo collaboration with Mirabassi); Round About Jobim, a tribute to the father of bossa nova featuring Lionel Belmondo’s acclaimed Hymne au Soleil ensemble; 2014’s In Between and 2018’s New Playground.
Musically, Glasser is very well acquainted with his history lessons. That rare creature in the music, a native New Yorker, he took lessons as a teenager from the great Lee Konitz, and went on to a long career playing alongside giants like Clark Terry, Illinois Jacquet, Barry Harris and Dizzy Gillespie and serving a considerable tenure with the Count Basie Orchestra that continues today.
Hypocrisy Democracy reveals Glasser to be determined not to end up doomed to repeat that past, much as he reveres it; the strikingly open-eared and tightrope-walking session finds him traversing boundaries that many familiar with his career would never have expected. To do so he’s assembled a knockout quartet of fellow musicians (and New School faculty members) well versed in defying jazz’s hidebound norms: pianist Andy Milne, bassist Ben Allison and drummer Matt Wilson.
“My roots are in the history of this music,” Glasser admits. “That’s where my inspiration comes from. These guys have all worked in different areas doing their own thing, so this is a group of people who have come together from very farflung places. We’ve worked side by side in academic circumstances, but never as musicians. Yet we’ve managed to unite to find the things that we have in common instead of thinking about our differences. I think that parallels artistically what I see as a big problem facing society right now: people are focused on their differences, so they’re warring and arguing and blaming as opposed to looking at what they have in common.”
Glasser comes by his social justice credentials naturally. His father, Ira Glasser, was the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for more than 20 years; it was while working for the New York Civil Liberties Union that he met the noted jazz critic and civil libertarian Nat Hentoff, who recommended Lee Konitz as an instructor for his colleague’s sax-playing son. That experience is honored through “Glee For Lee,” in which Glasser parries with longtime Konitz collaborator Matt Wilson in a pointed duet.
The zig-zagging “Knit Wit” is a running-with-scissors investigation of one of the album’s core conceits, the rise of misunderstandings via a difference in perception. Is the title an insult or a compliment? It could sound like either without the proper context or spelling (that pun makes all the difference). The taut, tense “Justice” muses on the many meanings of that word, from Old Testament to New, vengeance to equality, with “Freedom” as a companion piece, divided between opportunity and advantage.
“It’s Nothing New” recognizes the circularity of history in a particularly funky fashion, a reminder offered by how perennially fresh and exciting a timeless groove can be; the notion comes around again in the spiraling “Revolver.” The skulking “Dilemonk” grapples with weighty issues as well as the eccentric influence of the iconic Thelonious Monk – both of which can be thorny to deal with. “Coffees, Dogs, and Telelogs” confronts the imponderables faced on an average morning walk – the caffeine addictions, unconditional love for pets and absorption in handheld devices that sometimes seem to eclipse the love among fellow humans, encapsulated by Allison’s taut walking bass and the leader’s eloquent alto.
The mood set by Milne’s ominous, crashing chords and tolling tones, “Deep Dark” takes a plunge into profound melancholy, while “Minor Madness” leaps to the manic end of that scale, with an implicit hope that the insanity is only temporary and small in scale.
Finally, the album’s sole non-original is the unexpected choice of the Disney earworm
“It’s a Small World,” whose message resonates with the theme of the album, as does the inspired arrangement in which each member gradually joins Glasser’s searching flute to form a united whole. But the choice has a more autobiographical significance as well; as a youngster taking his first trip to Disneyland, Glasser brought home a 45rpm record of the song and tried his best to sing along – largely unsuccessfully, as the story goes. “Years later my Mom told me that she had turned to my Dad and said, ‘We know one thing: he’s not going to be a musician.’ Then one day, suddenly I got it. Which is profound to me, because I’ve always been more determined and diligent than naturally gifted.”
It’s that kind of dedication and perseverance that’s not only necessary to weather the vicissitudes of the jazz world but to overcome the kind of struggles that we face now and have struggled with throughout history. Glasser hopes that the camaraderie, sharp humor and inspired artistry of Hypocrisy Democracy makes some small contribution to the cause.
“My hope is that the record will be part of a change in our culture whereby people educate themselves and think independently about the decisions that they make,” Glasser concludes. “To me, music is about listening and reacting, interacting and playing something that makes the whole thing sound good, move forward and reach people.”
Native New Yorker Dave Glasser encompasses a uniquely personal sound rooted in rich tradition. Currently the lead altoist for the Count Basie Orchestra, and a veteran of the Clark Terry quintet, the Count Basie Orchestra (under the direction of Frank Foster), Illinois Jacquet, Barry Harris and Dizzy Gillespie, Dave's music transcends genre and covers a wide range of expression while remaining connected to the roots of jazz. A faculty member at the New School for over 23 years, he is proud to have helped develop many of today’s younger jazz musicians. In gratitude to wisdom bestowed from elder musicians, he is tirelessly continuing the tradition of mentoring future musicians by remaining actively involved in sharing knowledge, inspiring, and mentoring through the aural tradition.
MRS. FUN plays nu jazz. Complex, sophisticated and adventurous, their music is a unique blend of off-center jazz, ultra-funk, spoken word rap, and their own brand of neo-cabaret. Intelligent lyrics, stellar musicianship, and a dynamic stage presence are hallmarks of their music. The MRS. FUN sound is derived from Connie Grauer's funky bass-driven keyboard playing, combined with Kim Zick's skillful in-the-pocket drumming.
