Joey Alexander | "Origin"

It’s no coincidence two of the titles on pianist, bandleader and composer Joey Alexander’s inspirational debut on Mack Avenue Records, Origin, contain the words “rise” and “rising.” 

“The Latin root of the word ‘origin’ is orire, which means to rise,” explains the restlessly searching musician, who has performed everywhere from the Obama White House to the Grand Ole Opry and has been nominated for three GRAMMY® awards. “During this pandemic, I think the first thing we should do is to start with being hopeful, which is the main theme of Origin. Instead of making it a source of frustration, I made it the source of inspiration to express myself in music.” 

Good plan. On his sixth album as a leader, his first featuring all his own material, Alexander has stretched his imagination into new territory, challenging himself to write rich melodic and harmonic interplay without ever abandoning the emotional candor and transparency that have captivated crowds and catapulted his albums to the top of the jazz charts. 

Returning to the studio with the rhythm section from his last album – longtime collaborators Larry Grenadier (bass) and Kendrick Scott (drums) – plus stellar guests Gilad Hekselman on guitar and Chris Potter on saxophones, Alexander also adds new instrumental colors of his own, playing Fender Rhodes for just the second time on record (the first being last year’s single, “Salt”). The pianist favors the Rhodes for its soft side, contrasting its creamy sound with the hard-hitting lines of Potter and Hekselman. 

The three team up on the tricky asymmetrical track, “Winter Blues,” which struts into the room with a slinky, funky 6/8 attitude. “To be clear, I didn’t actually write ‘Winter Blues’ during the winter,” confesses Alexander. “It was actually in the summertime, in New York City, but I was remembering how gloomy it was in the winter during the pandemic and I thought, ‘How can I make the situation upbeat and hopeful?’” 

The other seasons also get their due. The warm and flowing “Summer Rising,” with Hekselman careening into another star turn above Alexander’s Rhodes, percolates in crisp 5/8. The tender, Latin-tinged “Dear Autumn,” explains Alexander, is meant to remind listeners that fall is not just the season when leaves begin to fall and die, but also harvest time. The serene tone poem, “Promise of Spring,” also conveys a feeling of hope. 

“I’m not really into outdoor activities,” explains the pianist, “but I have come to understand how the seasons affect us. When I was writing ‘Autumn,’ like other musicians I was staying home a lot, but I thought this is also a time when we can be more productive as musicians, when we can harvest. When we get through the winter, spring gives people hope with the promise of warmer weather. Then with summer, things are always outside and, wherever you are, if you get more sun, you’re happier, so I think ‘Summer Rising’ is definitely one of my favorites on the album, and one of the more challenging pieces – it is about how summer brings a sense of joy.” 

Another challenging, long-form tune on Origin, “On the Horizon,” was inspired by a question that Alexander is asked: What’s on the horizon for you? The answer is more complex than most, as he acknowledges the need to focus on conversation to influence the future ahead – whether it be the coming months or years. The song features an intense, rippling, gorgeously lyrical soprano saxophone solo by Potter, with Alexander again confidently creating contrast with his solo, by leaving plenty of space between the notes. That space echoes the dynamics of conversation -- the push and pull of uncertainty and the need to listen before reacting – in order to carve his path forward. 

Not content to merely find new forms, Alexander also ventures into two vastly free improvisations on the album. “Rise Up” is a wild and joyous romp in 9, with Hekselman and Potter back on the case, celebrating the ecstatic release that comes through spontaneous creation. The quietly contemplative “Angel Eyes,” which listeners will be surprised to hear was also composed on the fly, is a grateful nod to “all the people who have looked out for me, even in the smallest things,” says Alexander. 

Gratefulness comes up a lot when the astonishingly gifted Alexander talks about his career. When he was writing the straightforward and beautiful song that opens the album, “Remembering,” he was able to reflect on the opportunities and blessings the past 8 years have brought. “A lot of amazing moments happened during that span,” reflects Alexander, “and this was the first time I had a break to pause and appreciate it all. That’s when I realized the pandemic had actually helped me to be more thankful,” he says. 

Much of Origin was composed in New York, but the fluttery, hypnotic “Midnight Waves” comes from an extended return visit to Bali, where Alexander spent his early years. The place he stayed was near the beach, so at night, he could hear the waves. After his busy life in New York City, the stillness and calm there was a welcome change of pace that let him “pause and enjoy the moment.” He hopes the tune will encourage listeners to do the same. 

Alexander closes Origin with the ballad “Hesitation,” another tune of unusual length that is also a bit of a formal pun, with its unresolved progression. “I did that on purpose, yes,” he confirms. “The tune is asking, ‘What’s next?’ and the answer is of course, ‘I don’t know.’ I just hope my music will bring some sort of comfort to these troubling times.”

Born in Bali, Indonesia, Joey Alexander has been performing professionally since 2013 when he was invited by Wynton Marsalis to perform at the Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala. Alexander subsequently moved to New York City and released his debut album, My Favorite Things, in 2015 on Motéma Music, followed by three more on the label and a fifth on Verve. Alexander’s albums have netted three GRAMMY® Award nominations – one for Best Jazz Instrumental Album (My Favorite Things), and two for Best Improvised Jazz Solo (“Giant Steps,” from My Favorite Things, and “Countdown” from the album of the same name) – with My Favorite Things and Countdown securing the No. 1 spot on the Billboard jazz charts and Eclipse coming at No. 3. 

Over the course of his astonishing career, Alexander has performed with Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding at the Obama White House, for President Bill Clinton at the Arthur Ashe Learning Center Gala, at the Grand Ole Opry, the Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall and at major jazz festivals and night clubs around the world. He has also been the subject of profiles on 60 Minutes and The New York Times. 

Origin is Alexander’s first album for Mack Avenue Records and will be released May 20 digitally and on CD, with a vinyl release scheduled for June 24.

Joey Alexander • Origin • Mack Avenue Records

Release Date: May 20, 2022 (digital & CD) | June 24, 2022 (vinyl)

Catalonian Guitarist Oscar Peñas Releases Almadraba ft. Legendary Bassist Ron Carter

On May 21, 2018, Oscar Peñas was excited to enter Sear Sound Studio to record his debut suite Almadraba” arranged and composed for an eight-piece ensemble. Little did Penas know about when he asked legendary bassist Ron Carter who responded enchanted to record his composition on six tracks. The official launch date for the album is on February 25, 2022, which was produced by Jason Olaine and engineered by Grammy awardee Jeremy Loucas. 

Oscar Peñas perform with a not flashy precise finger-picking technic, giving his fellow band members space shows all his creativity skills on guitar. Also featured on Almadraba are fellow Spaniard, keyboardist Marta Sanchez; bassist Pablo Aslan; (on the tracks where Ron Carter didn't play); percussionist and world rhythm expert Richie Barshay; and the Harlem Quartet, the Grammy-winning string four-some comprised by violinists Ilmar Gavilán, and Melissa White; violist Jaime Amador; and cellist Jody Redhage-Ferber.  

Almadraba is the fifth album by Peñas “…whose gem-playing remains a study in restrain and depth, and whose training began with classical studies and later progressed to jazz….” by Ashley Kahn (liner notes).   

Peñas' novel suite was inspired by Cadiz's unknown ancient fishing method in the South of Spain. Each of the suite’s movements describes the different steps of the almadraba fishing method, all of them titled after those. Almadraba’s premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival from October 3—6, 2018. Audiences experienced the stage representation of the fishing process mirrored a set of dramatic photos—some in black-and-white, others in washed-out color—projected on a gigantic screen behind the musicians in sync with the music. The multimedia effect transformed the presentation into something of a multi-sensory knowledge. Peñas’ innovative composition received acceptance with endless ovations, thrilling audiences’ celebrations, of great excitement.

