Charu Suri | “Ragas & Waltzes”

Charu Suri, has reinvented the classic European waltz and expanded the definition of her self-defined music genre: “Raga Jazz” on her latest album, “Ragas & Waltzes”. 

On the recording, she is the first Indian composer to work with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band in New Orleans by collaborating with their legendary drummer Joe Lastie. Preservation Hall inspired Suri to start her own band just four years ago. This album brings her musical inspiration and the creation of her music full circle. “Working with Joe was a dream come true” says Charu.

Produced by Grammy® Award Winning, Lonnie Park, “Ragas & Waltzes” fuses the music of the East and the West with two raga-inspired compositions: the airy “Floating” with guitarist Noshir Mody, and Raga Hemant (version 2) with Native American flute performed by Al Jewer. 

The album is dedicated as a tribute to Charu’s father who passed away in December of 2021.

“When I was in India, my father and I used to listen to Strauss waltzes as well as ragas - - that is how I want to remember him,” said Suri, who added that her father was someone who said: 'one must dance through life - - come what may...’” 

The album also features violinist Philip Vaiman, harpist Denise Fink, and bassist Justin Lee. The artwork on the album was created by: Upasana Asrani which conveys the transformational and mystical aspects of life, symbolized by the lotus, which is India’s national flower. 

Charu Suri is the only Indian woman performer to play a program of her own music at the legendary Carnegie Hall in NYC, where she will return for a third time in November of 2022. After a busy summer of performances here in the United States, she will also be embarking on a multi-city tour of India in September.

Nicholas Payton | "The Couch Session" Featuring Buster Williams & Lenny White

Music has the power to heal, a fact that has never been as relevant as it has over the challenging last few years. On his captivating new album, The Couch Sessions, the brilliant multi-instrumentalist and composer Nicholas Payton provides a session of musical therapy that draws on the compositions and words of some of the music’s most visionary artists.

Due out November 25, 2022, The Couch Sessions is the latest in a series that Payton has recorded for Smoke Sessions Records pairing him with dream rhythm sections. The album follows 2019’s Relaxin’ with Nick, featuring bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington; and Smoke Sessions from 2021, which teamed legendary bassist Ron Carter and Payton’s longtime collaborator Karriem Riggins on drums.

On this outing, Payton is joined by bassist Buster Williams and drummer Lenny White, who not only have forged one of the most distinctive rhythm tandems in recent decades but have also worked with many of the legendary artists to whom this album is dedicated.

“I decided to use Buster and Lenny for their shared history,” Payton says, “not only working with each other but also with my favorite artist ever – Miles Davis. There are a lot of connections between the artists on the album and the lineages that they either came out of or were integral in starting. Working with Buster and Lenny together was a bucket list item for me.”

Those partnerships include the late pianist Geri Allen, whose composition “Feed the Fire” opens The Couch Sessions. Williams and White played together with Allen on her 1998 Verve album The Gathering as well as on Williams’ 2001 trio date Houdini. As Payton lays down the shimmering melody on Rhodes, we hear Allen speak of her roots into the eclectic, genre-blurring Detroit music scene.

It’s an apt subject to initiate the album, in which Payton triggers interview excerpts as well as other voice samples in an integration of hip-hop influences that has threaded into his music over the past couple of decades. “Using voice samples from elders or ancestors is a way of adding a more direct context to my message, in the same way that lyrics often can,” he explains. “But hearing the voice of the actual person whose music you’re trying to transmit to the listener adds something extra. It gives me a different instrument to work with.”

The use of samples, which Payton triggers from his iPhone, adds to an ever-growing arsenal for the master musician. Payton is of course best known as a trumpeter, but he’s also become a virtuoso keyboardist performing on piano, Fender Rhodes, and Clavinet developing a singular approach to accompanying himself. Keith Jarrett’s airy ballad “Blossom” offers a showcase of Payton’s sensitive touch on the piano, buoyed beautifully by the gentle rhythmic sensibilities added by Williams and White, all illustrating Jarrett’s words regarding the elusive nature of improvised music.

Jarrett has long been a favorite of Payton’s – the pianist’s “No Lonely Nights” was part of the repertoire for Smoke Sessions – but he’s also one of multiple connections to Miles Davis contained on The Couch Sessions, Williams and White among them. The album also includes two compositions apiece by Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, both important members of the trumpet icon’s revered quintet in the 1960s.

Shorter recalls the telepathic nature of that band on “Pinocchio,” while the saxophonist’s “Fall” is given a funky, Rhodes-driven treatment that harkens back to White’s career-launching appearance on Davis’ classic Bitches’ Brew. Payton is back on piano for a brisk treatment of Hancock’s “Watch It,” and the composer can be heard reminiscing about a memorable night on stage to lead into “The Sorcerer.”

Two of Payton’s original pieces for the album pay direct homage to his collaborators on the album. The slinky “Bust-a-Move” was originally titled “One for Buster” until a punning outburst from White rechristened the sample-heavy tune. “His Name Is Lenny” incorporates a catchphrase from '70s sitcom Good Times over White’s expressive and colorful drumming.

“Bleek’s Blues” is named for Denzel Washington’s trumpet-playing character from Spike Lee’s Mo’ Better Blues, and serves as a reminder of the physical demands the instrument exacts. “Most great trumpeters at some point have had something happen to their chops,” Payton explains, “which forced them to reevaluate their playing, their lives, and their approach to the instrument. From Pops to Dizzy to Miles on to Wynton and Terence, pretty much every major trumpet player I know of has had some bout with that instrument that forced them to step away and take another look at it. So that song is an homage to trumpet players.”

Payton’s “Jazz Is a Four-Letter Word” revisits a track from 2017’s Afro-Caribbean Mixtape, the album that inaugurated the artist’s personal engagement with DJ culture. Graced once again with the influential words of Max Roach, who shares Payton’s disdain for the label “jazz,” this rendition allowed White to engage with one of his own influences. “Lenny found it quite inspirational to hear Max while he was playing,” Payton recalls. “He plays these little Max things while [Roach] is talking and interacts with him in that way. I've had several drummers play that tune but no one's approached it that way before, which I thought was really hip.”

The album ends with “From a Flicker to a Flame…” featuring the voice of Revive Music Group founder Meghan Stabile, who tragically passed away at the age of 39 in June. “Meghan was another visionary,” Payton says. “She had her beginnings as a performer but found that her strengths were better served on the business side. It takes a whole community of people to make this music viable, and the work she did to introduce this music to a younger audience was so important. This is my contribution to help keep her legacy alive.”

Throughout The Couch Sessions, Nicholas Payton and his stellar trio play therapist to listeners in need of some vital musical counseling. “In these uncertain new times, the importance of music and the arts has come even more to the forefront,” he says. “With this album, I wanted to speak to music as a healing force, an essential source of light in our lives.”

Eri Yamamoto Trio | "A Woman With A Purple Wig"

New York pianist and composer Eri Yamamoto has announced a new album for her trio, A Woman With A Purple Wig, out November 18th, 2022 on Mahakala Music, alongside the release of the title-track. 

Yamamoto, who began writing music at the age of 8, describes composition as a daily habit, “like a diary, very related to what I experience or feel.” Keep that in mind as you listen to the seven pieces that comprise A Woman With A Purple Wig, her second recording for Mahakala Music, on which the veteran pianist, a melody-maker par excellence, presents her response to the dislocations and traumas of life in locked-down New York City following the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020.

“After the former President’s remarks on the ‘China virus,’ many Asians, especially women, were targeted,” recalls Yamamoto, born in Osaka, raised in Kyoto, now a midtown Manhattan resident. One day, a month or two after lockdown, she rode her electric bicycle to an outdoor session downtown, then waited for the other musicians. “Suddenly a huge guy snatched my helmet out of the air and said, ‘You fucking Chinese messed up my life and the world’ – then he stepped on my backpack with my small keyboard inside. I’m a strong New Yorker – fortunately, my instrument was okay and I did the session. I’d never had that kind of experience. To me, New York welcomes people from all over the world. Of course, I’m Japanese, but I never thought of myself as an Asian – and all of a sudden, that’s how some people see me. I got very scared. For two years, I went out only once a month, and I bought a purple wig to hide myself when I had to go outside, along with big sunglasses, a mask, and a hat.”

