Nicholas Payton | "Smoke Sessions"

For a young Nicholas Payton, Miles Davis’ 1966 album ‘Four’ & More, captured live two years earlier at Lincoln Center’s Philharmonic Hall, provided a template for what music could – and should – be. Now long established as one of the most renowned musicians and composers on the scene, Payton has convened two of the legendary musicians who played with Davis on that album, bassist Ron Carter and special guest saxophonist George Coleman, to craft some exemplary sounds of his own.

With Smoke Sessions, set for release on October 29, 2021 via the label of the same name, Payton finally realizes his long-cherished dream of leading a session with Ron Carter on bass. To reignite the chemistry of the album he’d fallen in love with decades before, he also invited George Coleman to contribute to a pair of tunes. (A third contributor to ‘Four’ & More, pianist Herbie Hancock, is represented by the composition “Toys,” but Payton fills the keyboard chair on the date as well as playing trumpet). Rounding out the quartet is the esteemed drummer Karriem Riggins, a longtime collaborator of Payton’s who helps ensure that the music bridges generations as well as styles.

“Miles Davis' ‘Four’ & More was the album that really inspired me to take up music seriously,” Payton explains. “Ever since then, Ron Carter has been an idol and a favorite musician of mine. As long as I’ve been leading bands I’ve patterned my choice of bassists by the metric of how much Ron they have in their playing. When I’ve looked for pianists in my band over the years, it's often predicated on how much Herbie they have in their sound. So this album is really a dream come true for me.”

Far from a tribute or a look back, however, Smoke Sessions is a wholly contemporary new album that vibrantly captures Payton’s open-eared blend of swing, funk, soul and hip-hop influences with Riggins’ expansive fluidity behind the kit and Carter’s renowned, rock solid majesty on the bass. Payton seizes the opportunity to engage with that recognizable voice in multiple forms, taking both the Miles and Herbie roles as trumpeter, pianist and keyboardist via the multi-instrumentalism that has become a thrilling trademark of his approach.

While Payton has crossed paths with Carter on a number of occasions over the years, he’d never been able to persuade the famously exacting bassist to appear on one of his own dates before now. “He finally started giving me the time of day,” Payton says with a laugh. “Once I had his interest I hurried up and locked it in before he changed his mind.”

Whatever the delay, Carter spoke highly of the bandleader in the wake of recording Smoke Sessions. “I was quite pleased and had fun playing with him as a piano player as well as a trumpet player,” the bassist said. “Listen to him play trumpet. He’s listening to my response to what he does — if the trumpet players of today want to try to put him in a place, he should be up there because he listens to what the bass player contributes to his solo.”

The album opens in high-spirited fashion, with the elastic groove of Payton’s aptly named “Hangin’ and a Jivin’” before Coleman makes his first of two appearances on the sultry “Big George.” “I feel like George didn't get as much credit as he deserved for being a part of Miles's experimentations in alternate changes and chord progressions,” Payton says. “That's why the songs on the album with George tend to be basically four-bar vamps – those four-bar turnarounds and what they would do with them were so influential in changing the landscape of how musicians play chord changes. It was important to me to get into that stuff that they did back in the 60s. George being there was like the cherry on top.”

Those concepts are explicitly referenced in the title of “Turn-a-Ron,” Coleman’s second guest spot, which gives the two masters plenty of space to interact with one another. The bassist is also paid homage on “Levin’s Lope,” which references his middle name while repurposing the bassline of “Cyborg Swing,” from Payton’s Quarantined with Nick album. “The sound of how I hear bass in an ensemble comes basically from Ron Carter and Ray Brown, so a lot of the music that I write is tailor made for what Ron does. I didn't have to make any alterations to accommodate him because I write with his sound in mind anyway.”

The two-part “Lullaby for a Lamppost,” dedicated to New Orleans music legend Danny Barker, takes its structure from a New Orleans funeral procession – slow and dirge-like at first, then celebratory as the body is laid to rest. “Danny Barker gave me my first regular gig at this club on Bourbon Street in New Orleans called the Famous Door,” Payton recalls. “The tune is my homage to him, to his mentorship and the dedication he had to educating the youth in New Orleans.”

“Q for Quincy Jones,” originally recorded on Payton’s 2015 Letters album, pays tribute to another wide-ranging musical icon whose production skills, Payton remarks, “have been part of the fabric of the sound of music in the 20th century from Dinah Washington to George Benson to Michael Jackson.” The composer adapted “Gold Dust Black Magic” from his orchestral work of the same name, premiered earlier this year by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

The remaining two pieces are drawn from the songbooks of two of Payton’s most formative keyboard influences: Hancock’s aforementioned “Toys,” originally recorded on 1968’s Speak Like a Child with Carter on bass; and Keith Jarrett’s achingly beautiful “No Lonely Nights.”

The recording of Smoke Sessions, Payton concludes, was “like a pinch-myself moment… I used to pretend I was playing with [these musicians] when I was a child, and now it’s happening. I literally felt like I was walking on air. To have someone I've listened to on record and admired from afar actually be a part of something that I created was just beyond my wildest imagination. I remained in a dream state for a couple of months afterwards.”"Smoke Sessions" was produced by Paul Stache and Nicholas Payton, and recorded live in New York at Sear Sound's Studio C on a Sear-Avalon custom console at 96KHz/24bit and mixed to 1/2" analog tape.

Oscar Peterson | “A Time For Love: The Oscar Peterson Quartet - Live In Helsinki, 1987”

For nearly 80 years, legacy has been the spinal cord of the glorious jazz tradition – but maybe never more so to its fans than during these challenging days of the pandemic. Unable to hear music in person, all of us have only been able to access new music through technology, resulting in many looking back upon what may have been missed. But when one can look back on something that is at the same time entirely new, that is a most special situation. And when that something new is coming from jazz immortal Oscar Peterson – even more so. And that is exactly what is in hand with A Time for Love: The Oscar Peterson Quartet – Live in Helsinki, 1987 from Two Lions/Mack Avenue Records. 

From this perspective alone, this is a momentous album – but it is far more than that. The final gig of a long international tour that began with 4 concerts in Brazil, this date was the 14th of a European tour that took the quartet all over mainland Europe and Scandinavia. Anyone with any knowledge of jazz knows that the magic of consistent performing only makes the synergy and empathy of an ensemble – both substances this quartet has in mind-blowing quantity – better and better. That always dwarfs the fatigue factor, and sometimes results in sheer magic on a different plane. That’s clearly what happened during this spectacular concert. As Kelly Peterson says: “Performing with joy and vivacity, they determined to make every concert better than the previous one. This night in Helsinki is a glorious example of that” – and a stunning addition to the continuing legacy of this beloved master of music. 

With a remarkable quartet of Joe Pass on guitar and the bass/drums tandem of Dave Young and Martin Drew – all of whom at the time of this recording were about halfway through their thirty-year affiliations with Peterson – the wildly enthusiastic Helsinki audience was treated to a marvelous performance that spans gorgeously poignant lyricism to blistering intensity and every stroke in between with flawless artistry and an exuberant sense of adventurous creativity. The live performance, presented in its unedited entirety, offers the actual being there experience. It graces listeners with the sweeping breadth of Peterson’s majesty as presented in the immediacy of the live concert. 

The first set consists exclusively of Peterson’s own compositions – an important focus in Kelly’s efforts to further enhance his immortal legacy. The scope of his exceptional vision as composer is on intriguing display through these five pieces, opening with the sauntering strut of the aptly titled “Cool Walk.” A pair of scorchers – “Sushi” and “Cakewalk” – vividly deliver the explosive power and consummate artistry that is so prominent in Peterson’s ensembles. Defining jazz as “instant composition,” he would occasionally compose a song during a performance. “Love Ballade” is one such piece, written spontaneously during an earlier concert. A mesmerizing extended solo piano opening of filigreed beauty. and an excellent guitar-like Young solo highlight this captivating offering. 

A lifelong fascination with Johann Sebastian Bach inspired Peterson’s stunning 20-minute “A Salute to Bach.” This enchanting three-part excursion maintains full jazz integrity in its homage, allowing him to dig into his early classical training. 

The second set features Peterson’s enthralling exploration of time-honored jazz and songbook classics, including two virtuosic solo performances: Pass’ exquisite rendition of the iconic Disney tune “When You Wish Upon a Star” and Peterson’s delightful take on Bill Evans’ “A Waltz for Debby.” 

