Gregory Goodloe | "In Paradise"

Amidst the tumult, uncertainty and loss brought on by the unprecedented times in which we live since the COVID-19 outbreak, we’ve all imagined and yearned for escape, or at least for much better days. R&B-jazz guitarist Gregory Goodloe set his optimistic vision of hope and prosperity to music, writing his new single, “In Paradise,” with producer Jeff Canady. Recently serviced for playlist adds, the midtempo soul groove featuring the cool-toned, electric jazz guitarman’s loquacious, lyrical licks debuted as the most added new single on the Billboard and Groove Jazz Music charts.

Living though this historic period, Goodloe found the fears brought on by the pandemic, civil unrest and a divided nation to be rife with life lessons, inspiring the recalibration of priorities along with a renewed sense of appreciation.

“People and life itself became more important to me than ever. I learned that life is so fragile and delicate, and how much people matter to each other. I wanted to write a song that reflects on the beauty of life and the joy of experiencing it through music. The focus during the making of ‘In Paradise’ was my concept of living life free of fear and sadness,” said Goodloe who was accompanied on the Hip Jazz Records release by Canady on drums, keyboardist Demetrius Nabors, bassist Robert Skinner and rhythm guitarist Anthony Booker.

As a devout man of faith and a US Army veteran, Goodloe focused his fantasies on the beauty surrounding us, imagining a safe haven in an exotic locale where fears are assuaged by the majesty of nature’s splendor.

“I would imagine playing music on a sandy beach in front of a beautiful ocean surrounded with tropical trees, exotic plants and animals. The imagery allowed me to forget all worries and simply focus on creating beautiful music,” said Goodloe who has returned to playing shows in the Denver area where he resides.

“In Paradise” is Goodloe’s third single issued this year, following “Step’N Out” and “Somewhere Out There,” each of which will be included on his next full-length album. He takes regular breaks from recording the collection to host his own radio show, “Mile High Smooth Jazz,” which airs on Thursday and Saturday nights on World Wide Jazz Radio. Goodloe plans to perform at the internet radio outlet’s first anniversary bash in Las Vegas on January 25.

 

A crossover artist who derives stylistic influence from George Benson and Wes Montgomery, Goodloe notched his first Billboard No. 1 single two years ago with “Stylin’,” one of many tunes on which he has collaborated with GRAMMY-nominated songwriter-producer-saxophonist Darren Rahn with this single receiving over three million streams on Spotify. Among Goodloe’s other frequent collaborators are Billboard chart-topping guitarist Adam Hawley, seminal urban-jazz keyboardist Bob Baldwin and hit-making saxophonist Elan Trotman. Having served as musical director for R&B-pop group Surface and soul-jazz singer Aysha, Goodloe is at home in R&B, jazz and gospel circles. He has performed with or opened for Howard Hewett, Tank, Ben Tankard, Norman Brown, Dave Koz, Brian Culbertson, Michael McDonald, James Ingram, Roy Ayers, Shirley Caesar, Angela Spivey, John P. Key, The Rance Allen Group and fellow Denver native Larry Dunn of Earth, Wind & Fire fame.

The Jazz All Stars Vol. 2 | Le Coq Records

Few jazz labels are able to launch with as impressive a roster already in place as Le Coq Records did when it released The Jazz All Stars Vol. 1 last January. A year later the imprint has more than lived up to the audaciously high bar set by that inaugural release, having built a stunning catalogue of releases by such greats as bassist John Patitucci, pianist Bill Cunliffe, saxophonist Rick Margitza, and vocalists Andy James and Tommy Ward.

To kick off what promises to be an equally remarkable year two, the label will release a second volume of its trademark “honest jazz” featuring its ever-growing family of brilliant musicians. Le Coq Records presents The Jazz All Stars Vol. 2, due out January 21, 2022, showcases not only the virtuoso musicianship of many of contemporary jazz’s most in-demand players, but this time out shines a brighter spotlight on the compositional gifts of Le Coq contributors like Cunliffe and keyboardist/arranger John Beasley, alongside aptly-chosen standards and jazz classics.

“The Jazz All Stars Vol. 2 shows a little of everything Le Coq is about, from its compositional temperament to the high sonic quality,” says label founder Piero Pata. “, “There’s quite a mix of sounds and styles, and I feel that the album really shows off the talents of our wonderful artists. John Patitucci holds everything together magnificently so that Andy James’ gorgeous vocals and the dazzling solos of Chris Potter, Rick Margitza and Terell Stafford – just to name a few – can shine.”

Much of the roster on the new release has returned from Volume 1, including Cunliffe and Beasley; bassists Patitucci and Chris Colangelo; drummers Vinnie Colaiuta and Marvin “Smitty” Smith; percussionist Alex Acuña; trumpeter Terell Stafford; saxophonist Margitza; guitarist Jake Langley and vocalist James, among others.

Volume 2 bolsters the line-up with such heavy hitters as saxophonists Chris Potter and Bob Sheppard; bassist Ben Williams; drummers Marcus Gilmore and Terreon Gully; trombonist Michael Dease; keyboardist Jon Cowherd; guitarists Russell Malone and Paul Jackson Jr.; and trumpeter Rashawn Ross.

This staggering stable of in-demand artists harkens back to the music’s golden age, a time when (jazz) giants walked the earth and crossed paths in myriad combinations under the auspices of their shared labels. Pata conceived of that model when he dreamed of gathering the greatest modern musicians to record for Le Coq.

“We wanted to get back to the old adage of having a pool of artists that could achieve anything the label required for its next goal,” Pata explains. “There are obviously many wonderful players we at Le Coq would love to record with. That will come, I hope!”

Like its predecessor, The Jazz All Stars Vol. 2 features the label’s unique take on some classic favorites, both arranged by the Grammy-winning Bill Cunliffe and featuring the entrancing vocals of Andy James. The Jerome Kern/Otto Harbach standard “Yesterdays” is given a bold treatment perfect for James’ unsentimental nostalgia, highlighted by an eloquent Chris Potter solo. Horace Silver’s “Doodlin’” is propelled by the robust swing of bassist Chris Colangelo and drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith, wonderfully matched by James’ sassy playfulness.

In addition to his striking arrangements, Cunliffe contributed most of the original compositions for the album and has been a key contributor to Le Coq since its early days. “Bill Cunliffe has been the backbone of the label’s writing talent since its inception,” Pata says. “He has been essential to the label’s vision of ‘honest jazz.’ His value has been enormous, especially on the big arrangements. He is wonderful at this style of writing. Maybe he has a foot in the past – but with a modern twist.”

Marcus Gilmore’s rollicking drums kick off the album on Cunliffe’s original piece “Whatever You Say,” soon joined by the sparring of Chris Potter’s tenor and Terell Stafford’s on trumpet. The composer’s arrangement summons the vigor and brio of a big band from the ensemble, setting the stage for the dancing agility of Cunliffe’s piano solo. Margitza’s breathy tenor conjures the mysterious atmosphere of “Witches,” a mood picked up and carried forward by Colangelo’s probing bassline. Cunliffe comps delightfully for Margitza’s sinuous solo.

The pianist makes direct reference to the pre-pandemic era on his wistful “The Before Times,” with its aching melody expressed beautifully by Terell Stafford. Grammy winner John Beasley contributes the funky, sauntering “Beasley’s Blues,” featuring incisive solos by guitarists Russell Malone and Paul Jackson Jr., a blistering turn by Dave Matthews Band trumpeter Rashawn Ross, and a bass solo by Ben Williams that digs deep.

Jake Langley’s shimmering guitar, Alex Acuña’s multi-hued percussion and Vinnie Colaiuta’s rock solid drumming lay the foundation for “Balinda,” with Margitza weaving the mesmerizing melody before spinning inventive variations in his solo. Patitucci and Marcus Gilmore take Cunliffe’s “Around the Corner” for a laid-back but robust stroll, with interlaced horn lines over top. The album closes with the lovely, swaying “Danse,” evoking lyrical solos from Colangelo, Cunliffe and Langley.

