New Music Releases: Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra, The Dining Rooms, Emily Braden, The Composers Collective Big Band

Rob Mazurek Exploding Star Orchestra - Lightning Dreamers

A killer set from a group that may well be the most perfectly realized version of the Exploding Star concept from Rob Mazurek – one who've got some fantastic parts that come together here in a wonderfully visionary record! Rob's still in the lead on trumpets and electronics – but the group really resonates from some key contributions from Damon Locks on voice and more electronics – at a level that has him rising to that long-overdue role of stardom, which seems to give the whole group an even greater source of focus and energy. Jeff Parker lays down some wicked guitar, Angelica Sanchez and Craig Taborn are fantastic on Wurlitzer electric pianos and moog – and the great Nicole Mitchell is on flute and a bit of vocals. There's a sense of majesty here that Mazurek has never had before – and the album is maybe one of the most crowning achievements in his long and very storied career. Titles include "Future Shaman", "Shape Shifter", "White River", "Dream Sleeper", and "Black River".  ~ Dusty Groove

The Dining Rooms - Rarities And Outtakes EP1

Milan-based duo The Dining Rooms have been a fixture of the local underground scene for more than 20 years and of the most popular signee of Schema Records. Currently working on their 10th album, due to be released early 2024, the duo consisting of Stefano Ghittoni and Cesare Malfatti is set to release two digital EPs of Outtakes and Rarities. First in line is EP1, a 3-tracker including  'Education of a Scoundrel' featuring Sean Martin, originally released on the French version of the album 'Ink' in 2008; the song takes the cue from the live version of 'M.Dupont'. 'Odd are the words' featuring Chiara Castello is an outtake from the 2002 album 'Turn To See Me' . The third and final track selected for the EP is a new edit of Four Tet's remix of 'Così Ti Amo'

Emily Braden - Cannon & Sparrow

Boise-born, Harlem-honed vocalist, songwriter and lyricist Emily Braden’s sound is an effortless blend of jazz and soul. Winner of New York City’s ‘Best of the Best’ Jazzmobile Vocal Competition, she has been a celebrated name on NYC’s music scene for more than a decade. Braden’s sophomore release Cannon & Sparrow is a vibrant collection of powerful originals and reimagined standards. Both daring and delicate, the album marks the second studio collaboration between Braden and her musical partner of more than fifteen years, Misha Piatigorsky. As producer, pianist, composer and arranger, Piatigorsky expertly spotlights Braden’s vocal freedom and fresh and forward interpretation. The catalyst for Cannon & Sparrow was the passing of Braden’s father within a week of the 2016 presidential election. The recording process began years later, and was completed in the early days of the global pandemic. The songs were largely workshopped in front of international audiences over the course of Braden’s residency at NYC’s famed 55 Bar. Cannon & Sparrow confronts the truth that it is often the heaviest things in life that jolt us alive. Braden’s vocals shine and soar with an uplifting message of love and resilience in dark times. 

The Composers Collective Big Band – The Toronto Project

What is the sound of a city? With The Toronto Project, the Composers Collective Big Band has put together its most ambitious project yet, commissioning Toronto’s top jazz composers to write about the neighbourhoods and aspects of their city that inspire them  the most. The Composers Collective Big Band is an 18 piece jazz ensemble led by trombonist and composer Christian Overton. Since forming in 2005, the group’s mandate has been to present new works for large jazz ensemble by Canadian composers. Toronto has been known as a great jazz city for decades. When jazz fans all over the world hear bands like Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, they instantly recognize the swinging arrangements and immaculate playing as being emblematic of  the Toronto sound. Today, that sound is evolving into something new – an audacious sensibility forged by a diverse new generation of jazz musicians. Discover the unique people and places that make up Toronto as seen through the eyes of its finest jazz artists.

Phillip Bailey - State Of The Heart: The Columbia Recordings 1983 to 1988

A trio of solo albums from Phillip Bailey – presented here with bonus material too! First up is Continuation – an 80s soul classic from Philip Bailey – stepping out here from Earth Wind & Fire in a set that has him sparkling strongly as a solo act! The vocals still have that trademark Bailey sound – a wonderful range that's never overdone, and which seems to shine especially well on the mellow and midtempo tunes in the set! Production is by George Duke, who does a lot to preserve the jazzier warmth of Bailey's previous settings – and although there's a bit more crossover potential here, the sound is still never too commercial or aimed at the charts. Titles include "It's Our Time", "Trapped", "I Know", "I'm Waitin For Your Love", "Desire", "The Good Guy's Supposed To Get The Girls", and "Your Boyfriend's Back". 

Next is Chinese Wall – a big breakthrough for Philip Bailey – and a record that was kind of a second-level explosion for the Earth Wind & Fire sound in the 80s! There's a definite crossover feel to the record – a style that takes Bailey's soulful vocals, and mixes them with lots of catchy hooks – in ways that push the Kalimba aesthetic even more into mainstream modes. Yet the album's still got some solid soul grounding, too – thanks to arrangements by Tom Tom and Arif Mardin – which is a nice contrast to the production by Phil Collins, who also guests on the hit "Easy Lover". Other cuts include "Time Is A Woman", "Go", "Walking On The Chinese Wall", "Photogenic Memory", "I Go Crazy", and "Children Of The Ghetto". 

Last is Inside Out – a set that has Philip Bailey working with Nile Rodgers, who gives him a lean, clean sound that works perfectly with his vocals! The sound is a nice change from the direction Bailey was heading in previously – a return to the focused soul of the later Earth Wind & Fire years, with his amazing lead opening up in ways that few other singers can match. Tunes are pretty well-penned too – catchy, but never cloyingly commercial – and titles include "State Of The Heart", "Welcome To The Club", "Special Effect", "Because Of You", "Take This With You", "The Day Will Come", "Back It Up", and "Echo My Heart". 3CD set features nice bonus material – "I Know (ext dance mix)", "Love Is Alive", "Easy Lover (with Phil Collins)", "Walking On The Chinese Wall (single)", "State Of The Heart (dub mix)", "Twins (with Little Richard)", "Twins (club mix)", and "Easy Lover (ext dance mix)".  ~ Dusty Groove

Ryan Meagher | "AftEarth"

Guitarist and composer Ryan Meagher explores postapocalyptic soundscapes—and imagery—on the scintillating AftEarth, set for a May 19 release on Atroefy Records. On one level a quartet recording—with Portland, Oregon-based saxophonist Tim Willcox, bassist Andrew Jones, and drummer Charlie Doggett delving into 11 Meagher compositions (and a jazz setting of a Felix Mendelssohn composition)—it is also a collaboration with visual artist Tina Granzo, whose lonesome, haunting pen-and-ink images form the album’s packaging.

Though largely created in the shadow of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, AftEarth was initially conceived earlier, as a cross-disciplinary project dealing with themes of apathy, inaction, and the devastating effects they could bring to the world. With the advent of the pandemic, alienation and mortality inevitably became major players among those themes.

“Tina drew a ‘seed’ drawing for each [theme],” explains Meagher (pronounced Marr). “I wrote music for each theme/seed, and then she drew more art for each tune after hearing the music.”

The drawings feature odd juxtapositions of nature and manmade objects, portending the aftermath of ecological and technological disaster. While they unquestionably explore humans’ effects on the world around them, the drawings are empty of humans themselves; while Granzo simply believes that she is “terrible at drawing people,” that emptiness itself is a key component of both the visual and sonic sides of the project. The slow pace and echo effects of “AftEarth,” “End of the Rainbow,” and “The American Scream” suggest vast, lonely landscapes, bereft of companionship, while the melodic shapes of “Refuse, the Redeemer,” “Vanity’s Breath,” and “Scorched Berth” evoke an insular kind of sadness and regret.

