Benjamin Lapidus releases his long-awaited 8th Latin jazz recording and 9th as a bandleader

World-renowned and Grammy™-nominated Cuban tres and guitar virtuoso and music scholar Benjamin Lapidus releases his long-awaited 8th Latin jazz recording and 9th as a bandleader. The unique album features heavyweights from the Latin and jazz worlds such as Mauricio Herrera, Willie Martínez, Jorge Bringas, Manuel Alejandro Carro, Ray “Chino” Díaz, Hector Torres, Jadele McPherson, and Paul Carlon.

“This is perhaps my most personal album because there is no place to hide musically speaking. This is that much more apparent when I’m playing bass, chords, and melodies simultaneously in real time on the Warr guitar or singing original songs of love and loss. These duets with Willie Martínez, Mauricio Herrera, and Ray Díaz allowed me to bring the touchstyle/tapping technique and sound to a wide range of Spanish Caribbean music that has been so important to me since my teenage years.” – Benjamin Lapidus

Latin music’s cutting-edge musician/scholar returns with Blues for Ochún, a grooving and ear-pleasing recording rooted in Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Dominican music traditions as well as jazz. The result is a deep listening experience that offers a truly unique take on Latin jazz featuring touchstyle/tapping guitar, Cuban tres, electric guitar, English, Spanish, and Yoruba vocals, a heavy helping of Afro-Caribbean percussion, and the Hammond organ he explored on his last record, Ochosi Blues. The recording’s focus on the Warr guitar, a touchstyle/tapping instrument created by Mark Warr that allows the player to perform melody, harmony, and bass simultaneously, marks the first time that a Latin jazz album has ever been made featuring this instrument. When asked to label Benjamin Lapidus’ music, critics and fans agree that it is Latin Jazz in the truest sense of the term, as Lapidus continues to explore different ways of mixing Jazz and Spanish-Caribbean music, while making the music accessible, organic, and logical. This is the direct result of Lapidus and the New York musicians involved, who are completely bi-and even tri-cultural, a benefit of being residents of the largest Caribbean city in the United States. Active in the New York Latin scene since 1995, Lapidus has made a name for himself among the elders as the go to player for long-established bands and new live and recording projects such as The Buena Vista Social Club, Jerry and Andy González, Típica 73, Larry Harlow, and many more.

Critics and fans agree that Benjamin Lapidus’ music is unique in its cutting-edge approach without sacrificing accessibility or the traditions of Spanish-Caribbean music. With Blues for Ochún, Lapidus continues his dynamic vision of bringing Spanish-Caribbean music and jazz together as equals while charting new ground and creatively altering the musical conventions of both worlds. He started on this path in his previous five releases of original compositions (1998-2005) as the leader of the world-renowned Latin jazz phenomenon Sonido Isleño, and continued with his pan-Latin jazz interpretation of the Brazilian songbook with Kaori Fujii on Garota de Ipanema for RCA-Victor Japan (2007). In 2008, he released Herencia Judía a critically acclaimed Afro-Latin Jewish recording project. And in 2014, he released the Hammond organ-based Ochosi Blues to wide critical acclaim performing the title track and other originals at Havana’s Jazzplaza Festival in 2019.

For his 9th release Blues for Ochún, Lapidus assembled an A-list of performers and friends with whom he has frequently toured and recorded: Mauricio Herrera (Nicholas Payton, Yerba Buena) Cuban master drummer; Willie Martínez (Johnny Colón) veteran Latin jazz drummer and bandleader; Jadele McPherson Afrocuban ritual music vocalist and scholar; Hector Torres (Sonido Isleño, Chico Álvarez) veteran percussionist and long-time collaborator; Ray “Chino” Díaz Dominican percussionist with Milly y Los Vecinos; Manuel Alejandro Carro Cuban percussionist with David Broza; bassist Jorge Bringas former musical director for Albita, and Paul Carlon (Sonido Isleño) the in-demand NYC-based tenor saxophonist and bandleader. Lapidus joins them on Warr guitar, organ, guitar, Cuban tres, and vocals.

ASH WALKER - AQUAMARINE ft. Amp Fiddler, Lou Rhodes, Joe Armon-Jones + Yazz Ahmed

Four years on from his explorative third full-length ‘Aquamarine,’ Londoner Ash Walker returns with an equally ambitious follow-up, set for release via Night Time Stories on 30th June. Alongside a plethora of award-winning collaborators and combining a dizzying array of sounds, ‘Astronaut’ hears Walker push his astral shower of rhythm and vibes to new heights. If 'Aquamarine’ was the take-off of his audial spaceship, ‘Astronaut’ is the cosmic voyage reaching terminal velocity; a rocket-powered masterclass spanning jazz, blues, soul, funk, and reggae.