“Grauer is a piano player with few equals whose drive and energy spills across the stage and into the audience like nitrous oxide. She's got a left hand that doesn't quit, the mark of any great pianist, and a right hand with limitless boundaries.” Zick holds court as a “heart-stopping drummer” whose “grooves get so far out, most people need a map to get back.” Voted Best Contemporary Jazz Group by the Wisconsin Area Music Industry(WAMI) three consecutive years, Grauer and Zick have also received WAMI awards for Best Instrumentalist: keyboards and drums. Grauer has also received awards for Best Female Vocalist and Best Stage Entertainer.
Improvisation is the driving force of MRS. FUN. The duo's very first gig was all improvisation. Some of the improvisations became songs. 30 years and five recordings later, they wrote the music for TRUTH and held strong to their original mission statement. In every recording, they include one or two cover pieces, usually a Thelonious Monk song. On TRUTH, “Soulful Strut” and “Light My Fire” were selected being a great fit to their original material. All of the instrumental tracks were recorded live. The only overdubs were vocals.
MRS. FUN will be headlining Summerfest 2020 on the Klements stage.
Poirier Releases New Single “Café Com Leite” with Flavia Coelho / New Single Is Off Upcoming Album ‘Soft Power’
Montréal-based artist Poirier is back with the first single from his upcoming album, "Café Com Leite" with Brazilian singer (now based in Paris) Flavia Coelho. The new single is out now with Wonderwheel Recordings and available everywhere you can stream music.
The new song first debuted with Complex who hailed, “Few in this world can boast a creative output as eclectic as Montréal-based Poirier.” The new single transports the listener to the shores of Brazil - to enjoy a "coffee with milk" - with a stunning vocal delivery from Coelho, gentle guitar licks, and a danceable rhythm.
Poirier reflects, "Flavia Coelho and I met in Paris for the first time at her studio just before a gig I had later that night. We chilled at her studio and listened to a few beats I had on a USB key. The connection was great right away. The beat that I had really in mind for her was also the one she liked the most. She did a vocal idea on the spot as soon as the beat played, riding the beat who had already the guitar lines on it (props to Daniel Leznoff who plays the guitar). There you go, we had a good idea for a song. It became “Café Com Leite” in it’s final form a few weeks later. It's a love song about differences, the coffee mixed with milk being a metaphor. It's been ages that I wanted to do a song like that, soft and charming. Some hints of bossa nova too, which is something I never did before. This song is exactly the vibe being reflected on my album "Soft Power" and that's why it's the first single."
With his first album dating back to 2001, Poirier is a prolific, creative and eclectic Canadian producer / musician with a 20 year journey of creating music. Constant in his albums and DJ performances is a desire to build bridges between different languages, communities, and cultures. His open, uninhibited musical mind means that his works bend boundaries, resulting in compositions that mix several styles and eras. He now has produced a total of 11 albums and many EPs with labels such as Ninja Tune, Nice Up Records and, more recently, Wonderwheel Recordings. Active in Montreal, his successful monthly dance party Qualité de Luxe is dedicated to African and Caribbean music, attracting crowds for over six years. Poirier is also the man behind Bounce le Gros and Karnival, parties with legendary status in Montréal nightlife history.
As usual with Poirier, it's hard to pin point all the genres and references on his new album. Soft Power has an irresistible warm vibe that will make anyone move and dance. It's warm, it's acoustic, it's electronic. Tracks "Café Com Leite" feat. Flavia Coelho and "Me Leva" feat. Flavia Nascimento transport the listener to Brazil while "Sim Bombei" and "Sowia", both featuring Samito, while the Sounds of West Africa influence "Nidiaye Sam" feat. Daby Touré. Then it’s across the Atlantic to Montréal and Mexico with "Contigo" feat. Boogat, while "Pull Up Dat" feat. Red Fox is a Jamaican jam perfect for any dancehall party. "Nou Pare" feat. Coralie Hérard captures the heart of Haiti while "Do Kase" feat. Mélissa Laveaux fuses Canada and France with Haïti in the background. In his instrumental tracks, Poirier throws an afro house party at 4am with "The Junction", travels back in time on an island in the Mediterranean Sea circa 1987 with "Forma", and, finally, relaxes in the sun with "Coconut Beach."
World-renowned guitar hero Al Di Meola welcomes a new decade with an ambitious follow-up to his 2013 studio recording All Your Life: A Tribute to the Beatles with a sophomore homage to the Beatles, entitled Across The Universe, available on earMUSIC.
Al Di Meola's exquisite mastery of the fretboard is equal only to his appreciation of the Beatles' legacy that has inspired generations of both musicians and music fans with their famed recording catalog. A retrospective of Al Di Meola's nearly 50-year acclaimed career expressed through his virtuosic arrangements of 14 Beatles songs, Across The Universe journeys alongside one of America's foremost guitarists as he revisits classic hits and more obscure tunes written by the ingenious Fab Four who have helped define the man he is today.
Adding to his lauded recording collection of more than 30 solo albums and numerous acclaimed collaborations with the likes of Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Stanley Clarke, Paco De Lucia and many others, Across The Universe is yet another masterpiece showcasing Al Di Meola's fascination with complex rhythmic syncopation combined with provocative lyrical melodies and intricate harmonies. Beatles fans, guitar-heads, and music lovers alike can expect the unexpected upon venturing into the world put forth by Across The Universe. To commemorate the singular life of John Lennon, Al Di Meola reenacts the famous Lennon cover for his 1975 solo album Rock ‘n' Roll for the artwork for Across The Universe.
