Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal - 'Natural Born Hustler'

In an age where artists get caught up with keeping up with the times and fitting into the conversation, Josh Hoyer and Soul Colossal make music for grown folks with their real, authentic songwriting. Hoyer and his musical cohorts have released ‘Natural Born Hustler,’ his fifth full-length album of timeless songs slated to last through the decades. The LP was released via Color Red, the music platform founded by Eddie Roberts of The New Mastersounds.

Produced by Eddie Roberts, ‘Natural Born Hustler’ speaks to fans of early 70s funky blues, doo-wop with a modern twist, and spellbinding psychedelic soul. From start to finish, each song breathes a life of its own into the record and it is evident that Hoyer’s spirited fanbase and eclectic palette of sounds are not confined by age, upbringing, religion, creed, or differences—they are meant for anyone who seeks the medicine of music.

Heavily influenced by artists with timeless appeal, Hoyer recalls listening to classic records by The Temptations and Etta James and reflecting on what makes them shine. “I listen to records—I don’t do singles, he states, “I look for cohesiveness and something that can be listened to on a road trip.” Take a time machine to 40 years from now and ‘Natural Born Hustler’ can easily have a place on a record shelf next to those iconic albums. “Hustler” comes out of the gate swinging as a rallying cry as we face unprecedented times and uncertainty. With its commanding horn lines and swirling organs, it sounds like equal parts Charles Bradley and Baby Huey with funky, gritty vocals from the early 70s and psychedelic soul music of today. “Take Your Time” takes listeners even further back in time drenched with 60s vibes inspired by female vocal greats like Aretha Franklin with backup singers and a groove-oriented full band. “Changing” saunters between the line of 60s inspiration blended with modern soul of artists on Daptone Records.  

While striving to keep the sounds timeless, Hoyer does not shy away from topics relevant in today’s climate. “Sunday Lies” calls out the chasm between word and action when those in power corrupt their message. He observes how voter dynamic is often swayed when politicians co-opt their platforms with religious messages that inhibit people of faith to accept the truth. In contrast, “The Night” challenges listeners to let go and “let the evening become the night.” The lyrics reference taking the time to let all of life’s challenges and frustrations dissipate while the night takes you for a ride. “Automatic” exhibits enduring lyrics as a testimony of true love and its ability to make all of life’s woes evaporate when you are in the arms of your lover. 

Recording the record at Color Red studios and working with Eddie Roberts as a producer allowed Hoyer to achieve his long-time goal of translating his raw and authentic live sound into the studio format. The live show is where the band shines and the vision was met in the studio to capture the record straight-to-tape in an analog format on the studio’s Tascam 388. The relaxed studio vibe with Roberts at the helm let each song organically form how it is and fit with the band’s mentality—not stressing too much over mistakes, recording live with minimal overdubs, and letting each track breathe a life of its own into the record.

Hailing from the unlikely creative pocket of Lincoln, Nebraska, Hoyer formed Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal in 2012 as a working band to bring music for the people by the people. Known for their magnetic live performances that draw in crowds with their palpably authentic music, the raucous funk and smooth soul emanating from the stage dutifully pays homage to the past soul giants while simultaneously charging forward, piloting themselves into the modern era. Joining Hoyer (keyboards/vocals), the award-winning five-piece band features Blake DeForest (trumpet), Mike Keeling (bass), Benjamin Kushner (guitar), and Harrison ElDorado (drums). Inspired by the sounds of Stax, Motown, Muscle Shoals, New Orleans, Philly, and San Francisco, the band continuously crosses musical boundaries both in style and era and joins forces each show with a common goal - to have the crowd dancing so much they forget even their smallest troubles.

After three full-length studio albums, including the 2016 release of Running for Love produced by Ken Coomer (Wilco, Uncle Tupelo) and recorded at Nashville's historic Sound Emporium, Hoyer appeared as a contestant on NBC’s The Voice. With attention garnered from the show, the band embarked on their first European tour; a 27-city stint capped with a live album release from their show in Brussels, Belgium. In 2019, the band released Do It Now recorded at Silver Street in Ashland, NE and Make Believe Studios in Omaha, NE. The album drew rave reviews from European Publications such as Blues Magazine hailing, “Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal still prove to be at the top of the contemporary soul movement.” The band promoted the album on their second European tour; a 37-city outing spanning 6 different countries.

With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing the music industry at large to a halt and ceasing national tours, Hoyer remained dedicated to his craft by writing more than another album’s worth of material and continuing to connect to listeners through live streams. Although ‘Natural Born Hustler’ was written before the challenges of 2020, much of the music seemed to prophesy the chaos and delivers the healing power of soul music for listeners. Currently, the band is preparing old and new material alike for the upcoming 2021 tours once they can get back to work and is poised to lift people up and bring people together with their live show. After having so much time to think about the art form in this downtime, Hoyer realizes now, more than ever, the magic and medicine of congregating with the sanctity of live music. 

‘Natural Born Hustler’ couldn’t be a more aptly titled album for a hard-working family man making music and staying true to his roots. Anyone carrying the same spirit will revel in the energetic soul shouting and vivid painting of walking through life while taking in the peaks and valleys on one’s journey. As such, ‘Natural Born Hustler’ is guaranteed to warm the ears and hearts of every person it touches.

THE DEMOCRACY! SUITE, WYNTON MARSALIS’S NEWEST WORK RECORDED LIVE BY THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA SEPTET

Wynton Marsalis has released The Democracy! Suite, the follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer’s provocative work, The Ever Fonky Lowdown, which was released in 2020. Featuring a hand-picked lineup consisting of members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, The Democracy! Suite will be available globally as a digital album on Blue Engine Records.