‘Astronaut’ opens with ‘Only Love’ and features dreamy vocals from inimitable Mercury-nominee and Lamb member Lou Rhodes. “I’d always been such a fan of her work with Lamb and the West-Country scene growing up ,and I felt so privileged when she said yes,” explains Walker. After recording it in Somerset, the pair agreed it was in need of a choir, and Laville & Sheree Dubois were called up to elevate that Sunday service feeling. ‘Letting Go’ was developed from a sketch at Walker’s home studio, with some of the Ebi Soda crew cooking up some beats  and award-winning producer, engineer and songwriter Andrew Ashong providing the final magic touch. Having been a huge fan of Amp Fiddler and the Detroit scene from his teenage years, Walker was hungry to get him involved in the project.’ "When I first heard the vocals for ‘Afronaut,’ I was lost for words. Not only had he smashed the brief, but he clearly  understood my vision of the entire project," recalls Walker.

Another afternoon with the Ebi Soda gang saw 'Babylonian Triangle Of Captivity' come to light, its name inspired by Franco Rosso and Martin Stellman's 1980 classic film ‘Babylon.' Denitia blew Walker away with her vocal offering on 'Time Gets Wasted,’ and Grammy winner Sly5thAve (Prince, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight) went the extra mile on sax, clarinet, bass clarinet and flute. Next up Ezra Collective and Nubya Garcia band member Joe Armon-Jones and South London music-scene pioneer Oscar Jerome join forces on ‘Automaton,’ and  British-Bahraini horn player Yazz Ahmed lays down some flugelhorn magic on ‘Running Away.' After playing ‘Petrolhead’ live for years, Walker finally summoned a suitable cast to do it justice in the studio, before Ahmed’s muted trumpet breathes some extra life into penultimate groove ‘Detroit Velvet Smooth.” Intended to represent the slow rotation of Jupiter on its axis, label buddy Kennebec provides fitting flourishes to the albums final offering. A beautiful and thought-provoking finale to a cosmic masterpiece, it cements Walker’s place amongst jazz music’s elite. We have lift off.

An avid record collector, Walker has DJed far and wide... from the infamous Royal Mail squat party to the canals of Venice, spinning vinyl in Brixton with The Specials to scattering dub across San Francisco and LA. His own production output is similarly exploratory: his journeys have taken him far and wide, from tunnels under the river Thames to recording local percussionists in the Atlas mountains of Morocco. Inspired by a deep dive of sounds from artists including Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones, King Tubby, Bo Diddley, 4Hero, J Dilla, Pete Rock, Curtis Mayfield, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich; his first two albums, ‘Augmented 7th’ (2015) and ‘Echo Chamber’ (2016) gained attention from the likes of BBC 6 Music DJs Gilles Peterson, Don Letts and Gideon Coe. 

New album of tropical grooves 'Sundub Society' by Bahama Soul Club

Bahama Soul Club are a German outfit whose unique blend of soul, jazz, funk, blues, bossanova, afro and Caribbean influences has firmly put them on the map as one of the most exciting contemporary outfits.

Led by Oliver Belz, the band started in 2005 under the name of The Juju Orchestra. The first 45 was double-sider “Kind Of Latin Rhythm” / “Funky Nassau” released in 2006, which became a huge worldwide success, going straight to N.1 on the German club charts and staying there for more than 12 weeks. The album that soon followed, Bossa Nova Is Not A Crime, was released in 2007 with guest vocals from soul-jazz crooner Terry Callier, Carolyn Leonhart, from Steely Dan and the lovely Katia B from Sao Paulo, whose cut became a smash hit in the worldwide club jazz scene and again reached the official media control Jazz Charts #2.

In 2008 for legal reasons the band’s name was changed to Bahama Soul Club and their first album under this name came out as Rhythm Is What Makes Jazz Jazz, following up on the outstanding success of The Juju Orchestra. They definitely hit the mark once again with the incredible appearance of guests like french chanteuse Isabelle Antena from Nouvelle Vague and Mrs. Pat Appleton from DePhazz. 2010 marks the release of the second Bahama Soul Club album, “Bossa Nova Just Smells Funky” with guest singers Xantoné Blacq from Amy Winehouse Band, British shooting star John Turrell, Kojato and again Pat Appleton, just to name a few. It soon became the band’s biggest success with radio features on ALL german public radio stations and countless “CD of the month” / “Album of the year” features worldwide, along with many Chart entries.

