Brasuka | "A Vida Com Paixão"

Over the past year and a half, music experienced a dark and dismal outlook of pandemic doom. But in demanding times, musicians keep us grounded. They call up the strong, beautiful parts of our spirits.

Welcome Brasuka, the hopeful and spirited ensemble that offers a healing outlook. Based in Dallas, the sextet’s compelling debut recording, A Vida Com Paixão, captures the joy and beauty of its translated name, A Life With Passion. Inspired by different styles of Brazilian music with spices of reggae, classical, jazz improvisation, folk-styled melodies, Uruguayan candombe, and splashes of pop, the six-member band, along with special guests, delivers a sublime album with every tune a pure delight of lyricism and percussive rhythms. It is released on trombonist Nick Finzer’s Outside in Music label.  

The 10 tracks, including 9 original songs, work together as a culturally diverse journey of a group formed a decade ago, originally as a Sergio Mendes tribute spearheaded by percussionist Ricardo Bozas and vocalist and current spokesperson, Rosana Eckert. “After many years of playing music by artists like Sergio Mendes and Ivan Lins, the band evolved. After a few personnel changes and some brainstorming, we shifted our focus to original music. We started writing songs together as a group and loved it.” says Eckert. 

Eckert likens the band to a collective. “There is no one leader. There are six leaders, and we’re all invested. The biggest challenge has been finding the time to rehearse and write, given that we all have so many other musical jobs and groups. But we believe in this band and devote ourselves to it, planning rehearsals weeks in advance. Rehearsals are often day-long events when we eat together, write, arrange, eat some more. We also split up into smaller groups for writing sessions.” she says.

Brasuka stands as a solid band with a firm undergirding influenced by their shared love of Brazilian music. The multi-ethnic ensemble features Mexican-American Eckert on vocals and keyboards, Uruguay-born Bozas on percussion and vocals, Cuba-born Denny Robinson on keys and vocals, Tom Burchill from South Dakota on acoustic and electric guitars and vocals, Dallas-born Brian Warthen on bass and percussion, and Puerto Rico native Jose Aponte on drums and vocals. Guests include co-producer Daniel Pardo on flutes and melodica, Drew Zaremba on flute and tenor sax, and Jeff Robbins on tenor saxophone. 

Written by Eckert especially for the band, the opening track, “Samba Jiji,” delivers with welcoming percussion and her captivating wordless vocals. “I think this song best represents the band. It’s got a cool and funky partido alto groove, it’s danceable, and like many of our songs, it has a big sing-along at the end.” she says. 

The ebullient “Road to Hermeto” was the first tune the group wrote all together. It was inspired by innovative Brazilian composer Hermeto Pascoal who often writes complex and whimsical melodies. The band channeled Hermeto’s style with harmonic twists and turns and exciting eighth-note rhythms. Other tunes are credited as Eckert/Bozas collaborations. The title track, “A Vida Com Paixão,” is a joyful and uplifting invitation with exuberant Portuguese vocals sailing over an infectious samba reggae. “Marakandombe,” sparks as a hybrid of two grooves: Uruguayan candombe and the Brazilian maracatu. There’s an interchange of gentle march-like majesty followed by a nod to rock with Burchill’s scorching guitar solo. On “Deusa Do Meu Carnaval,” dance is central to the theme of the song’s evolution, from a gentle samba sung by an admirer about a beautiful dancer to a rousing street carnival party with Pardo conjuring up flute and melodica joy. 

Eckert and Bozas also combine to shape the cheerful “Praia Felix” about the percussionist’s paradisal visit to Felix Beach in Ubatuba in the São Paulo state. “Ricardo wrote the melody and a lyric about his trip, and I added the chords as I imagined he heard them. He wanted to help people understand the story, so we sang in both Portuguese and English. And of course, there’s a big beach party at the end!” Eckert says.

Other songs include Eckert’s original “Reina’s Song” accompanied by Burchill on classical-styled acoustic guitar. It’s the most sobering moment on the album, inspired by Eckert’s aunt grieving the loss of her husband. “I had written the melody twenty years prior, and it finally found a home with Brasuka.” she says. 

Written and sung by Robinson, inspired by the biblical story of a fig tree, “La Higuera” goes on a shape-shifter trip. It opens with a candombe groove that develops into a quiet zone with Warthen’s mellowed bass solo. It then erupts into another signature Brasuka sing-along party, this time influenced by the keyboardist’s Cuban heritage. Aponte’s “Confundido,” meaning “confused,” also travels different roads, with a free and open start, a pensive and floating melody, and dynamic improvisation and interaction that highlight the band’s jazz roots. 

At the end of A Vida Com Paixao the band delightfully digs into the only cover of the album: “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” arguably one of the Beatles’ most renditioned songs. It works perfectly with Brasuka’s rhythmic approach. “We’re trying to create happy music. We want to tell thoughtful and uplifting stories, get people dancing, and bring people together. Hopefully our passion comes through.” Eckert says. 

Marc Johnson | "Overpass"

With Overpass, recorded in Brazil in 2018, Marc Johnson makes a decisive and intriguing contribution to ECM's solo bass recordings. It is an album that takes note of that tradition - Johnson has said that Dave Holland's Emerald Tears was among the solo recordings that fired his imagination almost half a century ago - and builds upon it in a personal and imaginative way.

The Nebraska-born bassist first came to broader attention in the late 1970s as a member of Bill Evans's last trio where the tune "Nardis" became effectively a workshop for nightly discoveries about the bass's potential as a lead voice. The Miles Davis tune, long associated with Evans, is revisited here. As Johnson points out, "‘Nardis' is where solo bass explorations all started for me and this performance distills much of the conception and vocabulary I am using throughout this album." Alex North's "Love Theme from Spartacus", another tune that Evans liked to play, is featured, too, in an interpretation and arrangement that honours the form of the composition.

Johnson also tackles Eddie Harris's "Freedom Jazz Dance", whose dancing pulses have long inspired improvisers, and presents five of his own pieces. Among them is "Samurai Fly", a recasting of "Samurai Hee-Haw", the Eastern-tinged Western tune that Marc previously recorded for ECM with his Bass Desires band – the highly influential quartet featuring the twinned guitars of Bill Frisell and John Scofield and Peter Erskine's drums- and with the John Abercrombie Trio. This version – one of the two tracks that deploys discreet overdubbing - is heavier than its predecessors, perhaps more Sumo than Samurai, Johnson wryly suggests, but still nimble and effective, and with a strong hint of bluegrass bass fiddle in its undercurrents.

Marc Johnson's music has long been open to influence from multiple sources, and "Whorled Whirled World", for instance, with its tessellated patterning and spinning, dancing energy alludes both to a kind of earthy, global music blueprint and the mesmeric qualities of minimalistic repetition. Pulsation and drive have strong roles throughout.

Of "And Strike Each Tuneful String" Johnson says," In the early 80s I made a conscious choice to try to bring something primal to my sound and conception of playing. I discovered a field recording made in the late 60s of musicians from Burundi. One or two tracks in particular from that recording caught my attention. The music was played on an instrument called an Inanga which is a hollowed out log strung with ox tendons for strings. The strings were plucked in various patterns and the earthy sound and repetitiveness was quite hypnotic. With a nod towards that reference, this piece is an improvisation and short reprise of ‘Prayer Beads' which appeared on the second Bass Desires album."

If Overpass addresses musical and personal history, it is also an improviser's in-the-moment response to events. Marc Johnson's journeys around the globe have sometimes led to meetings with remarkable instruments: in São Paulo he came across a prizewinning bass made by luthier Paulo Gomes that subsequently became his instrument of choice each time he was in the region. The sound of the bass itself with its full-bodied resonance has also been a determining factor for the nature of the music played. On "Yin and Yang" the improvisation takes off from harmonics produced by strumming all four strings of this bass. "The continuity was created by allowing the strings to decay until the next attack. I first recorded a long series of attacks and decays, and then improvised a melody and some bowed effects. This piece is the result."