Its second presentation in Feb. 2019 got the piece a fantastic concert review by Phillip Lutz - Downbeat Magazine; "Even when the bandleader brought out his nylon-string guitar and invoked, if obliquely, the flamenco sounds of his native land—as he did to great effect in the closing piece, “Bulería de la Almadraba,” the most animated offering of the night—he demonstrated an abundance of reserve. For all its artistry, Peñas’ work retained considerable humility and remained no less impactful because of it.”

A musical spark can come from many sources—a special person, a certain poem, a particular place. On the album Almadraba, the Catalonian guitarist and composer Oscar Peñas draws inspiration from a fishing tradition that has been part of Andalucian culture for thousands of years. Filled with Iberian, Classical and flamenco flavors, and with the sensitive support of keyboards, percussion, and strings, Peñas’s twelve-track suite is a deeply evocative celebration of man and nature in struggle and harmony. 

“’Almadraba’ is an Arabic name,” Peñas explains. “It’s a sustainable fishing method first practiced by the Phoenicians and brought to Andalusian Spain about 2000 years ago. It’s still in practice today in fact on the coast of Cádiz. Schools of bluefin tuna travel from the North Sea to the warmer waters of the Mediterranean to spawn. On the first full moon in May the fishermen there set up this labyrinth of nets to force the fish into a center area and then pull them out, very dramatically, and take only the biggest ones. The rest are returned to the sea.”

Dramatically? That’s an understatement. This is no Sunday outing with a fishing pole and line. One must witness the dangerous, sea-soaked, slippery scene to grasp the battle that is the Almadraba—the sheer physicality of it all, as fishermen use ropes and big metal hooks, hands and muscle, to lift the largest of the tuna up off a bed of entangled nets, over the wooden gunwales and onto the boat’s broad decks. The fish they choose are two to three feet longer than a man is tall, and weigh twice as much. The rope-and-pulley system used today—hanging from masts planted firmly into the boat’s hull—is the same as what’s been in play for centuries. The fish’s final, fitful attempts at freedom have snapped many a pulley, maiming—or taking the life of—many fishermen. The red-tinted seafood and dark blue-green waters swirl together: a colorful backdrop to a scene that caught Peñas’s eye.

Almadraba is the fifth album by the 48-year old artist whose gem-like guitar-playing remains a study in restraint and depth, and whose training began with classical studies and later progressed to jazz. The album also stands as a creative breakthrough, realizing years of artistic progress and promise. The music on it sparkles softly, speaking with a delicate lyricism that both still the soul and resonates with the feel of ageless melodies. All that needed to happen was for someone to hear and record them. Now Peñas has done that. 

Almadraba—like Peña’s critically acclaimed albums before it (2003’s Astronautus, 2005’s The Return of Astronautus, 2011’s From Now On, and 2014’s Music of Departures and Returns)—benefits from a carefully selected group of improvising musicians, including master bassists Ron Carter. Also featured on Almadraba are: fellow Spaniard, keyboardist Marta Sánchez; bassist Pablo Aslan; percussionist and world-rhythm expert Richie Barshay; and The Harlem Quartet, the Grammy-winning string foursome comprised of violinists Ilmar Gavilán and Melissa White, violist Jaime Amador, and cellist Jody Redhage-Farber. 

That Peñas continues to recruit talent of this caliber to his recording projects, utilizing their musicality and nuance to the degree that he does on Almadraba, speaks highly of his skill as a composer. The dozen pieces on the album reveal an emotional range that deepens in reach and meaning after each listening, telling the story of the almadraberos—“the brave fishermen who risk their lives to catch the tuna,” says Peñas, who adds that “the movements of the suite have been named after the different phases of this tradition,” as he explains. 

“It opens with ‘Traveling Through Water’—the most song-oriented part of the suite. If it had lyrics I think it could be a pop song, and next, there’s ‘Calamento’: those are the nets they set up in a labyrinth-like pattern.” Two tunes follow capturing the beauty of the swift, sea-bound journey of the fishermen to the fish: ‘Almadraba’s Waltz’, very lively and hopeful, and ‘Habanera de la Almadraba’, which flows with the motion of the sea, waves of tension and release.

“Then there’s ‘La Levantà’, the most vigorous part of the suite, when the biggest fish are pulled up by hand, the fish thrashing their tails in despair. The smaller ones are released—‘La Bajà’—which to me has a dreamy, Debussy-like feel, although any similarity was not intentional. On land, the big tunas are filleted for auction: ‘El Ronqueo’ is meant to evoke the sound of the knives on the fish bones. This tune, and the closing piece of the suite, ‘Bulería de la Almadraba’, are the most Spanish-flaired in terms of tempo, energy, cadences and rhythm—a tribute to the place where this all takes place in southern Spain.”

The suite closes with the deceptively mood-painting of the guitar-and-bass duet ‘Ballad of the Fishermen’. The bonus tracks of the digital version of the album offer the harmonies and Phrygian cadences of ‘South’ (so we know where we are, in Andalucia) and ‘Oh Maguro’, light-hearted in spirit, inspired in part by the irony that many of the tuna caught in Spain will fetch a high prices and end up in sushi restaurants in Japan.

For Peñas, Almadraba serves as a point of musical arrival and personal satisfaction. “This work is also very close to me because I feel I finally blended the two musical worlds I have been exploring most of my life—worlds that are at times harmonious and at times antagonistic: classical music and jazz. Not just that either—on this album I filtered both genres through the cadences and rhythms of my native Spain— and other flavors very dear to me, like the habanera.”

In fact there’s a kaleidoscope of musical ideas swirling through Almadraba—Iberian and Afro-Cuban, Classical and bebop—but it takes a sharp ear to catch the distinct threads, but that defeats the purpose. True to Peñas’s word, the music flows effortlessly and naturally. Yet one need only consider a few standout moments—the hushed focus of Peñas’s guitar line on the album opener; the cascading, back-and-forth of guitar and string quartet on the final track—to realize how much is truly happening, and why he rightfully feels a sense of pride in what he achieved. 

From the fishermen of Cadiz, who have been casting their nets into the Mediterranean for generations, came the inspiration. On Almadraba, Peñas has created music that should endure as long. —Ashley Kahn, May 2021

Crackazat | "Evergreen"

Freerange Records has announced the arrival of Crackazat’s latest long-player, the scintillatingly soulful and jazz-enriched masterpiece, ‘Evergreen’.

There can be few artists to have emerged in the last decade or so who’ve made a more indelible mark on the deep house universe than producer, Ben Jacobs, better known as Crackazat. The accomplished musician’s effervescent productions routinely hit the sweet spot between elemental dancefloor fire and cerebral musicality – thanks to a propulsive sound combining influences of jazz, house, garage, funk, hip hop, Latin, neo-soul (and far beyond). While he’s already forged an instantly recognisable sonic palette all of his own, new album ‘Evergreen’ represents his most accomplished work to date. Making his full vocal debut while introducing a new level of songwriting prowess to his long-established dancefloor credentials, this is the complete Crackazat.

Composed during – and undoubtedly informed by – these trying times, ‘Evergreen’ explores themes of adversity and gratitude, arriving as both a masterclass in contemplative songwriting and a celebration of musical influences. Elegantly bridging the gap between the soulful house underground and jazz-flecked crossover realms – inhabited by the likes of Jacob Collier, Thundercat, Tom Misch, and Jordan Rakei – the album echoes of a time where jazz-funk sensibilities and popular appeal were not mutually exclusive. Few artists boast the musical aptitude or creative vision to attempt such a bold fusion of styles, and thanks to its exceptional execution and irresistible appeal, ‘Evergreen’ is primed to introduce Crackazat’s sound to an entirely new audience.