Al Di Meola is a living legend celebrated for pioneering a unique style of impeccable guitar technique combined with a sophisticated global musical language that's captured the hearts of audiences across the world. A GRAMMY Award-winner, he's garnered three gold albums while selling more than six million albums in worldwide sales. His collaborations with artists such as Paul Simon, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Page, Santana, Steve Winwood, Herbie Hancock, Frank Zappa, Luciano Pavarotti, and others have elevated Al Di Meola to become a household name. Traversing divinely across multiple genres including flamenco, Latin, fusion, jazz, rock, and world music, Al Di Meola is a vivacious tour de force always redefining the boundaries of what's possible on a six-stringed instrument. Across The Universe is no different than his most decorated recordings with his arsenal of a large ensemble bringing creative reinterpretations of Beatles songs to astounding heights.
"I really credit the Beatles for the reason why I play guitar," says Al Di Meola. "That was a major catalyst for me to want to learn music, so their impact was pretty strong."
Al Di Meola employs a wide lens on Across The Universe with lightening-speed electric guitar orchestrations balanced with lavish acoustic arrangements. The debut single Strawberry Fields Forever from Across The Universe (released today, January 17) is a fiery electric guitar fueled stunner backed by a red-hot rock band. Epic rock ‘n' roll covers are sprinkled throughout the album, including the visionary take on the album opener Here Comes The Sun, as well as a riveting Hey Jude and Golden Slumbers Medley. Al Di Meola's acoustic fingerpicking soars on Dear Prudence and Norwegian Wood, while he ventures to a jazz fusion aesthetic on Till There Was You.
Across The Universe simmers to a diverse set of mid-tempo grooves on Mother Nature's Son, Yesterday, Your Mother Should Know, I'll Follow The Sun, and Julia. Al Di Meola features a lovely solo performance on Here, There And Everywhere. Across The Universe finishes with a short, but very sweet melodic version of Octopus's Garden.
Brian Landrus – an essential voice on low woodwinds – explores heartbreak, longing and romance on intimate new recording For Now.
For Now has a lot to say about romance, and it says it with quiet conviction and passionate declaration. Ace multi-reedist and composer Brian Landrus whose groundbreaking 2017 large-ensemble album Generations “takes the jazz big band tradition into the mesosphere” (Giovanni Russonello, New York Times), turns here to inner pathways, bringing together a remarkable quartet: pianist Fred Hersch bassist Drew Gress and drummer Billy Hart. Rounding out the musical equation are the brilliant young players Michael Rodriguez (trumpet) and Sara Caswell (violin), plus inventive and elegant string quartet arrangements by Landrus and the distinguished opera composer Robert Aldridge featuring Caswell and Joyce Hamman (violin), Lois Martin (viola) and Jody Redhage-Ferber (cello). The album is produced by Aldridge and composer/writer Herschel Garfein, both Grammy winners.
“A composer of great strength and substance,” (All About Jazz), Brian Landrus, has emerged from his 30s with elation, heartache, delight and disenchantment, and he brings all that experience to the album’s ten original compositions and three standards. “As I was writing For Now, I could feel it coming from a very deep place, directly from some truly difficult and some unforgettably beautiful life experiences,” Landrus says. “I felt, at every moment, ‘I need to do this.’” In compositions like “The Second Time,” “ JJ” and “Clarity in Time,” that need stirs just beneath the elegant surface of the music. In the title track, “For Now,” it pours out as an unaffected love ballad. Often, Landrus sets a forthright and open-hearted tune over deceptively complex harmonies, as in the tender “Her Smile,” and in his waltzes, which can be searching and impetuous (“The Night of Change”), sun-splashed melancholy (“The Miss”) or noonday cool (“The Wait”).
His compositional voice confidently ranges from tunes that have the poise and assurance of standards-you’ve-never-heard, such as “The Signs” and “JJ,” to abstract romantic dreamscapes like “The Night of Change.”
Throughout these varied compositions, Landrus plays with infinite shadings and suppleness on instruments often associated with thundering harshness or compromised tone. On the baritone saxophone he sings out tenderly and with deep feeling on “Ruby, My Dear” and “The Second Time,” spins sweet roulades light as air on “Her Smile” and “The Miss,” stays low for a crushed-velvet sound on “JJ,” and plays with a dusky burnish that seems to linger after each phrase on “The Signs,” “Invitation,” and “Clarity in Time.” Landrus reserves the bass clarinet for intimate and lyrical musings (“For Now,” “The Wait,” “For Whom I Imagined”), but then sets free its full palette of colors for his astonishing solo version of Monk’s masterpiece “’Round Midnight.” “The Night of Change” features Landrus soloing with glowing angularity on alto flute.
A perfect team of collaborators are at the heart of For Now. “I have wanted to play with Fred Hersch since first hearing him twenty years ago,” Landrus recounts. “I love how he finds the deepest color and beauty in everything he plays. From the moment we began recording, he played my original compositions as if he had written them.”
As Landrus worked on the music for the album, another inspiration struck. “In certain compositions, the harmonies I was hearing could only be properly realized with a string quartet,” he says. “A longstanding inspiration from Harry Carney with Strings and Stan Getz’s Focus came back to fill my head with lush string sonorities.” He and Robert Aldridge added string arrangements that are clean, inventive and vibrant.
Rounding out this album of ten original Landrus compositions are three very special performances of standards, including Thelonious Monk’s “‘Round Midnight” featuring Landrus on solo bass-clarinet, Bronislaw Kaper’s “Invitation” featuring fresh, effortless swing from the whole ensemble in Landrus’s own arrangement, and an exhilarating duet performance featuring Landrus and Hersch on Monk’s “Ruby, My Dear.”
“I consider Fred to be the foremost Monk interpreter of our time,” says Landrus. “So I was astounded when he told me that he had never publicly played ‘Ruby, My Dear,’ What floored me was his freedom with it; most pianists don’t dare diverge from what Monk played. Fred made it his own in a deeply reverential way.”