As always in her life, Yamamoto expressed her feelings through the medium of notes and tones. In a concentrated burst of creative activity, she penned five instrumental compositions and, for the first time, two songs with lyrics – “A Woman With A Purple Wig” and “Colors Are Beautiful.” Then she made a demo on her iPhone. At a rehearsal for an imminent recording session with bass giant William Parker, a dear friend who has availed himself of her talents on nine recordings since 2002, she asked Parker to listen. She had a singer in mind, but Parker immediately suggested that Yamamoto sing it herself.

“He told me, ‘Your voice is more connected to the lyrics you wrote; this is your experience and your voice has the honesty of a child singing,’” she says. “I wasn’t sure – but then I decided, yeah, why not? I want to speak out to the world what I felt. And I did it with my trio.”

A Woman With A Purple Wig is Yamamoto’s eleventh trio album, and her seventh with bassist David Ambrosio and drummer Ikuo Takeuchi, who’ve developed their breathe-as-one simpatico over close to two decades of a three-nights-a-week sinecure at the Greenwich Village boite Arthur’s Tavern. She recalls meeting Takeuchi – her drummer-of-choice on gigs and albums since 1998 – when both attended the New School in the late 1990s. A trained classical pianist during her years in Japan, Yamamoto had “almost zero exposure to jazz” until undergoing a “conversion experience” after hearing Tommy Flanagan’s trio at Tavern on the Green on a visit to New York in 1995.

“I knew Mal Waldron’s song ‘Left Alone,’ and he was playing at Sweet Basil the week I got to New York,” Yamamoto says. “After the first set, I asked Mal Waldron to help me to find a school or teacher to teach me jazz. He introduced me to Reggie Workman, who was playing bass; Reggie wrote on a paper napkin the address of the New School, ‘tomorrow, 1 o’clock’ and ‘you’ll be okay.’” For her audition, Yamamoto played a blues and “Autumn Leaves,” which “I’d transcribed, mixed up, and memorized.” She was accepted.

During Yamamoto’s three years at the New School, Workman consistently offered encouragement and sage advice. “Reggie told me trio was perfect for my style, and to find a bass player and drummer in school,” she says. “While I was walking around, I heard Ikuo playing a session and loved what I heard, so I asked him. It was fortuitous, because that was his last day at the New School. I got a restaurant gig every Friday. Reggie told me, ‘Just play. Make mistakes. Jazz is music to play for real people, not a practice room music.’ I didn’t have experience, but I have perfect pitch. If I hear it, I can re-play. So I was imitating people. People thought, ‘Ah, Eri has zero experience in jazz, but she is not fooling around.’ At first everything was written and messy, but after a few years, I felt pretty comfortable. 

“I thought it was important to learn bebop vocabulary and the blues to have a good foundation to express my music – so I focused on that. But I was thinking that, as a Japanese in New York, trying to play like a musician who grew up in America is not the real me. I was wondering what I can do. Then I went to a festival at the old Knitting Factory, where everyone from Cecil Taylor and William Parker to Wynton Marsalis was playing. I heard a trio with Paul Motian, Gary Peacock and Paul Bley, who I was not familiar with. I felt so relieved. I didn’t know this is also called jazz. Bley’s improvisation was sometimes folky, sometimes bluesy – such a mixture. I found the similarities what I really hear in music and really want to pursue.”

You can hear snippets and murmurs of the vocabularies and syntaxes of the aforementioned refracted in Yamamoto’s playing – elegant and primal, nuanced and urgent, endlessly melodic and rhythmically piquant, always oriented to collective imperatives – throughout the proceedings. But the sound, as throughout Yamamoto’s 20-years as a recording artist, is uniquely her own, bearing out yet again Herbie Hancock’s encomium, “She’s found her own voice.”

Terri Lyne Carrington | " New Standards Vol. 1"

Three-time Grammy Award-winning recording artist and NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington releases her 11th career album, new STANDARDS vol. 1, set for release on Friday, September 16. Today, Hal Leonard and Berklee Press will introduce Carrington’s debut and one-of-a-kind book, New Standard: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers. Curated and edited by Carrington, New Standards highlights compositions that are supplementary and alternatives to the “jazz standards” canon that has served students, teachers, and professionals throughout the development of jazz music.

Since founding the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice in 2018, Carrington, who also serves as the Artistic Director, has promoted equality not just in the genre of jazz, but in the greater artistic world. In conjunction with the release of the historic publication of New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers, Carrington’s star-studded recording, new STANDARDS vol. 1  features special guests recording artists Ambrose Akinmusire, Melanie Charles, Ravi Coltrane, Val Jeanty, Samara Joy, Julian Lage, Michael Mayo, Elena Pinderhughes, Dianne Reeves, Negah Santos, and Somi (Candid Records), backed by bandmates with Carrington on drums, Kris Davis (piano), Linda May Han Oh (bass), Nicholas Payton (trumpet), and Matthew Stevens (guitar). Produced by Carrington and Matthew Stevens, “volume one” is part of a collection of albums to be presented and will include reimagined recordings from the songbook. 

The compositions of New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers span a century, from pioneering composer Lil Hardin Armstrong’s 1922 composition. Other works include the great Mary Lou Williams, Alice Coltrane, Dorothy Ashby, Maria Schneider, Dianne Reeves, Geri Allen, esperanza spalding, Cécile McClorin Salvant, Cassandra Wilson, Nubya Garcia, Mary Halvorson, Nicole Mitchell, and the recently departed Jamie Branch. The book will be available on retail digital platforms everywhere.

Carrington brings her distinct vision, artistry, and thought-leadership into yet another realm of expression - now as a curator, scriptwriter, and author. On Thursday, October 13, in collaboration with the Carr Center, a leading multi-cultural 30-year arts organization in Detroit, where she serves as the Artistic Director, the Carr Center will present and celebrate the opening of New Standards, the first part of Shifting the Narrative: Jazz and Gender Justice Installation, which includes live performances, public programs, educational curriculum, academic symposiums, workshops, and exciting evening concert programming. The installation is open to the public starting Friday, October 14, through Sunday, November 27, 2022.

This installment is a multi-disciplinary exploration that reimagines the shape and sound of jazz through the lens of gender justice. As one of four sections of the full installation, New Standards offers an artistic, biographical, and thought-provoking narrative that spans the past, present, and future of jazz, as well as considers more equitable cultivation of the uniquely American art form.

Elements of the New Standards Installation features works created by multi-disciplinary jazz artists Cécile McClorin Salvant, Carmen Lundy, and Jazzmeia Horn – along with works by award-winning visual artists Monica Haslip, Joe Diggs, Yesmin Tosuner, and Ramsess – ranging from print and sculpture, to collage, textiles, and multimedia. The installation will also feature a stunning portrait collection of thirty influential women instrumentalists by Sherry Rubel. Vocalist and culinary artist Lizz Wright will introduce a recipe inspired by the theme of New Standards, and Detroit visual artists Devin Laster, Yvette R. Rock, Sabrina Nelson, and Carla Harden will be presented. Also, Carrington’s first-ever children’s book, an illustrated poem, Three of a Kind will be introduced. The story centers around the musical partnership of the Allen, Carrington, Spalding (ACS) Trio – Geri Allen, Terri Lyne Carrington, and esperanza spalding. Written by Carrington with illustrations by Ramsess, Three of a Kind is a book for all ages yet is designed to inspire young women to play instruments. Additionally, the installation includes the New Standards film, a collaboration with Carrington and filmmaker Michael Goldman, documenting the creators, the process and the reason for the book and album.

On October 14, the Carr Center will present a panel discussion, “Jazz and Gender: Forging a New Legacy” with educator/scholar and cultural icon Angela Davis; and authors and educators Gina Dent and Robin D.G Kelly, along with Carrington at the Carr Center Performance Studio. Continuing that evening and on Saturday, October 15, the Carr Center in partnership with Midtown Detroit, Inc. will present a concert series, curated by Carrington at eight Detroit cultural and educational institutions and museums including the Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit Historical Museum, Scarab Club, the Carr Center Performance Studio, Detroit Public Library, Detroit Symphony Orchestra-The Cube, the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD), and Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

Summer Tales - The Essential Summer Soundtrack

Ten contemporary composers, performers, producers and DJs break new ground with Summer Tales, a genre-defying programme of classical music reworks – the ideal chillout soundtrack to carefree summer days. Invited by DG’s New Repertoire team to reimagine popular classics with summer in mind, David Douglas, Goldmund, Peter Gregson, Laura Masotto, Mathilda, Model Man, Roosevelt, Someone, Sam Thompson and Xinobi have worked their magic on music by composers from Pachelbel and Bach to Debussy and Ravel. Their inspired and contrasting responses, ranging from laidback soundscapes to more dance-floor-oriented tracks, make up the Summer Tales listening experience. 