Composed by Marsalis during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis as a response to the political, social, and economic struggles facing our nation, The Democracy! Suite is a swinging and stimulating instrumental rumination on both the issues that have recently dominated our lives, as well as the beauty that could emerge from a collective effort to create a better future.

During the lockdown, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Septet with Wynton Marsalis convened to record The Democracy! Suite in The Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City. The piece was also recorded as a concert film that virtually “toured” performing arts centers, helping them to engage their audiences and raise revenue during what has been a difficult time for presenters and musicians alike.

Tracks such as “Out Amongst the People (For J Bat)” and “Be Present” are an impassioned reflection of turbulent times that find peerless musicians working as a harmonious community, urging us to reflect on the past and reconsider the future. "Deeper Than Dreams" is for those who lost loved ones during this time, and "That Dance We Do (That You Love Too)“ was inspired by the music and grooves heard in protests around the world.

“Jazz music is the perfect metaphor for democracy," says Marsalis. At a time when America—and indeed, the whole world—finds itself at a crossroads, he was inspired to write this poignant and buoyant work which proves that the joy and beauty of jazz can bring us all closer together.

"The question that confronts us right now as a nation is, 'Do we want to find a better way?'" Marsalis asks.

The music of The Democracy! Suite may be instrumental, but it speaks for itself, urging us onto action—to get out of our seats and fight for the world we believe in.

Wynton Marsalis’s exploration of socio-cultural and political issues has yielded some of his most inspired and provocative work over the last four decades. Those works include the GRAMMYⓇ Award-winning Black Codes (From the Underground) in 1985; Blood on the Fields, the first jazz composition ever to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1996; All Rise in 2002 (performed by symphonic orchestras the world over to great acclaim); and 2007’s From the Plantation to the Penitentiary which according to one reviewer, “reveals some important truth about this country with a lot of anger and heart.” In 2020, Blue Engine Records released The Ever Fonky Lowdown, Marsalis composition to directly address the irresistible cocktail of deception, racism, greed, and gullibility that subverts the global fight for human rights and corrupts the possibilities and promise of democracy in America and around the world.

Film Composer Deniz Cuylan's Guitar Focused Album No Such Thing As Free Will

The memory is distant but distinct: Deniz Cuylan, five years old, early 1980s, at home in Istanbul, Turkey, listening to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony on his parents' turntable. Those regal opening notes arise from nowhere and the music is instantly as real as daylight, refracting his imagination into a spectrum of unfamiliar sensations: grandeur, urgency, beauty, sorrow. Communion. 

He plays the Fifth over and over and over, perceiving the orchestra as a single instrument. It speaks to him in a language beyond words. This is it! This is the thing! The boy feels a feeling—like mystery combined with certainty—that cracks him wide open.  

Thirty-five years later, Cuylan is still chasing that feeling. The composer and multi-instrumentalist is older and wiser now but remains convinced that music is the most lucid articulation of the enduring contradictions of the human condition. 

The bulk of Free Will is built from classical guitar. This was Cuylan's very first instrument, which he learned to play at Lycée Saint-Joseph, the French high school he attended in Istanbul. Since that time his career and collaborations have taken him all over the world. He's lived and worked in Stockholm and New York City and toured the US and Europe with bands he fronted throughout the '00s. His post-jazz trio Maya played the Athens Biennale and wrote original music for fashion shows in Moscow and Dusseldorf. His electronic duo Portecho left revelers weeping on the dance floor and was hailed as a "fast rising band with a radiant future" by The New York Times. His world music ensemble Norrda comprised instrumentation from a half-dozen locales and played major festival stages across Europe and Turkey. All told he's released 10 albums spanning instrumentation, genres and continents. Cuylan's compositional genius is the common thead. 

Along the way Cuylan hosted his own freeform radio show on Istanbul's indie station Acik Radyo 94.9 for five years, worked as an editor at Turkish lifestyle magazine Bant, collaborated with illustrator Sadi Guran to publish the book/album Netame, produced a live album for Beck's sax player David Brown and composed music for megabrands like Nike, Lancome and Beats By Dre. 

In 2015 Cuylan relocated to Los Angeles to concentrate on film scoring. He's since worked on Netflix series Rise of Empires: Ottoman, the Emmy-nominated Mars Generation and El Chapo as well as Cannes Critics’ Week Grand Prize nominee Oh Lucy! and Janicza Bravo’s Rotterdam International Film Festival Big Screen Award nominee Lemon. In 2018 he co-wrote and scored his first feature, Av:The Hunt, one of the first Turkish movies acquired by Netflix International. That same year he and longtime partner Brian Bender began the production unit Bright and Guilty, which has been releasing cinematic, trip-hop-tinged singles on Jose James' Rainbow Blonde label. 

It was in LA that Cuylan stumbled onto the inspiration for his first solo album when he came across a Santos model classical guitar built by Pasadena-born, Paris-dwelling luthier Thomas Norwood at Guitar Salon International in Santa Monica. At first he couldn't bring himself to shell out the money for such a treasure, but eventually he decided that it was meant to be. His first studio forays with the Santos were frustrating, as if the guitar wouldn't accept his songwriting. Rather than forcing himself on it, Cuylan opened himself to the instrument, letting the Santos reveal its secrets to him. The result is a collaboration of the kind Cuylan seeks in all his projects, albeit this time with an inanimate object. 

One must clear their mind before they can fill it; "Clearing" opens the album as an aural palate cleanser. Without lyrics to guide the listener, song titles like "Purple Plains of Utopia" and "She Was Always Here" provide a sliver of narrative to these instrumental compositions, which include subtle accompaniment by Bender on cello and Cuylan himself on clarinet and piano. Closing the album, the title track packages all of the album's components into a delicately shifting finale, quiet, evocative, energizing, mesmerizing. 