With a core of amazing talent now joined by a host of incredible new voices, Le Coq Records presents The Jazz All Stars Vol. 2 offers a vibrant calling card for a label quickly taking its place at the vanguard of modern jazz. Best of all, there’s plenty more to come in 2022.

Nick Fraser Quartet | "If There Were No Opposites"

Acclaimed Toronto-based drummer and composer, Nick Fraser, leads this outstanding jazz quartet featuring New York saxophonist Tony Malaby, "one of the most distinctive artists of his time" (All About Jazz). The quartet is rounded out by two exceptional string players, Andrew Downing and Rob Clutton. This album, their debut on the HatArt/ezz-thetics label, is their fourth release, following Towns and Villages (2013), Starer (2016), and Is Life Long? (2018).

The quartet's music is deeply rooted in the jazz tradition, and comprises a series of Fraser's compositional sketches, points of departure for the inspired group improvisation at which these players excel. Tony Malaby's sinewy, impassioned tenor and soprano saxophone improvisations are practically without peer in contemporary jazz, and display a rhythmic imepetus that is complemented beautifully by Fraser's deft drumming. Clutton and Downing provide, by turns, a thick, shifting field of harmonic support and melodic invention. The work of this group is a high water mark in Canadian jazz and creative music.

Nick Fraser is a member The Lina Allemano Four, Eucalyptus and Peripheral Vision (among many others) and has collaborated with many luminaries, including Anthony Braxton, William Parker, Marilyn Crispell, Roscoe Mitchell, David Binney, and Donny McCaslin. For ten years he led Drumheller, a quintet who released four critically acclaimed CDs.

Composition. Improvisation. In recent times, the relationship between the two has been deliberated, often in binary terms, to the point of exhaustion. But if we shut up and discuss them no further, we might as well give up talking about jazz, since the point where the two methods connect is to the music what flint and steel are to campfires. Without that starter, you have no blaze.

Based in Toronto since 1995, Nick Fraser has learned jazz from both inside and out. He’s drummed with free-leaning musicians such as Lina Allemano and Marilyn Crispell; as a long- time participant in the Ottawa Jazz Festival’s jam sessions, he’s kept the groove for Joe Lovano, Wynton Marsalis, and countless other establishment jazz figures. His heart lies with the unscripted moment. “I've always loved the act of improvising,” avows Nick Fraser, “and the more improvised parts of jazz music are usually my favorite parts.”      

But that doesn’t mean that he neglects the rest. Fraser has composed for every band he’s led or co-led. He has also adapted his material to the rigorous requirements of the Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, a Calgary-based dance company directed by Kimberly Cooper. A couple of the pieces on If There Were No Opposites, the quartet’s fourth album, were adapted from compositions for DJD productions. But while the original versions of “Shoe Dance” and “The Fashion Show” had to adhere to rigid timing requirements in order to coordinate with the rest of the stage production, the quartet lets the music flow in more free-wheeling fashion.

The quartet first recorded in 2012, and its personnel has never changed. New Jersey-based saxophonist Tony Malaby was originally billed as a special guest, but now he is simply one of the band. This is not a demotion, but an acknowledgement of how essential he is to the group’s sound. By turns agile and burly, his playing reliably turns up the heat on whatever the rest of the ensemble is cooking. Says Fraser, “There's a sense I get when I play with Tony of him taking the entire band on his back and saying, ‘Here we go!’”

Cellist Andrew Downing and bassist Rob Clutton are fellow Canadians, and Fraser has long histories with both of them. Clutton, who was in Drumheller, has been an associate for over twenty years. “I've never made an album as a leader with a bass player other than Rob.” Downing, who also plays with Fraser in the Lina Allemano Four, could have been the second. “He plays bass, he plays cello, he composes, he plays classical music, jazz, various folk musics and more, but never in a merely ‘professional’ way. He is always deeply musically and emotionally invested in the music he makes.” Enamored with the sound of Bill Dixon’s Vade Mecum records and Ornette Coleman’s final quartet, Fraser originally invited him to play the bull fiddle, but Downing said that he’d rather play cello, and the way he toggles between melodic and rhythmic roles while occupying his own pitch zone constantly validates that decision. Fraser has also drummed on recent recordings led by both Clutton and Downing, and their collective rapport facilitates the quartet’s countercurrents of flow and undertow.

Close listening and empathy enable the quartet to find a gravitational center during the album’s opening moments. “Improvisation (Part 1)” represents new ground for the quartet. “This band doesn't normally play entirely improvised music, but at the end of the session, we decided to.” A thicket of pizzicato strings and sparse stickwork rustles around Malaby’ coarse, probing tenor, ultimately cohering into a turbulent stream. Soprano and cello take the melody of “Sketch #50” at a breakneck pace; as the band slaloms through its switchbacks, different instruments re-introduce it, as if to renew a shared sense of direction. Here and elsewhere, Fraser’s drumming expands the sound field, forming a constantly changing perimeter that reflects the band’s energy back into the music. “I usually have the least prescribed material of any of us,” he confesses; instead, he completes the music as it happens.

Fraser originally wrote “Shoe Dance” for the DJD production, Juliet & Romeo. “The choreography featured 4 or 5 dancers with shoes on their hands, like puppets. It's a boogaloo, inspired by two of my favorite drummers — Billy Mintz and Paul Motian.” “Table 49, The Rex Hotel, Toronto” is the 49th in Fraser’s series of compositional sketches, but the name also applies to the table where musicians congregate at the longest-running jazz club in Toronto.

The title of “The Bulldog and the Capricorn” derives from nicknames for Malaby and Kris Davis. But the tune’s call and response dynamic, with quizzical cello-soprano unisons greeting Clutton’s solemn bass statements, can be taken as a structural reflection of another meaning embedded in the title. Explains Fraser, “A "Mexican Bulldog" is a margarita with an open beer bottle upside down in it, so it fills up with beer as you drink it. It's a challenge to drink, although you can always go with a straw if you're having trouble.” “The Fashion Show” has been in the quartet’s book for a while. In this performance, a couple minutes of free improvisation that takes cues from Clutton’s rough-timbred bowing resolve into a tense negotiation of the winding theme. The album ends where it began; "Improvisation (Part 2)" is actually the second half of the performance that opened the album. 

~Bill Meyer, Berwyn, January 2021 

Shannon Gunn | "On A Mountain"

On July 31st 2020, the world lost a brilliant vocalist and composer. Shannon Gunn had been a fixture on the Canadian jazz scene for decades up until her untimely passing. Her reputation as a musician’s musician ensured a particular kind of reverence from her fans, fellow artists and several generations of students. Although her work was well known to her enthusiastic live audiences, she had never released an album of her own. On A Mountain, recorded in 2002, should go a long way toward filling this gap and allowing the world to get a rare glimpse of this compelling artist at the top of her form.

Shannon grew up in Vancouver where she studied classical piano. As her musical direction shifted to jazz she developed a successful singing career in Western Canada. She subsequently moved to Toronto where she drew the attention of many of that city’s top musicians. Shannon’s work as an educator had always paralleled her performing career. She was as gifted a teacher as she was a singer and made a huge impact on the many students who crossed her path in both cities.

Shannon’s singing demonstrated incredible facility and expressiveness, as well as a deep awareness of the musical interplay in a band. She honed a highly personal style that hearkened to the great jazz singers yet was unquestionably her own. Renee Rosnes, who served as pianist and producer for this recording, comments, “Shannon had a vulnerability that came through in her singing which translated to an emotional, truthful rendering of the lyric.”

The choice of material and musicians are a reflection of Shannon’s impeccable taste and high standards. Rosnes brought a wealth of experience and a long association with the singer: “My friendship with Shannon goes back to my late teens when we both lived in Vancouver. We shared many memories together on and off the stage. She was smart, talented, beautiful, humble, empathetic and genuine: a person who communicated from her heart with no pretense.”