Also included are Johnny Mandel’s lovely ballad “A Time for Love,” the deeply grooved swing of Benny Goodman’s “Soft Winds” and “How High the Moon,” a blast-off point of departure in so many of the legendary Jazz at the Philharmonic jams of Peterson’s past, given a gentler, jaunty take. 

The monumental climax – before the explosive encore of Peterson’s “Blues Etude” – is the “Duke Ellington Medley” featuring six Ellingtonia classics – “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” “Come Sunday,” “C-Jam Blues,” “Lush Life” and “Caravan.” A solo piano and ensemble tribute to the transcendence of what Duke represents to the legacy blending elements of swing, blues, barrelhouse, stride, boogie-woogie and every other color in Duke’s – and Peterson’s – endlessly creative palette. This incredible adventure is the perfect symbol for this entire album, touching upon the ultimate essence of jazz expression allowing Peterson to pay homage to his own fathers: Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, James P. Johnson and Nat Cole by weaving them into a maelstrom of brilliance that is all Oscar Peterson. The perfect definition of the living and ever-expanding legacy of this profound art form. 

For those not totally aware of Peterson’s importance within the jazz legacy – as unimaginable as that may be – the Canadian-born of West Indian heritage pianist held court as an ultimate master for nearly 60 years. A recipient of numerous honors and awards (including eight GRAMMY® Awards) and the subject of various documentaries, Oscar Peterson was the embodiment of the history of jazz piano. blended with a superb command of Western Classical knowledge – all of which contributed to Ellington bestowing upon him the title “the Maharajah of the keyboard.” With over 200 albums of his own, Peterson’s amazing ability to temper his own magnificence as a leader and soloist to be able to provide totally empathetic and subtle accompaniment to other musicians and vocalists – simply and eloquently explained by Dave Young as “he listened” – made him a contributor to hundreds of other outstanding recordings, most notably as the virtual “house pianist” for his longtime manager Norman Granz’s Verve and Pablo Records. A professional since the age of 14, Peterson passed away at the age of 82 in 2007, leaving an unparalleled legacy that is as timeless as jazz itself. 

A Time for Love is available in both a double-CD format and as 180-gram vinyl in a 3-LP set. Both versions are beautifully packaged and include two sets of inside-view liner notes by quartet member Dave Young, Peterson protégé Benny Green and Oscar’s wife and producer of this album, Kelly Peterson. This is Mack Avenue Music Group’s second collaboration with the estate, following 2017’s re-release of Oscar, with Love. The release will also be available everywhere digitally. 

The recording is ideally summed up by Green in his liner notes: This live concert recording of Oscar in his epic prime is a heaven-sent time capsule of beauty and serves a glorious addition to the Jazz pantheon itself, a stunning testament to the music for which he honestly, humbly and fearlessly dedicated his life as a peaceful warrior, a hero to us all for the ages. I’m thankful for the gift of this concert and that Oscar’s spiritual music will play on for us today and tomorrow, as we need it more than ever before.

Alex Lefaivre | "Naufragés"

Alex Lefaivre is a bassist, composer and educator based in Montreal. He is a founding member of Parc X Trio, winners of the 2010 TD Grand Prix de Jazz at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. He is also a founding member of Multiple Chord Music (MCM), a jazz label that has released over fifty recordings by many of Quebec’s top jazz artists including Gentiane MG & Frank Lozano, Benjamin Deschamps, Rachel Therrien, Rémi-Jean LeBlanc, Joel Miller, François Jalbert & Jérôme Beaulieu.

On his new album Naufragés (“Castaways”), Lefaivre presents a mix of five original compositions and three covers that reflect his contemporary aesthetic and visceral sound. After many failed attempts at scheduling the recording during to the COVID 19 pandemic, the group finally managed to assemble at Montreal’s Studio Madame Wood on April 5th 2021. Recorded over the course of two spontaneous sets of music, the listener can feel the urgency and sheer joy erupting out of Alex and his bandmates Erik Hove, Nicolas Ferron and Alain Bourgeois. The session was recorded and mixed by Simon l’Espérance and was mastered by LeFaivre himself.

Naufragés’ eclectic and cinematic contemporary jazz style features echoes of punk, disco, Film Noir and even reggae, giving the music a biting energy that oscillates freely between raw, rough textures and moments of refined grace, all the  while leaving lots of room for these brilliant musicians to stretch out.

Naufragés will be released worldwide on Friday, August 27th 2021 on Multiple Chord Music.

Charged Particles | "Live at the Baked Potato!"

On their latest collaboration, Bay Area jazz trio Charged Particles joins forces with powerhouse Bay Area saxophonist Tod Dickow in a heartfelt tribute to iconic tenor saxophonist Michael Brecker. Set for October 8 on Summit Records, the album will be released concurrently with Brecker’s biography, Ode to a Tenor Titan by acclaimed author, Bill Milkowski.

Staggering in its authenticity and collective desire by the participants to get it right, Live at the Baked Potato! is a fitting testament to the late tenor titan’s greatness. No less an authority than Randy Brecker has given his stamp of approval: “Everyone’s at the top of their Mike game here. I found myself pinching my arm to remind myself that Mike is sadly no longer with us,” Randy said.           

In tackling Michael Brecker’s imposing oeuvre, the band reveals the genius of his compositional prowess, a side of the multi-faceted musician that was often overshadowed by his legendary chops. Yet there is no attempt here to recreate Michael Brecker’s awesome technique — no transcriptions of his heroic solos, no slavish adherence to every nuance of his classic recordings. Instead, the Bay Area group successfully captures the essence of Michael’s spirit in their faithful renditions of his tunes spanning three decades, rendered with their own signature sound and approach. 

The success of the group’s mission to honor Michael is due in no small part to the contributions of veteran San Francisco tenor saxophonist Tod Dickow, whose sheer force and fluent execution of some typically unconventional Breckerian lines seem to lift the entire band throughout this March 17, 2019, performance at the intimate Baked Potato in Los Angeles’ quaint Studio City neighborhood. “I certainly listened to enough of Mike’s music that it’s going to come out in my playing,” said Dickow, who delivers with passionate intensity on classic Brecker tunes like the hard-charging “Peep” (from Brecker’s third Impulse! album, 1990’s Now You See It…(Now You Don’t), “Arc of the Pendulum” (from 1999’s Time Is Of the Essence) and a chops-busting “The Mean Time” (from Michael’s 2007 swan song, Pilgrimage). “But it’s not really like I’ve ever outright tried to imitate him. I just know that some of the devices that he used have become a part of my playing. He’s a model of perfection, and I’ve always looked at his playing as something to strive for,” added Dickow. 

The core trio of drummer and founder Jon Krosnick, pianist Murray Low, and bassist Aaron Germain began working together around the Bay Area in 2011. After doing nearly a thousand gigs together as a trio, Krosnick floated the idea of adding a tenor saxophonist in order to do a full-fledged Michael Brecker tribute. “I’m always looking for new projects - something to change things up for us and our listeners, to keep our performances interesting,” said Krosnick. Keyboardist Low knew exactly who to recruit to stand in front of the band for this adventure: “There’s only one guy: Tod,” he said. “Tod has had a passion for getting it right and capturing the Brecker sound. In rehearsals, he guided us through ‘the Michael vision’ – he’s absorbed so much from his listening over the years. It’s really helped us with authenticity,” said Low. 

While Dickow’s muscular tenor prowess is a formidable presence throughout Live at the Baked Potato!, kudos must also be given to inventive keyboardist Low, whose nimble segueing from piano to organ to sampled sounds and assorted synths during the set (courtesy of some complicated splits on his keyboard allowing him to cover multiple parts at once) helped capture the richness of the original studio recordings by Brecker’s various bands. Germain’s seamless doubling from electric to upright bass provided the band with much-needed versatility to cover this wide swath of Brecker music. And special commendation goes to Charged Particles drummer Krosnick, who has been the driving force behind this band for nearly 30 years ago. “Mike’s music has been the soundtrack of my life,” he said. “This album is my way of saying thanks to him for so much happiness and inspiration over the years,” says Krosnick.

Danny Mayer | "Basic Goodness"

In his debut solo release coming out via Color Red on August 6, 2021, Danny Mayer (Eric Krasno Band, Alan Evans Trio) concocts a mixture of old-school psychedelic funk blended with a “Go-Go”-style drumbeat in “Basic Goodness.” The song title is inspired by a concept coined by Tibetan spiritual teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. “Basic Goodness” observes that humans beings are wired to experience joy through entities as simple as sound and color. The concept extends into how nature provides the basic needs for human survival.