Art and music are also featured in a series of videos created by Granzo and posted on Meagher’s web site (ryanmeagher.com, password: AmericanScream). “This project was partly inspired by the animated videos Brad Mehldau released alongside his Finding Gabriel album,” says Meagher (pictured below right with Granzo). “Tina’s videos are one of the more compelling aspects of the abstract storytelling we set out to do. We wanted them to unfold slowly while the music develops, and for the viewer to wonder where this whole thing is going next.”

Yet for all its melancholy, both the art and the music are singularly beautiful. Meagher’s playing uses a variety of moods and colors to build striking melodies and solos, and locks in beautifully with Willcox’s tenor and soprano saxes and, on three tracks, Clay Giberson’s piano and keyboards. Even more locked in are Jones and Doggett, who share a stark instinct for rhythmic punch.

Some of AftEarth’s themes became manifest during its creation. An early version of Meagher’s band fell apart due to their unease at rehearsing during COVID’s reign, and the ultimate recording took place during a freak summer heatwave in Portland. Nevertheless, they persisted, and their efforts paid off handsomely—casting a ray of hope on the dark themes of the project. If these musicians can succeed, the rest of us can, too.

Ryan Meagher was born in 1981 in San Jose, California. His childhood was driven by a love of baseball until, in his early teens, the discovery of grunge music led him first to Nirvana, then to the African American traditions of jazz and blues. The new passion carried him through high school and on to San Diego State University, where he was mentored by trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos.

Meagher moved in 2003 to New York City, a year later making his debut album Sun Resounding with pianist Bryn Roberts and drummer Greg Ritchie. Fresh Sound New Talent releases Atroefy (2009) and Tone (2012) followed, the latter made during a bicoastal period: Meagher was living in New York but also attending graduate school at the University of Nevada, Reno. That same year, upon completing his MM, he moved to Portland, Oregon full time.

Upon arrival, Meagher quickly became a crucial component of the Rose City’s bustling jazz scene. He currently serves as cofounder and programming director of the Montavilla Jazz Festival, artistic director of the Portland Jazz Composers Ensemble (and director of its attendant record label, PJCE Records), director of jazz programs at Lower Columbia College, and a teacher of guitar at both Mount Hood Community College and the University of Portland. He also works regularly with Portland luminaries including pianists George Colligan and Andrew Durkin, saxophonist Bryan Smith, and bassist Chris Higgins, in addition to Willcox, Jones, and Doggett. AftEarth is his ninth recording.

Gregory Goodloe | "In This Love"

It’s a fragrant love affair and on the eve of Jazz Appreciation Month, R&B-jazz guitarist Gregory Goodloe composed a fervent song of love and appreciation that drops as a single on Monday from Hip Jazz Records. Goodloe wrote “In This Love” with producer Jeff Canady to covey his ardor and affection as well as his gratitude for the gift of music.

“For as long as I can remember, you have been a great part of my life. As long as you stay with me, I know that I will love you all of my life. Unspeakable melodies, harmonies, tones, major and minor keys have given me inspiration every day. ‘In This Love’ is dedicated with devotion to a way of life, and a deep love of music. Let me pass it on,” said Goodloe, who topped the Billboard singles chart for the first time in 2019 with “Stylin’,” receiving more than four million Spotify streams.

Poetically lyrical guitar verses and impassioned improvised solos drive the funky rhythm track, soulful groove and vibrantly cascading choruses on “In This Love.”  With Goodloe’s classic cool jazz electric guitar in the fore, Canady’s sturdy drum beats, Robert Skinner’s rubbery basslines, Demetrius Nabors’s keyboard melodies and Gary Johnson’s rhythm guitar decorate the track with lush sound. 

“I have loved music for as long as I can remember. It’s always been a part of me and my soul. I’ve learned one thing in life and that is music can bring us through our ups and downs, through our good times and bad. My love, devotion and dedication to music has brought me to respect music and the love that it brings to the world. I feel so blessed to be able to share my expression of music,” said Goodloe, a Denver native.

“In This Love” is Goodloe’s second consecutive single with Canady. They teamed on “In Paradise” in 2021. Earlier releases include collaborations with multiple Grammy nominated saxophonist Darren Rahn (“Stylin’”), seminal urban-jazz keyboardist Bob Baldwin (“Cool Like That”), Billboard chart-topping guitarist Adam Hawley (“Somewhere Out There”), and Barbadian saxophonist Elan Trotman (“Step’N Out”).

Growing up strumming the guitar to Wes Montgomery and George Benson records, their presence is heard and felt in Goodloe’s recordings. He played drums and guitar through high school and while attending Bishop College, an HBCU in Dallas. After serving in the United States Army, Goodloe embarked on a recording career, debuting in 2016 with the single “All The Way.” Goodloe has performed at premier jazz festivals and has shared the stage with Howard Hewett, Tank, Ben Tankard, Norman Brown, Dave Koz, Brian Culbertson, Michael McDonald, James Ingram, Roy Ayers, Shirley Caesar, Angela Spivey, John P. Key, The Rance Allen Group and Larry Dunn of Earth, Wind & Fire fame, a fellow Denverite. Goodloe hosts his own radio show, “Mile High Smooth Jazz,” which airs on World Wide Jazz Radio.

New Music Releases: Cecile McLorin Salvant, Donald Byrd, Redd Holt Unlimited, Diggin Groove Diggers – Best Of Tribe Records – Selected By DJ Muro

Cecile McLorin Salvant - Melusine

Cecile McLorin Salvant has already been one of the most striking jazz singers to emerge in years – and here, she pushes her talents even further – as she moves past standard material, into a complex realm that's all her own! The album's a unified batch of songs dedicated to the European folkloric figure in the title – and Cecile mixes her own material with older songs from a span of centuries – singing in French on most numbers, and with a style that adapts to the needs of the material from track to track! As a result, she's using her voice in ways that we've never heard before – and which we never would have expected – and many of the songs are relatively spare, which brings an even greater focus on the vocals in a way that's incredible. Titles include "Wedo", "La Route Enchantee", "Dodou", "Fenestra", "Domna N'Almucs", "Dame Iseut", "Petite Musique Terrienne", and "Dites Moi Que Je Suis Belle".  ~ Dusty Groove

Donald Byrd - Street Lady (180 gram pressing)

A landmark album by Donald Byrd – the first one where he really started to click with jazz-funk producer Larry Mizell! Mizell and Byrd had worked together previously on the Black Byrd album – a soaring bit of futuristic jazz funk that took Byrd's career to a whole new level – but this album's the one where they really began to make the formula cook, blending together tight funky rhythms, spacey keyboards, soulful vocals, and some of Donald's best solo work of the 70s! The whole thing's a masterpiece, and all tracks sparkle – including "Lansana's Priestess", "Witch Hunt", and "Street Lady", one of the funkiest tracks ever on Blue Note. A haunting record with a beautiful spacey groove, and one of the best-ever albums on Blue Note!  ~ Dusty Groove

Redd Holt Unlimited - Other Side Of The Moon

A legendary funky drums record from the 70s! Drummer Isaac Redd Holt is maybe best known as part of Young Holt Unlimited, and as part of the first Ramsey Lewis Trio before that – but he more than makes a name for himself on this album – really using his unbridled approach to the drums in a really great way! This isn't a straight break record, with Idris Muhammad-style work – and instead, Redd opens things up with a lot more vibrancy, maybe more in territory that Roy Porter was exploring at the time – using lean instrumentation that includes keyboards from Eugene Curry and guitar from Jose Holmes – leaving plenty of space for Holt to do his thing on the kit! The approach is maybe best summed up in the cut "Do It Baby", a favorite with hip hoppers back in the 80s, with a classic sample riff that you'll recognize instantly – next to his funky nuggets "Gimme Some Mo" and "I Shot The Sherriff" – plus some nice spacey jazz numbers, like "Tica Chita", "Beware Little Girls of The Cannibals", and "Rhu". ~ Dusty Groove