Along with Rosnes, this this group contains many of the world’s top jazz musicians, all of whom were ideally suited to communicating Shannon’s vision. Swainson says, “Those qualities of empathy, honesty and courage were all there in her music. She was a fantastic musician.” Adds Turner, "I always loved playing gigs with Shannon because she would always have new material, beautiful, sometimes complex arrangements.”

Gurrumul's | "The Gurrumul Story"

Born blind, the Indigenous Australian singer/songwriter Gurrumul (1971-2017) grew up on Elcho Island (Galiwin'ku), off the coast of tropical North East Arnhem land in Australia’s Northern Territory. 

A member of the Gumatj clan and a speaker of the indigenous Yolngu language, Gurrumul’s songs describe identity and spirit, connection with the land, the elements, and the ancestral beings to whom he is related. His fragile but uniquely emotive high-tenor voice and aura-like persona elicit feelings of peace and longing in listeners. 

Gurrumul first came to the world’s attention when his self-titled debut album Gurrumul was released to international acclaim in 2008. His angelic voice connected with fans the world over, including such notable figures as Elton John, will.i.am, Sting, Gary Barlow, Quincy Jones and Stevie Wonder. 

To date, over half a million Gurrumul albums have been sold worldwide. He has won nine ARIA awards, and was posthumously named Australian Artist of the Year in 2018. Following a long battle with illness, Gurrumul passed away in 2017 at the age of 46. 

THE GURRUMUL STORY is the first ever collection of Gurrumul’s most enduring and popular songs. To be released by Decca Australia/Universal Music Canada, the collection will be available on digital platforms, CD, Deluxe CD+DVD and on vinyl in September 2021. 

The anthology contains alternate versions of two of Gurrumul’s most popular songs. ‘Wiyathul (Longing For Place)’ is a brand new, orchestrally-augmented version of ‘Wiyathul’ – the song that thrust Gurrumul into the limelight back in 2008. This new version will be accompanied by a new music video (the song’s first official music video) that was filmed in May 2021 on Gurrumul’s home of Elcho Island and features local dancers interpreting the song’s lyrics through the movement of their totemic dance. 

Also included on the album is a rare duet version of the song ‘Bayini’, from Gurrumul’s sophomore album Rrakala, featuring a touching contribution by Australian singer/songwriter Sarah Blasko.

The Deluxe CD+DVD Edition of THE GURRUMUL STORY contains a 25-minute documentary that chronicles Gurrumul’s rise to fame and four studio albums, as well as a selection of music videos.

The Honeyshotz | "Lovin' You"

The Honeyshotz is a band/project put together by Ian Stevens, the bass player from The Getup (Breakin Bread) and The King Rooster (Funk Night Records) as a vehicle to record and perform a collection of songs that were written by himself and some of the other musicians involved.

The band features Mark Claydon of The Getup / The King Rooster on drums and percussion and Lee Blackmore of The Getup on guitar. The man on the keys is Toby Kinder from The Gene Drayton Unit (Freestyle Records) and the vocals are taken care of by Sabina Challenger (formerly of The Getup and The Soul Grenades).

Additional musicians that appear on the album are Mark Norton, known for his work in The Fantastics (BBE) and The Gene Drayton Unit, on sax and flute, Freddy De Lord on sax, Tristan Gaudion and Achilleas Anastasopoulos on trumpet.

The songs are very much in the vein of The Brand New Heavies and have that summertime Acid Jazz / Soul Funk Vibe.

“This Honeyshotz project is a body of work that excited me the first time I heard it, a few years ago. Therefore, once I knew the Superfly label was launching, these tracks were something at the forefront of my thoughts. Having caught up with Ian Stevens and Mark Claydon, it didn’t take too long for us to agree on how to move this forward. This project is very different from the label’s popular first release from The Organauts but we know is one that will excite all of you every bit as much, if not more.” – Pete Brady (Superfly Funk & Soul Club).

War | "Greatest Hits 2.0"

A double-stuffed collection of work from the legendary War – one of the hippest soul groups on the Cali scene of the 70s, and one who just kept on making great music as the years went on! This expanded collection is a great testament to the group's genius – and the way they started out mixing together jazz, Latin, and funk elements with a special Los Angeles spin – then successfully brought in some clubbier elements in the late 70s, but all without ever falling into the disco cliches of so many of their contemporaries! Throughout the years, War remained a group with impeccable musicianship and a deep sense of soul – as you'll hear here on a set of gems that includes "Me & Baby Brother", "The World Is A Ghetto", "Get Down", "Spill The Wine", "Slippin Into Darkness", "All Day Music", "Gypsy Man", "Why Can't We Be Friends", "Cisco Kid", "LA Sunshine", "Low Rider", "Galaxy", "Outlaw", "You Got The Power", "Cinco De Mayo", "Smile Happy", "So", "Summer", "Don't Let No One Get You Down", and "Tobacco Road".  ~ Dusty Groove

André Carvalho | "Lost In Translation"

Double Bassist/composer André Carvalho, originally from Lisbon, Portugal and residing in NYC since 2014, is proud to present his fourth recording as a leader, Lost In Translation, to be released October 15 on Outside In Music, and featuring his trio of internationally acclaimed musicians, saxophonist José Soares, guitarist André Matos and special guest, João Almeida (trumpet). 

The revered philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said that, "the limits of my language mean the limits of my world". A sentiment wholly endorsed by Carvalho. He elaborates, “if it is a fact that there is, and probably always will be, a gap between meaning and interpretation, emotion and intention, it is also true that by expanding our lexicon, we automatically increase our expressive capacity. If there is no such word in our language, it does not mean that there isn’t in another. These words have the potential to open up our minds for new perspectives, and to cultivate our imaginations! The world is bigger and deeper than what we really know and the mental projection we create of it, that is, our reality. That is why, I believe that as we learn new words, our conscience becomes more sensitive to others, we become more empathetic, and ultimately our world becomes richer. These so-called untranslatable words entered my world and inspired me to write a new cycle of compositions.” 

Musically, the song cycle that comprises Lost In Translation was also born from the influences that Carvalho has absorbed in recent years, including being part of the New York City jazz scene, which continues to leave a huge impression on the bassist, and also regular travel for performances to many countries. As a composer, Carvalho’s relentless search for new sounds has led him to discover and explore musical avenues such as improvised music, experimental and contemporary classical music. Lost in Translation embraces the unknown, by having a very strong improvisational and spontaneous component, making each performance completely unique to this ensemble, and this recording. 

“It’s unquestionable that music is a language, and curiously a universal one. From the most remote tribes of Papua New Guinea to the cosmopolitan and avant-garde movements of large cities, music serves as a vehicle for communication and interaction. It’s this link between language and music, unique words and unique musical moments that Lost in Translation explores. If learning a new word is, by itself, already a rewarding and exciting thing, if we add music to this learning process, the experience will surely be enhanced. These particular words inspired me to research and learn more about different cultures and, just as I had an epiphany when learning them, I would like this new cycle of compositions to generate the same kind of sensation in the listener,” said Carvalho.

André Carvalho’s credits are in abundance, his pedigree unassailable, having worked with Chris Cheek, Will Vinson, Ian Froman, Colin Stranahan, André Matos, Tommy Crane, Vinnie Sperrazza, Mário Laginha, Billy Mintz, Maria João, Gilberto Gil, European Movement Jazz Orchestra, among many others. The Fulbright grantee (with a Master of Music in jazz performance at the Manhattan School of Music) has also worked extensively outside the jazz world with the Ibero-American Orchestra (under Gustavo Dudamel), Anton Webern Orchestra (under Franz Welser-Most and Heinrich Schiff), Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra (under Michael Zilm), among others, as well as contemporary ensembles such as Octothorpe. His interest in Fado, Portugal’s traditional music, led him to perform with important names of this genre, such as Carlos do Carmo and Cristina Branco.  

