Andy James | "Tu Amor"

Two great passions have shared the heart of Andy James throughout her life: jazz singing and Flamenco dance. On her entrancing new album Tu Amor, those twin fascinations come together brilliantly on a Latin-tinged set featuring jazz classics, unexpected pop hits, and an original piece by James’ close collaborator, percussionist Alex Acuña.

Tu Amor is graced by a scintillating all-star ensemble that includes Acuña, pianist and arranger Bill Cunliffe, bassists John Patitucci and Chris Colangelo, drummers Vinnie Colaiuta and Marvin “Smitty” Smith, organist John Beasley, and a horn section that includes Terell Stafford, Bob Sheppard, Rick Margitza, Michael Dease and others.

Since launching Le Coq Records with husband, producer and label founder Piero Pata, James has quietly released four captivating records ranging in style from the elegance of the female jazz swing tradition to vintage R&B to the post-bop urgency of the classic mainstream era. But the label has taken its bow on a larger stage with the release earlier in January of Le Coq Records presents The Jazz All Stars, Vol. 1, which featured James on an energetic modern reimagining of Duke Ellington’s immortal “Caravan.”

Tu Amor is thus the first solo release by an artist on Le Coq since the imprint’s emergence as a major new showcase on the jazz scene, and James responded by assembling a repertoire of songs very close to her heart. “Tu Amor is the perfect expression of both my styles of work: jazz and Flamenco,” James explains. “It enabled me to touch on all the rhythms of both styles.”

James was introduced to the two artistic loves of her life by her parents says the singer, who splits her time between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Acknowledging her respect and affection for both her parents she continues, “I sang as a child, but I went back and forth between singing and dance. Both my parents were always encouraging.”

While both passions were instilled in James at an early age, Flamenco took prominence during what she now refers to as “act one” of her artistic life. She became renowned as a world-class Flamenco dancer, and she and Pata enjoyed a successful career dancing together in Madrid.

“My professional life as a Flamenco artist led me away from jazz in my home country to Europe, where I had wonderful experiences that gave me the opportunity to experience exciting rhythms and beats cursing through my body,” she recalls. “But with that art form one learns to live with a bag of ice and a heat pad. As the injuries mounted up over the years of performing I was drawn to my first passion of singing, which l had been doing from time to time in small clubs around Europe throughout my Flamenco career.”

For “act two,” James relocated to the U.S. and focused on her singing career, renewing collaborations with the great jazz musicians who had crossed her path while they traveled through Europe. Primary among them, and key to the virtuosic musical family that has formed around Le Coq, were percussionist Alex Acuña and pianist/arranger Bill Cunliffe, both of whom worked closely with James to realize her vision for Tu Amor.

“Bill and Alex were able to bring out all the feelings l needed to express,” James enthuses. “We all had fun, which is something I always try to instill in my work, especially with my fellow artists. With Bill’s wonderful writing and sensitive playing he always knows where to "leave out the notes." And Alex’s great sense of rhythm made Tu Amor a joy to record – which I think is something important to achieve!”

“Working with Andy has been a lot of fun,” says Cunliffe, echoing James’ joyous sentiments. “She’ll explain her vision of each song –say, a Sarah Vaughan feeling on one tune, or a bigger ensemble sound on another – and I’ll take it and run with it. I try to be faithful to the original concept of each tune, but then I try to put my own spin on it. It’s all about the singer and the lyric, and I’ve really enjoyed the experience.”

Of course, the Latin influence that comes to the fore on Tu Amor can’t help but connect James with her roots as a dancer. “Dance for me brings a sense of rhythm to jazz that I wouldn't have had without my career in Flamenco,” she says. “It enables me to play around with the beat of the music and gives me the ability to move on stage that is not the norm with most jazz singers.”

Listeners will have a hard time resisting the urge to join the smoky-voiced singer in moving to the vibrant music James makes with her expert collaborators on Tu Amor – whether swaying to the lilting “In the Still of the Night,” graced by the birdsong-like flutes of Dan Higgins and Bob Sheppard; imagining the dance clubs of Spain via Acuña’s percussion on Cole Porter’s “Night and Day;” engaging in a smoldering tango to the Mexican classic “Perfidia” or a romantic waltz to Henry Mancini’s “Charade;” taking a cha cha turn to the Gershwins’ “But Not for Me” or an ebullient spin to “Papa Loves Mambo.”

This is an album as rewarding to enjoy under headphones as it is on the dance floor, with the mesmerizing balladry of Mancini’s “Loss of Love,” highlighted by Stafford’s graceful trumpet side by side with the explosive album closer, Santana hit “Evil Ways.” On the latter, James switches off her microphone and dons her producer’s hat, ceding the spotlight to her incredible band for an exhilarating blowing session. At the heart of the album is another instrumental piece, the title track penned by Alex Acuña, which James rightly calls “sublime.”

“With my history in Flamenco, I loved having the chance to work with one of the greatest percussionists on Earth in Alex Acuña,” James says. “We had such fun and in the end l believe l chose just the right blend of music l wanted to express.”

Dave Restivo - Arancina

David Restivo is one of Canada’s most respected and influential jazz artists. He is a 3-time winner of the National Jazz Awards’ Pianist of the Year Award, and is listed in the current edition of Canadian Who’s Who. He is well known for his work with Rob McConnell’s Boss Brass and Tentet, the Mike Murley Quintet, and legendary songwriter Marc Jordan. With Arancina, his third album as a leader, Restivo has further solidified his reputation as one of Canada’s top pianists, composers, and bandleaders.

Spanning a lifetime of travels and tribulations, this album explores the transitivity of home in all its forms. With each track, Restivo illustrates his journey through a diverse landscape of food, language, and culture, all the while discovering how these elements have come together to form his own sense of self. As expertly crafted as they are distinct, these works will have you flying over the Northumberland Strait one minute and dancing through the streets of Sicily the next.

Train to Catania pulls us in with soothing, rolling harmonies that blend together as seamlessly as pastels on a canvas. Down the tracks we go, through the spicy streets of Palermo and on to a moonlit Modica, rich with colors that lull the ear into a hypnotic tranquility. We awake to the long-awaited taste of Arancina, a treat lush with joyful flavors. The sly modulations and energetic drive of Raven’s Wing take us in a refreshingly new direction, and are balanced out by a wandering, sultry take on Coltrane’s Giant Steps. Fawn Fritzen’s vocals lend a ray of sunshine to Bittersweet Goodbye, and the album closes with a reassuringly upbeat and sizzling  finale, alive with the electricity of Bebop.

The George Coleman Quintet in Baltimore

One of jazz’s most powerful tenor saxophonists, George Coleman, is heard at his freewheeling, unfettered best on The George Coleman Quintet in Baltimore, a hitherto unheard live recording made available from Reel to Real Recordings as an exclusive, limited-edition Record Store Day Black Friday LP release, and available everywhere now.

The high-energy set, captured at the Famous Ballroom in Baltimore on May 23, 1971 by engineer Vernon Welsh for the Left Bank Jazz Society, and restored for Reel to Real by Chris Gestrin. 

