New Music Release: Christian Artmann | "The Middle Of Life"

Christian Artmann contemplates his, and our, moment in time with the June 2 release by Sunnyside Records of the aptly titled The Middle of Life. An introspective but highly emotional affair—with a sensitive quartet featuring pianist Laszlo Gardony, bassist John Lockwood, and drummer Yoron Israel adding their ruminations—the flutist/composer’s fourth album ponders the state of the world, both positive and negative, in both the personal and broad senses.

Like most of the world, San Francisco (by way of Germany and NYC)–based Christian Artmann found himself during the Covid lockdowns with empty space to take stock of life as it had been and was becoming. For him, though, that thoughtful aspect has not dimmed even as the world moved on from the pandemic. “In this time period for me, I find myself looking forward and backward,” Artmann says. “I’m very conscious of where I am, and of the value of life.”

The addition of regular collaborators (and Berklee College of Music colleagues) Gardony, Lockwood, and Israel—along with vocalist Elena McEntire, who appears on three tunes—brings depth and perspective to Artmann’s wondrous compositions and improvisations. It also creates an absolutely crackling chemistry. This is perhaps paradoxical for an album as mellow and contemplative as The Middle of Life. Nevertheless, the je ne sais quoi that passes between the musicians is unmistakable.

It’s also powerful, whether in the artful slow burn of “Turnaround,” the doleful “Twenty Seven,” or the steady-yet-fickle flow of the title track. The players shine as individuals, with Gardony working a fine solo turn on the troubled “Snow River,” both Lockwood and McEntire taking bravura turns on the classic samba standard “Paisagem da Janela,” and Israel doing arresting work on “The Middle of Life.”

Artmann is exemplary throughout, as strong a soloist on the stark "Lament for Ukraine" as on the bittersweet “Last Words.” Equally strong, however, is his work as a composer, arranger, and bandleader, leading his collaborators on The Middle of Life in a contemplative direction without sacrificing its deeply human core.

Christian Artmann was born May 12, 1975 in what was then Koblenz, West Germany. Although he was a child prodigy on the classical flute, performing at just 15 at the Aspen Music Festival in the United States, his parents tried to dissuade him from a career in music given their families’ struggles in postwar Germany. Artmann continued on anyway, even when he had to keep his obsessive studying and practicing a secret.

Although Christian Artmann made two recordings with pianist Philippine Duchateau (2007’s Good News and 2010’s Living Room, both released in 2017), his own leadership debut came with 2011’s self-released Uneasy Dreams. Fields of Pannonia arrived in 2015, followed by Our Story in 2018. The Middle of Life is his fourth album.

His clandestine passion for music continued into his years in higher education, with Artmann earning degrees at Princeton University (even as he whiled away his free time in the school orchestra) and Harvard Law School (while also studying composition and jazz performance at the nearby Berklee College of Music). He returned to Europe as accomplished on the flute as he was in academia—but even cosmopolitan Vienna couldn’t hold him for long, and Artmann came back to the States in 2005, moving to New York and beginning careers in both the corporate and creative worlds.

Reflecting on the album’s title, Artmann quotes a Buddhist poem: “’The world of dew is just a world of dew. And yet… and yet.’ What an amazingly succinct summary of our life! One fleeting moment in time, and yet so very valuable.” 

New Music Releases: Jonathan Butler, Billy Childs, Donald Byrd, Joe Chambers

Jonathan Butler - Ubuntu

Legendary singer and songwriter Jonathan Butler traveled back to his home country of South Africa to craft his most exciting and deeply personal album to date. Featuring producer and bassist Marcus Miller, Ubuntu is a reintroduction of Jonathan Butler’s life story, going back 60 years to his upbringing in apartheid-era Capetown, which shaped his world view, prompted years of advocacy and instilled the ideology of ‘Oneness’ (Ubuntu). Featuring special guests Keb’ Mo’ and Stevie Wonder, the new album serves both as a rebirth of musical creativity and reconciliation with systemically biased history to forge a brighter future.

Billy Childs - The Winds Of Change

For his third Mack Avenue Records release, 5-time GRAMMY® Award-winner Billy Childs has assembled an all-star quartet with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Brian Blade. On The Winds of Change, the critically acclaimed pianist/composer offers 5 brand new original compositions alongside exhilarating arrangements of Chick Corea’s “Crystal Silence” (originally on Corea’s 1972 ECM recording of the same name with vibraphonist Gary Burton) and Kenny Barron’s “The Black Angel” (originally on trumpeter Freddie Hubbard’s 1970 Atlantic recording of the same name) to push the creative boundaries of the group and inspire a collective new sound to pay homage to jazz legends and the artistry.

Donald Byrd - Live: Cookin’ with Blue Note at Montreux 

Donald Byrd’s dynamic 1973 live recording Live: Cookin’ with Blue Note at Montreux is out now in its first-ever official release. The legendary trumpeter was fresh off his hit crossover fusion album Black Byrd produced by Larry Mizell, but in a live setting the 10-piece band had a rawer edge as this searing set from the Montreux Jazz Festival attests. The set list includes Larry Mizell’s tune “Black Byrd” along with otherwise unrecorded Byrd originals and a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “You’ve Got It Bad Girl.” It's available now on Blue Note Store exclusive blue vinyl, black vinyl, CD & digital. Watch video of Byrd performing “Poco-Mania.”

Joe Chambers - Dance Kobina

Drummer, percussionist, vibraphonist, composer & Blue Note legend Joe Chambers returns with the release of Dance Kobina, which explores the deep musical connection between Jazz, Latin, Brazilian, Argentinian & African music. The album was recorded in both New York & Montreal with musicians including pianists Andrés Vial & Richard Germanson, bassists Ira Coleman & Mark Lewandowski, saxophonists Marvin Carter & Caoilainn Power, vibraphonist Michael Davidson, and percussionists Elli Miller Maboungou & Emilio Valdes Cortes. Hear the vibrant title track “Dance Kobina.”

French Caribbean artist Sebah's new album 'Speak With Your Heart'

Sebah grew up in the South of France and it was during his childhood that he started to play the guitar, surrounded by the music of the Caribbean via his grandfather who was an afro Caribbean singer and guitarist, as well as international pop music.

At fourteen he started his first rock group and also started to sing, covering a variety of bands such as Nirvana, and by the time he was eighteen he was listening to Bob, Marley, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Keziah Jones, Michael Jackson,Toots and The Maytals, Lenny Kravitz, Kassav, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder and Fela Kuti.

As an a young aspiring musician Sebah became part of many major French Reggae backing bands as a guitarist and singer which led him to do his first tours of France and Europe opening for his idols such as Toots Hibbert, Alpha Blondy, Max Romeo, The Skatalites, Julian Marley and Madness amongst others.

In the meantime he was also composing his own songs, with all the influences in his repertoire, slowly building his own identity without barriers, refusing to be stereotyped and performing his songs whenever he could on stage as well as in the street or in bars.

In 2016, Sebah released his first album called Unir Nos Forces (unite our strengths), a harmonious cocktail of Soul and World music within which he describes a world more open to each other where the basics of life are given again their value. Produced by Yovo M’Boueke (Bashtung, Amadou and Miriam, Alpha Blondy, Nneka) Sebah found himself surrounded by prestigious musicians such as Paco Séry (Marvin Gaye, Bobby McFerrin) and Richard Balengola (The Wailers, Papa Wemba) and it was supporting Imany that he produced his opus before an adoring public.

In 2019 Sebah returned to the studio and recorded “My friend” within which he shared his style with Jean Roussel a renowned keyboard player (Bob Marley, The Police, Joe Cocker, Toots and the Maytals).

In 2020 during the lockdown Sebah recorded “Generous Man” a soul/gospel tune which he offered to his fans for Christmas, a musical present which offered notes of hope for troubled times, and was to inspire the creation of his upcoming second album entitled Speak With Your Heart produced by Jeff ‘The Fish’ Lefroy and engineered by Guillaume Bouthié.