His first two albums, Hajime and Memória de Amiba showed Carvalho's highly personal perspective in music featuring an original blend of contemporary jazz with elements from Portuguese music. Both projects received rave reviews from Portuguese and International critics. Carvalho was awarded the "Carlos Paredes" prize in 2012, a prestigious honor that recognizes Portuguese music projects, as well as a "Best Group" recognition in the Bucharest International Jazz Competition. With his previous recording, The Garden Of Earthly Delights, Carvalho presented an inspired aural universe, inspired by the enigmatic work of the artist Hieronymus Bosch, particularly one of his most famous paintings – “The Garden of Earthly Delights” (1490-1510, housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid). AllAboutJazz asserted that Carvalho’s compositions are, “impressively well-structured”, and that, “his writing offers scope for different textures and layers of sound that often give the sensation of a much larger ensemble, but he’s not afraid to give space to just one or two players at a time, creating some memorable performances as a result,” and JazzTrail stated that Carvalho’s “attractive compositional voice [is] well founded in the modern trends of jazz.” 

In recent years, Carvalho has also been performing intensely around Europe, performing as a bandleader and sideman in Portugal, Spain, Austria, Germany, Finland, Switzerland, England, Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, Romania, as well as in the U.S. and Egypt.

Bob James Trio | "Feel Like Making LIVE!"

Feel Like Making LIVE! is a celebration of Bob’s unique artistry and reflects a storied career that stretches back 58 years. James is reunited with the piano trio format, which was how the Grammy-winning Missouri-born musician began his professional music career back in 1963. Consisting of bassist Michael Palazzolo along with drummer Billy Kilson, their blend of youth and experience is an exciting combination on Feel Like Making LIVE!, an album which reaches back in time to embrace Bob James's musical roots, but it's a retrospective with a difference: it was recorded live in the studio. James and the trio's performance is captured on a unique audio-visual release utilising the best available filming and recording standards, including Dolby Atmos sound and 4K ultra high definition video. It is a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.

James serves up tasty morsels from different phases in his career. They range from the much-loved gentle ballad, 'Angela,' which the pianist wrote for the long-running US sitcom, Taxi, starring Danny DeVito, to the iconic '70s jazz-funk groove, 'Westchester Lady.' He also revisits the '70s with the eerie 'Nautilus,' originally a relatively obscure cut on James' first CTI album, One, but which gained fame after being sampled myriad times by a plethora of hip-hop artists. James is still amazed at the song's longevity. "It's been such a crazy thing that's taken place with a song that no one was paying attention to when I first recorded it in 1974. So it came as a shock to me, 20 years later, to discover that the rappers and the hip-hop community had found it and given the groove a life of its own." Another gem lifted from James's back pages is his mellow instrumental reading of Roberta Flack's hit, 'Feel Like Making Love,' which appeared on his first CTI album and helped to launch the pianist's solo career in 1974. James's trio also throws in some musical surprises on Feel Like Making LIVE!, reconfiguring Elton John's 'Rocket Man' into an old school-style blues number and giving UK chanteuse Petula Clark's 1964 chart-topper, 'Downtown', a jazz-meets-classical music makeover.

This new jazz trio live-studio recording audio products will be released by evosound on January 28, 2022 and will be available in five different physical formats: 180gram Limited Numbered orange double vinyl LP, SACD, MQA-CD, MQA-CD + blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray. The hybrid SACD includes the DSD stereo and 5.1 surround sound for the ultimate sound quality experience. MQA is an award-winning technology that delivers the sound of the studio. MQA-CD plays on all CD players. The live in-the-studio recording was stylishly filmed in 4K and recorded in high resolution audio and is available in Ultra HD blu-ray, which includes immersive sound with Dolby Atmos in Dolby TrueHD and Auro 3D. The album will also be available in Hi-Res digital audio 96kHz / 24bit stereo formats. Bonus tracks and in-depth interviews are also included.

Web Web releases Web Max

Munich quartet Web Web announced WEB MAX, a new spiritual jazz album out 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. 

Craft Recordings announces silver foil edition of Vince Guaraldi Trio’s ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’

Ahead of the 2021 holiday season, Craft Recordings is pleased to announce a special vinyl edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas—Vince Guaraldi Trio’s enduring soundtrack to the 1965 PEANUTS animated special. This collectible release reimagines the album’s classic jacket, wrapping it in an elegant silver foil. The embossed PEANUTS characters on the cover, meanwhile, have never been more striking as they gather around the Christmas Tree. 

It all began in 1964 when producer Lee Mendelson set out to make a TV documentary about cartoonist Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the immensely popular PEANUTS comic strip. For the film’s score, he hired Bay Area jazz artist Vince Guaraldi, a fast-rising star who had recently earned a GRAMMY® for his instrumental crossover hit, “Cast Your Fate to the Wind.” Although A Boy Named Charlie Brown never made it to the airwaves, Mendelson was struck by Guaraldi’s sophisticated cues and the soundtrack for the unaired documentary was released on Fantasy Records. 

The pair had the chance to collaborate again just one year later when A Charlie Brown Christmas was greenlit for holiday programming. Working primarily with bassist Fred Marshall and drummer Jerry Granelli, Guaraldi brought the animated characters to life with his music, pairing inspired interpretations of traditional yuletide fare (“O Tannenbaum,” “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing,” “What Child Is This”) with original compositions, including the iconic “Linus and Lucy” theme, “Skating,” and “Christmas Time Is Here.” The latter song, available as both an instrumental and vocal track, featured young choral singers from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in San Rafael, CA. 

While TV executives were wary of the unconventional special, which featured the voices of child actors, a jazz score, and no laugh track (among other concerns), their worries proved to be unfounded—and then some. Airing December 9, 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas captured nearly half of the nation’s TV audience and garnered broad critical acclaim. 50 years later, the Emmy®- and Peabody®-winning special, which now streams on Apple TV+, continues to be a holiday tradition and has spawned more than two dozen subsequent PEANUTS specials.  

Guaraldi’s soundtrack, meanwhile, has since become one of the best-selling jazz albums in history, second only to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, and regularly ranks among America’s top-selling holiday albums every December. In 2016, A Charlie Brown Christmas was certified 4x platinum by the RIAA, while last year, A Charlie Brown Christmas entered the Billboard 200’s Top Ten for the very first time—55 years after its initial release. The album has also been inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame and added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry. 

Guaraldi, who continued to score PEANUTS specials until his death in 1976, had an immeasurable impact on the generations of young people who watched or listened to A Charlie Brown Christmas. “Guaraldi showed how a piano, bass, and drums can capture a feeling and character in living color, particularly if those feelings are complex, conflicted, or even simply too beautiful for words,” wrote Los Angeles Times in 2012. “It’s the kind of realization that, even unconsciously, opens the door for later discoveries in Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Robert Glasper, and everything beyond.” Ranking the album at No.4 in their 2019 round-up of the Greatest Christmas Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone added that the album has “become some of the most visually evocative American music.” 

Dwayne Dopsie | 'Set Me Free"

Dwayne Dopsie represents the best of what Red Hot endeavors to offer the world: virtuosity, earnestness, the ability to bring traditions forward into multiple genres while retaining authenticity – not to mention the warmth and soul in his vocals! His live show is outrageously potent; his band is as tight as they come, and he's equally compelling when he plays solo. 

Set Me Free is a soulful take on classic Zydeco, given extra bite with an infusion of swampy Blues. All the music and lyrics were composed by Dopsie, aka Dwayne Rubin, save for one, and performed by his band the Zydeco Hellraisers: Dwayne on accordion and vocals; Paul Lafleur on washboard; guitarist Brandon David; Tim McFatter on saxophone; bassist Dion Pierre; Kevin Minor on drums.  His brothers Tiger, Anthony and Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. appear as special guests on several tracks including a cover of the Guitar Slim classic “The Things I Used To Do“ performed in tribute to their father. 

Dwayne Dopsie hails from one of the most influential Zydeco families in the world; he’s the youngest son of the Zydeco icon Alton Jay Rubin, Sr. better known as Rockin’ Dopsie. Building from that tradition, Dwayne developed his own high energy style of 21st Century Zydeco. He grew up in Lafayette, Louisiana, teaching himself accordion by watching videos of his father and Clifton Chenier, then recording hours of himself on video to study, critique and perfect his craft. 

