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."

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