‘Evergreen’ is endowed with a distinctly live feel throughout, with virtuoso musicianship combined with carefully assembled song structures – elements so often missing in the dance canon. “It’s the album I’ve always wanted to make” says Crackazat. Soul-heavy vocals – performed by Jacobs himself – are a cornerstone of the collection, with the power and soul of his delivery proving something of a revelation. “By far the hardest part was getting my vocals to a standard I was happy with,” he says. “So I was over the moon when Freerange responded to the first draft with two thumbs up and a big grin.” The album’s arrival on benchmark UK deep house label Freerange feels like a particularly natural fit. When, in 2020, Crackazat started posting clips of himself singing alongside live bass and Rhodes, it quickly piqued the interest of the label’s ever alert A&R team. “Crackazat really nails the sonic realm where crunchy house beats inspired by the likes of Masters At Work and Mood II Swing meet contemporary neo-soul and jazz-influenced rhythms,” says the imprint’s co-founder, Jimpster. “There’s not many that can fuse the two so well and I get a sense that big things lie ahead for Ben. We’re very proud to be able to release this brilliant LP on Freerange!”

Blending the purest forms of deep house with authentic jazz sensibilities, opening track ‘Beacon Of Light’ lays down a tantalising statement of intent – with its combination of live instrumentation, heartfelt vocal, club-ready beats and compelling arrangement offering a vivid introduction of what’s to follow. Illustrating the pop-centric focus of the album, ‘Everybody Talks About It’ explodes with emotion – its searing vocal rising over shimmering pads and bass before building to a horn-filled crescendo, showcases Crackazat at his song-writing zenith.

The deep disco of ‘I’m Easy’ sees blissful chords glide over weighted bass as the vocal powers across the panorama, bursting with Quincy Jones-inspired horns above delicately woven keys and raw house drums. Nowhere are the album’s meditations on hardship more vivid than on the modern jazz ballad ‘Simple Things’, This compelling composition blends shades of Robert Glasper with futurist deep house to dramatic effect.

Fusing modal jazz with UK garage, we segue directly into the warm throes of an enraptured dancefloor via the irresistible bump of ‘It’s All Different’, its soulful vocal embellishing a heavy club rhythm as the trumpet solo and Rhodes chords cascade across the horizon. Title-track ‘Evergreen’ opens with a sprightly jazz swing before dusty drums add body to the sophisticated instrumentation, presenting jazz and house as a single entity as the well-orchestrated wind instruments, keys and mallets dance over an improvised walking bass line. The distant vocal elevates the track into the stratosphere before the arrangement resolves, neatly leading us into the Collier-esque accapella and vintage jazz aesthetics of ‘Cedencia’, where signature vocal cadences ascend to celestial heights for an interlude that ushers in a departure from the futurist first-half of the album.

Arriving in the funk-infused second act, the salsa rhythms of ‘True Power’ intoxicate as they propel the Peven Everett-inspired vocal, with driving percussion skipping over live bass and keys before horns add tension to the groove, dissipating for a dub-heavy outro. The scattered, broken jazz of ‘Save Something’ finds Crackazat and his live band in full effect. Fiercely dynamic while intellectually riveting, the track incorporates Latin energy with understated cool to devastating effect.

Once again illustrating an unparalleled songwriting prowess, the Hancock-esque e-piano solos, slap bass and enthralling lead vocal of ‘Nominee For Love’ prove spellbinding as they combine, the sing-along chorus interplaying with buoyant horns for an unfettered celebration of life. Maintaining the celebratory sentiment, boogie-themed ‘Thank You’ arrives as an exuberant outpouring of gratitude, once again marked by breathtaking orchestration and a proudly positive aesthetic as loose-limbed piano solos and boogie bass cement the track’s authentic Stevie meets MAW feel. Finally, the immaculate collection comes to a close with the self-nurturing intention of ‘Good Enough’, where sparkling chords, emotive synth solos and impassioned vocal merge for an emotional modern soul ballad.

‘Evergreen’ is nothing short of a triumph, exhibiting all the hallmarks of a future classic while propelling Crackazat into stratospheric artistic dimensions. Expertly fusing primal dance magnetism and jazz dexterity with a flawless production sheen, this remarkable album is destined to find its way into the playlists of a multitude of admirers while enhancing this exceptional artist’s already glittering reputation.

Hyperituals Vol. 1 - Soul Note

Hyperituals is part of the new research path undertaken by Hyperjazz Records. Entirely curated by Khalab - Raffaele Costantino, HJ’s founder and head of A&R - Hyperituals is a philological investigation that delves deeply into the musical influences and cultural roots of the young Italian label. The theme that runs through Hyperituals is the exploration of the possibilities of sound, rhythm, remix, and endless sampling. Inspiring listening, interpretation, and reinterpretation. Is it an exercise in crate- digging that explores the past of some of the most important yet sometimes forgotten record labels and aims to bring to light music that is contemporary both in its sound and its message.

The first stage of this journey is represented by Black Saint/Soul Note, an Italian ‘double’ label based in Milan that, since the 1970s and throughout the 1980s, established itself as one of the most important imprints for international jazz.

Founded respectively in 1975 by Giacomo Pellicciotti and in 1979 by Giovanni Bonandrini (to whom Pellicciotti sold Black Saint in 1977), Black Saint and Soul Note have represented a safe haven for incredible and brilliant artists who were unable to find their space elsewhere.

By combining jazz tradition with the political vanguard sentiment of the time, the two sister labels were able to press and produce more than five hundred records (still available today - the catalogue is now owned by CAM Jazz), many of which are by some of the brightest names in creative jazz or the ‘avant-garde’ of the era. Black Saint and Soul Note always placed the artists, their visions, and their music at the center, giving them total freedom of creative expression. It is thanks to this constant, cutting-edge and meticulous commitment that today we have some of the shiniest musical gems by Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, Don Cherry, Max Roach, Anthony Braxton, David Murray, and many others. And it is this long list of jazz gods and idols that led the two labels to be recognized as the best in the world by critics, winning the DownBeat Critics Poll for Best Record Label for six years in a row, from 1984 to 1990, conquering the American market.

On this first volume, Khalab selected music from the Soul Note catalog with particular attention to rhythm, groove, and Afrocentric traditions; a second volume will be dedicated to Black Saint’s catalogue

“For me, for my listeners, and for many other musically famished Americans, the Italian imports of Black Saint/Soul Note were the first introduction to and, often, only source for the names and music of people like David Murray, Muhal Richard Abrams, Julius Hemphill, Henry Threadgill, Cassandra Wilson, Giorgio Gaslini and many others.”- Frank Tafuri, US publicist for BS/SN and founder of Omnitone Records

This first double gatefold vinyl volume is entirely dedicated to the Soul Note catalogue. Khalab’s selection - focused on rhythms, grooves and Afrocentric traditions - demonstrates how this music, through its sensibility, can renew our connection to the present in unexpected ways. As the curator and music critic Enrico Bettinello writes in the compilation’s liner notes, in this volume “we find moments of ecstasy, irresistible percussive webs, fiery solos, poetic awareness, and magical ritual lyricism.”

A second volume focused on the Black Saint catalogue is already in the works.

New Music: Mamas Gun; Donald Byrd & Bobby Jaspar; Dave Douglas; Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns

Mamas Gun – Cure The Jones 

‘Mamas Gun animate the spirit of conscious ‘70s soul on bold and big-hearted new album, ‘Cure The Jones’. Out of the turbulence of the last two years comes the fifth album from UK-based soul outfit Mamas Gun – a lush, nuanced and expansively contemporary meditation on a world turned upside down, embedded in the classic soul tradition of Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye. Building on 2018 album Golden Days and the band’s status as a world-renowned live act, 11-track opus Cure The Jones represents Mamas Guns’ most complete and powerful work to date – a joyous and sophisticated exposition of song-craft, that explores themes of love, loss, life through the most pressing social and political issues of the day. Written and produced during the pandemic by Mamas Gun frontman Andy Platts with additional intricate soundscaping from drummer Chris Boot, Cure The Jones was recorded direct to tape with an array of analogue gear at Platts’ home studio in just three days, focussing the soulful energy of the band into a coherent gospel-tinged whole.