Sweet Inspirations | "Let It Be Me – The Atlantic Recordings 1967 to 1970"

A fantastic run of music from a group who were key to the rising sound of soul music on Atlantic Records during the 60s – but who sometimes didn't always get their due! The Sweet Inspirations have roots in gospel – as the famous Drinkard Sisters – and they've also got a legacy that goes beyond these recordings, including later group sessions, and solo 70s fame by Cissy Houston of the group. But here, they're completely at their prime – known to bigger audiences for their background vocals behind Aretha Franklin and others, and working with a completely sublime blend of their gospel roots and newly righteous 60s soul modes – given superb accompaniment and production in a series of recordings done in New York, Memphis, Muscle Shoals, and Sigma Sound in Philly! This set features a huge amount of material – everything the girls recorded for Atlantic – the full albums Sweet Inspirations, Songs Of Inspiration, What The World Needs Now Is Love, Sweets For My Sweet, and Sweet Sweet Soul – plus non-LP single tracks, and enough material for a 1970 bonus album too, most of it never issued at the time. The package is the best we've ever seen on the group – an instant classic in our book – and it features 66 tracks in all, plus a big booklet of notes. ~ Dusty Groove

Mary Wilson | Mary Wilson The Motown Anthology"

Singer, activist, author, fashion icon, actress, mother, grandmother, friend, trailblazer, legend, Supreme: Mary Wilson earned her place in music history.  She was the only original member of The Supremes in every incarnation of the groundbreaking group from beginning to end (1961 to 1977) but her story didn't end when The Supremes did.  Now, the late superstar's remarkable legacy of music is being collected for the very first time in a deluxe 2-CD set.  

Real Gone Music and Second Disc Records are proud to present Mary Wilson's The Motown Anthology.  This comprehensive overview of Wilson's Motown discography presents 38 songs, including a whopping 33 tracks only available physically on this collection.  It boasts nearly two dozen Supremes classics, deep cuts, and never-before-heard songs (most in stunning new mixes) from a host of songwriters including Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Deke Richards, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Thom Bell and Linda Creed, and others.  

In addition to the worldwide CD debut of the 1979 Mary Wilson album, The Motown Anthology premieres on CD solo tracks produced by the late Gus Dudgeon, the first-time-available album version of Mary's new single "Why Can't We All Get Along," and Eric Kupper's remix of "Red Hot."  The set has been produced by the team of Andrew Skurow, George Solomon, and Joe Marchese and mixed and mastered by Kevin Reeves.  Its 44-page booklet is stuffed with rare and previously unpublished color photos plus liner notes from Marchese, Skurow, and best-selling author Mark Bego.  The booklet also features exclusive tributes to Mary from such luminaries as Dionne Warwick, Darlene Love, Otis Williams, Duke Fakir, Martha Reeves, Claudette Robinson, Brian and Edward Holland, Rita Coolidge, Merry Clayton, Brenda Russell, Blinky Williams, and RuPaul.  Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton has penned a special appreciation, as well, for this ultimate celebration of the late, great Supreme legend Mary Wilson.

Harold Mabern | "Mabern Plays Coltrane"

The late, great pianist Harold Mabern held a special reverence for John Coltrane. “He was very influential in my life and my playing, too,” Mabern once said. “After being around him and seeing what a great human being he was – man, I wish the whole world could have known John Coltrane.”

The December 3 release of Mabern Plays Coltrane via Smoke Sessions Records offers a glimpse of the love that Mabern felt for Trane’s immortal music. By the same token, though, the impassioned playing of the all-star sextet – Mabern, saxophonists Vincent Herring and Eric Alexander, trombonist Steve Davis, bassist John Webber and drummer Joe Farnsworth – also showcases the adoration that this group of younger musicians had for Mabern.

“Playing John Coltrane's music with Harold was like tapping into the source,” says Farnsworth. “He was like the vortex, and it all flowed through him. It was intense. Having Harold on the stage, given how much he loved John Coltrane, it elevated the spirit of the music tenfold.”

Mabern Plays Coltrane is culled from the final three-nights of a three-week residency at Smoke’s annual year ending John Coltrane Festival that started in 2017 ended with these performances that Mabern and the band played in January 2018. The resulting recordings also produced two earlier albums: The Iron Man, which shined a spotlight on Mabern the performer and interpreter and offered a glimpse into a typical evening’s performance and Mabern Plays Mabern, which commemorated Mabern’s gifts as a composer and followed his untimely death at age 83 on September 17, 2019.

Mabern Plays Coltrane is the album that was originally planned for those live recording sessions. Mabern had always played a key role in the festival since its inaugural edition in 2011. From the initial weeklong fest through its later three- and four-week incarnations, Mabern was the headliner for much of the annual run, an indication of both his appreciation for Coltrane as a forbear and mentor as well as his own vital role at Smoke.

“The word ‘family’ is thrown around loosely in the jazz community, but Harold was absolutely family for Smoke and always will be,” declares the club’s owner, Paul Stache. “It’s no exaggeration to say that he was one of the inspirations to open up the club in the first place.” Mabern played the venue’s opening night in 1999, and kicked off the Smoke Sessions label with the release of his 2014 album Right On Time, which featured Webber and Farnsworth.

That fervor is in vivid evidence throughout Mabern Plays Coltrane, from the pointed, McCoy Tyner-inflected swing of opener “Dahomey Dance” to the raucous, punchy run through “Straight Street” that closes the hour-long set. In between the band delves deep into favorites from throughout the iconic saxophonist’s career.

The horns all take a turn digging in after the familiar fanfare of “Blue Train,” with the leader’s relaxed but eloquent solo sweeping up after them. “Impressions” is taken at a blistering pace anchored by the virtuoso rhythm section, with Farnsworth propelling the tune with the acrobatic deftness of a master juggler. The band pares down to a quartet for a lovely rendition of “Dear Lord,” with Mabern weaving between gospel and classical influences during his breathtaking solo intro.

The band’s brisk, powerful “My Favorite Things” is a tour de force, with Mabern constantly transforming the iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein theme, the two sax men trading bold statements and a show-stopping solo turn by Webber. The tender ballad “Naima” is turned into an up-tempo dance number with a Latin feel.

The stunning music on this set suffices to reveal Mabern’s brilliance at the keyboard as well as his immense respect for Coltrane. But Farnsworth goes even further, recalling that the pianist would turn down invitations to lunch during the festival – hours before a set was scheduled to begin – because he had to focus on that night’s music, a dedication that echoes Coltrane’s famously prodigious practice regimen.

Farnsworth recalls Mabern’s stories of the month-long stint that he played Birdland with singers like Betty Carter and Johnny Hartman, whose sets would alternate with Coltrane’s. “Harold would get there before the gig and talk to John or just listen to him practice,” the drummer relates. “He said Coltrane was the only person he ever met that he considered a real saint.”

“He loved to talk about Coltrane on the bandstand,” Stache continues. “Sometimes he would touch on the music and Coltrane’s impact on jazz, but more often he loved to just talk about Coltrane as a person. The phrase he always used was that John was ‘a great musician but an even more beautiful human being.’ Harold often described himself as a frustrated tenor player, and I think when you listen to his solos you hear a lot of Coltrane influence.”

“Harold loved doing the Coltrane festival,” Farnsworth says. “He was the one guy who played every single night and he took such pride in it. It was like he was saying, ‘I'm going to play strong every night, I'm going to play better each night, no one’s going to out-swing me, no one’s going to out-energy me, and no one’s going to out-charisma me.’ It was Harold Mabern time.”

"Mabern Plays Coltrane" was produced by Paul Stache and Damon Smith, recorded live at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club, NYC on January 5, 6 & 7 2018 and mastered to ½” analog tape using a Studer mastering deck.

Gabriele Poso | "Tamburo Infinito"

With endless Afro-latin percussion & drums patterns woven throughout ten tracks of tropical dance floor heaters, Italian multi-instrumentalist and master percussionist, Worldwide FM presenter and director of the Yoruba Soul Orchestra, Gabriele Poso is to release his seventh LP, Tamburo Infinito, via New York record label Wonderwheel Recordings. 