2013 saw the band release their third album, The Cuban Tapes, an exotic blend of Cuban rhythms and tropical flavors, executed with the trademark Bahama Soul Club style. This full-length once again featured a host of talented vocal guests such as Danay Suarez, Arema Arega & Telmary Diaz from the contemporary Cuban scene, 3 generations of American soul singers Bessie Smith, Spanky Wilson and Ruthie Foster, and Anna Luca from Club Des Belugas.

3 years later, in 2016, fourth full-length Havana ’58 was released, a musical homage to Cuba’s roaring years before the revolution. As has become customary with BSC releases, this too featured esteemed guests, from vocal quartet Sexto Sentido, to the vivacious Olvido Ruiz, and of course once again lovely Cuban singer-songwriter Arema Arega.

Bohemia After Dawn was released in 2020, with 12 sun-soaked, laid back tracks, recorded from the band’s new home in Algrave, Portugal, where they relocated. This album draws deep inspiration from the multicultural verve of young worldly folk drawn to the Bohemian coasts of the most southwestern part of Europe, where hippie-esque hedonism, infinite musical diversity, and offbeat enchanted lifestyles fuel the scene.

Now 5 albums deep and with fans worldwide clamouring for more, in 2023 the time has come for new music, which Bahama Soul Club promptly delivers in the form of a new single. hinting at the possibility of an album on the way…

 

George Porter Jr., Eddie Roberts, Robert Walter & Nikki Glaspie Produce an All-Star Funk Collaboration ‘Floki Sessions: Boots in Place’

The intrepid Viking Flóki followed the path of a raven to discover Iceland over a thousand years ago and his boldness lives on through the Floki Sessions, a series that hosts musicians at Floki Studios, located in the Fljót Valley on the mountainous Troll Peninsula in northern Iceland to create a platform for renowned musical artists around the world to share the inspiration, soul, and energy of Iceland. Following up The New Mastersounds’ acclaimed 2022 album The Deplar Effect, the latest installment Floki Sessions: Boots in Place finds revered funk contemporaries George Porter Jr. (The Meters), Eddie Roberts (The New Mastersounds), Robert Walter (Greyboy Allstars), and Nikki Glaspie (The Nth Power) embarking on a studio retreat surrounded by the striking natural beauty of the Icelandic coastline and state-of-the-art recording equipment. Produced by Eddie Roberts of The New Mastersounds, the album presents a broad range of vintage funk & soul-inspired sounds explored through 10 brand new tracks that feature appearances from Son Little, Big Chief Donal Harrison, Erica Falls (formerly Galactic) Lamar Williams Jr. (Trouble No More, The New Mastersounds & North Mississippi All-Stars), Tierinii Jackson (Southern Avenue), Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce) and rising Chicago artist GreenTTea.

The record presents the perfect blend of New Orleans funk traditions spearheaded by Porter’s legacy as one of the most iconic bassists in history best known as a founding member of The Meters. During the Floki Session, each collaborator in the core quartet brought in grooves and frameworks that were seamlessly fleshed out with guests later enlisted to put the icing on the cake. The album’s lead single “Mardi Gras Day,” released ahead of Fat Tuesday, came out of the gate as a homage to New Orleans. Walter brought in the instrumental groove that was augmented by the quartet and immediately reminded Roberts of  The Wild Magnolias and other Mardi Gras Indian recordings of the ‘70s. After the initial session in Iceland, Eddie approached Big Chief Donald Harrison who is revered as an iconic jazz artist best known for being the horn counterpart of trumpeter Terrance Blanchard in the ‘80s lineup of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and is currently the Chief of Congo Square in Afro-New Orleans Culture. While Harrison was performing in Denver, Colorado, Roberts seized the opportunity to get him into Color Red Studios to guest on the track.

“It doesn’t come much more legit than a Mardi Gras anthem played by two of New Orleans’ legends, George Porter Jr. and Big Chief Donald Harrison,” remarks Roberts, “In fact, everyone on the track has lived or gigged heavily in New Orleans at some point in their careers. This new record captures the spirit of some classic Mardi Gras Indian tracks of the ’70s, but is brought to life in 2023!”

Porter adds, “Big Chief Harrison has brought a fresh spin to Mardi Gras Tradition. Paying homage to that tradition is important to keeping the culture alive.”

The album title track “Boots in Place” features New Orleans mainstay vocalist, Erica Fall (formerly of Galactic) in a particularly funky groove brought to the group by Glaspie. Like Harrison, Falls was also brought into Color Red Studios while performing during Color Red’s 4th-year anniversary show at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom. She had originally thought she was composing a song for George to sing over and penned the lyric “My Name is George Porter Jr.” in the opening verse. After realizing that it was a misunderstanding and she would be singing the song in addition to penning the lyrics, the lyric was changed to “My Name is George Porter Jr.” The proclamation solidifies the steadfast nature of the lead track paying respects to George’s living legacy as one of the fieriest funkmesiters of all time. Of the final product, Roberts exclaims, “I think this tune sums up the whole project and I love how it celebrates George and ‘what he came here to do’.”