Donald Byrd & Bobby Jaspar - Cannes 1958 (180 gram pressing)

The first-ever release of a lost live performance from trumpeter Donald Byrd – material from that brief time when he was working on the Paris scene, and really pushing his music in new directions! As you'll note from the title, the group here also features the great reedman Bobby Jaspar – who blows both flute and tenor, and works alongside Byrd in tremendous formation – in part because there's a crack rhythm trio on the date – a Prestige/Blue Note-styled group that features Walter Davis on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Art Taylor on drums! The material was recorded with great fidelity by the French ORTF – far better than another live date with Byrd and Jaspar that's been floating around over the years – and the whole thing cooks like a stone classic that should have been issued on an American label in the late 50s, not languishing in the vaults for decades. Titles include "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Long To You", "Flute Bop", "Boogie Woogie", "When Your Love Has Gone Away", and "It Could Happen To You". ~ Dusty Groove

Dave Douglas - Secular Psalms

A really beautiful project from trumpeter Dave Douglas – an artist who lately seems as if he's even better than usual when he's got a special idea behind a record! That's definitely the case here – as Douglas works with inspiration from a medieval mural in Ghent – used for both the secular and spiritual currents that run through the music in a beautiful way – with Dave's instrument blended with pump organ and prepared piano from Marta Warelis, guitars and lute from Frederik Leroux, and cello from Tomeka Reid – plus use of "serpent" and tuba by Berlinde Deman, who also vocalizes a bit next to Douglas. Lander Gyselinck moves between drums and electronics – the latter of which are used in nicely subtle ways – and titles include "Instrumental Angels", "Mercy", "Arrival", "Hermits & Pilgrims", "Righteous Judges", and "Ah Moon". ~ Dusty Groove

Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns - Blow For Me, A Toot For You

After Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker came head to head with James Brown in the mid 70s, they broke off and formed the Horny Horns contingent – a tight funky backing section that's featured on a number of late 70s funk sessions, and which also recorded some extremely nice numbers on their own! This first album has the group working with George Clinton and Bootsy, who was a friend of Fred and Maceo from the old days – and who could really use the tight playing of some James Brown-trained musicians to smooth out their groove. This album was the group's first – and it's still their best – forging a massive new funk sound with the best elements of the old JBs fused through Clinton and Bootsy's P-Funk filter. Includes the monster funk cut "Fourplay" – a standout classic that features a funky break, hard solos, and all the other elements you'd need to make a great funky instrumental. Other tracks include "Between The Sheets", "Peace Fugue", and a version of "Up For The Down Stroke". ~ Dusty Groove

New Music: Pastor Champion; Jembaa Groove; Malka Family; Nautilus

Pastor Champion - I Just Want To Be A Good Man

Pastor Wiley Champion is a gospel singer with a hell of a voice – the sort that could have instantly made him a huge soul singer, if he ever chose to leave his faith – but which is maybe even more powerful here directed towards a spiritual sort of setting! The album's a very lean effort, especially for a contemporary album – recorded to two track analog tape in a church in Oakland, but with crisp fidelity that lets the vocals really come to life once the songs begin – as Champion sings with light backings from his own guitar, plus a bit of keyboard, bass, drums, and tenor. The whole thing is wonderfully without any sense of cliche – and has none of the slavish attempt to sound "authentic" that you might fear from a contemporary record like this – just the pure, unadulterated power of a singer who's worked in obscurity for decades, finally getting his due. Titles include "To Be Used By You", "Storm Of Life", "I Know That You've Been Wounded", "He'll Make A Way", "I Just Want To Be A Good Man", and "Who Do Men Say I Am".  ~ Dusty Groove

Jembaa Groove - Susuma

A great criss-crossing of cultural roots, in the best mode of other projects on the Agogo label – such as some of their Latin and Brazilian-tinged recordings! This time around, though, the inspiration is from West Africa – core styles that are taken up by a group from Berlin, and woven into some new contemporary textures from the European underground – drums and percussion warmed up with keyboards, saxes, and guitar – all nice and jazzy, and almost offering up a contemporary small combo take on the music of Ghana and Mali – similar to recent recordings from other groups that take on older Ethiopian styles. Eric Owusu handles the lead vocals, and the percussion – and titles include "Adesane", "Amale", "Bassa Bassa", "Mokole", "Aawoya", "Suban", and "K33 Momi".  ~ Dusty Groove

Malka Family - Superlune

The great return of a classic French funk group – one who gave us some great records in the 90s as part of the Kif Productions imprint – born again here with a sound that's even warmer and more groovy than before! The group's as much of a soul group as a funk one – blending together great vocals, heavy basslines, and horns that match the best of the 70s – with all these jazzy currents in the instrumentation that mark these guys as real masters of their instrumentation! Vocals are in French, but with a universally soulful vibe – and the whole thing's got a snapping, joyous groove that rivals the collaborative spirit of some of our favorite late 70s Funkadelic albums. Titles include "Pipo Freak", "Toucher Toi", "Poulet Cut", "Super Lune", "Passe Passe", "Blue Funk", "Sur La Lagune", "Vie La Teuf", "A L'Abri Du Succes", and "Music". ~ Dusty Groove

Nautilus - Reconnection

There's a pile of vinyl on the cover of this album from Japanese trio Nautilus – and that's maybe a good way to get at the sound of their style – as the group work heavily from an old school mode, while still pushing things into some more contemporary rhythmic territory too! The approach is somewhere between old school jazz trio work and some of the choppier styles of the young generation of Japanese trios – yet still with a lot more focus on the solo side of things, which some of those other groups are lacking! Much of the energy of the record comes from the piano and keyboard work of Mariko Nakabayashi, next to the bass of Shigeki Umezawa and drums of Toshiyuki Sasaki – on titles that include vocal appearances from Hanah Spring on "I Want You" and "It's A Shame", Ayaca on "Part Time Lover", and Kei Owada on "Empty Faces" – plus a nice take on the classic "Little B's Poem", and the cuts "The Eye Of The Hurricane", "Sweet Love Of Mine", and "Nebulosa". ~Dusty Groove

New Music: Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few; Gerald Clayton; Alabaster DePlume; Sure Fire Soul Ensemble

Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few - Cosmic Transitions

A long-awaited full length statement from saxophonist Isaiah Collier – a player who's been making magic on the Chicago scene in recent years, and who steps forth boldly here as a leader with a vision that cannot be denied! The set was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio, on John Coltrane's birthday – and while it might be tempting to credit those forces with the power of the record, we'll decline – as we've seen Isaiah live, and heard all the promises he has to offer – promises not only delivered on here, but taken to the next level – so that the rest of the world will get a chance to hear the righteous power of this young talent at work! Collier blows both tenor and soprano, and the group also features Jeremiah Hunt on bass, Mike King on piano, and Michael Shewoaga Ode on drums – a quartet who are wonderfully woven together in their exploration of new jazz frontiers. Titles include "Invocation", "Forgiveness", "Humility", "Understanding", "Truth & Guidance", and "Mercury's Retrograde".  ~ Dusty Groove

Gerald Clayton - Bells On Sand

Pianist Gerald Clayton has always been a musician who's followed his own path in music – making different-sounding records right from the start – but it's also clear that he's really finding his way ahead in recent years, as this second album for Blue Note will attest! Clayton has a very spacious approach to the piano – not one that's sleepy or uncareful – but instead this way of waiting, thinking, and building the sound up in just the right way – much more rhythmic at the core than an ECM pianist might sound, as there's a lot of organic energy in the music next to contributions from John Clayton on bass, and Justin Brown on drums – pushed even further at times when vocalist Maro joins the group, or saxophonist Charles Lloyd sits in. Titles include "Peace Invocation", "Water's Edge", "Daumunt De Tu Nomes Les Flors", "That Roy", "Rip", and "There Is Music Where You're Going My Friends" – the last of which might be a good way to sum up Clayton's journey! ~ Dusty Groove