And about the title? It too contains layers of depth. Cuylan explains: 

"My primary issue is heartbreak—the inherent, abstract heartbreak we all have. We're separated from something fundamental, and we're constantly disappointed in other people and in ourselves because of our separation. For religious people it might be separation from god. For secular people, separation from the womb. We feel like we're in control of our decisions, but it's actually heartbreak that compels the actions that we take in life."

No Such Thing as Free Will is perhaps an inversion o Beethoven's Fifth. It whispers where the other sings, suggesting communion with something greater rather than stating it outright. Yet somehow the feeling is there. ~ Jonathan Zwickel

Greg Skaff | "Polaris" | features Ron Carter & Albert "Tootie" Heath

Fans of Greg Skaff may know him as one of modern jazz’s premier organ jazz guitarists through his own trios with hard-grooving greats like Mike LeDonne and Pat Bianchi; or as a veteran first-call sideman, from his early years with soul-jazz titan Stanley Turrentine through decades of work with the likes of Ruth Brown, Bobby Watson, Freddie Hubbard, Orrin Evans, Matt Wilson, Ralph Peterson and countless others. 

Despite that impressive resumé, Skaff marks a career first with his new album Polaris: a trio album with a standard guitar, bass and drums line-up. There’s nothing standard about the rhythm section he enlisted for the occasion, however: he’s joined by a pair of jazz icons, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath. Due out March 19 via SMK Jazz, an imprint of Smoke Sessions Records, the album features three jazz masters delighting in each other’s creativity and ebullient sense of swing. 

“When a guitar player works with an organist in a trio,” Skaff says, “the organist is driving the bus. He’s playing the bass, a lot of the harmony and sometimes even the melody. So you're essentially playing their game. In a guitar/bass/drums trio, the guitarist has considerably more responsibility – as well as freedom. Experimenting with that format in the last few years of gigging, I learned to embrace both the freedom and the responsibility. I felt that Ron and Tootie would be simpatico with that because of how sharply they listen and their ability to move the music in different directions.” 

Of course, simply setting three gifted players in a room and letting them explore the music took on a different meaning in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic kept us all isolated for the bulk of the year. It nearly threatened the recording of Polaris, as the second of two planned studio dates fell on March 16, just as New York City was heading into lockdown. 

“Right up until the morning of the date I wasn't really sure it was going to happen,” Skaff recalls. “I kept checking in with Ron and Tootie to ask if they were still down; I definitely wasn’t going to demand that they be there. But they both wanted to do it. Tootie was in town to play the Lincoln Center memorial for his brother [legendary saxophonist Jimmy Heath, who had passed away in January]. He was really down because it got canceled when they closed Lincoln Center. So he just wanted to do something.” 

Heath and Carter were both excited for the chance to play together, an opportunity that had only come once in more than 30 years, when their paths briefly crossed on the 1993 all-star session The Riverside Reunion Band. Their most extensive experience together had come early in both men’s careers, when they were enlisted as the rhythm section for pianist Bobby Timmons, setting out on a solo career following his second stint with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. 

“I was very aware of the Bobby Timmons record that they're both on,” Skaff says, referring to the trio’s sole release, 1961’s In Person. “I thought it would be really cool to play with those two guys together, especially since they hadn't worked together in such a long time.”

Skaff had been working with Carter over the last several years in the bassist’s Great Big Band, where he stepped in for Russell Malone. Those gigs provided the guitarist with insight into the veteran bassist’s approach, which spurred him to amply prepare before stepping foot into the studio. Once Carter was on board Heath was quick to accept the gig, and once the trio convened many of those preparations went out the window – but were valuable nonetheless. 

“I wanted to make sure we knew exactly what we were going to be doing at any minute,” Skaff says. “I know Ron's like that, so I didn’t want to be caught underprepared. But once we got in there, we didn't end up sticking to the details. It was really cool because they didn't just play everything the way I wrote it – in a good way. The tunes ended up being a lot different than the way I would usually play them.” 

Skaff largely focused on choosing standard repertoire for the session, wanting to minimize the amount of reading required so that spontaneity and interactivity could come to the fore. The album opens with a buoyant run through “Old Devil Moon,” driven by Carter’s vigorous walking bass and inspired by the well-known rendition from Sonny Rollins’ A Night at the Village Vanguard. It’s followed by the first of two Duke Ellington compositions on the album, “Angelica,” transformed into a New Orleans parade thanks to Heath’s high-spirited second line beat. 

Carter’s classic “Little Waltz,” first recorded on Timmons’ The Soul Man! in 1966 (with Carter, Wayne Shorter and Jimmy Cobb), comes in for two interpretations. The first was a spur of the moment decision when Heath was late for the second session, prompting Carter to suggest a duet in the tradition of his storied partnership with Jim Hall, resulting in a lovely, intimate dialogue. The trio version is equally tender, spotlighting the delicate caress of Heath’s brushwork. 

The organ tradition that Skaff knows so well is hinted at with a bristling take on Larry Young’s “Paris Eyes,” originally recorded with one of Skaff’s heroes, guitarist Grant Green. Carter’s melodic gifts are showcased on the oft-reprised ballad “Yesterdays,” where the bassist essays the melody following a lush, mood-setting solo guitar intro. 

The bassist is the honoree of Skaff’s first original, “Mr. R.C.” – a play on John Coltrane’s “Mr. P.C.,” a tribute to Paul Chambers, Carter’s predecessor in the Miles Davis Quintet. The leader also contribute the steely title track, named after the North Star – actually a triple star system, making the name doubly apt as both an acknowledgment of the two elders’ role as guiding lights as well as the album’s trio format. (Though Skaff is quick to humbly shrug off any designation of himself as a third “star” in this situation.) 