New Releases: London Brew (Benji B, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, & Others; MEB (Miles Electric Band); Louis Hayes, Daniel Bingert

London Brew (Benji B, Theon Cross, Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, & Others) - London Brew 

Heady work from this supergroup from the London jazz scene – a moody electric ensemble that was initially put together to explore the music of Miles Davis, but who have a soaring sound that's very much all their own. If you know the work of some of the players in the lineup, you'll instantly recognize that you're in very genre-breaking territory – a world past conventional jazz, served up with contributions from Nubya Garcia (sax) and Shabaka Hutchings (flute), Theon Cross (tuba), Nikolaj Torp Larsen (electronics and melodica), Raven Bush (violin and electronics), Dave Okumu (guitar), Benji B ( turntables and "sonic recycling"), and Tom Skinner (drums) and Dan See (percussion). The set was put together by Martin Terefe, who also plays guitar in the group – and the whole thing really takes off from early 70s Miles electric territory, on titles that include "Raven Flies Low", "Morning Prayers", "Bassics", "Miles Chases New Voodoo In The Church", and "London Brew". ~ Dusty Groove

MEB (Miles Electric Band) - That You Not Dare To Forget (2023 Record Store Day Release)

The electric years of Miles Davis have left a huge legacy in music – one that's referenced again and again, and continually revisited by generations of musicians, both young and old. Here, that legacy gets some especially nice treatment – by a group of artists who include some key collaborators with Miles in years back, plus other musicians too – in a project that even features two unreleased solo performance by Davis himself! Vince Wilburn Jr is the leader of the project, and players are almost far too many to mention here – so we'll just list a few – including Ron Carter, Vernon Reid, Wallace Roney, Bernard Wright, Stanley Clarke, Donald Harrison, Marcus Miller, Jeremy Pelt, John Scofield, and Lenny White – all working in deeply layered territory that definitely pushes the older electric mode forward. Titles include "Over My Shoulder", "Hail To The Real Chief (long version)", "Mellow Kisses", "That You Dare Not To Forget", and "Bitches Are Back". ~ Dusty Groove

Louis Hayes - Exactly Right

Louis Hayes is not just a great drummer, he's also a hell of a leader too – the kind that always seems to know how to pick the right players for a really special sort of sound – and create a vibe that really sets his records apart from the rest. That quality is definitely in place here – as Louis leads a cool quintet with Abraham Burton (tenor), Steve Nelson (vibes), David Hazeltine (piano), and Dezron Douglas (bass) – all leaders and all-stars on their own, but coming together here in a wonderfully cohesive group to express Hayes' vision. Years back, Louis worked with Horace Silver – and at some level, he's got a similar genius of his own in the front of a group – as you'll hear here on titles that include "Is That So", "Mellow D", "Nefertiti", "Ugetsu", "Scarborough Fair", "Exactly Right", and "So Many Stars". ~ Dusty Groove

Daniel Bingert - Ariba

One of the most unusual albums ever heard on the Moserobie label – and that's saying a lot, given the groundbreaking material the Swedish imprint has given us for almost 20 years! Daniel Bingert heads up a group that's very heavy on reed interplay, on a set of tunes that are Monkish at points, but also have some surprising funky touches – not in a conventional way, but at a level that really keeps things interesting! Moussa Fadera handles some plenty heavy drums, and gets bass accompaniment from Torbjorn Zetterberg – a player we always love, but who shows off a whole new side of his talents here. The reeds soar, cross, and sparkle – work from Per Texas Johansson (tenor and bass clarinet), Jonas Kullhammar (alto), and Charlie Malberg (baritone and piano). The leader Bingert also brings in some moog at times, and Karl Olanderson provides key work on trumpet – on titles that include "Tom Of Norway", "Mobley Phone", "Ulla My Dear", "Soul Nedgangen", "Kennet Lemur", and "Latin Good Times Spela Roll". ~ Dusty Groove

New Music Releases: Dewayne Pate, Gregory Abbott, Larry Coryell, Roberta Gambarini

Dewayne Pate - On The Upside

Bass player Dewayne Pate is so busy working as a sideman that it has taken him 14 years and a pandemic lockdown to find the time to record his second album as a leader. On The Updise comprises funk, blues, and fusion jazz tunes performed with a variety of instrumentations. Aside from being an in-demand bass player in the business, Dewayne Pate is also an accomplished composer and included five of his original compositions on this release. Pate is a master of many styles and has performed around the world with many top acts. Pate played the 4-string bass for most of his career but switched first to the 5-string and then the 6-string bass because he wanted to expand his musical vocabulary, especially for jazz and fusion gigs. Pate quips, “Whenever I show up for a blues gig with my 6-string bass, people look at me funny. But for those gigs, I just play it like a regular 4-string bass.” From jazz to fusion to Latin to funk to the blues, Dewayne Pate’s superb musicianship has been an essential component of so many different recordings and live performances that audiences may not have realized just how accomplished and versatile he is. On The Upside is a musically rich, formidable display of Pate’s talents as a composer.

Gregory Abbott - Whisper The Words ft. Chieli Minucci

Though Gregory Abbott’s classic, instantly recognizable 1986 hit single “Shake You Down” was a Billboard #1 pop/R&B smash with the distinction of reaching a million radio spins faster than any song in BMI history, the New York bred singer and songwriter is far from a one hit wonder. Drawing lightly exotic touches of inspiration from his Spanish and Caribbean roots, Gregory Abbott’s new single “Whisper the Words” offers a master class in infectious and lilting romantic island charm, with lyrical imagery to match its sweet musical tropicality. The Al Jarreau-flavored seduction features the hypnotic, sensually balmy acoustic playing of guitar great Chieli Minucci.  Beyond his other two Top 5 hits, he’s been releasing a steady stream of Urban/Smooth jazz friendly singles for over 20 years, including five since 2019.

Larry Coryell - Tricycles

A milestone in the discography of master guitarist Larry Coryell. Remixed and remastered from the original tapes exclusively for the Deluxe Edition by sound engineer Winnie Leyh, who has played a major role in the excellent sound of numerous IN+OUT releases. When a jazz trio in the worst possible physical condition manages an outstanding studio session, they must be exceptional musicians. Flu-ridden, Larry Coryell, Mark Egan and Paul Wertico completed their autumn tour of stormy Europe in 2002 and finally found themselves in a studio near Frankfurt to record this album. The Deluxe Edition was remixed and remastered from the original recordings and includes two previously unreleased bonus tracks. Musicians: Larry Coryell – guitar; Mark Egan – bass; and Paul Wertico – drums.

Roberta Gambarini - Easy to Love

IN+OUT Records releases Roberta Gambarini's debut album - for the first time on vinyl in a Limited Audiophile Signature Edition. With a lyrical singing style which shows commitment to the heritage of Monk, Gillespie and Benny Carter, Gambarini delights us with her début album, Easy to Love, recorded in L. A. Limited Audiophile Signature Edition is hand-numbered, artist signed, limited to 1999 copies worldwide and includes two bonus tracks. Musicians: Roberta Gambarini - vocals; James Moody - tenor sax & vocal; Tamir Hendelman - piano; Gerald Clayton - piano; and John Clayton - bass.

 

Craft Recordings relaunches reissue series Original Jazz Classics

Craft Recordings has announced the relaunch of Original Jazz Classics – the reissue series that faithfully presented more than 850 memorable jazz albums over three decades. First launched in 1982 under Fantasy Records, the imprint served as a home for the label’s impressive jazz catalog – which had grown to include thousands of celebrated titles from Prestige, Galaxy, Milestone, Riverside, Debut, Contemporary, Jazzland, and Pablo. Fantasy also had its own place in jazz history, beginning in 1949 with its very first signing, Dave Brubeck. The Bay Area label was also home to the likes of Cal Tjader, Gerry Mulligan, and Vince Guaraldi.

In the ’80s and ’90s, Original Jazz Classics became the go-to imprint for jazz reissues on vinyl, CD and cassette. Its extensive catalog not only boasted some of the most important albums ever recorded, but also long-out-of-print favorites – all of which featured original cover art and liner notes, as well as superior audio.  The previous Original Jazz Classics vinyl pressings are still praised and much sought after by jazz fans and audiophiles alike, who have gone to great lengths to document and share how to find the best-sounding pressings. However, with the relaunch of Original Jazz Classics, there is no need to search any longer.