Diggin Groove Diggers – Best Of Tribe Records – Selected By DJ Muro (Japanese paper sleeve edition)

A great presentation of work from the legendary Tribe Records of Detroit – all handled by DJ Muro, who's posed on the front in a way that recalls one of the label's rarest albums! The style here is different than other collections of Tribe Records material – as Muro goes for cuts that showcase some of the more soulful, funky sides of the label – still very righteous overall, but with less of the longer or more avant-oriented tracks that came from the Detroit underground at the time. Muro's been giving us amazing collections for many years, and this one is no exception – a fantastic demonstration of his magical ear, as he makes his way through cuts that include "The Wok" by Wendell Harrison, "Ode To Africa" by Harold McKinney, "Why Don't Love Make Everything Right" by Cosmic Force, "Ginseng Love" by Wendell Harrison, "Freedom Jazz Dance" by Harold McKinney, "For Real" by Doug Hammond, "Glue Fingers (part 2)" by Marcus Belgrave, "Vibes From The Tribe (prelude)" by Phil Ranelin, "What We Need" by Wendell Harrison & Phil Ranelin, "In The Moog" by Harold McKinney, "Farewell To The Welfare" by Wendell Harrison & The Tribe, "Wake Up Brothers" by Doug Hammond, "Sounds From The Village" by Phil Ranelin, and "Belle Isle" by Wendell Harrison.  ~ Dusty Groove

Nicholas Brust | "Daybreak"

Heralded as one of the premiere saxophonists of his generation, Boston-based Nicholas Brust has established his voice, both as an instrumentalist and a composer, in the world of modern instrumental music. He has found his niche as a bandleader and composer, taking advantage of the numerous textures and combinations available in small-group improvised music, evident on his new recording, Daybreak, featuring Brust with guitarist Lage Lund, pianist Julia Chen, bassist Rick Rosato and drummer Gary Kerkezou. The album was released on Outside In Music on February 17, 2023. 

Daybreak is the follow up recording to Brust’s debut full-length album, Frozen in Time, released on Fresh Sound in 2020. The album has received international critical acclaim from All About Jazz, Jazz Journal UK, Modern Jazz Today, Rootstime Music, and the Jazz Quad, among many others. Marc Philiips of Part-Time Audophile exclaimed, “It’s as if one of your favorite movie stars from long ago suddenly started telling you about all the secrets of the universe.” 

Nicholas Brust has a crystalline sound, imbued with a life force, vitality and exuberance that is addictive. As Dan Bilawsky stated in All About Jazz, "this leader's skills and solid intuition move beyond his writing and performing, as his personnel choices also reflect excellent taste." Indeed, his band is in lockstep with him throughout every tune on Daybreak, making for an elevated listening experience. Brust and his music sound at once completely familiar and brand new; in the tradition, while breaking new ground. He is influenced by the likes of Pat Metheny, Brian Blade, George Coleman, Robert Glasper, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Kenny Garrett, and Roy Hargrove, among others, and he seems to have taken the best qualities of these stalwarts and forged them into his own elements. “Not only does Brust impress with his versatile playing, but he reveals a flair for composition that sufficiently nods to tradition without the usual predictable patterns, finding a nice balance with more modern jazz sensibilities. He delivers a colorful well-conceived debut that already has us anticipating his next recording,” said Jim Hines in Making A Scene.

New Music Releases: Max Kaplan & The Magics, Ghost Jazz Trio, Dean Mucetti & Rhythm Real, Dee Lucas

Max Kaplan & The Magics  - Mind On My Heart

Max Kaplan & The Magics are the newest generation of Memphis-based bands that captures the essence of the city's rich musical heritage. With soulful guitar leads and a tight rhythm section, the band creates a fresh and original sound that harks back to the sonic landscape of funky Motown and Stax era soul mixed wit h guitar-driven blues of the 1960s. With influences ranging from B.B. King to Leon Bridges, James Brown to Alabama Shakes, and Al Green to The Staples Singers, Kaplan’s music is a perfect blend of old-school soul and modern-day energy. The band’s debut album ‘Mind on my Heart’ is a testament to the band’s deep-rooted love of this linage though the sweet soul waltz “What Kind of Fool” to the upbeat and danceable “Born to Love You.” The band pays homage to one of their favorite soul tunes “99 Pounds” Ann Peebles that has become a fan favorite during their live performances. ‘Mind on My Heart’ is a promising debut that’s perfect for anyone who holds a special place in their heart for nostalgic Memphis-soul music looking to experience it through an exciting new lens.

Ghost Jazz Trio - Groovin' Smooth

After decades leading numerous jazz fusion bands, guitarist/composer/producer James Morgan’s decision to launch his own brand of “West Coast Laid Back Jazz” via the Ghost Jazz Trio has been a spectacular success, including two 'Best Jazz Album of the Year' nominations from the San Diego Music Awards. Recently upgraded from a trio to a funky, hard-poppin’ quintet, the latest full-length jam Groovin' Smooth is an infectious, rhythm-centric showcase for Morgan’s fluid style and the natural wood vibe of his Pat Metheny hollow body signature guitar. Everything is colored, of course, by the skillful and adventurous ensemble of seasoned musicians featuring legendary guitarist (album co-writer, arranger and producer) Dean Brown (Bob James, David Sanborn), bassist Nathan Brown (Bob James, Eric Marienthal, Brian Simpson), keyboardist Chase Pado and holding down the groove, Tres Hodgens on drums. Engineered and recorded by Grammy winner Alan Sanderson (Elton John, Michael Jackson, Rolling Stones).  ~ www.smoothjazz.com

Dean Mucetti & Rhythm Real - Isolate/Integrate

Like most young musicians setting out to learn their craft, drummer Dean Mucetti had plans to earn a living playing music. Little did he know he would become a full-time music educator and a mentor to many young people who may not have had access to a music education otherwise. Mucetti is now releasing his debut album, Isolate/Integrate, with his band called Rhythm Real, which has featured some of his students who have grown up to become top-notch musicians. Isolate/Integrate comprises six songs constructed collectively by the band with Mucetti at the helm. When Covid shut down live performances, Mucetti and the band decided to focus on creating an album. The title of the album, Isolate/Integrate, reflects the trajectory of the pandemic, from the isolation of the lockdown to the methods they used to construct the music. The rhythmic structures of the six compositions on the album were developed over time and were set down as through composed orchestrations with Williams on piano and Hargrove on keys improvising over the complex polyrhythms. Dean Mucetti’s love of drumming and his commitment to teaching and mentoring have helped turn young, aspiring musicians into genuine artists, as reflected on this release. Isolate/Integrate is a funky jazz outing with fascinating complex polyrhythms and a unique instrument configuration.

