Jazz Is Dead’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge Partner with Azymuth

The instrumental trio Azymuth modernized the sound and style of Brazilian jazz with their electronic instruments, angular arrangements and ingenious synthesis of jazz, funk, rock and samba. After the passing of founding keyboard player José Roberto Bertrami in 2012, Alex Malheiros (bass) and Ivan “Mamão” Conti (drums) recruited synthesizer samurai Kiko Continentinho to the trio as it continued to build on their sound, now in their fifth decade of pushing the boundaries of their beloved samba.

Between 1969 and 1973, these musicians all born the same year in 1946, started playing together as in-demand session players, sometimes just two of them and often all three of them on larger sessions. They quickly found that their musical chemistry produced a sound that was greater than the sum of their respective parts. At the root of their collaboration were their shared influences, namely American jazz and a mutual appreciation for the foundations of Brazilian music. As session musicians the trio’s telepathic tightness, subtle funk lines and melodic mastery elevated Erasmo Carlos’ classic Sonhos E Memórias 1941-1972 (1972) and helped Marcos Valle deliver his finest album, Previsão Do Tempo (1973). 

In 2020, the iconic trio partners with LA-based collective Jazz Is Dead for Azymuth JID004. “This album is one of the most interesting rides I’ve ever been a part of,” says Younge. “In the ‘70s, Azymuth took psychedelic rock, soul, and jazz and made it authentically Brazilian. Together, we’ve pushed this concept even further for a new generation of record collectors.”

As a trio, Azymuth hit their stride in the eighties pioneering a modern, adventurous fusion of jazz, rock and funk all the while never losing the scent of samba. By the mid-nineties, just when it seemed like the band had lost their momentum, they received a much needed boost and acknowledgement from DJs, musicians and dancers in London as favorites of the thriving Acid Jazz scene that also helped to resuscitate the careers of fellow Brazilian musicians Marcos Valle and Joyce. Meanwhile, adventurous DJs and beatmakers, such as MF Doom, Flying Lotus and Roni Size found inspiration and novel sounds to repurpose from the trio’s classic recordings. In 2008, Ivan Conti joined forces with L.A. underground hip-hop royalty, Madlib for a collaborative album credited to Jackson Conti called Sujinho.    

“Saying it was an honor and pleasure to make an album with Azymuth is a huge understatement. To the crate diggers of the Jazz & Hip-Hop kind Azymuth’s music is very important. They are the soulful jazz side of Brazil with a dash of psychedelic blended in and a whole lot more. They are incredibly talented giants walking amongst us and they are very humble,” says Shaheed Muhammad. “I feel as if Adrian and I barely scratched the surface of what’s possible with Mamão, Alex and Kiko. The 004 album came together with ease. Watching them play the songs with so much vigor and delight taught me the importance of loving what you do. We hope that people will make this album a part of their regular rotation and I look forward to when we can kick it with Azymuth again.”

“A Redor do Samba” is augmented by Younge and Shaheed Muhammad, while the legendary trio of Ivan “Mamåo” Conti, Alex Malheiros and Kiko Contentinho dance around the rhythm—as the song title suggests—with one foot in jazz-funk and the other in their native musical language of samba. Saxophones, wah-wah guitar and synthesizers trade runs over the trio’s bedrock groove as the group moves in unison from the meditative outer orbit of the samba to its frenetic and propulsive core.  

The Jazz Is Dead team also wondered, What if the Mizell brothers and Gary Bartz teamed up with the Brazilian giants of jazz-funk in São Paulo in the mid-seventies? That notion is portrayed here on this album with “Sumaré.” Anchored by Alex Malheiros’ buoyant bass, this slinky sermon is named after the verdant and altitudinous neighborhood of São Paulo, likely a great place to take in a sunrise. A standout track from the historic collaboration between the iconic trio, Younge, and Shaheed Muhammad, The song is reminiscent of the dreamy instrumentals Azymuth recorded early in their career (when they were named Azimüth) using their musical instruments to draw outside the lines with colors called: Funk, Jazz and Polyrhythm.   

Jettisoning his synthesizers for acoustic piano on “Pulando Corda,” Kiko Continentinho kicks off this skipping samba-jazz tune, dancing along to the syncopated samba beat of Ivan “Mamão” Conti’s drums and Alex Malheiros’ bass line. If Marcos Valle hadn’t already laid claim to recording the soundtrack to Brazil’s version of Sesame Street, Vila Sesamo, this song, which translates to “skipping rope”, could have been the theme song. Adrian Young & Ali Shaheed Muhammad color the joyous melody with dancing marimba, pulsing Hammond B-3 organ, stacatto wah-wah guitar and pertinent percussion.

On this unique Jazz Is Dead recording with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, the trio once again demonstrates their ability to elevate their collaborators while also showcasing their distinctive sound, continuing to redraw the boundaries of Brazilian jazz, futuristic funk and their beloved samba.

Laura Benanti Releases Self-Titled Debut Album

Tony® Award-winning actress, singer, author and activist Laura Benanti releases her self-titled debut album Laura Benanti.  Available everywhere now from Sony Music Masterworks, the 11-track album features the versatile artist performing a mix of covers both classic and contemporary, breathing new spirit into everything from modern pop songs to jazz-influenced ballads. 

"I hope the album becomes a part of someone's own canon," says Laura Benanti of her major label debut album. "You could put it on at a dinner party or listen to it in the bath. It could speak to so many different possible moments. Across the board, the record really fulfills my desire for musical outreach. I tried to showcase some really great playing—and hopefully singing."

With her self-titled full-length debut, Laura Benanti constructs a diverse and dynamic solo statement, working alongside award-winning producer Matt Pierson (Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Pat Metheny, Jane Monheit), arranger Gil Goldstein and a bevy of seasoned musicians on the album. Through and through, the process highlighted every side of Laura's voice.

"We definitely talked about the songs as characters," she explains. "As an actor, I'm used to becoming and embodying other people. So, it was important for me to play the role each song required. I drew on different shades of my voice and personality to tell different stories."

The first story comes to life on the album's lead single, a cover of the Jonas Brothers' "Sucker" released earlier this year.  Above swinging piano, electric guitar, and finger-snaps, she transports Jonas Brothers' comeback smash to a smoky thirties jazz haunt with sultry and sizzling soul.  Laura paired the release of the track with an accompanying music video featuring workers on the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis as part of a moving tribute celebrating family and essential workers – watch here.  Proceeds from the track benefit FoodCorps—an organization which ensures kids who rely on school food get fed during the pandemic. 

Meanwhile, Laura transforms Selena Gomez's "Lose You To Love Me" into a bold ballad backed by resounding strings and a powerhouse vocal performance.  "When I heard Gil's arrangement, I was so moved by it," she recalls. "I was able to personalize the story for myself. I can hear the evocative nature of that memory in my voice, and I hope other people feel the same way."  She drew inspiration from Rosemary's Clooney version of "Don't Worry 'Bout Me" to track her own tender take and carefully chose "The Party's Over" from the 1956 musical Bells Are Ringing as a gorgeous denouement to the album.  Elsewhere, accordion pipes through her reimagining of Rufus Wainwright's "Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk," which she relates to as devilishly conjuring "my twenties when I got in some trouble." She also delivers a "fun interpretation of the anti-love song" by flipping Paul Simon's "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" on its head.

Maintaining a lifelong commitment to the arts, the singer also recently created an empowering campaign titled #SunshineSongs, which invited students whose school musical productions were canceled this year due to the pandemic to share videos of the performances they were not able to give, on social platforms. As chronicled by Good Morning America, she generated 4 million impressions and received over 10,000 submissions, attracting celebrities like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jennifer Garner to join the campaign. Additionally, she invited students to contribute songs to her free "Sunshine Concerts" for senior living communities and children's hospitals. The campaign's success further grabbed the attention of HBO Max who recently partnered with Benanti to release an unscripted special, called Homeschool Musical: Class Of 2020 this December

Rollins in Holland: The 1967 Studio & Live Recordings

Independent jazz label Resonance Records continues its ongoing tradition of releasing previously unissued archival recordings as limited-edition Record Store Day exclusives with a stellar new three-LP collection of historic Sonny Rollins performances, Rollins in Holland: The 1967 Studio & Live Recordings.

Featuring more than two hours of music, this stunning collection, drawn from tenor saxophone master Rollins’s Netherlands tour of May 1967, will also be presented as a two-CD set, due Dec. 4. The Rollins set succeeds Resonance’s critically acclaimed RSD archival finds from such jazz giants as Bill Evans, Eric Dolphy, and Wes Montgomery. Last November saw the release of the label’s poll-topping 10-LP/seven-CD Nat King Cole box Hittin’ the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-1943).