Alabaster DePlume - Gold

There's few folks who can put together an album like Alabaster DePlume – and even amidst the heady company of his labelmates on International Anthem, it seems like DePlume has a really special way of mixing live performance with a whole host of studio-based conceptions! Alabaster's previous album was already a groundbreaking effort – but this set really pushes things over the top, with this really hypnotic blend of words and music, recorded at London's Total Refreshment Centre – at a level that's every bit as genre-breaking as any other work we've heard from that legendary locale. It's kind of impossible to describe the sound here in words – as DePlume mixes his tenor, guitar, and voice with a host of different instruments – contributions from London contemporaries on tablas, cello, electronics, guitar, and a range of other elements – including other voices added to the mix. Titles include "Don't Forget You're Precious", "I'm Gonna Say Seven", "Do You Know A Human Being When You See One", "I'm Good At Not Crying", "Now Stars Are Lit", "I Will Not Be Safe", "Who Is A Fool", and "The Sound Of My Feet On This Earth Is A Song To Your Spirit". ~ Dusty Groove

Sure Fire Soul Ensemble - Step Down

Deeply funky work from the Sure Fire Soul Ensemble – one of those special groups that always seems to bring a little something extra to their work – not just a straight copy of old school funk instrumental styles, but instead a rich, fresh approach that's very much their own! The sound is lean, but there's also this sort of majesty in the music – and understated quality that comes from the careful application of horns next to the funky elements at the core – almost with the flavoring that you'd hear in an older Ethio Funk record, but without any East African flavors either. The approach is a bit hard to describe, but it grabs you right away, and makes you know you're listening to something that's really a cut above – on titles that include "Omnificent", "Time To Rebuild", "Step Down", "High Times", "Gandys", "In Common", "Love Age", and "Thomas The Cat". ~ Dusty Groove

ALMALÉ new album "Hixa mía"

Born on the viola da gamba, Almalé discovers ancient music with a new air for our modern ears. Minimalism, jazz and Latin rhythms on a Renaissance and Baroque origin by authors such as Santiago de Murcia or Stefano Landi.

Almalé is a sound collage. The violagambist and vocalist Pilar Almalé gives her name to this project that she directs by the hand of the violinist Thomas Kretszchmar, the guitarist Alex Comín and the percussionist Fran Gazol. Four musicians as different as they are professionals and marked by their experience, which offer a unique and groundbreaking sound as a result.

Almalé arises from the repertoire of ancient music: medieval, Renaissance and baroque but with a new and different proposal: with influences of jazz, world music, Cuban rhythms, improvisations of a manouche violin ... offering as a result a fresh and young, suitable for all ears, from the most classic to the less conventional. The album combines a repertoire of old music arrangements with new compositions by Pilar Almalé.

Pilar Almalé is a multidisciplinary artist. Violagambista specialized in ancient music, he has opened the doors to other instruments such as his own voice, the medieval vihuela and the sraj, as well as other styles such as folk, world music or jazz.

He has toured important national and international stages as part of noted early music festivals. In 2017, he worked on the national tour of the piper Carlos Núñez and shared the stage with musicians such as Jordi Savall or Dulce Pontes.

Of multidisciplinary training, his education ranges from the "classical" Conservatory (Conservatorio Zaragoza and Sevilla, and Conservatorio Superior de Vigo), through the Degree in Fine Arts at the University of Seville, initiation to theater, contemporary dance with Ana Continent or the performance of sraj at the Official School of Music in Varanasi (India). She received a scholarship from the Cooperation Office of the University of Seville for two consecutive years to teach music and cello to children in India and Bolivia.

He currently has other projects such as Caranzalem, with the flutist Elena Escartín and Ceci n’est pas Baroque, with the violagambist Patricia Rodríguez. He is a performer and vocalist in the Aragonese folk group Biella Nuei.

DAVID VIÑOLAS RELEASES NEW ALBUM '5ET'

The restless and eclectic drummer David Viñolas, surrounded by a cast of great musicians from the jazz scene, presents a new quintet project. It comes after his debut album "Cap al capvespre" (Quadrant records, 2014), of recording together with the pianist Sergi Sirvent the two volumes of "Recreacions tímbriques: De Mompou a Bartók" (Selffish records, 2020), or "Nucli trio "(Errabal jazz, 2021) among others.

In this work we find a majority of his own compositions, written in time and now arranged for classical quintet formation (trumpet, saxophone, piano, double bass and drums) and some standard. A repertoire inspired by tradition and approaching the freshness and warmth of the 60's formations, making the quintet sound like a group, without protagonism, where all the members stand out equally.

Among the pieces that make up this album, we find "MR Smiles", an original song by the versatile Jordi Rossy, to which David Viñolas wants to acknowledge the influence and inspiration that this musician has given him, and two standards, the classic "Days of wine & roses" and "Ruby my dear", which has the special collaboration of Rita Payés on voice and trombone, both also arranged by himself, where he has turned them around, looking for a more personal air. 

Blind from birth, his interest in music was soon awakened, when he began to study classical piano and musical language at the Municipal School of Centelles (Barcelona, Spain). At the same time, he is part of the group of grallers of the giants of the town where the gralla and the box alternate, already showing a special devotion to the latter.

His restless spirit led him to explore other paths and, apart from classical harmony, as a young man he entered fully into modern music studying at the Taller de Músics, at the Pasaje Musical Studies Center, receiving private classes and also self-study: Drums, combo, piano, percussion, harmony and arrangements are some of the disciplines that he has cultivated at the hands of great musicians such as TToni Pagès, Marcelo Valente, Javier Feierstein, Alberto Cabello, Marc Vernis, José Reinoso, Raül Reverter, David Mengual, Marc Miralta, Santi Serratosa, Joào Balào, Tapan Bhattacharya, Marko Djordjevic, Rui López Nussa, Jo Krause, Calixto Oviedo, among others.

Already in full musical and personal maturity, immersed in the different aspects that drums offer him as an instrument, in February 2004 he resides in New York where he trains with Ernesto Simpson, Johny Almendra and Jeff Ballard. His open and eclectic look led him to found projects such as the drum trio "Stick in trio" or the percussion and dance group "Essència", with which he explored the paths of jazz, flamenco, rhythm as a musical concept, etc.

During his career he has collaborated, played and recorded works with musicians and projects such as Sergi Sirvent, Marta Roma, Roberto García, Omar González, Santi Careta, Feliu Ventura, "Funkystep & the Sey Sisters", Adrià Plana, El velda, "Badabadoc", Cobla Lluïsos de Taradell, "Tarasca", Marc Cuevas, Dave Juarez, Acari Bertran, Raynald Colom, Joan Asensio, David Leiva, Joana Serrat, Raül Reverter, "Etna quartet", "Baraka project", "Omelé", "La Cava Big band" dirigida per Marc Vernis, "Kibor", "Dijous paella", "Dúmbala canalla", "La transfrontaliere de l’amor", among others. These projects have led him to tour Catalonia, Spain, France, Andorra, Cuba, Turkey, Portugal, Austria, etc.

Currently he is part of "Nucli trio", Sergi Sirvent & David Viñolas, "Col·lectiu Soroll" and leads his own projects David Viñolas 5ET, David Viñolas trio and David Viñolas solo drums. He is also active in other formations as a sideman.

LIBÉRICA, new project by MANEL FORTIÀ (feat. Antonio Lizana) presents 'ARRELS'

ARRELS Is the first album of Libérica, a new project led by the Catalan double bass player Manel Fortià, who after a season living in New York and having played with great jazz icons such as Dave Liebman, Eliot Zigmund, Ari Hoenig or Chris Cheek among others, decides to return to his homeland and Delve into the traditional Catalan repertoire without letting go of the musical effervescence of the jazz mecca, where its multiculturalism has always led to the merging of different styles to create new ones. With this philosophy, Libérica seeks common ground between traditional Catalan song and flamenco, using free jazz as a conducting vehicle. The renewal and updating of folklore is necessary and helps to keep it alive.