"That awareness that our needs are being met, that we’re being taken care of on a basic level, tends to lend itself nicely to a more relaxed state where things don’t feel so threatening and at which point you can kind of start grooving with the world around you. That’s really all this song is—a relaxed and playful groove based on the concept of basic goodness," says Mayer.

Originating from a drum groove his friend Colin Jalbert sent him, Mayer utilized the downtime of the past year to learn how to record from home. He made a loop from Colin’s groove, added Moog bass, bass guitar, and percussion, which laid the rhythmic groundwork. The guitar parts came next, with relative ease, but they really come together beautifully with some harmonized melodies out of the guitar solo. This track is the lead single off of a full-length record composed by Mayer during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to the release of "Basic Goodness," Mayer will be playing a pair of shows at Denver's Knew Conscious on August 13th & 14th with Star Kitchen, psychedelic funk band also featuring Marc Brownstein (The Disco Biscuits) on bass, Rob Marscher (Matisyahu) on keyboards, and Marlon Lewis (Lauryn Hill) on drums. While in Denver, the group will be recording additional material at Color Red Studios to appear on a forthcoming EP.

Eva Cassidy | "Live At Blues Alley"

Eva Cassidy's renowned Live At Blues Alley album is to be re-released on October 15th 2021 via Blix Street Records. This remastered anniversary edition sees the album’s first appearance on vinyl, as a heavyweight 45rpm double vinyl LP showcasing the recordings’ phenomenal sound, alongside CD and digital formats.

Eva Cassidy's now legendary Blues Alley concert on the third day of 1996 was in some ways a happy accident. Although Eva had spent years in the studio with producer Chris Biondo creating an eclectic body of work, the pair decided that a live album was the quickest way to achieve their immediate goal of creating a CD to sell at gigs.

Eva cashed in a small pension from her day gig at a local nursery, her Aunt Claire contributed toward the venture, the Blues Alley venue booked them during their slowest time of the year (just after the New Year's Eve blow-out), a live recording truck was hired and off they went – Eva hoping to generate enough profit to purchase a proper PA system. The result was Live At Blues Alley, the only solo album released during Eva Cassidy's lifetime.

25 years after its release in the summer of 1996 the album is known the world over. To celebrate this milestone, the original album recordings have been re-mastered using newly available high-resolution technology. Eva's electrifying vocals, more present than ever, transport the listener back to the time and place.

Live At Blues Alley follows a new documentary “Eva Cassidy - One Night That Changed Everything”, documenting the events of 2nd and 3rd January 1996 when the Blues Alley concert took place. 

 

Cots | "Disturbing Body"

Disturbing Body, the intimate debut album by Cots, paints a celestial portrait of lost love and consequence. The solo project of Montreal and Guelph composer, singer, and guitarist Steph Yates blends elements of bossa nova, folk, jazz, and classical against a modern art backdrop, her subtly unconventional style brushed across its lush palette. “Flowers” introduced the album’s masterful blend of the delicate and the macabre: a gorgeous meditation on death that highlights Yates’s captivating voice and provoking lyricism. “Our Breath” showcased the album’s experimental tendencies and sundown habitat, softly flooded with warbled vocal effects and hand drums radiating ambience.

Today, Cots shares the final preview single ahead of Disturbing Body’s release. Entitled “Midnight at the Station,” the album’s closing passage takes place “while waiting for a train that is very late and might possibly not come at all,” Yates muses. Fittingly mysterious and lonesome, melodious yet vividly disquieting, “Midnight at the Station” enmeshes nocturnal jazz and askew indie-bossa: Yates’s punctuative vocals grip the song, while forlorn synths by renowned producer Sandro Perri mingle with her nylon guitar trot and expressive saxophone by Karen Ng. Head on a carpet bag, chin on an open book, Cots leads Disturbing Body towards its terminal abyss. She says:

“The end section is something of an outro to the entire record and I wanted it to feel different from the rest of the song. Sandro built a spot-on, dystopian sonic dreamscape for it and I love it. For me it is a perfectly ambiguous moment to end on.”

After residual effects of a concussion left Cots uncertain how to finish the record on her own, she reached out to Toronto musician and producer Perri about working together – his production notes of “play louder” and “sing plainer” eventually making indelible marks on the contours of each song. Disturbing Body found its rhythm over four cosy days in Guelph at The Cottage studio, run by Canadian veteran recording artist and engineer Scott Merritt. The result saw her crystalline vocals and intricate guitar entwined with Perri’s atmospheric arrangements for Blake Howard (percussion), Josh Cole (bass guitar), Ryan Brouwer (trumpet), Karen Ng (saxophone), Thomas Hammerton (keyboards), and Perri himself (synths, samples, field recordings). 

With the elements in place, the deft sonic precision of Disturbing Body evokes Yates’s understated yet detailed songcraft and attention to lyrical play. Over ponderous nylon guitar, and careful instrumental incursions, Yates’s crystalline voice carries the gravitas of the album’s ten elegiac movements. 

“These songs, for the most part, have to do with the heart, something I was shy to write about previously,” Yates reveals. “It's possible my deepening love for Brazilian music, wherein some of my favourite artists sing freely about o coração, emboldened me in this way. As a collection, the songs give a prismatic view of a lone heart in its course having known closeness and having known loss.”

Disturbing Body will be released August 11, 2021 via Boiled Records on vinyl and digital formats.

Munich quartet Web Web announces new spiritual jazz album 'WEB MAX'

Munich quartet Web Web announced WEB MAX, a new spiritual jazz album out August 27th via Compost Records. The full length is sometimes floating, sometimes soulful, always intense, and a wonderful homage to early 70s jazz. Web Web mastermind Roberto Di Gioia is accompanied for the first time by Max Herre as a composer, musician, and producer. The announcement comes with the first single “Akinuba / The Heart (ft. Yusef Lateef).”

In the winter of 2014, German rapper/producer Max Herre and Italian-German pianist Roberto Di Gioia played a tremendous show together. The two had been guest musicians at a few gigs for Gregory Porter, who in turn kindly accepted their invitation to perform at Herre's "MTV Unplugged" session (produced by Herre alongside Di Gioia and Samon Kawamura as production team KAHEDI). Porter's approach to the jazz quartet inspired Max to reflect how a rap artist could work in a more freely-flowing musical environment. Di Gioia's inspiration was a bit more straightforward: in the 80s, Di Gioia had played with jazz legends like

Woody Shaw, Johnny Griffin, and James Moody, but he’d largely left the jazz stages of his early years behind — just one random jam session with Porter's musicians during soundcheck relit his passion immensely. A short time later, Herre called Di Gioia saying “Let's get a spiritual jazz session going.”

Now, six years later, the album WEB MAX is the amazing result from the spur of that moment. It is a wonderful homage to the cosmic open-mindedness of early 70s jazz, to the transcendent sublimity of spiritual sound. WEB MAX is the fourth album in four years by the highly acclaimed Web Web quartet, consisting of keyboardist/pianist Roberto Di Gioia, saxophonist Tony Lakatos, bassist Christian von Kaphengst, and drummer Peter Gall, all of them longtime performers of the highest virtuosity, signed to Michael Reinboth's Compost Records. 

The only words on the album belong to Yusef Lateef, the great saxophonist and flutist who passed away in 2013. On “Akinuba / The Heart,” in the form of a poem Lateef talks about "The Heart” along a repetitive bass line. "I was particularly impressed by his musical lyrics. And how close his music melts with the topics he is talking about," says Herre. The poem ends with the words "the heart is born pure.”

Herre's voice, on the other hand, can only be heard as an occasional whispering falsetto in cosmic spheres. His electronic "rustle“ (as he calls it) and the groovy, minimalist thrusts of his Wurlitzer may seem modest at first amid the other virtuoso instrumentalists.

However, it is precisely this simplicity that proves to be an integral piece. "Simplicity is sometimes the most sophisticated effort," explains Di Gioia. “And he has something special there that I don't have. Max plays like an indie guitarist who just hits that one note that makes people freak out.“ And Herre replies with a laugh: “I am a rhythm pianist. I actually just play a few repeating chords at a time, almost like a hip-hop sample.“ 

Herre's love for jazz goes back to his teenage years in Stuttgart, way back before his hip-hop career. And that too began around 1990, when jazz became a go-to for hip-hop groups like A Tribe Called Quest or Gang Starr. This influence carries from Herre‘s former group Freundeskreis, to his solo albums produced with Di Gioia, and finally all the way to WEB MAX. 