A rare take on Ellington’s “Lady of the Lavender Mist” is exquisite in its restrained beauty, while Carter’s “Caminando,” a regular set opener with the bassist’s current quartet, digs down into an earthy blues feel. Finally, Skaff takes an introspective solo turn on the Harold Arlen classic “Ill Wind.” 

Where the future lies for the trio is bound up in the state of uncertainty in which we all find ourselves these days. But much like its namesake star, Polaris shines the way to brighter days ahead thanks to the illuminating interplay of three brilliant artists.

New Music Releases: Gabor Szabo, Logan Richardson, Henry Robinett Quartet

Gabor Szabo - Magical Connection (Japanese paper sleeve edition)

A very groovy set from guitar genius Gabor Szabo – one that features all those cool tones and elements he'd developed on his late 60s albums for Impulse and Skye Records, given a tighter LA groove here, with almost an A&M Records vibe! There's loads of great solos throughout, played in a combo that also features Lynn Blessing on vibes, Richard Thompson and Nick DeCaro on keyboards, and Sandra Crouch on percussion – all set to some backings handled by DeCaro, who really helps shape the sound of the set! The tunes are a really nice mix of material – and while this might not be Gabor's most way-out album, it's still full of lots of his great groovy guitar – on titles that include "Love Theme From Spartacus", "Country Illusion", "Sombrero Sam", "Lady With Child", "Pretty Girl Why", "Hum A Song", "Magical Connection", and "Fred & Betty". ~ Dusty Groove

Logan Richardson - Afrofuturism

We've always loved the music of Logan Richardson, but here he's onto something completely new and groundbreaking – as you might begin to guess from the cover and title! Logan still blows alto sax, but he also handles piano and keyboards, and works in this swirling mix of sound that really lives up to what you might expect – really far-seeing future jazz – with rhythms that shift and soar, instrumentation that shimmers and glows, and a sound that's very cosmic and righteous throughout! The set also features vibes and keyboards from Peter Schlamb, guitars from Igor Osypov, bass from Dominique Sanders, and drums from Ryan Lee and Corey Fonville – set to some occasional vocals from Laura Taglialatela, and light use of strings to really give the music a sense of majesty. Titles include "Say My Nhame", "Awaken", "The Birth Of Us", "Black Wallstreet", "Farewell Goodbye", "For Alto", "According To You", "Praise Song", and "Photo Copy". ~ Dusty Groove

Henry Robinett Quartet - Jazz Standards, Volume 2: Then Again

Guitarist, composer, bandleader, and recording engineer Henry Robinett is releasing Jazz Standards, Volume 2: Then Again, the follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2020 release, Jazz Standards, Volume 1: Then. Known for his modern, eclectic sound that melds World music with electric jazz, the Jazz Standards sessions are a departure for Robinett. He recorded both volumes 20 years ago, during a period when he was in between albums and bands. With some rare free time, he decided to bring together a few of the top artists from Northern California for an impromptu recording session. With Robinett calling the tunes, this group of swinging improvisers recorded enough music for both albums in just two days. On Jazz Standards, Volume 2: Then Again,  Robinett’s guitar work is swinging and accessible. Rather than focusing on his considerable chops, he approaches a tune not unlike a vocalist, emphasizing the melody while adding colors through his phrasing and harmonic choices.

THE LOS SUNDOWNS (BETO MARTINEZ & DANEIL VILLARREAL) EMBODY 60’S LATIN PSYCHEDELIC SOUL ON SELF TITLED DEBUT

The Los Sundowns is a breezy record of Psychedelic Soul conceptualized by Beto Martinez(Grammy-winning Guitarist/Producer-Grupo Fantasma, Brownout, Money Chicha) and Daniel Villarreal (Drummer and DJ, Dos Santos). Written, Recorded and Produced by Martinez at his studio, Lechehouse Music, and featuring a host of friends across the 6 tracks, the reverb-laden platter conjures the sound of Latin American balladeers and crooners of the 60s, updating the vibe and transporting the listener to a beachside hang from sunup to sundown. . 

The Los Sundowns began as a concept between longtime collaborators Beto Martinez & Daniel Villarreal. Beto explains, “We discussed this idea and concept for about a year, before I finally found myself with some significant time off at the end of 2019 after heavy summer touring. I had set in motion a general plan to initiate multiple collaborations with musicians I knew and make 2020 a year of releases for me outside of my main bands. I began to demo some songs and send the ideas to Daniel and we set a date in January for him to fly down from Chicago and begin tracking these songs.” Luckily the duo was able to get the foundation laid through their initial January session in Buda, TX at Beto’s Lechehouse Music studio, before COVID-19 changed the course of the year. These sessions evolved with overdubs and final arrangements before they tapped into their talented pool of friends. 