Fans of The New Mastersounds and those familiar with The Allman Brothers lineage will delight in finding vocalist Lamar Williams Jr. on “Everything & Everyone.” Roberts brought in the Curtis Mayfied-inspired groove and had vocalist & songwriter Shelby Kemp pen the lyrics, who also worked with Roberts and Williams on two tracks on The Deplar Effect by The New Mastersounds. With the addition of Eric “Benny” Bloom (Lettuce) on trumpet and Nate Miller on saxophone, the outcome is a classic 60’s soul track with a hopeful spirit of pulling together to get through.

Another notable track is “Fall Right In,” a quirky arrangement that details the underbelly of New Orleans that acclaimed indie-soul artist Son Little. In a conversation with Floki Studios’ AR & Development Director, Chris Funk (The Decemberists), Roberts was introduced to Son Little’s music and had him on repeat for weeks citing him as “the real keeper of the soul torch.” While headlining The Bluebird Theater in Denver in November 2022, Roberts met Son Little and approached him to guest on the album and they fleshed out the arrangement that same weekend.

Other guests on the album include Tierinii Jackson of Southern Avenue on “Peace,” a gospel-inspired track that was the perfect fit for the Memphis-born and raised vocalist and promising 19-year-old Chicago vocalist GreenTTea on the ethereal “Jardim” which testifies that the vanguard of funk and soul music is in good hands as it reaches new generations. As likely implied, “Jazzmatazz” is a direct nod to Guru’s iconic 1993 album, who Roberts recalls seeing in Leeds, UK around that same time. Eric “Benny” Bloom garnished the track with punchy horn arrangements and the result is a homage to a golden era of 90s jazz-inspired hip-hop.

As cliche as it sounds, there truly is something for everyone in Floki Sessions: Boots in Place that will appeal to decades-long fans of The Meters and digital crate diggers on the hunt for fresh soul sounds alike. The merger of generations, musical styles, and home bases of musicians presents George Porter Jr. to audiences from many walks of life once again celebrating his patrimony of being a foundational funk musician and doing what he came here to do.  

New Music: Colin Curtis Presents – Indigo Jam Unit // Alan Evans Trio - Gimme Some Momo

Colin Curtis Presents – Indigo Jam Unit

indigo jam unit, a Japanese super heavy jazz dance fusion supergroup, are set to release their specially compiled album in the UK for the first time. They are renowned for their unique blend of hard-hitting piano and percussion-driven jazz.

Gilles Peterson asked Colin Curtis to start his radio show on Worldwide FM called Jazz Dance Fusion at the beginning of the pandemic in May 2020 and this meant he could introduce underexposed music that he loved. indigo jam unit was a natural fit. Following a conversation with his long-time Jazz Ally Paul Murphy of Jazz Room Records, they both quickly decided that now was the time to unleash some of the best indigo jam unit tracks to the world on an exclusive vinyl-only release.

With pounding bass lines, percussive piano breaks, and the distinct addition of two drummers and percussionists, indigo jam unit’s sound is truly unique. They have carved a path for emerging bands in the jazz scene of today.

The four musicians from Osaka, Japan – Isao Wasano (Drums Percussion), Katsuhiko Sasai (Bass Double Bass), Takehiro Shimizu (Drums), and Yoshichika Tarue (Piano) – take no prisoners with their uncompromising style! Power, passion, drive, and incredible playing – like a lethal force.

From 2006 to 2016, they had a prolific output of albums with single-minded titles: Demonstration, Realism, Collectivity, Pirates, Roots, Independent Rebel, Milestone, Lights, and more – over 17 projects.

indigo jam unit embody the same energy as those jazz dance greats like Art Blakey, Dom Um Romao, Stone Alliance, and the like – just uncompromising raw passion!

Alan Evans Trio - Gimme Some Momo

There is something undeniably special when a band of three clicks. Some would say finding three good musicians playing music together isn’t a hard task. Finding seasoned artists who can make a trio sound like a band twice their size though, well that’s special. Founded by Soulive member, writer and drummer of over 15 years Alan Evans, the Alan Evans Trio, aka Ae3, is a power soul organ trio consisting of Alan Evans, Danny Mayer (Eric Krasno Band) and Kris Yunker (Jen Durkin and the Business) and is undeniably special.

Evans, Mayer and Yunker have spent years individually and collectively touring the world bringing the soulful music they love to a captive audience. Each of these musicians are true artists who have bold and confident voices yet they create one massive sound together that is truly their own.