 

The Fontanas - Love Be The Weapon

Rooted in soul and soaked in funky Latin & Brazilian influences The Fontanas have found the sweet spot between tight funk grooves and swinging Latin rhythms taking influence from the likes of The Dap Kings and Banda Black Rio, The Fontanas have built their solid live reputation through a series of knockout European tours and festival performances.

Featuring the inimitable Kay Elizabeth on vocals and harnessed by producer Sam Sutton, the band have come together to produce a sound which packs in Brazilian percussion with killer brass section via a crack squad of friends and musicians who play alongside the likes of Incognito, Mr Scruff and Alice Russell.2020 saw the EP release which included their scorching modern day version of Brazilian classic ‘Capoeira Mata Um’ that received airplay from Cerys Matthews on BBC6 Music amongst others.

With time on their hands last year, the band set to work on completing their much anticipated 2nd album which lands on 3rd September 2021 and includes a selection of singles and guest remixes to support the release.

Opening single ‘Love Be The Weapon’ welcomes producer Jon Moon (Amy Whinehouse) into the Fontanas familia to deliver a super charged traditional funk anthem, with a Daptone studio feel and at home amongst the best heavyweight modern funk pioneers.

Barry Altschul 3dom Factor | "Long Tall Sunshine"

Three, as those of us who grew up on Schoolhouse Rock will remember, truly is a magic number. It’s enshrined in the name of The 3dom Factor, the astounding trio led by legendary drummer/improviser Barry Altschul for the last decade or so. That sobriquet reflects the vital importance of all three voices in the band: not only Altschul’s powerful, ever-inquisitive drumming, but the tirelessly venturesome saxophone playing of Jon Irabagon and the acrobatic muscularity of bass great Joe Fonda.

So naturally, the release of the 3dom Factor’s third album, Live in Kraków, in 2017 felt like a natural conclusion of sorts for the project. It summed up a neat trilogy that began with the band’s self-titled 2012 debut, which concentrated on Altschul’s original tunes; followed by the 2015 follow-up, Tales of the Unforeseen, a second studio date that was almost wholly improvised save for a pair of intriguing covers; and finally, Live in Kraków, a dazzling showcase of the trio’s onstage inventiveness.

Fortunately for lovers of exploratory jazz at its finest, Altschul decided against letting that trilogy stand alone. After four years of recorded silence, The 3dom Factor makes its welcome return with Long Tall Sunshine, an exhilarating concert performance captured somewhere in Europe during the trio’s spring 2019 tour. (Unfortunately the band’s record-keeping isn’t quite as skillful as its interplay, leaving the specifics as something of a mystery.) Due out July 30, 2021 via Not Two, Long Tall Sunshine finds The 3dom Factor at the top of its form, navigating five of Altschul’s expansive compositions with a staggering display of in-the-moment inspiration and tightrope-walking audacity.

“This album is kind of a bonus,” Altschul says. “The third album felt like a nice way to end the series, but I read several reviews that said they hoped this wasn't the last release. The audience wanted more.” As did Altschul’s triomates, who strongly encouraged him to release this particular concert after hearing the dauntless imagination of the performance.

“More” is precisely what Long Tall Sunshine has to offer. Four of the five tracks will be familiar to longtime fans of the drummer, having made up the repertoire not only of the previous 3dom Factor outings but of Altschul’s early-80s trio with Ray Anderson and Mark Helias and his FAB Trio with Fonda and the late violinist Billy Bang. The exception is the title track, a previously unrecorded composition dedicated to a former paramour who Altschul describes as “long and tall, with this sunny disposition.”

Anchored by Fonda’s pulsating bassline, the tune’s sinuous theme is an alluring mix of the sleek and the sunny, an ideal launching point for Irabagon’s inexhaustible array of melodic variations. Altschul prods the saxophonist onward with an invigorating barrage of combustible percussion, laying back only to make room for Fonda’s eloquent bass solo, which the drummer parries with conversational expertise, reflecting the pair’s long history together.

The remaining four pieces all appeared on The 3dom Factor, with three of them reprised on Live in Kraków. The multiple versions of each make for enlightening comparison, shining a spotlight on the trio’s unceasing creativity and gift for completely reinventing each tune from one performance to the next. It’s also reflective of Altschul’s philosophy of improvised music. 

“I don't really believe that anything is really new,” he emphasizes. “I'm a believer in ‘fresh.’ I listen to Miles Davis when he said that Louis Armstrong played everything that could be played. So it's just a matter of being fresh. So using the same compositions just provides a springboard to let us get into some fresh improvisational spaces.

 “Plus,” he adds, a wry smile creeping into his voice, “I'm lazy.”

It’s difficult to put much stock into that claim given the longevity of Altschul’s career, which now stretches out over more than five decades and includes collaborations with many of the music’s most towering figures, including Chick Corea, Paul Bley, Lee Konitz, Anthony Braxton, Sam Rivers and Andrew Hill. Another deciding factor in releasing Long Tall Sunshine (though the breathtaking quality of the music is reason enough) was Altschul’s encroaching 80th birthday, which will arrive in January 2023. With the pandemic taking live performance out of the equation at a moment when the drummer was contemplating the winding down of his touring schedule, it felt all the more important to remind the world of the continuing vitality of this major voice in free music.

The cover portrait of Long Tall Sunshine, by Altschul’s friend and NYC neighbor Nora Howard, captures its subject’s energy as well as his forward-looking attitude. “Nora's a very dear friend, and when she showed me this painting I said, ‘It looks like it's not finished.’ And she said, ‘Well’ neither are you!’ That worked for me.”

A renowned drummer whose tastes and abilities run the gamut from hard bop to free jazz and beyond, Barry Altschul gained fame in the late 1960s alongside such pioneering artists as Paul Bley and Chick Corea. In 1969 he joined Corea, bassist Dave Holland and saxophonist Anthony Braxton to form the group Circle, and went on to work extensively with Braxton throughout the 1970s. He also recorded with such greats as Sam Rivers, Andrew Hill, Dave Liebman and Julius Hemphill. Never one to stick to one style of playing, Altschul‘s groundbreaking work in the avant-garde was paralleled by his straight ahead work with the likes of Lee Konitz and Art Pepper. After spending much of the ‘80s and ‘90s in Europe, he returned to greater prominence in the early 2000s, forming the FAB Trio with Joe Fonda and Billy Bang, working with peers like Roswell Rudd and Steve Swell, collaborating with a new generation of forward-looking musicians including Jon Irabagon, both in the saxophonist’s explosive trio and The 3Dom Factor.

Cheb i Sabbah Posthumous Release Featuring Peter Murphy & Azam Ali

The late Cheb i Sabbah was one of the most important and influential artists on the Global Fusion scene. His six classic albums for Six Degrees Records combined the traditional music of South East Asia, North Africa and the Middle East with what he termed "DJ Science." Before his untimely death in 2013, he completed a final record and "Keep Coming Back" is the first single from that project. The song was co-written by and features the vocals of legendary Bauhaus vocalist Peter Murphy, as well as vocals from Azam Ali, herself a hugely popular artist who has amassed a fervent following for her solo work, as well as her work with the group Niyaz. The three-song EP is out August 6, 2021, a day before Cheb i Sabbah’s 74th birthday and features an Azam Ali remix and an Opium Sabbah remix. Pre-order/pre-save here: https://ffm.to/keepcomingback. 

The record was 95% finished by Cheb i Sabbah himself before he passed away and was completed by Gaurav Raina from the Midival Punditz under the supervision of Chebi's family. Opium Sabbah, Chebi’s son explains his involvement in the project, “This song is, and always will be, very close to my heart as it is the last musical project my father and I worked on together. It is also a testimonial of brotherhood between Peter and my father, a coming together of two greats that was mektoub. On my Chebi Habibi remix I tried to include musical genres I grew up on and was introduced to by my father; World Music, Punk Rock and of course Hip-Hop. A message to all 'to keep coming back' - back to the memories, music, and legacy of Cheb i Sabbah.” Cheb i’s daughter, Eva Cherokee El Beze, who does a spoken recitation on Opium Sabbah's remix adds, “Keep Coming Back resonated deeply with my father after Peter (Murphy) shared a personal story of how the song idea came to him. It was an image and sentiment that could be related to reincarnation, survival, being able to return home and always being given a second chance. In the piece I wrote for the Chebi Habibi Remix I wanted to encompass all of the fragments that embodied our dad through the many, varied stages of his life. My wish is that my father's belief, music heals, continues for multiple generations and they too, keep coming back. For the sound, the healing, the joy. Inshallah.” 