Original Jazz Classics will relaunch with two of its foundational releases: the seminal Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet on April 28, followed by Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane on May 26. Both albums have been cut from the original master tapes (AAA) by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. Each LP is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI and housed in a replica of its original tip-on jacket. Additionally, Workin’ and Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane will be reissued digitally in 192/24 HD audio.

Culled from Miles Davis’ storied Prestige sessions with Rudy Van Gelder, 1960’s Workin' With the Miles Davis Quintet captures the trumpet player and his First Great Quintet at their peak. Assembled in 1955, the all-star line-up showcased the talents of Red Garland (piano), Paul Chambers (bass), and Philly Joe Jones (drums). Replacing Sonny Rollins on the tenor sax was a relatively unknown musician, named John Coltrane. For the two-year period that they were together, the quintet became the defining hard bop group, while their standing engagement at New York’s Café Bohemia was the hottest show in town. Between November 1955 and October 1956, the group recreated the magic of their live shows with three marathon sessions, which resulted in five exceptional albums for Prestige: Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet (1956), Cookin’ (1957), Relaxin’ (1958), Workin’ (1960), and Steamin’ (1961).

From poignant balladry to uptempo numbers, Workin’ offers a range of moods and material, including standards (Richard Rodgers’ “It Never Entered My Mind,” Dave Brubeck’s “In Your Own Sweet Way”), originals (Davis’ “Four” and Coltrane’s “Trane’s Blues” among them), and a trio number – Ahmad Jamal’s “Ahmad’s Blues.” Throughout, there’s a palpable sense of immediacy, as the deft interplay between the musicians takes center stage: from the excitement of a young John Coltrane to the informed, melodic swing of Red Garland; the tremendous snap and pop of the rhythm section; and Miles’ intense swing.

To add additional context to the importance of these Prestige sessions, the esteemed music historian Bob Blumenthal writes, “Davis understood the potential of the new, longer 12-inch album format, and used it to create definitive performances. . . . The key was contrast, which began with the juxtaposition of Davis’ concision, Coltrane’s complexity, and Garland’s sparkle; extended to the textural variety the rhythm section provided each soloist; and was capped by the distinctive range of the band’s repertoire.”

The second release in the series, Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane, pairs two of history’s most influential jazz artists. While they were at different stages in their careers when this 1957 session was recorded, they both possessed the same rebellious spirit – particularly when it came to pushing their craft to its limits. By the mid-’50s, Thelonious Monk was an established player in the New York scene, whose complex melodies and eccentric persona were often divisive. But the pianist was thriving – having signed with Riverside Records and secured a six-month residency at The Five Spot Café. John Coltrane, meanwhile, was about to release his debut as a leader, after years of being a supporting player with greats like Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. But the chance to play alongside Monk at the Five Spot was too good of an opportunity to pass up. What transpired that summer was historic. Luckily, some of that magic was caught on tape.

Long considered to be one of the greatest collaborations of all time, Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane is one of the few recordings that includes both jazz icons. Captured in July 1957, not long after the residency began, the session is comprised of Monk classics, including “Trinkle Tinkle,” “Monk’s Mood,” and “Epistrophy” (written with Kenny Clarke) – all performed in a variety of settings, including trios, septets, and quartets. Adding additional star power are such talented players as Art Blakey (drums), Wilbur Ware (bass), Gigi Gryce (alto sax), and Coleman Hawkins (tenor sax).

Speaking to the importance of Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane, AllMusic praises, “This will always be an essential item standing proudly among unearthed live sessions from Monk and Coltrane, demarcating a pivotal point during the most significant year in all types of music, from a technical and creative standpoint, but especially the jazz of the immediate future.” After the Five Spot residency ended, Coltrane and Monk went their separate ways – each reaching new creative heights and international acclaim in the process. But Coltrane never forgot those influential months with the pianist. As he later reflected, “working with Monk brought me close to a musical architect of the highest order. I learned from him in every way.”

President of Craft Recordings, Sig Sigworth says about the Original Jazz Classics series, “Given Craft’s shared passion for meticulous curation and quality, it was a natural step to relaunch Original Jazz Classics. Its popularity and iconic status have endured decades and many audio formats, but its mission remains the same. We are excited for longtime fans of the series to rediscover these historic titles as well as introduce them to an entire new generation of jazz fans.”

Upcoming reissues in the series include titles from Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Dave Brubeck, Mal Waldron and Yusef Lateef, with further details to be announced soon via craftrecordings.com.

Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield, Dick Oatts, Bruce Barth, Mike Boone and Justin Faulkner Pay Tribute to Philadelphia’s Iconic Jazz Composers on "Fly With the Wind"

The musicians that make up the jazz faculty of Temple University’s Boyer College of Music & Dance take their place in the jazz lineage seriously. While their day job entails shaping the next generation of innovators, they’re all renowned players, composers, and bandleaders in their own right. The membership of the Temple Jazz Sextet is such that this would be an all-star group without the renowned school’s imprimatur. The fact that trumpeter Terell Stafford, saxophonists Tim Warfield and Dick Oatts, pianist Bruce Barth, bassist Mike Boone and drummer Justin Faulkner unite so vibrantly under the university’s banner just goes to prove how important they deem its educational mission.

Fly With the Wind (their second release), is a thrilling tribute to the city and its place in that musical history. Released in April 2023, the album features compositions by four of Philly’s most iconic jazz figures: Jimmy Heath, John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, and Lee Morgan. Each tune has been given thoughtful and exhilarating new arrangements by Barth and features inspired playing by all six musicians. The session offers a chance for these brilliant artists to look back at some of the key figures who have shaped their voices as well as the music as a whole.

“For me this album represents the rich tradition of songs written by Philly composers,” says Barth, who selected and arranged the four compositions on Fly With the Wind. “I hope we captured the spirit of Philadelphia music. I think the Philly vibe, in terms of the deep feel for the rhythm and the blues and a certain deep soulfulness, comes through in the playing.”

Named for the title track from Tyner’s string-drenched 1976 Milestone debut, Fly With the Wind also allows the ensemble to bid a loving farewell to two legends close to their hearts who passed away in the last few years. Stafford in particular worked closely with both Tyner and Heath, the latter also being a dear friend and supporter of the Temple jazz program. “Their music still carries on,” Stafford eulogizes, “so that helps carry us through their loss.”

Heath’s “All Members” was recorded by the diminutive saxophonist and his quartet on 1975’s Picture of Heath. Barth’s arrangement slows the piece down a touch without losing any of its robust swagger. Propelled by the lurching swing laid down by Boone and Faulkner, the tune sparks an incisive solo from Stafford, who the wordplay-loving Heath nicknamed “Staff Inflection.” That’s followed by Warfield’s gritty honk and then Oatts with a more lithe and lyrical turn. Barth’s nimble keyboard dance leads into a steely yet understated statement from Boone.

The band’s take on Trane’s classic “Naima” luxuriates in its languid, aching melody while enveloping it in rich, haunting new harmonies. Warfield’s breathy solo may cause listeners to catch themselves holding their breaths in the face of its hushed intimacy, while Boone answers with a heartfelt, elegant beauty.

“Yes I Can, No You Can’t” is reprised from Stafford’s 2015 tribute to Lee Morgan, BrotherLee Love, which also featured Warfield and Barth. “Sometimes people sleep on what an interesting and sophisticated composer Lee Morgan was,” Barth says. “Sure, that tune is a down home, funky 24-bar blues. But when you look closely at the melody it’s just so hip and sophisticated.” Barth elaborated that melody into three part harmony for the frontline, setting the groove-fueled pace for Faulkner’s explosive drum feature.