The set marks the second project from the Left Bank—which mounted live jazz shows in Baltimore from 1964 through the ‘90s—to be unearthed by noted “Jazz Detective” Zev Feldman, who is partnered with Reel to Real Vancouver-based jazz impresario and saxophonist Cory Weeds. Reel to Real previously issued A Soulful Sunday by vocalist Etta Jones featuring the Cedar Walton Trio. 

Now 85, Coleman was the product of the fertile jazz scene in Memphis, which produced such renowned contemporaries as Charles Lloyd, Phineas Newborn, Jr., Frank Strozier, Booker Little, Hank Crawford, and the tenorist’s longtime band mate Harold Mabern. From the early ‘60s, he was a noted sideman, perhaps best known for his 1963-64 stint with Miles Davis’ “second great quintet,” which included Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. He also made notable records with Hancock (the classic Maiden Voyage), Lee Morgan, Chet Baker, Jimmy Smith, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach, among others. 

Coleman cut his first studio album as a leader in 1977; he played and recorded regularly with Mabern until the keyboardist’s death in 2019. Reel to Real’s new release represents the saxophonist’s earliest available live offering fronting a nonpareil combo of his own. 

He is joined by trumpeter Danny Moore (whose credits include work with Quincy Jones, Count Basie, Oliver Nelson, Buddy Rich, and Dizzy Gillespie), pianist Albert Dailey (Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Hank Mobley, Kenny Dorham, Art Blakey), bassist Larry Ridley (Horace Silver, Jackie McLean, Philly Joe Jones, Randy Weston, Barry Harris), and drummer Harold White (Gary Bartz, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Eddie Jefferson). “This is one hell of a band,” jazz historian and archivist Michael Cuscuna notes in his comprehensive overview of the date. “This concert is a rare early glimpse at George Coleman in charge and, as always, playing magnificently.” 

In a new interview with Weeds included in the set, Coleman looks back at his days at the venue that was a regular hitching post for him in the ‘70s. 

“Oh yeah, the Famous Ballroom was great,” Coleman says. “We used to get up there quite a bit, with Wynton Kelly, Ron McClure and Jimmy Cobb. Those were some of the good moments. I really enjoyed playing there. The people were nice, too. A lot of black folks used to go there, too. It was integrated—I mean, black, white, whatever. They were there to listen to the music. It was a really great era.” 

Feldman, who selected the ’71 Famous Ballroom set from a trove of Left Bank recordings, says, “Cory and I have total reverence for Coleman and we wanted to roll out the red carpet for him on this very special production….George Coleman is someone who is extremely important in this music. Now that he's in the twilight of his career, it's nothing short of a blessing to be able to present this music for the very first time.” 

Weeds, who has himself presented the tenor player at his Vancouver club the Cellar, says of the Baltimore date, “Coleman is playing with reckless abandon, not concerned with perfection or even precision. He is clearly feeding off the energy of the crowd and riding high above the beautiful accompaniment from the top-flight rhythm section. He is going for it. The no-holds-barred approach that is his signature is on full display throughout this whole date, and it’s absolutely delightful.” 

Heatedly charging through Clifford Brown’s compositions “Sandu” and “Joy Spring,” John Lewis’ “Afternoon in Paris,” and puissant readings of “I Got Rhythm” and “Body and Soul,” Coleman ably demonstrates that he remains one of the most underestimated soloists in jazz.

 Neatly summing up the collection in an interview with Weeds, the band leader’s student and self-defined disciple Eric Alexander succinctly sums up The George Coleman Quintet in Baltimore: “It’s about the music and the music is f***ing great.”

A triumphant return for contemporary jazz guitarist Richard Smith

Last March, guitarist Richard Smith was in a battle for his life. Before the doctors and nurses administered the experimental infusions that he hoped would strangle the stage 3 cancer gripping his throat, his daily response to their inquiries asking if he was ready for the four-hour process that he went through for 45 consecutive days became an affirmation: “Let’s roll.” A year later and now cancer free, Smith is set to drop his first US single in five years, “Let’s Roll,” which he wrote with Billboard chart-topping guitarist Adam Hawley, who produced the uplifting track featuring saxophonist-flutist Jeff Kashiwa.

Shortly before Smith’s diagnosis, the former chair of the contemporary guitar department at the Thornton School of Music at USC’s former student, Hawley, sent a demo track of the single that goes for playlist adds on March 29 from Chillharmonic Media. “Let’s Roll” was to become Smith’s daily mantra before infusions.

“The clinical trial drug that I volunteered for was a daily four hours of intravenous infusion, as well as radiation and chemotherapy that drained my mojo to zombie levels every day. Fortunately, the drug is now in production and is a game changer,” said Smith, who lost 40 pounds during treatment and has an eight-inch scar on his neck from the surgery.

“Let’s Roll” previews Smith’s forthcoming 13th album, “Language of the Soul,” which he plans to drop in the Fall.

“The album title comes from a piece written by great South American poet Pablo Neruda, who I discovered while on tour in Argentina and have become a huge fan. The new album is a lively collection of pieces that I recorded over the last two years while living in Finland, Italy, Greece, London and while isolated here in LA. I wanted to get back in my ‘LA lane’ and working with Adam (Hawley) helped me get back in the musical headspace to produce music for an American audience,” said Smith who remains a full professor at USC.

Smith’s “SOuLIDIFIED” (2003) album spent 17 weeks in the top 10 in terms of airplay and his 2015 set, “Tangos,” spent more than five months in the top 10 of the indie and contemporary jazz charts. As a featured sideman and collaborator, Smith has recorded or shared the stage with contemporary jazz royalty, including Richard Elliot, Peter White, Kenny G, Dave Koz, Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair, Eric Marienthal, Brian Bromberg, Warren Hill, Everette Harp and Dan Siegel. Opportunities over the last ten years to perform, compose and record with international artists and at universities aboard afforded Smith the opportunity to combine his two loves.

“I can’t separate my passion for making music from my passion for teaching it. So, I committed to a musical life away from the States. I get summers off from USC, so I hop on a plane the day after classes and spend May to September abroad. My music has changed a lot, doing arrangements that suit European concert goers. However, when I met American actress Nancy Lee Grahn (General Hospital), I decided to return to full-time life in the United States and get back to my West Coast modern jazz roots.”

Although Smith describes the exuberant R&B instrumental groove on “Let’s Roll” as “very West Coast, very LA,” songs from the upcoming album tackle weightier subjects than just “palm trees, ocean breezes and great vibes.”   

“A few songs from ‘Language of the Soul’ have political origins. A big part of songwriting history are songs of protest and struggle. We are in such turbulent times that as an artist, it is impossible to avoid the opportunity to share the inspiration and social commentary that such times provide,” said Smith.

It’s possible that Smith’s cancer experiences may inspire more music that will appear on “Language of the Soul.”   

“A typical thing that cancer survivors say is that no one understands except the people who have been through it. That is so true, but it helps those who haven’t been through it to share some of the details – whether it helps them personally or one of their loved ones as they go through it.”