“Ruby, My Dear” is the capstone to this masterfully assured and variegated album; an interpretation for now and for the ages.
Brian Landrus /Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist and composer Brian Landrus has established himself as one of the world’s leading voices on low woodwinds. He has been voted #1 Rising Star Baritone Saxophonist in DownBeat Magazine’s 63rd Annual Critics Poll, and voted the #3 Baritone Saxophonist in the world in the 2020 JazzTimes Readers Poll.
In addition to leading his own groups, Landrus has toured internationally with Esperanza Spalding and performed with Bob Brookmeyer, Lewis Nash, John Lockwood, Nicholas Payton, Nir Felder, Marcus Strickland, Jerry Bergonzi, Danilo Perez, Gary Smulyan, Maria Schneider, The Temptations, Feist, The Four Tops, George Garzone, The Drifters, Jason Palmer, Rufus Reid, and Ralph Alessi, among others.
Landrus has released ten albums as a leader, including six on his BlueLand Records label. Born in 1978 and raised in Nevada, Landrus began playing saxophone at 12 and was performing professionally by 15. He earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Nevada-Reno and two Master of Music degrees from New England Conservatory, and a PhD in classical composition from Rutgers University. Landrus is on faculty at Rutgers University.
BrianLandrus.com
Night Devoid of Stars– released digitally and on CD by noted Vancouver label Cellar Music – features the composer conducting his 16-piece Daniel Hersog Jazz Orchestra and two showcase soloists, tenor saxophonist Noah Preminger and pianist Frank Carlberg. Both are devoted colleagues of Hersog’s from his days at New England Conservatory, with Preminger a classmate and Carlberg a teacher.
Reflecting on the sound and sensibility of Night Devoid of Stars, Hersog says: “There were a lot of inspirations for my big-band pieces, but in particular, this album reflected my love for Gil Evans and his writing for featured soloists in a large-ensemble setting, especially for Miles Davis in ballads like ‘My Ship.’ Then, of course, most inspiring was just how well I know and love the playing of Noah and Frank – their sounds were always in my mind. Noah is such a virtuoso on the tenor that I knew that he could play anything that I dreamt up. He’s an especially great player in a ballad style, with a beautiful tone. Noah has also always been such a confidence booster for me, going back to our days at NEC – he always believed in my composing. Frank was an important teacher for me there, getting me to develop my thinking about music as much horizontally, or harmonically, as vertically, or melodically. Writing for Frank means that you’re composing for a consummate improviser. I knew that he would take my music someplace more beautiful than I could even imagine.”
About Hersog, Preminger says: “Being a trumpeter and improviser himself, Dan really understands the perspective of a player when improvising within a piece of music. He encourages your own individual phrasing when playing solo melodies through his pieces, resulting in a sense of freedom within the music. The passages specifically designated as ‘blowing sections’ can go anywhere harmonically and rhythmically. This shows the trust that Dan has in his musicians, which helps make performing his music feel adventurous – and a lot of fun.” For his part, Carlberg adds: “Part of the essence of jazz is connecting to some commonality in our humanity while at the same time expressing a personal viewpoint. Daniel’s music has an organic connection to the history of this music while staking out a distinct identity. He has filtered his influences through his own experiences and then synthesized them into an individual expression. His choices in composing, orchestrating and then putting together a group of diverse yet compatible musicians to play his music are all very much his own.”
Hersog doesn’t play trumpet on the album, concentrating instead on conducting the ensemble. Also, as he points out in the album’s liner notes, the composer really wanted to spotlight another trumpeter he admires, Brad Turner, now a fellow teacher at Capilano University in North Vancouver: “Brad has been a light on the hill in my musical life since I was a teenager. Featuring his improvisational voice on this record is the realization of a long-held goal.” Along with a dozen-plus compatriots from the Vancouver scene, the band included a player new to Hersog: drummer Michael Sarin, a versatile talent from New York. The composer says: “The freedom with which Michael interpreted the drum parts that I wrote surprised me, really elevating the music.”
Night Devoid of Stars ranges from such highlights as the anthemic, melody-rich opener “Cloud Break” – including a virtuosic solo by Turner – to the dark-hued ballad “Makeshift Memorial,” with its expansive, scene-setting introduction by Carlberg and characteristically affecting solo by Preminger. The saxophonist’s turn in the rhythmically accented “Indelible” shows another side to his playing, his tenor solo brimming with keening expressiveness. “Song for Henrique” can have an alluringly slinky Middle Eastern feel, while Hersog’s dramatic, even epic arrangement of Jerome Kern’s standard “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” includes an off-kilter Carlberg solo evoking Thelonious Monk and his affection for the tune. “There’s an emphasis on warm ensemble sounds in the arrangements, and there are classic-sounding big-band moments on the album – I love the way you can mix instruments in a big band to make sounds that no single instrument could ever create,” Hersog explains. “But, largely, these are pieces written for improvisers, for the way their expressive playing can take the compositions further, musically and emotionally.”