It is an album that revisits the great standards of traditional Catalan song, the result of the nostalgia lived by Manel Fortià in recent years in the United States. Somehow there the need to seek his musical roots is awakened and he begins to incorporate into his repertoire some Catalan hymns such as 'El Cant Dels Ocells', which also covers with flamenco sounds together with the singer Magalí Sare, 'La Dama d'Aragó' or 'Els Tres Tambors' in the key of flamenco and jazz, mixing their lyrics with traditional songs that speak of the same themes but with different words.

During the time that Manel Fortià lived in the United States, he met the legendary pianist Chano Dominguez, a clear reference in flamenco-jazz and with whom he now works regularly. He is one of the musicians who inspires him the most, makes him grow his passion for this genre and has more desire to continue experimenting in this direction, which his mentor Javier Colina had already awakened when he was a student at the Taller de Músics (Barcelona). 

The voices of the Catalan Pere Martínez and the Cádiz-born Antonio Lizana represent these two coexisting worlds within the Peninsula that meet in Liberia in an organic and free way thanks to jazz, which could be said to have become an integrating music and a universal language during the last decades.

The Libérica group, apart from having the stellar collaboration of the Cádiz saxophonist and cantaor Antonio Lizana, an exceptional musician with a long international career and who has established himself as a benchmark in his style, also has two of the new values ​​of flamenco-jazz made in Catalonia such as the singer Pere Martinez and the pianist Max Villavecchia from 'Los Aurora'. In addition to the international collaboration of one of the new revelations in European modern jazz, the French drummer Raphael Pannier (Miguel Zenón, Aaron Goldberg, etc.), resident between Paris and New York.

Manel Fortià says: “In a society in which we find more and more rules that trap and control us, music is one of the few spaces where we can still be free. This is one of the reasons why Libérica was born, to help us connect with our roots from the air and make us travel through them to discover new paths and find common ground between them ”.

Libérica is a co-production of Manel Fortià, La Marfà Creation Center and the Auditori de Girona. The Fira Mediterrania de Manresa opted for this project last October, programming it as one of the festival's highlights.

New Music: Carlton Jumel Smith; Grupo Baquedanu; Antoine Berjeaut; Christina Dahl Trio

Carlton Jumel Smith - Devoted To You

Carlton Jumel Smith is back on Timmion Records, doing what he does best: grooving, testifying and romancing his way into your heart. His last album for the label '1634 Lexington Avenue' left many contemporary soul fans in awe -  some in tears of joy - and they will be pleased to know that he has something new cooking in 2022. Carlton and Cold Diamond & Mink bring out a new trilogy of tracks that will be first available as a digital EP and soon after on three separate vinyl records flipped with instrumental versions. ‘Devoted To You’ packs everything you could want from a mid-tempo jam. A steady tambourine beat rides a mellow groove, leaving Carlton all the pockets he needs to fill with his ever-funky but delicate delivery. ‘Heaven In My  Arms’ is a melodic beat ballad of the highest order, which should sweep fans of lowrider soul off their wheels, while ‘Loveliness Of You’ has sunday soul written all over it. 'Devoted To You' will be available as a digital EP - the songs will then be released on 3 different 7" singles.

Grupo Baquedanu - Toma Cinco

Grupo Baquedanu’s’ "Toma Cinco" is a hidden pearl in the recording history of Venezuela. “Take Five”, the groundbreaking jazz classic by Dave Brubeck is covered by one of the best saxophonists in the country's history, Santiago Baquedano (1931-2008), along with his group, Baquedanu's. Baquedano established himself as one of the finest sax players in Venezuela during the 50s and 60s when he worked with local band-leaders like Pablo Armitano, Willie Pérez, Willy Gamboa and Luis Alfonso Larrain. As his reputation grew he began playing wider, touring Latin America as well as travelling through Spain, the Middle East, the US and Puerto Rico. The name of musicians he has accompanied is vast but includes Frank Sinatra, Charles Aznavour, Xavier Cugat, Tom Jones and Paul Anka. In the mid-70s he decided to return to Venezuela with the intent of creating his own music, and find his own flavour. Thus, he formed Grupo Baquedanu’s in 1977 and released his version of “Take Five”. Noticeably, he changes the signature 5/4 of the original into 4/4, allowing for a looser adaptation that passes through Latin rock, funk, disco and psych, the perfect recipe for a sophisticated Venezuelan audience who, crucially, also wanted to dance. “Toma Cinco” is the second single from Color de Trópico Vol. 3, the latest instalment of El Palmas Music’ illuminating journey into Venezuela’s musical gems of the 60s and 70s.

Antoine Berjeaut - Chromesthesia 

Following the critically acclaimed album Moving Cities, recorded and produced with Makaya McCraven, Antoine Berjeaut - a stalmart of the European jazz scene - returns with Chromesthesia. Crafted together with some of the most innovative musicians of the French jazz circuit, this exciting new album will be out June 3rd through French-Japanese record label MENACE.Chromesthesia (or sound-to-color synesthesia) is a type of synesthesia in which sound involuntarily evokes an experience of color, shape, and movement. Antoine Berjeaut seeks synesthetic resonances between sound and colors, guided by the intuition that he can write music while using concepts and processes inherent to graphic art; playing with contrasts and nuances the way he plays with scales and keys, and tracing melodic lines in a constantly moving world, both graphic and sonic. “I see songwriting and composition as an ephemeral musical gesture, something like a sonic calligraphy which I hope to be as fluid as possible” Berjeaut explains.Echoing the compositions, London-based Lory Louves’ original paintings invoke a graphic and spatial dimension to music, through his “internal eye”. For the album’s opener “PPDQ”, Berjeaut goes for a cinematic immersion, with a spiritual jazz feel. Recorded in one take with Enzo Carniel (keyboards), Arnaud Dolmen (drums) and Csaba Palotai (guitar) - at the heart of the pandemic when the French government didn’t allow gathering of more than 4 people (“PPDQ” stands for “Pas plus de quatre”; “No more than four in english) - it features a prominent and enveloping flugelhorn solo, sidechained Rhodes synth lines, organic and nuanced drumming, a floating guitar and cutting-edge arrangement. Aptly named “Life in Ocre” (which refers to the colors of brass instruments and horns) is a solar tune which combines field recordings, Prophet synth sequences, a Lo-fi aesthetic and subtle beat music. Third single “Meeting Point” is as conquering as progressive and showcases the band’s wonderful interplay, with the addition of Gauthier Toux on synths. It encapsulates the ambition of Chromesthesia, Antoine Berjeaut’s very personal take on 21st century jazz - urban, poetic and technological - and one of the most forward-thinking and effortless records of the year.

Christina Dahl Trio - Souls of the Wind

In this musical meeting, a unique expression is created in harmony by three dynamic and creatively creative musicians. Christina Dahl Trio consists of three artists, each one with great personality, who together create an original universe of compositional music and improvisation. The trio is not afraid of experimenting with the musical expression and to seek out the nooks and crannies of the musical landscape. The music has a spectrum of sound facets and expresses itself from the simple lyrical to the more complex layers of musical lines and pulse. The trio thrives in its span and adventurous stories are told and put to life in this musical tone univers that is intuitively conveyed and ranges from deep, inner peace to chaos and wildness - clear, beautiful moments to smoldering, intense and whimsical colors of foggy tone language. The music is composed by Christina Dahl and is created from inner pictures and storylines. The music is portrayed by the trio in a mutual, organic, musical image that reflects the eternal dynamics and changeability of the human and life.

 

Celebrating 50 years of Black Uhuru

Legendary Grammy Award Winner Black Uhuru to Celebrate 50th Anniversary with the release of latest album New Day.

To celebrate their 50th-anniversary, the legendary godfathers of reggae Black Uhuru, along with Chico Roots-Rock crew Dylans Dharma, are partnering with SoCal independent label LAW Records to announce the release of their latest album New Day (to be released May 13, 2022). 