 

Power Roots Trio DELGRES Takes on Slavery, Immigration, Workers’ Rights on New Album 4:00 AM

The music in 4:00 AM, the new recording by the Paris-based power roots trio Delgres, sounds gritty and full of energy. It's a brand of Creole blues built on strands of African and French Caribbean culture, Mississippi blues storytelling, and New Orleans grooves. The lyrics, sung mostly in Creole, address issues such as poverty, slavery, and the struggles of the immigrant searching for a better life. It's a powerful combination that conjures the spirit of the blues to speak up, but also celebrate and heal. 

"The blues is not sad music," says singer, songwriter, and guitarist Pascal Danae, the founder, and leader of Delgres. "They might be talking about terrible conditions, about terrible losses, but the bottom line is hope." 

4:00 AM, scheduled for release April 9 on [PIAS] Records, is the follow-up to the trio's potent 2018 debut release Mo Jodi (I’ll Die Today), and its music and themes, says Danae, are a reaffirmation of the group's origins. 

"It is linked to the name of the band," explains Danae. The trio is named after Louis Delgrès, a Creole officer in the French Army who died in Guadeloupe in 1802, fighting against Napoleon's army, which had been sent to reinstate slavery in the French Caribbean. "Here's a guy who actually decided to give his life rather than go back to slavery. Once you have that in the background, you understand the themes in the songs. Our first album was linked to what Louis Delgrès did in his fight for freedom. Now in this second album, it's about our times."

 As the son of Guadeloupean parents, Danae was born and raised in Paris – once the center of the French colonial empire – and his perspective on colonial and post-colonial history informs his music and his message. 

"My father came to mainland France from Guadeloupe back in the 1950s, and my mother in 1962. A lot of people from the West Indies moved to France at that time," he says. "And many years later, we can see the same thing happening with people from Africa, risking their lives trying to give their families a chance of a better life. This is the background of what we address in this album." 

"We are all dealing with COVID and it's taking up all the space. Everything you can see and hear is related to the pandemic — and we forget that for these people, still struggling, reality has not changed," he says. "So we try to keep shedding some light on them and their situation just so, as a society, we don't forget. We have to be there for those who can't speak for themselves." 

4:00 AM features powerful songs such as "Assez, Assez," (Enough, Enough) the first single from the album and a snapshot of the tragedy of immigrants dying at sea while trying to reach a new place. "La Penn" (The Pain) is an unusual cry of "a poor guy that becomes a terrible person just because of bad luck." "Aleas," (Hazards) speaks of the anguish of separation, the age-old story of the immigrant leaving family behind as he looks to settle in a new place. "Se mo la" (These words) addresses the racism in those words that "burn my heart," while "Lese mwen ale" (Let me go) and "Libere Mwen, Libere Mwen" (Free Me, Free Me) speak simply and directly about slavery. 

Danae has a distinct talent for looking at large, global issues through the keyhole of personal experience and family history. His first trip to Guadeloupe, when he was already in his 30s, turned what might have been a humanitarian but distant concern into a personal story. 

"When you don't grow up in the place where your parents come from, you hear their stories and it all sounds to you like a tale," says Danae. "It happened a long time ago, you don't know the place, and it's not your story." But during that visit, he was given his great-great-grandmother's letter of freedom from slavery, dated 1841. 

"The paper said 'Louise Danae, 27 years old, and her four children,' and my great-grandfather was one of those children, and everything, everything that you've been hearing all your life suddenly becomes real. That was probably the turning point for what was to become Delgres."

Danae grew up listening to a broad range of music styles, from Cuban son, Haitian konpa and African music to jazz, the Kinks, and James Brown. He got his first guitar at 15, a gift to pass the time, and turned it into a career, first playing jazz and fusion in clubs around Paris, and later as a session musician, working with artists such as Peter Gabriel, Youssou N’Dour, Mayre Andrade, Harry Belafonte, and Gilberto Gil. In 1997, following his passion for British blues-based rock, he moved to London where he lived for eight years. 

It was while living in Amsterdam, where he spent three years before moving back to Paris, that he found a dobro, a resonator guitar with a distinct sound that completed his musical puzzle. “You have to let it resonate, and stop and listen to it, and so you start listening to yourself,” he says. “It was like learning to walk again.” 

In shaping the distinct sound of Delgres, Danae drew on his musical experiences and added his own take on the sound of New Orleans. "That's the Creole in it," he says. "New Orleans used to be part of France and the music you hear in New Orleans is very much influenced by the Caribbean. My father used to be a musician and in Guadeloupe they called the drum kit 'jazz'. They wouldn't say 'he plays the drums,' they would say 'He plays the jazz. '" 

Delgres features drummer Baptiste Brondy and, in a nod to New Orleans tradition, rather than using a conventional electric or acoustic bass, Danae chose to anchor the music with a sousaphone, calling on Rafgee, a Paris Conservatory-trained trumpeter who regularly played tuba in Caribbean dance bands. 

"As a society, we have no choice but to change," says Danae. "As they are, things don't work. So we try and get on with it. Delgres is so small to the world. We have a tiny voice, but we try to be who we are. Baptiste is not from Guadeloupe. Rafgee is not from Guadeloupe. They each have a different background from mine, but we're together, having a good time and trying to get people to come around to the simple idea that we can all live together. It doesn't have to be difficult."

AWARD-WINNING BASSIST AND COMPOSER ISAIAS ELPES DEBUTS NEW ALBUM

Isaias Elpes releases his newest album, “PACÍFICO” is available on all major streaming channels. In this 12-song album that unassumingly characterizes Elpes’s exceptional musicality, he is credited with the songwriting and complete instrumentation, as well as mixing and editing.

“PACÍFICO” takes its listeners on an emotional journey navigated from the bases of Elpes’s classical guitar and supported by his signature sound of Brazilian rhythms, Western classical music and Latin country sounds. The first six songs are full-band recordings, while the final six are solo versions – acoustic guitar only.

Widely celebrated as a touring and session bassist, the LA-based songwriter began his musical career as a classically trained guitarist in Brazil. He has been attached to such works as Gloria Estefan’s “BRAZIL305,” in which he holds both musician and arrangement credits, as well as “Acústico MTV - Tiago Iorc (Ao Vivo)” with special guests Jorge Drexler and DUDA BEAT. Elpes has worked with such legends as Grammy/Oscar Award-winning artists Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin, Tiago Iorc, Gloria Estefan, Marcos Valle and more - including his mentor Abraham Laboriel.

As a composer, Elpes’s music has been featured on international albums and soundtracks including his recent original score for the book trailer “Os Continentes De Dentro.” His original songs have also appeared in episodes of CBS Primetime’s “Zoo” and USA's "Rush."

Cemented with the release of his July 2020 EP (“LUA”), Elpes continues to distinctively establish himself as a solo artist and songwriter. The five-song album, which earned him reference to a modern-day Heitor Villa-Lobos, blends Elpes’s cinematic writing style with his Brazilian upbringing to result in a genre-bending collection of songs that flows through jazz, classical, world and instrumental music.