Recorded in Lecce in the south of Italy and almost entirely on his own (unlike previous productions), the undisputed star of the show is once again the drum and the percussion, the Tamburo Infinito (translates to Infinate Drum). Although born in Italy, Gabriele has always looked across the Atlantic for inspirations and rhythms, and this album is no different. This time his sonic adventures took him to the French West Indies and the French Caribbean island like Guadeloupe Martinique, “I’m in love with everything about the sound of their drums, it’s very unique warm and deep sound.”

“I put a lot of attention to the sound on this record, exploring new ways for me to record, through analog tape and different analog tools such as analog delay. That’s very much present in the whole album and gives a new direction to my sound with a psychedelic touch and a dancefloor attitude that is stronger than the previous album.”

The album kicks off with the hot & sticky Ritmo, setting the tone for the record with a kaleidoscope of tropical rhythms and influences. First single "La Bola" is jammed full of exultant horns and syncopated drum beats carried on the back of a driving, funky bassline. By the time the horns drop in on the aptly named "Party People" the carnival is in full swing over jubilant percussion and spaced out synths.

Gabriele Poso’s musical passion has taken him around the world, initially to Rome, then to Puerto Rico, Cuba, and most recently, Berlin. Between 1998 and 2001, Gabriele delved deep into the study of Afro-Cuban percussion, first at the “Timba” School Of Music in Rome, under the guidance of the most important representative of Afro-Cuban culture in Italy, Roberto “Mamey” Evangelista. Later in 2001, he moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico to attend the “Universidad Interamericana De Puerto Rico” to continue his studies, finally culminating in a masterclass at “Escuela Nacional De Arte” in Havana, Cuba.

2008 saw the release of Poso’s debut solo album, From The Genuine World, released on Yoruba Records, Osunlade’s label, which sparked a career performing around Europe and the rest of the world. His second solo album, Roots of Soul arrived in 2012 on the German label INFRACom!, his third solo album entitled Invocation in 2014, on the German label Agogo Records with other full length efforts released on renowned British labels, Barely Breaking Even (Awakening - 2018) and Soundway Records (Batik - 2019), culminating in an impressively deep and diverse catalogue of solo work.

Céu To Release New Single "Chega Mais"

Brazilian singer Céu returns with a new single "Chega Mais" on Urban Jungle Records. This is the first single from her upcoming album Um Gosta de Sol, her first cover album that features 14 beautiful renditions of classic songs crafted by the Latin GRAMMY Award winner. 

Originally released in 1979 by Brazilian Rita Lee, "Chega Mais" was selected by Céu on the album that inaugurated the mythical singer's solo career. On this album, Rita deepened her musical relationship with her husband and co-writer Roberto de Carvalho and laid the foundation for what would become, in the following years, Brazilian Pop. 

"Rita Lee is one of our great feminist figures, the woman in Brazilian music who always stood up to the guys," says Céu. "She mastered all areas, ruled a city of São Paulo in perfect balance, where rock and Brazilian music mixed in a complete and perfect amalgamation. Rita is a hit maker and always worked with a lot of freedom, that became essential creative raw material. I inevitably felt the need to record one of her songs when I considered this album as a performer. It was the right time to do so.” 

Céu has been recording mostly her own compositions since her first album back in 2005, but she had long wanted to record an album solely as a singer, dating back to the early stages of her musical career; before she discovered herself as a songwriter. The project was anticipated due to the pandemic, a period that forced the world to recover and led the artist to reconnect with her own musical memory. 

The single "Chega Mais" was recorded with the participation of Pupillo (drums, percussion and music production), Hervé Salters (keyboards) from General Elektriks, Lucas Martins (bass), Céu (vocals and backing vocals) and Andreas Kisser (7-string acoustic guitar), guitarist of the metal band Sepultura, the official acoustic guitarist of the whole album. 

Produced by Pupillo, Um Gosto de Sol (A Taste of Sun), an album of 14 tracks, will be released in November 2021. The repertoire selection was made by Céu, Pupillo, Edgard Poças and Marcus Preto and will include covers of Brazilian and world music classics. 

John Patitucci and Andy James | "An Evening With John Patitucci & Andy James"

On An Evening with John Patitucci & Andy James, two gifted performers join forces to conjure an intimate evening of captivating music. At a time when jazz aficionados around the world have been starved for musical experiences, the album recreates the sultry atmosphere of a candlelight nightclub as some of the most revered musicians in modern jazz perform classic standards.

Due out November 5 via Le Coq Records, An Evening with John Patitucci & Andy James features nearly 90 minutes of scintillating music featuring an incomparable ensemble. In addition to James’ mesmerizing vocals and Patitucci’s bass mastery, the album boasts arrangements by piano great Bill Cunliffe for an ensemble that includes saxophonists Chris Potter and Rick Margitza, trumpeter Terell Stafford, guitarists Chico Pinheiro and Jake Langley, keyboardists John Beasley and Jon Cowherd, percussionist Alex Acuña, drummers Vinnie Colaiuta, Marcus Gilmore and Marvin “Smitty” Smith, along with powerful horn and string sections.

“I wanted people to just sit back and enjoy a listening experience of serene pleasure,” declares James. “John and I tried to create something easy to listen to that would leave people feeling good afterwards. I recorded the album in anticipation that people wouldn’t something too complicated at this time we all find ourselves in.”

Jazz singing and Flamenco dance have been parallel passions throughout Andy James’ life. 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, enjoying a successful career dancing with husband and partner Piero Pata in Madrid.

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. She and Pata launched Le Coq Records, releasing a series of albums ranging in style from the elegance of the female jazz swing tradition to vintage R&B to the post-bop urgency of the classic Blue Note era. 

An estimable professional family has quickly found a home at the label, with Patitucci, Acuña and Cunliffe playing key roles on a number of releases and several musicians making recurring appearances from one recording to the next. On An Evening With…, Patitucci proves an ideal partner for James, bringing his revered tone and musical vision to the project and convening the ideal musicians for each piece.

“When choosing personnel for any project,” Patitucci explains, “I try to find the greatest musicians that I have longstanding relationships with, in order to have the opportunity to get more deeply into the music at hand.”

Over the course of a career lasting four decades, Patitucci has forged essential collaborations with some of the most acclaimed artists in jazz and beyond, most notably long-lasting partnerships with iconic saxophonist Wayne Shorter and the late Chick Corea. 

Speaking of James, Patitucci says, “Andy is a very generous and flexible collaborator. She has a great love for the Great American Songbook. When she sings, her phrasing is reminiscent of so many of the great singers that I grew up listening to. The style that she sings in provides the opportunity to write arrangements for larger orchestrations.”

James returns the compliment. “John is very important to my whole performance. Without John’s playing I would have been restricted in the way I could sing and approach every song in the album. John Patitucci brings a deep sound that allows me the freedom to sing with a lot of mood or feeling in my voice. He gives me a lot of space to create a meaningful performance.”

From the intoxicatingly lush opener “Autumn in New York,” with Patitucci’s robust bass matched by a fervent tenor solo by Potter, to the last-call balladry of “Angel Eyes” that closes the set, An Evening with John Patitucci & Andy James features countless classic songs along with a few surprises, including the smoldering James and Pata-penned love song “Burn for Love.”

As she did on her previous release, Tu Amor, James reaches into her Latin influences on “Besame Mucho.” In addition to a number of well-known jazz standards James stretches the American Songbook to encompass great pop and rock classics like The Beatles’ “Blackbird” and James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain.”

The choices certainly inspire passionate playing from James and Patitucci’s guests, with standouts including Rick Margitza’s soaring solo on “Fire and Rain,” Terell Stafford’s heart-wrenching take on “Moonlight in Vermont,” and the soulful playing of Potter and John Beasley on the Gerry Goffin/Carole King favorite “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.”

“The songs came naturally,” James explains. “I just wanted to sing some beautiful songs. The mood I had in mind when choosing these songs was one of love – I just wanted people to find love with each other again after the era of Covid!”