At more than thirteen minutes, “Fly With the Wind” is the album’s breathtaking centerpiece. Announced by a portentous fanfare devised by Barth, the song launches at a relentless pace and never lets up. The passion poured into this performance by all six members of the sextet exemplifies the esteem in which Tyner was held. Barth has long acknowledged the pianist’s importance in his own development, paying homage with two earlier compositions of his own: “Blues for Mr. Tyner” on the Temple sextet’s previous release, Family Feeling, and “Let’s Go” on his most recent solo album, Dedication.

“McCoy played with an intensity that’s hard to describe and that we all strive to get to,” Barth says. “The power and the depth of his expression came through on the records, but there were a few times hearing him live where it was almost an otherworldly experience.”

Barth tailored the solo sections for his bandmates, having Stafford and Oatts play over the changes but then crafting a C Minor vamp for Warfield, unleashing a blistering blowing session that gives away to a pugilistic duet between the saxophonist and Faulkner’s thunderous drumming.

Having played with Tyner so often, Stafford was able to get closer to that estimable power than anyone. “To record ‘Fly With the Wind’ with these guys and create that same energy that I remember from playing with McCoy was unbelievable,” he describes.

The camaraderie that Stafford hints at is key to the Temple Jazz Sextet and to the infectious joy that shines through on Fly With the Wind. “The choice of tunes on this album really speaks to my heart,” he says, “and of course the guys that play them are all my close colleagues and friends. When you play with your boys, the music is different because you trust them and they trust you. You just want to play because it feels so good.”

On Sunday, April 16 at 8 p.m., the Temple University Symphony Orchestra, Studio Orchestra and Jazz Band are joined by faculty artists Terell Stafford, Dick Oatts, Bruce Barth, Tim Warfield, Mike Boone and Justin Faulkner to explore an eclectic mix of classical, jazz and crossover music. 

This performance features the premieres of Billy Childs’ Labyrinth and Bill Cunliffe’s Rainforests alongside Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera’s energetic Four Dances from Estancia. 

Additionally, the Temple University Jazz Band repeats Banks Sapnar’s Red Braid from the performance that earned them second place at this year’s Jack Rudin Jazz Championship and Stafford, Oatts, Barth, Warfield, Boone and Faulkner perform the title track from Fly With the Wind.

New Music Release: Orrin Evans | "The Red Door"

What’s behind The Red Door? For pianist Orrin Evans, that question has come to symbolize the daring path his life and music have taken over the course of his three-decade career. On his latest album, due out this coming June 16, Orin Evans again flings that door open, delighting in the collaborators, friends, inspiration, and history that he finds inside.

Growing up in the Pentecostal church, Evans explains, the color red came to signify the negative: think blood, sin, the temptation embodied in red light districts, all things infernal. Approaching a red door, then, is a daunting prospect. The image manifested for him recently when he overheard someone say, “I don’t see color” – itself something of a red flag.

“I’ve realized that along with red meaning ‘warning’ or ‘stop,’ it also represents so many beautiful things,” he says. “Roses are red, and Valentine’s hearts. So, I do see color, and we all should see color, but we shouldn't see the negative history that comes along with it. Instead, we need to allow ourselves the opportunity to walk inside and discover what’s behind the red door.”

Looking back, Evans has opened that door time and again, always with fortuitous results. There was the decision to pursue a life in jazz, the initial red door that led to a series of others: summoning the courage to test his mettle in the notorious jam sessions at Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus in Philly; braving a move to New York with growing confidence but no sure prospects (“I didn't get a gig, but I got a wife,” he laughs); launching his own big band, a formidable undertaking that’s ended up garnering him two Grammy nominations; joining The Bad Plus, putting him under microscopic scrutiny, the striking out on his own again despite the band’s ongoing success.

Many of the musicians who join Evans on The Red Door connect to those periods of discovery and growth. The album features two core bands: one the rhythm section of bass legend Buster Williams and veteran drummer Gene Jackson, joined by the late trumpet master Wallace Roney or Philly living legend Larry McKenna on tenor; the other a quintet with trumpeter Nicholas Payton, saxophonist/flutist Gary Thomas, bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith. In addition, the album features guest appearances by vocalists Jazzmeia Horn, Sy Smith, and Alita Moses.

In many cases, the elders on the album are artists whom Evans had long dreamed of working with, or acquaintances from the past whom he felt he was long overdue to reconnect with. Roney, who hired Evans early in the pianist’s career but whose path he hadn’t crossed in the intervening years, passed away in March 2020, an early casualty of the pandemic, bringing home the urgency of working with these masters while they’re still among us.

COVID also claimed the great tenor titan Bootsie Barnes, whom Evans had originally planned to feature along with fellow Philly legend Larry McKenna. McKenna, who was also Evans’ first music theory teacher, unfurls a simmering, lyrical solo on “The Good Life,” his first meeting with the great Buster Williams. “All the Things You Are,” meanwhile, brings West Philly natives Roney and Gene Jackson together for the first time since both were featured on Joey DeFrancesco’s 1990 big band album Where Were You? – and in that case, the two were never in the studio together. The album closes with the aching ballad “I Have the Feeling I’ve Been Here Before,” rendered by the trio of Evans, Hurst, and Smith.

The Red Door opens with the title track, which Evans originally recorded with The Bad Plus on 2019’s Activate Infinity. Payton had recorded with Evans as a guest with the collective trio Tarbaby, but Thomas’s presence finally makes up for the saxophonist’s inability to make the session for Evans’ 2002 Palmetto debut, Meant to Shine. Early on, Evans recalls, “Gary was on the other side of that door for me because he was working with Uri Caine and Ralph Peterson.”

Hurst, Smith, and Jackson all harken back to the progressive '80s jazz sound that the pianist was reared on, working with the likes of Kevin Eubanks and Branford Marsalis. Evans had only worked with Hurst and Smith once apiece – the drummer on a never-released Kevin Eubanks recording, the bassist on a Terri Lyne Carrington performance. “I don’t apologize for loving that '80s music and '80s sound,” Evans insists.

“Weezy” and “Phoebe’s Stroll,” the latter of which pares the quintet back to a swaggering trio, are both named for Evans’ godchildren – Sean Jones’ daughter Phoebe and Eloise, the daughter of his booking agents. The trio also essays the lovely “Dexter’s Tune,” a Randy Newman composition from the soundtrack of the 1990 film Awakenings. The quintet reconvenes for Geri Allen’s “Feed the Fire,” and Ralph Peterson Jr.’s “Smoke Rings,” both composed by influential figures lost too soon.

As always, Evans’ recording dates tend to adhere to a liberal open-door policy (red or otherwise), in this case, welcoming three gifted vocalists to the ever-growing village. Jazzmeia Horn gives an impassioned reading of Bill McHenry’s lyric for Evans’ “Big Small,” which originally appeared on his 2012 trio album Flip the Script. Sy Smith took a break from her busy touring schedule with Chris Botti to sing Geri Allen’s arrangement of “Amazing Grace,” while Alita Moses duets with Evans on a spare, compelling rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “They Won’t Go When I Go.”

The musicians with whom he collaborates may not always know what to expect when they walk into an Orrin Evans studio date, but he flings that red door open for them. Now it’s the listeners’ turn to enter. “It's a swinging party on the inside.”

Claire Davis | "Get It Right"

Toronto-based retro-soul artist Claire Davis shares her journey of self-worth and love on her debut album “Get it Right”, released April 2023.

This 10-track analog soul LP was recorded to an 8-track tape machine by engineer Braden Sauder in a converted garage- studio in Toronto, owned by the renowned instrumental jazz/hip-hop group, BADBADNOTGOOD. Featuring some of the city’s top-flight musicians in the R&B/Soul scene, the album was laid down live-off-the-floor in one week during the winter of 2022.

Davis shares, “My heart really lies in live performance so I wanted to recreate that experience as much as possible for this record by having the musicians all record together to tape. I feel like I personally thrive under the limitations that tape gives you; it offers the opportunity to capture a vibe of a performance more so than chasing perfection. Knowing that my favourite soul records were recorded this way gives me an even deeper appreciation for the skill and talent involved in this process.”