With a tracklist framed by two trios of French originals, Summer Tales kicks off with a rework of La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin from British producer Mark Brandon, aka Model Man. “Debussy is a composer I first studied when I was in my teens,” says Brandon. “The freedom DG offered me has led to a piece I’m really proud of, one that’s informed deeply by Debussy but hopefully evolves into a new entity that can bring him to a different space.” 

Dutch producer David Douglas pays tribute to Saint-Saëns with his version of “The Swan” from The Carnival of the Animals. “Even though I make electronic music, the Romantic era has always been a big inspiration to me,” he explains. “Saint-Saëns said he wrote this piece just for fun – I decided to have a lot of fun making this rework so it feels like a song close to my heart.” 

Jeux d’eau is reimagined by German producer Roosevelt, who appreciated the opportunity to work outside his comfort zone. “Sometimes that’s exactly what you need,” comments the artist. “My take with the remix was almost a hip-hop approach, where I sampled just a small section of the original, looped it throughout the track and tried to merge it with a dance-floor groove.” 

Portuguese producer Xinobi took on the challenge of a 17th-century classic: Pachelbel’s Canon in D. “It was very rewarding,” he says. “I decided to go ethereal and discreet, with a (not too obvious) euphoria build-up in the middle, all on top of old-school-styled breakbeats.” Next is composer Laura Masotto’s Shéhérazade Rework, inspired in part by the Persian, Arabic and Indian roots of the tales behind Rimsky-Korsakov’s hit. As she explains, “I wanted to weave together past and present, and recreate the atmosphere of the warm summer nights in these places from a new perspective, through modern instruments. I blended the sounds of synths with Rimsky’s dreamy string themes.”

Dutch-British musician and producer Someone, aka Tessa Rose Jackson, is also a visual artist and has created the cover artwork for Summer Tales. She focused on Tchaikovsky’s timeless melody and memories of the watery sounds of lakeside summer holidays for her Swan Lake rework, which proves “that melody can transcend the years and fit right into our current world”. Cellist-composer Peter Gregson, meanwhile, channels the energy of J.S. Bach through his Gigue 6.6. “I think there’s eternal optimism in Bach’s music,” says the DG artist. “This felt like a perfect opportunity to expand on those long childhood summer days; the ups and downs all buoyed by the optimism found in the weather!”

Summer Tales closes with three more French reworks. American composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Goldmund pares down the lushness of the “Flower Duet” from Delibes’ opera Lakmé: “I feel there’s a simplicity to summer that I wanted to impart so I kept the instrumentation sparse and intimate.” By contrast, French chanteuse Mathilda, known for her work with the late singer-songwriter Christophe, evokes “a summer night in Andalusia” and “a sensual, strong and dangerous Carmen”, in her reimagining of Bizet’s “Habanera”. British composer, orchestrator and conductor Sam Thompson crowns the album with a virtuoso rework of Fauré’s Pavane, featuring his friend Peter Gregson on cello. “To me,” says Thompson, “summer is in the bright positivity of the twittering woodwinds and the long, languid phrases of the cello melody.”

Lisa Hilton | "Paradise Cove"

Composer, pianist, bandleader and producer Lisa Hilton returns with Paradise Cove, Hilton's 26th recording debuts her dynamic new L.I.L.O. Quartet featuring trumpeter Igmar Thomas, bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Obed Calvaire.

“I think we all need jazz in our lives these days,” composer, pianist, bandleader and producer Lisa K. Hilton writes in the liner notes for her upcoming December 2 release, Paradise Cove (Ruby Slipper Productions 1028). “From its inception ragtime, jazz and blues were created to boost moods or morale by America’s earliest composers, such as Scott Joplin, Ferdinand 'Jelly Roll' Morton or Nick La Rocca in the early 1900s. Our world today desires and deserves a lift after the last couple years, and with the music of Paradise Cove we aim to boost spirits everywhere.” 

Hilton’s twenty-sixth recording debuts her dynamic new L.I.L.O. Quartet with Hilton on piano, trumpeter Igmar Thomas, bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Obed Calvaire. (L.I.L.O. for their first initials). Hilton has performed with the in-demand bassist regularly for several years, but the charismatic trumpeter, Curtis’s former roommate at Berklee College of Music, is a compelling addition, complimenting Hilton’s fluid style and bluesy riffs. Calvaire, who regularly works with SFJAZZ Collective as well as Wynton Marsalis, contributes considerable creativity to this cohesive band.

 After recording at The Village Studios in Santa Monica, California Hilton declared, “The L.I.L.O. quartet is my favorite band ever… I bet anyone listening will hear the enjoyment we had!” Hilton chose the title Paradise Cove as a reference to our cultural need to find a ‘cove’ or protected spot in our personal lives on a daily basis to escape, revitalize, or reboot and to create a ‘paradise’ or state of grace amid today’s fast-moving times. 

The nine original tracks and two cover tunes range from the expressive melodicism of “Another Simple Sunday With You” and the title track “Paradise Cove” to the wildly upbeat blowing on Dizzy Gillespie’s 1957 jazz classic “Birks’ Works,” Hilton’s own “Blues Vagabond” as well as her “Fast Time Blues.” These tracks exhibit plenty of the quartet’s improvisational fireworks along with some retro vibes. On a quieter note, the wistful cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's 1965 pop hit “What the World Needs Now is Love” and the moving “Storybook Sequel” showcase a band in touch with a range of emotions and performance styles. 

Hilton also includes a Latin tinge with the exuberant “Cha Cha Cha À La Carte” as well as the trio tune “Mercurial Moments,” which highlights excellent bass soloing by Curtis and exciting drumming by Calvaire. “Mediterranean Dreams” is a more classical piece for the trio while “Night Cap and a Little Chaos” has an enticing noir energy that rounds out these vibrant and well recorded tracks. 

Lisa Kristine Hilton is an award-winning American composer, acclaimed jazz pianist, an experienced producer and bandleader. Growing up on California’s beautiful central coast, Hilton was so entranced with the piano that she taught herself to play music with help from a colored keyboard guide, writing her first simple songs around six, before beginning studies in classical and twenty first century music at the age of eight. Attending college in San Francisco, she missed the passion and creativity she had previously experienced in music, and abruptly switched majors and graduated instead with a degree in art. In 1997, Hilton’s interest in music was reignited by a neighbor: GRAMMY-award winning producer/composer David Foster. Hilton resumed some studies in theory and composition with composer Charles Bernstein, and other professors at UCLA, but Hilton’s art background continues to inform her compositions, previously noting she “paints” compositions using improvisation and harmony, and “sculpts” with rhythmic ideas from different cultures and eras. Hilton remains driven by the quality of musical expression that she initially experienced as a young girl.

It is a unique characteristic that is most often noted in her reviews: In DownBeat, Philip Booth wrote, “A deeply expressive style… rich melodies and improvisations… and an appealing impressionism.” In Cicily Janus's book, The New Face of Jazz: An Intimate Look at Today’s Living Legends and Artists of Tomorrow, the author stated that Hilton has been “compared to some of the best pianists in history.” Her pianism is often mentioned along with jazz pianist/composers Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, and Brad Mehldau as well as French impressionist composer Erik Satie.

The music of Lisa Hilton draws on classical traditions, and twentieth century modernists as well as classic American jazz greats such as Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Horace Silver and Count Basie, as well as blues heroes Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. She is a prolific composer and performs and records with many of today’s jazz luminaries. Her twenty-six albums sit regularly at the top of the Jazz Week and other radio/streaming charts for the last two decades, drawing over a half million streams on Apple Music, almost a million streams on Spotify, and three million streams on Pandora. As a soloist, or with her trio, quartet or quintet, Hilton has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, San Francisco Jazz, The Smithsonian Institution, and The Dorothy Chandler Theater.

Lisa Kristine Hilton is also the creator and co-author of the popular children’s book, If Dinosaurs Were Alive Today (Price Stern Sloan), which she wrote with her sister, Sandra L. Kirkpatrick. The book was recently updated and published as a digital version by the same name. 