Recalling the time they spent together co-writing the track, Peter Murphy remembers “A spiritual brotherly time together. Chebi was the one most alive and vital. The meaning of the song is crystal clear in listening to the lyrics…it’s so essential to all religions especially the middle spoken section...It’s all right there.” 

Azam Ali also reflects, “I can still hear Chebi’s voice in my head the day he called me from India, excited about the idea of Peter & I singing together on a track. This was his final artistic dream, to hear his friends & fellow artists come together & create something that without Chebi would have never existed. This was who he was, the human being & artist who found his bliss in bringing people together both on the dance floor as well as in life. He was nothing less than an alchemist." 

Cheb i Sabbah’s wife, Suzanne Thomas concludes, “Serge was so very pleased, moved, and excited about this song- for him, working and becoming friends with Peter was akin to twins finding one another after lifetimes apart. A shot to his heart of pure love and esteem from cupid's quiver. Aum mande padme Aum.” 

Susana Baca | "Palabras Urgentes"

Palabras Urgentes, forthcoming on Real World Records, marks the 50th year of Susana Baca’s extraordinary musical career.  With an illustrious life spanning music, teaching and politics from multiple GRAMMY Awards to becoming Peru’s first black cabinet minister and holding the post of Minister of Culture, Palabras Urgentes is the nexus of all Susana’s experiences and, at the age of 76, is the album she always wanted to create. 

Translated as Urgent Truths, the album was recorded as a form of protest, to spark debate and intended to take on today’s difficult times. It is the combination of the music’s beauty and the urgency of the lyrics that makes Palabras Urgentes so compelling. 

On July 30, Susana releases the lead single from the album titled “La Herida Oscura,” a homage to Micaela Bastidas, the guerrilla leader and one of the most courageous women of Peru’s independence. This year marks the 200th anniversary of Peru’s independence and “La Herida Oscura” pays tribute to Bastidas as a central figure in its accomplishment. Susana’s great friend Chabuca Granda, was inspired by the leader and wrote this song in tribute to Micaela, entrusting it to Susana to sing. 

Susana passionately adds, “I sing La Herida Oscura almost as if it were a secret, with the same intensity and love towards our history, I sing this song and will continue to sing it…every bit of rhythm can be found here, no words are missing.” 

Recorded in Cañete, a small town located 150 kilometers from Peru’s Capital, Lima, Palabras Urgentes is a collection of 10 songs, each song its own individual chapter of an all-encompassing narrative, taking the listener on a journey through a unique musical reflection on the traditions of Peru. Susana touches on subjects surrounding feminism, liberty and education, and reflects on personal stories taking the listener on a journey that invokes romance, sorrow, strength and hope. 

The album is given added life by the presence and support of GRAMMY award winning multi-instrumentalist and bandleader of the emblematic New York band Snarky Puppy, Michael League. The producer has challenged Susana and the musicians approach to making music and bought a new perspective to creating the album, his productions bring a universal and contemporary sound to the album. Susana Baca became aware of Michael League when she discovered a group of young students from the University of North Texas, College of Music who were singing, playing, and taking inspiration from her work and assembling a repertoire of songs. One of them was League, who in 2015 came down to Lima Peru with his band Snarky Puppy.

Susana explains, “During the visit he invited me to participate on the album Family Dinner II [2016]. Contributing to the album, and singing with him, made us more than just close friends, we became family. Quite soon after, I invited Michael to produce one of my albums and he accepted, and so in 2018, he, Jeff Coffin (saxophonist) and Fab Dupont (audio engineer) came to Lima. They stayed at my house for 10 days and during this time, and accompanied by other musicians, we undertook a wonderful journey. Palabras Urgentes simply came to be. It came to be thanks to its rebelliousness and the eclectic nature of its sounds.” 

Palabras Urgentes’ message is strong and it uses the most powerful weapon to fight injustice: knowledge. 

Susana Baca reflects, “With my own spirit and the hearts and talent of all those who have contributed, we offer this album as a renewal of our traditional music. I hope those listening to this album feel both a love for life and a love for living truthfully.” 

Aretha Franklin | "ARETHA" (4CD set)

A really fantastic career-spanning collection of work from Aretha Franklin – the first we've ever seen to start with her earliest years, then follow the greatness of her voice and spirit as it blossomed strongly over the decades! Sure, most folks know Franklin's classic work on Atlantic – but this package features earlier sides for Chess and Columbia, later work from Arista – and a whole host of rare and unreleased material – plus special tracks from side projects that worked together to form a crucial part of Aretha's legacy over the years! This 4CD package is beautiful – a book-style cover, with loads of vintage and rare photos, essays on Aretha by David Nathan and Rochelle Riley, and track-by track notes on the 81 tracks included in the lavish set. 

In addition to the rare tracks, there's some other great surprises here – and titles include "Until You Come Back To Me (work tape)", "Chain Of Fools (alt version)", "Rock Steady (alternate mix)", "Call Me (alt version)", "How I Got Over (live single edit)", "Chain Of Fools (alt)", "My Kind Of Town (Detroit Is) (demo)", "Try A Little Tenderness (demo)", "Oh Baby (demo)", "Til It's Over (demo)", "Angel (work tape)", "Somewhere (alt version)", "Mr DJ", "Ooo Baby Baby (with Smokey Robinson)", "Share Your Love With Me (live)", "Spanish Harlem (alt mix)", "Bridge Over Troubled Water (long version)", "Young Gifted & Black (alt long version)", "It's Not Unusual/See Saw (with Tom Jones)", "You're All I Need To Get By (work tape)", "Don't Play That Song (live)", "Spirit In The Dark (live reprise with Ray Charles)", "Oh Happy Day (with Mavis Staples)", "Someday We'll All Be Free", "A Rose Is Still A Rose", "Master Of Eyes", "A Change Is Gonna Come (mono)", "One Step Ahead", "Never Grow Old", "Today I Sing The Blues", "You Light Up My Life (unissued)", "Think", "I Knew You Were Waiting (with George Michael)", "Respect", and her version of "Natural Woman" from the 2015 Kennedy Honors ceremony.  ~ Dusty Groove

Prince | "Welcome 2 America"

A really fantastic album from Prince – recorded in 2010, and unreleased at the time – but clearly one of the greatest things he gave us in the final decade of his life! This isn't uncooked demo material, or under-thought studio tracks – and instead, the whole thing is a fully-formed record with a message that really comes through in the title – more political Prince than usual, with an eye for our nation that rivals Sign O The Times! It may be that back when Prince recorded the set, the time wasn't right for the message – but these tracks definitely hit home now – and are often delivered in this sinister slow funk mode that really fits the lyrics – almost as if Prince were trying to give the world his version of a righteous 70s album on Curtom Records. Titles include "Running Game", "Born 2 Die", "Welcome 2 America", "Check The Record", "Hot Summer", "Stand Up & B Strong", "Same Page Different Book", and "One Day We Will All B Free". ~ Dusty Groove

Flugelhornist Gabriel Mark Hasselbach tongues contemporary jazz grooves on new album

He’s spent more weeks on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart than any other Canadian recording artist and with his 15th album, “Tongue & Groove,” trumpeter, flugelhornist, and flautist Gabriel Mark Hasselbach looks to land his eleventh Billboard hit. The Mesa/Bluemoon Recordings release is preceded by “Chill@Will,” the current radio single that Hasselbach wrote and produced with urban-jazz keyboardist Bob Baldwin.     

The release of “Tongue & Groove” coincides with the 30th anniversary of Hasselbach’s debut disc, “Solar Winds,” which launched an award-winning catalogue consisting of contemporary and straight-ahead jazz recordings.

‘Tongue & Groove’ is definitely my most in-depth and exciting album to date. I love improvised jazzy music in a framework, that is lyrical and succinct, not overly extrapolated or excessive. I come from a Chet Baker/Blue Mitchell frame of reference, laid over contemporary grooves and original concepts. I always aim for strong and concise content in whatever I play. It is all just jazz to me, the essence which should be a rich yet highly listenable sound for the head, heart and feet,” said the Vancouver-based Hasselbach, a Juno Award winner (Canada’s GRAMMY equivalent).