“Get it Right” is a record born out of the faith that there’s better things on the other side of fear. Whether that’s breaking toxic cycles or being truly honest about what is and isn’t working in life. The first song written for the record was the title-track of the album which began as a jam between Davis on guitar, producer Scott McCannell on bass, and drummer Chino deVilla. “The lyrics were inspired by my relationship with my partner and the intention that we both have to work on healing ourselves in order to make our partnership work. I’d like to think that it’s a love song with a strong sense of maturity and understanding to it. And the whole record was really shaped around that idea of my relationships and experiences stemming from my own sense of self-love and my desire to live and create from an authentic place.”

The songs on Get It Right feature co-writes from Scott McCannell, Kyla Charter, and Toronto production house Safe Spaceship Music, in addition to horn and background vocal arrangements by composer La-Nai Gabriel. Musicians include Heather Crawford on guitar, Scott McCannell on bass, Adrian Hogan on keys, Chino de Villa on drums, Juan Carlos Medrano on percussion, Aphrose, Tegan Michelle Gordon and Chynna Lewis on background vocals, and horn section The Northern Soul Horns. 

New Music Release: Michael Lington | "Looking Ahead"

Michael Lington is set to release new music,  Looking Ahead, his first collection of new original songs since his acclaimed 2018 album Silver Lining. The hit-making saxophonist has already charted two singles from the forthcoming five-track EP – “Play” and the recently released “Moon Goddess.” He’ll be supporting Looking Ahead with an extensive cross-country tour and select international dates, including a two-night stand in London. See below for itinerary. 

Looking Ahead is fueled by a newfound sense of balance and purpose, reflecting the way finding his soulmate has changed everything about Lington’s life, including his music. Over the past few years, he married his wife Keri and became a family man, a devoted stepfather to her young daughter Lauren and a first-time dad (at 50!) with the birth of his now three-year-old son Landon. After calling Los Angeles home for 32 years, the Danish-born artist made the move to San Diego County. With all those dynamic shifts in his life, it’s no wonder that one of contemporary jazz’s most exhilarating artists is a whole new man – “Michael Lington 2.0.”  

The lead single “Play” is a funked up, high spirited summertime jam that marks Lington’s first time working with longtime friend and fellow horn master Darren Rahn. Offering an optimistic way to keep joy and hope flowing in turbulent times, the groove-intensive vibe features Paul Jackson Jr’s blistering guitar fire and the non-stop grooves of bassist Mel Brown and drummer Tarell Martin.

Jackson’s infectious jangly funk intro and later solo are highlights on Lington’s latest single “Moon Goddess,” a nod to Ramsey Lewis’ “Sun Goddess.” A hard grooving and emotionally empowering track, it showcases the intuitive dynamic Lington creates co-writing and co-producing with famed saxophonist, producer and horn arranger David Mann for the first time. With a freewheeling and soulful energy reminiscent of classic CTI Records releases, it also marks Lington’s first session with veteran jazz and R&B drummer Michael White. 

The heartfelt emotional core of Looking Ahead is “Keri’s Song,” a gorgeous classic-styled urban jazz ballad written for Lington’s wife and performed for her on their wedding day in August 2021. He wrote and recorded the song with two-time GRAMMY® nominee Chris “Big Dog” Davis. The EP also includes two tracks co-written, produced by and featuring the nylon string guitar of two-time GRAMMY winner Paul Brown – the sensual ballad “Til the Morning Light” and the sassy, strutting “South Bay.”

Lington, who has charted more than 25 hit singles and performed in over 40 countries, says, “Looking Ahead captures the hope and positivity in my life, and I look forward to new things with so much more knowledge about myself and love to give others. The transition from then to now was a challenge at times but once the dust settled and I took stock of all the blessings in my life, I realized how much more I like this version of myself. I am truly excited about the next part of my journey as an artist, husband, father and human being.”

MICHAEL LINGTON – TOUR DATES

• April 14 – Cincinnati, OH – Ludlow’s Garage w/Paul Taylor
• April 19 – Panama City Beach, Fl – Seabreeze Jazz Cruise
• April 20 – Panama City Beach, FL – Seabreeze Jazz Festival
• May 1-22 – Spain, Morocco, Portugal – Dave Koz & Friends At Sea cruises
• June 7 – Napa Valley, CA – Napa Valley Jazz Getaway – Rutherford Hills
• June 8 – Napa Valley, CA – Napa Valley Jazz Getaway – Westin Verasa Napa
• June 10 – Melbourne, FL – King Center
• June 11 Virginia Beach, VA – Jazz Legacy Foundation – Virginia Beach Convention Center
• July 21 – London, UK – Pizza Express Soho
• July 22 – London, UK – Pizza Express Soho
• Aug 5 – Temecula, CA – Thornton Winery
• Aug 18 – Newport Beach, CA – Hyatt Newport Beach – Summer Concert Series
• Sept 14 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Jazz Getaway – Buddy Guy’s Legends
• Sept 16 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Jazz Getaway – Fairmount Chicago Millennium Park
• Nov 11 & 12 – Hampton, VA – Jazz Legacy Foundation – Hampton Roads Convention Center
• Dec 3 – Seal Beach, CA – Spaghettini – Foreign Affair Christmas
• Dec 4 – Seal Beach, CA – Spaghettini – Foreign Affair Christmas
• Dec 7 – Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – Mexico Jazz Experience Festival – Secrets Bahai Mita Surf & Resort

Marco Antonio Santos | "About: Silence"

Brasilian guitarist, Marco Antonio Santos has a new CD and digital release, due out on May 5th 2023 with live show in Austin TX, May 10th with string quartet & woodwind quartet, conductor, jazz trio (guitar, bass, and drums), dancer, and photography exhibition.

About: Silence, recorded in 2022, is a conceptual visual album that comprises diverse forms of art and media—visual arts (video, painting, and digital drawing), dance, poetry, and music. As a musical composition, the work consists of 11 tracks that can be understood either as free-standing compositions gathered under a unified concept or as multi-movement work.

The album’s 11 tracks feature a jazz guitar trio—guitar, upright bass, and drums—joined on four tracks by a woodwind quartet and on five by a string quartet. Tracks are supplemented by video combining improvisational dance, musicians in the studio, and visual art, as well as poetry. Taken together, the elements express varied meanings of silence—introspection, grief, oppression, and the absence of sound. Only one movement forgoes this chamber quartet element and is written strictly for the guitar trio. A website unites each of the art forms in one place, bringing the full experience of the album to its listener/viewer.

Marco Antonio Santos is a guitarist, arranger, composer, and music educator. Originally from Minas Gerais, Brazil, he is currently based in Austin, Texas. Throughout more than fifteen years as a professional musician, Santos has performed extensively in Brazil and the United States, navigating freely between jazz, funk, pop, and Brazilian music. His singular style blends traces from his multiple musical influences, ranging from Radiohead and Pat Metheny to Maria Schneider and Brazilian legend Milton Nascimento.

Bruno Råberg | "Look Inside"

The bassist’s role in a jazz group is often defined by their relationship to their fellow instrumentalists – as the backbone of the band, the bridge between frontline and rhythm section, the timekeeper, the anchor, the bedrock. Bruno Råberg has played those roles expertly over the course of a career lasting nearly 50 years, releasing a dozen albums as a leader and becoming an in-demand collaborator for a wide array of artists including Kris Davis, Donny McCaslin, George Garzone, Tiger Okoshi, Ben Monder, Matt Wilson, Mike Mainieri, Adam Cruz, Bob Moses, Sam Rivers, Kenny Werner, Terri Lyne Carrington, Jerry Bergonzi, and many others.

With Look Inside, Råberg goes it alone for the first time with his debut album for solo bass. The depth and diversity of the music he’s recorded reflect the wealth of experiences and studies he’s undertaken over the course of his journey, from investigations of jazz standards to explorations of Indian and African traditions, free improvisation to through-composed chamber music. Due out May 19, 2023, Look Inside is a new venture for the veteran bassist, but also stands as a capstone to an eclectic and adventurous career.