Resonance co-president Zev Feldman, known within the industry as “the Jazz Detective,” says of the forthcoming release, “The music on Rollins in Holland is extraordinary. Rollins fans will rejoice when they hear the news of this discovery. These performances follow an important time in his life, and he brought those experiences along with him to make this incredible music.”

 In a new interview with Feldman included in the set, the 89-year-old Rollins says, “I’m so happy that Resonance is putting it out because it really represents a take-no-prisoners type of music. That’s sort of what I was doing around that period of time; that was sort of Sonny Rollins then—a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am approach. It was very much me. And I loved it and I loved playing with those guys.”

The music heard on the Resonance album is drawn from a little-documented period in Rollins’s career. The musician’s 1966 Impulse! album East Broadway Run Down was his final record date before a studio hiatus that lasted until 1972. In 1969, mirroring a celebrated public exit of a decade earlier, he began a two-year sabbatical from live performing.

Rollins in Holland captures the then 36-year-old jazz titan in full flight, in total command of his horn at the height of his great improvisational powers. He is heard fronting a trio, the same demanding instrumental format that produced some of the early triumphs of his long career: the live A Night at the Village Vanguard (Blue Note, 1957) and the studio dates Way Out West (Contemporary, 1957) and Freedom Suite (Riverside, 1958). 

During his brief but busy 1967 stay in the Netherlands, the saxophonist was supported by two of the nation’s top young players, bassist Ruud Jacobs and drummer Han Bennink. The pair had together supported such visiting American jazzmen as Johnny Griffin, Ben Webster, Wes Montgomery, and Clark Terry, among others. Jacobs was a celebrated straight-ahead accompanist, while Bennink had developed a reputation as an avant-garde lion, having backed Eric Dolphy on 1964’s Last Date. The pair jelled magnificently behind their celebrated leader. 

Rollins in Holland brings together material drawn from three separate appearances by the trio: a freewheeling May 3 concert at the Arnhem Academy of Visual Arts, at which Rollins stretched out in expansive performances that sometimes topped the 20-minute mark; a four-song May 5 morning studio session at the VARA Studio in Hilversum, where Dolphy and Albert Ayler had also cut unforgettable dates; and two live shots captured during the band’s stand that evening on “Jazz met Jacobs,” a half-hour national NCRV TV show presented from the Go-Go Club in Loosdrecht and hosted by bassist Jacobs’s pianist brother Pim and his wife, singer Rita Reys. 

In his essay for the collection, Dutch jazz journalist, producer, and researcher Frank Jochemsen notes that while recordings of the Arnhem show (presented here with carefully restored sound) had been passed hand-to-hand by Dutch jazz buffs over the years, the rest of the music was only recently unearthed. 

In 2017, the four stereo tracks from VARA Studio were discovered by Jochemsen, and they were authenticated by Ruud Jacobs and Han Bennink as they were being digitized for the Dutch Jazz Archive (NJA). In 2019, Jochemsen also discovered the audio from the “Jazz met Jacobs” appearance in the Dutch Jazz Archive, along with a unique set of photos shot at the sound check and live broadcast of this lost TV show.

Sonny Rollins Trio - Jochemsen says, “I find it an exciting idea that so much has been recovered and documented from this modest tour and that the music is indeed of such high quality. Even more sensational is the fact that the whole world can listen to it now. The great Sonny Rollins at his best, accompanied by a great rhythm tandem, which makes me, as a Dutchman, extra proud.” 

An extensive overview of Rollins’s Holland trek is supplied by jazz journalist Aidan Levy, whose biography of the saxophonist will be published by Da Capo Books. Levy says, “Rollins in Holland is a resounding, still-urgent argument for jazz as a universal art form, transcending time, place and race. This is jazz at its most international and interdependent, with no boundaries or borders.” 

Rollins in Holland also includes an in-depth interview by Levy with Han Bennink and Ruud Jacobs, conducted a year before Jacobs’s death from cancer in July 2019. In it, the late bass virtuoso recalled the experience of playing with the American legend as “something spiritual. [There was] a very special atmosphere on the stage where I felt I could do anything.” 

The opportunity to bring Rollins’s exceptional Netherlands performances to the public for the first time has proven a special moment for Resonance, Feldman says: “Working with Mr. Rollins has been the experience of a lifetime, and I’m so grateful that he has put his trust in Resonance and our team to bring forth this newly unearthed, previously undocumented chapter in his career.”

Rajiv Jayaweera | “Pistils”

Pistils is the debut recording from Sri Lankan and Australian jazz drummer and composer, Rajiv Jayaweera. The album features eight compelling, thoughtful originals, which draw inspiration from Sri Lanka. Jayaweera’s compositions feature strong melodies and beauty, coupled with intricate bass lines and rhythmic interplay. His band of Chris Cheek (soprano & tenor saxophones), Aaron Parks (piano), Hugh Stuckey (guitar) and Sam Anning (double bass), truly display why they are amongst the most revered and sought-after musicians on the scene today. 

The album is bookended by two different versions of the title track, Pistils. The first is sparse and free of time, with the profoundly emotive vocals of special guest, Lara Bello, who sings the melody in an improvised language. It closes with a stripped back trio take with guitar, saxophone and drums playing the “Pistils” theme, with the style of the great Paul Motian trio in mind. The melody of Pistils is a monumental achievement, and the centerpiece of this wonderful debut from an artist overflowing with potential and possibilities. One of the most special characteristics in Sri Lanka is the variety of flowers that exist there. In trying to get to the essence of these flowers, you find the seed-bearing organs, collectively known as “pistils.” Jayaweera was drawn to the word pistils because it took him to the heart of these flowers. 

Ellstandissa, featuring the relatively unknown Thammattama drum (also known as a temple drum), a two-headed traditional drum played with a pair of fascinating curly wooden sticks and most commonly used in cultural ceremonies, incorporates rhythms from a Sri Lankan dance entitled Gajaga Wannama, or dance of the elephant, in 7/8 time. The main melody of the song is circular and haunting and is played over a counter melody that superimposes a polyrhythmic figure. Ellstandissa is a made up word combining the names of the composer’s grandparents.

 It’s fitting that the next track is Welikadawatte, translating to Welikada Gardens in Sinhalese. It is an area in central Colombo (the commercial capital and largest city in Sri Lanka), originally home to many large cinnamon and coconut plantations. For over forty years this was where Rajiv’s grandparents lived and a place he would visit each year. Musically, this piece is reminiscent of Ahmad Jamal’s famous tune, Poinciana. 

The Elephant, once again incorporating the Thammattama drum, conjures up the image of an elephant walking through the jungle. 

Hirimbura is Rajiv’s Grandfather’s hometown in the south of Sri Lanka. The piece has ‘stompy’ Charles Mingus-esque feel that is simultaneously modern and traditional in nature. The strong quarter-note pulse instinctively makes you want to tap your foot or click your fingers along to it.

 A Malkoha Bird is a tropical bird endemic to Sri Lanka with a long graduated tail. This is the only song on the album where saxophonist Chris Cheek switches from tenor to soprano, singing the melody like a bird.

Lee Fields & The Expressions | “Big Crown Vaults Vol. 1”

Unreleased recordings from the Special Night & It Rains Love sessions. Produced by Leon Michels.We are always sitting on a handful of unreleased songs that didn’t make their way to albums. Listening back to these gems we decidedto launch a new series entitled Big Crown Vaults and the first volume features the music of Lee Fields & the Expressions.These tunes were cut during the Special Night & It Rains Love sessions. Listening to these tracks you can imagine how difficult some of these decisions were in the first place to leave them off the albums. 

An absolute standout is “Regenerate,” a song thatfinds Lee in the country soul realm, a style that Mr Fields, a North Carolina native, flourishes in. A drum break starts the song and then drops into a chorus where El Michels, Paul & Big Bill Schalda belt out the earworm chorus. Lee sings an encouraging tune about finding your way out of a low point in a relationship while The Expressions lay down an airtight groove. 

“Thinking About You” takes it back to the dance floors with what will surely be a hit at Soul parties around the globe. An uptempo drum break opens the song and Lee launches into a tale about the unbreakable bond with his significant other and how they keep each strong through moments of hardship and pain. People who have seen Lee perform live in the last decade might have been lucky enough tohear his rendition of Little Carl Carlton’s “Two Timer”. 

For those of you who haven’t heard it, Big Crown Vaults has got you covered. A faithful version of the song showcases Lee’s gorgeous voice and the Expression’s unwavering groove. Another treat on here is the fuzzed out funk banger “Do You Know” where Fields uses his platform to address some of our societal woes in a “Make The World” style. A deeper from the vaults number is “Out To GetYou”, an instrumental that Lee never laid down vocals to. Even asjust a rhythm track it stands as a testament to The Expressions musical prowess, the band that created 5 studio albums with Lee Fields which will go down in history as stone classics.