He has rocked audiences across the globe since debuting his band, Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers, at the age of 19 some 20 years ago. Playing not only Zydeco, but also rhythm and blues, funk, rock and roll, reggae and pop, Dwayne Dopsie and the Zydeco Hellraisers have built a thriving touring career — with Dwayne particularly known for his charismatic crowd work and getting an audience out of their seats. The band members have a combined century of experience in Zydeco they’ve displayed in exuberant performances around the world. 

Dopsie is as beloved at home as internationally, winning the Offbeat Magazine Awards over a dozen times, and being named in a Louisiana Travel’s “Top 100 Reasons People Come Back to Louisiana” feature. 

Dwayne has been featured on CBS This Morning, The Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, Good Morning America and in media outlets from Brazil to South Africa, not to mention the New York Times and Rolling Stone Magazine; the latter called him “the Jimi Hendrix of the accordion.” 

Sheila Jordan | "Comes Love: Lost Session 1960"

At the age of 92 and still going strong, singer-songwriter Sheila Jordan has been one of the most revered and utterly unique voices in jazz for decades. Beginning with her debut album, 1963’s Portrait of Sheila on Blue Note Records, she pioneered a bebop-inflected approach to singing accompanied only by solo bass (in that case, a duet with Steve Swallow on one of her signature tunes, Bobby Timmons’ “Dat Dere”). Following the release of that album, however, Jordan retreated from the scene to concentrate on raising her daughter, working as a typist for the next two decades and not recording as a leader again for more than a dozen years.

The never-before-released Comes Love: Lost Session 1960 thus adds a crucial new chapter to Jordan’s remarkable story. Recorded on June 10, 1960 at New York’s Olmsted Sound Studios for the little-known Chatam Records, the recently discovered studio date presents the singer in nascent but instantly recognizable form on a set of standards. Due for release by Colorado-based Capri Records on September 17, 2021, the album is otherwise shrouded in mystery: Jordan has no recollection of the date or the names of her accompanists, a nonetheless deftly attuned trio.

The music that comprises Comes Love was unearthed by record dealers Jeremy Sloan and Hadley Kenslow of Albuquerque’s SloLow Records, who purchased it among a large collection of acetates several years ago. Knowing of Capri Records owner Tom Burns’ acquaintance with Jordan, they forwarded the surprise discovery to the Capri founder. 

The 1960 recording predates Portrait of Sheila by more than two years, making it the earliest representation we have of the singer at the dawn of her storied career. At the time Jordan was working regularly at the Page Three Club in Greenwich Village, often with pianists John Knapp or Herbie Nichols, bassists Steve Swallow or Gene Perlman, and drummer Ziggy Willman. It’s possible that some of these musicians can be heard on Comes Love, though there’s no way of knowing for certain at this point.

“Whoever is playing on it is really good,” attests Burns. “The group seems to have an empathic relationship with her; I don't think it was just some pick-up band. But while it’s troublesome that I can't distinguish the musicians, I really thought this was a recording that should be out there because there's so much good music on it.”

Even without the identifying label on the acetate (and the haunting headshot of the singer that accompanied it, also included in the album packaging), the voice inside is unmistakably that of Sheila Jordan. Her mature style is not yet fully formed, but the jaunty scat that opens Duke Ellington’s classic “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” the playful, sassy flexibility of her time feel on the Gershwins’ “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” or the wry world-weariness that imbues Rodgers and Hart’s “Glad To Be Unhappy” reflect qualities that would remain and deepen over the next sixty years.

“My first reaction was, ‘Wow, does she sound young!’” recalls Burns of his initial impression of the music – a reaction that he reports was shared by Jordan upon hearing the session. “Even though it's only a couple of years before Portrait of Sheila, she’d obviously developed more as a singer by then. But the way she dealt with a session of standards [at that stage in her career] impressed me. Most of the tunes aren’t your typical songs – there are a couple of well-known tunes, but most of them are kind of obscure even for that time.”

The album opens with James Shelton’s wistful “I’m the Girl,” which Sarah Vaughan had recorded four years earlier on Sassy, though Jordan’s rendition emphasizes a naïve melodrama shared by “When the World Was Young,” perhaps the clearest indication that this is such an early effort. The winsome opening verse of “Sleeping Bee” takes on a sprightly tone also present on a brisk “I’ll Take Romance.” A stark “Ballad of the Sad Young Men” is followed by a brassy take on the title tune and a sultry version of Billie Holiday’s “Don’t Explain” that reflects the iconic singer’s influence. 

“She’s bending notes and singing the way a horn would play,” Burns points out. “[Jordan is] really trying different things out on this session. It’s an interesting look into her evolution as a performer.” 

One of the most distinctive and creative of all jazz singers, NEA Jazz Master and self-described “Jazz Child” Sheila Jordan is one of those rare vocalists whose voice can be regarded among the great instruments of the music. Raised in poverty in Pennsylvania's coal-mining country, Jordan began singing as a child and by the time she was in her early teens was working semi-professionally in Detroit clubs. Most of her influences have been instrumentalists rather than singers, the greatest being Charlie Parker. After moving to New York in the early 50s, she married Parker's pianist, Duke Jordan, and studied with Lennie Tristano. She didn’t begin recording until the early 60s, then faded from view for two decades as she stepped back from her career to raise her daughter. Since her return to recording in the late 1970s she has remained one of the most acclaimed and beloved vocalists in jazz, pioneering a duo approach with solo bass and enjoying longstanding collaborations with the likes of Cameron Brown, Harvie S and Steve Kuhn and recording with the likes of Carla Bley, Roswell Rudd, Mark Murphy, Arild Andersen and George Russell.

Lauren Dukes Releases Self-Titled EP

Emerging R&B Singer-songwriter Lauren Dukes has released her self-titled debut EP on September 2nd. For years Lauren Dukes has made a name for showcasing her talent for performing throughout the local Chicago scene. Her self-titled debut EP is a welcome calling card to an artist ready to breakthrough. Along with the announcement, Dukes unveils her new live session video for “Closure,” out now. 

“Closure” is a song with many applications, however, at its core the piece is about wanting what we may not be able to have again & having to accept whatever that answer is in the end. Dukes says, “It's something we all want. But it's rare to get it...closure.” 

On her upcoming 5-song EP, Dukes keeps a common thread of story-telling. The project encompasses a blend of blues, soul, jazz and R&B with Faith as the foundation that brings it all together. Dukes explains her writing process, “Much of what I write starts off by asking (God, the universe, then myself) "What is the message You want me to deliver? Then, I ask, "What do I want to express?"” 

The production behind the project is propelled by Lauren Dukes’ band, a talented cast of musicians including Nic Byrd (Guitar), Andy Sutton (drums & producer), Ola Timothy (Bass), Kris Lohn (Bass), Moses Hall (Keys), Latavius Mulvac (on Keys), Aiden Dehn (Sax), Shawn Maxwell (Sax), Shaun Martin of Snarky Puppy (Keys), Marques Carroll (Trumpet), Kirk Garrison (Trumpet), & Nicole Garza (background vocals). 

Earlier this year, Lauren Dukes released the EP’s lead single “Hectic Love Week.” The single and EP demonstrate Dukes’ commitment to her craft. She concludes, “Everything I do is with my whole heart. It is my passion. My ministry. I want everyone to walk away from listening feeling better than the way they came. Music has the power to do that, and I’m honored to get this opportunity to hopefully contribute.” 

Check out the first video Closure here: https://youtu.be/CLwlPA15R_k. The lead single “Hectic Love Week” is available now on all streaming platforms as well and received critical praise from the Chicago Sun Times, Medium, and The Deli.

Carn Davidson Nine | "The History of Us"

The Carn Davidson 9 (CD9) was formed in early 2010 as a collaborative project between JUNO Award-winning artists, trombonist William Carn and saxophonist Tara Davidson. CD9 is a 9-piece chordless ensemble that utilizes its seven horns as melodic, harmonic and rhythmic devices, anchored by bass and drums. This co-led ensemble presents an opportunity for both artists to craft compositions for a unique chamber jazz instrumentation, and for a formidable collection of guest arrangers to shine new light on existing repertoire by Carn and Davidson.