Dee Lucas - No Boundaries

Fresh off his 2022 Soul Café Radio Indie Soul Awards nomination, versatile saxophonist Dee Lucas – closing in on 20 years as a recording artist – is set on fulfilling a dual mission as he releases his wildly eclectic, genre pushing new album No Boundaries. First, he’s committed to creating music as a coping mechanism for others, which in turn brings joy to his listeners. Second, reflective of the project’s theme, to make music that evolves with less restrictions and expectations. While keeping his infectious melodies and lyrical, ever-grooving horn vibe front and center, Lucas’ outside the box/comfort zone vision leads to an expansive palette of expressions, tapping into his cross-pollinating passions for pop, rock, funk, R&B and jazz and inspiring interactions with Blair Bryant, Gino Rosaria, Selina Albright, David P. Stevens and Ragan Whiteside.  ~ www.smoothjazz.com

deVon Russell Gray, Nathan Hanson, Davu Seru | "We Sick"

Performed and recorded in a church just across the street from the Minnesota State Capitol on December 28th, 2020,  only weeks after Minneapolis police murdered George Floyd, We Sick is a record of staggeringly emotional improvised music, full of contemplation, fear, and fury. deVon Russell Gray's (aka dVRG) piano haunts the corners and cornices and interweaves with Nathan Hanson's lyrical saxophone. Davu Seru's drumming finds its place masterfully everywhere outside of and in between these two other elements, propelling, pulling, and singing. We Sick is a dance and a statement; it will appeal to fans of any work associated with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), of which Seru is an affiliate. Cetainly Roscoe Mitchell's playing comes to mind, as do certain selections from Muhal Richard Abrams' Things to Come from Those Now Gone. But We Sick is not simply an echo of musics of the past. It is in fact made, fundamentally, from the materials of the present moment.

In his 1963 speech, “The House Negro and the Field Negro” Malcolm X assigns blame to those in his time who show concern for a master class whom he believes, on sound reason, does not deserve it. Why not just care for yourself?

We Sick thinks backwards through this reasoning to the Word of all Adam's children, received through the power of Eve’s vulnerable questioning. We think that we are all –– insofar as we serve anything beyond ourselves –– both master and servant. We remember that we embody both power and vulnerability; we remember that we have been contaminated, sullied, corrupted, sinner-saints from the karmic jump. We point to this Malcolm in order to point away, since he would keep transforming before being deemed impure and dispatched back to paradise. We take responsibility for being bad at purity, which is to say we each vow: “I take responsibility for this life.” Like the choice to submit to vaccination, or sound. The music of We Sick is surrender: lyricism as it moves from interior to exterior, moaning within the living space of a sanctuary. The sanctuary recorded here–a church 150 years old and rendered vacant by COVID–became an ensemble member through its acoustics and ambiance.

We recorded together on December 28, 2020 weeks after police murdered George Floyd and several months into the coronavirus pandemic and quarantine. Across the street from our sanctuary, the National Guard surrounded the Minnesota State Capitol. Their heavily armed presence provided a tangible reminder of the old dharma that house is field, white is Black and that–without question–we sick.

The music made that day reflects the feelings of isolation from community, hunger for justice, and the weariness of the wait. We offer it to you as a humble confession and renewed covenant.

Das Kondensat | "Andere Planeten"

Saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist and composer Gebhard Ullmann continues his 65th birthday celebration with the April 7, 2023 release of Andere Planeten, the latest experiment from Das Kondensat, on WhyPlay Jazz. The uncategorizable electro-acoustic trio with bassist Oliver Potratz and drummer/synth player Eric Schaefer expands for their third outing with guest keyboardist Liz Kosack.

Andere Planeten is the final of three wildly exploratory and staggeringly diverse new releases Ullmann released as part of his birthday celebrations. The indefatigable Berlin-based musician continues to strike out in new directions, searching relentlessly to discover new sounds, new territory and new forms for his ever-inventive improvisatory ventures. The first two albums were released on the big day itself, November 4, 2022. They included NotTwo Records release of For New Zealand, the second album from The Chicago Plan, Ullmann’s transatlantic quartet co-led by the saxophonist and trombonist Steve Swell with Windy City mainstays Fred Lonberg-Holm on cello, electronics and Michael Zerang on drums. Also out last November, this time via Leo Records, was Transformations and Further Passages, the sixth recording from The Clarinet Trio, Ullmann’s long-running collaboration featuring fellow reedists Jürgen Kupke and Michael Thieke.

There don’t seem to be rules to break where Das Kondensat is concerned. The experimental project spent eight years simply developing an aural vocabulary before entering the studio for their 2017 debut. The boundary-free project has only further evolved since; the title Andere Planeten (Other Planets) not only indicates the alien soundworld of the newly expanded quartet, but references the seismic impact of Arnold Schoenberg’s second string quartet.

Born November 2, 1957 in Bad Godesberg, Germany, tenor and soprano saxophonist, bass clarinetist, flutist, bass flutist and composer Gebhard Ullmann has been considered one of the leading personalities in both the Berlin and international music scenes. Hailed as “one of the finest improvising artists in the world” by the late piano master Paul Bley, Ullmann has recorded well over 60 albums over the course of his career, leading or co-leading a number of eclectic ensembles that blur the lines between jazz, free improvisation, contemporary classical, chamber music and electronica. Ullmann’s most recent accolades include the 2022 Deutscher Jazzpreis for woodwinds, the highest honor for the music in his home country; as well as seeing his compositions distributed by Vienna’s Universal Edition, one of the world’s most respected classical music publishers.

His working bands are the transatlantic projects Basement Research, The Chicago Plan and Conference Call, the Berlin-based Clarinet Trio, the electro-acoustic trio Das Kondensat, the worldwide first quarter-tone-piano-quartet mikroPULS, the electro-acoustic quintet GULFH of Berlin and the low drone project BassX3. He is also a member of the Hannes Zerbe Jazz Orchestra, the Scott DuBois Quartet, the Satoko Fujii Berlin Orchestra, and projects led by vocalist Vesna Pisarovic ad Russian sax genius Alexey Kruglov. As a composer he’s written several chamber music pieces including two string quartets and several solo pieces for woodwind instruments, along with larger works for classical orchestra and a new score for the 1929 movie Berliner Stilleben, directed by László Moholy-Nagy. His compositions are now distributed by Universal Edition, Vienna. Ullmann has recorded or performed with such luminaries as Paul Bley, Han Bennink, William Parker, Barry Altschul, Bob Moses, Keith Tippett, Trilok Gurtu, Andrew Cyrille, Sylvie Courvoisier, Lee Konitz, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Willem Breuker, Matt Wilson, Tyshawn Sorey, Mark Helias, George Schuller, the European Radioorchestra, and many others.

Dominic Miller | "Vagabond"

Dominic Miller has been called “a great, serene storyteller” by Peter Ruedi in the Swiss weekly Weltwoche, and Vagabond, the guitarist’s third recording for ECM, might prove his most poetic tale to date. After Dominic’s debut Silent Light (2017), which captured the guitarist in solo performances with occasional percussive injections by Miles Bould, Absinthe (2019) found him expand his subtle instrumental sketches in a quintet lineup. For Vagabond the guitarist has partnered up with Ziv Ravitz on drums and Swedish pianist Jacob Karlzon, while long-time collaborator Nicolas Fiszman returns on bass. Continuing in the collective spirit of his last album, here Dominic finds new ways to present his distinct approach in deeply felt quartet interplay.

“It’s never been my intention to make a guitar album,” says Dominic. “Thanks to the amazing singers I’ve worked with over the years I see myself more as an instrumental songwriter. And as they do, I see it my mission to surround myself with the best musicians who understand the narratives in the ‘songs’. I’m happy to have assembled the right lineup here with Vagabond.”

The album is named after the eponymous poem by English poet John Masefield, which was very dear to Dominic’s late father. Dominic: “Although I don’t see myself as a vagabond I do identify with people who travel, preferring this lifestyle to staying in one place, seeing the same people every day.”

For the music’s inception and development throughout 2020/2021, however, the guitarist had little opportunity for travel and instead focused on his immediate environment in southern France, his adopted home now for several years, where he wrote the new songs. “Naturally I was influenced by my surroundings. I went on many long and solitary walks and the countryside somehow became my collaborator on this album. ‘Vaugines’ is a beautiful small village I would walk through. ‘Clandestine’ refers to a hidden bar I would occasionally meet some locals. ‘Mi Viejo’ simply means my old man, my father.”