Jersey Street | “Love Rising Up”

Jersey Street’s heady combo of deep house, spiritual jazz, latin rhythms and raw soul saw them receive some heavy props and kudos all around the world when they first appeared back in the day – with “Manchester’s best kept secret”, vocalist Dawn Zee, being compared to the likes of Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and Lauren Hill.

In 2020 the band are back with a brand new album “Love Rising Up” that returns to their original jazz roots and steps away from the dance floor to draw the dots between the influences of Roy Ayers, Rotary Connection and Betty Davis to the more contemporary stylings of Anderson Paak and Floating Points, stopping off for a drink with Nu-Yorican Soul along the way.

The album is characterised by lush string and brass orchestration, some world-class musicianship, and an irreverent Manchester attitude, with the band’s classic song writing chops always at the forefront.

According to co-founder Dawn Zee, “We began this process a couple of years ago as something very pure, based on the desire to make the record that we’d always wanted to, musically and sonically, without any reference to anything apart from our own taste. It ended up sounding better than we could have imagined, probably because of that very approach. It’s heavily song-based and draws on a wide range of influences. We’ve got some wonderful musicians on the album and we wanted to give all the players the freedom to bring their own vision of how it should sound. We’re really proud of it, and we hope it can bring a bit of happiness to all our fans and listeners. Hope everyone is irie. Stay blessed Xx.”

In 2020 the band are back with a brand new album “Love Rising Up” that returns to their original jazz roots and steps away from the dance floor to draw the dots between the influences of Roy Ayers, Rotary Connection and Betty Davis to the more contemporary stylings of Anderson Paak and Floating Points, stopping off for a drink with Nu-Yorican Soul along the way.

The album is characterised by lush string and brass orchestration, some world-class musicianship, and an irreverent Manc attitude, with the band’s classic songwriting chops always at the forefront. 

It is topped off by one of the the UK’s greatest vocal talents, Moss Side’s Dawn Zee, also known for her guest spot fronting New Order’s classic “Crystal”. The group has managed to capture all the energy of playing live together in the studio to create an album of rare beauty and a truly heartfelt soul.

Stone Foundation – Is Love Enough? – LIMITED EDITION (with Bonus Track & instrumental versions)

‘Is Love Enough?’ is the band’s sixth studio album and was recorded at Paul Weller’s Black Barn Studios in Surrey and produced by Stone Foundation’s founding members Neil Jones and Neil Sheasby. It continues their fruitful collaboration with Paul Weller who produced 2017’s Street Rituals and played on 2018’s ‘Everybody Anyone’ [both of which have streaming figures in the millions]. Paul contributes lead vocals to ‘Deeper Love’ and also prominent backing vocals on ‘Picture A Life’. He also joins the band and plays guitar on three other tracks (‘Af-Ri-Ka’, ‘Help Me’, ‘Love’s Interlude (II)’).

 Stone Foundation are renowned for their collaborative approach and this time is no exception. Legendary actor Peter Capaldi provides a spoken word coda to the album, reading words by Vincent Van Gogh written about love. Additionally, two rising stars of the soul scene feature on the record. Durand Jones joins for a lead vocal on ‘Hold On To Love’ and Laville sings lead on ‘The Light In Us’.

 Neil Jones says: “This time around we wanted to sing songs about love, that beautiful emotion we see in every town or city we play in. Not the trite, ‘boy falls for girl’ kind, this was the building bridges and breaking down borders kind and right now it seemed to us like we needed more of that L O V E than ever.” Neil Sheasby says: “We felt it was the right moment to move the big subjects such as hope, compassion, empathy and indeed love to the forefront of our writing. We wanted to attempt something ambitious. It was a joy to create, one of the most productive periods for us, the ideas just flowed.”

 ‘Is Love Enough’ sees Stone Foundation building on their growing stature but also on 22 years of experience of playing together. Having been pulled forward into the limelight by been chosen to support The Specials on a 2011 arena tour, the band has kept both grooving and growing! They have enjoyed national airplay from BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2 and rave reviews from a huge range of publications. Stone Foundation has played Glastonbury and sold out headline shows at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire and the Electric Ballroom. Last year saw two very successful support tours opening for Paul Weller’s outdoor gigs and Mavis Staples’ summer tour – they played to 20,000 people. This was followed by a 10 date headline UK tour in Autumn 2019.

This album is the product of everything that has come before it, a distillation of everything that makes Stone Foundation so special. Unmissable.

Natsuki Tamura & Gato Libre | “Koneko

Koneko, the latest release by Gato Libre, draws listeners in with its lyricism and simple melodies. But it is a deceptive simplicity. The trio, led by trumpeter-composer Natuski Tamura and featuring Satoko Fujii on accordion and trombonist Yasuko Kaneko, develop their solos to sustain a meditative atmosphere as they play, blending improvisation and composition into an integrated whole. It all sounds effortless and relaxed, but it is the product of great musical discipline, close listening, and a sophisticated understanding of form. The group’s eighth album is a quiet masterpiece of virtuosity masquerading as folk-like simplicity. 

There is a lot of sonic variety and musical detail in the meditative unfolding of the performances. Tempos may be slow, but there is always something interesting happening. On “Yameneko,” the accordion and brass split the melody, providing contrast. The stately flow of improvisations start to unfold over Fujii’s accordion drone, with trumpet and trombone working individually and together. A trumpet-accordion duet features some of Tamura’s best soloing on the album as Fujii creates a shimmering background punctuated by chords. A trombone-accordion duet provides a delicate setting for the graceful legato phrasing and subtle inflections of Kaneko’s trombone. “Kaineko” opens with a poignant melody and evolves into some of the most turbulent music on the disc before settling back into the original wistful theme. The group’s deep understanding of Tamura’s intentions makes it all cohere into a balanced whole. Each piece reveals new sounds and feelings as it progresses, from the intimate, tender exchange of musical ideas between Tamura and Fujii on “Doreneko” to the contrasting tones and textures of Tamura and Kaneko on “Noraneko” to the rhythmic tensions that propel “Ieneko.”

Gato Libre has always stood in contrast to the wildly energetic music Tamura made with previous bands such as his avant-rock/jazz quartet or in the collective quartet Kaze. The differences don’t faze him at all. “You know, I like Korean food. I also like Italian food and Chinese. I think the music is like that for me. I like the variety and differences.”

The group was founded as a quartet in 2003 and originally included bassist Norikatsu Koreyasu and guitarist Kazuhiko Tsumura. However, Koreyasu died unexpectedly in 2011and Kaneko was brought on board. Tragedy struck a second time in 2015, when Tsumura passed, and Gato Libre has continued as a trio ever since. Although the personnel changed, the idea of the band has not. “The sound of the band has been the same since I started Gato Libre,” Tamura says. “So I’ve never changed my approach to composing for the group. I want the improvisations of the band to carry the atmosphere of the compositions, which is serene and calm.”

Trumpeter and composer Natsuki Tamura is internationally recognized for his unique musical vocabulary blending extended techniques with jazz lyricism. This unpredictable virtuoso “has some of the stark, melancholy lyricism of Miles, the bristling rage of late ’60s Freddie Hubbard and a dollop of the extended techniques of Wadada Leo Smith and Lester Bowie,” observes Mark Keresman in JazzReview.com. Throughout his career, Tamura has led bands with radically different approaches. On one hand, there are avant rock jazz fusion bands like his quartet, whose album Hada Hada Peter Marsh of the BBC described this way: “Imagine Don Cherry woke up one morning, found he'd joined an avant goth-rock band and was booked to score an Italian horror movie.” In contrast, Tamura has focused on the intersection of folk music and sound abstraction with Gato Libre since 2003. The band’s poetic, quietly surreal performances have been praised for their “surprisingly soft and lyrical beauty that at times borders on flat-out impressionism,” by Rick Anderson in CD Hotlist. Tamura also collaborates on many of Fujii’s projects, from quartets and trios to big bands. As an unaccompanied soloist, he’s released three CDs, including Dragon Nat (2014). He and Fujii are also members of Kaze, a collaborative quartet with French musicians, trumpeter Christian Pruvost and drummer Peter Orins. “As unconventional as he may be,” notes Marc Chenard in Coda magazine, “Natsuki Tamura is unquestionably one of the most adventurous trumpet players on the scene today.” 