The Carn Davidson 9’s unique sound is made stronger by an all-star lineup of prominent Canadian artists, all of whom are exceptional ensemble players  in addition to being outstanding soloists. CD9 has produced two previous recordings: their debut album “Nine” was released in 2012, and was followed by “Murphy” in 2017. Both recordings garnered JUNO nominations for Jazz Album of the Year.

The History of Us is the Carn Davidson 9’s third studio recording, and is their most personal project to date. Comprised of two three-movement suites, The History of Us is a powerful, moving meditation on the universal  themes of family, migration, and loss.

The History of Us will be released worldwide on Friday, November 26th 2021 on Three Pines Records.

Céu | "Um Gosto De Sol"

Brazilian singer Céu is excited to return with her upcoming album Um Gosto de Sol on November 12, 2021 on Urban Jungle Records/Warner Music.  This will be her first cover album and features 14 beautiful renditions of classic songs crafted by the Latin GRAMMY Award winner. Her first single and video “Chega Mais” is out now. Watch the video here (https://youtu.be/j7gnzpge0f4). 

Céu was living in New York in 1998 when she wrote her first song. She divided her time between a music course - the reason why she had left Brazil - and as a cleaner, coat-check attendant, waitress, and other jobs that helped pay for her rent. Until then, her relationship with music was associated with doing cover songs. Singing someone else's repertoire was her first lesson - it guided her to find her own musicality - and, in the end, it was what gave her the fundamental tools to discover her place as a composer. Singing was everything to her, and the desire to make an album with covers remained in her plans all along - but original productions have naturally occurred since her self-titled debut album, Céu, in 2005. The idea of putting a pause on her own compositions, in order to dedicate herself to other people’s songs, had been  postponed - until now. After five original albums, Um Gosto de Sol is the first album in which Céu is only a performer, giving voice to a dozen songs written by other authors. The album is a result of the pandemic’s impact on the artist’s life. 

Made with the help of Pupillo, her husband and producer, and Edgard Poças, her father, it's a particularly personal project. And the seed that motivated its conception was in fact the lack of reasons to compose an original album. The retreat. The inevitable introspection. At the beginning of the pandemic, when the feeling of uncertainty only increased with each new day - and no day was really “new,” Céu acted like much of the rest of us and sought shelter in the only possible safety point at that time: memory. She reminisced on her beginnings with music, which go back to the records she listened to as a child at her parents' house, to the rock and pop music she discovered in her teens, to the shows she saw and performed before becoming a songwriter. Her personal journey made the repertoire of Um Gosto de Sol. It reflects the artist in every corner of her musical foundation, in such a broad spectrum that it can surprise even her most loyal followers.

Samba is represented in the album in five very distinct periods – In time and aesthetically. Within this genre, the selection of songs kicks off with the pioneering trio of composers: Ismael Silva, Lamartine Babo and Francisco Alves, partners in “Ao Romper da Aurora,” samba recorded by Ismael in 1957. We then visit João Gilberto's original work in “Bim Bom,” a small jewel released by the brilliant singer as the B side of his 1958 single, that had the track “Chega de Saudade” as the A side, and inaugurated Bossa Nova. We then travel to the most revolutionary phase of the duo Antonio Carlos & Jocafi in 1973's “Teimosa.” Which, in its new version, gained backing vocals by Russo Passapusso, from BaianaSystem. It is followed by Alcione’s “Pode Esperar,” from 1979, a composition by Roberto Corrêa and Sylvio Son, which already imprinted feminism into the diva from Maranhão’s lyrics. It then flows into a pagode from 2000 with “Deixa Acontecer,” a song by Carlos Caetano and Alex Freitas, made by grupo Revelação by Xande de Pilares - which Céu takes on in a sensational duet with Emicida.

Brazilian pop is represented on the album by its biggest star. The first single to hit music platforms from “Um Gosto de Sol” - “Chega Mais” is a collaboration between Rita Lee and Roberto de Carvalho from 1979, it’s from the same LP that inaugurated not only Rita's solo career - and the stage of her greatest popular success, alongside her husband Roberto - but also the stepping stone of what would become Brazilian pop. 

The track that the album is named after, “Um Gosto de Sol” is a collaboration between Milton Nascimento and Ronaldo Bastos, taken from the classic 1972 album Clube da Esquina. The harmonic and melodic sophistication of the song is exemplary of the innovative Minas Gerais school that was led by Milton at that time and which continues to have the capacity of impacting the most meticulous musicians and listeners in Brazil and abroad. On the other hand, it is in the simplistic construction of “Feelings” that its most powerful characteristics lie, with the strength to unify and  blur the lines between Brazilian and international music. Composed in English by Brazilian Morris Albert in 1974, the song conquered the world in an overwhelming way and was recorded by jazz and pop stars worldwide, from Nina Simone to Caetano Veloso, from Offspring to Joe Pass. 

International pop and its various decades are also interpreted by Céu throughout the album. Um Gosto de Sol includes a bossa nova version of the psychedelic song “May This Be Love,” a track that opens the B side of Jimi Hendrix’s classic album, Are You Experienced (1967). The album travels through the 1980s in “Paradise,” a composition from Sade’s worldwide hit Stronger Than Pride (1988). Then it arrives in the 1990s with two fundamental names: Fiona Apple, with “Criminal,” (1997); and the Beastie Boys, of “I Don't Know” from the following year (1998). Two instrumental vignettes were also created for the album: “Sons de Carrilhões,” by João Pernambuco, and “Salobra,” by Andreas Kisser, Pupillo, DJ Nyack and Céu - just to go against those who say that there is nothing original in the tracklist. 

Although Céu has always valued electronic features in her original albums, the first images imprinted in her emotional memory are related to the universe of the Brazilian guitar. Since memory and emotion are the two fundamental ingredients in Um Gosto de Sol, the concept of using the acoustic instrument as a key part of the entire album was born. But it was necessary to marry the two concepts: on the one hand, to praise the greatness of the classical schools of Dilermando Reis, Garoto and Baden Powell, among other brilliant guitarists that Céu listened to throughout the first part of her life on her father's record player. She also wanted to honor the entire musical universe that she came to know later, on her own, in a life dedicated to the freedom of listening, regardless of the origin. Andreas Kisser, well known for his metal band Sepultura ended up joining the project, as a result of the pandemic and being “locked up and bored like the rest of us.” Kisser agreed as soon as he got the call. Moreover, he learned to play the seven-string guitar especially for this album. The result is a diverse band made up of: Pupillo (drums, percussion and production of the album), Andreas Kisser (seven-string guitar) and Lucas Martins (bass). But it also has additional guest appearances by Hervé Salters and Rodrigo Tavares (keyboards), veteran conductor Jota Moraes (vibraphones) and DJ Nyack (beats and programming). 

Céu likes to say that this is indeed an album about hope. Not in an attempt to create new songs that simulated a beautiful future ahead - which at that point, in the shadow of the pandemic, would seem so unbelievable to us. But in a movement to strengthen what has - and has always been - most solid and most powerful: our history and our emotion. Even through the tough and unpredictable moments in quarantine, Um Gosto de Sol, brings a taste of sunshine and a lot of heat.

The Inaugural Jazz Music Awards: Celebrating the Spirit of Jazz is Set for October 2022 in Atlanta

The inaugural Jazz Music Awards: Celebrating the Spirit of Jazz has announced its awards ceremony, scheduled on Saturday, October 22, 2022, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in metro Atlanta, GA. For five decades the premier venue is the home to Broadway shows, ballets, concerts, operas, and more. Presented by Jazz 91.9 WCLK, a public radio station licensed to Clark Atlanta University and known as “Atlanta’s Jazz Station,” the Jazz Music Awards (JMA) will be a dynamic presentation that recognizes the iconic spirit of jazz by shining a spotlight on Mainstream and Contemporary Jazz musicians who continue to make a mark on the music and the industry. The hosts, performers, presenters, and special honorees will be announced at a later date. 