The trio’s sound proves hard-driving and groovy with deep, funky melodies and powerful, rhythmic counterplay. Ae3 opens a window into another side – an emotional introspection, as dark as it is powerful. Their passionate progressions emanate an electrified, smoky, 70s-era CTI Records zeitgeist. Mention the name Alan Evans to a room full of music lovers, and you will get a consensus nod at one of the most celebrated and tenacious drummers in the jazz, funk, and soul scene. A producer, recording engineer, guitarist, percussionist, vocalist and writer, Alan‘s repertoire of skills have been perfected with more than a decade of dedication.

As Ae3, the outfit has four albums under their belt: their debut Drop Hop was released on Royal Family Records in 2012, while sophomore full-length Merkaba landed in 2013. But it wasn’t until 5 years later, in 2019, that we got The Wild Root, released on Alan Evans‘ own imprint Vintage League Music, which was soon followed by Elephant Head in 2021.

Hip Holland Hip: Modern Jazz In The Netherlands 1950 - 1970

Delve into the Dutch jazz scene of the 1950s and 1960s with a selection of classic and rare hard bop and cool jazz tracks from artists like Herman Schoonderwalt, the Diamond Five, Wessel Ilcken and Tony Vos.

Holland never sounded this hip before!

“Jazz is garbage and a caricature of the modern orchestra; it is garbage arranged by half-grown musicians for the benefit of common entertainment.” In spite of the Dutch cultural establishment’s attempts to preclude jazz - as illustrated by this citation from the October 1926 issue of music magazine De Muziek - The Netherlands was one of the earliest adopters of the new music style as it came over to the Old Continent at the end of World War I.

The roaring twenties gave birth to the first Dutch jazz bands, like The Original Jazz Syncopators, James Meijer’s Jazzband and The Ramblers. Paul Whiteman was the first major American jazz artist to visit The Netherlands. His concerts in the serious music temples the Kurhaus in Scheveningen and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam brought jazz to the general public, but also rang the alarm among the early Dutch jazz purists. Although Whiteman was nicknamed ‘The King of Jazz’, they regarded his mixture of jazz with symphonic music as merely commercial and too ‘sweet’ compared to the ‘hot’ African American jazz that they favored. The founding of magazine De Jazzwereld in 1931 (by then fifteen-year-old (!) future band leader Red Debroy) and the Nederlandse Hot Club in 1933 were attempts to propagate ‘authentic’ jazz among the Dutch public, and they contributed to the creation of a true jazz scene that was in full bloom when the Swing era set off in the mid-1930s.

Hip Holland Hip wias released on June 16th via Sdban Records on 2LP in gatefold sleeve with liner notes (limited version and standard version), CD including a booklet with liner notes and of course digitally.

On Resound NYC, Moby Reimagines and Orchestrates 15 of His Most Iconic NYC Tracks

Multi-platinum selling singer, songwriter and producer, Moby, releases his 20th studio album Resound NYC through Deutsche Grammophon. It is an orchestral rework of fifteen of his most iconic tracks written or recorded in New York from the years 1994 to 2010.

In February Moby launched Resound NYC with In This World featuring Marisha Wallace, which was followed by Walk With Me, featuring Lady Blackbird, Extreme Ways featuring Dougy Mandagi (Temper Trap) and South Side featuring Ricky Wilson (Kaiser Chiefs). Today he shares In My Heart, the album’s opening track, featuring stunning vocals from Gregory Porter. Other guest vocalists include Margo Timmins and Amythyst Kiah.

In My Heart was originally featured on Moby’s 6th studio album 18. Beautiful, sweeping strings open the uplifting gospel choir rework of this track. On working with Gregory Porter, Moby said, “one of the best things about not being a great singer is that it forces me to work with great singers, and Gregory is simply one of the greatest singers in the world.”

On working with Moby, Gregory Porter said, “It’s a pleasure to work again with Moby for ‘In My Heart’, and to be part of the revival of a classic. The message of leading with love and faith is universal.”

Resound NYC is the follow up to Moby’s acclaimed album Reprise (May, 2021), which featured guests including Kris Kristofferson, Mark Lanegan, Jim James, and Skylar Grey.

While many of the vocalists on Resound NYC are well-known names, others are less familiar: Moby discovered P.T. Banks singing in a wedding band in Texas, while the elderly father of mesmerizingly soulful Danielle Ponder joins her on the remake of “Run On”.

The music pioneer’s 20th studio album reflects perhaps the most defining era in Moby’s musical life, from his former home and birth place New York City. It was there he began his music career playing in punk rock bands, and dj’ing at underground clubs in and around New York.