Critics and fans alike hail pianist and composer Satoko Fujii as one of the most original voices in jazz today. She’s “a virtuoso piano improviser, an original composer and a bandleader who gets the best collaborators to deliver," says John Fordham in The Guardian. In concert and on more than 80 albums as a leader or co-leader, she synthesizes jazz, contemporary classical, avant-rock, and folk musics into an innovative style instantly recognizable as hers alone. A prolific band leader and recording artist, she celebrated her 60th birthday in 2018 by releasing one album a month from bands old and new, from solo to large ensemble. Franz A. Matzner in All About Jazz likened the twelve albums to “an ecosystem of independently thriving organisms linked by the shared soil of Fujii's artistic heritage and shaped by the forces of her creativity.”

Over the years, Fujii has led some of the most consistently creative ensembles in modern improvised music, including her trio with bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Jim Black and an electrifying avant-rock quartet featuring drummer Tatsuya Yoshida of The Ruins. Her ongoing duet project with husband Natsuki Tamura released their seventh recording, Pentas, in 2020. “The duo's commitment to producing new sounds based on fresh ideas is second only to their musicianship,” says Karl Ackermann in All About Jazz. As the leader of no less than five orchestras in the U.S., Germany, and Japan (two of which, Berlin and Tokyo, released new CDs in 2018), Fujii has also established herself as one of the world’s leading composers for large jazz ensembles, leading Cadence magazine to call her, “the Ellington of free jazz.”

Yasuko Kaneko is a Japanese trombonist and composer. Born in 1965 in Chiba, Japan, she began with the French horn, but felt that the trombone was a better instrument for her self-expression. She studied classical trombone under Yuri Iguchi, and jazz trombone under Shigeharu Mukai. In 1992 Kaneko began playing in big bands, and by 1998 she was playing in small jazz combos and had formed her own group. Kaneko has also performed in Satoko Fujii's orchestra (Kobe), and with Danish saxophonist Lotte Anker, Japanese vocalist Koichi Makigami and others. She joined Gato Libre in 2012. Reviewing the group’s 2014 CD, DuDu, in Something Else!, S. Victor Aaron praised Kaneko’s ability to use “the wide resonance of the trombone to add color to these songs” as well as “her luscious articulation.” She currently conducts improvisation workshops and performs improvised music, jazz, contemporary music, and beyond.

South Florida Jazz Orchestra - Cheap Thrills: The Music Of Rick Margitza

Cheap Thrills: The Music of Rick Margitza,via Summit Records, convenes the Miami jazz scene’s finest players to explore the compositions of Bergeron’s lifelong friend and collaborator

Two lifetimes of master musicianship, three decades of friendship and fifteen years of one of the country’s finest undersung big bands all converge as bassist/bandleader/educator Chuck Bergeron and his versatile South Florida Jazz Orchestra present a wide-ranging program showcasing the music of saxophone great Rick Margitza. Featuring eight original compositions and a sumptuous arrangement of a timeless standard, Cheap Thrills: The Music of Rick Margitza (due out August 28, 2020 via Summit Records) is a document of warm camaraderie and profound respect, mutual admiration and engaging individuality.

The compositions chosen for Cheap Thrills span Margitza’s remarkable career, one that has included notable collaborations with Miles Davis, Maria Schneider, McCoy Tyner and Chick Corea, among countless others. The saxophonist’s journey has led him from his beginnings near Detroit to studies at the University of Miami and formative years in New Orleans before a move to New York City led to a fruitful tenure on Blue Note Records. He’s spent most of the last 20 years in Paris, where he’s forged relationships with such European jazz greats as Martial Solal, Jean-Michel Pilc and the Moutin Brothers.

Throughout the years Margitza’s path has crossed multiple times with that of Bergeron, beginning in the bassist’s native New Orleans, where the saxophonist moved in 1984 for a gig at the World’s Fair. It was at Margitza’s urging that Bergeron applied to the University of Miami, where he pursued his graduate studies and has gone on to join the faculty. In between those two stints in Florida, the two both moved to New York, where they roomed and performed together. Bergeron also appears on Margitza’s first outing for Blue Note, two songs recorded for the 1989 compilation New Stars On Blue Note, which announced a bumper crop that included the saxophonist along with labelmates Dianne Reeves, Eliane Elias and the soon-to-be all-star ensemble OTB.

“When I first met Rick, he was just an amazing tenor player from Detroit,” Bergeron recalls, marveling at the distance (actual and metaphorical) both men have traveled over the course of their 30-year friendship. “He’s one of the greatest musicians I’ve ever worked with, the kind of player that raises the level of all the musicians around him. For me, it’s always been a real special treat to get to play music with Rick.”

 That individual artistry and collaborative spirit made Margitza the ideal guest to invite for the 15th anniversary of Bergeron’s South Florida Jazz Orchestra. The stellar ensemble brings together the most exceptional players on the South Florida jazz scene, many of them Bergeron’s fellow faculty members at the University of Miami. The band featured on this recording includes pianist Martin Bejerano, guitarist John Hart, drummer John Yarling, and Grammy-winning trumpeters Brian Lynch and John Daversa. The various members share deep roots in big band playing and came together initially to celebrate that tradition. Modeling themselves on the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra (later known as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra), the SFJO undertook a residency at Miami’s now-defunct Arturo Sandoval Jazz Club, with the full support and occasional collaboration of its namesake trumpeter.

Margitza has his own history with big bands, from his early opportunity touring with Maynard Ferguson to his years playing in the renowned Maria Schneider Orchestra. As he writes in the album’s liner notes, Cheap Thrills thus represents “the culmination of a process that started years ago.” Upon receiving Bergeron’s invite, Margitza sent the bandleader a number of charts to choose from. “To my pleasant surprise,” he recounts, “[Chuck] asked if I would be interested in doing an entire album of my music. Needless to say, I immediately said yes.”

Some of the tunes chosen for the date take on additional meaning given the two men’s history. “Widow’s Walk,” for instance,” was one of the two songs documented for New Stars On Blue Note. “It’s one of the tunes that I most equate with him,” Bergeron says. “To me, it’s signature Margitza. We recorded it with a small band when he was first starting out, so it as very nostalgic and special to revisit it with him and my big band all these years later.”

The simmering “Brace Yourself” is another early tune, originally recorded on Margitza’s Blue Note debut Color. “Sometimes I Have Rhythm” was previously rendered by the Motor City Jazz Octet, while “Walls” dates back to the saxophonist’s 1991 date Hope. The album’s sole standard, “Embraceable You,” is simply a lifelong favorite, here arranged by Dan Gailey. “That’s a tune that Rick always loves to play with small groups,” Bergeron says. “Rick comes from a family of classical musicians, and the way the melody of ‘Embraceable You’ is presented, it’s almost a little violin concerto.”

The album’s biggest challenge came via Margitza’s intricate, nearly 10-minute composition “Premonition.” After rehearsals, Bergeron and producer John Fedchock had decided to divide the challenging piece into three sections in order to master it. As the band recorded, they reached the agreed-upon stopping point – and kept right on going, mastering the song, beginning to end, in a single take. Afterwards, there was complete silence in the room, until Fedchock’s voice whispered, “What did you think about that?” Bergeron’s voice bellowed in response: “I love this f-ing band!”

Born and raised in New Orleans, Chuck Bergeron has been an in-demand bassist for four decades. Chuck studied at Loyola University and the University of Miami before joining the bands of Woody Herman and Buddy Rich. After the breakup of the Buddy Rich Band, Chuck moved to New York and embarked upon a 15-year career as a bassist, performing, recording, and touring worldwide with a host of jazz luminaries, including Stan Getz, Dave Grusin, Randy Brecker, Sheila Jordan, Dee Dee Bridgewater, John Abercrombie, Tom Harrell, James Moody, Matt Wilson, Terell Stafford, Stanley Jordan and Elvis Costello. As a leader, Chuck has released eight albums, four of them at the helm of the South Florida Jazz Orchestra. In 2000, he accepted a teaching position at the University of Miami and relocated to South Florida, where he currently runs the Jazz Bass Studio and serves as Director of the Jazz Pedagogy Program at UM’s Frost School of Music.

Guitarist Tom Guarna Leads an All-Star Quintet on his progressive-minded “Spirit Science”

Tom Guarna – a guitarist praised by DownBeat for the “emotion, tension, surprise and passion” in his music – has assembled yet another “dream team” of a band for Spirit Science, his second release for Destiny Records and his eighth overall.To realize a vision steeped in Pythagorean ideas of the science “sacred geometry,” the New York-based Guarna convened a group of venturesome, virtuoso peers: reed player Ben Wendel, keyboardist Aaron Parks, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Justin Faulkner. These top-flight musicians richly complement Guarna’s textured guitar work, which blends his characteristically glowing electric guitar tone with otherworldly guitar synth and light-as-air steel-string acoustic.