The Jazz Music Awards will recognize a broad spectrum of creators within the national and international jazz world, from mainstream and contemporary musicians, vocalists, and big bands, to composers, individual songs, and full-length albums. The eligibility period for the 2022 awards ceremony starts from April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022. The online submissions will begin on New Year's Day, Saturday, January 1, 2022, through Thursday, March 31, 2022. The award categories are as follows: Best Mainstream Artist, Best Contemporary Artist, Best Duo, Group or Big Band, Best New Jazz Artist (Contemporary or Mainstream), Best Jazz Vocalist, Best International Artist (Contemporary or Mainstream), Best Mainstream Album, Best Contemporary Album, Jazz Innovator of the Year, Composer of the Year, Educator of the Year, Jazz Legacy Award, and Song of the Year (Fan Vote).

“For the 47 years that WCLK has been on the air, we have played and specialized in all genres of jazz,” says Wendy Williams, General Manager of WCLK, who has been at the helm for 27 years. We play mainstream, contemporary, fusion, straight-ahead, and modern jazz. We have run the gamut. That’s been the history of the station and quite frankly, the secret to our success. We are still standing. And for more than fifteen years, we have complemented our on-air with the presentation of live jazz concerts, that have helped to support the operations of our nonprofit NPR-member public radio station. We have always enjoyed the sellout crowds and the joy the listeners feel when they see us at concerts.”  

Williams and David Linton, the station’s program director and the former record label executive, reached out to Rushion McDonald, the founder of 3815 Media, who will head the production for the upcoming star-studded celebration. A two-time Emmy Award-winning executive producer and a three-time NAACP Image Award winner, McDonald is the host of the popular “Money Making Conversations” podcast. 3815 Media will produce the Jazz Music Awards and its red-carpet event with plans to launch a live award telecast globally.

McDonald is the architect behind producing multi-media platforms for major clients, including the career of Steve Harvey and the widely successful Hoodie Awards, later renamed the Neighborhood Awards. His expansive work as a writer and producer also includes collaborations with other celebrity talents such as Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle Union, Mo’Nique, Tia and Tamara Mowry, Stephen A. Smith, Jamie Foxx, and others from New York City to Hollywood. He has also created national media campaigns for State Farm, Ford, JC Penny, General Mills, iHeart Radio, Radio One, NBC, BET, and ABC networks, just to name a few. For more information about Rushion McDonald, go to rushionmcdonald.com. 

Linton says “This is an exciting time in the 47-year history of Jazz 91.9 WCLK. I’ve worked with this station as a label executive and I know how instrumental it has been in the careers of so many artists, especially, jazz artists and it remains so today. When Wendy spoke to me about returning to the station as its program director in 2018, I was thrilled. Now to have an opportunity to help write another chapter in WCLK’s storied history is an honor. The time is right for the Jazz Music Awards and WCLK is well-positioned to deliver this long-overdue awards show. This is going to be a historic and momentous event for all who love jazz.” 

The Jazz Music Awards committee secured three-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist and NEA Jazz Master, Terri Lyne Carrington, who will lead the musical direction and serve as a consultant to the first-ever awards ceremony. With technical wizardry and profound creativity, Carrington has become one of the giants of today’s jazz music. The multi-talented drummer, composer, producer, and educator, Carrington began her professional career at ten years old and received a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music at the age of eleven. Her artistry and commitment to education earned her honorary doctorates from Manhattan School of Music and Berklee College of Music, where she currently serves as founder and artistic director of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice.

To date, she has released eight career albums. She is the first female artist to ever win the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album, which she received for her 2013 project, Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue. Since she started her career, she has worked as an in-demand musician in New York City and later moved to Los Angeles, where she gained recognition on late-night TV as the house drummer for both “The Arsenio Hall Show” and Quincy Jones’ “VIBE TV” show, hosted by Sinbad. To date, Carrington has performed on more than one hundred recordings and has been a role model and advocate for young women and men internationally through her teaching and touring careers. She has worked extensively with jazz giants and legends including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau, Stan Getz, Woody Shaw, Clark Terry, Cassandra Wilson, Dianne Reeves, James Moody, Joe Sample, Esperanza Spalding, and more. For more information about Terri Lyne Carrington, go to terrilynecarrington.com.

“There is so much excitement and anticipation building around the Jazz Music Awards,” says Williams. “I have always known that Terri Lyne is an amazing talent and very accomplished drummer, composer, and educator. The more I peel back the layers, I am fascinated that she has covered so much territory in her career. She is also a highly sought-after music director for large-scale prestigious jazz and musical productions around the world. And we all know she has performed with and directed some of the best and that’s why she is perfect for our inaugural award show.”

As a presenter of live jazz performances over the years, selling out some of Atlanta’s largest music venues, and mounting annual benefit shows, WCLK began to present performers with its Jazz Legacy Award. Over the last few years, Williams noticed, looking across the musical landscape, that there was a dearth of major broadcast awards ceremonies honoring the creativity and work of one of America’s first indigenous musical art forms: Jazz. Just as Williams, program director Linton, and her staff began to think about mounting a larger jazz celebration, COVID-19 put all performances on pause. “These musicians have been sidelined for a year and a half, and the audience has been missing out,” she says. “I felt we should come back in a big way.” 

In addition, says Williams, the event will include an educational component on the campus of Clark Atlanta University, as well as a black-tie, pre-awards show gala at the Cobb Centre on Friday, October 21, 2022, the day before the awards presentation. The Friday program will include interactive sessions from world-renowned experts in the field of jazz, and classes will also feature small group workshops facilitated by leading creators in the music and performing arts industries for high school and college students as well as the public.

“Participants will be able to learn and glean something that’s taking place in the jazz music industry from some of the best,” says Williams. “So, we want to make it an empowering and spectacular weekend that uplifts and promotes this music. As soon as COVID lifted, you saw the performers out on the road again and the jazz festivals were back. Now, this is a collective way to have them all on a stage being loved upon, being celebrated the same way we see at other music awards shows. We have to do this.” 

For more information and updates about the Jazz Music Awards and Jazz 91.9 WCLK, go to: wclk.com.     

Alison Shearer | "View From Above"

New York-based saxophonist and composer Alison Shearer has announced her debut LP, View From Above, alongside the release of the lead single "Celestial," streaming now.

"Celestial is an ode to the divine inspiration I felt while composing the music for this project," says Alison. "The song plays with superimposed time signatures, and the jagged rhythmic edges evoke an almost kaleidoscopic feel. Simple melody lines are passed around between instruments, and the whole song has a lightness to it that is refreshing. This was my favorite tune to compose on the album and it came to me in a flood of inspiration over a period of about 48 hours. Magic!"

Alison Shearer’s debut album makes a statement. A statement about loss, and struggle, and the restorative power of music. Written soon after the passing of her father, famed photojournalist John Shearer, View From Above transports the listener to that liminal space between sky and earth, where the light shimmers and mundane matters seem small and far away. 

In crafting the 10 compositions for this album, Alison drew on her uncommon experiences as a young jazz musician, as well as her solid technical training in classical music. Her love of flute and saxophone as a child had led her to the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Dick Oatts, Steve Wilson, and Vincent Herring—all masters of jazz saxophone. Despite this promising introduction to professional musicianship, upon graduation Alison felt unsure about her chosen career and, searching, began to toy with the idea of abandoning music altogether. She just wasn’t hearing it. Yet.

But in a serendipitous turn of events, she was invited to perform as a founding member with the PitchBlak Brass Band, a smart, rambunctious, hip-hop-based brass ensemble. The group’s rapid success—packed shows at the Blue Note, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Bowl, National Sawdust, Merkin Concert Hall, and Summerstage—grew out of its members’ enthusiasm for breaking musical boundaries and creating fresh combinations of sound.   

“PitchBlak made me love playing again,” Alison recalled. “The rush of playing to sold-out crowds, the infectious energy—they reminded me why I was in music in the first place.”