VINCE GUARALDI | "JAZZ IMPRESSIONS OF BLACK ORPHEUS"

Craft Recordings proudly celebrates the 60th anniversary of Vince Guaraldi’s breakthrough album, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, with a variety of reissues. A deluxe, expanded edition of the 1962 album—featuring the GRAMMY® Award-winning instrumental hit “Cast Your Fate to the Wind”—offers 16 bonus tracks, including 12 previously unreleased selections, with outtakes and alternate takes of nearly every track on the album.

Available to pre-order beginning today, this definitive edition will be released as a 3-LP, 2-CD, or 24-track digital collection, with newly remastered audio by engineer Paul Blakemore. Produced by Nick Phillips, the original album is cut from the original master, while the bonus material was transferred from the original analog tapes by Plangent Processes. Lacquers for the 3-LP edition were cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and pressed at RTI on 180-gram vinyl. Both physical formats also include new, in-depth liner notes by jazz writer Andrew Gilbert (San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, KQED Arts). The digital offering comes in standard and Hi-Res options. The CD and digital formats will be released on November 18th with the LP set due to follow on February 24th.

Additionally, Craft will offer a limited and numbered pressing of the original, eight-track album as part of their acclaimed Small Batch series, which offers discerning listeners the highest-quality, authentic sound—distilled to its purest form. As with previous Small Batch pressings, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus was cut from its original analog tapes by legendary engineer Bernie Grundman and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI using Neotech’s VR900 compound and a one-step lacquer process—as opposed to the standard three-step process—allowing for the utmost level of musical detail, clarity, and dynamics while reducing the amount of surface noise on the record. The limited nature of these pressings guarantees that each record is a true representation of the original lacquer and is as close as the listener can get to the original recording. Craft’s all-analog, one-step series has drawn praise from critics far and wide, with Hi-Fi Choice describing the audio quality as “Extraordinary,” while Stereophile commented that the series is “beautifully done,” and Record Collector described the sound as “flawless.” Set for release on February 24th, 2023, and also available for pre-order today exclusively via CraftRecordings.com, each Small Batch pressing (limited to 3,000 copies) will be individually numbered and encased in a foil-stamped, linen-wrapped slipcase featuring an acrylic inset of the original artwork. The vinyl disc—extractable through a unique, frictionless ribbon pull-tab—is housed in a reproduction of the album’s original, tip-on jacket and protected by an archival-quality, anti-static, non-scratching inner sleeve. Rounding out the package are new liner notes by Derrick Bang, the foremost Guaraldi historian and author of Vince Guaraldi at the Piano (McFarland & Company). 

Long before Vince Guaraldi’s name was synonymous with the beloved PEANUTS® animated specials, he was a rising star in the West Coast jazz scene. The San Francisco-born pianist began his career in the early ’50s, playing alongside the Latin-influenced vibraphonist, Cal Tjader. By 1954, Guaraldi established his own trio and, within a year, his first recordings as a bandleader were released by Fantasy Records as part of their multi-artist collection, Modern Music from San Francisco. Shortly thereafter, the Bay Area label signed Guaraldi to an exclusive deal, releasing his self-titled debut album in 1956, followed by A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing in 1957. But it was the pianist’s third album, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, that found him settling into his own as a leader and establishing his signature style. The 1962 LP would also serve as his commercial and creative breakthrough, opening new avenues that even Guaraldi couldn’t have imagined.

The album’s origins began several years earlier, with the release of the 1959 film, Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus). Based on Orfeu da Conceição, a 1956 Brazilian stage production by Vinicius de Moraes, the Marcel Camus-directed film reimagined the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, placing it instead in Rio De Janeiro, amid the annual Carnival celebrations. Rising Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Jobim was tasked with scoring the film, alongside Moraes, while guitarist Luiz Bonfá also penned two selections (“Samba de Orfeu” and “Manhã de Carnaval”). Orfeu Negro not only won the Palme d’Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film, but it also introduced much of the world to the music of Brazil—particularly the captivating sounds of bossa nova. The musicians behind the soundtrack, meanwhile, became international sensations.

Guaraldi—who was no stranger to Latin rhythms, given his tenure with Tjader—was immediately taken with the score and conceived of a concept album based on the film. The pianist began recording in November 1961 at San Francisco’s KQED studio with his new trio, featuring bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey. During these initial sessions, the three musicians recorded several standards for the album, including the Buddy Johnson-penned blues ballad, “Since I Fell for You,” and Henry Mancini’s soon-to-be-classic, “Moon River,” which had just debuted in the Audrey Hepburn film, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. As the long-shelved session tapes revealed, the trio also recorded Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz” at this time. While the song was not part of the original album, three never-before-heard, high-energy takes are included as bonus tracks in this latest edition of Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus.

The trio returned to the studio in February 1962, where they tackled two new compositions by Guaraldi: “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” and “Alma-Ville”—both of which offered hallmarks of the pianist’s musical panache. AllMusic notes, “For the first time a recognizable Guaraldi piano style emerges, with whimsical phrasing all his own, a madly swinging right hand and occasional boogie-influenced left hand, and a distinctive, throat-catching, melodic improvisational gift.”

The February date, which took place over a mere four hours, also found the trio interpreting four selections from the Black Samba soundtrack: Jobim’s “O Nosso Amor” and “Felicidade” (mistitled as “Generique” on the original LP release), as well as Bonfá’s “Manhã de Carnaval” and “Samba de Orfeu.” In his liner notes, Gilbert praises, “Guaraldi, Budwig, and Bailey interpreted the Black Orpheus material with impressive care and feeling,” adding that the rhythm section’s work “stands the test of time, effectively articulating a North American impression of the bossa nova pulse.” The alternate takes further showcase the musicians’ talents—as well as their ease with the genre. An unreleased version of “O Nosso Amor,” for instance, “features a Guaraldi solo that embodies everything that made him such a charismatic presence at the keyboard, with his bright touch and irresistible bounce,” marvels Gilbert.

Guaraldi would continue to delve deeper into the sounds of Brazil and famously paired up with guitarist Bola Sete later in the decade. But it was Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus that changed the course of the pianist’s career. “Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus was a landmark achievement that introduced a trio with a singularly alluring sound,” writes Gilbert. “The combination of burnished lyricism, rhythmic subtly, and exquisite dynamic calibration set it apart, but the group’s impact flowed equally from its repertoire.” Recorded months—if not years—before other American jazz artists embraced the popular sounds of Brazil, the album also placed Guaraldi at the forefront of the bossa nova movement.

Released in April 1962, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus made Guaraldi a household name—thanks, in large part, to the irresistible sounds of “Cast Your Fate to the Wind.” Released as the B-side to “Samba de Orpheus,” the instrumental track was embraced by DJs across the country, eventually landing at No.22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No.9 on the Easy Listening chart. In 1963, “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” earned Guaraldi a GRAMMY for Best Original Jazz Composition. Over the years, the track would be covered by a range of artists, including Quincy Jones, George Benson, Allen Toussaint, the James Gang, and Mel Tormé (who added lyrics).

Perhaps most famously, however, the tune caught the ear of television producer Lee Mendelson, who was searching for a musician to score a documentary about PEANUTS® creator, Charles M. Schulz, and his popular comic strip. While the film was never released, Guaraldi recorded the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas the following year—creating one of the best-selling jazz and holiday albums of all time in the process. Before his sudden death in 1976, Guaraldi would score more than a dozen PEANUTS animated specials. Yet, the pianist’s musical legacy extends far beyond those enduring soundtracks, and Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus is a prime example of that.

Sam Taylor | "Let Go"

Straight-ahead jazz saxophonist Sam Taylor’s defiant act of giving. His “Let Go” album, featuring trumpeter Terell Stafford, drops October 21.

One bright morning last January, saxophonist Sam Taylor started his day by writing down his intentions. It was an important day, the day that he would lead a quintet featuring trumpeter Terell Stafford in the same historic recording studio where John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Freddie Hubbard and Stanley Turrentine recorded, to track his third album for Cellar Live. Locking in his focus, Taylor’s message to himself was to be grateful, mindful and fully present for the recording experience, and most importantly, to give and let go. The resultant ten-track swinging jazz set “Let Go,” produced by Taylor and Cory Weeds, drops October 21 on CD and October 28 digitally.