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. Released on October 8 on Summit Records, the album was 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.

Ellis Hall | “Let’s Make An Arrangement”

Multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter Ellis Hall has released his newest album Let’s Make an Arrangement on Strokeland Records (Regime Music Group). The album marks Ellis’ first full-length release since 2005’s The Spirit Lingers On… And On.

Let’s Make An Arrangement was co-written by Stephen “Doc” Kupka of funk and soul pioneers, Tower of Power, and features songs from a variety of musical influences. As Hall was the lead vocalist for Tower of Power from 1984-1988, fans have been waiting for a collaboration like this for years. Says Kupka, “Ellis Hall is one of the all-time greats! He means the world to me, both personally and professionally, and I hope this project is the first of many to come."

“Working with Doc Kupka aka “The Funky Doctor” - has been way more than awesome. He is a true wordsmith and I'm honored to help bring these words and music to life. Now that is truly CHAKALAKA (Joyous)!!!,” said Ellis Hall.

While this is Ellis’ first album release since the early aughts, he’s kept very busy on a number of projects including staring in “The Gospel of Colonus,” for which he was nominated for an Ovation Theatre Award, a collaboration with Bootsy Collins on his  “Power of The One” release, a remake of Steve Winwood’s “Roll with It” with Jermaine Lockhart, a  soul interpretation of “Let Me Call You Sweetheart” with singer Tata Vega, as well two international symphony shows he co-produced, “Ellis Hall Presents: Ray Charles, Motown and Beyond” and “Ellis Hall: Soul Unlimited.”

A songwriter, arranger, producer and educator, Hall is well known for his powerful 5-octave range. Across a career of 50-plus years and counting, Ellis has proven himself as an all-around A-List performer that has entertained audiences on five continents and shared stages with musical giants including Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Patti LaBelle, Herbie Hancock, George Benson, James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt. His reputation of excellence earned Ellis the moniker, “The Ambassador of Soul.”

Hall has performed with most elite symphony orchestras worldwide including: His first being the Hollywood Bowl under the direction of his mentor Ray Charles. Since then, he has performed with prestigious 81-piece orchestras including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra with Marvin Hamlisch conducting to playing with the Boston Pops Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Symphony Orchestra, and recently the Hartford Symphony Orchestra.

He is now featured on the Batman: The Audio Adventures as the "Singing voice of Gotham City" on HBO Max.

Neo Jazz Quintet Nori To Release Self-Titled Album

Nori, the genre-bending Neo Jazz band has curated a collection of their favorite songs on their upcoming album. The self-titled release, NORI, showcases their diverse sound and pointed lyrics on the 10-song deep record due out December 3rd. The new album will be available on vinyl with two new singles to be released to streaming platforms along with the songs from previous albums.  

Nori is an Austin, TX based quintet and has been hailed “a five-person gift from Austin, TX” by Festival Peak. The band is comprised of talented professional musicians including Akina Adderley on vocals; Erik Telford on trumpet and alto horn; Nick Litterski on Fender Rhodes, piano, and prepared piano; Aaron Allen on acoustic bass; and Andy Beaudoin on drums and percussion. Together their music is aesthetically and deeply rooted in both American jazz and folk music traditions. The ensemble playfully weaves together a myriad of global influences with current and topical social commentary giving rise to a seamless synthesis of sound that is Nori. 

The new album transcends time with a collection of songs written from 2015 - 2021, but yet addresses important topical themes of identity, activism, racial tensions and racism, and love. The band curated the collection from their catalog along with some new material. Included are six songs from their first two albums World Anew and Bruise Blood and also “Tumbao,” a single released in 2017, along with the newly released single “I See You” out this past December. They also masterfully composed a new rendition of Nina Simone’s “Four Women.” The aptly self-titled new release is steeped in observations and personal plight and gracefully highlights the balance of story-telling traditions with wide-open improvisations that echo the transcendent tones of Nina Simone, Bill Frisell, John Coltrane, and Joni Mitchell. 

The album opens with a stunning and somber song “The Garden.” The lyrics were written by Akina and are a powerful metaphor for the life cycle of a black child. The song follows as he grows in the womb and transitions into the loving and nurturing arms of his mother – only to have life tragically cut short at the hands of a racist brute. The pointed new arrangement features special guests, the wonderful string trio, Leigh Wallenhaupt on violin, Leah Nelson on viola, and Rylie Harrod-Corral on cello. Another powerful standout is a cover of Nina Simone’s song “Four Women.” Nori says, “Nina Simone has been our guiding inspiration since the conception of the band. She’s an eclectic musician. She’s a master storyteller, and she’s a fierce activist. These are all things Nori aspires to be. We have been incorporating this song in our live set for a number of years and wanted to record it as a way to provide an exclamation mark at the end of the album!” This song is a dedication to Nina Simone. 

All the songs on the album were recorded by John Michael Landon at their home base studio, Estuary Recording in Austin. Dave Darlington at Bass Hit Studio (New York, NY) mixed most of the songs with additional mixing by Erik Telford (“The Garden,” “I See You,” and “Four Women”). The new album was mastered for vinyl by Erik Telford.  

NORI will be released exclusively and for the first time on vinyl! Reflecting back on the new project, the band comments, “This is our first vinyl release. We wanted to create a document of our young history and make it available for physical release. In many ways, we consider ourselves “old souls,” so vinyl is the perfect format for the occasion.” It is due out on December 3rd. 

Alchemy Sound Project | "Afrika Love"

Alchemy is defined as "a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination"(Oxford English Dictionary). It's hard to imagine a word that more aptly suits Alchemy Sound Project, a collective in which five esteemed composers and bandleaders - pianist Sumi Tonooka, woodwind players Salim Washington and Erica Lindsay, trumpeter Samantha Boshnack, and bassist David Arend - form a potent ensemble greater than the sum of its parts. A synergy that seems almost supernatural, especially given the far-flung home bases from which these artists converge, is evident throughout Afrika Love, the band's third album, via Artists Recording Collective.

Alchemy Sound Project formed in 2014, two years after the group's members met in Los Angeles at the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute, where, over the course of a week, they learned to utilize Western classical music concepts and orchestration techniques. "We were five friends and colleagues who had all these similar connections," Tonooka recalls, "and I wanted us to be able to extend what we do together musically, instead of leaning on other projects or other commissions - to set up our own small chamber group to play and record. "What resulted is a diverse, eclectic group that makes powerful, original music meant to blur the boundaries between notated composition and improvisation.

Sessions for Afrika Love took place in January 2018 in Conshohocken, PA. But the album's title, borrowed from the composition that Washington contributed to the album, reflects the band's keen awareness that this recording arrives in the wake of one of the most tumultuous years in recent U.S. history - a pivotal period in which race relations and social justice protests have taken centerstage.

According to Tonooka, the band found the title" appropriate in terms of what's happened with the BlackLivesMatter movement, and with what the country still has to deal with in terms of conversations about racism and he aftermath of slavery, and the fact that we still haven't gotten it together to really heal, because no one seems to talk about it in a way that is healing." Seen in that light, the multi-gendered, multi-racial makeup o Alchemy Sound Project in itself offers an understated, buoyantly positive example of cooperation and mutual regard.

Craig Taborn | "Shadow Plays "

Ten years have passed since Craig Taborn’s Avenging Angel album was released, bringing strikingly fresh ideas to the solo piano idiom. “It reflects Mr Taborn’s galactically-broad interests,” said the New York Times, “along with his multifaceted technique,” while the Guardian saluted Craig’s “world of whispered, wide-spaced figures, ringing overtones, evaporating echoes and glowering contrapuntal cascades”. 

In the interim Taborn has appeared in ECM contexts large and small. We’ve heard him in his trio with Thomas Morgan and Gerald Cleaver on Chants and in his Daylight Ghosts quartet with Chris Speed, Chris Lightcap and Dave King. He’s played piano duets with Vijay Iyer on The Transitory Poems, performed Ches Smith’s music on The Bell, contributed to Roscoe Mitchell’s AACM tribute Bells for the South Side, and to Chris Potter’s music for ensemble and strings on Imaginary Cities. Alongside all of these activities, the solo music has continued to gather strength.