Isaias Elpes is an award-winning musician and composer from Brazil, having put down his roots in Los Angeles nearly a decade ago. In 2016, Elpes won the Grand Prize Bass award in Lee Ritenour’s Yamaha-sponsored Six String Theory Competition. Most recently, he toured with Latin Grammy-winner Tiago Iorc in 2019 on MTV Unplugged and the Brazil national tour. In 2020, Gloria Estefan released “BRAZIL305,” which included the hit single “Cuando Hay Amor,” co-arranged by Elpes. His discography includes the 2014 self-titled album “Isaias Elpes,” 2020 releases “LUA” and “ELEPHANT,” and the 2021 album “PACÍFICO.” For more information, visit www.isaiaselpes.com. 

New Music Releases: The Heavyweights Brass Band, Clare Foster, Jimmy Lee

The Heavyweights Brass Band - American Woman

In the first follow up to their 2018 album, This City, The Heavyweights Brass Band pays tribute to one of Canada’s most notable rock bands, The Guess Who. Recorded live from their performance as part of Toronto’s Jazz FM 2020 Bachman + Bachman live stream event, the brass band is releasing their cover of “American Woman” for digital streaming and downloading. The Heavyweights Brass Band has built a reputation as Canada’s reigning champions of feel­-good horn music. Over the last decade, they have toured extensively and shared the stage with Trombone Shorty, The Roots, Galactic, and The Soul Rebels, among many others. Their unique style never fails to move any audience and has earned them a loyal following from fans across all genres. 

Clare Foster - Kumbhaka

This album reflects Clare’s love of the American songbook and celebrates the diverse rhythms found throughout Latin America, also featuring three original songs.It presents fifteen grooves from around the Hispanic and Portuguese world, each one with its own unique feel and sound. Candombe from Uruguay exhibits the complexity of Latin rhythms which provides a backdrop for the standard, “I’ll Remember April”; Cole Porter’s “Just One Of Those Things” is given a Puerto Rican Bomba treatment, with a nod to the four trumpet sound of La Sonora Ponceña. This project is a melting pot of colour, carnival and diversity. There is a freshness of approach and concept that pays homage to the richness of these beautiful compositions and rhythmic experiences. Kumbhaka - The Space Between Each Breath “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our responselies our growth and our freedom.” Viktor E. Frankl

Jimmy Lee - Lovely Day

On May 17, 2016, Jimmy was inducted into The Legends of Vinyl Hall of Fame, R&B Artist category. He is currently touring with Blue Magic as a singer (second tenor) in the group’s front line, while continuing to perform as a solo artist. Jimmy is currently signed to SOCIETY HILL RECORDS and recently released a critically acclaimed full-length album with production by label head Butch Ingram. One of the standout tracks on the album was a fresh take on Bill Withers late 70s classic, “Lovely Day.” Featured here is a brand-new remix of the track, complete with a bonus instrumental mix.

New Music Releases: Charles Lloyd & The Marvels, Bob Baldwin, Valerie June

Charles Lloyd & The Marvels - Tone Poem

Charles Lloyd & The Marvels have released Tone Poem, a striking new album by the legendary saxophonist that is the first new release in the Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Series with the vinyl supervised by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray, pressed at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe Stoughton Printing gatefold tip-on jacket. Tone Poem features guitarist Bill Frisell, pedal steel guitarist Greg Leisz, bassist Reuben Rogers & drummer Eric Harland on a 9-song set with new Lloyd originals alongside pieces by Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk, Leonard Cohen, Gabor Szabo, and Bola de Nieve. Tone Poem is also available on CD and digital formats.

Bob Baldwin - NewUrbanJazz3 / An UrbanSmooth Suite

Disc #33 dropped on Feb. 26, and the splash has already happened, debuting #4 on the Billboard Jazz chart last week.This latest Bob Baldwin disc is a blend of Urban Music through a Jazz lens, this time featuring his touch as a vocal producer. Tracks by Lori Williams, LaRita Gaskins, Toni Redd, Monica Mason, GiGi Welling, Regina Trouxpe (all on vocals), also Ragan Whiteside, J-Fly, Tres Gilbert, Melvin Baldwin, Barry Danielian, Phil Hamilton, and more! Turn your bass up and get right with this groove.

Valerie June - Moon & Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers

Here's a record that may well push Valerie June over the top – a mature, fully-formed set that's filled with anthemic tunes that point the way to a whole new generation in soul! The album bills individual songs as filling certain needs – prescriptions, if you will – like stillness, awakening, trust, courage, and mindfulness – all words that go a long way towards describing the care that Valerie brings to her music here. The set is co-produced with Jack Splash, who really helps it hit some of its majesty – and titles include "Two Roads", "Fallin", "Smile", "Stay", "Stardust Scattering", "Home Inside", and "Within You" – plus the tracks "African Proverb" and "Call Me A Fool", which both feature guest work from Carla Thomas. ~ Dusty Groove

New Music Releases: GoGo Penguin, Bluewerks Vol. 1, Joe Chambers

GoGo Penguin - GGP/RMX

GGP/RMX is a concept that the UK trio GoGo Penguin have fostered for years and it comes to brilliant fruition as a vividly reimagination of their 2020 album GoGo Penguin. Each track from the album is reimagined as well as a mesmerizing new version of the previously rare gem Petit_a (which was initially a Japan-only release before it emerged on GGP’s digital EP Live From Studio 2). The group have personally enlisted an array of the world’s sharpest artist-producers and remixers. Listen to the single “F Major Pixie (Squarepusher Remix).”

Bluewerks Vol. 1 - Up Down Left Right

Two iconic labels—Astralwerks and Blue Note Records—have teamed up to create Bluewerks, a new series of Lo-Fi compilations where downtempo electronica meets jazz-infused sounds across a variety of themes and moods. The first collection Bluewerks, Vol. 1: Up Down Left Right is out today, an 8-track EP introduced by BBC Radio 1’s Pete Tong that features established and up-and-coming Lo-Fi creators including Zmeyev, Sebastian Kamae, tysu, Saib, G Mills, hiyasu, and Phlocalyst. Dreamy, relaxing, and vibey, Bluewerks draws its essence from the rich musical legacies of these two labels, each of which represent excellence in their genre. 

Joe Chambers - Samba de Maracatu

Joe Chambers has released Samba de Maracatu, a notable Blue Note return for a significant figure in the label’s history. The album is a 9-song set of original compositions, standards, and pieces by Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, and Horace Silver that features Chambers performing drums, vibraphone, and percussion with Brad Merritt on keyboards and Steve Haines on bass. Special guests include vocalist Stephanie Jordan on a simmering version of “Never Let Me Go,” and MC Parrain on “New York State of Mind Rain,” an inventive mashup of Nas’ 1994 hip-hop staple “N.Y. State of Mind” and Chambers’ 1978 piece “Mind Rain,” which DJ Premiere sampled to construct Nas’ classic.

New Music Releases: Norah Jones, Tony Allen, Blue Lab Beats

Norah Jones - 'Til We Meet Again

Nearly two decades into her storied career singer, songwriter & pianist Norah Jones will release her first full live album ‘Til We Meet Again on April 16. The collection presents globe-spanning performances from the U.S., France, Italy, Brazil, and Argentina that were recorded between 2017-2019. The first single “It Was You” was recorded at the 2018 Ohana Festival in Dana Point, California with Pete Remm on organ, Christopher Thomas on bass, and Brian Blade on drums. Additional musicians featured on the album include bassist Jesse Murphy, guitarist Jesse Harris, flutist Jorge Continentino, and percussionist Marcelo Costa. ‘Til We Meet Again can be pre-ordered now on vinyl, CD, or digital download.