Taylor’s set list consists of selections from the Great American Songbook, including songs written by Barry Harris, Hank Jones, Benny Golson, and Jule Styne. However, one can argue that the centerpiece is Taylor’s own composition. The Harlem-based artist wrote the title track, marking the first time he ever recorded one of his own songs. “Let Go” embodies Taylor’s ethos as a musician.

“It was written during a year full of the unexpected, with invaluable new experiences and lessons. More than that was the validation of a virtue I have long held true in my heart as I live this life of music: music is an act of giving. Living a life of music is also a journey of generosity and letting go. The musician surrenders to the music, interprets the song and shares that with others. To surrender, to be tender and giving is a show of strength, an act of defiance. This is an empowering idea. Our world faces such heartache, fear and profound grief. How do we meet that every day as individuals and as a society? Tenderness and loving kindness could be the most powerful tools we have. In my own way, this recording is an act of defiance,” said Taylor.

Recorded at Van Gelder Studios, Taylor and Stafford are flanked on the album by a trio comprised of pianist Jeb Patton, bassist Neal Miner and drummer Willie Jones III. Taylor grew up in Philadelphia listening to Stafford, a renown and respected talent who teaches in the City of Brotherly Love at Temple University. 

“Terell Stafford is an international jazz star, a fixture on the Philadelphia jazz scene and one of the city’s artistic leaders. To have the opportunity to know him and play with him now as a professional musician is truly special. I remember attending a workshop while I was a young student at The Performing Arts High School in Philadelphia. We took a bus up Broad Street to Temple University where students across the city sat and listened to Terell’s group play and speak about jazz. I remember his emphasis on rhythm, the triplet, how to feel the beat. He was giving and patient. I can honestly say he is just as genuine and giving now. It is an overwhelming honor to play this music with him,” said Taylor, who will perform at Rite of Swing Jazz Café at Temple University on November 10.

Released as a single last week, the album opens with the bebop anthem “Luminescence,” which was penned by Harris, a seminal figure on the New York City jazz scene who passed away a few weeks prior to the “Let Go” recording date.

Taylor first discovered the melancholy “Angel Face” from a 1940s recording by tenor saxman Coleman Hawkins but decided to record his own version after falling in love with a take he heard featuring one of his favorite singers, Abbey Lincoln. 

“The melody is gorgeous, operatic in style and goes straight to the heart. Ms. Lincoln’s interpretation, including her own lyric, is perfection. She is a constant source of inspiration for me. Her honesty and fearlessness are undeniable,” said Taylor.

In choosing to interpret Golson’s  “Out of the Past,” Taylor pays homage to his hometown.

“The song has the classic Golson sound: lyrical melody, beautiful lead (sax) voice paired with the blues and deep swing. Benny Golson is a Philadelphian like me. As with my previous record, ‘Along The Way,’ it was important for me to honor and embrace my hometown while embracing my experience of over fifteen years living a life of music in New York,” said Taylor who will be running his first marathon in Philadelphia in November.

One of the more impromptu and magical moments that occurred during the “Let Go” recording date came at the end of the session. As the musicians were packing up their gear, Taylor asked the engineer to keep the tape rolling. With just his tenor horn and sparse accompaniment from Miner and Jones, Taylor emoted an impassioned “Prisoner of Love” with the woman he calls the love of his life sitting beside him.

“I first heard this old American Songbook standard on the ‘Coleman Hawkins Encounters Ben Webster’ two tenor record. It was one of the first records I really tried to understand. I would constantly play along with it without any real understanding of harmony or what I was doing. It just moved me, and I wanted to be a part of it somehow. This song has now taken on new meaning for me as I dedicate it to Maia. Recording it was a moment I’ll never forget, filled with such joy and love,” said Taylor.

Taylor underscores the Philly and New York City theme on “Philly New York Junction.” He grew up listening to trumpeters John Swana and Joe Magnarelli playing it, regularly seeing Swana perform in Philadelphia jazz clubs.

“Swana’s playing, along with that of Larry McKenna, Bootsie Barnes and Sid Simmons really informed and inspired my choice to live a life of music. They showed me - and continue to do so - that being a musician is to be part of a community. The music is bigger than you, and living it means honoring those that came before, that lived and transitioned in its name,” said Taylor.

The album concludes with a pair of unlikely tunes. Taken from the musical “Annie,” “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile” is an earnest attempt to do something Taylor’s “all-time hero” had a flair for doing.

“It became my theme song over the year, one that I would always play in a tenor trio format - saxophone, bass and drums - on my weekly gigs in New York City. This is my favorite format if I’m honest, thanks to my love of Sonny Rollins. The song always makes people smile and tap their feet. Recording it is also a subtle way to honor Rollins, who is known as an indisputable musical genius who often picks the most unlikely of tunes and makes them incredibly hip and swinging. I hope we achieved that with this one,” said Taylor.

Closing the set is “Bye Bye Baby,” which Marilyn Monroe sang in “Gentleman Prefer Blondes.” Taylor’s rendition was influenced by a version he heard played at dazzling speed by pianist Harold Mabern.

Taylor studied and was mentored at Purchase College, State University of New York. Among his noteworthy performances was playing with saxophone greats James Moody, Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess, Joe Lovano, Steve Wilson, Mark Turner and Ralph Lalama. He released his critically lauded solo debut, “My Future Just Passed,” in 2015 followed two years later by “Along the Way,” which was the first time he teamed up with Patton and Miner. Twice Taylor has toured in Canada, and he’ll be supporting “Let Go” at concert dates there next month around the album release date. Closer to home, Taylor serves as artistic director for the West Harlem Jazz Festival.  

In the “Let Go” liner notes, Taylor writes about music giving voice to an experience, both personal and collective. He believes music is an expression of love and respect, inspiring hope and a reason to overcome challenges and triumphs. Understanding the role music can and does play is why before stepping foot inside the recording studio earlier this year, Taylor put pen to paper to state his intentions.       

“I invited my musical heroes to come together, to bring their powerful voices into a space, surrender and let go. Terell, Jeb, Neal and Willie were masterful. The space, a studio that echoes with jazz history, made the day that much more meaningful. I haven’t the words to express my gratitude. My hope is the music communicates that clearly and fully.”

SeaJun Kwon | "Micro-Nap"

Korean-born, New York-based composer / bassist SeaJun Kwon vividly explores moments of change on his breathtaking second album Micro-Nap, due out October 21, 2022 via Endectomorph Music, reassembles the Walking Cliché Sextet, an ironically named group of original voices. 

A micro-nap is a way to quickly recharge one’s batteries without slipping into a deeper state of slumber. It’s a restful moment somewhere in between waking and sleeping, consciousness and unconsciousness. Korean-born, New York-based composer and bassist SeaJun Kwon delights in such liminal spaces. On Micro-Nap, the second album by his exploratory Walking Cliché Sextet, Kwon and his deeply attuned ensemble navigate constantly changing compositions through a series of elusive, transient moments.

“A micro-nap,” Kwon explains, “is an example of non-linear and broken moments. Usually, these extremely short non-linear moments are dense, noisy, and full of energy… I wanted to expose the liminal space of each micro-ordered moment layered with others, and head towards macro-chaotic surprises. This album reflects my emotional frustrations, non-linearity, the transience of feelings, and the emptiness of noise – as well as my attraction to them.”

Due out October 21, 2022 via saxophonist Kevin Sun’s Endectomorph Music label, Micro Nap investigates these notions of miniscule changes to reflect the far more monumental transitions that have characterized Kwon’s life and career over the past decade. In a way, it serves as a farewell to his time in Boston, where he moved in 2016 to study at New England Conservatory. The Walking Cliché Sextet is made up of the bassist’s NEC classmates:  pianist Erez Dessel, drummer Charles Weller, alto saxophonist Aaron Dutton, tenor saxophonist Jacob Shulman, and trombonist and tuba player Michael Prentky all return from the band’s 2021 debut, Suite Chase Reflex. This time out the piano and drum chairs are shared with Jacob Hiser and Avery Logan respectively, one concrete instance of evolution over time.

The band itself, with its three-horn frontline, is another practical example. Kwon favors the sextet format, he says, because it exists on the boundary between a flexible small group and the intricate arrangements of a big band. “It’s kind of in the middle. In a quartet or a smaller format, we have a lot of freedom and the music can be more abstract. The sextet is still in the small ensemble zone, but it allows for a lot of orchestral options. You might need some arrangements to clean up the sound—or maybe not clean it up, intentionally. It’s fun in that way.”