On Vagabond these personal connotations are translated to highly reflective musical landscapes, sometimes openly and immediately conveyed as in the dramatic crescendo of “All Change," but more often than not veiled in a softer approach, as in the wistful changes offered on “Cruel But Fair” or the searching exchanges of “Open Heart." Each of Dominic’s collaborators gets more than a word in in the process – the guitarist providing a framework for Ziv, Jakob and Nicolas to spread out in. A fruitful approach, resulting in the slow-burning groove of “Altea”, with drums and piano in telepathic synchronicity with each other, or the mesmerizing balladry of “Lone Waltz," with each player building dynamic momentum.

“As with every album of mine, I like to change the lineups which always encourages me to go in a different direction” explains Dominic. “Once the pieces were written I invited the musicians to spend three days with me in the south of France playing through these tunes learning their structures and melodies. Then we went to the studio where I wanted them to be set free around these arrangements and the result is a strong improvisatory element to all the titles.”

The foursome – each musician a skilled leader in his own right – has a knack for balancing deep grooves with subtle interplay, weaving pastel shades into delicate harmonic changes as they chart a ruminative path through the program. The album was recorded in the south of France in April 2021 and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Born in Argentina to an American father and Irish mother, Miller was raised in the U.S. from age 10 and then educated there and in England. The guitarist’s international mindset has only been deepened through decades touring the globe, working with the likes of Paul Simon, The Chieftains, Plácido Domingo and, most often, Sting. Miller has long been known as the latter’s right-hand man on guitar – and co-writer of “Shape of My Heart,” among others. “I’ve been influenced by Sting’s lateral sense of harmony and how he forms songs,” the guitarist says. “I try to do the same by creating a narrative with instrumental music, which I treat and arrange as songs, with verses, choruses, bridges. I’ve absorbed a lot from him about concept and arrangement, as well concision in telling a story.”

With Vagabond, Swedish pianist Jacob Karlzon makes his ECM debut. He has performed alongside the likes of Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone and Billy Cobham, though his main current musical outlet is his piano trio with bassist Morten Ramsbøl and drummer Rasmus Kihlberg, with which he has released two studio albums.

Over the past two decades Ziv Rvitz has established himself as one of the most prominent jazz drummers of his generation, performing and recording alongside Shai Maestro, Oded Tzur and most recently Lionel Loueke. He has appeared on ECM as part of Avisahi Cohen’s groups on Big Vicious and Naked Truth.

A much sought-after jazz bassist who initially studied jazz guitar under Philippe Catherine, Nicolas Fiszman has played with everyone from Sting and Charles Aznavour Alphonse Mouzon and Angélique Kidjo. Since 2005 he has been a fixture in Dominic Miller’s groups.

Chet Baker | "Blue Room: The 1979 VARA Studio Sessions in Holland"

Jazz Detective, the label founded in 2022 by GRAMMY-nominated archival producer Zev Feldman, will release Blue Room: The 1979 VARA Studio Sessions in Holland, a superlative, previously unreleased set of studio performances recorded in Holland by legendary trumpeter Chet Baker, as a limited two-LP set on Record Store Day April 22. The package will be issued as a two-CD set and digital download on April 28.

 The collection — co-produced by Feldman and Frank Jochemsen and released in partnership with Elemental Music — comprises a pair of brilliantly played dates cut for Dutch radio KRO-NCRV in Hilversum, the Netherlands, by producers Edwin Rutten and the late Lex Lammen in 1979: an April 10 session with pianist Phil Markowitz, bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse, and drummer Charles Rice, and a November 9 session with pianist Frans Elsen, bassist Victor Kaihatu, and drummer Eric Ineke. Both occasions found Baker playing (and, on three tracks, singing) in exceptional form.

Blue Room’s extensive booklet includes an overview by Dutch journalist Jeroen de Valk; essays by Feldman, Jochemsen and Rutten; interviews with sidemen Markowitz, Rassinfosse, and Ineke; and tributes from trumpeters Randy Brecker and Enrico Rava and pianist Enrico Pieranunzi. The collection is illustrated with photos by Veryl Oakland, Jean-Pierre Leloir, Christian Rose and others. The package was mastered for vinyl by the great engineer Bernie Grundman and Dutch engineer Marc Broer.

The album succeeds Jazz Detective’s inaugural offerings, two volumes of widely-praised live performances by pianist Ahmad Jamal, issued as Emerald City Nights on Record Store Day’s Black Friday last year. Feldman — who produced the Chet Baker Trio’s Live in Paris for Elemental Music last year for label

partners/executive producers Jordi Soley and Carlos Agustin Calembert  — previously joined with Jochemsen to explore the Dutch archives for Bill Evans’ Behind the Dikes (Elemental Music, 2021) and Another Time: The Hilversum Concert (Resonance Records, 2017) and Sonny Rollins’ Rollins in Holland (Resonance Records, 2020).

Feldman says of the present package, “It was thrilling to find these two sessions where we can hear Chet in fantastic form with a great cast of supporting musicians. It represents a welcome addition to Chet’s discography, as he spent much of his time in Europe; a delightful find that we all felt strongly deserved a chance to see the light of day.”

Jochemsen — who unearthed the ’79 sessions on a tip from radio producer Lex Lammen, who supplied the researcher with detailed notes before his death in 2018 — says, “These two sessions by Chet Baker were both recorded in 1979 in brilliant stereo for the radio program ‘Nine O’Clock Jazz.’ As if this wasn’t enough, the music was recorded in the fantastic VARA studio 2 by the brilliant technician Jim Rip and, moreover, all of this music is of high artistic quality and has never been released before!”

 Rutten, who offers a track-by-track look at both ’79 recording sessions, recalls fondly, “The beauty of being a jazz producer is that you can give yourself birthday presents even when it’s not your birthday. Gifts in the form of the best jazz from the Netherlands and from way beyond….The first tones [of Baker’s version of “Nardis”] started unwrapping my birthday present.”

Baker’s sidemen Markowitz, Rassinfosse, and Ineke reflect on the sometimes challenging task of supporting the notoriously eccentric Baker, but all walked away from the experience impressed by the high level of his performances.

“It was an incredible honor to play with him,” says Markowitz, who supplied masterful support and solos. “I’m grateful for the lessons I learned with him back then…This recording is really great. Chet Baker’s fans are going to be absolutely thrilled because he sounds unbelievable on this recording.”

His session partner Rassinfosse, whoworked behind Baker from 1976 to 1985, adds, “Chet’s playing is amazing on these tapes. He was in very good shape. He had good chops on these recordings….Being able to record with Chet Baker was an honor. I learned half of what I know in music through Chet Baker.”

Both Brecker and Rava offer thoughts on the deep influence Baker’s playing had on their own styles with his acute melodic sense and economy of expression.

Brecker, who studied Baker’s recording of “My Funny Valentine” when he was learning to play, says, “Boy, he got to the heart of the instrument like nobody else. You hear him and you want to take everything from his playing, his whole conception, his sound, his melodic content. He was really an improviser. He played off the melody and he played what he heard. To this day, I try to use all those elements. I try to keep him and five or six other trumpet players in the back of my mind when I play. I especially try to concentrate on playing less, rather than more. I am constantly using his example to try to get to the core of the matter, get to the essence.”

Rava says the trumpeter’s recordings with Gerry Mulligan were “my introduction to modern jazz. It was so beautiful, but also easy to understand. For a European, it had the logic of a Bach fugue with the soul of jazz….Chet created pure beauty. Doing what he did, everyone loved him. There was no way you could escape it. He was totally committed. He played music as if it was his last night in this world. Every note he played was essential. He taught everybody not to play too many notes; to play only the necessary notes.”