Hasselbach wrote and recorded “Tongue & Groove” last year while in quarantine, an experience reflected in the first two cuts: “Presence of Mind” and Chill@Will. 

“The first two tunes had a bit of a theme. We can - and had to – keep the mind present and calm during the pandemic. When Bob Baldwin and I started working on ‘Chill@Will,’ we built it from the vibe up, and the music just fell into place. It started out as a sketch from Bob, which I did a little work on to move it forward. The tune sat around for a while but kept scratching at the door because it was so catchy. I took up the cause again and pressed the ever-busy Mr. Baldwin into service so we could help it see the light of day. Many of my top charting tracks, as well as some of Bob's, are collaborations between us,” said Hasselbach.

“Tongue & Groove” also features collaborations with other noteworthy musicians such as two-time GRAMMY winner Paul Brown and Billboard chart-topper Chris Standring on guitar. Another guitarist showcased on the disc is Grant Geissman, who played and recorded with contemporary jazz legend Chuck Mangione. Geissman guests on Hasselbach’s vibrant revision of the classic “Feels So Good.”  

“I wanted to honor Chuck Mangione and thus be known as ‘the flugelhornist of today’ as was Chuck back in the day. Mesa/Bluemoon label head George Nauful knows Grant Geissman, the guitarist on the original. When George hooked us up, it seemed like kismet. Grant even played the exact 1968 Gibson guitar he used on that session with Mangione, and I play the same model and vintage flugelhorn, too, coincidentally,” said Hasselbach, who also spotlights saxophonist and co-songwriter Daniel Seguin, guitarist Brian Hughes and pianist/organist Miles Black on “Tongue & Groove.”  

As for the album title, Hasselbach said, “The title is at minimum a double entendre. In woodworking, tongue and groove refers to interlocking, smooth and seamless assembly or construction, and trumpeters tongue their notes, and in my case, also nail the groove.”

Hasselbach wrote or co-wrote eight funky jazz grooves for “Tongue & Groove” and produced or co-produced the tracks. Generously clocking in at over an hour and containing two remixes, “Chill@Will (Raincoast Mix)” and “Feels So Good (Extended Mix),” “Tongue & Groove” is a soul-powered R&B and instrumental pop session piloted by Hasselbach’s flugelhorn, flute, alto flute and trumpet. His animated horns astutely maneuver through percussive rhythms, textured beats and lush harmonies, blowing expressive communications, impassioned poetics and playful banter.         

Hasselbach was born in Denver but migrated to Canada after high school and holds dual citizenship. His 2011 “Told Ya So” was named Album of the Year and won him the Artist of the Year honors at the Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards. A best of-type compilation, 2019’s “Radio Gold,” broke Spotify streaming records. Hasselbach produced pop-jazz singer Michael Bublé’s “Dream” album and played on three of the global superstar’s albums. Earning gold and platinum records, among the other artists he has recorded with are GRAMMY winner Jeff Lorber, Darren Rahn, Greg Manning, Marc Antoine, Bob Mintzer, Tom Schuman, Rob Tardik, Brian Bromberg, and the late Chuck Loeb and John Denver. For more information, please visit http://gabrieljazz.com.

Albums by Oscar Peterson, The Count Basie Orchestra and Rolf Kühn are reissued

Record collectors continue to rejoice as Germany’s first jazz label, MPS Records, reissues albums on vinyl and CD by many of the biggest artists in the genre. On Friday, albums by Oscar Peterson and his trio, The Count Basie Orchestra, and Rolf Kühn resurface via Edel Germany in partnership with Bob Frank Entertainment.

Reissued on standard black vinyl and CD earlier this month, Peterson’s “Motions & Emotions” was released Friday as a limited edition numbered blue vinyl LP. Always a swinger who exhibited extraordinary speed and dexterity, the Canadian jazzpianist interpreted a popular songbook on this 1969 release, interpreting material by John Lennon & Paul
McCartney, Burt Bacharach & Hal David, Henry Mancini, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Jimmy Webb, among others. The ten-track album captures Peterson with his astute quartet lavishly illumined by an orchestra.  

Peterson tipped off MPS about the vocal group from Chicago called The Singers Unlimited, a studio foursome led by Gene Puerling known for crafting elaborate layers of vocal tracks in their recordings. The pianist’s trio – Peterson, George Mraz on bass and Louis Hayes on drums - teamed with The Singers Unlimited for 1971’s “In Tune,” the first release spawned during a decade-long recording relationship between the sophisticated singers and MPS. Arriving Friday on vinyl and CD, the collection showcases Peterson’s nimble piano and the group’s vocal harmonies venturing through a varied set list that boasts a swinging strut down “Sesame Street,” a couple of Brazilian numbers (Jobim’s “Children’s Game” and Luiz Bonfá’s “The Gentle Rain), and classics culled from the Great American Songbook, including “It Never Entered My Mind,” “The Shadow of Your Smile” and “Once Upon A Summertime.”  

Count Basie’s 17-piece orchestra fills 1970’s “High Voltage” with swinging, big band renditions of standards the outfit had never recorded previously in its 30-year history. Recruiting Cuban composer/arranger Chico O’Farrill to arrange, The Count Basie Orchestra rifles through a dozen popular selections such as “The Lady Is A Tramp,” “Bewitched,” “Get Me To The Church On Time,” “On The Sunny Side of the Street” and “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was.”    

In honor of Kühn’s 90th birthday two years ago, the clarinetist is the subject of a nine-LP boxset entitled “The Best Is Yet To Come,” which is comprised of seven newly remastered vinyl albums from his catalogue along with a pair of live recordings of the Rolf + Joachim Kühn Quartet from 1966’s Berlin Jazz Days and 1967’s Newport Jazz
Festival that had never before been released. A rare-bred German who managed to find success living and playing jazz in America, Kühn was an exceptional artist with a unique sound and distinctive style, a quintessential jazz man who evolved throughout his career from big band swing to more adventurous and improvisational jazz. 

Jules Leyhe | "Your First Rodeo"

This ain’t your granddaddy’s blues. Heck, it ain’t even your daddy’s blues. Guitarist Jules Leyhe is on an entirely different trip. His forthcoming “Your First Rodeo” is a whimsical mashup of blues, hip hop, funk, fusion, jazz, rock and Latin music dropping September 17 on Monkey Finger Records. Producing the set with Protist, the Oakland, Calif.-based slide guitar slinger wrote the bucking bronco of an album that obstinately refuses to be categorized.   

An audacious collection evading lasso, “Your First Rodeo” brilliantly juxtaposes futuristic elements with downhome “comfort” sounds. Leyhe paired inventive sonicscapes with soulful blues guitarplay. Conceived and constructed using vivid fantasy, the guitarman wondered what it would sound like to pair diametrically opposed artists – or, in this case, use signature elements of the imagined artists’ unique style – on one recording. Picture Cardi B sitting in with the Buena Vista Social Club. Or Jimi Hendrix playing in Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Or Duane Allan jamming with jazz pianist Gil Evans.  

“I wanted to create music based off of collaborations that I’ve pictured of many of my favorite artists who never actually worked together. The clearest example is picturing Jimi Hendrix playing with the psychedelic Beatles era, a wild pairing that never actually happened but sure is fun to imagine and try to create with my own flavor. My bandmates’ fantastic playing and imaginations helped me reach for this sort of potential for pairing abstract, disparate musical ideas and getting away with it, or at least creating something unique to us. This album encapsulates so many musical idioms with a gritty, urban, fun feel of an old-soul Oakland band,” said Leyhe who was empowered by his Family Jules Band – keyboardist Ian McArdle, saxophonist Nancy Wright, bassist Murph Murphy and drummer Isaac Schwartz.

Enabling Leyhe’s fantastical vision is a powerful protagonist in horn player Shane Cox, who deftly uses layers of trumpet, trombone and sousaphone to illuminate the intricately textured tracks with color, might and majesty. The horns leap off the page, providing melodic framework for Leyhe’s shrieking slide guitar, embellishing dexterous fretwork and spiking rampaging guitar assaults.  

Preceding the album release, “Start Your Engines,” an intense two-plus minute gauzy guitar workout, will be released as a single early next month and can be heard at https://soundcloud.com/julesleyhe/start-your-engines-1. The cut is a snapshot of the eclectic fabric of “Your First Rodeo” that is devoid of a singular narrative or storyline. It’s a collection created solely for entertainment and leaves the interpretation of the music up to the listener.