Alex Chavez, lead singer of Dos Santos contributes to the first single “Al Final de La Tarde.” “Al Final de La Tarde” is a classic, yearning ballad, awash in reverb and sorrowful lament. It suggests the range of emotion that can be teased up while watching a beautiful sunset, from content satisfaction giving way to a lover’s remorse of what is and what could be. “Al Final de La Tarde” was written by Chilean Crooner Buddy Richard and interpreted by Los Angeles Negros, whose version The Los Sundowns adapted. Alex Chavez lends lead vocals and perfectly captures the emotion of the song. The next single to drop is “Los Angeles,” which is a breezy number encapsulating the vibe of the record and the spirit behind it. It features the haunting background vocals of Fermin Sanchez of CDMX based band The Guadaloops, and transports the listener to a quiet beach at sunset with equal parts blissful relaxation and introspective melancholy. An accompanying video will be released alongside the single 

“Darksides” was the second song written for the record. It implies a more sinister turn from the rest of the record. Driving guitars and heavy drums drive an emotional change and tides shift to more aggressive attitudes as slightly darker vibes emerge from the shadows. “Quiereme” is a classic, soulful low-rider ballad. Vocalist and drummer Alex Marrero (Brownout) sings of yearning to be loved and to have his lover by his side alongside bass from Greg Gonzalez(Grupo Fantasma, Brownout, Money Chicha). The style and instrumentation suggest an uncomplicated nostalgia, old-school Chicano Soul. The band closes the record with “Se Cae El Sol.” The final track is built on a driving and emotive bass line. The Farfisa Organ, played by Peter Stopschinski (Brownout), lends an almost classical flair to the cinematic and reverb-drenched guitar, which climbs from a haunting melody to a climactic staccato solo. 

For 20 years Beto Martinez has written and released music in the context of bands Grupo Fantasma, Brownout, and Money Chicha. Each have their unique voice and his songwriting has filtered through those collectives. Martinez concludes, “With this release, I hope to reveal another side, to showcase my myriad influences and also present a more concise depiction of my songwriting as direct from the source, unadulterated and without the inevitable filter of the larger band dynamic, or the considerations of the live environment.  The project was developed conceptually with Daniel Villarreal, who initially suggested exploring the vibes and sounds of the Latin Psychedelic Soul we both have a strong affinity for. His initial suggestions led me to write these songs and ultimately, his drumming tied the record together.” 

Los Sundowns is the first release on Martinez’s new record label Lechehouse Music (distributed by Fat Beats), and will be a quality imprint to watch for.

4 MARS: SUPER SOMALI SOUNDS FROM THE GULF OF TADJOURA

In 1977, on the eve of independence of the Republic of Djibouti, a small country on the Red Sea in East Africa, a densely packed archive was pieced together in a quiet corner of the national radio. Over the years, it became a premier but largely unknown African archive housing thousands of master reels and cassettes of the finest East African sounds.

It has endured fires and theft of invaluable recordings. Those scars linger on the delicate films of quarter-inch reels and cassette tapes. It remains one of the most expansive, well-maintained archives in Africa – but also one of the most restrictive. For decades, the archive remained off-limits to foreign entities of any kind.

In 2019, after negotiations spanning many years, Ostinato Records became the first label granted access to the grand Archives of Radiodiffusion-Télévision de Djibouti (RTD), a vault of secrets and stories—from East Africa, Somalia, Ethiopia, and of course Djibouti itself.

The story of epic Somali supergroup 4 Mars, authors of one of the most popular songs on our Grammy-nominated Sweet As Broken Dates compilation, is the first chapter in our “Djibouti Archives” series because their rich globalized sound reveals a brand new history of the world.

For centuries, all roads led to this corner of Africa, not Rome. As the major transit point connecting Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean, goods, ideas, peoples, and culture were briskly exchanged. Egyptian, Turkish, Arab, Persian, Indian, and Chinese traders and tastemakers dropped anchor in Djibouti’s Gulf of Tadjoura, each arrival deliciously peppering a deeply layered sound.

Egyptian and Yemeni rhythms. Sudanese music structures. The synth melodies? Turkish-inspired. The signature off-beat licks of reggae? Depending on who you ask, they came from Jamaica’s greatest export or are simply identical to the Somali Dhaanto rhythm. The horns are courtesy of master saxophonist Mohamed Abdi Alto, first featured on our contemporary studio album, “The Dancing Devils of Djibouti” by Groupe RTD. 4 Mars was his first gig. Alto was a distant but diligent apprentice of Harlem’s jazz era. Both the flute traditions and the instrument itself were imported from China and Mongolia. The vocals? Somali singers infatuated with Bollywood.

Today, a third of world trade again passes through Djibouti’s straits and a similar mix of characters roam the streets and docks. A South African diplomat pointed to Djibouti on a map and told us, “This is the future.”

4 Mars offers a bright window into its past, when an African country was building itself from scratch. Their name—Quatre Mars in French—translates as the 4th of March (1977), the founding date of The People’s Rally for Progress, the political party in charge of Djibouti since independence. 4 Mars was the party’s band.

Young countries need unity. Djibouti’s leaders saw music, and 4 Mars especially, as the ideal soundtrack to an independent era. Almost all music was brought under the state’s wing. But this is not propaganda music. In the context of a new country, think about what “propaganda” means. You have a divided society. You need to build a national identity and instill values. Look at the track titles: Power. Compassion. Motherland. Gratitude. Hello, Peace! These are not just songs, but the nurturing of a country performed by world-class musicians.

An off-limits archive aside, 4 Mars is unknown outside the region because of its 40-member Olympic-style entourage, staffed by actors, singers, dancers, musicians, and percussionists. Only wealthy leaders like Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi brought them on tour.

At home, the once-lavish national theater, dilapidated and out of commission for years, was the center stage of 4 Mars’ legendary live shows. A new 800-seat theater built by China and training in analog music technology at Chinese universities for the young archivists at RTD offer opportunities for a revival.

Ostinato operates on the guiding principle that no physical historic recordings should leave a country and agreements with archives should be a win-win trade, not aid. Part of the deal for archival access and licensing rights included a finely refurbished Technics reel-to-reel player from the ‘70s with upgraded software to replace a worn-out model for RTD to continue their digital preservation of the entire archive in high-quality.