Kwon is now based in New York City, while his compatriots in the sextet have scattered to various new locales, promising more changes to come either within the sextet or with new projects stemming from Kwon’s new environs. But the bassist’s presence in the States – and on the jazz scene – was a seismic shift that happened fairly rapidly. He first played an upright bass just eight months before enrolling at NEC. Prior to that Kwon had been living in Seoul, South Korea, studying computer science and machine learning and occasionally tinkering with an electric bass, but not actively pursuing a life in music.

That all changed when he took his first acoustic bass lesson, almost on a whim. “I really liked listening to jazz, so I took a lesson. It wasn’t very serious. It became a little serious when I realized that I really liked learning it. I had no formal music education before that. From that point on I had to learn everything very fast. It was like every moment was a moment of change.”

That sensation is captured on “Transient,” the closing track on Micro-Nap and the first piece written for the new album. A professed adherent of avant-grade jazz and contemporary classical composers such as Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, and György Ligeti, Kwon points out that “Transient” may be a more traditional piece than most – it has an almost ballad-like grace as opposed to the pointillist and abstract nature of much of the rest of the album – but there is a steadily accumulating tension that never settles into one place or feeling for too long.

The album is disconcerting from the first, with entrancing piano accompanied by unplaceable stomps and creaking noises on Dessel’s “Muad’Dib.” Prentky contributed the drone-oriented second piece, “Commune,” which explodes halfway through into strident unison horn lines punctuated by machine gun rhythms. The rest of the compositions are the bandleader’s own, from the jagged, angular title track to the chaotic “Anamorphosis No.1,” the meditative “Rumination” to the burly “Trio, Interlude,” no less raucous for the absence of the horn section.

While Kwon is processing a number of very serious ideas through this music, he chose the title Micro-Nap in keeping with the tongue-in-cheek name of the Walking Cliché Sextet. The inspiration for the sobriquet came from the 2002 Spike Jonze film Adaptation., in which Nicolas Cage’s character describes himself with the term during an opening monologue. "He's ruminating in a loop of clichés," Kwon describes. "And it was funny—I was emotionally attached to it while also feeling like he’s being too serious about small things when he calls himself a walking cliché. I think ‘walking cliché’ implies both that seriousness and the comedic aspect at the same time."

Humor and drama, stasis and change, waking and sleep, home and away; Kwon and his music thrive at the juncture of these contradictory states. While he may be constantly on the move, there’s nothing cliché about the music that results.

SeaJun Kwon is a composer and bassist who focuses on exploring boundaries. His music draws from the jazz and avant-garde music traditions of Anthony Braxton and Henry Threadgill as well as contemporary classical composers György Ligeti, Tristan Murail, and Morton Feldman. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Kwon graduated from Boston’s New England Conservatory and is currently based in Brooklyn. He has been leading his group Walking Cliché Sextet since 2019. The ensemble released its debut album, Suite Chase Reflex, in 2021. 

FIRST-EVER OFFICIAL CHRISTMAS ALBUM FROM THE LEGENDARY LOUIS ARMSTRONG, "LOUIS WISHES YOU A COOL YULE"

Much like Santa Claus himself, Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong devoted his life to "the cause of happiness," as he once put it, bringing joy to audiences around the globe every time he put his trumpet to his lips or crooned with his instantly-recognizable, gravelly voice. Yet, while Satchmo's holiday recordings have become standard yuletide fare, he never released a Christmas album during his lifetime. Now, for the very first time, Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule – out October 28 via Verve Records/UMe, presents Armstrong's holiday recordings as a cohesive body of work, marking his first-ever official Christmas album.

For the very first time, "Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule" – out October 28 via Verve Records/UMe, presents Louis Armstrong’s holiday recordings as a cohesive body of work, marking his first-ever official Christmas album.

Since his passing in 1971, Armstrong has become one of the most oft-played artists during the holiday season, his golden trumpet tone still able to cut through the din of even the most bustling shopping mall. Available for pre-order today, Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule features nearly the entirety of Armstrong's holiday output: six Decca singles from the '50s, including "Cool Yule," "Christmas Night in Harlem," and the swinging "'Zat You Santa Claus?." The 11-track album also features duets with two of Pops' favorite vocal partners, Velma Middleton ("Baby, It's Cold Outside") and Ella Fitzgerald ("I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm"). An official video for the Louis and Ella classic debuts today, hand-drawn by director and animator JonJon in his distinctive "line and shape" style.

Watch "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm": https://louisarmstrong.lnk.to/GotMyLovetoKeepMeWarm

Rounding out the collection is the artist's signature hit, "What a Wonderful World," which has become something of a yearlong hymn of hope and celebrates its 65th anniversary this year, plus a very special gift to fans: a previously unreleased reading of Samuel Clement Moore's poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas," popularly known as "The Night Before Christmas." Paired with a groovy, newly-recorded musical underbed by New Orleans pianist Sullivan Fortner, the poignant recording marks the first new Louis Armstrong track in more than 20 years and is notable for being the last recording he ever made.

Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule will be available in a variety of formats, including on red vinyl, a limited edition vinyl picture disc (releasing November 4th), CD, and digital. The album will feature new liner notes from GRAMMY®-Award winning writer, Ricky Riccardi, author of two Armstrong biographies ("Heart Full of Rhythm" and "What a Wonderful World") and Director of Research Collections for the Louis Armstrong House Museum. Additionally, all 11 tracks have been mixed in immersive Dolby Atmos and hi-res audio.

Since his passing in 1971, Louis Armstrong's legacy as one of the most beloved and influential jazz artists of all time has only continued to grow, while his enduring catalog of recordings remains timeless. Born in New Orleans, Armstrong (1901-1971) began his career in the '20s, bringing his Dixieland background to Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. By the time he became an internationally-renowned star in the '40s, the hardworking singer, bandleader, actor, and trumpet player was spending nearly 300 days on tour every year. One constant throughout these shows, however, was the spirit of Christmas.

As a child, Riccardi writes, Armstrong "did not have much time for Christmas… life necessitated that he drop out of school and go to work while still a young boy to help support his mother and sister." After his marriage to Lucille Wilson, however, the holidays took on a new meaning—particularly when the couple was on the road. Riccardi continues, "With the holidays approaching, Lucille bought a small Christmas tree and set it up in their hotel room. According to Lucille, Louis 'just looked at it and looked at it and told me, 'This is the first tree I've ever had.' Louis refused to let Lucille take it down and insisted they take it with them on the rest of the tour. The Armstrongs would continue this tradition, Lucille later remarking that they continued setting up 'a table tree and holiday fixings in whatever hotel in whatever country we happen to be in.'"

Perhaps, it is that love of Christmas that accounts for Armstrong's somewhat mysterious reading of "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Captured months before his death, on February 26, 1971, the recording was made by the ailing artist, alone on his home reel-to-reel tape recorder. Whether Satchmo was giving fans one final present, or simply finding comfort in his favorite holiday, it is certain that the recording, and this album, will deliver plenty of Christmas magic.

Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule Track Listing

(1CD/Digital)

• Cool Yule 
• Winter Wonderland 
• I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (w/ Ella Fitzgerald) 
• 'Zat You Santa Claus? 
• Christmas In New Orleans 
• White Christmas 
• Christmas Night In Harlem 
• Baby, It's Cold Outside (w/ Velma Middleton) 
• Moments To Remember 
• What A Wonderful World 
• Reading of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" with Sullivan Fortner, piano accompaniment 
• Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule Track List

(Vinyl)

SIDE A

• Cool Yule 
• Winter Wonderland 
• I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (w/Ella Fitzgerald) 
• 'Zat You Santa Claus? 
• Christmas In New Orleans 
• White Christmas 

SIDE B

• Christmas Night In Harlem 
• Baby, It's Cold Outside (w/ Velma Middleton) 
• Moments To Remember 
• What A Wonderful World 
• Reading of "A Visit from St. Nicholas" with Sullivan Fortner, piano accompaniment

Natsuki Tamura | "Iyaho"

On Iyaho, Natsuki Tamura’s Bandcamp album, the trumpeter-composer returns to the unaccompanied solo format for the sixth time in his career. This time, however, he adds a few new twists, focusing on his enigmatic vocalizing and recent interest in home-made percussion as well as his lyrical trumpet playing. Recording at his home studio, Tamura also overdubs voice, percussion, and trumpet into performances that are truly beyond category. “I never think about whether it is jazz or not,” Tamura says. “I just express the music that comes out of me.”