The story Guarna spins on Spirit Science is that aforementioned fascination with “sacred geometry, those laws that drive everything in existence,” the guitarist explains. “It’s where math and science meet with spirit and matter – ideas that humans have studied since the ancients, from Pythagoras to Da Vinci. Exploring that changed my perspective on music, really. It’s inspiring to see how science reveals the patterns and shapes in everyday life, the patterns behind everything we experience from nature to architecture to music. Once you’re aware of it, you see those implications everywhere. With Spirit Science, I wanted to evoke those primary, essential shapes – spirals, circles, squares – in my compositions.”

DownBeat critic and guitar aficionado Bill Milkowski  called Guarna “an audacious chopmeister,” adding praise for his writing and arranging skills with tunes from the “kinetic” to the “evocative.” Highlights on Spirit Science include the burning opener “The Trion Re” (guitar and sax intertwining melodies), the magically limpid “Platonic Solids” (marked by guitar-synth sorcery) and the album-capping “Lullaby for Lena,” which departs from the album concept in a quiet, tuneful tribute to Guarna’s beloved rescue dog. The Spirit Science sessions, produced by the guitarist, were captured by veteran engineer George Shalda at New York City’s Sear Sound.

Guarna, born in 1967 in Brooklyn and raised on Staten Island, grew up playing rock ’n roll and idolizing Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy Page. He eventually turned his attention to jazz and started listening to Charlie Christian and Barney Kessel for the roots of the music, then exploring the likes of Allan Holdsworth and John Scofield for their modern phrasing and expressive vocabulary. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Guarna has become a guitarist’s guitarist on the scene, receiving acclaim for a sound marked by “fluid runs and a gorgeous tone” (Rochester City Paper). His hook-heavy Destiny album of 2017, The Wishing Stones, was lauded by All About Jazz for representing “a step forward in overall sophistication for Guarna as a composer and, consequently, as a player by challenging him to raise his own game.” The Wishing Stones saw him in league with an extraordinary group of musicians: keyboardist Jon Cowherd, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade.

Guarna’s ever-evolving artistry on Spirit Science sees him emphasizing a sense of song. “I think my solos have become more compositional,” he says. “And the writing itself places an emphasis on melody and space. I have become more comfortable with being more concise, resisting the desire to fill all the space with notes. I’m more patient now, I think, and drawn to the idea of song, including not only a certain kind of tunefulness but also a sort of emotive storytelling in instrumental music.”

Most of the song titles on Spirit Science relate to these scientific and spiritual concepts. “A Trion Re,” for instance, refers to the sixth Platonic solid whereby light is an object. “Of course, you don’t have to know any of that to like the music,” Guarna notes, “the same way you can rock out to any song without knowing anything about the concept of the album the song came from.” The inspirational concepts behind the new music also came into play during rehearsals. “The band was really interested in knowing where the pieces were coming from,” the guitarist says. “Aaron, especially, because he already knew a lot about these things. We discussed the subject in relation to the song titles and the musical material and was motivated to choose just the right mix of keyboard sounds to bring out what I was after in the music.”

Spirit Science represents perhaps the broadest sonic palette Guarna has conjured on record. Along with Guarna’s layered mix of electric, acoustic and guitar-synth tones, Wendel – who plays tenor saxophone on most of the record – plays distinctive bassoon on the memorial piece “A Reflection in a Reflection (for Kofi Burbridge).” Guarna says: “I wanted to incorporate another melodic instrument on this record – that’s why I chose Ben and his horns. This is the first time I’ve worked with Ben, although I knew his band and solo work.  I use so many effects with my guitar that I really wanted an organic sound, too – and his straight saxophone tone was ideal for that.”

The members of the Spirit Science band pitched in with creative input, particularly Parks with his ideas for different sounds and background elements, even for suggesting form changes for some of the solo sections. “Aaron isn’t only an excellent player – he’s very conscious of the subject matter of a song and full of inventive arrangement details, something I knew from his own records,” the guitarist says. “As for Joe Martin, I’ve played with him a lot, from trios to larger bands. I love his bass sound and his choice of notes – he has great ears. I had never performed with Justin before, though I knew his playing with Branford Marsalis. I had the idea that he and Joe would be good together, and I was right – their hookup was fantastic, so musical and sensitive to the compositions.”

At a time when so many people are looking to science to save us from our global plight, the concepts of Spirit Science may have special resonance. “Science and natural laws drive every part of our lives whether we recognize it or not, there in the background making up our world and our experience of it,” Guarna says. “As I said, you don’t need to know a thing about it to enjoy this music, but I hope the song titles are at least evocative food for thought. Mostly, I hope that listeners experience the album as an imaginative sonic journey that they can take from the safety of home.”

Tom Guarna - Over the past decade-plus, guitarist Tom Guarna has established himself as a distinctive instrumental voice and bandleader on the New York jazz scene, rightly judged by the stellar company he keeps. Prior to Spirit Science, the guitarist released the dream-team quartet album The Wishing Stones (Destiny, 2017), with Jon Cowherd, John Patitucci and Brian Blade. DownBeat, pointing to the impact of The Wishing Stones, said: “Guitarist Tom Guarna’s days of flying just below the radar might be ending,” with the four-star review going on to note how “Guarna’s slick and dusky guitar sound finds a welcoming home alongside three of the best players in the business.” The guitarist’s previous album, the hard-grooving Rush (Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, 2014), also garnered praise, with Guarna leading a quartet featuring Joel Frahm (saxophone), Danny Grissett (keyboards), Orlando Le Fleming (double bass) and Johnathan Blake (drums). All About Jazz said about Rush: “An unequivocally modern record that focuses on both Guarna’s compositional acumen and broad textural palette.” 

Leading up to Rush was a stepwise sequence of five albums on the Steeplechase label: Bittersweet, from 2011 (with pianist Peter Zak, bassist Paul Gill and drummer Willie Jones III); Major Minor, from 2009 (with Zak, bassist Dwayne Burno and drummer Billy Drummond); Wingspan, from 2007 (with Frahm, Gill and Jones); Out From the Underground, from 2006 (with keyboardist George Colligan, bassist John Benitez and drummer E.J. Strickland); and Get Together, from 2005 (with Gary Versace on organ and Mark Ferber on drums). Rochester City Paper said about the guitarist’s music-making: “Tom Guarna wastes no time in drawing the listener into a musical vision as complex as it is catchy.”

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Guarna has collaborated with a wide range of artists. He was part of the Grammy Award-nominated 2012 album New Cuban Express by pianist Manuel Valera. For the 40th anniversary of the epochal Bitches Brew album by Miles Davis, Guarna joined a supergroup with Wallace Roney, Lenny White and Victor Bailey to perform the music at the Smoke club in Harlem. The guitarist has also performed with such top musicians as Stanley Clarke, Mark Turner, Branford Marsalis, Randy Brecker, Mulgrew Miller, Billy Hart, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Greg Hutchinson, Javon Jackson, Les McCann, Gary Bartz, Fred Wesley, Mike Clark, Tim Hagans, Greg Tardy, Bob Dorough, Craig Handy, Uri Caine, the Yellowjackets, Buddy DeFranco, Gary Smulyan, Joe Locke, the Mingus Orchestra, the Allman Brothers, Helen Sung, Tessa Souter, Jimmy Herring, Rodney Holmes, François Moutin, Vincent Gardner, and most recently Oteil Burbridge. Along with jazz, Guarna has figured in studio sessions and concerts of music from funk/R&B, Latin and pop to Broadway, gospel and film scores. The great drummer Lenny White has said: “I sing praises to unsung guitar hero Tom Guarna. When you listen to his music and playing, no doubt you will, too.”

Jazz pianist RICK SIMPSON presents ‘Everything All of the Time: Kid A Revisited’

There’s a wealth of detail to discover, and surprises at every turn. ’Everything in Its Right Place’ sets the scene, with the horns framing a beautifully constructed solo from Simpson, leading into the hushed piano intro of ‘Kid A’ that builds and builds towards a dramatic finale of controlled chaos.

‘The National Anthem’’s fractured groove coalesces around a powerful bass figure, spontaneously created by Whitford: “Dave earths the whole thing, with his beautiful, massive amazing sound”. ‘How to Disappear Completely’ shimmers with banks of violins, ‘Treefingers’ is an oasis of stillness, and ‘Optimistic’ pulls the listener forward with its impetuous rhythmic rush.

‘In Limbo’ has a typically unique statement from Freestone, and ‘Idioteque’ allows Allsop to unleash his fearsome baritone sax chops: “Tori - she’s so free: she goes for it and doesn’t hold back, and she never plays any clichés. Her and James are such an amazing pairing - his baritone playing is some of the darkest, vibey playing I’ve ever heard.”

‘Morning Bell’ features a prodigious solo from drummer Will Glaser. “Will is such a complete musician: he completely understands the right thing to do in any situation. He’s a little demon!” ‘Motion Picture Soundtrack’ ends the journey with a hushed, contemplative ballad reading.