The title is an apt one for such an introspective effort, as Råberg writes in his liner notes. “As I was embarking on this project I asked myself a lot of questions. Who am I playing for? How will the listener perceive this? Will the listener hear what I hear? My approach ended up shaping the music by trying to imagine a dialogue with you, the imagined listener.”

While a solo bass project was a long-held aspiration, Råberg had rarely performed and never recorded wholly on his own, which meant finding a form that made sense for a full album. Experimenting in his home studio outside of Boston, where he is a professor at Berklee College of Music, Råberg at first found himself overcompensating for the lack of collaborators, overindulging in lengthy solos and crowding the empty space surrounding him. “I had to be very self-critical,” he explains. “I was playing too much. It was fun, but I felt that it wouldn't make sense to the listener. I tried to distill things down more and more to their essence. Otherwise it could become one of those albums that only another bass player would listen to.”

Look Inside suffers from none of that, standing as a passionately musical experience that is rich, expressive, and eclectic enough to command one’s attention from beginning to end. Råberg “aimed to play in a way that would make a composition sound like it is an improvisation and an improvisation like it is a composition,” and the seams between the two are rarely detectable. That can be credited in part to the material that Råberg wrote and selected for the album as well as the challenges that he set for himself with each piece. But mostly it’s due to his own impeccable taste and his agile eloquence on the bass.

The album begins with Råberg navigating through “Island Pathways,” for which he created a series of brief motives that are bridged with improvisation. It’s a compelling piece of storytelling, with key points woven into a vibrant tapestry. Råberg’s knowledge of African music and ability to transform the sound of his instrument come to the fore on “Kansala,” in which he evokes the sound of the African kalimba. The Swedish-born bassist traveled to West Africa for the first time at the age of 22, later living for two years with an African percussionist in Stockholm. The piece melds two primary inspirations, leading directly into a rendition of Miles Davis’ classic “Nardis,” which Råberg first heard via Bill Evans’ Sunday at the Village Vanguard. 

That album played a key role in shaping Råberg’s sonic imagination. Having grown up in the Swedish countryside, he moved to Stockholm at 20 after being discovered by the influential trombonist Eje Thelin. “It was a pretty tumultuous time,” Råberg recalls of the period, when he suddenly found himself touring Europe and playing the Monterey Jazz Festival. “I had a dingy apartment with no furniture, but I had a tape recorder and one tape. It had Sunday at the Village Vanguard on one side and the kora of music of Jali Nayama Suso from Gambia on the other.”

Both sides of that oft-played cassette proved instrumental for Råberg, who later met and played with Suso. The Gershwin favorite “My Man’s Gone Now” is the second tune on the Evans trio album, and the bassist set out to recreate his memory of discovering the piece with his rapturous version of the song. It, along with Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s “Prelude to a Kiss,” showcase the nimble lyricism of which Råberg is uniquely capable.

“Chennai Reminiscence” reflects on Råberg’s time studying in India, drawing on a descending line from a South Indian classical composition as its starting point, with the bassist’s bow summoning sinuous violin-like lines, percussive rhythms, and vivid harmonies. “A Minor Excursion” and “June Poem” are classically influenced pieces, mostly or wholly through-composed. “Gyrating Spheres,” conversely, is a free improvisation utilizing three different approaches to the bass. “A Space in Between” is an improvised variation on an improvised theme from a film created by the bassist’s daughter, Erika Råberg. “Ode to Spring” and “Stillness – Epilogue” are both mood pieces, the one bristling and joyous, the other meditative and searching.

Look Inside represents a lifetime of musical exploration and evolution, from Råberg’s beginnings in the Swedish countryside, to his deep-end education in Stockholm and across Europe, to his life in the States beginning in 1981. In the end, the album is a singularly personal statement. “I feel like it sounds like me,” Råberg concludes. "Like all musicians I've gone through the process of emulating and learning from other players. Now I just play and trust that whatever happens, that is my sound.”

Bruno Råberg is an internationally renowned bass player and composer. Since coming to the US from his native Sweden in 1981, he has made 13 recordings as a leader, about 30 as a sideman, and has performed with numerous world-class artists, including Kris Davis, Terri Lyne Carrington, Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Kenny Werner, Sam Rivers, Tony Malaby, Billy Pierce, Donny McCaslin, Billy Hart, Bob Moses, Mick Goodrick, Ben Monder, Bruce Barth, Jim Black, Matt Wilson, Ted Poor, Bob Mintzer, and Mike Mainieri. He currently leads several constellations of his own Bruno Råberg Trio and the Triloka Ensemble. At 20 Råberg was drafted by Swedish trombone virtuoso Eje Thelin and spent the ensuing years performing and recording with renowned Swedish and European artists such as Bobo Stenson, Monica Zetterlund, Zpigniew Seifert, Nils Landgren and Ulf Wakenius. In 1981, Råberg left his performing career in Europe to come to the USA, thanks to a scholarship to the New England Conservatory in Boston. There he studied with Miroslav Vitous, Mick Goodrick, George Russell, and Bob Moses. Råberg has been a professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston since 1986 and teaches in the prestigious Berklee Global Jazz Institute, led by pianist Danilo Perez.

 

International Jazz Day – 30 April 2023

The International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert will be streaming on the worldwide web on 30 April at 4 pm EDT/1 pm PDT/10 pm CET, as well as on on jazzday.com, unesco.org and hancockinstitute.org. International Jazz Day will be also be livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook. The concert will feature performances in 12 cities, including Beijing, Vienna, Fairbanks, New York, Beirut, Casablanca, Johannesburg, Marondera, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, San Francisco and Washington, DC.

The All-Star Global Concert, will feature a performances by Dee Dee Bridgewater, Melody Gardot, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Miller, Christian McBride, Sérgio Mendes, Cyrille Aimée, Antonio Sánchez, John Beasley and many others from more than 190 countries

As the world’s largest, most inclusive celebration of jazz music, International Jazz Day unites people across the globe. We are thrilled that the All-Star Global Concert will reflect this expansive identity in a new way, by sharing with our audience a rich palette of sounds on more than a dozen stages in every corner of the planet.

An array of acclaimed artist-educators will present a multilingual selection of offerings that will emphasize the richness—and relevance—of jazz to learners at all levels. Programming will be available in Arabic, English, French, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, with topics including music making for kids, improvisation, and the intersection of jazz harmony and diverse international musical traditions. A complete listing and schedule of education programmes will be available at jazzday.com/education.

In the lead-up to the 2023 All-Star Global Concert, a series of free, online education programmes will be presented via jazzday.com, unesco.org, hancockinstitute.org, the International Jazz Day YouTube and Facebook pages.

The worldwide programme for International Jazz Day 2023 also includes an extraordinary range of programming in more than 190 countries, with concerts and performance-based initiatives complemented by wide-ranging social outreach and educational activities.

In Brazil, the Música na Árvore Solar Festival will pay homage to Louis Armstrong and feature sustainability in its lineup, powering its stage performances with mobile solar panels. The Croatian Radio Television Jazz Orchestra will be toasting its 75th anniversary on Jazz Day with a concert and live broadcast on Croatian national television. In New Zealand, the Whanganui Collegiate School presents three days of events including a jam session, a gala concert and an open forum with the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO, exploring jazz music in education.

The Tottori Jazz Festival in Japan hosts a five-day series of concerts in addition to an art exhibit, jam sessions and workshops. The Botswana Society for Jazz Education kicks off a week of music workshops, instrumental clinics, master classes and nightly jam sessions, culminating with a grand concert featuring local and international musicians. UNESCO Creative Cities will be hosting a variety of activities around the world, leveraging music as a powerful accelerator for culture-driven sustainable urban development.

Macy Gray Releases New Album | "Ruby"

Rubies hold a special place amongst the world’s rarest natural treasures. The most sought-after of the corundum family, the gemstone’s crimson hue instantly catches attention—as if extracting passion from the earth itself and crystallizing it in mineral form. Similarly, Macy Gray occupies a rare space in the canon of modern music. Now, her tenth full-length album, RUBY (Artistry Music/Mack Avenue), reaffirms and reasserts that signature rarity millions continue to treasure.