After dj’ing and touring live through the 90’s, in 1999 Moby’s breakthrough album Play became not just a commercial success but a global phenomenon. He had already enjoyed hits with “Go”, “Feeling So Real”, and his version of the “James Bond Theme”, and had been asked to remix everyone from Michael Jackson to Freddie Mercury, but the smash hit Play changed everything. As we entered a new millennium, he turned electronic music on its head.

“Before I discovered punk rock, I grew up with classic rock,” says Moby. “My first concert was Yes at Madison Square Garden in 1978. So it was super compelling revisiting my songs and seeing whether they held up with a more traditional, non-electronic, orchestral approach.”

Revisiting his past whilst reimagining his future has resulted in Resound NYC., an album packed full of thrilling music, a classic reworking of definitive and era defining songs, once again reminding us of the incredible scope and relevance of Moby’s musical talent. (The original version of “When It’s Cold I’d Like to Die” recently featured in Netflix’s Stranger Things finale).

“An orchestra can be anything, it can be whatever the composer wants it to be,” Moby says. “So rather than having every song receive the same orchestral treatment, I kind of built a bespoke orchestral approach for each song.”

With Resound NYC, Moby reconsiders not just the evolution of his own work, but also a time, a place, and even a transformation in our world:

“When you think of the ’90s,” he says, “Bill Clinton was President; the rave scene was this utopian, idyllic world; the Soviet Union had ended; climate change was just an idea for a book that Al Gore was going to write. Back then, making music was this celebration of the potential that our world had, that our culture had. And now it's almost a refuge in an at times terrifying and apocalyptic world.”

Discover Creative Funk: The Underrated Funk & Soul Legends

One of the most underrated bands in the history of funk and soul music, Creative Funk was the brainchild of brothers Deek and Gary DeBerry. Gary started playing piano at 9, then stand-up bass at 13. Then he joined a jazz band in junior high school and played for talent shows and every assembly. The two brothers later added an alto sax and played a lot of Parks & Recreation gigs, which led them to the Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. They called themselves the "Mighty Fantastics" and came in second place to an R&B James Brown-type group who were older. Gary was only 14 years old then, but grateful to have played at the famed Apollo. 

In high school, Gary met an outstanding guitarist, and they started a band called Creative Funk that eventually led him to the Apollo again, this time as an artist with a record out that was making waves. That record, 1972's "Ready Made Family," which Gary composed with his older brother Deek, was strongly supported by his New York family and community. The single sold 25,000 units plus in New York City and the surrounding areas. Gary credits his brother Deek for being instrumental in helping him get the band going, and the two started their own record label, Creative Funk Enterprises. 

The band Creative Funk was truly an outstanding cast of players that included Gary on bass, Richard Currence (drums), Robert Banks and Walter Etheridge (guitars), Andre Johnson (trumpet, flugelhorn), Michael Johnson (saxophone), Denzil Miller (keyboards, trombone), and a talented trio of vocalists in Diane Jenkins, Veedette Williams, and Clarence Bassett. This great combination stayed together for four years and eventually parted ways in 1975. 

Primarily a live band, Creative Funk only recorded a handful of singles as a band on their own label, but the music was exceptional enough to cement their standing in R&B history. Deek and Gary kept the Creative Funk label alive and continued to put out releases by a bevy of talented artists such as a solo Jenkins, The Limelites, Funk Machine, Jimmy Castor, Zero Hour, DJ Kool, Scratchmaster Chuck T, and many others, well into the 1990s. Gary became a much-in-demand session bassist after the band split and went on to play with flutist Bobbie Humphrey, Norman Connors, Jean Carne, Stanley Turrentine, and a host of others. Gary is still going strong today and continues to treasure his memories of having been a big part of one of the greatest independent funk bands in the history of R&B.

Maciej Obara Quartet | "Frozen Silence"

Frozen Silence is the third ECM release from alto saxophonist Maciej Obara’s Polish-Norwegian quartet, bringing the story forward from Unloved and Three Crowns, recordings which confirmed the ensemble’s standing as one of the most strikingly original European bands of the present moment. The quartet’s creative sense of musical interplay is again to the forefront of this newest album, recorded in Oslo in the summer of 2022, which may be their strongest statement to date. Obara’s new music optimally highlights his intuitive musical relationship with Dominik Wania, while Ole Morten Vågan and Gard Nilssen continually transcend rhythm section roles to interact persuasively with the saxophonist and the pianist.

Alert interactivity is the hallmark of the group’s approach. The new repertoire, however, was shaped by Maciej in isolation. When pandemic lockdowns shut the door on the Polish jazz scene and ruled out international touring, he left Warsaw and headed for the hills and forests. The compositions heard here are reveries of the solitary walker: direct responses to nature, in particular the starkly dramatic landscapes of the Karkonosze region in south-west Poland, where his family roots are. Song titles single out some special locations – “Black Cauldron” (in Polish, Czarny kocioł jagniątkowski), “High Stone” (Wysoki kamień), and “Dry Mountain” (Sucha Góra).