 Over the last decade Taborn has refined and developed his approach, attaining new high ground with Shadow Plays. For Craig the recording is “part of the same continuum as Avenging Angel. Where that was a studio recording, this one is live, but that process of spontaneous composition goes onward.” The new album is a stunning live recital from the Mozart-Saal of the Wiener Konzerthaus, where the programme was headlined Avenging Angel II. In this fully improvised concert, Craig explores sounds and silences, swirling colours, densities and forms, creating new music with both poetic imagination and an iron grip on his material. His control of his craft as he unerringly creates narratives and structures from the hint of a revealed pattern, following where intuition and experience lead him, is extraordinary. 

“When you improvise,” Taborn told writer Adam Shatz, in a New York Times interview, “you’re observing and creating at the same time. To make the next move, you have to get really close to what’s going on.” 

“Free improvisation” can mean many things. For Taborn, in this context, this is not a matter of automatic writing or stream-of-consciousness self-expression but of keeping in focus both the larger frame of the concert and the concise statements shaped from the moment-to-moment detail of the music. “A lot of my interests revolve around trying to extend the boundaries you can create in…” Craig Taborn has noted. “Rather than simply free-flowing as I travel from Point A to Point B, I am really trying to construct and to organize the material as it emerges, in real time. And what is created in this way feels different to music using pre-composed elements.” 

Taborn is a great improviser in any context, and highly regarded for his capacity to get to the heart of the music, whatever the setting. In the solo work connections to ‘jazz’ are not always self-evident, but in the flux of the piece retrospectively called “Conspiracy of Things”, allusions to the history of the music from stride piano onwards seems to flash past at lightning speed. In all pieces, ideas are explored, at multiple levels. Emotions too – tenderness and fierceness co-exist in pieces thoughtfully titled “Discordia Concors” and “Concordia Discors,” concepts that reflect the notion of unity through diversity. “I name the pieces,” Taborn said in a recent interview with Bomb magazine, “after they are finished and in consideration of their programmatic position – in a way the titling is the final stage of composition. And I intend the titles as invitations to extend the musical experience into other areas.” The inclusiveness of his work – subtly informed by music and art of many traditions – invites new associations and open responses. 

Born in Detroit in 1970, Craig Taborn studied at the University of Michigan. He first came to wider attention in the groups of saxophonist James Carter. His first ECM appearance was with Roscoe Mitchell’s Note Factory on the album Nine To Get Ready (recorded 1997). 

Currently on the road in Europe with cellist Tomeka Reid and drummer Ches Smith, Craig Taborn undertakes a solo piano tour in February 2022 with dates including Tampere, Finland (February 1), Live Lab, Helsinki (February 2), Nasjonal Jazzscene Victoria, Oslo (February 3), Musikförening, Vanersborg, Sweden (February 4), Halmstad, Sweden (February 5), Fasching, Stockholm (February 6), Sendesaal, Bremen (February 7), Domicil, Dortmund (February 10), Birdland, Neuburg (February 11), Son d’hiver Festival, Paris (February 12) and Bimhuis, Amsterdam (February 13). More details at www.ecmrecords.com 

Craig Taborn’s Shadow Plays, produced by Manfred Eicher, was recorded live at the Wiener Konzerthaus on March 2, 2020.

Christian McBride & Inside Straight | "Live at the Village Vanguard"

Christian McBride & Inside Straight Live at the Village Vanguard is Christian McBride’s twelfth release with Mack Avenue Music Group. This recording can be thought of as a companion to the GRAMMY® Award-winning Christian McBride Trio Live at the Village Vanguard album released in 2015. Inside Straight is the quintet that inaugurated McBride’s collaboration with Mack Avenue Records (releasing Kind of Brown in 2009). Both live recordings of the bassist leading these two ensembles occurred in a consecutive two-week period in December of 2014 – a rare engagement offered to only the most venerated jazz artists by the most venerated jazz club in America.

There is no doubt that McBride is one of the most versatile musicians on the scene today. His artistry has been documented in recordings and performances with the widest possible range of musicians in the most varied settings and genres one might imagine. His collaborations have been as diverse as duets with the revered classical bassist Edgar Meyer and avant-garde composer and violinist Laurie Anderson; performances with iconic artists like Sting and James Brown; ensembles with his fellow native Philadelphian, Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, of The Roots; not to mention a host of jazz masters from Sonny Rollins and Freddie Hubbard to Pat Metheny and the late Chick Corea.

It was in fact this nomadic journey that provided the inspiration for McBride to return to leading a more conventional straight ahead acoustic jazz ensemble. So, in 2007 McBride recruited his former bandmate in Freddie Hubbard’s group, drummer Carl Allen, saxophonist Steve Wilson, pianist Eric Reed (who subsequently was replaced by Peter Martin) and an amazing young musical prodigy who had enrolled in McBride’s summer camp program Jazz at Aspen, Colorado, vibraphonist Warren Wolf. They played one week at the Village Vanguard with the intention of each musician returning to his other respective projects at the end of that engagement. But the entire week sold out. The proprietor of the Vanguard, Lorraine Gordon, who had very high standards and a reputation for not being easy to please, was ecstatic. Legendary A&R executive Bruce Lundvall, who had come down to hear the band after attending a Ron Carter concert at Carnegie Hall, sat down with McBride after the set and in discussion with the bassist reaffirmed that this ensemble was something special. Some six months later, McBride signed with Mack Avenue Records.

Although the Inside Straight band has made two prior studio recordings for Mack Avenue Records, Kind of Brown and People Music, the band has not, until now, released a live recording – the milieu in which this ensemble was originally created. Represented herein are compositions by three of the five band members. The album opens with a rip-roaring performance of Warren Wolf’s soulful tune “Sweet Bread” and later in the set includes his vibraphone feature “Gang Gang.” Alto and soprano saxophonist Steve Wilson contributes a paean to Maya Angelou. The remainder of the compositions are McBride’s; two of which similarly celebrate the work of jazz greats James Williams and Cedar Walton and provide fertile ground for the aforementioned accomplished pianist Peter Martin. The other two McBride tunes, “Fair Hope Theme” and “Stick and Move,” showcase the quintet engaged in powerfully deep swing with the rapidly shifting rhythmic and harmonic phrasing that kept audiences at the Village Vanguard on the edge of their seats.

November of 2021 marks the 64th anniversary of the very first live recording from the Village Vanguard made by Sonny Rollins. It is a high point in any musician’s career to have performed and become part of a commercial release that has been “recorded live at the Village Vanguard.” One need only listen to any of the legendary recordings made there ranging from Rollins and John Coltrane to Barbra Streisand to hear the magic those performances yield. Except for 2020, the Inside Straight quintet has played at the Village Vanguard every year since 2009. Finally, with Christian McBride & Inside Straight Live at the Village Vanguard, music fans the world over have a chance to hear what all the fuss is about.

Futurenot | "Be The Change"

For many, the COVID-19 pandemic presented a “glass half empty” outlook mourning the loss of canceled tours and gigs. For Jason Cressey and Peter Daniel, two household names in  Seattle’s funk, soul, and jazz scene, their outlooks shifted to “glass half full.. if not pouring over” upon the realization that there was now an abundance of time to make a record with their newly-formed cinematic, jazz-inspired hip-hop crossover project FUTURENOT. 

The project is rounded out by fellow trailblazers in the Seattle music scene: Tim Kennedy (Big Tooth, keyboards), David McGraw (True Loves, drums), Cole Schuster (big bad thoughts, guitar), and Mark Hunter (The Dip, bass). Building on the success of their debut single “Let Us In (ft. Moe Betta),” which kicked down sonic doors and perked up the ears of music aficionados and casual listeners alike, FUTURENOT has released their second single titled “Be the Change."