Take the first single “Sugar Daddy.” Co-written with none other than pop superstar Meghan Trainor, the track swings from jazz-y piano into a cooing verse that’s as sweet as it is sassy. Her voice takes hold on the hook, “Be my, be my sugar daddy and provide me with your candy.” “Meghan and I thought it be great to collaborate,” Macy recalls. “She had the concept in her head for some time, so we took a stab at it. It’s really great fun and a bit cheeky. Her writing and talent is brilliant. It was the perfect song to come out with first.”

Ruby canvases a wide spectrum for the songstress. Raucous horns that feel ripped from a classic seventies flick augment the grit on “Cold World” as “Jealousy” spins a covetous narrative that soars as it seduces. Gary Clark Jr. adds six-string firepower to “Buddha.” Everything culminates on the reggaeinspired “Witness,” which shuffles between mainland soul and island grooves as she croons, “I wish I was Jesus. I would make sure to fix it. Can I get a witness?”

With‘Ruby’, Macy Gray, reaffirms and reasserts that rare space in the canon of modern music, which she occupies. Channeling the spirit of the “grimy” R&B and smoky jazz closest to her heart, Macy made a leap forward by looking back to formative inspirations. 

Carol Albert Releases Stylistically Eclectic New Album | "Magic Mirror"

Written by Jonathan Widran

When Carol Albert released her debut vocal and instrumental album Love in Your Eyes back in 1992, there’s no way the multi-talented pianist/composer could have known that 25-30 years down the road, she’d not only be a Billboard chart sensation, but that her elegant and soulful, dreamy and free flowing melodic piano style, combined with her passion for R&B grooves and sexy tropical Brazilian rhythms, would make her a spot on fit for the urban centric vibe that drives today’s smooth jazz. ​

Though she had released an album of solo piano covers (Morning Music) in 2006 and a lovely holiday album (Christmas Mystique) in 2015, Carol seemed to come out of nowhere in 2016 to launch the most prolific and radio friendly phase of her career with a burning cover of “Mas Que Nada” – the first single from her 2017 breakthrough album Fly Away Butterfly, which also included the Top 5 Billboard title track and her first charting single “One Way.” She’s been smooth jazz radio gold ever since, most recently scoring the Top 5 singles “Perfect Sunday” and “Stronger Now” (from her 2020 album Stronger Now) and “Fire & Water,” the funky, festive and exotic samba lead single from her extraordinary, stylistically eclectic (and provocatively titled!) new album Magic Mirror, which reached #4.

No doubt, the success of “Fire & Water” is just the beginning of the many chart and streaming accolades coming Carol’s way with all the potential hits on Magic Mirror. But the multi-talented Atlanta based performer isn’t just about cranking out infectious hits. On her previous two albums and now this collection, she starts with personally meaningful themes and concepts that reflect her unique emotional journey – from deep sadness to personal empowerment, from desire to enlightenment and, to draw from some of her best known titles, soaring on “Femme Flight” (a SiriusXM Watercolors smash featuring flutist Ragan Whiteside and saxophonist Magdalena Chovancova) to the liberating feeling of “Perfect Sunday” and “Sun’s Out.”

Even on a multi-faceted album that has many potential hits and everything from sumptuous, hot and festive samba (“Fire & Water”) and bossa nova (the breezy and intoxicating/exotic “Sol Ipanema”) to a hard thumping, piano pounding, certifiable dance jam (“The Chase”), it’s indicative of her compositional depth that the tunes on Magic Mirror that resonate most are the ones least likely to be chosen as radio singles.

One of five tracks co-produced by Carol and her new collaborating partner, bassist and genre stalwart Roberto Vally, the Carol-composed “Gemini Sun” reminds me that Carol’s sensibilities harken back to what the genre was like in the early 90s, when a tune like this - gentle, dreamy, laid back, with old school atmospheres and a sweet, witty conversation with Whiteside’s flute – could be a big hit. Its charm and whimsy reminds me of the vibe of one of my favorite albums of the time, Peter Kater’s Rooftops.

My other favorite is the similarly sweet and blissfully ethereal “Someday,” which flows gracefully as a piano-guitar conversation with Paul Brown, who produced the other five songs on the album. Like the closing tune that follows it, the symphonic new age influenced gem “Angels Watching Over Me,” it’s a master class in purposeful relaxation, literally transporting the listener’s heart mind and soul to simpler times where cares can effortlessly drift away for a few minutes. ​

Of note, “Sometime” was written by Carol, Brown, Vally and Tom Schumann (who adds strings), while “Angels…” was composed and arranged by Carol and co-produced and mixed by Vally. Even if the credits are distinctive, with Brown and Vally each adding their unique touches on their home instruments (Vally being particularly effective on bowed bass), in the end, both serve to illuminate the seamless flow of Carol’s rich artistry.

It was insightful to learn that the whole process of developing Magic Mirror began with Brown – who had produced five songs on Stronger Now – sending Carol the foundation of “Sometime” that he had worked up with Vally. Carol of course wanted to collaborate with Brown again, but her love of this track and realization of what Vally brought to it launched a conversation which led to her next great collaborations, all brought to life on the album. ​

Magic Mirror’s second and current radio single is “Paradigm Shift,” a spirited light funk tune that features Carol’s playful piano melody in dialogue with Brown’s snappy acoustic guitar, riding over a tight soulful groove as it heads towards the irrepressible hook. Another tune with obvious hit potential is the opening title track, a silky, seductive, increasingly grooving ballad (penned by Carol, Brown and guitarist Shane Theriot) featuring some of Carol’s most expressive playing and the beautiful sax passion of Greg Vail.

Other tracks include the digital only single “Crashing,” a hypnotic romantic ballad given a touch of dramatic flair with the additional strings of Ben Babylon, who adds similarly lush textures to the lighthearted, easy funk adventure Carol’s ivories take us on in the sharing of her delightful “Sopporo Dream.”

With most albums in the smooth jazz genre these days, if you hear the hits, you’ve pretty much experienced the whole thing. With Albert’s magnificent Magic Mirror, it’s truly the proverbial journey, best immersed in fully and experienced from start to finish – over and over. It’s easily one of the genre’s best albums of 2022.

Among her other accolades, perhaps Carol’s most extraordinary achievement – and testament to her widespread impact and success – is having Spotify streaming totals all but unheard of among even the most popular of her smooth jazz peers. “Perfect Sunday” has racked up nearly 6.7 million streams on Spotify, with “Stronger Now” currently at 2.3 million.

https://www.carolalbertmusic.com/magic_mirror_2022.html

Cooperative Quartet Kaze and Ikue Mori Release Innovative New CD, Crustal Movement

On Crustal Movement (March 17, 2023; Circum/Libra), the pioneering musician Ikue Mori on laptop electronics joins Kaze – the cooperative quartet featuring Japanese composer-pianist Satoko Fujii and trumpeter Natsuki Tamuraplus French trumpeter Christian Pruvost and drummer Peter Orins – to move in new directions as they explore innovative ways of making music. On their first album together since 2020’s incendiary Sand Storm, these five sonic explorers weave together pre-recorded music files and live performance. The results are as exciting, interactive, and detailed as if they had recorded entirely live.

Fujii, Tamura, and Mori then proceeded to follow the compositional guidelines and send music files of their performances back and forth around the world via the Internet. Pruvost and Orins then added a new twist to the file-exchange procedure. “Instead of adding individually to the sound files, they did a very interesting thing,” Fujii said. “They played along with our files at a concert in Lille and recorded it. Ikue, Natsuki and I were not in the concert, but our recordings were. We try many different ways to make music!”