Leyhe played two sold-out shows at The Sound Room in Oakland with his band over the July 4th holiday weekend, their first live concerts post-quarantine. Less than a week before the stay-at-home order was issued in the Bay Area last year, he was on the Paramount Theatre stage in Oakland shredding alongside legendary blues guitarists Buddy Guy and Jimmie Vaughan. The Berklee College of Music graduate who studied blues and slide guitar has also performed with Huey Lewis, Fantastic Negrito, Chris Cain and Taj Mahal, the latter of whom he recently interviewed for a feature in the August issue of Guitar Player. The magazine featured Leyhe in a 2018 story and accompanying instructional video about how to play like Allman, writing that the young bluesman is “a wicked slide player” who has “old-soul sensibilities, go-for-bust attitude, and deep understanding of the nuances of Duane Allman’s style.”

Leyhe, who will perform the National Anthem next month solo prior to an Oakland A’s vs. San Francisco Giants game and will lead his band in a tribute to Mahal at the prestigious SFJAZZ next May, has a message for those who are new to his work.     

“Since this is your first rodeo, hopefully you’ll find the new album to be a spirited musical adventure through wildly animated tunes. With no lyrics and only instruments and textural/environmental sounds, we hope that the listener can hop on board our sonic journey and come up with a personal meaning for each song. It’s supposed to be a lot of fun - like a Marvel Comics movie and like the album cover, which is filled with tongue-in-cheek, music nerd-type humor and entertainment.”

Guitarist-Composer Ken Ramm signs with Bob Frank Entertainment for catalog reissues and a new album

While Euphoria’s eclectic records may be somewhat underground and better known in the art-rock-pop world, there’s a good chance that you’re familiar with Emmy nominated guitarist-composer Ken Ramm’s music, thanks to Euphoria’s tracks being licensed for use in high-profile television and film projects in addition to serving as the soundtrack for Apple campaigns and keynote speeches by Steve Jobs. Mainstream music fans have the chance to discover and delve into the Euphoria catalog now that four of Ramm’s albums have been reissued by Bob Frank Entertainment leading to the release of a new album, “5 Times A Charm,” this Fall.

The Euphoria projects recently reissued are “Dragon” (1981) and “Ramm” (1984). Albums “e4 Instrumental” and “e4 Vocal” (both 2013) will be reissued later this year followed by the new recording.

Throughout his lengthy and diverse career path, Ramm has been crafting imaginative sonicscapes drawn from broad palates of electronic, trip hop, jazz, fusion, Americana, progressive rock and pop. Releasing a catalog of adventurous albums as Euphoria, the audacious alchemist found inventive ways to set his predominantly twelve-string acoustic guitar among lavish aural tapestries, use gauzy electric slide guitar to texturize experimental audio files, and dispense improvised melodies amidst danceable grooves.

“We are thrilled to be working with Ken Ramm (Euphoria) on his new music as well as his catalog. For the first time ever, it will be marketed together, and we hope to bring his beautiful compositions to a wider audience,” said Bob Frank, CEO and founder of Bob Frank Entertainment.

“It is a great privilege to be working with an experienced music man such as Bob Frank and his Bob Frank Distribution team,” said Ramm, a global artist based in Toronto and New York who often records in London. “Their alliance with SONY and The Orchard makes for a powerful combination. To have a historical perspective of my music, aligned with the upcoming new material from my music project, ‘5 Times A Charm,’ gives the music buying and listening public a chance to experience my growth as an artist both past and present.”

Ramm’s first offering “Dragon” was mixed by GRAMMY winner Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel). He has collaborated with Rush’s Geddy Lee and Neil Peart, and vocalists Tracy Bonham and Tina Dico (Zero 7) are featured singing on Euphoria albums.

Filmmakers and television music supervisors have been enamored with Euphoria’s striking and visually compelling material, which run the gamut from high-energy club bangers to moody atmospherics. Euphoria tracks have been heard on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “The Expendables 3,” “Roswell” and “Oprah.” Academy Award-winning director Michael Mann used Euphoria cuts “Devil May Care” and “Blue” for the HBO series “Luck,” which starred Dustin Hoffman. Apple and Nissan are among the companies who have featured Euphoria’s music in commercials while Steve Jobs used the single “Sweet Rain” as the soundtrack for the 2002 MacWorld launch in addition to selecting the song “Delirium” as the backdrop for a keynotes address.

Ramm performed live at dublab’s 20th anniversary in 2019 and frequently serves as a guest host on the Los Angeles-based radio outlet’s shows, including “In His Own Words,” “Patrick Gleeson” and “Songs For Film And Television,” which can be found archived on the dublab website.

For more information about Ramm and Euphoria, please visit https://euphoria.to.

Trineice Robinson with Don Braden, Cyrus Chestnut, Kenny Davis, Vince Ector on "All or Nothing"

With the August 6, 2021 release of All Or Nothing, vocalist Trineice Robinson crosses off a major item on her bucket list, finally releasing her debut album at the age of 40. Belated though her emergence into the spotlight may be, Robinson does so with the confidence and dazzling range of a performer who’s invested a lifetime in her craft.

It also must be one of the last unfulfilled dreams on that bucket list: she’s already enjoyed a career as a renowned educator and researcher, developing her pioneering Soul Ingredients® teaching methodology to remedy the lack of Black music traditions represented in the field of voice pedagogy; and she’s raised two children, both of whom sing along with her on All Or Nothing.

“My focus on academia ended up superseding my ability to really nourish myself as an artist,” Robinson says. “With Soul Ingredients®, I teach concepts like ‘sing your soul’ and ‘music your story.’ Now it’s my turn to do that.”

Robinson finds herself in stellar company for her debut. She’s joined throughout the album by an all-star group featuring saxophonist Don Braden, who also contributed many of the arrangements; pianist Cyrus Chestnut, bassist Kenny Davis and drummer Vince Ector, along with guest appearances by pianist Phil Orr, guitarist Joe “Stretch” Vinson, percussionist Kahlil Kwame Bell and the horn section of Ian Kaufman, John Meko and Nils Mossblad.

Robinson’s path has crossed these musicians at a variety of junctures throughout her career as an educator and performer. Some of them are colleagues from Princeton University, where she is a member of the Jazz faculty; others have been connections made through her travels as a scholar and researcher; others are longtime collaborators on the local music scene where Robinson has plied her trade while focused on her teaching. And of course there are her children, Laura-Simone Martin and Lindsay Martin Jr., who lend a sweetness and charm to Robinson’s gospel-inspired original, “Let It Shine.”

“I tried to engage people that are a part of my journey,” she explains. “Whether it's my family or my colleagues, these are all people that I felt understood my vision and could help me be better at me being me. I got people that helped me shine.”

The music on All Or Nothing, a blend of standards, jazz classics, R&B/soul favorites and original songs, reflects Robinson’s diverse tastes and interests. In fact, it was her restless desire to explore beyond the narrow confines of a single defined genre that led her down the circuitous path to All Or Nothing.  

“One of the subconscious reasons that I didn't push forward in my own artistry was the recognition that I fit in so many categories,” she says. “The industry makes you choose: if you're going to be a jazz singer you have to sound a certain way; if you're going to be a gospel singer or an R&B singer or a classical singer, you have to sound a certain way. What happens if I'm all of those? My mission was to find answers for myself as I tried to understand who I was as a performer.”

Her entire career in academia was a result of not being able to find those answers when vocal pedagogy was decidedly focused on the European classical tradition. She eventually remedied that with Soul Ingredients®, which encourages vocalists to find their own personal blend of influences and autobiography in their approach to singing. “The ingredients I talk about are the components that people use for self-expression,” Robinson explains. “When you understand how ingredients are used in a dish, you can create whatever dish you want.”

Robinson’s own passion for music began in Oakland, California, where she came from generations of clergy. Though she began singing in church, she resisted following in those footsteps, instead starting college as an engineering major. The urge to sing wasn’t quelled for long, however, and she eventually earned her master’s in jazz studies at Indiana University-Bloomington, where she studied with Dr. David Baker, and her doctorate in music education at Teachers College Columbia University.