Compiled from master tapes and reels, all recordings were done in RTD’s studios and during live performances at the national theater between 1977 and 1994. Authorized by both RTD and The Palace of the People, which founded and oversees 4 Mars, this seminal anthology of a Goliath of a Somali group is a perspective-shifting journey through ancient trade routes and the currents of history that gave this small but grand Red Sea hub a signature music style that in every sense reveals a truer story of our world. Listen to Djibouti’s past so you can keep an eye on its promising future.

Australian ensemble Menagerie release third album 'Many Worlds' (spiritual jazz)

Freestyle Records and Willwork4funk are proud to present “Many Worlds”, the highly anticipated third album by Australian 9-piece spiritual jazz ensemble Menagerie, founded and led by Lance Ferguson (of The Bamboos).

Menagerie is the Jazz ensemble founded by Melbourne-based producer, songwriter, guitarist, radio broadcaster, DJ and recording artist Lance Ferguson, also the driving force behind The Bamboos, Lanu & Rare Groove Spectrum, as well as having been a member of Cookin’ On 3 Burners.

Menagerie‘s debut album “They Shall Inherit” saw the light of day in 2012 via label Tru Thoughts and established the fact that Jazz of the contemporary type could reach back to it’s essential roots and present itself, refreshed and vital for a contemporary audience.

2018 saw the release of “The Arrow Of Time” on UK label Freestyle. Inspired by both the post-Coltrane generation of the 70’s and the current ‘New Wave Of Jazz’, the album made serious waves internationally in 2018, being championed by the likes of BBC’s Gilles Peterson, Jamie Cullum, Courtney Pine and Don Letts.

It features some of Australia’a finest musicians, including pianist Mark Fitzgibbon, percussionist Javier Fredes, Phil Noy on Saxophones and Ross Irwin on Trumpet. Ferguson explains that this album “draws its inspiration conceptually from the themes of space exploration, human evolution and the future of humankind. It’s pretty big stuff to be underpinning an album of modal Jazz tunes – but the main message is one of hope, and I hope that comes across in the music…The sound of record labels like Strata East, Tribe and Black Jazz has been a massive influence on Menagerie. To me that sound is timeless, exciting and just as vibrant as a musical fomat in 2018 – and the proof is that we’re hearing more and more young musicians embracing it”.

Now 2 years on from their last full-length, Menagerie are ready to give the world some new music courtesy of Freestyle Records.

 

New Music Releases: Homero Alvarez Sep7ett, Epic 92, Tony Saunders

Homero Alvarez Sep7ett - Recycle

A seven piece group with some of the better musicians from the Swedish jazz scene. Here presenting original music in a blend of styles with lots of Latin American influences, but not only. It's up-tempo, instrumental and very melodic tunes writen by composer Homero Alvarez. The majority of the tunes has histories as compositions from earlier works in differents theatrical productions. The tunes has later on been recycled and rearranged to fit the new dynamic septet including: Homero Alvarez – guitars, Karl Olandersson - trumpet, Karin Hammar - trombone, Arnold Rodriguez - piano, Juan Patricio Mendoza – bass, Ola Bothzén – drums, and Andreas Ekstedt – percussion.

Epic 92 - Atlanta Lights

Epic 92, the cool name that producer/multi-instrumentalist/singer K-Tabbs and singer-songwriter Xanthe give their fresh, edgy and soulful male-female duo, refers to two things: the year they met and a journey filled with unbelievable setbacks and triumphs, including a Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop hit. That divinely appointed road leads now to Atlanta Lights, an album infused with deep, UK influenced vibes, a classic R&B flow, confident but subtle rock edges, laid back grooves and sensual Smooth Jazz touches. The multi-dimensional sonic magic, a tight live band aesthetic and the duo’s lush vocal harmonies lay a perfect foundation for the sensual narrative. It rolls by like a sexy and sophisticated urban romance in a city that shimmers with joy and simmers with daring possibilities. ~ smoothjazz.com

Tony Saunders - Sexy Somethin

Four years after taking us to the heart of his years growing up on the NYC club scene with Uptown Jazz, legendary bassist/composer Tony Saunders delivers on his stated promise to “make the best, most pleasurable and sensually satisfying album yet” with the perfectly titled Sexy Somethin. Alternately bouncy and buoyant and dreamily sensual, the tracks are all infectiously melodic and roll deep in a groove-intensive pocket. Yet true to the diversity of Saunders’ expansive resume, he infuses stylistic and thematic surprises from track to track. While grounding everything on his trademark deep bass tones and delivering sparkling solos, he invites a vibrant all-star cast to help execute his multi-faceted vision – including Nils, Jeff Ryan, Paul Jackson, Jr., Paul Brown, Marion Meadows and Jeff Lorber. ~ smoothjazz.com

Adryon de León pens a powerful call-to-arms in "Ally"

The year 2020 was a powerful awakening for the world to speak out again social injustice and rise together to fight systemic racism. Using that energy as a catalyst, vocalist Adryon de León has released “Ally” via Color Red. 

“Ally” delivers a statement for the modern ages with a Motown vibe. De León reflects on the riots incited by the death of George Floyd happening two blocks from her house in Long Beach, California, and receiving messages from well-meaning friends the next morning. In response, she made the decision to stop being precious with the subject and penned “Ally” as a vehicle to process her own emotions and respond to all of them. The cathartic songwriting process invited musician friends from all walks of life and all parts of the country to contribute to the track including co-producers Max MacVeety and David Tam. De León reminds listeners that the fight for justice is not over and this iteration and uprising has only just begun. In tandem with the march-like drum beats, it is a call to arms that everyone can be an ally to the disenfranchised, vulnerable, and overlooked—Black Lives Matter.  