Simpson’s imaginative, free-flowing arrangements give his superb band space to unleash their own individual voices. Sometimes sticking closely to the original melodies, sometimes re-purposing elements as the jumping-off point for radically new explorations, he leads his creative cohort to create a thrillingly uncategorizable musical experience. This record takes the listener on a journey through an ever-changing landscape of powerfully emotive moods and textures, while still preserving the concise, focussed energy and emotional directness of the original.

A regular performer at Ronnie Scotts, the 606 Jazz Club, Pizza Express Dean Street, The Vortex and The Bull’s Head, Simpson has also performed at the Royal Festival Hall. In 2008, Rick won a Yamaha Scholarship Prize for Outstanding Jazz Musicians and has also appeared on the front cover of Jazzwise Magazine.

Jeff Cosgrove takes a new direction to celebrate the music of William Parker on "History Gets Ahead of the Story"

Drummer and composer Jeff Cosgrove uses his sixth album as a leader to celebrate the music of former collaborator, bassist/composer William Parker. On History Gets Ahead of the Story, via Grizzley Music, the drummer offers a unique take on the bassist’s long-standing quartet repertoire by rearranging it for the classic organ trio.  Saxophonist/composer Jeff Lederer (Matt Wilson Quartet and Bobby Sanabria’s Multiverse Orchestra) and organist John Medeski (Medeski, Martin & Wood and Hudson) push the boundaries to put their signatures on some of Parker’s most recognizable compositions. This is the first album to feature William Parker’s music without Parker providing the undercurrent with his singular bass sound.

This is a different kind of record for Cosgrove. Although the majority of the drummer/ bandleader’s recording catalog has focused on spontaneous composition, he is no stranger to celebrating innovative composers in their lifetime. Motian Sickness – The Music of Paul Motian, Cosgrove’s critically acclaimed 2011 debut as a leader, was released shortly before Motian’s passing. Much like the Motian Sickness project, where Paul Motian was instrumental to Cosgrove in helping with charts and giving him unlimited freedom in working with his music, Parker was involved in providing charts and guidance to the drummer. “I remember talking with William about his quartet music as we were walking to dinner one night and what an influence that band and music were on me,” says Cosgrove.  “He chuckled and simply replied: ‘those guys were pretty good at reading my mind.’”  Over the course of a couple of years, Parker provided musical scores to the drummer knowing little of how the project would take shape.     

Cosgrove released two critically acclaimed recordings featuring William Parker and long-standing collaborator, pianist Matthew Shipp – Alternating Current (2014) and Near Disaster (2019). With the encouragement of Parker and Shipp, the drummer began to really push the boundaries with these performances and recordings, understanding how to bring form to the formless. It was in this time working with Shipp and Parker that the idea for this album came to Cosgrove and started to germinate. 

“There is no denying William’s place at the vanguard of creative music,” says Cosgrove of his former rhythm section mate.  “But, he is also an inspiring composer which I feel often gets overlooked.  He writes beautiful and very tuneful pieces that leave a lot of room for improvisational excitement.”  Parker’s long-standing quartet with Lewis Barns, Rob Brown, and Hamid Drake had a huge impact on Cosgrove’s development. “When I first took notice of that band in college in the late 1990s, I was instantly hooked. The way that Hamid and William connected was the first thing to draw me in. As I got deeper into the music, the seamless communication between the quartet inspired a lot of my musical development.”  Cosgrove felt that this project was almost like a calling. “I wanted to do something with this music because it meant so much to me personally, but I couldn’t see the point of merely recreating it. There is so much flexibility in the way William writes that I felt like the music could take a different approach. I’ve always loved that classic organ trio sound but had never played in one.”

Jeff Lederer is one of the most recognizable saxophonists on the jazz scene today.  He continues to show up at the top of critics and readers polls. The drummer and saxophonist have played together for several years in various configurations and Cosgrove knew Lederer was the key to this project. “I began to be inspired by Lederer’s sound when I first checked out the Matt Wilson Quartet,” says Cosgrove. “He makes the music feel so comfortable with his huge sound and musical knowledge.” The saxophonist lent his ears to the early ideas of the project, as well as  the mixing process. Lederer is also the musical director for the Visionary Youth Orchestra, part of Arts for Art, a non-profit co-founded by William Parker.   

Organist John Medeski showcases his musical versatility and stunning sound on this album, confirming his musicianship is beyond classification. He embraces the classic organ trio while pushing convention. Lederer and Medeski have a history through drummer Matt Wilson. “Medeski, Martin & Wood were another band that appeared on my radar in college and really shook up my idea of what was musically possible,” says Cosgrove. “I knew I wanted John for this project from the beginning but had no idea what a huge impact his playing would have on the music.” The drummer and organist had never met in person prior to arriving at Applehead Studios in upstate New York. Medeski was unstoppable from the very first note.

The international jazz community continues to pick up on Jeff Cosgrove’s inviting sound and unexpected musical combinations.  He carves a unique path in jazz and creative music by choosing rural surroundings – primarily in West Virginia and now in Middletown, Maryland. The open space lends itself to a not-so-subtle connection to the drummer’s distinctive sound, one that is uncluttered, leaving melodic lines the freedom to develop under Cosgrove’s loose direction on the music.

Cosgrove creates opportunities to play with innovative musicians while never having been a part of a major city jazz scene and leads a variety of ensembles to push his levels of creativity.  Cosgrove’s working groups include an improvisational based trio featuring pianist Matthew Shipp and alto saxophonist Rob Brown, a trio focused on his compositional efforts with saxophonist Noah Preminger and bassist Kim Cass, and his longstanding projects featuring multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson and bassist Ken Filiano, and saxophonist Jeff Lederer and bassist Mark Lysher. Cosgrove does not show any signs of slowing down. History Gets Ahead of the Story marks another chapter in his musical development, showcasing bold ideas and the drummer’s unique sound.    

Soulful Jazz Duo ARIELLA Open Hearts and Minds with “Terrified”

With a fervor for blues, jazz and vintage soul, enigmatic duo, ARIELLA, passionately transcend boundaries, transporting listeners to the heart of what makes music timeless. It’s a fluid daydream, seeping.

With elegant vocals by the charismatic Ariella McManus, a singer with emotional depth and a songwriter rich with breadth, she eloquently combines stunning melodies with infectious grooves to create a catchy, immersive sound. Teamed with guitar maestro, Nicolaas Kraster, a talented wunderkind from Fredonia, NY that’s been compared to Ottmar Liebert, Paco de Lucía and Pat Metheny, the pair effortlessly craft an engaging path to the spiritual promised land.  

Flush with poetic imagery and musical intimacy, ARIELLA’s recent releases, (“Joy” & “Terrified”), are a great example of their sonic vision, one with increasing definition of the human condition. As she matter-of-factly emotes on “Joy,” "I don’t need you to make me complete. If I don’t make life better, it’s time for me to leave,” Ariella captures pain and hope with each passing note. With apt comparisons to the transcendent fragility of Etta James, Patsy Cline and Amy Winehouse, tenured jazz critic, Jonathan Widran, dubbed their repertoire, “Raw and soulful…beautifully combining a sense of defiant assertiveness and wounded vulnerability” while Skope Magazine lauds McManus, "By going for her own unique style, she is without peer. References to her performance recall the best of Adele and Alicia Keys. Everything about her delivery reflects a sense of true care and compassion."

With growing acclaim making waves, the group caught the ear of Internationally renown bassist/educator Victor Wooten (Béla Fleck and the Flecktones), who recognized their intangible chemistry, “ARIELLA is one of my all-time favorite bands. I love their music and their live performances. There’s no way to not enjoy them.”

It’s a palpable reciprocity. On their exhilarating 2019 EP, Live at the Hideaway Café, recorded during a St. Pete heatwave, the blistering set finds the pair excavating the essence of the classics, while delivering a cascading storm of substance and sustenance, bringing to mind a late night soiree with Antônio Carlos Jobim and Astrud Gilberto trading stories with the Buena Vista Social Club.

As the twosome continue to refine their sound, they enlisted award-winning engineer, Fabrice Dupont (“Fabulous Fab”), known for his work with Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, Andre 3000, Shakira, Les Nubians, Bebel Gilberto, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, to add his deft touch to the new material. Meeting at the annual NAMM confab in Anaheim, Dupont effused, “ARIELLA has the very rare ability to deliver pure emotion every time she sings. She’s a classic voice for our modern times.”

Both as a duo, and with their larger Latin-infused ensemble, Ari and the Alibis, Nic and Ariella play to packed rooms in Tampa, Sarasota, and throughout Central Florida, while also touring in Canada, the UK and across the U.S., including a recent debut at NYC’s infamous Blue Note night club.