“Be the Change” is the first song that Cressey and Daniel wrote together. Inspired by hanging out at the park, it draws musical inspiration from the sounds, vibrations, and attitude of the Nat & Cannonball Adderley Quintet. “It’s our attempt at a jazz standard,” the duo explained to legendary radio DJ Abe Beeson. The song is based around a simple melody in the horns but basks in the glory of the rhythm section that creates an amazing vibe and context for the melody to melt on top of. The horns and the rhythm section feed off of each other’s vibrations in both melodic and rhythmic capacities and you can hear the feel-good, nearly telepathic chemistry that resonates with the strong influence of the Adderley brothers.

The single prefaces the band’s upcoming album Greatest Hits which drops on November 19, 2021, via Color Red. The album title seems like an oddity for a brand new group releasing their debut LP, but as the group explained in a feature piece with Abe Beeson of KNKX’s ‘The New Cool,’ it “represents the ‘greatest’ moments from several dozen musical ideas they've been working through even before FUTURENOT was formed.” While eclectic, Greatest Hits presents Cressey and Daniel as musical mixologists crafting a cohesive concoction that incorporates elements of “Theme from Shaft”-like anthems, vibey cinematic soundscapes, and conscious, yet lighthearted hip-hop impressions that appeal to fans of high-profile cross-over projects like Roy Hargrove's ‘The RH Factor,’ Robert Glasper’s ‘Black Radio’ and crate diggers mining for old instrumental soul 45s alike. It’s vintage-inspired music realized through a modern lens.  

For those in Seattle, FUTURENOT's second show will take place on Friday October 22nd at Drunky's Two Shoe BBQ in White Center. 

FUTURENOT is vintage-inspired music realized through a modern lens. It is about being in the present, creating music for the here and now while incorporating the experiences and influences of our past to move towards the future. The band blends elements of hip hop, jazz, soul and pop with vocals, backbeat and a generous dose of strong melodies that will require you to roll your windows down and turn the volume up.

"Greatest Hits" is the culmination of work that Jason Cressey and Peter Daniel began in 2013. The two met performing together in the horn section for local Seattle legends Funky2Death and quickly started collaborating on original music. Over the years as their respective careers have blossomed, they've continued to find themselves performing together, making time to stay friends and write music. The title of the album is more than just a tongue-in-cheek joke about a first release; it is a reference to how we drew from that material to create this collection.

Jason and Peter have been fortunate to perform together, and separately, with Macklemore, Odesza, Father John Misty, Monophonics, Durand Jones & the Indications, True Loves, Skerik, Stanton Moore, Nikki Glaspie, Ghost Note, Soul Rebels, Paper Boys, Liv Warfield, Polyrhythmics, Khu.eex and Lucky Brown.

FUTURENOT debuted to the world on March 10th 2020 opening for Neal Francis at Barboza in Seattle hours before COVID quarantine orders were issued. We then spent the better part of 2020 creating this album in anticipation of a future beyond the pandemic, when we can bring these soundwaves to an orbit near you.

Annabelle Chvostek | "String Of Pearls"

Blending the Canadian singer-songwriter tradition and her Slovakian heritage with a long-standing connection to Uruguay, the musically adventurous Annabelle Chvostek’s new album String of Pearls  was co-produced in Montevideo by longtime collaborator Fernando Rosa, who gathered a variety of Uruguay's world-class jazz, classical and tango musicians to create a new-old pop sound flavored with the tough tenderness of 1930s tango, vaudeville cabaret and Hot Club jazz. Toronto producer David Travers-Smith oversaw the Canadian and Uruguayan tracking, which included helping hands by members of Toronto's lively Jazz Manouche community. String of Pearls will be available on all music services. 

Cascading vibraphones, snappy brush drums, brisk guitar chops and Chvostek’s richly nuanced vocals grace the album’s opening “Je t'ai vue hier soir” (I Saw You Last Night), setting the tone for un melange sonique that swirls folk, cabaret, classical and Chvostek’s own Slavic musical roots with vintage swing-jazz. The title track’s Django-esque acoustic guitar, wailing clarinet and Chvostek’s multitracked Andrews Sisters-style choral backing make for ultra-bouncy instrumental textures that play lightly off the song’s somewhat weightier lyrical content. 

“‘String of Pearls’ is about getting through difficult things, defiantly transforming them and coming out on top,” says Chvostek (chuh-VOSS-tek). “It’s a pep talk to a self that’s struggling through difficulty, a reminder that the struggle can make beauty, too.” 

Other songs reveal fascinating connections between the disparate musical genres Chvostek churns together in her search for a new sonic space, with her super-flexible vocal cords navigating the fragrant musical ether so naturally you might be unsure what exactly it is you’re hearing –– though that shouldn’t matter. The easy-shuffling vibe of “Cannabin” features tubas and banjos that reside comfortably in the American jazz and pop of the ‘20s and ‘30s, with the shadow of Bix Beiderbecke hovering nearby. In sharp contrast are the dramatic vistas of the album’s string-laden first single, “Walls.”

initial arrangement, Fernando Rosa and I had laid on several electric guitars and made it Pink Floydian [laughs], and then we decided to orchestrate it more so we could float these epic feelings and let them fly. It felt timely. It was written before the pandemic, but with the pandemic, it was a moment of rethinking the meaning of the lyrics and letting them be about this.” The song’s video, filmed in Toronto during the pandemic, features a group of socially-distanced professional dancers, with Annabelle making a cameo appearance. 

Annabelle credits her Uruguayan life partner Ximena Griscti’s love of Dadaism and punk rock with bringing out the best in what Chvostek calls her “scribbly box of ideas.” Griscti’s collages are seen in the String of Pearls artwork, and the video for “Belleville Rendez-vous” is based around ideas that Griscti developed to visually support the themes of the album as they emerged. 

Chvostek credits producer Rosa with helping her bridge the subtle but substantial cultural minefields that international musical collaborations often have to negotiate. 

“From the first time I went to Uruguay,” she says, “I could recognize the Eastern European sounds within the tango, like the way the violin moves and the way the bandoneon is so expressive, all these things. I come from a songwriting tradition that’s very, like, let’s celebrate things, and if we’re moving through difficulty, wrap it up with a tidy bow at the end, and it resolves. Fernando helped deepen my understanding of tango, however, emphasizing that tango is gritty and dirty and full of pathos and unresolved anxiety. It’s about complex emotions, about people having room to complain about how hard life is, and expressing it.”

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, Chvostek was immersed in Montreal's eclectic arts scene in the 1990s and early 2000s, performing regularly at Le Boudoir, a queer, feminist 1920s-inspired cabaret series, and self-releasing four full-length albums between 1997 and 2003. In 2004 Annabelle joined The Wailin’ Jennys and wrote four songs on the band’s Firecracker album, which won multiple awards including the North American Folk Alliance Award for “Best Contemporary Album” in 2007. After departing from the Jennys, she released the album Resilience (2008), produced by GRAMMY and Academy Award nominee Roma Baran (Laurie Anderson) and Vivian Stoll; Rise (2012); and Be the Media (2015). Rise was nominated for a JUNO Award in the Roots and Traditional Album of the Year category, and both Rise and Resilience were nominated for Contemporary Album of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards. Annabelle also co-wrote two songs with Bruce Cockburn for his JUNO-winning album A Small Source of Comfort (2011).           

In 2015, Annabelle was forced to put the brakes on her musical adventures due to a series of health crises, including an ongoing struggle with severe hearing loss and tinnitus in her left ear, triggered by a feedback blast during a soundcheck in England in 2008. To aid her more accurate aural perception of the music she was recording, Chvostek’s producer David Travers-Smith remixed String of Pearls in mono (mono mixes and stereo mixes are available on Annabelle’s Bandcamp site). 

“Mixing is this beautiful moment where you try to find the sweet spot for each sound and get rid of any excess that might overlap with other things,” says Chvostek. “The beauty of the mono mix is it cleaned up the input of all the instruments. David was able to find their essential sonic space.” 