The craggy outline of the balladic “High Stone” suggests both an ascent and a view of the territory. If the constantly changing winter light and the “frozen silence” of snow-capped peaks provided one set of inspirations there were also subtle musical influences at work. “At the time, I had been listening a lot to the music of Bill Dixon, my favourite trumpet player, which seemed to fit the emptiness and silence of the mountains. And I think you can hear the impact of Dixon on pieces like ‘Black Cauldron’ or ‘Flying Pixies.'” The latter title, he says, refers to the flickering reflections of sunlight on hardened snow.

Two titles fall outside the conceptual framework of high atmospheres. “Waves of Glyma” shifts the geographical focus from the mountains of Poland to the beaches of south Crete with vivid memories of blue waters against red sandstone cliffs.

“Rainbow Leaves”, meanwhile, co-credited to Obara and Nikola Kołodziejczyk, was written originally to augment Maciej’s Concerto for saxophone, piano and chamber orchestra, a major work which had been premiered by the AUKSO Orchestra in Poland. Kołodziejczyk had contributed the string arrangement to the orchestral version. The quartet version characteristically steers the music to new places, following the lead of Maciej’s saxophone, by turns reflective and impassioned.

The core line-up of the two Polish musicians, Maciej Obara and Dominik Wania, and the two Norwegian players, Ole Morten Vågan and Gard Nilssen, has been together for 11 years now. Four strong individual musicians, all bandleaders and project leaders in their own right, their contrasting but complementary styles defining the group’s character.

Dominik Wania, prominently featured throughout Frozen Silence, is increasingly recognized as one of the outstanding improvisers of his generation. Obara says, “We’ve been great friends from the very beginning but now I can feel that his work on his solo album [2020’s Lonely Shadows] also helped us to develop the music and his contribution to this band, opening even more the classical approach in his soloing with the quartet. I’m not talking about a single style, but about the way in which he really cares about dynamics in every moment and focuses on the tiny details that make music better. “

Drummer Gard Nilssen’s profile has also been raised with the release, last year, of Elastic Wave, his first ECM leader date. “Gard’s touch on the drums, the sounds he draws from them, and his flowing feeling for time is fantastic, and the combination with Ole Morten in the quartet is very special. Ole Morten’s so experienced through his years of directing the Trondheim Jazz Orchestra. And his way of bringing together a lyrical feeling for melody with classical awareness of form and the simultaneous commitment to free playing – well that’s a rare combination.” Frozen Silence was recorded at Oslo’s Rainbow Studio in June 2022, and mixed and completed in Munich, in April 2023, by Manfred Eicher.

Raymond Scott Reimagined: New LP ft Quartet San Francisco, Gordon Goodwin, Take 6

Violinjazz Recordings, the label of acclaimed Grammy-nominated musician Jeremy Cohen, principal violinist and founder of Classical Crossover specialists Quartet San Francisco, has announced the release of ‘Raymond Scott Reimagined,’ an unprecedented new collaboration teaming Quartet San Francisco with accomplished Grammy/Emmy Award-winning composer, producer, and arranger Gordon Goodwin and revered Grammy-winning a cappella group Take 6.

The thrilling 14-track collection, which includes Goodwin’s fresh arrangements of eight Scott classics, including mainstays “Powerhouse,” “Twilight in Turkey,” “Huckleberry Duck,” “The Quintette Goes to a Dance” and “In an 18th Century Drawing Room,” also introduces an entirely brand new composition, “Cutey and the Dragon,” which was crafted from an unfinished sketch Scott made in 1982 with Goodwin completing the composition in a manner that honors the great composer’s style and verve.

To introduce the project, a two-song single (“Powerhouse” & “Toy Trumpet”) arrived digitally June 9 with the full album arriving via Violinjazz/The Orchard/Sony on July 21.

The album, available now via Violinjazz Recordings, also contains several interstitials of Raymond Scott’s voice, along with spoken word from audio historian Art Shifrin and Grammy-winning composer/conductor John Williams, excerpted from the documentary film, ‘Deconstructing Dad’ (directed by Raymond’s son, Stan Warnow), has been two years in the making but, in actuality, is a journey of nearly 50 years.

Cohen, the project’s Executive Producer, explains, “I grew up during an era when a simple turn of the television dial could bring one's world from Leonard Bernstein to animation and cartoons. Escape, creativity, and whimsy fueled my imagination where animation offered a humorous view of the world. As a kid studying classical violin, I was fascinated by Carl Stalling's incorporation of iconic classical music into the Warner Brothers cartoon soundtracks.”