New Music Releases: Clifton Davis, Milie Jackson, Mistura Pura

Clifton Davis | 'Never Can Say Goodbye"

It’s not easy to choose which of Clifton Davis’ many accomplishments is most noteworthy, although writing “Never Can Say Goodbye,” made famous by The Jackson 5 and recorded by dozens of other artists, may be the one most people are familiar with. Now, after a long and enviable career, the singer, songwriter, actor, and minister can chalk up another success, because he is finally releasing his debut jazz album entitled Never Can Say Goodbye. Davis teamed up with Beegie Adiar and her trio for this project. Adair is among the biggest sellers in the jazz genre. With 2 million albums sold and sold out performances internationally, the Beegie Adair Trio is one of the most successful working groups in the world. Also joining Davis are the renowned vocal group Take 6, who backs up Davis on the title tune, and vocalist Monica Ramey, who sings a duet with Davis on “Two for the Road.” Mark Kibble, from Take 6, also adds backup vocals on several tunes. Never Can Say Goodbye comprises three songs penned by Davis, a tune by Adair, and several standards. The album is lush and romantic, burnished by Davis’ smooth, warm voice and Adair’s laid back, virtuosic piano playing. String arrangements add to the music’s dreamy sonority.

Millie Jackson | "21 Of The Best – 1971 to 1983"

Fantastic work from Millie Jackson – a singer so great, it's hard to say that even 21 tracks could make up her "best"! Jackson first emerged at the start of the 70s as a really fresh voice in southern soul – one that was partly tied to the heartbreaking style of the decade before, but who also soon found her voice as a bolder, more self-possessed woman – bridging a gap between weepy soul and unabashed desire that makes her work on this collection so powerful! Producer Brad Shapiro was one of Millie's guiding forces in the studio – and together, they really helped reset the female voice in soul music with these recordings for Spring Records in the 70s – a great lineup of cuts that includes "Kiss You All Over", "Do You Wanna Make Love", "Loving Arms", "Bad Risk", "It Hurts So Good", "My Man A Sweet Man", "Ask Me What You Want", "Keep The Home Fire Burning", "I Feel Like Walking In The Rain", "It's Gonna Take Some Time This Time", "Never Change Lovers In The Middle Of The Night", "All The Way Lover", and "If You're Not Back In Love By Monday".  ~ Dusty Groove

Mistura Pura | "Blue Bus"

Mistura Pura, aka Federica Grappasonni, is as much of a vinyl collector as a producer and musician – and that depth of musical interest really comes through in this double length set! The tracks have lots of elements that draw on styles from the 60s and 70s – but the beats are often quicker, and the overall sound a bit clubbier – yet still has a vibe that's very original overall, and which hardly sounds like easy remix remakes of tracks from back in the day! There's lots of live instrumentation throughout – Fender Rhodes, Hammond, acoustic bass, flute, tenor, and plenty of percussion – all reworked by Federica, who adds in more percussion and keyboards too. Titles include "Midnight For Tommy", "Artistry In Rhythm (Mistura Pura rework)", "Stop Into The Bossa", "Summer Breeze", "Puerto Rican Blues (Mistura Pura rework)", "Street Beat", "African Circles", and "A Prayer For Odara". ~ Dusty Groove

Swedish Keyboardist Mattias Roos and American-Danish Smooth Jazz Star Michael Lington are teaming up on "Bring It Up”

A Scandinavian smorgasbord of the tastiest kind, Swedish keyboard player Mattias Roos has teamed up with Danish American sax-man Michael Lington for a fresh new take on the wonderful “Bring It On” that first appeared on Roos’ 2019 recording “It Goes On and On”.

This vibrant, groove laden and totally memorable number is not only everything that mid tempo smooth jazz should be but also one of four bonus tracks that can be found on a deluxe edition of “It Goes On and On” which was released in October on the Skytown Records label.

As well as “Bring It On” (that is included both as the album version and the radio edit) this deluxe offering also features a stunning high-octane remix of the Mattias Roos composition “Masterpiece” and the brand new never previously recorded “River of Love” that underscores the skill Roos has for fusing smooth jazz grooves with an authentic old school vibe.

Although a solo artist and ‘go-to’ keyboard player for several top-flight Swedish performers, many will know Mattias Roos as a founding member of the band Soweco that he formed in 2011 with drummer Peter Gustavsson. Roos has carried some of that distinctive Soweco sound into what is now a burgeoning solo career but with critically acclaimed projects such as “My Story”, “Movin’ Up” and most recently ”It Goes On and On” he has fashioned an identity that is very much his own.

As for Michael Lington, since relocating to Los Angeles from Denmark in 1990 he has built a reputation for being one of the most soulful sax players in smooth jazz. He is also a tremendous live player and early opportunities in this respect came when he joined Bobby Caldwell’s renowned touring band. He has also performed as part of a sold out, coast to coast Barry Manilow tour and as Manilow himself put it "Michael Lington is one hell of a sax player. He absolutely brought down the house every night.”

As a recording artist Lington’s 1997 eponymous debut set the standard for what was to come and now, ten albums later, he is still essential listening for all those who like their smooth jazz spiced with a modicum of soul

Matt Berninger's Solo Album "Serpentine Prison"

Serpentine Prison, the debut solo record from Matt Berninger—frontman of critically acclaimed group The National—is due October 2. The album, produced by famed Memphis multi-instrumentalist Booker T. Jones will be released via Book Records, a new imprint formed by Berninger and Jones in conjunction with Concord Records. In celebration of the upcoming release—the first on the new imprint—Berninger is premiering the video for the album’s title track today. Directed, shot and edited by Tom Berninger and Chris Sgroi, the video was filmed at Earthstar Creation Center, Venice, CA.

The album features contributions from a wide array of notable artists, including Matt Barrick (The Walkmen, Jonathan Fire*Eater), Andrew Bird, Mike Brewer, Hayden Desser, Scott Devendorf (The National), Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie, Lenny Kravitz), Booker T. Jones, Teddy Jones, Brent Knopf (EL VY, Menomena), Ben Lanz (The National, Beirut), Walter Martin (The Walkmen, Jonathan Fire*Eater), Sean O'Brien, Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan), Kyle Resnick (The National, Beirut), Matt Sheehy (EL VY, Lost Lander) and Harrison Whitford (Phoebe Bridgers). Additional production on the album was provided by Sean O’Brien.

Berninger, known for his distinctive voice and expansive live performances, has won praise from NPR Music for his “whiskey-soaked baritone” while Uproxx hails Berninger as “a master class in how to front a band.” According to The New Yorker, “fans of The National have had plenty of time to acclimate to Berninger’s voice, a heady, lumbering baritone, yet it’s worth reiterating its singularity. Listening to it, I often think of a deep-sea diver, weights slung low on his hips, being tugged toward the ocean floor. Berninger uses his instrument in artful and elegant ways.”

“The song ‘Serpentine Prison’ was written in December 2018 about a week after recording The National’s I Am Easy to Find,” Berninger explains about the new track. “For a long time I had been writing songs for movies and musicals and other projects where I needed to get inside someone else’s head and convey another person’s feelings. I liked doing that but I was ready to dig back into my own garbage and this was the first thing that came out.”

Berninger continues, “The title is from a twisting sewer pipe that drains into the ocean near LAX. There’s a cage on the pipe to keep people from climbing out to sea. I worked on the song with Sean O’Brien and Harrison Whitford and recorded it about six months later with Booker T. Jones producing. It feels like an epilogue so I named the record after it and put it last.”

In addition to his duties as frontman of acclaimed rock group The National, with whom he won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album for 2017’s Sleep Well Beast, Berninger also collaborated with Brent Knopf (Ramona Falls, Menomena) under the moniker El Vy for the 2015 release Return to the Moon. In 2019 Berninger appeared in Between Two Ferns: The Movie and teamed up with Phoebe Bridgers to contribute the song “Walking on a String” to the film’s soundtrack.

The Tibbs | “Another Shot Fired”

Record Kicks proudly present the The Tibbs new album “Another Shot Fired” coming out on CD – LP – Digital November 20th. Recorded at Electric Monkeys in Amsterdam, produced by Paul Willemsen (Lefties Soul Connection, Michelle David & The Gospel Sessions) and mastered in Nashville by Soul veterans Bob Holsen, who used to cut vinyl for Motown back in the day.

“Another Shot Fired” is the second studio album from the Dutch soul combo and introduces a new singer to the project, the young super-talented Roxanne Hartog who penned the lyrics of most of the songs on the album.

On the new album the formula remains the same employed by classic soul record labels like Stax and Motown: a super tight house band, first class production, some wicked arrangments and a signature vocalist. Think- The Marvellets, Booker T and the MGs, James Brown, The Supremes.