Tony Allen - There Is No End

“I play yours, you play mine. The music never ends.” Tony Allen's wisdom was as deep as his grooves, and these words capture the spirit of There is No End, a posthumous album from the legendary Afrobeat drummer to be released on April 30 on the one-year anniversary of his death. Allen’s motivating concept and desire was to work with younger artists, especially the new generation of rappers, and to give them a voice in a time of global turmoil when music has never been more important. The album features guests including Sampa The Great, Danny Brown, Lava La Rue, Damon Albarn and more. Listen to the first single “Cosmosis (ft. Skepta & Ben Okiri).”

Blue Lab Beats - Blow You Away (Delilah)

Following their appearance on Blue Note Re:imagined remaking Bobby Hutcherson’s “Montara,” the London duo Blue Lab Beats—producer NK-OK and multi-instrumentalist Mr DM—have released their first musical offering of 2021 with the irrepressible new single “Blow You Away (Delilah)” featuring Ghetto Boy. The single is the lead track on Blue Lab Beats’ forthcoming EP We Will Rise, which comes out May 14. The five-track EP is a project from the heart, intended to offer healing and hope to those wearied by racism and prejudice. It’s music that variously celebrates resilience, provides reassurance, and sparks joy.

Jazz/Funk Grover Washington Jr & Benny Barksdale Jr - Mister Magic

October 24, 1992 was a fateful day indeed for saxophonist Benny Barksdale, Jr. In the week leading up to the event, an impending concert from saxophone legend Grover Washington, Jr. that was to take place in Red Bank, New Jersey, Washington had been in New York doing interviews to prepare for a series of upcoming shows taking place in the Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. One of the people that had reached out to Grover during the week was the young saxophonist Benny Barksdale, Jr., a long-time fan, acolyte and professional musician who was a member of Chicago Soul giants The Dells and a top session player whose talent was in demand on many sessions, among them as a frequent member of The Society Hill Orchestra. Grover invited Benny to come meet him before the Red Bank show and meet they certainly did. They hit it off so well that Grover invited Benny to perform with the band that night. Truly a dream come true, Washington called Barksdale to the stage of the Count Basie Theatre to play on one his favorite tunes, the worldwide hit, "Mister Magic." Grover awarded Benny an extended solo and the young Mr. Barksdale acquitted himself magnificently as he and his idol exchanged choruses. Thankfully, this momentous occasion was recorded, and it was a night that Barksdale would never forget. Presented here is Grover Washington, Jr. and Benny Barksdale, Jr. delivering an awesome rendition of Grover’s smash, "Mister Magic."

Smooth Jazz Swedish Pianist Star Mattias Roos feat. Paul Brown “Commercial Free”

Flourishing in the smooth jazz friendly confines of Skytown Records, Swedish keyboard player Mattias Roos is back with his latest single “Commercial Free”. Finding him in cool collaboration with hit maker, guitarist and double Grammy winner Paul Brown this joyous mellifluous and uplifting number looks certain to lay siege to the smooth jazz charts for some time to come and is replete with the trademark vibe that Mattias has very much made is own. Indeed his penchant for sublimely fusing smooth jazz grooves with an authentic old school vibe first emerged in 2011 with the band Soweco that he formed with drummer Peter Gustavsson. 

His Skytown debut came in 2017 with the critically acclaimed album “Movin’ Up” and the equally good “It Goes On and On” followed two years later. However, that wasn’t quite the end of the “It Goes On and On” story. In 2020 it was released as a deluxe version with four additional tracks and an outstanding reworking of “Bring It On” that this time featured Michael Lington on sax and proved to be a runaway chart success. As for Paul Brown, with a string of hit albums to his name, it is easy to forget that before he became a chart topping smooth jazz guitarist he was (and remains) one of the most influential producers of the genre. Not only that, and in common with Roos, Brown has always been ready to explore areas previously untouched by contemporary jazz. In so doing he has created that special “Paul Brown sound”, a delicious melange that lays somewhere between rock, smooth jazz and chill.  It makes the statement that suddenly it is very OK to blend smooth jazz with guitar driven rock. Sumptuous music plus inspirational artistry from two of the best in the business and all of it totally “Commercial Free”.

Saxophonist Marion Meadows "Twice As Nice"

Marion Meadows’ creative spirit is in perpetual motion.  An avid and passionate cyclist with a zest for life, the debonair chart-topping saxophonist is also an accomplished photographer and visual artist. He earned his Doctorate in Arts and Humanities from Wilberforce University in 2016. Marion’s story of his ascent to fame is the stuff of legend. You might wonder what Star Trek, Star Ship and stardom have in common?  Let’s just say the stars first aligned when Marion was heard playing his sax in Grand Central Station. Emmy-winning TV composer Jay Chattaway of Star Trek fame heard him and introduced Marion to iconic Grammy-winnng pianist Bob James who ended up helping Marion launch his solo career. The universe’s plans did not stop there, as it was not long before drummer and producer extraordinaire Norman Brown invited Meadows to board his Star Ship. Traveling at the speed of light, three decades later, Meadows who says his purpose is to “keep humanity moving forward,” stands as one of the premiere architects of Contemporary Jazz. 

On April 23, 2021, Shanachie Entertainment will release Meadows’ latest album, his 16th recording as a leader, Twice As Nice. The Nashville based saxophonist explains the title is a play on words. “Well, it certainly is Twice As Nice to have a brother and sister such as I have,” confides Marion who has collaborated with everyone from George Benson and Stevie Wonder to The Temptations.  He adds, “Otha and Barbara are the best, and I am truly blessed to have them as siblings. The title also alludes to the joy I get from spinning my musical web into my albums and my artistic canvas. I guess it's just that restless side of my brain that rarely rests!” Twice As Nice is an uplifting celebration that unites Marion with a who’s who list in Contemporary Jazz including Paul Brown, Chris “Big Dog” Davis, Jeff Lorber, Dave Mann, Steve Oliver and Joey Sommervile, among others. Marion reflects, “These guys are musical giants and I am so blessed to be in such a giving community.