“Voice has always been an adjunct to my work,” Tamura says. “So this time I decided to put the spotlight on the voice.” Like everything else about Tamura’s music, his vocals are utterly unique. He sings or chants nonsense syllables that resemble an unknown language. Sounding like ceremonial chants or folksongs at times, they are mysterious, sometimes whimsical and comic, and oddly moving. “Nonsense words come out very naturally to me,” Tamura says, “It's easier than meaningful words!”

Tamura’s cryptic singing, juxtaposed with his jazz-inflected trumpet and his kitchen-implement percussion, transform a surreal combination of influences and sounds into an arresting sonic world. On “Sagahogenaga” Tamura intones the name of the title as if it were a religious incantation. The percussion that accompanies it adds an enigmatic dimension. His percussion arsenal, consisting of woks, pots and other cooking implements, create unfamiliar tones and timbres. Tamura isn’t a trained drummer, so he plays percussion with a talented amateur’s enthusiasm. The raw technique and unusual sounds resemble a kind of folk music from another world. On top of it all he adds the hushed beauty of his trumpet, playing simple melodies that straddle jazz and folk music. The results are enchanting, even charming, although a bit strange. “Mesahoji” is less ritualistic, more as if you are listening to an elder storyteller narrate an ancient legend. The vocals on “Karakara” resemble bird song and evokes the natural world.

One track each of solo percussion and solo trumpet round out the album. On “August Wok,” the kitchen-items percussion lend a dadaist touch to Tamura’s sly musical imagination. Stately phrases unfold, combine, and evolve in an organic progression, colored by the odd sonorities of the household appliances. “August Tp” features Tamura’s muted trumpet, and although it’s entirely instrumental, you can hear echoes of the human voice in grumbling low notes that resemble Tamura’s own singing.

Tamura will continue his ambitious plan to release a new album on Bandcamp every other month for the remainder of the year:

• Coming in October is a new composition for five trumpets. A first for Tamura, the unique group will record the new music live in the studio. Tamura has enlisted Ali Morimoto, Masafumi Ezaki, Nobuki Yamamoto, and Rabito Arimoto, fellow trumpeters from Kobe and Osaka, each of whom is a strong creative force in his respective city’s creative music scene.

• Tamura’s busy year concludes in December with another live studio recording, a duet with drummer Ittetsu Takemura. An exciting, versatile musician, Takemura is one of the most in-demand drummers in Japan. He is a member of pianist Satoko Fujii’s Tokyo Trio and appears on their debut CD, Moon on the Lake. “I'm going to arrange a song that I played at the FONT(Festival of New Trumpet) 20 years ago,” he says of his plans for the album.

Japanese trumpeter and composer Natsuki Tamura is internationally recognized for a unique musical vocabulary that blends jazz lyricism with extended techniques. In 1997, he and Satoko Fujii, who is also his wife, released their first duo album, How Many? (Leo Lab). They have recorded eight CDs together, including 2021’s Keshin (Libra). Tamura’s collaborations with Fujii reveal an intense musical empathy and have garnered wide popular and critical acclaim. Kurt Gottschalk writes in the New York City Jazz Record that their rapport “feels like a secret language … It’s rare to sense this level of intuition between musicians.”

2003 was a breakout year for Tamura as a bandleader, with the release of Hada Hada (Libra), featuring his free jazz-avant rock quartet with Fujii on synthesizer. In 2005, he made a 180-degree turn with the debut of his all acoustic Gato Libre quartet, focusing on the intersection of European folk music and sound abstraction. Now a trio, their previous CD is Koneko (Libra), released in 2020. Writing in the New York City Jazz Record, Tyran Grillo said, “By turns mysterious and whimsical.”

In 1998, Tamura released the first of his unaccompanied trumpet albums, A Song for Jyaki (Leo Lab). He followed it up in 2003 with KoKoKoKe (Polystar/NatSat) and in 2021, he celebrated his 70th birthday with Koki Solo (Libra), which Karl Ackermann in All About Jazz described as “quirky fun in an age of uncertainty.” His latest solo album, Summer Tree, was a multilayered, overdubbed release that featured his piano and percussion work in addition to his trumpet.

In addition to appearing in many of Fujii’s ensembles, Tamura also has worked with collaborative groups. Most recently, he joined Fujii and master French composer-improvisers, trumpeter Christian Pruvost and drummer Peter Orins, to form the collective quartet Kaze. With five CDs to their credit since 2011, Kaze “redefines listening to music, redefines genres, redefines playing music,” according to Stef Gjissels of Free Jazz Blog.

Tamura’s category-defying abilities make him “unquestionably one of the most adventurous trumpet players on the scene today,” said Marc Chenard in Coda.

Timo Vollbrecht | "Givers & Takers"

FLY MAGIC is saxophonist-composer, bandleader, and scholar Timo Vollbrecht’s longstanding signature ensemble. A genre-exploding unit with a bold sense of creativity and intent. After two acclaimed records and performances in over 30 countries, their third album, Givers & Takers, marks a new chapter: It conjures acoustic delicateness with otherworldly electronic soundscapes of orchestral width. Recorded in the studio while on a 12-date-tour, it captures the unique chemistry the four musicians developed on the road while using the stage as their laboratory.

Originally from Germany and based out of New York, Timo Vollbrecht is a celebrated creative force on the Brooklyn music scene who fuses jazz with post-rock, electronics, and instrumental songwriting. Described as a “luminously-fine bandleader” by the NYC Jazz Record, he has performed at landmark stages like the Village Vanguard. He is also the new Director of Jazz Studies at Brown University. Together with Keisuke Matsuno (guitar), Elias Stemeseder (piano & synthesizers), and Dayeon Seok (drums), he formed a band with no bassist. Instead, Stemeseder - who just led his residency at John Zorn’s iconic Stone venue - plays synth-bass while his other hand operates other keys.

Thematically, Givers & Takers refers to Timo’s underlying sense of community through music: “Music is first and foremost a social praxis,” he states, “It is about human connection and the lived experience of people feeling together and inspiring one another. These surrounding social aspects traditionally deemed as ‘extra-musical’ are actually not extra-musical at all - they form an essential part of the music’s most inner fabric.” The album emerges from this place of human interactivity. It features four musically synergetic friends of diverse backgrounds entering into an improvisational dialog marked by mutual trust. Giving and Taking is a natural part of this process. The fact that Givers & Takers is also the name of their favorite bar in Brooklyn underpins the importance that Timo and his bandmates assign to the quotidian gathering. “It is emblematic for what it means for us to be part of a scene.”

It follows that Timo’s pieces for this album celebrate the big and small gestures of everyday life. The opener Pau is named after his first-born child and features the band’s tender, improvisational interplay. In contrast, Happy Happy exudes high energy and “is my intent to write a happy tune,” Timo explains, “juxtaposed with destructive elements to make for an epic ending.” Brighton Blues refers to Brighton Beach in Brooklyn. This modern blues highlights the artists' approach to fresh ideas in connection to their tradition-informed identity. Art is Live is a suite that borrows its name from a concert series set up by friends to keep the arts community alive during the pandemic lockdowns. Three movements express the experience amidst an uncertain future during that time: I. Solidarity, II. Solitude, and III. Agency, with the latter being a nod to the roaring Black Lives Matter movement and music as a force for change.

With Givers & Takers, Timo Vollbrecht is presenting his vision of a band that is truly original, avoids easy categorization, and blends acoustic and electronic sounds enveloped in intricate song forms.

SINGLE RELEASES

Sep 23 - “PAU”

"Pau“ is the first single from NYC-based saxophonist Timo Vollbrecht’s newest album “Givers & Takers.“ Named after his first-born child, this deeply personal piece features the tender, improvisational interplay of his band FLY MAGIC. Warm-timbred, melodic, atmospheric, and unpretentious - in this song, sound travels and expands gradually, tapping into the vastness of space.

Oct 07 - “HAPPY HAPPY”

“Happy Happy” showcases the mesmerizing energy of saxophonist Timo Vollbrecht’s quartet FLY MAGIC. With bright harmony and a dazzling pulse, this up-beat tune fuses adventurous jazz with otherworldly soundscapes that eventually take over to make for an epic ending.