It’s the joyful exploration of her very own and very personal musical world that keeps Annabelle Chvostek in search of the lost chord and ready for new discoveries –– come whatever obstacles that may. As she croons so coolly in String of Pearls’ title tune, “I’ll grow a pearl, this grain of sand got under my skin/if I evolve, revolve and spin/I’ll grow a pearl.”

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga | "Love For Sale"

LOVE FOR SALE, the new collaborative album from Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, will be released on October 1st via Columbia Records/Interscope Records. This historic album will be Tony's last studio recording, showcasing the Cole Porter songbook of classic popular music with both duet and solo selections from both artists. Their duet, "I Get A Kick Out Of You," will be the first single. Tony Bennett celebrates his 95th Birthday today and appropriately will be at Radio City Music Hall tonight performing the songs he has spent a lifetime singing and sharing the stage with Lady Gaga, a cherished musical collaborator. ONE LAST TIME: AN EVENING WITH TONY BENNETT AND LADY GAGA sold out both Radio City performances for August 3rd and 5th within a day of going on sale to the public. MTV will exclusively air the global premiere of Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga's new video "I Get A Kick Out Of You" on Friday, August 6th at 12PM ET. The video will make its broadcast premiere on MTV, MTV Live, MTVU, across MTV's worldwide network of channels in 180+ regions and the ViacomCBS Times Square Billboard.

LOVE FOR SALE featuring Cole Porter's songbook was an idea the two performers discussed shortly after their first album, CHEEK TO CHEEK, debuted at #1 on the Billboard album charts upon its release in 2015. Recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, the album features a mix of jazz ensemble, big band and orchestral arrangements.  At the time of the sessions, Bennett had already been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, a condition the family made public in a disclosure earlier this year.  LOVE FOR SALE will be available in both a standard, deluxe and vinyl configurations as well as a highly collectible box set edition. 

In celebration of Tony's 95th Birthday, Lady Gaga has invited fans to post videos naming one thing they love about Tony to their Instagram Reels using the hashtag #Tonys95thBdayCard. She will choose her favorites and edit them together for a video highlighting 95 Reasons she and her fans love him. 

Glenn Leonard | "Can We Talk"

A Washington, DC native, vocalist Glenn Leonard successfully established three groups by the time he was in his early 20s: The Chancellors, The Instant Groove, and The True Reflections. He was also a member of another popular and successful recording group from Washington called The Unifics. Glenn recorded his first record with his first group, The Chancellors, on Cap City Records, a subsidiary of Scepter Records, and later his third group, The True Reflection, on Atlantic Records. Leonard first came to the attention of the world-famous Motown quintet, The Temptations, in 1975. He had a successful career as their first tenor and lead singer from 1975-1983 encompassing ten albums with the supergroup. His most noted songs include "I’m on Fire," "Go for It," "The Best of Both Worlds," "Eyes," "Ever Ready Love," and "Silent Night" from their Christmas Album.

After parting ways with the group in 1983, Leonard became a born-again Christian, entered into full-time ministry and was licensed in 1986. He became ordained and received a doctorate degree in the early 1990s. Leonard established his own Temptations revue, also featuring former Temptations bass singer, Joe Herndon. This revue has toured extensively throughout the world including Europe and South America since approximately 2000. 

Glenn was proudly inducted into the R&B Hall of Fame in 2013 and is still very active with many recording projects, most notably his critically acclaimed solo album titled " Then & Now" featuring guest vocalist Jean Carne. The stand-out track “Can We Talk,” was featured on that album. Producer Butch Ingram has remixed the Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Daryl Simmons-penned track, breathing new life into Leonard’s stellar take, which inexplicably wasn’t released as a single in its original guise. The release presented here also features the instrumental version of the remix and the usual fine backing from members of INGRAM and The Society Hill Orchestra.

New Music Releases: Anthony Hamilton, Arturo O'Farrill, Francisco Mela with Matthew Shipp & William Parker

Anthony Hamilton - Love Is The New Black

Anthony Hamilton's got a very classic look on the cover – and he definitely turns in a classic set here – the kind of righteous, well-crafted soul record that really takes us back to the golden age of the 70s! And yet, the music's not retro at all – it's very contemporary in both soul and spirit, just maybe a maturation of everything that Anthony's been giving us over the years – really knocked out of the park here, with a sense of confidence and power that we never would have guessed at the start of Hamilton's career – and trust us, we sure liked those records a lot! The set features guest appearances from Rick Ross and Lil Jon – and titles include "White Hennessy", "Coming Home", "You Made A Fool Of Me", "Mama Don't Cry", "Safe", "Mercy", "Threw It All Away", "I'm Ready", "Superstar", "I Thought We Were In Love", and "Love Is The New Black".  ~ Dusty Groove

Arturo O'Farrill - Dreaming In Lions

The Blue Note debut of Latin Jazz pianist Arturo O'Farrill – and a set that may well be some of his most ambitious material to date! Arturo's often got an ear towards wider levels of expression than standard jazz or Latin – but here, he really steps out strongly on two extended suites – both done to accompany the movements of a dance troupe, who are features in shimmering images next to O'Farrill on the cover! The music is very different than any sort of traditional Latin dance modes – as Arturo seems to draw on a wide array of historical impulses to mix with Afro-Cuban elements at the core – really keeping things moving forward, but also complex and sophisticated too – with solo passages on tenor, trombone, soprano sax, and trumpet. The set features two long suites – "Despedida" and "Dreaming In Lions" – both of which take inspiration from writers, Jorge Luis Borges and Ernest Hemingway, respectively. ~ Dusty Groove

Francisco Mela with Matthew Shipp & William Parker - Music Frees Our Souls Vol 1

Pianist Matthew Shipp and bassist William Parker are long-running musical partners that you're likely to know well – and here, they join under the leadership of drummer Francisco Mela, a player who's more than able to keep up pace with the improvising giants! Case in point is the album's first long track, "Light Of Mind" – a number that's awash in the kind of dynamic piano work that Matthew Shipp first hurled at the world in his early years, taken at a clip that also has Parker moving faster than usual – a quality that's balanced out nicely by the following shorter track, "Dark Light" – which has William up a bit more in the mix, and working a sense of spare magic that's wonderful! All three players brew together in a very heady way on the long "Infinite Consciousness", which concludes the record – a performance that has us wondering if the three have more to give us in the near future. ~ Dusty Groove

Agustín Pereyra Lucena | "La Rana"

Far Out Recordings is releasing Argentinian guitarist Agustín Pereyra Lucena’s 1980 album La Rana. Recorded in Oslo, La Rana features Agustín’s stunning takes on compositions by Ivan Lins, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Agustín’s friend and musical hero Baden Powell. In addition to these, and a number of Agustín’s own compositions including the fifteen-minute masterpiece “Encuentro De Sombras”, the album’s title track is an idiosyncratic version of João Donato’s “A Rã” (Eng: The Frog/Esp: La Rana) from his 1973 album Quem É Quem. 

Forming the rest of the quartet are two fellow Argentinians who were also Agustin’s bandmates from the group Candeias: bassist and multi-instrumentalist Guillermo Reuter and flautist Ruben Izarrualde; with Norwegian drummer Finn Sletten on drums and percussion.

Throughout La Rana we hear not only Agustín’s fabled guitar playing, which ascended him to share stages with the likes of Vinicius de Moraes, Dorival Caymmi, Toquinho, Maria Bethania, Chico Buarque and Quarteto Em Cy, but also his talent as a vocalist. He also provided the heartening illustration for the cover art, which perfectly fits the cordial, inviting tone of the music. Inspired in equal measure by South American rhythms and Norwegian glaciers, mountains and waterfalls, La Rana is filled with the warmth, humility and sincerity of a man seizing a joyful moment in life through music.

Hiromi | "Silver Lining Suite"

2020 was a year in which dark clouds gathered early and threatened never to dispel. Silver linings were hard to come by amidst the torrent of bad news, but Hiromi was determined to find one. She found it on the stage of the Blue Note Tokyo, which she helped bring back to life after it was silenced by the pandemic. Dreaming of a quintet with piano and strings she composed Silver Lining Suite, which finds hope in the most trying of times while exemplifying the exhausting range of emotions evoked by the world’s year in quarantine. 