De León is a veteran in the modern music scene best known for her 7-year tenure with Orgōne and performing in the all-star soul ensemble Matador! Soul Sounds alongside Color Red founder Eddie Roberts as well as Alan Evans, Kim Dawson, Chris Spies, and Nate Edgar. Outside of live performances, she is a sought out session vocalist in Los Angeles working with major artists and motion pictures. She recently contributed vocals on a track on the Mank soundtrack scored by Trent Reznor and has provided background vocals for Lady Gaga, Macy Gray, and George Clinton.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, de León hosted a live stream series at her home in Long Beach, California and plans on resuming the series as soon as it is safe to do so. 

Pianist CHRIS PATTISHALL Offers a Fellini-Esque Take On MARY LOU WILLIAMS’ Zodiac Suite

Pianist/composer Chris Pattishall’s obsession with jazz history is borne of a crate-digger’s mentality. Eschewing conservatism, the pianist and composer's work belies a fascination with how bizarre and defiant early jazz actually was. Studying with pianists Marcus Roberts and Harold Mabern gave Pattishall ample time to digest the canon of jazz piano greats, digging past the more conventional, exterior details towards deeper facets of these artists that are eclectic and provocatively irregular. In this way, Pattishall could be thought of as an erudite surrealist, influenced and following in the footsteps of writer Roberto Bolaño, filmmaker Luis Buñuel, hip-hop impresario Madlib, and the iconic Thelonious Monk. Compelled and confident to launch from jazz’s decidedly unconventional underpinnings, Pattishall is an artist who can utilize aspects of history to bend his own reality around them. 

Chris Pattishall’s debut recording, Zodiac Suite, is grand, dramatic, phantasmagorical, and, like the artist himself, both studied and surreal. Pattishall, in collaboration with producer Rafiq Bhatia, and an ensemble of close allies – Jamison Ross (drums), Riley Mulherkar (trumpet), Ruben Fox (saxophone), and Marty Jaffe (bass), renders the legendary Mary Lou Williams’ futuristic early jazz compositions with both understated melodicism and Fellini-esque unreality. 

When Pattishall discovered the work of Mary Lou Williams, a pioneering yet under-appreciated pianist who reached for the cosmic with the Zodiac Suite, he was immediately drawn to Williams’ sound (he later learned that she had taught and influenced Thelonious Monk), and her willingness as a composer to turn on a dime. “One of the things that drew me to this suite was how the moods change suddenly, dense narratives and allusions are presented and then suddenly give way to other fascinating ideas. It almost feels like you’ve got a remote and you’re changing channels,” Pattishall explains. “That’s a way of hearing music that I associate with Madlib and I’d never heard anyone play like that acoustically. There’s a kaleidoscopic aspect to the way that those quick changes accumulate on a larger scale. But by contrast, there are a lot of subtle things in the music that tie everything together – little gestures that keep reappearing that you might not notice if you’re not paying attention.” 

As Pattishall began to transcribe Williams’ movements, he started imagining them with an expanded instrumentation in mind, and his admiration and love for her grew stronger. “She was such a brilliant arranger, and yet this piece that’s so important to me is mostly her playing solo piano. In a way I saw it as honoring this other aspect of her musicianship.” Pattishall was equally enamored with the sound of the original recording; the harmonic saturation that comes from recording to tape is a stark departure from today’s more sterilized jazz recordings. “There’s a residue that exists that is the result of the performance, but it ends up having its own hue,” he explains. Rather than attempting some sort of historical re-creation, Pattishall enlisted the help of a longtime friend in Rafiq Bhatia, who brings a creative, meticulously detailed approach to sound, which builds on the innovations of ambient and experimental electronic artists. Bhatia’s production amplifies the intimacy of the performances, while his subliminal layers of sound-design fuel the dreamlike feeling of the arrangements. 

Bhatia said of producing/creating the sonic landscape of Zodiac together; "Chris has always had a fascination with the beguiling, hallucinatory, and transcendent, especially when it's hidden below the surface. He makes no exception of himself in that regard - there's a boundless and bizarre imagination beneath that studious exterior. That's a big part of what led us to become fast friends close to two decades ago, and it's central to our collaboration on Zodiac. Though the production is very active, with the sound of the ensemble subjected to near constant manipulation, we took great care to obscure the boundaries, blurring the line between where performance ends and sound design begins. We wanted to make the experience feel like a Fellini film - there's something dreamlike and strange about it all, but it's difficult to say exactly what." 

Though he makes his living moonlighting as a besuited scholar of Earl Hines and Erroll Garner, you’re more likely to find Pattishall in a wolf sweatshirt when he’s off the clock, passing through the Gladstone Gallery to experience the latest from Wangechi Mutu or heading to the Armory to check out Oneohtrix Point Never. With Zodiac, Pattishall takes a step towards unifying his multifarious interests.

The talents of the band are revealed in their restraint and focused rendering of Mary Lou's music. Overt virtuosic displays are replaced with a focus on intimate details and employing hushed tones throughout. Musical collaborators were selected both for their unique voices and for the resulting chemistry. For example, “Riley loves Ruben's playing and spirit, and having the two of them delivering melodies together influences them both. I also selected them to bring out things in myself, to remind me of moods and attitudes I've adopted in other settings,” says Pattishall. “We instigate when we perform together, and that owes a great bit to the amount of time we've shared on countless gigs and in rehearsals. With Zodiac, I knew I wanted to use musicians who mean something to me personally, and I think there's something true that emerges from making music with people you love.” 