New Music Releases: Gene Russell, Bill Brandon, Kuzu

Gene Russell - New Direction

Sweet funky jazz from pianist Gene Russell – one of the hippest albums he ever recorded! Russell's a pianist with a wonderfully fluid touch – used here to near perfection in a small combo date that really stands out from most of his other albums – just the kind of effort we'd have to expect at the time, given that Gene was the head of the Black Jazz label! The sound is acoustic, but has a definite sense of electricity to Russell's phrasing on the piano – a bit like work from Vince Guaraldi from the time, when he was shifting between acoustic and electric – as if the latter instrument held on and helped shape the acoustic sound. The rest of the group features Henry Franklin on bass, Steve Glover on drums, and Tony William on congas – and the groove is kind of a soulful extrapolation of a core piano trio vibe – 60s soul jazz taken to hipper 70s territory. Titles include a great cover of "Listen Here", plus "Black Orchid", "Hitting the Jug", "Making Bread", and a version of "Silver's Serenade". ~ Dusty Groove

Bill Brandon – Bill Brandon

Superb late 70’s soul set for all the steppers out there. Bill Brandon’s sole long player is a truly rare beast to spot in the wild. Having never been repressed on vinyl since it’s 1977 release, this s/t effort is a true soul connoisseur’s dream and features a plethora of noted session players and of course the production prowess of the cult Jesse Boyce and Moses Dillard partnership. All in all a top top shelf addition to any self-respecting soul fans collection and selection. Fully and legitimately reissued here in its entirety to help ring in Canadian music powerhouse Unidisc’s 40th anniversary. This one is an essential and will certainly be on a lot of people’s wants lists – do not sleep! ~ firstexperience.com

Kuzu (Dave Rempis / Tashi Dorji / Tyler Damon) - Glass Delusion

Kuzu is fast becoming one of the more compelling settings for the saxophone talents of the great Dave Rempis – as the blend of sounds here really sets things apart from other improvised combos, even though the elements are all very familiar! Tashi Dorji has a way of handling the guitar that creates lots of sharp edges and bold moments – much fiercer than the legacy of improvisers like Derek Bailey or Fred Frith – and really full-on at moments when the drums of Tyler Damon take off! Rempis is as deft at these moments as he is in some of the sparer, more open passages – blowing alto, tenor, and baritone on the two long tracks on the record – "It Simply Becomes Jammed" and "Gnash". ~ Dusty Groove

New Music Releases: Behn Gillece, Kenako, Flow Trio with Joe McPhee

Behn Gillece - Still Doing Our Thing

One of the greatest contemporary talents on vibes – sounding great here in the company of a very tight quartet! In truth, the group was the "pod" of Behn Gillece during 2020 – players that really know each other, and who work together effortlessly here on a set of tunes that explode with the kinds of colors and tones we've always loved in Behn's music! All tracks are original, which furthers the special, intimate vibe of the group – written and performed by a quartet that features Art Hirihara on piano and Fender Rhodes, Boris Kozlov on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums – matching the energy of Gillece at every turn, on titles that include "Rattles", "Extraction", "Event Horizon", "Going On Well", "Don't Despair", "Outnumbered", and "Glad To Be Back". ~ Dusty Groove

Kenako - Kenako

Kenako bill themselves as an Afro Funk orchestra, but the group are much more offbeat and have a style that's very much their own – very much in the spirit of some of their contemporaries on the St Petersburg scene in Russia! The lineup is certainly large, and has the sorts of horns you might expect – but there's lots more going on too – including some really inventive rhythms, and "vocal acrobatics" instead of lyrics – which make for a style that's heavily instrumental, and just seems to use the voice as one more element in the heady mix of sounds! There's no keyboard at all in the group – just guitar, bass, drums, percussion, and horns – plus a bit of turntable on one cut too – and the album features the long tracks "Batat", "Protea", "Ebonyphonics", and "27 Women". ~ Dusty Groove

Flow Trio with Joe McPhee - Winter Garden

The legendary Joe McPhee makes a great appearance here – pushing the Flow Trio to a level of intensity that makes the album rival some of the mid 60s greats from the early years of the ESP label! The sound is wonderfully full and free – McPhee just blowing tenor, with a fantastic tone – alongside the tenor and soprano of Louie Belogenis, the bass of Joe Morris, and drums of Charles Downs – three players who definitely know and understand each others' energy, and work together seamlessly at level that just makes the contributions of McPhee more icing on the cake. The whole album is freely improvised, and with a nice sense of variety – on selections that include "Harbinger", "Recombinant", "Rabble Rouser", "Glistening", "Accretion", and "Winter Garden". ~ Dusty Groove

New Music Releases: Throttle Elevator Music feat Kamasi Washington, Rempis Percussion Quartet, Quincy Jones

Throttle Elevator Music feat Kamasi Washington - Final Floor

We certainly hope this isn't the final floor for Throttle Elevator Music, as we've always enjoyed the many sounds the group has given us over the years – styles served up here on a record that's almost a testament to the collaborative growth of the ensemble over the past decade or so, as the album brings together recordings made over various years, with new work added in recently to complete the set! As usual, Gregory Howe is at the core – handling most of the arrangements and overseeing the recording, with equal help from longtime musical partner Matt Montgomery on bass – opening up into a lineup that also includes Kamasi Washington on tenor, Erik Jekabson on trumpet, Kasey Knudsen on alto and tenor, and Mike Blankenship on a bit of Farfisa organ! You can definitely feel Washington's presence when he's on a session, but the overall sound of the record is equally nice – a real evolution of the group's sound from the start, maybe served up in part by the more recent touches added to the mix by Howe. Titles include "Supraliminal Space", "Caste Off", "Daggerboard", "Ice Windows", "Rooftop Sunrise", "Return To Form", "Heart Of Hearing", and "Recirculate". ~ Dusty Groove

Rempis Percussion Quartet (Dave Rempis / Ingebrigt Haker Flaten / Tim Daisy / Frank Rosaly) - Sud Des Alpes

A really great setting for the sublime reed talents of Dave Rempis – a special quartet that features two drummers, Tim Daisy and Frank Rosaly, plus bass from Ingebrigt Haker Flaten! Despite the name of the group, the sound here isn't an all-out percussion bombast – and instead, the players really let the fantastic soundshapes of Rempis guide their way – as Dave plays both alto and tenor saxes, and opens the door to much larger sonic exploration on the album's three long tracks. The group take on a great moment from the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – borrowing a bit of "Theme De Yoyo", which they fold into their own "Evacuation" – next to other tracks titled "There's A Jam On The Line" and "Late Arrival". ~ Dusty Groove

Quincy Jones - Banning

A really rare soundtrack from Quincy Jones – right up there with his jazziest gems of the 60s, but never issued on record at the time! The music is for an obscure film with Robert Wagner in the lead, and the sounds are a hip blend of the earlier jazz modes of Quincy, with some of the fuller charts that really showed an ever-evolving sense of tone and color! Jones manages to be both sophisticated and organic at the same time – mixing light strings with more down to earth jazz instrumentation – handled by an array of players that includes Dave Grusin and Don Randi on keyboards, Mike Barone on trombone, Jack Nimitz and Bud Shank on reeds, and Herb Ellis on guitar. There's a few nice moments of wordless vocals, and Gil Bernal sings the "Eyes Of Love" leadoff song – next to other cuts that include "Relay Chase", "Mad Pad/A Lack Of Lass", "Poker/Take Tea & Me", "Dental Fleece", "Don't Make Waves", "Fixation", "I Want You", "Trying Tie", and "Sudden Death". ~ Dusty Groove

Kim Tavar – My Story

Born in Boston MA, raised in Duxbury, MA and Midland, PA. Kim Tavar is a singer/songwriter from Boston, Massachusetts. She is very sensitive, caring and conscious about life and lyrics. Kim’s silky vocals are like a quiet storm about to blanket the earth with bright skies. Her straight from the heart, smooth delivery, reach out and grab you like a much–needed embrace. Kim is a true Soul R&B songstress bringing back those smooth catchy hooks and melodies from the and 70’s, 80’ and 90’s. Some of her favorite inspirations are;The Stylistics, The Spinners, Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, Diana Ross, Phyllis Hyman, The Commodores,Heatwave, Shalamar, The S.O.S Band, Atlantic Starr, Angela Bofill, The Time, The Deele, Anita Baker, Luther Vandross, The Gap Band, Anita Baker, Babyface, Toni Braxton and Tamia. These are just some of the sounds Kim grew up on and believes the world is yearning to hear Pure Quality music.