Due out October 8, 2021 via Telarc (with 2-LP release set for December 3), Silver Lining Suite pairs Hiromi’s virtuosic and emotive piano with a string quartet assembled by violinist Tatsuo Nishie, concertmaster of the New Japan Philharmonic. The results blur the lines between classical music and jazz, crafting a vibrant hybrid possessed of the fervent, rock-inspired energy and cinematic beauty that Hiromi has always instilled in her music. 

Watch Hiromi’s spectacular teaser video for Silver Lining Suite here: https://youtu.be/g-HjPRjk2zk 

As the pianist/composer says, “I think there are only two genres: the genre which moves my heart and the genre that doesn’t. So I don’t really mind where this album gets categorized… I’m just playing the music which moves my heart.” 

Hiromi found herself back in her native Japan after a U.S. tour was suddenly cut short last March. “I had just finished performing in Seattle and had traveled to San Francisco when the state of emergency [was declared],” Hiromi recalls. “We could tell something was starting to happen in Seattle. At night it was a ghost town; people still came to the show, but everybody was so cautious. I couldn't even hug the sound engineer like I always do. Then there was such a weird vibe at the airport. I decided to come to Tokyo to wait and see what would happen, but the situation got worse and worse.” 

Suddenly cut off from her lifeblood, music, Hiromi was stunned by the unrelenting stream of horrific events affecting lives and livelihoods in the wake of the coronavirus. The devastation wrought on the music business in particular hit close to home. “It was weird, worrying and uncertain in the beginning, full of negative emotions,” she says. “Shows stopped and a lot of venues closed, some of them for good, unfortunately. Whenever I heard that kind of news, I was down. I thought a lot about my friends who work in the music industry, and I started trying to find something positive I could do under this situation.” 

She found an ideal partner in the Blue Note Tokyo, whose stage usually hosts renowned jazz artists from across the globe. Once venues started to cautiously reopen, Hiromi suggested a series of limited capacity, live-streamed concerts that she dubbed “Save Live Music,” eventually performing a remarkable 32 solo concerts over 16 days in August and September 2020. 

With a second series scheduled for December and January, Hiromi didn’t want to play alone again. With her usual bandmates an ocean away and unable to travel, she puzzled over what form these concerts would take. She’d befriended Tatsuo Nishie after performing with the New Japan Philharmonic, so the idea of a piano quintet began to take shape. “I’ve always had a passion for writing for strings,” she explains, having studied composition while a student at Berklee College of Music. “I put four chairs on stage near the piano and something clicked in my head. I saw that setting, piano and four empty chairs, and I started to hear something. I knew it was going to work. I called Tatsuo before I even wrote any music.” 

Nishie was tasked with finding musicians who could play Hiromi’s classically inspired compositions while being able to veer into jazz vocabulary. He enlisted violinist Sohei Birmann, violist Meguna Naka, and cellist Wataru Mukai – the latter a particularly vital choice, called upon to play pizzicato walking bass lines. 

The suite begins with “Isolation,” an emotional state that everyone became intimate with during the course of the pandemic. A single voice is soon joined by others in a determined, graceful dance that sparks a flurrying solo from Hiromi, sounding as if the floodgates of her creative imagination were suddenly flung open. Dark and agitated lines scatter and converge on “The Unknown,” depicting the fear and unpredictability that marked the progress of the last year. 

Those sensations left many feeling adrift, lost at sea, a notion captured beautifully on the melancholic “Drifters.” Emotions had a way of ping-ponging from one extreme to another throughout the experience, and Hiromi and the quartet regroup with the steely “Fortitude,” a testament to the resilience of the musical community that has weathered this terrible storm. “Uncertainty,” which opens with an introspective solo turn by the pianist, was a late addition to the suite. Hiromi composed the tremulous piece after her January series was postponed to March by a return to lockdown conditions in Japan, as a portrait of the moment and a gift to the audiences who patiently reconvened in the spring. 

The three remaining pieces are expanded compositions from Hiromi’s “One Minute Portrait” series, in which she played virtual duos with long-distance collaborators on her Instagram page. Determination turns to hope on the resolute “Someday,” originally played with bassist Avishai Cohen, which seems to insist that an end will, eventually, arrive. The lively “Jumpstart,” initially a fiery pairing with pianist Stefano Bollani, predicts the renewal that will come with that long-anticipated moment. And the tango-inspired “Ribera del Duero,” from a duo with harpist Edmar Castaneda, is named for Hiromi’s favorite wine, something she looks forward to once again sharing with friends. 

Finally, “11:49PM” is reprised from the 2012 trio album Move, inspired by a quote from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “The night is long that never finds the day.” The line gave Hiromi hope that she would one day play in front of adoring audiences once again. 

“The morning will come,” she insists. “The sun will rise again. That's why I kept writing music. It shows my emotional journey through the pandemic.” 

In the summer of 2021, Hiromi was invited to perform for the opening ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympics.

Dee Brown | "Deep Secrets"

Faith and loss. As they did on his 2018 breakthrough album, “Remembering You,” faith and loss continue to be groove jazz guitarist dee Brown’s inspiration. After losing his mother a couple of years ago, he leaned on his faith as he began composing material for his newly released “Deep Secrets” album. The Detroit-area musician reteamed with Grammy nominated producer Valdez Brantley to write and produce his fifth collection of R&B, jazz, soul and gospel music that includes production and mixing assistance from Billboard chart-topper Blake Aaron, multiple Grammy nominee Darren Rahn and Nate Harasim. 

Brown frequently quotes The Bible in conversation, particularly when discussing the subjects of his songs. The album title itself comes from a quote from Corinthians: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.”

Brown recorded “Deep Secrets” remotely during COVID-19 quarantine with his band and collaborators emailing their tracks to him and Brantley (piano, keyboards, strings and programming). Throughout the recording process, Brown issued singles to whet listeners’ appetites for the album, with each preview earning most added status on the Billboard chart. “Love You Too,” released last March, has received over 100,000 YouTube views. Using his nimble electric guitar fretwork to orate expressively, Brown contemplates passion, habits, purpose, the spiritual path, God’s will, and even his first grandchild on “Deep Secrets.” Reviewers have hailed the seven-minute “Praise Is What I Do,” a sprawling gospel classic that Brown blesses with an orchestral opening, Gerard Brooks’ soul-stirring croon, a gospel choir and Merlon Devine’s soaring soprano sax.

Since dropping his 2007 debut album, “No Time To Waste,” Brown has performed or shared the stage with Aretha Franklin, Al Jarreau, Jeffrey Osborne, BeBe Winans, Ohio Players, Bob James, Spyro Gyra, Gerald Albright, Brian Culbertson, Najee, Paul Taylor, Paul Brown, Mindi Abair and Alexander Zonjic, among others. 

 

Chick Corea Akoustic Band with John Patitucci & Dave Weckl LIVE

On September 24, 2021, the legendary pianist Chick Corea posthumously released a spirited live album by his beloved Akoustic Band with bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave Weckl - the first Akoustic Band outing in more than 20 years. The 2-CD set, recorded in January 2018 at SPC Music Hall in St. Petersburg, Florida, serves as a celebratory reminder of Corea’s singular genius.

Under any circumstances, Chick Corea Akoustic Band LIVE would be a welcome addition to Corea’s prodigious discography. With the news of his passing still so fresh in listeners’ minds, its release comes as an opportunity for fans to bid farewell while cherishing the communal energy and playful vigor that made the pianist a favorite of jazz lovers around the world for nearly 60 years. And the reunion of the Akoustic Band is emblematic of the esteem in which Corea held his fellow musicians, as he made sure to express in his final statement.

“[To] my amazing musician friends who have been like family to me as long as I’ve known you,” he wrote. “It has been a blessing and an honor learning from and playing with all of you. My mission has always been to bring the joy of creating anywhere I could, and to have done so with all the artists that I admire so dearly—this has been the richness of my life.”