 Rava’s countryman Pieranunzi, who backed the musician on his Italian dates of 1979, says, “When I met Chet, everything turned upside down. I saw I had to cut to the essentials because Chet’s phrasing was so essential, so amazingly lyrical, musical, smart, logical. I began to feel that something was wrong with my playing. I had to change everything. I had to really go toward what was truly essential.”

Summing up Baker’s impact in his overview, writer de Valk says, “Almost 35 years after his passing, Chet Baker continues to reach our hearts and our heads. He touches our hearts with his mellow sound and melodic approach and enters our heads with his adventurous improvisations.”

Sam Bardfeld Trio | "Refuge"

Violinist and composer Sam Bardfeld proudly announces the release of his new trio album, Refuge, the follow up to the critically-acclaimed The Great Enthusiasms, his second for Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records, and his fourth as a bandleader. On Refuge, available March 24, 2023, Bardfeld once again called upon the eclectic, multifaceted propulsion of drummer Michael Sarin, and welcomes into the fold, the virtuosic and creative pianist Jacob Sacks. 

A refuge is a haven, not an escape. It’s a space to exercise one’s idiosyncrasies. This album serves that purpose for Bardfeld, Sarin and Sacks. It also serves as further expression of Bardfeld’s penchant for the tradition of “weird” iconoclasm in American music. It is no accident that critics place Bardfeld in this tradition of Monk, Ives, and Stuff Smith. As Bardfeld states, “It is one of humanity’s great cultural feats. The joy, the darkness, and the eccentricity of American culture are our birthrights, our refuge.” 

The music on Refuge follows a similar line to its predecessor, The Great Enthsusiams. It is at once lyrical, quirky, forward-looking, and deeply rooted in tradition. Bardfeld’s playing swings hard and integrates abstraction and expressiveness. One can hear references to a wide range of musicians stretching from Stuff Smith, Lee Konitz, and Eric Dolphy to 'post-jazz' contemporaries like Mary Halvorson. Sacks is an excellent harmonic partner and his piano virtuosity and off-kilter sense of humor fit perfectly into Bardfeld’s world. Sarin brings his tremendous gifts for orchestration, musical wit, sympathetic dialogue, and overall intelligence. The unusual instrumentation, with no bass, creates extra harmonic and textural space and adds intimacy to Bardfeld's unique compositions. 

In addition to five new Bardfeld compositions, the trio covers two songs that fit the theme - Andrew Hill’s ‘Refuge’ and Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Atlantic City.’ Bardfeld explains, “Andrew Hill has been called ‘one of the great overlooked geniuses of jazz’ because of his commitment to a singular, unconventional voice - a personal language that, like that of his hero Monk, is angular, lyrical, and harmonically unique. ‘Refuge’ is the opening track of his magnum opus, Point of Departure (1964). The song ‘Atlantic City’ is a personal favorite among Springsteen’s recordings (from his 1982 Nebraska album). It is a vision of hope and refuge in a noir world. As the chorus states, ‘everything dies, baby, that’s a fact, but maybe everything that dies someday comes back.’ Bardfeld had the pleasure of recording and performing this song on tour with Springsteen and it stuck with him. 

Both Bardfeld’s playing and writing for this trio are unique and Sacks and Sarin inhabit his musical universe beautifully. Sam is a teller of musical stories that are odd, poignant, lyrical, and in the American tradition. He says, “As there is community in the expression of shared joy, there is community in weird, personal, iconoclastic stories and voices. With America’s recent flirtation with autocracy, these stories are more salient now than ever.” 

Bardfeld holds a unique niche in the jazz violin world with his fluency in inside, outside, and downtown worlds. He is a rarity in being both an accomplished jazz violinist and a true artist with a unique improvisational and compositional voice. Outside of his own trio, Bardfeld is a member of The Jazz Passengers and a semi-frequent collaborator of Bruce Springsteen's (a veteran of three recordings and two tours). He has worked as a sideman for a long list of jazz, pop, folk and experimental acts including Anthony Braxton, Henry Butler, Kris Davis, John Zorn, Ingrid Laubrock, Tomeka Reid, Steven Bernstein, Roy Nathanson, Hank Roberts, Vince Giordano, Elvis Costello, Calexico, Debbie Harry, John Cale, Savion Glover, The Red Clay Ramblers, Nancy Sinatra, Willie Colón, Johnny Pacheco, and Dar Williams, among others. Sam is also the author of Latin Violin, considered the seminal text on the Afro-Cuban violin tradition. Bardfeld has taken his groups to festivals and clubs throughout Europe including Banlieues Bleues (Paris), Sud-Tirol Jazz Festival (Italy) and Porgy and Bess (Vienna). 

On top of the release of Refuge on March 25, 2023, new collaborative/sideman projects this year include being asked by MacArthur Grant recipient Tomeka Reid to participate in a new string quartet dedicated to performing the music of Julius Hemphill. The Hemphill Stringtet debuted in 2022 with appearances at the Berlin Jazz Festival, and the Frequency Festival in Chicago. Bardfeld has also joined a new collaborative trio with jazz legend, drummer Barry Altschul and bassist Joe Fonda.

André Carvalho | "Lost In Translation Vol. II"

Double Bassist and composer André Carvalho, originally from Lisbon, Portugal and residing in NYC since 2014, is proud to present his fifth recording as a leader, Lost In Translation Vol. II, to be released April 7, 2023 on the prestigious label, Clean Feed, and featuring internationally acclaimed musicians, saxophonist José Soares & guitarist André Matos. 

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

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

Described by Carvalho as a, “contemplative, intimate and at the same time, a rough album”, this sequel is comprised of seven new compositions by Carvalho, and one by André Matos, where improvisation, spontaneity and timbre-textural exploration are at the center of the trio’s sound. Returning to the idea that learning untranslatable words can be a bridge between cultures, the new album features compositions inspired by words from languages such as Farsi, Hausa or Finnish.

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

With performances scheduled at the Grândola Jazz Festival (March 31st), Centro Cultural de Belém (April 1st), TBA Braga (July 7th), and The Hot Clube de Portugal, Lisbon, (August 10, 11 & 12), the new album has the support of Antena2, Companhia de Actores and Teatro Municipal Amélia Rey Colaço. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Tiago de Sousa, Carvalho will also release several videos of the trio made by Pedro Caldeira and with photography by João Hasselberg and assistance by Martim Torres. 

Carvalho also shares that, because this subject is so special to him, he is working on a documentary with director Pedro Caldeira, which will involve the contributions of various linguists, anthropologists, psychologists, as well as accompanying the trio from its genesis to the recording and music performance.

William Carn | "Choices"

William Carn is one of Canada’s leading contemporary jazz trombonists and composers. Together with his wife, saxophonist Tara Davidson, he has released three critically acclaimed albums with their Juno nominated band Carn Davidson 9. He is also a member of Ernesto Cervini’s Juno winning six-piece group Turboprop. CHOICES – his latest release – is the culmination of 2+ years of work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a major stylistic departure.

When the global lockdowns transpired in March 2020 (and persisted over the next two years), the sudden loss of all performing, touring, and recording was an unfortunate new reality for musicians worldwide. Carn saw these circumstances as an opportunity  to explore a different means of making music on his own. This technologically driven endeavour led to the music heard on CHOICES. This collection was conceived, composed, and recorded at Carn’s home, and recorded from the respective homes of the guest musicians he invited to contribute to the project. With the help of  Toronto producer HiFiLo (aka Todd Pentney), this recording was augmented, edited, and mixed remotely as well. 

The compositions on CHOICES were all inspired by various major events from the past two and a half years: the fear of the unknown, BLM & HK protests, the war in Ukraine, the passing of their beloved eldest cat, as well as general feelings of gratitude and love.  The two central themes of this recording: Reaction and Reflection.  