Kim’s song “Isaiah” has been on several UK Soul Music Charts. Spent several weeks in the Top 10,reaching #5. Isaiah and Movin’ have been one of the top 10 most selected songs by 60+ UK DJs on the DJs choices playlist on UK rotation for several weeks and counting.

Kim is no stranger to the music business, having spent decades and countless hours in recording studios, touring in the 90’s and 2000’s with top 40 bands in and around New England, The Caribbean and Novia Scotia, Canada.

A 20–year veteran of the Boston Police Department, Kim has performed The National Anthem/God Bless America at (Gillette Stadium) The New England Patriots, (Fenway Park) The Boston Red Sox and (TD GARDEN) The Boston Celtics. These stellar performances have landed Kim appearances on The TodayShow, Good Morning America and Cedric The Entertainer Greatest Stay #ATHome Videos, as well as several performances in Washington D.C.Kim’s Rendition of “America the Beautiful” caught the attention of TV Host Kelly Ripa and received hundreds of thousands of views that also grabbed the attention of the great James Taylor(Fire and Rain), who happens to be one of Kim’s all–time favorite singer songwriters along with Kenneth “Babyface”Edmonds. It is Kim’s dream to work with Babyface in some capacity.

Kim Tavar is truly a star on the rise!

www.firstexperience

New Music Releases: Str4ta (Jean-Paul Bluey Maunick) , Soil & Pimp Sessions, Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, & The London Symphony Orchestra

Str4ta (Jean-Paul Bluey Maunick) - Aspects

A contemporary set, but one with a vibe that stretches back to the glory days of early 80s funk in England – served up by Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick, of Incognito fame – a talent whose contributions were key to the scene back in the day! If you know Bluey, you'll know his talent for a richly soulful groove – but the style here is very lean, with live drums, heavy basslines, and plenty of sweet keyboards too – all with a stark quality that's a lot like the best sounds of the post-disco years, when groups like this were taking things back to basics. There's plenty to love here if you love UK sounds from the time by Atmosfear and Freeez – but the music is maybe even leaner than both – and served up by a great group of familiar associates, including Ski Oakenfull, Peter Hinds, and Matt Cooper on keyboards. Titles include "Rhythm In Your Mind", "Kinshasa", "Give In To What Is Real", "After The Rain", "We Like It", "Steppers Crusade", "Vision 9", and "Aspects". ~ Dusty Groove

Soil & Pimp Sessions - Essence Of Soil 

Maybe the greatest record we've heard so far from this Japanese jazz group – a combo we've been loving for many years, and who really seem to have unlocked some more spiritual currents in their music for this release! In the past, Soil & Pimp were often focused most strongly on the rhythms, and let their jazz soloing follow that pace – but here, they open things up with gentler, more modal elements – really letting the tunes build and find their way, and topping them off with excellent solos on trumpet, tenor, and piano! There's none of the more bombastic modes of the past, and instead these guys are at their most jazz-based to date – really getting us ready for more great records of this nature to come. The set features versions of "Inner Glimpse", "Love Supreme (part 2)", "Kitty Bey", "Soulful", "Silence", and "My Favorite Things" – all great! ~ Dusty Groove

Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises

A fantastic record, and one of those cases where the presence of the mighty Pharoah Sanders can really transform the sound of a session! We'll admit that we weren't sure what to expect – but at the core, the record is really a set of duets between Pharoah on tenor and Sam Shepherd on keyboards – a great range that includes Fender Rhodes, Hammond B3, celeste, and acoustic piano – slowly graced by some larger arrangements from the LSO! Yet even with the majesty of the larger group, who come into the proceedings in baby steps, there's a core feeling of intimacy that never goes away – sublimely spiritual sounds from Pharoah on tenor throughout – with phrasing and styles that show us that he hasn't lost an ounce of his talent since his early years on Impulse records. The album's maybe one of the most beautiful things that Sanders has given us in a long time – and that's saying a lot, as he's always pretty great – and the set features the long "Promises" suite, in nine movements – a piece for saxophone, strings, keyboards, and electronics composed by Shepherd. ~ Dusty Groove

True Loves to Release Horn-Fueled "First Impression"

"First Impression” by the True Loves showcases their signature dirty guitar, in-your-face-drumming and powerhouse horn section. As one of Seattle’s beloved premiere funk and soul acts, the track is a testament to the finesse of an ensemble of veteran musicians coming together and writing music in a group setting. The song started out as the rhythm section jamming on a groove at rehearsal one night. The horns, just hanging out and enjoying the music, eventually joined in with a more simple version of what would become the crisp and punchy melody you hear now. “First Impression” displays the harder funk side of their catalog in the vein of iconic horn-fueled acts such as Tower of Power, Chicago and Parliament. Guitarist Jimmy James and tenor saxophonist Gordon Brown are the featured soloists and as the song reaches the apex of the horn a capella soli, percussionist Iván Galvéz simmers the vibe down with a timbale feature to fade the song out. The track is the second single off of the band’s forthcoming second full-length album ‘Sunday Afternoon’ being released by Color Red on May 28, 2021.

The band formed out of a jam session in 2014 between three of the city’s most sought after rhythm section players of James, Moore, and DeGraw that later blossomed into a global force with the expansion of the star-studded horn section. Even before their first release, they appeared at Sasquatch and Doe Bay festivals with their prior vocalist Grace Love, who has become a standout voice coming out of the Seattle music scene. The group released their debut instrumental LP Famous Last Words in 2017. In 2018, the group released the  “Dapper Derp/Kabuki” 45 on WeCoast Records and followed it up by the “Famous Last Words/Mary Pop Poppins” 45 on Colemine Records in 2019. Sunday Afternoon will be the band’s second full-length LP effort that will fit seamlessly into the Color Red catalog alongside other acts on the Eddie Roberts imprint that include The New Mastersounds, WRD (Robert Walter, Eddie Roberts, Adam Deitch), Polyrhythmics, and more. 

Prior to the pandemic, the group was slated to perform High Sierra Music Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, and Doe Bay Fest. Those plays have been rescheduled for 2021 and the group will be announcing rescheduled performances in the coming months. 

Joe Lovano | "Garden of Expression"

The debut album of Joe Lovano’s Trio Tapestry was one of 2019’s most talked-about releases. This musical concept is taken to the next level on its second album, Garden of Expression, a recording distinguished by its intense focus.