Born in 1985 and raised in Vancouver and Victoria, Hersog has become a vital voice as a trumpeter, composer and arranger. He has toured North America leading large ensembles with such notable musicians as Terry Clarke, Kevin Turcotte, Remy Le Boeuff, Billy Buss, Stuart Mack, Jason Palmer and Kim Cass, as well as Brad Turner, Noah Preminger and Frank Carlberg. Hersog is often featured at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, in addition to performing regularly in his hometown at Frankie’s Jazz Club and Pat’s Pub. He’s arranged music that guitarist Peter Bernstein performed with Airmen of Note, and as a sideman, he performs with the Vancouver Legacy Jazz Orchestra, Jaelem Bhate Jazz Orchestra, Super Trumpets and Sonny’s Cousin. A 2016 graduate of New England Conservatory, Hersog won the school’s prestigious Gunther Schuller Medal. He studied with a who’s who of jazz at NEC. Composition teachers included Carlberg, John Hollenbeck, Dave Holland, Ken Schaphorst and Rakalam Bob Moses; he studied trumpet with masters John McNeil, Ralph Alessi and Steve Emery. An instructor himself now, Hersog teaches jazz trumpet at Capilano University, where he also writes for the school’s big band and leads a trumpet ensemble.
Jazz singer, Tatiana Eva Marie has just released a new album: Bonjour Tristesse. Tatiana was born into the music world. She is the daughter of film composer Louis Crelier and solo violinist Anca Maria. Her vocal talent comes naturally, combining classical music on one side and jazz and hippie/rock music on the other. She was recently named “One of the best young singers around” by the Wall Street Journal and listed on Vanity Fair’s rising jazz stars.
Bonjour Tristesse is the new album from Tatiana Eva-Marie and Michael Valeanu. Michael and Tatiana are old friends. They didn’t know each other when they both lived in Paris but met in New York City when they were both rather fresh off the boat. A very crude sense of humor, a penchant for ballads, and a shared love for French poetry soon turned them into the closest of comrades. They played, and drank, and partied all over the Great Big City, they saw lovers come and go, respective albums get created and released, they bumped into each other randomly at festivals, clubs, and airports, and yet... they never recorded together.
In December 2019, between Christmas and New Year, Tatiana had a booked recording date at Big Orange Sheep Studios in Brooklyn, leftover from a previous session. It was the perfect occasion to call Michael up and record some tunes.
They briefly got together over milk and cookies and determined the repertoire - ballads of course, and the result is this: a musical ode to melancholy through very intimate interpretations of French chanson and Great American Songbook classics, somewhere between “Julie is her name” and a Gypsy romance Juliette Gréco would sing in a Parisian caveau at closing time.
“Bonjour Tristesse” was recorded in one long, spontaneous day, under the expert watch of engineer Mike Perez-Cisneros, who is the silent third musician in this duet and created the ethereal and melancholy sound that ties Michael’s guitar and Tatiana’s vocals together. Through the music of Hoagy Carmichael, Cole Porter, Jacques Brel, Cy Coleman, and Lerner & Loewe, Michael and Tatiana bare their hearts and bring music and poetry together in a hushed and confidential way.
Tatiana Eva-Marie is a Brooklyn-based singer, actress and bandleader, best known for her work as frontman of the Avalon Jazz Band. She was recently named “rising jazz star” by Vanity Fair, “one of the best young singers around” by the Wall Street Journal. Tatiana became inspired by her French and Romanian heritage, and now explores her love for jazz through the lens of 1930s Paris and the origins of Gypsy Jazz. She performs regularly in New York and on tour around the world. Tatiana Eva-Marie is starring in her first feature film “Swing Rendez-Vous” by French director Gérome Barry, coming out later this year. http://tatianaevamarie.com
Michael Valeanu is a New York-based guitarist and composer from Paris, where he studied at the Nadia & Lili Boulanger Conservatory. In 2010 he was selected to participate in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program for a two weeks residency at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. In 2015 he was designated second runner-up in the Wes Montgomery International Jazz Guitar Competition. Since then, Michael has played in clubs and festivals all over the United States, as well as in Europe and in Japan. His playing reaches beyond the boundaries of jazz into flavors of North and West African music, Brazilian music, and classical guitar lending his music a very personal and eclectic quality. https://www.michaelvaleanu.com
Sonar Kollektiv has been waiting for it anxiously: Key Elements‘ debut album leads Jazz music into the new decade down-the-line. The music Key Elements create is fresh, merciless and ruthless and has always the finger on the pulse of the time. The album‘s eight tracks are all far away from Broken Beat nostalgia or Beat-making nerdism, they breathe inspiration from the young, thriving British jazz scene. Key Element‘s initiator, DJ and producer Marian Tone, built up a reputation in the Berlin hip hop, soul and jazz scene over the years (also as a co-founder of Beatkollektiv). With all of his compositions you always feel this heritage and his love and passion for hiphop. But the other two allys within «Key Elements», drummer Waldi and the keyboard or bass player Jim Dunloop made their contribution with compositions and ideas as well. An album which was initially designed to be a mere solo project became an effort of a trio over the years being inherently consistent.
Already the opening track «Mike Needs Sugar» shows the direction this album will take us: To the land of the good groove. It‘s here where the three thoroughbred musicians feel on top of the world obviously and deliver one luscious track after the other. From the cheerful «Morning Boom» to the kinda furtively laid back «Impossible» and the final «Funky Dave», which could be on an Italian soundtrack from the 70‘s every single tone and note from «Key Elements» is great fun. Especially because even when you listen to it a second, third or fourth time you will discover new nuances and niceties again and again. As is right and proper for really good jazz album.
Berlin based DJ and producer Marian Tone came up with the name «Key Elements» long before forming the trio that now puts forward a promising album on Sonar Kollektiv. After the release of two EPs («EP One» and «Beats vs. Bad Karma» both on Dooinit Music) the expertly and sought-after DJ with a background in Hiphop, Soul and Jazz consequently ventured to record his debut album. Marian’s idea was to produce music that sounds organically abandoning the use of samples completely but only focusing on own compositions. But things didn’t turn out as planned at all.