The wholeheartedness with which she attacks every aspect of her career is reflected in the title of All Or Nothing, taken from the standard that opens the album. Braden’s forceful, abbreviated arrangement underlines the fervency of Robinson’s attitude as she takes on this next challenge. The singer’s take on Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints,” with lyrics by former student Nandita Rao, focuses on the crucial idea of legacy. “I'm always talking about legacy,” Robinsons says. “What are you leaving behind? Do you realize you have the power and the responsibility to make a difference?”

Robinson’s love of classic soul shines through on her silken rendition of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” The subtle addition of “hoodies” to the lyric updates the song’s lament to the current day. “We're still singing the same songs and telling the same stories,” Robinson says tersely regarding the racial struggles that remain relevant a half century after the original song’s release. Some respite from that pain is provided by Duke Ellington’s revered “Come Sunday,” an intimate duet by Robinson and Chestnut that, she says, “definitely brings out my church influences… The concept behind it is that no matter what's going on, on Sunday things are going to make sense, even for a couple of hours.”

Robinson’s “mini-song,” “If This Is Love,” leads into “The Very Thought of You,” on which she and Braden alternate burnishing the melody. Both that and especially “Save Your Love For Me” were chosen in homage to Robinson’s favorite singer, the great Nancy Wilson, who passed away as she was working on the album. Another hero, Carmen McRae, is echoed on the Thelonious Monk tune “You Know Who (I Mean You).” She showcases her transfixing way with a ballad on the McCoy Tyner/Sammy Cahn collaboration “You Taught My Heart To Sing,” and a tropical soul feel on Natalie Cole’s sunny “La Costa.” The album ends with the brassy gospel of “Let It Shine,” save for a brief, heartwarming coda from 10-year old Lindsay Martin Jr.

Jazz, gospel, R&B, classical – Robinson combines ingredients from all of this music into the rich, expressive stew that makes All Or Nothing a bountiful feast for the listener. Combine all of that with her vivid emotional delivery and the unapologetic way she makes every lyric so deeply personal makes this a stunning debut well worth waiting for.

Trineice Robinson

Dr. Trineice Robinson-Martin has dedicated her career to performing and developing resources for teaching jazz, gospel/Christian, R&B, rock, country, and pop singing styles in an applied/private voice lesson setting. In addition to releasing her debut album, All Or Nothing, she maintains a busy schedule as a singer in a variety of styles while holding a faculty position at Princeton University as the jazz voice instructor, lecturer, and director of the Jazz Vocal Collective Ensemble. She serves on the National Faculty in the academic division of Gospel Music Workshop of America, serves as the Executive Director of the African American Jazz Caucus, Inc., serves as a Board of Director for the Jazz Education Network, serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Singing, and is a member of the distinguished American Academy of Teachers of Singing. Dr. Trineice created Soul Ingredients®, a teaching methodology for developing a singer’s musical style/interpretation in African American folk based music styles (i.e. jazz, gospel, R&B, blues, etc.). This methodology shows students how to take their personal experiences, musical influences and models, and execute the different components in a manner that is personal to the singer/performer’s own personal expression.

 

Kat Eaton | "Talk To Me"

Kat Eaton is a Welsh-born, Sheffield-raised, London-dwelling soul/r&b artist, who over the last few years has been steadily making a name for herself both in the UK and overseas. Known for her powerhouse vocals, Kat is also adept at songwriting, tackling delicate and topical issue such as mental health, modern love or drunk dialing an ex.

Originally discovered through the radio show “BBC Introducing”, Kat‘s first singles “Giving It Up” and “The Joker” earned her strong support from BBC Radio 2, Robert Elms and Gaby Roslin on BBC Radio London, as well as BBC Introducing in Sheffield. “The Joker” was also play-listed at renowned Dutch station NPO 2.

Having already toured the UK/EU supporting various artists (Jools Holland, Marc Broussard, The Teskey Brothers, Mama’s Gun), selling out multiple headlines shows in London, co-writing with the likes of Ruby Turner, Caro Emerald and Andy Platts (Mama’s Gun / Young Gun Silver Fox) and breaking through to new territories via the national radio airwaves of Holland and Belgium, Kat has established herself as one of the hardest working and talented performers in her field.

Kat met long time collaborator & now partner Nick Atkinson at just 15 in Sheffield, a city that had a profound impact on Kat & Nick’s musical identity, with its rich lineage of working class musicians influencing the pair massively. Although Kat is very much the face of the project, behind the scenes Nick contributes with co-writing & production credits, making the music very much a collaborative effort between them both.

The result of their labor will be on full display on July 2nd, when Kat releases her debut album Talk To Me. While some debut albums show artists still finding their feet and sonic direction, Kat is unashamedly bold & confident in her abilities as a vocalist and songwriter, effortlessly merging soul and classic r&b throughout a mature and well-rounded 10 tracks that will no doubt solidify Kat’s place as an artist already at the top of their game and now ready to share the fruits of years of hard work to the world.

Steven Bernstein Releases "Planet B" - From 'Tinctures In Time (Community Music, Vol. 1)

Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra has released "Planet B," the latest single and opening track from the band's forthcoming album 'Tinctures In Time (Community Music, Vol. 1)' due September 3 on Royal Potato Family. The song is accompanied by a video created by Kit Fitzgerald. 

"'Planet B' is one of the first original compositions I wrote for MTO after almost 20 years of arranging the American songbook for the band. The piece uses elements that I've been exploring for years: Ellington, Machito, Sun Ra and Gil Evans, a simple 'folk' melody, all over a true MTO-style groove," explains Bernstein. "When it came time to make my first music video, I reached out to Kit Fitzgerald, a pioneer in the video world who has collaborated with artists from many disciplines including drummer Max Roach, choreographer Donald Byrd and poet Anne Waldman. I asked her to make something beautiful, something she would make for herself. I wanted her to create her own narrative, different from anything I could imagine. And she did."

'Tinctures In Time (Community Music, Vol. 1)' is the first edition in Steven Bernstein's four volume 'Community Music' series. Every four months, beginning this September and stretching through September 2022, a new album will be released. Each showcases a different facet of the acclaimed arranger and trumpeter who over a 40 year career has worked alongside everyone from Levon Helm to Lou Reed, Aretha Franklin to Sam Rivers, Robert Altman to Radiohead. In addition to 'Tinctures In Time,' which marks the first occasion Bernstein has written original music for his long-standing nonet, the Millennial Territory Orchestra, the series includes 'Good Time Music (Community Music, Vol. 2)' with singer Catherine Russell that celebrates a handful of high-stepping, feel-good songs from the history of modern recorded music, out January 7, 2022; 'Manifesto of Henry-isms (Community Music, Vol. 3)' comprised by re-imaginings of Bernstein's inspired arrangements for the brilliant New Orleans pianist Henry Butler & The Hot 9 with guests John Medeski and Arturo O'Farrill, follows May 6, 2022; and 'Popular Culture (Community Music, Vol. 4),' a set of Bernstein-ian takes on The Grateful Dead, Charles Mingus, The Beatles and others, concludes the series on September 2, 2022.

Aptly titled 'Community Music,' Steven Bernstein's community is the essence of these recordings, made over four days in 2020 and featuring an ensemble of musicians who have been both integral to the New York City creative music scene and co-collaborators with Bernstein for the last 30 years. The acclaimed arranger and trumpeter has known pianist Arturo O'Farrill for well over 30 years and drummer Ben Perowsky for nearly 40; he's been playing music with saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum since they were twelve years old. And he's known everyone else in the Millennial Territory Orchestra for at least 25 years, starting when Bernstein moved from Berkeley to New York City in 1979 and soon found himself in the thick of the golden age of the downtown jazz scene, becoming a member of John Lurie & The Lounge Lizards. The initial spark for 'Community Music' concept can be traced back to his co-leader in The Hot 9, legendary New Orleans pianist Henry Butler, passing in 2018 and then Bernstein's mother the following year. Understandably, Bernstein began to consider his own mortality—and his musical legacy. Soon thereafter he won a Shifting Foundation grant (previous recipients include Bill Frisell, Craig Taborn and John Zorn) to document as many of his unrecorded and sometimes even unperformed arrangements as possible.

"I thought, 'While I'm still on the planet, I need to start documenting my arrangements,'" says Bernstein. "Levon Helm's not here, and Henry Butler's not here, and Hal Willner's not here, and Roswell Rudd's not here, and Lou Reed's not here. So I'm carrying forward all the stuff I learned from them, but through the way I look at it. Hal used to say, as our favorite musicians were passing, 'It's up to us now, we need to make the music with the same intent as our heroes. We have to be our own heroes now.'"