One of the most prolific Jamaican reggae bands in history, Black Uhuru has earned an impressive collection of music industry accolades over the years including winning the first-ever Grammy Award for reggae music with eight other Grammy Nominations to boot. Their enduring success, along with having the highest reggae record sales after Bob Marley and the most songs in the genre sampled by other artists, has mad the name Black Uhuru synonymous with the reggae genre as a whole. The upcoming New Day LP carries on Black Uhuru's powerful legacy of conscious roots reggae that started in Kingston, Jamaica, and has now continued around the planet to influence new generations of emerging reggae artists for five decades!

“The band is legendary,” says Black Uhuru founder & bandleader Derrick “Duckie” Simpson. “We’ve been around for over 50 years.  We started when we were youth and the band has come right through all these years in abundance.. There have been a couple of changes over the years with some guys left to do other things, and a couple of lead singers passed through the band: Don Carlos, Michael Rose, Junior Reid, and then Don Carlos again, and Andrew Bees now for like 25 years.  This album is my second up front doing lead vocals.”

“Celebrating 50 Years of Black Uhuru” will kick off with Black Uhuru’s release of the new single “Brand New Day'' (dropping  March 18, 2022) along with the full album pre-order also starting on March 18, 2022. Featuring the band’s iconic founder Duckie Simpson — back out front with his earthy, soulful baritone, trading verses with Dylan Seid of Chico-based Roots-Rock crew Dylans Dharma — the track is a rewrite of a Dylans Dharma song by the same name, with new verses by Duckie that were inspired by events he encountered during his time living in California in 2019. 

After an extensive cross-country US tour, Duckie had retreated to Helltown, a rugged mountain community in the hills of Butte County in Northern California. What he found there was sheer devastation after the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history (known as The Camp Fire) had just ravaged the entire area. Duckie was deeply inspired as he witnessed the small community come together with love and positive energy to regenerate and rebuild what was lost. With this deep respect and appreciation, Duckie collaborated with Dylan Seid to musically paint the ties that bind in that unique mountainside community.

The “Brand New Day” single is the second Black Uhuru collaboration with Dylans Dharma following last November’s single “From Jamaica to Here”, an unexpectedly groove-inducing cover of a 1976 folk song by English singer-songwriter Ralph McTell entitled “Clare To Here”.

The new album will also feature collaborations with long-time Black Uhuru frontman and solo artist in his own right Andrew Bees as well as a cover by CA-based singer-songwriter Baharat Karmakar, whose song "I Can See the Light" about The Campfire, inspired the New Day project.

The New Day album captures Black Uhuru at their enduring best, passing the torch even as their flame continues to burn strong, in alignment with the LAW Records mission of discovering and developing a new generation of emerging reggae artists, while simultaneously tracing a living historical connection between the genre’s future and its legendary Jamaican roots.  Owned and operated by the prolific artist/entrepreneurs of reggae-rock band Pepper (Yesod Williams, Kaleo Wassman, and Bret Bollinger), SoCal independent label LAW Records has gained a well-earned reputation as the tastemaker label when it comes to American reggae and reggae-rock. As trailblazers and the unofficial ambassadors of a music scene they are largely responsible for creating, the LAW team has been equally invested in developing the next generation of reggae-rock artists and connecting the genre’s wide-open future with its legendary Jamaican roots. 

“Strategically,” says LAW General Manager Paul Milbury, “what we want to do is connect the burgeoning American-Cali reggae scene back to the original legends, who helped create the scene that inspired this one: Black Uhuru is foremost among those legends. We really want to introduce the old to the new and the new to the old, to ensure the newer generation of reggae fans are aware of the legends and their importance, and hopefully introduce the older reggae fans to some newer artists who are pushing the contemporary reggae scene forward.”

From humble beginnings in Kingston, Jamaica’s Waterhouse District, Black Uhuru took their reggae across the globe and won the unsurprising honor of becoming the best-selling reggae act in history — second only to Bob Marley and the Wailers. Black Uhuru toured with the Rolling Stones and the Police, then bust down the barriers all on their own, barriers that have too often kept reggae stars out of the American mainstream. Several of their albums sold tens of millions of copies, including the GRAMMY-winning Anthem. The BBC called them “THE name to drop.”

In 2018, Black Uhuru returned to the studio for the first time in 15 years to record a new album. As The World Turns. Featuring original songs and strong cameos, it was one of the first times in years Duckie Simpson, iconic founder of the band, had stepped out in front again. To support the album, the band headed out on an East Coast US Tour with stops in major cities New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, & Boston, which culminated in the band’s appearance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts.

Not long after, Black Uhuru was approached by LAW Records: “Teaming up our label with Black Uhuru is mind-blowing,” says LAW Records founding partner Yesod Williams, “like to the point where it doesn’t even seem real. This is arguably the most legendary name in reggae, a band whose music helped shape me, my band, and the whole state of Hawaii in the 80s and 90s where we grew up.  As I approach this from my fandom perspective, I’m in complete awe. When I approach this from the perspective of LAW, ‘none will escape’. The task at hand is to reinvigorate the world with the Mighty BU, and we won’t stop till Duckie’s magic on “Jamaica To Here” is heard across the world, from now till forever!”

Black Uhuru was one of the first bands to seriously incorporate dub elements into their songs, with its undulating, up-front bass lines, and this single tips the hat to this approach. After spending five decades making music, Black Uhuru still manages to maintain their signature sound, keeping everything on tape, old-school:

“Everything was old-school analog,” says Simpson. The basic tracks were recorded at Helltown Studios in Helltown, California, with both Duckie and Dylan Seid on lead vocals. Then Simpson took the recordings to Leebert Cougar Studio in Kingston, Jamaica to do overdubs and mix in backing vocals by Niki Burt and Elsa Green, guitars by Leebert “Gibby'' Morrison, horns by Everald Ray, and drums by Rolando Alphanso Wilson.

Most of the early production was done by Duckie and Horace “King Hopeton” Campbell of Double Lion Studio (who also played keyboards on the album and is featured on the track Gal Next Door) then the tracks were sent off to be mixed by Grammy-winning producer Jermaine Forde of Ajang Music. Robert Oyugi of Ujama Designs oversaw the process as Project Manager and Artistic Director, while Dylan Seid, Dharma LaRocca & Kopavi Cannon were the Executive Producers.

“Fifty years is a big achievement for any band, and we are so proud to be a part of Black Uhuru’s 50th-anniversary celebration,” says Yesod Williams of LAW Records, “We firmly believe in the magic of music at LAW and honoring where it came from. And in our mission here, we are gonna make sure it is known how integral Black Uhuru has been to modern reggae, Cali Reggae, alternative reggae, and just music in general. We are living i a  “Brand New Day” and this album is the perfect beacon to bring us back together in love.”

Marsha Bartenetti sings McNealy & Kuhns

As an orchestra awaited, jazz singer Marsha Bartenetti entered the iconic Capitol Studios confident yet carrying a heavy burden. The vocal interpreter was tasked with recording a collection of songs by the songwriting team of Jane McNealy and Alice Kuhns that McNealy selected to preserve a legacy, possibly the album that would be the final musical statement from the composers who’ve spent more than fifty years writing music for records, theater, film and television. Inspired by her stage four cancer diagnosis and Kuhns’ declining health, McNealy handpicked music from her catalogue of jazz, pop, soul, funk and folk tunes and spared no expense to record them as she’s always intended them to sound. The album, “Marsha Bartenetti sings McNealy & Kuhns,” was released on April 1.

Bartenetti was drawn to be “the voice” of the project by the duo’s evocative lyrics that tell stories that resonate. Surrounding the singer’s elegant, inviting and expressive voice are lavish orchestrations and deft arrangements crafted by Mike Watts.