Lovano, a saxophonist whose reach extends across the history of modern jazz and beyond, plays with exceptional sensitivity in Trio Tapestry. The music he writes for this group—tenderly melodic or declamatory, harmonically open, rhythmically free, and spiritually involving—encourages subtle and differentiated responses from his creative partners, creating interactions in which Lovano describes as “magical.” Carmen Castaldi’s space-conscious approach to drumming further refines an improvisational understanding that he and Lovano have shared since the early 1970s. The trio is also an inspired context for Marilyn Crispell’s solos, counter melodies, and improvisational embellishments. Her feeling for sound-color helps the chamber music character of the group bloom. 

A steady artistic growth can be charted between the first and second Trio Tapestry albums. For Lovano, “Seeds of Change” was a key piece in terms of approach on the trio’s debut album. The open form itself is at once a blues, a ballad, and a chamber music composition. With a feel and a flow that was special, leading directly to the title piece of Garden of Expression, the seeds having taken root. “Between the two albums we have an amazing repertoire now,” says Lovano. 

This new album also benefits from its recording at Lugano Switzerland’s Auditorio Stelio Molo SRI studio with highly responsive acoustics, with the details of the music optimally realized in Manfred Eichner’s production. The trio recorded in the studio on their second European tour in November 2019 after they’d performed a concert in the studio the evening before. “Having given a full performance there, we were very comfortable with the room,” noted Lovano. “The tone there, and the sound and the feeling in that space, built to be a recital room, is amazing. We played forte and really felt it. We played at pianissimo volume, and you heard the music vibrating in the room. And that created a real spiritual delivery on each composition, as we allowed the music to unfold.” 

Lovano describes the organic evolution of the trio as an unforced, natural process. As with Trio Tapestry’s debut album, all the music on Garden of Expression was written by Lovano. “Each of the pieces is a song of expression where rhythm doesn’t dictate the flow. This is not a band that starts from the beat. The momentum is in the melody and the harmonic sequence, and rhythm evolves within each piece in a very free flowing manner.” Lovano draws parallels between the present trio and the music he made, over a period of 30 years, in Paul Motian’s trio with Bill Frisell. “We developed a way of playing and communicating. The pieces would change night after night, as Paul gave us permission to create the music within the music. That study, that conception, has provided a foundation in my own playing and writing up to the newest work with Trio Tapestry.”

The fresh music of Trio Tapestry draws upon a long history of friendships and collaboration. Lovano and Crispell met in the mid-1980s as part of Anthony Braxton’s group. After Lovano jammed with Crispell’s trio with Paul Motian and Mark Helias at New York’s Village Vanguard, they went on to play concerts as a quartet. The potential for further development was evident to both Lovano and Crispell.

Castaldi’s association goes back to their teenage years in Cleveland. “Carmen’s one of my oldest and closest friends. We grew up together, played in bands together, went to Berklee at the same time and shared lots of the same musical experiences.” These included the revelation of hearing Keith Jarrett’s band with Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and Paul Motian at the Jazz Workshop in Boston in 1972, a powerful, formative influence for both musicians.

“Our very first concert was without any themes or songs. It was about exploring how we might play together – and the music opened up in such a beautiful way,” says Lovano of the moment when he finally came together with Crispell and Castaldi as a trio and played totally improvised music. “I sent a tape of this to Manfred Eicher, who was very encouraging.” Lovano then set about writing a program of music to follow up the implications of those improvisations. He shaped pieces that might best display the unique qualities of the trio’s “peaceful, non-aggressive delivery,” while also refining a technique he had first broached on his album Tones, Shapes and Colors—playing saxophone and gongs simultaneously. The slowly blossoming resonance of the gongs has become one of the signature sounds of the trio, with overtones shading into silence. “These two recordings—Trio Tapestry and Garden of Expression—are the only albums I’m on that include real moments of silence from the whole group,” claims Lovano.

Providing a lot of deep listening, it is possible to digest Garden of Expression as a non-denominational spiritual album. Starting out with the quiet “Chapel Song,” which reflects upon Lovano’s experience in a Viennese church as he listened to the distant strains of an organ. It progresses through “Sacred Chant” which has some of the yearning quality of a Coltrane ballad, before concluding with “Zen Like,” where the gongs summon the trio to concentrated meditation. But there are also secular influences at work. Lovano spent the summer of 2019 on tour with Diana Krall and “West of the Moon” here is a response to playing “East of the Sun” night after night with the singer. “It doesn’t sound anything like ‘East of the Sun,’” he stresses, “but that was the inspiration. A lot of these new pieces, in fact, were written on the road.”

New Music Releases: Dr. Lonnie Smith, El Michels Affair, Jon Batiste

Dr. Lonnie Smith - Breathe

Great work from Lonnie Smith – one of the few Hammond heroes from the past who's continued to give us fresh-sounding music over the years! Lonnie's been reinvigorated after returning to Blue Note – and this tight little set follows all the growth he's experienced at the label – organ lines that soar nicely, with a complexity that Smith never had in his early years – given strong rhythmic support from Johnathan Blake on drums and Jonathan Kreisberg on guitar! The middle core of the album is live – recorded at the Jazz Standard – and features work from John Ellis on trumpet, Jason Marshall on baritone, Robin Eubanks on trombone, and Sean Jones on trumpet – on titles that include "Bright Eyes", "Pilgrimage", "Two Damn Hot", "Track 9", and "World Weeps". The set also features two covers – both with surprising vocals from Iggy Pop – a nice take on the Timmy Thomas tune "Why Can't We Live Together", and a version of "Sunshine Superman".  ~ Dusty Groove

El Michels Affair - Yeti Season 

A new and amazing chapter in the always-evolving sound of this wonderful funk ensemble – a set that holds onto all the unusual elements of previous records, but also brings in some beautiful vocals from singer Piya Malik on a number of tracks! Malik really fleshes out the sound on the numbers she handles – and the overall style is very hard to pin down – a globe's worth of influences, as El Michels blend together post-Wu Tang, post-Ethiopiques, post-Arabesk modes – yet all infused with a classic sense of funk that's not only very faithful to the 70s, but also has a cinematic sense of majesty! The blend is great – and Piya really helps open up the sound on the album's vocal tracks – served up in a mix of titles that include "Dhuaan", "Lesson Learned", "Murkit Gem", "Fazed Out", "Ala Vida", "Unathi", "Last Blast", "Zaharila", and "Silver Lining". ~ Dusty Groove

Jon Batiste - We Are

Jon Batiste is looking mighty righteous on the cover, and he's sounding mighty righteous within – imbued with a new spirit of consciousness from the events of 2020, which brings a whole new sort of focus to his music – and makes for an album that's every bit a soul set as it is a jazz record! Jon sings on every track, with this raspy power that pushes the rest of the music forward very strongly – igniting the proceedings with the kind of fire you'd hope for, given the album's dedication to "the dreamers, seers, griots, and truth tellers who refuse to let us fully descend into madness". Batiste can definitely add himself to that list – as can guests who include Zadie Smith, Hot 8 Brass Band, PJ Morton, and Trombone Shorty – on titles that include "Cry", "Boy Hood", "Movement 11", "Show Me The Way", "We Are", "Tell The Truth", "Sing", "Until", "Mavis", and "Whatchutalkinbout". ~ Dusty Groove