William Carn: keyboards, vocals, trombones

HiFiLo (aka Todd Pentney): keyboards (2-5)

William Sperandei: trumpet (2,4)

Kelly Jefferson: tenor saxophone (2)

Jesse Ryan: alto saxophone (4)

Ernesto Cervini: drums (2)

Larnell Lewis: drums (4)

Davide DiRenzo: drums (6)

Avi Granite 6 | "Operator"

Months after the release of his widely celebrated album In Good Hands, seasoned NYC based improviser, composer, and guitarist Avi Granite has delivered another adventurous album of original music, this time with his mainstay Toronto-based project Avi Granite 6. A follow up to their critically acclaimed 2018 release Orbit, the group presents their most succinct and focussed studio recording to date: Operator. 

Operator is about perseverance in the face of disruption. It’s about connectivity, communication, otherness, and what brings people together. 

The group navigates Granite’s compositions with a fine tuned sensitivity, finding improvisational launchpads at every turn, while retaining a clarity of ensemble unity. From the energetic opener Crushing Beans, to the soaring ballad My Sunken Ship; from the funky Ubiquitous Miles to the grind of The Long Tomorrow, Operator takes the listener on an expansive journey through the group’s thematic explorations. 

The recording finds the 6 in top form, as they recorded Operator fresh off of a tour in Nov. 2019. Stunted by the pandemic, the album will finally see the light of day in February 2023. The release will be accompanied by a tour across Canada this winter. 

“If ever there was a launchpad to immerse oneself in Canada’s creative jazz and vibrant scene, Toronto guitarist and composer Avi Granite is the ideal place to start… The results are truly a revelation…”

Brad Cohan, JazzTimes Magazine

Tina Hartt | "Absence Of You"

Tina Hartt is a singer, composer and musician from Montreal. She has enjoyed a diverse singing career across Canada, including stints with rock bands and church choirs in Montreal, with big bands and jazz combos in Toronto, and work as an actor, singer, and dancer in Nova Scotia and PEI. Her first album was released way back in 2000 – she thought it would be her last. Luckily, life was generous enough to give her a second chance with 2023’s Absence of You.

In 2014 she moved west to Calgary, where she decided to focus her musical efforts on jazz. Returning to her french roots, she dusted off a few old french chansons and gave them new life by combining their inherent French romance with latin rhythms and jazz harmony. These elements are the foundation for her original music, and lend a freshness to her interpretations of jazz standards. 

Absence of You pays homage to the many factors that have influenced Hartt’s life and sound. Her mother was a painter whose preferred medium was water colour – for Hartt, she feels jazz allows her a similar freedom to “paint a little outside the lines” like her mother. Hartt herself is mother to two children, and it was their Venezuelan father who helped nurture and develop her love of latin music and culture. She quickly recognized that the French and Spanish share a common approach to life, full of intensity, mischief and an undeniable “joie de vivre” – all of which is reflected in her singing on this beautiful new album.

Jacques Kuba Séguin | "Parfum"

The trumpeter and composer Jacques Kuba Séguin begins a new cycle of creation with La trilogie des odeurs. Smell is the sense that has always appealed to him the most (after his hearing, of course.) But what if the two senses were more connected than we imagined? Both have the power to appeal to our subconscious, awakening deep memories that lie dormant in us and provoking a wide range of emotions. By combining olfactory memories with the soundtrack of our lives, Séguin has created a rich and evocative musical universe. Let yourself be guided by the music; follow the trail that leads to a rediscovery of the senses.

The first chapter, Parfum n°1, is inspired by the natural and raw materials that make up perfume. It explores the genesis of life. There are delicate references to childhood, particularly that first meeting between parent and a child, and the flurry of emotions that this brings to the surface, forming a string of deep and intimate memories.

Séguin’s previous record Migrations received both the 2020 Juno Award for solo jazz album and the 2020 Félix Award for jazz album of the year. Séguin has been making a name for himself on the national and international music scene with his projects for over fifteen years. This Polish-Canadian performs regularly in Poland with his ensembles, as well as with pianist Pawel Kaczmarczyk. His 7 album discography – including the recent Mikrokosmos EP with Norwegian musicians Jens Fossum, Hermund Nygård, and Anders Aarum – is available via ODD SOUND, the record label he founded.

Ally Fiola & The Next Quest feat. Jeff Coffin | "Interblaze"

Interblaze is the exciting new full-length album from Nova Scotian saxophonist and composer Ally Fiola. It considers themes of grief, wonder, fear, and passion through the exploration of one’s inner fire. The album includes seven of Fiola’s original compositions, and concludes with a tribute to her late grandfather. Also featured on this record are Grammy nominated saxophonist Jeff Coffin (Dave Matthews Band, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones), keyboardist Glenn Patscha (Bonnie Raitt), Kurdish rock guitarist Shvan Kaban, and a number of top-tier Nova Scotian musicians including co-producer and saxophonist, Chris Mitchell.  

Fiola’s music, with its quirky melodies, joyous grooves and unexpected twists and turns, is influenced by the music of Maceo Parker, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, and the New Orleans brass band tradition. An experienced film composer, Fiola’s music is emotionally charged, infused with personality, and is widely accessible. 

From the album’s title track, to Circular Beginnings, to Intuition, Fiola fuses a familiar funk style with a distinctive melodic sensibility and interwoven counterpoint. The New Orleans influence is evident on pieces like Back Track, and with her second line treatment of Amazing Grace. She demonstrates an ability to connect with a wide range of listeners with bittersweet compositions like the stripped down Rocket Sunrise and Thoughts of Home, which is defined by its compelling rock touch. Fiola strategically arranges the compositions on Interblaze to highlight the talents of the artists she has assembled for this project.

Redline Trio | "Underdog"

Redline Trio’s cohesiveness and musicianship is immediately evident upon first listen. Their musical concept is unabashedly straight ahead, bringing to life an attitude from a bygone era, but with a modern twist. Redline Trio is comprised of three mainstays of the Calgary jazz scene: Jeff Sulima on drums, Steve Shepard on bass, and Mark DeJong on tenor saxophone.

Over the course of the past six years, the trio has burnished its sound at the Calgary cocktail lounge Betty Lou’s Library, where they’ve been trio in residence. They’ve also undertaken several Western Canadian tours with guests, and after a few dates with Vancouver stalwart Brad Turner and NYC pianist Steve Hudson, they knew exactly what they were doing for their next record, and headed into the award-winning OCL Studios in Chestermere, Alberta to record Underdog.

Redline Trio has presented concerts at the National Music Centre King Eddy, cSPACE, artsPlace in Canmore, the Yardbird Suite in Edmonton, as well as at clubs in Vancouver, Nanaimo and Victoria. In addition to Turner and Hudson, the trio has also worked with Juno-award winners Brandi Disterheft, David Braid, and Mike Rud, as well as the poets Quincy Troupe (biographer of Miles Davis) and Sheri-D Wilson (a member of the Order of Canada.) 

Astrocolor – AstroJazz Vol. 1

Named Instrumental Artist of the Year at the 2022 Western Canadian Music Awards, Astrocolor blend elements of jazz, psychedelia, and electronica – resulting in an experimental genre of their own cosmic invention, aptly dubbed “AstroJazz.”

The new album Moonlighting – AstroJazz Vol.1 was Executive Produced and mixed by GRAMMY-winner Steve Christensen, best known as Khruangbin’s longtime producer and studio collaborator. Given Khruangbin’s significant cultural influence amongst modern instrumental-leaning projects, Christensen’s stamp of approval was not only a massive feather in Astrocolor’s cap, but also an opportunity to add his revered touch to the spacious soundscapes the band has been celebrated for.