Some years ago Marians’ brother Markus, introduced him to the drummer Waldi who already in the 90’s cut a dash locally with his two-man-drummer-live project «Analogue Freestyle». That’s how Marius and Waldi arranged for an initial mutual session. During which Waldi laid drums over the beats that were destined for Marian’s upcoming album «Key Elements». Both were mutually impressed by the outcome to the extend that they decided to record some tracks and to form a band. Suddenly the solo project «Key Elements» had turned into a group. In early 2019 the group was completed by including the befriended keyboard player Jim Dunloop. The highly gifted piano virtuoso is working as a producer for quite some time now and for instance has released his debut album «Opus 76BPM» on BBE. On «Key Elements» you can hear him on bass though. He contributed some of his own compositions as well. In the following months the eight songs in total were recorded in different studios in Berlin (f.e. the Butterama Music Recording Studio or the SB Drums-Studio run by Sascha Bachmann). They already had the chance to set the house on fire with their up-to-now unreleased material at several locations, f.e. at the Badehaus next to J. Lamotta & Blue Lab Beats, at Klunkerkranich in Neukölln, at the XJAZZ Festival, at the Fete De La Hip Hop and at the Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM Party in the Kreuzberg Club Gretchen as a part of the Steve Reid Foundation.
«Key Elements» have created exactly what Sonar Kollektiv was waiting for: No-holds-barred modern sounding Jazz far away from Broken Beat nostalgia or Beatmaking nerdism. Of course you can hear Marian Tone’s love for hiphop in all of the eight tracks, but similar to the young and dynamic UK jazz secene this love is transported into a new free form. Laid-back and positive melodies invite to listen carefully to the music which surprises again and again: Different time signatures, infuriating arrangements and tempo changes give the album some sense of complexity without being complicated. Even though Marian Tone is the key element of «Key Elements» you notice quickly that here three musicians interchange on equal terms and have the time of their life!
Vocalist Robin McKelle delves into the catalogue of some of the most celebrated women of song, interpreting these masterworks through the lens of the jazz idiom. On Alterations, McKelle follows in a long tradition of female song interpreters, lending her sultry vocal stylings to classics by a diverse list of female innovators including Dolly Parton, Sade, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Janis Joplin, Carol King, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, and Lana Del Ray. McKelle is joined on this release by a group of consummate musicians including co-producer, pianist and arranger Shedrick Mitchell, acoustic and electric bassist Richie Goods, drummer Charles Haynes, guitarist Nir Felder.
In addition, esteemed saxophonist Keith Loftis is featured on McKelle's sole original composition on this release, "Head High"; and renowned trumpeter Marquis Hill is featured on Lana Del Rey's "Born to Die". The first single from Alterations, McKelle's rendition of Sade's "No Ordinary Love", will be released in late January. Alterations will be released on Doxie Records and distributed and marketed by the Orchard.
In the making of the album, most of McKelle's vocal tracks used on this final recording were takes she sang live with the band. On the recording process, McKelle notes "The energy and connection with the musicians was so powerful. They lifted me up and made it feel effortless. I've never felt so confident in the studio." The energy and connection of the album overall is palpable; stunning interplay is displayed throughout each track. Shedrick Mitchell was responsible for translating McKelle's visions for each of these tracks into arrangements for this prodigious grouping of musicians to perform. McKelle notes "Mitchell really understood my vision and did a fabulous job helping to make the arrangements come alive. We fused jazz, soul, r&b, blues and rock all while keeping a continuity in the music."
The album begins with McKelle's re-imagining of Winehouse's "Back to Black". A gentle latin rhythm drives this track forward; Mckelle's voice soars over Mitchell's masterful accompaniment. The album continues with McKelle's soulful take on Adele's "Rolling in the Deep", the band uses this song as a vehicle to explore the reflective lyrics with a wonderful, moody reharmonization. Guitarist Nir Felder takes a stellar solo over these changes. The album proceeds with McKelle's original composition "Head High", the artist's tribute to the female singers and writers who came before her. "It's about the power that the female singer has. To move people with her lyric and song. To be fearless. To touch people's emotions. To make change" notes McKelle. Consummate saxophonist Keith Loftis is featured on this track.
McKelle's delivers a spirited, bluesy rendition of Dolly Parton's classic "Jolene", a celebration of the lyrics in a decidedly different context than the original 1974 release by Parton which earned her a GRAMMY® for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. "No Ordinary Love" is McKelle's rendition of Sade's classic R&B composition. McKelle's fiery latin-tinged arrangement of this song emphasizes the ensemble's fantastic sense of dynamics and interplay. McKelle's voice ignites the track and is met with an impassioned solo from Felder. The album ends with a duo performance of Carole King's classic "You've Got a Friend". McKelle and Mitchell converse over King's lyrics, delivering the song's tenderness with her signature warmth and strength.
The songs on Alterations are diverse in tone and mood. The desperation of Del Ray's "Born to Die"; The exuberance of Parton's "Jolene". McKelle transitions seamlessly between the emotions of every song. And makes each one her own. To McKelle, alteration is all. As the artist notes "when you create change, you create space for something to shift in the world and in yourself. As an artist. And as a human. And that is a change for the good."
Jesse Royal, “one of Jamaica’s most important and charismatic new stars” (Noisey), is set to drop his new single “Natty Pablo” from his highly anticipated sophomore release. The single was released on Easy Star Records.