In addition to being sympathetic collaborators and expressive interpreters of the suite, among the musicians there is a constellation that connects Mary Lou Williams with Pattishall and his hometown of Durham, NC. Riley's mother attended Duke University and was in a choir directed and conducted by Mary Lou Williams, and bassist Marty Jaffe's uncle is composer and educator Stephen Jaffe, a professor at Duke University and a source of guidance for Pattishall's early development. “Mary Lou spent the last years of her life in Durham, teaching at Duke as an Artist In residence and impacting her local community. Early on I grabbed information from anywhere I could find it, and a lot of that came from Duke and the local scene. I see a connection in that.” 

For visual inspiration, Pattishall looked deep into our collective history for images of the heavens. “I'm fascinated with how throughout history humans all over the world have looked to the heavens for lessons, or as a site to project our mythologies and morals. How we assign significance, how we describe and represent these bodies is intriguing to me.” Specifically, the interweaving geometries and use of symbols shows both a meticulous attention to detail and an incredibly vast imagination. 

Using images from Johannes Kepler's 17th century cosmographic treatises and esoteric medieval Islamic grimoires as references, Pattishall enlisted visual artist Kim Alpert to construct a set of video projections, one for each movement. "When Chris approached me to design the show video program we immediately connected,” said Alpert. “After talking about what the zodiac and celestial world means to us I was reminded of the profound experience I had touring the collection of astrolabes at the Boerhaave Museum in Liden, NL. The intricate, delicate, precision and wonder of these devices juxtaposed with the personal star mapping of natal illustrations immediately identified itself as the visual language for this project. I chose graphic designer and set-maker Chris Blackwood (who has worked on some of the most ambitious and gorgeous science fiction sets in Hollywood) to illustrate a set of vector symbology and mechanical elements. His attention to detail allows for a wide selection of elements to coincide with the animations for the show, as the audience will be transported into and out of the artwork's universe. Overlaying the natal charts of Mary Lou and Chris is a visual mention of our uniqueness as individuals while also tethered into our core similarities when we embark on earthly existence. The messages speak to the temporary nature of life, as well as the balance of stoicism with the ethereal."

The New Mastersounds Release 20-Year-Old Digital Single "Fast Man"

The New Mastersounds released a new digital single “Fast Man” on January 1, 2021 via bandleader and guitarist Eddie Roberts’ music platform Color Red. The track was recorded 20 years ago as part of the band’s first record Keb Darge Presents: The New Mastersounds.

“Fast Man” is an ode to deep funk of the 60s and is a cover of a rare funk track by The PC’s Ltd.  Often played during the band’s explosive live performances, the track’s energy lends itself well when the group is joined by horn sections and has become a fan favorite and staple in their set lists. “'Fast Man' was recorded as part of the first NMS album. However, it didn't make it to the album that was originally released 20 years ago (2001),” explains Roberts, “This was actually because shortly after recording it, we became embarrassed by the break with us shouting out 'M.A.S.T.E.R. We're The Mastersounds', as we thought people would say 'who the hell are they anyway?'. 21 years later, it seems pretty funny that that's what stopped it making the cut, so for the re-master and re-press of our first album we decided to include it, and also release it digitally as a single for the first time ever!” 

Coming hot on the heels of an international tour in celebration of the band’s 20th anniversary in 2019 and the release of their Billboard charting album ‘Shake It’ that marked the introduction of vocalist Lamar Williams Jr, the band has been no slouches when it comes to releasing new material and rolling with the punches 2020 has thrown. This past year saw the release of three remote singles “4 Walls,” “Less is More,” and “Harmony” that all debuted on Live for Live Music’s Comes Alive digital festivals. Additionally, the band launched a premium subscription channel The New Mastersounds - TV via Color Red where fans can view exclusive content including weekly Zoom chats, never-before-seen professional footage, and remote collaboration. Last Monday, they released a new single “Feelin’ Frisky” that’s available only to channel subscribers.

Vinyl enthusiasts can pick up Keb Darge Presents: The New Mastersounds exclusively through Roberts’ new vinyl subscription club Rare Sounds where he is curating rare and out-of-print records that help tell the story of the funk and soul revival. 

Marty Elkins & Mike Richmond - 'Tis Autumn

On ‘TIS AUTUMN, New York jazz and blues vocalist MARTY ELKINS teams up with veteran bassist MIKE RICHMOND for a delicious duo set of jazz standards. This is Elkins’ fifth CD featuring her distinctive, authentic voice crooning modern, fresh renditions of tunes by some of the greatest jazz composers of the 20th Century. Elkins performs regularly in and around the New York area, singing in some of the hippest clubs in town. Jazz writer Paul Freeman of Pop Culture Classics has said, “There’s a captivating richness and fluidity to Marty Elkins’ vocal style. Her marvelous melding of jazz and blues has a classic feel, yet her performances are fabulously fresh-sounding. ”Richmond has performed with some of the top names in jazz, including Stan Getz, with whom he worked for 30 years, plus Dizzy Gillespie, Horace Silver, Elvin Jones, Joe Henderson, Jack DeJohnette, Lee Konitz, Gil Evans, Pat Metheny, and many more. 

Although the 10 songs on ‘TIS AUTUMN were all written between 1926 and 1947, they have weathered the test of time. And in the capable hands of Elkins and Richmond, the songs have a fresh, contemporary edge. According to Elkins, “Singing with just bass accompaniment gives me a lot of freedom to play with the melody and phrasing. And Mike provides such a solid, swinging, and melodic groove, you really don’t miss having other instruments.” Marty Elkins’ affinity for these gems and her straight-ahead, soulful interpretations imbue these songs with a timeless feel, while Mike Richmond conjures an entire orchestra with his bass. The spaciousness of the voice/bass pairing is intimate but resonates with a deep musicality that can only be realized in the hands of masters like Elkins and Richmond.

 

 

 

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."