Moonlighting imagines an exploratory trip into deep space, combining improvised experimentalism with hypnotic repetition that recalls the influence of late 90s electronic acts like Air, St. Germain, and Massive Attack. Engineered by Neil James Cooke-Dallin at Burning Rainbow Studios in Victoria, Canada, the album sprinkles moments of electronic stardust atop a traditional bed of live drums, bass, guitar, saxophone, and upright piano. The result is both meditative and interplanetary.

Astrocolor’s catalogue has over 10 million streams on the major platforms and regular national radio airplay from flagship CBC shows including Drive and Afterdark. The band’s dynamic live show has brought them to notable festivals including Bass Coast, Burning Man, Shambhala, Rifflandia, Laketown Shakedown, and the Victoria International Jazz Festival. 

Melissa Pipe Sextet | "Of What Remains"

Of What Remains is Montreal baritone saxophonist and bassoonist Melissa Pipe’s first release as a leader. It explores ideas around temporality: the shifting of time, form and being. The pieces form a whole, joining together fragmentation, symbiosis, distillation, evaporation, and transience, while looking at what is left behind, or what remains.

“The sextet’s instrumentation allows me to write in both traditional jazz ensemble configuration (trumpet and saxes with the rhythm section) and in a “chamber jazz” format,” says Pipe about choosing the unique instrumentation and writing for her sextet. “The additional colour, timbre and orchestration possibilities of the bassoon and the bass clarinet are particularly effective in infusing elements of classical and folkloric music into the pieces”. 

Her compositions here range from moody, atmospheric pieces to more traditional styles like a minor blues, but most tend to be on the darker, introspective side. “I write what I hear. Sometimes it starts with a bass line, a progression. Sometimes it’s a melody. The pieces on this album use a variety of jazz and classical compositional devices and techniques, but beyond the theoretical framework that I use to build its structures, harmonies, textures, etc. the most important thing for me is that it has to have soul. It has to be something my ear wants to hear. At times that can be something more modern, and at others something steeped in the jazz tradition: to me it goes beyond genres, it’s all about the soul of the thing.”

In addition to leading her own group, Pipe also performs regularly with jazz, hip hop, indie, and classical ensembles as a freelancer. She also had the honour of interviewing Yusef Lateef, whose playing and compositional style have greatly influenced her, for an article about his double reed playing which was published in The Double Reed, as well as on Lateef’s website. In 2014, she was invited to perform her arrangements of Charles Mingus pieces for bassoon quartet at the Jazz Standard in NYC alongside Michael Rabinowitz, Paul Hanson and Mark Ortwein, as part of the International Double Reed Society conference

BT ALC Big Band | "Hearing The Truth"

The might and muscle of a big band is in all those horns. And that magical power became a serious challenge when COVID restriction prevented BT ALC Big Band from being in the same room to record together. That scene was the inception of the fifth album by the Boston-based soul-jazz funksters, “Hearing The Truth,” which drops April 14 on the Vintage League Music label.

Band leaders Brian Thomas (trombone) and Alex Lee-Clark (trumpet) produced and arranged the collection of nine original compositions featuring special guest performances by G. Love (G. Love & Special Sauce), John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood), Adam Deitch (Lettuce), Karl Denson, two-time Grammy winner Eric Krasno, Nigel Hall (Lettuce) and Eric "Benny" Bloom. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s go back to that first recording date in 2020 and how they made it work.

As the pandemic spread fear, and civil unrest sparked disharmony, tension and anger, and the looming presidential election fanned the flames of division, Thomas penned “Bring Forth Change” for the band to record.

“This was the first tune we remotely recorded after the pandemic hit, and it really set the tone for what this album became. Brian (Thomas) is one of the most positive forces I’ve ever come across, and the way he willed this whole thing into existence was amazing, and definitely gave all of us musicians a spirit boost as the reality of the pandemic set in,” recalled Lee-Clark.

Recorded remotely and later pieced together, “Bring Forth Change” became the ethos of the album on the super funky track bolstered by an anthemic affirmation captured in this imaginative cartoon strip-like video (https://bit.ly/3mUFGnG).

Teaming with Soulive’s Alan Evans, BT ALC Big Band recorded and released the joint as a single followed by two more singles that year. The groovy “What Will You Do” spotlights Medeski on trippy keyboards and the retro hip “The Iguana” boasts Krasno’s guitar and Denson’s saxophone.

A couple years later, finally the horn sections were able to safely gather in person to finish the final six tracks. “Dimples” opens the album.

“There’s something on the melody on this one that feels like it could be on the ‘Superfly’ soundtrack. It’s upbeat, but there’s a lot of emotional depth to it, too. This tune was written for Brian’s wife, Annette, who has the warmest smile complete with eye-popping dimples that can be seen from across the room. This tune and the trombone solo to me are quintessential Brian Thomas - in the pocket, relentless but calm and full of character. Guitarist Steve Fell is also the perfect Swiss army knife of a soloist and elevates the entire band to an epic climax,” explained Lee-Clark.

The album’s tentpole is the title track. It’s a blues-based, storming organ number written by Lee-Clark that he says references James Brown & The J.B.’s classic sound. Amidst the chaos of instrumental voices vying for attention, the trombones burst forth to lay the foundation for guitarist Jeff Lockhart to shred. Recorded during a surge in the virus, the band was masked up during the studio session, but you can almost hear the joy in being able to play together live, which they’ll do on stage at an album release concert on the release date at Soundcheck Studios in Pembroke, Mass.

Lee-Clark wrote the tension filled “Here In This Cave” about the little room in his apartment where he “musically survived the worst of the pandemic.” Deitch’s “Egyptian Secrets” gets a big band makeover, taking on new dimensions in the hands of BT ALC Big Band. G. Love flows and rhymes on the Wu-Tang Clan-inspired “That Sound.”

Lee-Clark said, “We tried a more hip-hop process recording this than straight up big band while still being us. Dean (Johnston) played that drum groove for about two minutes straight, and we took the funkiest grouping we could find and made a loop out of it, building everything else off of that sound. (Jeff) Lockhart’s guitars were actually recorded at my house with the intention of chopping them up and making similar loops, but when I listened back, amazingly, the two independently recorded takes totally lined up into this really original, intertwining texture. I’ve never heard anybody with a more unique and impeccable musical understanding of what sounds right than Lock(hart).”

Sensing something was missing, Thomas and Lee-Clark decided to up the funk quotient by writing a Go-Go song for the disc. “Pound For Pound” is a party in which the solo spotlight is shared equitably while erupting into a “Soul Train”-line dance-off.

BT ALC Big Band’s previous outing, “The Search For Peace,” hit the year before the lockdown. The outfit debuted ten years ago with the “Superhero Dance Party” album. In addition to recording and playing gigs at clubs, theaters and festivals, Thomas and Lee-Clark are committed educators throughout the New England region where they teach clinics and workshops and perform with college and high school students throughout the East Coast. On a mission to create new potentialities for big bands in the modern era, Thomas and Lee-Clark acknowledge the influence of Duke Ellington and Count Basie in their crafty big band arrangements. They take the traditions of the past and fortify them with explosive soul power, Afrobeat culture, festive New Orleans nuance, and deft hip-hop beats and biting political commentary.

There’s so much soul and swagger throughout “Hearing The Truth,” but the most important element is BT ALC Big Band’s message. Lee-Clark delivers it.     

“This whole record was really written in the teeth of COVID, the 2020 presidential election, and the dizzying experience all of us Americans are feeling as we reckon with our past and decide as a country what we want to be in the future. Through all those growing pains, there is a lot of noise. Everywhere you turn, you're being inundated with new information, and it only seems to be getting faster. The music on this album is all about slowing down just enough to hear the truth in the noise. Plus, more plainly, ‘Hearing The Truth’ was written about Fox News, and all the charlatans on that network telling us not to believe the thing we're seeing with our own eyes.”