“Natty Pablo” is inspired by the many layers of Rastafarianism and the criticism it faced from the general public over the years, only to have come full circle with many of those same critics now following many of the lifestyle choices that Rastas have been advocating for years, from veganism to marijuana usage to spirituality and beyond. Jesse elaborates, “The reality is that many Rasta have helped steer people in the right way with what they have received from Creation, helping in the advancement of the nation. It has nothing to do with illegalities or physical warfare. It’s all about good people who are sometimes nameless who have little or nothing but do so much.” Jesse uses imagery conjuring the Narcos (such as Pablo Escobar) to show how the public may view Rastas as criminals, but the reality he is showing – and that he lives by – is that Rastas are giving back to their communities in abundance. Rastas “ain’t nothing like the Narcos….” They are “smuggling the truth / giving to the destitute.”
Jesse Royal broke out in 2014 with the runaway success of the single “Modern Day Judas,” and solidified his position at the forefront of the genre in 2017 with his debut full-length Lily of da Valley (Easy Star Records). That album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Reggae Chart and impressively hit #131 on the Billboard “New Album Top 200” chart and #36 on the “independent albums chart.”
Jesse Royal is continuing to establish himself and his unique brand of reggae music across the world. Keeping the genre alive is Jesse Royal’s mission as he continues on the legacy of the late greats Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Jacob Miller, to name a few, even as he begins to push the boundaries of his own artistry. Following Lily of da Valley’s release, he has toured around the world continuously, becoming a fixture at festivals and with his own headline tours, especially in the US and Europe.
During his career, Jesse has already been featured in Vogue magazine, has made a Vice TV appearance, garnered a #1 Jamaican single, and accumulated over 8 million views on a single video. Royal’s ambition is to bring his music and vision to a worldwide reggae audience and beyond. Alongside the successful career launches of his friends and peers - including Protoje, Chronixx, Jah 9, Kabaka Pyramid, Mortimer, and others - Jesse has helped spearhead a popular return to conscious lyrics and messages in modern reggae.
Drummer Brian Andres unleashes an electrifying new project with the release of Mayan Suite, the inaugural recording of his Trio Latino, on Bacalao Records. Though it finds Andres stepping back from his longtime leadership of the eight-piece Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel, the new trio (featuring pianist Christian Tumalan and bassist Aaron Germain) shows itself to be every bit as musically rich as the larger ensemble. What's more, the album's striking originals and zesty interpretations find the band equaling that richness with audacity.
Indeed, Andres created the trio in the hope of finding just such an emboldened style. With fewer voices, he says, "There's much more space to explore, for creative expression, and with that freedom there's greater responsibilities for all three of us."
In fact, Tumalan and Germain fulfill both their freedom and their responsibility in supplying all of Mayan Suite's original compositions. The pianist brings three -- including the title track, a five-part series of hard-grooving miniatures that packs fully realized statements as well as satisfying improvisations into a remarkable seven-and-a-half-minute journey. Yet Tumalan shows no less ambition in the adrenaline rush of "Viento Solar" or the wistful tenderness of "Si Tu Vez." Germain, meanwhile, presents dazzling, dancing Latin syncopation on "Escucha" and a light-stepping aura of mystery on "Higashi Nakano."
That is not, however, to understate the merit of the musicians' playing. Andres, Tumalan, and Germain balance their considerable chops with invention and eloquence, whether on the thrilling originals or the fiery renditions of Chick Corea's "Got a Match?" and the standard "On Green Dolphin Street." It's not happenstance that all three are rhythm players: Trio Latino's prowess on Mayan Suite, collectively and as soloists, comes in the service of irresistibly kinetic grooves drawn from the Afro-Latin jazz canon.
"Whether it's bomba or mambo, whether there's a hand drummer or not, those rhythms are represented," Andres says. "Aaron and Christian are steeped in those traditions. One of the things about this trio, I wanted us individually to have a voice of our own." Of that, Mayan Suite leaves no doubt.
Brian Andres Brian Andres was born Nov. 7, 1968 in Cincinnati, Ohio to musical parents: His father played woodwinds, his mother piano and vocals. The younger Andres naturally followed their example, taking up the drums at the age of nine. He continued through high school and into the College-Conservatory of Music before beginning his most intensive education, playing the blues with Cincinnati Slim and the Headhunters. It was the first of many gigs, in many styles.
Yet it was while hearing someone else's band -- a salsa band -- that Andres's life was changed. The neck- and shoulder-twisting polyrhythms took him over completely; he immediately formed his own Latin jazz outfit and began consuming the grooves wherever and whenever he could. He was particularly drawn to the concentration of musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of whom, Paul van Wageningen, was so friendly and inspiring that Andres soon made the move to Northern California himself.
It was there that Andres found his groove, so to speak. He jelled with Latin musicians of all stripes, found work in multiple projects, and fronted his own Afro-Latin Jazz Cartel -- with whom he recorded his first album, Drummers Speak, in 2007.
He has continued at the head of the octet for over a decade: they have received critical acclaim, recorded two more albums (San Francisco, 2013; This Could Be That, 2016), and worked with the cream of the crop of Latin jazz talent in the Bay Area. The Cartel's rhythm section -- the nerve center of the band -- comprises Andres's Trio Latino. The smaller ensemble has taken on a life of its own, one which Andres has now documented with the recording of Mayan Suite.
"Covid-19 and the resulting Shelter in Place order has made life very difficult for everyone," says Andres. "Many musicians, myself included, feel a profound sadness during this time, because we are deprived of our most cherished activity -- performing for an audience. Thankfully we can still connect with our instrument alone, in study and practice, which keeps the spirits up, but there is no substitute for performing. Because of this, Trio Latino is looking to do a live online performance sometime soon. We are working out the details now to be able to provide the best presentation possible."