Feels Like Home: Songs from the Sonoran Borderlands—Linda Ronstadt’s Musical Odyssey

On September 30th, Putumayo will release Feels Like Home: Songs from the Sonoran Borderlands—Linda Ronstadt’s Musical Odyssey, a musical accompaniment to the acclaimed singer’s new book, Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands, published by Heyday Books. The musical collection was co-curated by Ronstadt and Putumayo founder Dan Storper and includes influential songs from her childhood and career, as well as several of her own interpretations of classic Mexican songs. Participating artists include legends and musical explorers Lalo Guerrero, Ry Cooder, Jackson Browne, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Neil Young, Taj Mahal and David Hidalgo. The CD package will include an album download card and informative booklet with an introduction by Linda. The album will also be available for download and streaming on major platforms.

The featured songs on the musical collection are an excellent companion and illustrate the influences that helped mold Linda Ronstadt into the artist she became. Lalo Guerrero, known as the “father of Chicano Music” would often visit his good friend, Linda’s father, Gilbert, early in Linda’s life, teaching her and her siblings' traditional Mexican songs. Here, in collaboration with Ry Cooder, Guerrero sings “Barrio Viejo,” a poignant song he wrote about the loss of old neighborhoods and ways of life.

For Ronstadt, her home has always been a place of creativity and she is joined by her brothers, Peter and Mike, to sing the lovelorn “El Sueño.” Roots music revivalists Los Cenzontles follow with the Mexican folk song, “Palomas Que Andan Volando” (Pigeons That Are Flying). The ever-musical Ronstadt family continues to shine with “Canadian Moon,” a previously unreleased version by Ronstadt family members known as P.D. Ronstadt & The Co.

The underlying story Ronstadt expresses in her book and this collection is illustrated in several of the featured songs. The Sonoran region was long home to Indigenous people, Mexicans and Southwesterners who lived and worked in close proximity. Several songs demonstrate the importance of cultural openness and acceptance rather than living in fear of our neighbors to the South. “Across the Border” is both a love song and a voyage of escape by Linda Ronstadt with Emmylou Harris. Their rendition of this Bruce Springsteen composition features another legend, Neil Young, on harmonica. Jackson Browne’s “The Dreamer” featuring Los Cenzontles, tells a sobering story of a family divided by the border and unjust immigration laws. Los Cenzontles return with “Naninan Upirin,” sung in the indigenous language P’urhépecha and showcasing the distinct folk music tradition of this ancient people and their culture.

The sweetly melancholic Appalachian folk song “I Never Will Marry,” performed by Linda Ronstadt with Dolly Parton, fits in well with the broken-hearted Mexican ballads that accompany it. After a sweeping tour of the music of Mexico and the borderlands which inspired her, “Piel Canela” sees Linda and her band interpreting another Latin musical style that was ever-present in her childhood home: Cuban mambo. The collection concludes with a final offering from Los Cenzontles, joined by David Hidalgo (of Los Lobos) and folk and blues icon Taj Mahal, who perform “Voy Caminando” about a young migrant’s journey towards his dream.

Feels Like Home: A Song for the Sonoran Borderlands is a fascinating memoir of Linda’s growing up in the culturally rich Sonoran borderlands of the Southwest. Together, the book and this album evoke the magical panorama of the Sonoran desert and offer a personal tour of the memories and music of the region where Linda Ronstadt came of age. The book, written by Ronstadt and Lawrence Downes with photographs by Bill Steen, can be found at fine bookstores everywhere, online and by visiting heydaybooks.com.

The full tracklist for Feels Like Home: Songs from the Sonoran Borderlands—Linda Ronstadt’s Musical Odyssey is:

• Ry Cooder with Lalo Guerrero – Barrio Viejo
• Linda Ronstadt – El Sueño
• Los Cenzontles – Palomas Que Andan Volando
• D. Ronstadt & The Co. – Canadian Moon (New version)
• Linda Ronstadt with Emmylou Harris – Across the Border
• Jackson Browne with Los Cenzontles – The Dreamer
• Los Cenzontles with David Hidalgo – Naninan Upirin
• Linda Ronstadt with Dolly Parton – I Never Will Marry
• Linda Ronstadt – Piel Canela
• Los Cenzontles – Voy Caminando

Richard Smith | "Groove Assets"

Contemporary jazz guitarist Richard Smith continues the legacy of groove. The new single, “Groove Assets,” which goes for playlist adds on October 3, was produced by his former student, hitmaker Adam Hawley.

Whether he’s teaching at USC’s Thornton School of Music or abroad in such diverse locations as Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Manila, London, Oslo, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Palermo, Rome or Bueno Aires, contemporary jazz guitarist Richard Smith gets asked about playing in the groove. So much so that the globetrotter thinks that playing in the pocket may be America’s greatest cultural export musically. Recorded in London, Amsterdam and Los Angeles, Smith’s new single, “Groove Assets,” captures that soulful sound with the aid of one of his former students, multi-time Billboard chart-topping guitarist Adam Hawley, who produced and cowrote the song with his former professor.

"I've found that no matter where I go in the world, I hear American popular music - R&B, hip hop, soul and jazz - coming out of restaurants, bars, cars and classrooms as much or more as the indigenous music. The minute I come back to the States and fire up my Los Angeles band, it hits me: the groove, lock, pocket, and soulfulness that is embedded so deeply in our American music culture. When I teach or give masterclasses abroad, they want to know about what ‘playing in the pocket’ is, as if it is a mysterious, elusive phenomenon. And it IS a cultural phenomenon that comes out of our deep and diverse musical heritage. So, I have developed a lot of classes around that, sort of a how to lock-it-up and groove. I say that one of the best musical ‘assets’ that they can have is groove assets,” said Smith about his inspiration for the single.

“Groove Assets” has a certain laid back, chill quality to the midtempo groove fronted by Smith’s cool electric jazz guitar licks, which are embellished by Hawley’s rhythm guitar harmonies. Bolted to a taut rhythmic pocket crafted by drummer Eric Valentine and bassist Mel Brown, the song’s cowriter Tico Pierhagen adds keyboard melodies. Trumpeter Michael Stever architects the lush horn arrangements that form a proscenium around the R&B groove.

Smith has been traveling internationally since he was seven and for most of the last twenty years, he’s taught and performed each year in Europe. The guitarist has served as a visiting professor of contemporary jazz and popular music at major music conservatories and academies all over the world, which he’s been doing since he was in his twenties. He was one of the youngest tenured professors at USC’s Thornton School of Music where he created the world’s first doctorate program in contemporary guitar. That’s where he first connected with Hawley, whom he calls a “success story.” 

Shortly after the pandemic hit in 2020, Smith was diagnosed with stage four throat cancer. To divert his mind, he reached out to Hawley to help him write and produce a few singles. “Groove Asset” is their third collaboration.

“The first two songs (“Let’s Roll” and “Soul Share”) we did together were hits, and it feels like we are onto another one with 'Groove Assets'. There is no greater pleasure or prouder moment in a jazz professor's life than the act of hiring a former student for the incredibly important job of producing a single. I am a very lucky, proud soul indeed,” beamed Smith, whose cancer is in complete remission.

"We train jazz and rock stars. I am super proud of all our students who have gone on to play with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, John Legend, Gwen Stefani, Marc Anthony, Thundercat, Justin Bieber, Michael Bublé, Jason Mraz, Elton John, Madonna, Bono, Maroon 5, Jennifer Lopez, John Mayer, and on hit television programs ‘American Idol’ and ‘Glee’ to name a few." 

Smith was a student at USC when he attended the last masterclass given by Spanish classical guitar great Andre Segovia, which had a lasting impact.

“The Maestro said many profound things, but the one that really stuck with me and guided my life was ‘When you teach, you learn twice.’ That, and the fact that my mother, father, cousins, aunts and uncles were all professors at schools like Oxford, MIT, Oberlin, Tufts, Hong Kong, UCLA, Michigan and Liverpool guided me toward university life as my recording and performing career grew. It has all been something of a mission,” said Smith who plans to perform next summer in England, Holland, Greece and Italy.

“Our (America’s) jazz and popular music are our greatest cultural export, and I am proud to be an ambassador for that.”

Closer to home, Smith will be a featured performer alongside Greg Adams and East Bay Soul at the Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival on October 22.