Alison’s innate leaning toward individualistic expression derives in part from the artistic legacy that she inherited. Her grandfather, Ted Shearer, was the trailblazing artist behind Quincy, one of the first popular comic strips to feature an African-American protagonist. And her father had rocketed to fame as a precocious teenage photographer whose images graced the covers and pages of Look and Life magazines: He was there, camera in hand, at some of the most memorable events of the civil rights era in the U.S.—President Kennedy’s funeral, Woodstock, the Attica prison riots, the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier fight. 

“My father had a burning passion for art. That’s where he and I really connected,” Alison says. “He urged me to make a voice for myself.”

In keeping with this admonition, in 2015 Alison decided to leave PitchBlak and start her own group—a fusion quartet featuring her own compositions, performance, and leadership. Four years in—after refining her sound through key gigs with the quartet (Joe’s Pub) and as a side musician with artists as disparate as rappers Big Daddy Kane and Pharoahe Monch, indie songwriter Ana Egge, jazz trumpeter Wayne Tucker (Dizzy’s), and drummer Sunny Jain (with his bhangra band, Red Baraat)—Alison knew it was time to step out as a recording artist under her own name. The death of her father to cancer in 2019 only heightened her desire to create—as a musician with a striking, distinctive voice. 

“Losing my dad almost killed me,” Alison admits. “But out of that pain came this beautiful album.”

View From Above is beautiful, yes. At most times, it’s melodic and sweeping and bright. But alongside all of this gorgeousness lies energetic displacements and rhythmic friction—hints of Alison’s personal tumult that, ultimately, found resolution in the act of writing. 

Take the first moments of the record—the meditative intro of “On Awakening.” This soothing sequence sets a musical expectation soon upended, as the tune continues and contrapuntal percussive lines (by drummer Horace Phillips) scrape against the soaring riffs in Alison’s reverberating alto. Likewise, note the jagged edges of “Celestial,” with its odd meters moving in and out of synchronicity underneath the preternaturally inspired, effects-driven bass solo (by bassist Marty Kenney). Or the spare, propulsive intro that establishes the forward thrust of the third track, “Cycles,” with its major-key sonority and melodic horn interplay (between Shearer and guest artist Tucker). Caught up in the lyricism of these tracks, the listener senses their underlying conflicts without being overwhelmed by them—an admirable compositional feat. 

As the album progresses, its moods shift. The smoldering R&B vocals and inspiring lyrics (by vocalist Miranda Joan) of “Breathe Again” provide a smooth setting for Alison’s voice-like sax interpolations. And “Toni’s Tune,” with its fluctuating, deep-funk groove and spoken word samples—Toni Morrison asserting that “art is dangerous”—not only pay homage to the Nobel Prize-winning author, but speak to Alison’s belief in the power of art to invoke change. 

With “Three Flights Up,” Alison cycles back to the album’s earlier horn-led excitement, providing a chance for Alison and Tucker to align for a second time. This seamless segue sets up “Big Kids,” an ode to Alison’s father for the role he played in the civil rights movement and perhaps the most stirring tune on the record. 

On this track, a funereal vamp underscores an echoing sample of Malcolm X’s words about police brutality—words that remain, sadly, still relevant today. But a resplendent acoustic piano solo (by pianist Kevin Bernstein) pushes the tension of the piece toward a triumphal catharsis, as a ringing gospel choir moves from grief to elation on Alison’s well-written vocal parts. (Vocalist/lyricist Jonathan Hoard led the choral section, with singers Chauncey Matthews and Vuyo Sotashe, and Susan Mandel on cello).

In contrast with the previous vocal pieces, Alison wrote “Purple Flowers” (vocals and lyrics by Hattie Simon), a delicate ballad that holds the regret of lost love ever so lightly. Then, on the penultimate track, the gritty “Dawn to Dusk,” she works deftly in five, the seeming simplicity of the composition obscuring its intriguing melodic and rhythmic intricacy.

Alison closes out the album with “Gentle Traveler,” a sweetly rueful composition that contains one of her longest solos on the record. In finessing the tune’s soft contours and metric modulations, the saxophonist manages to isolate the sounds that land most affectingly in the ear and on the heart. Not surprisingly: If John Shearer’s talent was to capture rare human moments on film, his daughter’s talent is to do the same with sound. 

Mareike Wiening Quintet | "Future Memories"

Often the question comes up among musicians, how to create a sophomore release after a successful debut album. Does one rely on the same concept? Or look for ways to demonstrate new and diverse modes of creativity?

For the drummer Mareike Wiening [pronounced: Mar-eye-kuh Vee-ning], born in 1987 in Erlangen near Nuremberg, a completely different challenge arises. Shortly before the recording session of her “official” debut album, Metropolis Paradise, recorded with her New York quintet, pianist Glenn Zaleski broke his elbow and Dan Tepfer stepped in for him. This “follow-up” album, Future Memories, is actually the first with the original lineup. It features Rich Perry (tenor sax), Alex Goodman (guitar), Johannes Felscher (bass) and Glenn Zaleski (piano). Wiening assembled the quintet at the time of her Master's degree concert for New York University in 2014. 

When she began playing drums as a teenager, her reference point was American jazz. Besides the drums, she studied composition with Stefon Harris and Guillermo Klein. Harris has developed a harmonic concept in which chord changes are linked to a feeling. For the young drummer from Germany, this concept was an eye-opener and has led to an emotional and lyrical approach of composing.

Even though the drummer has spent the Covid break in Germany, beginning in 2020, New York remains the focus for her original music - especially with this quintet. 

Before the lockdown, she had toured extensively with her musicians in Europe as well as North America. Shortly before the outbreak she decided to enter the studio again with her quintet - this time in her home land during a three-week tour in Europe. 

The interplay of the five musicians has become more organic in Future Memories. Wiening's original concept of "emotional" harmonyand melodicism was still foremost in the minds of all - yet connections developed. "On our tours, the five of us were together for long periods," she says. "In our free time, we often talked about music. Of course, these conversations also flowed into the sound checksbefore a concert, where we improvised freely. I often recorded those to get inspiration for new compositions." 

After seven years, Wiening's method of writing for the band turned the Mareike Wiening Quintet into a cooperative group. The moment she finishes a composition, she presents it for interpretation by Zaleski, Perry, Goodman and Felscher. This leads to interconnections and expressive opportunities for the musicians.

Several tracks on the record are inspired by places Wiening has visited or are personally meaningful to her. "Northern Sail," for example, refers to Norway, where Wiening spent her childhood. "That sense of freedom and connection to the water and nature are so special and a welcome balance to the often hectic city life," Wiening says. "This is also evident in the music: the ostinato at the beginning symbolizes the wind and waves of the sea, while the melody glides over it in a relaxed way, giving the listener a sense of 'no stress, no worries‘.”

Or "El Escorial," which is based on a concert Wiening's band gave near Madrid. Because of a folklore festival, the place was filled with music and dancing. "My goal was to adapt some Spanish rhythms that I divide among the instruments of my band. Accordingly, the mood of the piece is somewhat 'chaotic' and dissonant, but always groovy." 

The entire album is based on a feeling of distance: the constant flying back and forth between the US and Europe and the ambition to unite both worlds. In "An Idea is Unpredictable", the musician has mainly processed these opposites. 

As a ballad, the title track, "Future Memories," is a feature for saxophonist Perry. "He plays ballads like no one else," the drummer enthusiastically explains. "That's all this piece needs: Rich's unique phrasing, a lot of feeling, and the art of floating above the chords." 

But the name "Future Memories" has another, philosophical layer. The eight pieces of Wiening's quintet were written before the Covidcrisis, much like the studio sessions. For that reason, the album provides an idea of what improvised music and jazz are capable of: namely, establishing an imaginary point in time in the future from which the present can be reflected upon as something already past. "My band is scattered all over the world, we live in different time zones and are separate from each other," Wiening says. "But our cohesion in the past, what we have experienced together, and our music will get us through the difficult present. We will stay positive." That seems more necessary than ever in turbulent times like these.