Trumpeter Bill Warfield's Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra lives up to its name on Smile, the little big band's second album, set for a June 5 release on Planet Arts Records. The 12-piece ensemble locates and unleashes grooves from a pair of Warfield originals and several R&B and fusion classics, as well as a few more unlikely sources. They have some major league help: keyboardist and longtime David Letterman sidekick Paul Shaffer and esteemed tenor saxophonist "Blue" Lou Marini take seats in the HKFO alongside Warfield and his regulars, including trumpeter John Eckert, bassist Steve Count, drummer Scott Neumann,and vocalist Jane Stuart.
Smile's title refers naturally to the iconic Charlie Chaplin standard, which bookends the album in two versions (vocal and instrumental). Yet it also serves as a succinct description of the overall recording: an array of one joyful, kinetic performance after another, which gave the musicians of the HKFO as much delight to play as it does for the listener to hear. "We had so much fun making this album, and I think it sounds it," says Warfield, who arranged all 12 tracks. "For me, that's what it's all about."
Half of the fun is in guessing how the band might repackage the rhythms on Smile -- especially its less obviously groove-ready tunes. Indeed, surprises abound in their treatments of country classic "Ode to Billie Joe," featuring a soul-drenched Stuart vocal; beloved Muppet anthem "The Rainbow Connection," here a powerful jazz waltz with guest singer Carolyn Leonhart taking a tender turn; and "Theme from Law & Order," which becomes a hilarious mash-up with John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme."
Neither, though, do Warfield and company take the predictable routes on the Weather Report staple "Cucumber Slumber," Booker T. & the MGs' Southern soul linchpin "Hip-Hug-Her," or the Gladys Knight smash "I've Got to Use My Imagination." In each case, Warfield's arrangements find resourceful new ways to turn up the heat. "I approach these songs from a different standpoint," he explains. "with a deep understanding of what goes into making commercial music, but with a jazz sensibility." His charts are ably augmented with hard-charging, rewarding solos by the likes of guitarist Matt Chertoff, alto saxophonist Andrew Gould, and bari man Matt Hong as well as Shaffer, Marini, Eckert, and Warfield himself.
Bill Warfield Bill Warfield was born March 2, 1952 in Owings Mill, Maryland, just outside Baltimore. While his was a musical family (his father played guitar and sang, and both parents played piano), it had no hi-fi record player until Bill himself brought one home in eighth grade. He quickly became enamored with the trumpet sounds he was hearing on contemporary records and radio, taking up the instrument himself. He was soon good enough to join the Maryland Youth Symphony Orchestra and to study at the Peabody Conservatory Preparatory School.
A serious car crash when he was 18 -- one of two such accidents that would nearly end his musical career before it began -- scuttled his plans to join the U.S. Air Force jazz ensemble. Warfield instead attended Maryland's Towson State College (now Towson University), studying with Ray Moore and Hank Levy before leaving school to become a full-time musician in the Baltimore area, including directorship of the City of Baltimore's Port City Jazz Ensemble.
Moving to New York in 1980, Warfield quickly busied himself on the music scene: He toured with Paul Anka, joined the Bill Kirchner Nonet and the Musicians of Brooklyn Initiative (MOBI), subbed in the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, and formed his own band. In the meantime, he completed his academic studies at Manhattan School of Music (where he went on to earn a Master's in music), then took a job on Wall Street before returning in 1990 with his debut big band album, New York City Jazz.
From there, Warfield's career kicked into high gear. A string of successful big band engagements and albums followed, as did stints with Ornette Coleman, Mari Okubo, and Dave Stryker. He also became director of the New York Jazz Repertory Orchestra. The Hell's Kitchen Funk Orchestra premiered in 2015 with Mercy, Mercy, Mercy; Smile is the little big band's follow-up.
"I look at the world around me and I'm often baffled, shocked, even frightened by what I see," says Warfield. "No matter what I face, I still search for the spiritual strength, the peace to reflect. I am certainly no stranger to adversity, and realize that no matter how difficult a situation I find myself in, that this too shall pass. Confident in this knowledge, while I'm waiting, it just seems easier to smile."
In 2018 Far Out Recordings signed a record deal with Brooklyn born, nomadic producer Jneiro Jarel. Having just put the finishing touches to the recordings, Jarel suffered an ischemic stroke while living and working in Costa Rica and his wife Indigo was forced to set up a crowd fund to cover special medical transport back to the states to receive treatment.
The release was put on hold, but thanks to the generosity of friends and fans around the world, Jarel was able to get the care he needed and is now on the long road to recovery. We’re overjoyed to finally announce Jneiro Jarel’s new single "Banana Peel (Cáscara de plátano) featuring Masauko Chipembere" is out today on all digital platforms.
Throughout a career that has spanned over twenty years and seen collaborations with MF DOOM, Thom Yorke, Damon Albarn, BadBadNotGood, Portishead’s Beth Gibbons, Kimbra and Khujo Goodie (Dungeon Family), Jneiro Jarel’s consistently distinctive, forward thinking productions, as well as his love for the music of Brazil, made his partnership with Far Out a perfect fit.
Recorded between New York, New Orleans, Miami and Costa Rica, Jarel's forthcoming album After A Thousand Years features legendary multi-instrumentalist Bill Summers, famed for his work with Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones and Eddie Henderson. The album also features Malawian-American guitarist Masauko Chipembere who has worked with the likes of RZA from Wu-Tang Clan and Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets.
On lead single “Banana Peel”, Jarel’s outernational perspective makes for a track that is almost impossible to place geographically: you can hear the swing of Jarel’s native New Orleans jazz, the vibrance of Costa Rican rainforests as well as the influence of Jarel’s vast collection of Brazilian records.