The combination of live and pre-recorded interactions, guided by compositions designed to accommodate the remotely situated players, results in uncommonly fluid and naturally developing music that belies the circumstances under which it was made. For instance, the Pruvost and Orins composition “Masoandro Mitsoka” guides the quintet from a quiet introduction into a kaleidoscopic group improvisation with acoustic and electronic colors swirling around a dialog between the trumpets. Ikue Mori’s “Motion Dynamics” sets up complex ensemble give-and-take that continuously changes the shape and flow of the piece. Fujii’s “Crustal Movement” establishes an irregular rhythm that pushes and pulls the group along a zig-zag path into a roiling mass that throws off sparks of color. Tamura’s “Rolle Cake” is a subtle tone poem that glides easily through subdued, almost lyrical passages and rumbling, anxious moments. The detail in the group interactions, the organic development of each piece, and the lovely flashes of surprise and discovery are exceptional throughout. 

“The music may be quieter than when Kaze plays live,” Fujii noted. “We have a tendency to heat up so much and so easily when we’re on stage together. That’s harder to do when we’re remote, but we can still be exploring and intense.”

Pianist and composer Satoko Fujii, “an improviser of rumbling intensity and generous restraint” (Giovanni Russonello, New York Times), is one of the most original voices in jazz today. “Fujii’s music troubles the divide between abstraction and realism,” Russonello continues. “Plucking or scraping the strings of the piano; covering them up as she strikes the keys…. All of this amounts to abstract expressionism, in musical form. But it’s equaled by her rich sense of simplicity, sprung from the feeling that she is simply converting the riches of the world around her into music.” 

For more than 25 years and over 100 albums as a leader, she has created a unique, personal music that spans many genres, blending jazz, contemporary classical, rock, and traditional Japanese music into an innovative synthesis instantly recognizable as hers alone. A prolific composer for ensembles of all sizes and a performer who has appeared around the world, she was the recipient of a 2020 Instant Award in Improvised Music, in recognition of her “artistic intelligence, independence, and integrity.”

Japanese trumpeter and composer Natsuki Tamura is internationally recognized for a unique musical vocabulary that blends jazz lyricism with extended techniques. This unpredictable virtuoso has led bands with radically different approaches throughout his career. He’s played avant-rock jazz fusion with the Natsuki Tamura Quartet, First Meeting, and Junk Box. Since 2005, he has focused on the intersection of European folk music and sound abstraction with Gato Libre. He also has recorded four albums of solo trumpet. A member of many of Fujii’s ensembles, ranging from orchestra to trios and quartets, he has also recorded eight duet CDs with her. Last year he released a half-dozen digital albums, including a composition for brass quintet. Tamura’s category-defying abilities make him “unquestionably one of the most adventurous trumpet players on the scene today,” said Marc Chenard in Coda.

Peter Orins is a French drummer, who has been playing jazz, improvised and experimental music since the mid-90’s. In 2001 he created the Circum collective (now called Muzzix) for which he’s still one of the artistic directors. Leading numerous projects inside the collective, from solo works to big orchestras, he also plays with many international musicians (Satoko Fujii, Natsuki Tamura, Ikue Mori, Dave Rempis, Joke Lanz, Michael Pisaro-Liu, Anthony Pateras, Jean-Luc Guionnet, Sophie Agnel, and Christine Wodrascka and others), and is very active on the improvised music scene in France and abroad. Since 2004, he has managed Circum-Disc, an artist-run label which has released some 100 recordings.

Christian Pruvost is a composer, improviser and trumpeter who has collaborated widely in jazz, improvised music and the performing arts. During its formation, he dedicated himself to concrete and acousmatic music and to electroacoustic composition with Carole Rieussec and Roger Cochini. His inventiveness and the originality of his approach have led to performances in France and internationally. He serves as artistic director for multiple projects in the Muzzix collective, and collaborates with numerous international musicians and ensembles (Dedalus, Axel Dörner, Otomo Yoshihide, Tom Johnson, Michael Pisaro-Liu, Satoko Fujii, Jérôme Noetinger, Cor Fuhler, Tony Buck, Nicole Mitchell, and others).

2022 MacArthur “Genius” Grant awardee, Ikue Mori moved from her native city of Tokyo to New York in 1977, where she started playing drums and soon formed the seminal No Wave band DNA, creating a new brand of radical rhythms and dissonant sounds and forever altering the face of rock music. In the mid 80's she started in employ drum machines in the unlikely context of improvised music. In 2000 she started using the laptop computer to expand on her already signature sound, thus broadening her scope of musical expression. She has received commissions from the Kitchen, Relache Ensemble, and the Tate Modern, among others. She performs with Mephista, a trio with Sylvie Courvoiser and Susie Ibarra, various John Zorn ensembles, Wadada Leo Smith, Ken Vandermark, and many others.

In the usual collective spirit of the group, each member contributes compositions for the recording. Knowing that this would be a largely remote effort, they each planned out pieces that were more like written outlines than musical scores. “We all composed a structure and made a blueprint,” Fujii said. “In most cases we made a chart on paper, not on music paper. The blueprints have time durations and instrumentation and some instructions like ‘play fast’ or ‘play quietly.’”

www.satokofujii.com/

"Let's Do This!" R&B-jazz trumpeter-vocalist Johnny Britt follows up his No. 1 hit with another single destined to top the charts

While studying music at the Conservatoire de Versailles near Paris decades ago, R&B-jazz trumpeter-vocalist Johnny Britt found the inspiration for his new single while attending an Earth, Wind & Fire concert in the City of Lights. The high-wattage, horn and guitar-powered “Let’s Do This,” featuring Billboard chart topper Nils, arrives Monday. Britt wrote and produced the follow-up to his No. 1 single, “After We Play,” which is the title track to his sixth solo album that dropped last month on J-Jams Records.

“In writing ‘Let’s Do This,’ the spirit of Earth, Wind & Fire’s ‘September’ is definitely all over this new song. My intent was to have a strong driving beat to drive the harmonic and melodic elements that make one react to their feelings. The pairing of the open brass trumpet sound along with the Al McKay style of guitar playing makes the two instruments the perfect combination to carry the song. Combined with the happy melody of lyric-less vocals in the chorus that surround the trumpet and guitar is exactly the vision I had,” said Britt who cast Nils to play guitar on the single that will soon be accompanied by a video that was shot in a downtown Los Angeles loft.

Named “Pick of the Week” by Smooth Jazz Network, “Let’s Do This” is illumined by Britt’s trumpet and horn section work as well as his soulful vocalization, keyboards, programming and arranging. With Nils as the spotlight soloist, Keith Henderson adds guitar melodies to the rhythmic groove formed by Marcus Williams (drums), Dean Mark (bass) and Sean J. Lawson (percussion). 

Before the album dropped last month, the “After We Play” single, featuring hitmaking guitarist Peter White, became Britt’s first number one single as a solo artist. He’s written three Billboard No. 1 singles for saxophonist Boney James. Tracks from the album are garnering spins in multiple formats. Britt teamed with soul balladeer Will Downing on “Butterflies,’ which went top ten on the independent R&B charts and was selected as an Editor’s Choice cut by Jazziz. There’s a lot more multi-genre success still to come for this project that boasts guest appearances by Gerald Albright, Tom Browne, Blair Bryant, Kashan and Ricky Peterson. The cut that is a virtual lock to garner Grammy attention is the first ever duet by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Little Anthony on his iconic hit with The Imperials, “Goin’ Out Of My Head.” This dream pop gem is graced with guitar accoutrements by Grammy-winning legend George Benson.

“In a world of killing and bad news every day, I wanted to compose a feel-good track, something that would take the listener’s mind off of the negative news, politics, deaths and wars. As a songwriter and musician, I try to lift burdens and create hope through my music. I really strive to do that and with the help of my good friend Nils on guitar, we went for it. We actually said ‘Let’s do this’ and away we went. It’s time to leave our troubles behind and have some fun.”

Johnny Britt, who will spend the summer singing and playing trumpet alongside the legendary Little Anthony on the Happy Together Tour, will take centerstage with his band at the Capital Jazz Fest on June 3. He launched “After We Play” by playing for packed audiences in Venice, Charlotte, Richmond and Hollywood.   

Seeing Britt on stage, witnessing and hearing his passion, feeling the joy and positive spirit in his musical expression, and inwardly experiencing his faith and hope for the world, when discussing the higher purpose and greater meaning behind “Let’s Do This,” his response resonates.