From the smashing opener “The Main Course” to the last dark instrumental groover “Circeo” the 12 tracks of the new album prooves that The Tibbs can do no wrong. The sound is vintage, gritty and raw with some extra doses of RNR on the bluesy number “Mama Says” and even throws in some sun soaked reggae vibes in their title track “Another Shot Fired”. Roxanne is perfectly at ease and brings the heat as she sweats her way through each number while the rest of the band deliver their unique super tight blend of garage soul.

Based around Amsterdam, The Tibbs took off in 2012 – fronted by Elsa Bekman – covering a lesser-trodden path, combining special soul classics with rare beat instrumentals. Their increasing popularity quickly led to a natural desire to expand their repertoire, beyond the confines of others’ thinking outside the traditional box and creating their own unique soulful creations.

Working right from the start with producer Paul Willemsen (Beans & Fatback, Lefties Soul Connection, Michelle David & The Gospel Sessions), the first EP “Cleaned Out” debuted in 2014. Later that year, the German funk label Tramp Records released their debut single – “Footprints In The Sand/Cleaned Out”. Two years later, The Tibbs’ first LP, “Takin’ Over” marked their debut with Milan based imprint Record Kicks. The singles “Next Time” and “The Story Goes” received critical acclaim on radio stations throughout Europe and North America and the 45s flew out the door in record time.

The release of “Takin’ Over” delivered the band far richer rewards. Playing sold-out venues in both Milan and Frankfurt. The Tibbs’ profile rose further still with wonderful festival performances in Germany and Hungary, followed by a successful sold-out tour of Spain. In late 2018, Elsa decided to follow her heart and focus on a solo career. The Tibbs duly began their search for a truly worthy successor, bringing astonishing vocalist Roxanne Hartog and the band together for the first time.

With new recordings in the bag and a great new album about to be released, The Tibbs are once more ready for lift off.

DW3 | “DW3”

To borrow from a classic quote about the late great James Brown: DW3 is today’s hardest working band in soul business, working fans into a dance and romance frenzy with their R&B, old school funk, jazz and Latin-fired magic via a whirlwind of nearly 250 live performances a year throughout the U.S. and beyond.

Since 2003, brothers Eric and Billy Mondragon and close family friend Damon Reel have set the high energy mood on cruises (Smooth Jazz Cruise, Dave Koz Cruise, Soul Train Cruise & 80’s), at jazz festivals, showrooms and clubs, including hundreds of performances at their longtime home base of Spaghettini in Seal Beach, CA. They also played a key role on Dave Koz and Friends’ Grammy nominated Summer Horns project.

With four Billboard charting hits – including “I Got You” (featuring Gerald Albright) and “Let the Music,” “I Can’t Tell You Why” and “California Dreamin’” from their hit 2013 & 2015 albums On the Floor & Vintage Truth – DW3 have also established themselves as a popular national recording group. The three chose to self-title their latest Woodward Avenue Records recording to reflect the culmination of their steady and inspiring evolution from ultimate, first call party band to multi-faceted artists, songwriters and producers fulfilling their own singular musical vision.

While their previous albums were produced by greats like Paul Brown (On the Floor, 2013) and the late Ricky Lawson (Vintage Truth), DW3 marks a major breakthrough as the first time Eric (vocals, keyboards), Billy (vocals, percussion) and Damon (vocals, engineering, editor) have helmed an entire project themselves. Since the release of Vintage Truth, the group has spent their rare down time from the stage building their own state of the art recording studio (complete with rehearsal space and a listening room) in El Monte, CA with the help of the Rico Caudillo, owner of ESS Labs, a prominent headphone and speaker company DW3 endorses.

To help them flesh out their vision, they invited high-octane urban jazz power to the mix with guest saxmen Boney James, Richard Elliot and Eric Darius and some of the world’s biggest studio guns. These include Bryant Siono (bass, guitar), Steve Carias (bass, keys, drum programming), Charles Streeter (drums), Carnell Harrell (keyboards), Rick Marcel (guitar), Brandon Brown (bass), Bobby Avila (harmonica, guitar, bass) and the three piece C-town Horns. Siono, Carias, Streeter and Harrell also served as co-writers and/or co-producers. The project also features a guest lead vocal by R&B Soulstress Rebecca Jade. Along with Rocky Padilla, co- producer of “Straight from the Heart” and Eric’s son Eric Mondragon, Jr. co-engineering.

“We’re really excited about this album,” Damon says. “It took a lot of hard work and perseverance to get this amazing studio up and running and dive into the process. We’re grateful for everyone who worked with us to get us to this point. After years of being known just as a “Party Band” On the Floor was our intro to the Smooth Jazz world and earned us a lot of respect from that community. Ricky’s production on Vintage Truth took us to the next level, and now we’re able to take our artistry even further as writers, producers and arrangers.”

“Sonically, our concept was to capture the same types of vibes we convey onstage,” Billy adds. “We’re a high energy live ensemble that also love lush, sensual ballads, and we kept that in mind when we were recording these new songs. We’ve had a lot of success with covers, and when we do our cover tunes, we’re all about the 70’s, 80’s and early 90’s, and our original material captures those eras with a fresh flavor. The album’s got a lot of grooving dance beats with some cool, smooth stuff in there to create the perfect balance. Our challenge was to integrate our old style with a fresh new sound and contemporary melodies. We still love doing classic songs, but the whole point of composing is to draw from those influences to move forward creating our own unique flow.”

The set list for DW3 offers a perfectly artful balance between smooth, seductive ballads and up- tempo dance/funk jams. If you’re in the late night, slow swaying candlelight zone, the band’s got your number with the silky and sensual, blues tinged ballad “Like There’s No Tomorrow” (featuring Rebecca Jade) the hypnotic, slow simmering “Your Body” (featuring a silky solo by Boney James), the sexy and sultry “Groove With You” (also spotlighting Jade), and two compelling versions of DW3’s re-imagined Con Funk Shun classic “Straight from the Heart” – the second a stripped down, nearly a capella version featuring DW3’s sparkling vocal harmonies and the passionate sax intensity of Eric Darius. When you’re ready to groove, hit the 80’s spiced, synth-funk driven “Now That I’ve Found You,” the spirited, high octane party anthem “Let’s Have Fun Tonight” (featuring Richard Elliot on sax and EWI), and “Never Gonna Stop,” which Billy calls the band’s “El DeBarge meets Michael Jackson with a new hip, fun flavor to it.”

Hailing from East L.A, California and growing up in the Los Angeles areas of El Sereno and Lincoln Heights, Eric and Billy began their musical careers in high school by playing club dates with their parents; their father is a bass player, and he and their mom are singers. DW3, an outgrowth of that original family band, which took the Mondragon’s sound and professionalism to the next level, has been an evolving collective of musicians since then. Damon, born in South Central L.A, also had musical influences by his parents. His mother and father have been playing and singing in the church for over 40 years. The core (Down With 3) members since 2003 are Eric, Billy and Damon. They became an integral part of the contemporary Urban Jazz scene in 2004 when they played on the first Warren Hill Smooth Jazz Cruise and were subsequently booked as resident performers at Spaghettini. Their first independent album release was Live at Spaghettini (2006), which they followed in 2008 with Life, Love and Music.

While performing everywhere from the Newport Hyatt Jazz Festival, Mallorca Jazz Festival Brian Culbertson’s Napa Valley Jazz Getaway to Bagdad, Iraq for the US troops. DW3 has expanded their harmonic horizons performing with and singing background for numerous jazz and R&B legends and popular contemporary artists including, Marcus Miller, Brenda Russell, Patti Austin, Bobby Caldwell, Sheila E, Jonathan Butler, Jody Watley, Brian McKnight, David Pack, Evelyn “Champagne” King and the late great George Duke.

“We are so blessed to have worked with so many incredible artists and musicians over the years,” Damon says, “and that continues on our new album with Boney, Richard, Eric, J. Lo’s drummer and bass player and guitarist who have played with The Jacksons, Kool & The Gang and many others. The three of us are particularly proud of this new album because it was a homegrown effort, with all songs joining together to form a cohesive vision while also having its own thing.”

Billy adds, “I love all the different styles we’ve got. Sometimes when you listen to full albums, you’re hearing the same thing over and over, but here, we’re still interested from one song to the next. It’s definitely not the same old thing. Echoing his band mates, Eric says, “That’s why we wanted so much variety and chose only the best of all the songs we had. We wanted to keep everyone as excited listening to it as we were recording it. So many artists these days only release individual tracks or EPs with streaming in mind, but we’re fortunate to have the opportunity to provide full length CDs to our fans and totally embrace the old school charm of a full-on album project.”