Earlier this month, the album opener, “Why Does The Sky Keep Changing,” dropped as a single and a video was lensed that will premiere in conjunction with the album release. The dramatic number written for the McNealy & Kuhns-penned musical “Gauguin” is illumined by sublime strings and Bartenetti’s impassioned, captivating performance.

“Marsha Bartenetti sings McNealy & Kuhns” is a jazz vocal album capable of standing alongside a collection of contemporary classics and standards culled from the great American songbook. Bartenetti, who is also an actor and a prominent voiceover artist, exquisitely renders the emotion apropos of the weighty assignment with aplomb. 

 

Canadian Jazz Singer Mary Lou Sicoly Spices Up a Timeless Standard with New Release of “Blame It On My Youth”

Holding on to a slice of childhood innocence should never be ill-advised as it can enhance the sweet moments in our lives, and make the inevitable sour times easier to swallow. With that in mind, JUNO Award-nominated Canadian jazz vocalist Mary Lou Sicoly is serving up a deliciously spicy take on romantic naivete with the release of her new single, “Blame It On My Youth” — available now.

Written by Oscar Levant and Edward Heyman in 1934 and recorded throughout the decades since by the likes of Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole, Connie Francis, Chet Baker, Holly Cole, Aaron Neville, and Jamie Cullum, “Blame It On My Youth” has stood the test of time as a relatable tale of guileless love.

“I fell in love with the lyrics and, of course, the gorgeous melody,” Sicoly notes as to why chose to record this classic. “Being raised in a household where a sense of humour was the recipe for keeping young at heart, I’ve always had a sense of whimsy.”

That sense of whimsy found its way into the recording as well. Originally a ballad, Sicoly’s bright version of “Blame It On My Youth” is full of sunshine and rhythm. It’s an intriguing musical dichotomy of a lyrical lament set against a very festive soundscape. For that unexpected, bold and ear-pleasing treatment, Sicoly gives full props to her longtime musical director.

“This song was arranged by my brilliant Musical Director, John Ebata,” Sicoly shares. “In a completely different style than the original, he gives it a Latin feel — cradled in a blend of colourful percussion and driving, Cuban-style bass which makes the vocals pop.”

“Blame It On My Youth” is the first single from Lemon Meringue Pie, the 10-song debut album Sicoly and Ebata started working on pre-pandemic. For these two past JUNO nominees, it’s been a labour of love and much needed creative focus over the past two uncertain years. Lemon Meringue Pie will see its highly anticipated release on May 10th with a launch concert at Toronto’s famed Jazz Bistro. It will be as much a celebration of a great musical partnership as it will be for the music itself.

“I feel that collaborating and working with people has to begin with a mutual respect for each other’s talents as well as a genuine chemistry that allows the flow of ideas to make good music,” Sicoly says. “I am blessed to have that dynamic both with my Musical Director and the musicians with whom I work.”

Lemon Meringue Pie may be Sicoly’s debut jazz album but that’s just the latest accomplishment in a career that has seen some wonderful milestones so far for the Toronto-based singer/songwriter. She has written and recorded five children’s albums, including the JUNO nominated Chase a Rainbow. Sicoly, Ebata and Nova Scotian vocalist Mark Riley recently toured a “classic duets” album and, currently, Sicoly, Ebata and Dora Award winning multi-instrumentalist, composer and vocalist Waleed Abdulhamid are working on an equity, diversity and inclusion project called “Songs For Humanity.”

Also an esteemed music educator, Mary Lou Sicoly is a recipient of the CARAS (JUNO) Award for Music Education, a TVOntario Award for Innovation in Music Education and was the 1999 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence. A presenter at several education conferences, Sicoly has also toured the Arctic with “Strings Across the Sky”, leading music camps in Tuktoyaktuk and Iqaluit.

From singing with her dad’s dance band in Sault Ste. Marie to jingles and commercial spots, to performing in various solo, ensemble and big band shows everywhere from the CNE to the Hockey Hall of Fame, Mary Lou Sicoly has years of diverse and exciting performances behind her and many more ahead of her too. A tour to support Lemon Meringue Pie is in the works for Ontario and the Maritimes later in 2022/2023.

Now, with “Blame It On My Youth”, Sicoly is offering a first bite of her upcoming album that is bursting with flavour, zing, and a lot of the ingredients found in her own personality.

Punku, Sylvia Falcón and Grimaldo del Solar, Release "Ancestral" (Novalima Remixes)

Six Degrees Records has announced the debut single from Punku, a new project created by Sylvia Falcón and Grimaldo del Solar (Novalima) that mixes Andean traditional music with traditional instruments and modern genres including electronic music and rock. “Ancestral,” the first single from their upcoming album, evokes an ancestral ceremony in the middle of the high amazon jungle that is haunting and beautiful at the same time. “Ancestral” also gets a driving remix from Novalima, keeping Sylvia’s hypnotic vocals over dubbed-out basslines and infectious rhythms. The single with the Novalima remixes is out now and can be listened to here: http://punku.lnk.to/novalimaremixes with a stunning music video (https://youtu.be/p3UVzMZD6vM).

Sylvia Falcón is an innovative singer who brings a wealth of talent and history to the duo. Her music has travelled from the traditional songs of the Peruvian Andes, through the mestizo folk melodies and the Andean coloratura repertoire that made Yma Sumac (whose life centennial will be celebrated in 2022) well known around the globe. Sylvia’s impressive vocal range (4 octaves) of high, mezzo and low frequencies can be appreciated in her four solo studio albums; Killa Lluqsimun "When the Moon Rises" (2008), Inkario (2014), Fantasía Pokcra (2016) and Qori Coya "Golden Lady” (2018). Sylvia Falcón was born in Lima and has developed a strong bond with the Andes due to the influence of her parents, who were born in Huancavelica and Ayacucho provinces. From a very early age she demonstrated the artistic virtues that were developed throughout her childhood and adolescence. Sylvia Falcón is also an anthropologist focused on the study of traditional musicians in the Peruvian Andes. As an artist she is devoted to capturing and projecting the beauty of the ancient Inca culture. 

Grimaldo is a Lima born producer and musician, who started playing guitar at 14. Soon after he worked with many bands that played a pivotal part in the 80s underground metal hardcore punk, and the 90s psychedelic/acid-rock Peruvian scenes. During the late 90s, Grimaldo started exploring traditional Peruvian music through an electronic music lens, which led to creating Novalima, a collective that fuses traditional Afro Peruvian music with DJ culture. Their discography spans 5 albums and numerous remix projects, which led them to touring internationally at major festivals and events. Novalima has inspired a generation and has revolutionized the music scene in their native Peru by bridging a longstanding divide between the mainstream and the minority Afro-Peruvian community, who have struggled against discrimination and cultural dissolution for generations. 

Grimaldo was experimenting with new quechua rhythms with Novalima. He found Sylvia Falcón and invited her to collaborate on the single Chusay. After working together at several concerts with Novalima, Grimaldo and Sylvia wanted to join forces to continue a new sound they were developing and Punku was born. 

Grimaldo shares how “Ancestral” is a perfect introduction to their project. He states, “this single is special because it's not the typical kind of music we would create. It is not exclusively about traditional Peruvian songs, like the ones Sylvia sings as a soloist and it is not the electronic music that I create in Novalima either. The whole project  came out without any planning. Unconsciously, we both were looking to make music that connects to mother earth and our historical ancestors.” The results are Andean electronic music with intense vocals and soft atmospheres. 

The duo concludes, “we deeply believe in music as an extraordinary healing medium, especially in these times challenging the world. We hope our entire musical project contributes to reflecting a tiny ray of light uplifting the spirit. As Punku is a new project created just before COVID, the quarantine has helped us to work on the recordings without any time or pressure.” 

“Ancestral” is just a taste of what’s to come from this exciting new project. Stay tuned for more music, videos, and the debut album from Punku dropping in Spring 2022 on Six Degrees Records.