“Raymond Scott, who never actually wrote music expressly for animation, was widely quoted in Merrie Melodies cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy and pals. Scott’s music sat right alongside the world's most recognizable classical music and became part of the soundtrack of my imagination. Scott's ‘Powerhouse’ brings musical shape to emotions.”

“In the 1990s, I was introduced to Raymond Scott with the album ‘The Music of Raymond Scott: Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights’ (Columbia, 1992, Irwin Chusid, producer) and let's just say that at that moment, the lantern was lit for a longstanding quest. Scott’s music found its way into arrangements for my group, Quartet San Francisco. We found boundless passion and energy for bringing this music to our audiences.”

While the basis of the album would be an alliance between Quartet San Francisco and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, Jeremy and Gordon decided to engage a variety of ensembles to partner with the string quartet. These include pairing the string quartet with the big band on “Powerhouse,” “The Quintette Goes to a Dance,” “Twilight in Turkey,” and “Cutey and the Dragon,” incorporating a smaller ensemble of three horns on “Toy Trumpet” and a saxophone quintet on “Yesterday's Ice Cubes.” Two pianos enhanced “Huckleberry Duck” with the gorgeous vocals of Claude V. McKnight III, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea and Khristian Dentley (of the group Take 6) joining on “In an 18th Century Drawing Room” and “Serenade.” The results are spellbinding.

Gordon Goodwin, co-producer, composer, arranger, and bandleader of The Big Phat Band, recalls his introduction to the iconic composer and approach to the project, “I took a deep dive into the music of Raymond Scott when I was working as a composer for Warner Brothers Animation. His music made quite an impact on me, so when Jeremy approached me about collaborating on a project featuring Scott’s music, the answer was an immediate and enthusiastic yes!”

“There is a long list of great Raymond Scott songs from which to pick, but we knew that were some tunes we had to include, such as ‘Powerhouse’ and ‘Toy Trumpet,’ but we were excited when the Raymond Scott Archives presented us with an unfinished lead sheet to a song called ‘Cutey and the Dragon’ that Scott was working on with, and for, his granddaughter Kathy. They asked if I wanted to arrange it, but as I examined the lead sheet, I realized that it really wasn’t a finished composition, but ­­rather a work in progress. So the Scott family gave me the honor of finishing the composition. This allows us to present something rare—a previously unheard composition by Raymond Scott.”

“Another highlight was “Twilight in Turkey,” which features Don Williams on timpani, along with Wade Culbreth on mallet percussion. This is special because Don’s father Johnny Williams was the drummer for the Raymond Scott Quintette. He is also the father of film composer John Williams. Don was able to allow us the use of his father’s cowbell and tom toms, so this track has a direct and unique connection to this music’s creator.”

“When we considered the vocal component for this music, there was really only one consideration. Take 6 has set the bar for a cappella singing over the past three decades, and I knew that their sound and versatility would make for a distinctive contribution.”

A distinctive collaboration is quite the understatement. Between the three main collaborators, QSF, Goodwin and Take 6, they’ve earned 60 Grammy nominations, scoring 12 wins. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of the size and scope of Reimagined as two dozen best-in-class musicians amplify the sound and vision including Wayne Bergeron (trumpet), Ray Brinker (drums), Joey De Leon (percussion, congas, bongos), Justin Smith (guitar), Andy Waddell (guitar), Kevin Axt (bass), Sal Lozano (alto sax), Brett McDonald (alto sax, piccolo, clarinet), Brian Scanlon (tenor sax), Thomas Luer (tenor sax), Jay Mason (baritone sax), Daniel Fornero (trumpet), Aaron Janik (trumpet), Dan Savant (trumpet), Andrew Martin (trombone), Charlie Morillas (trombone), Francisco Torres (trombone), Craig Gosnell (bass trombone), Wade Culbreath (marimba, vibes, xylophone, cowbell), Meredith Clark (harp) and Don Williams (timpani, tom-toms) with Goodwin on piano and tenor sax and esteemed accompaniment by the other three virtuosos in Quartet San Francisco, Joseph Christianson (violin), Chad Kaltinger (viola) and Andrés Vera (cello).

Also in the mix is 7-time Grammy-winning engineer Leslie Ann Jones, who’s recognized for her work with Kronos Quartet, Chanticleer and Rosemary Clooney and whom Cohen’s worked with on previous projects including Pacific Premieres: New Works by California Composers. For Raymond Scott Reimagined, Jones recorded the joint sessions at Lucasfilm’s Skywalker Sound, the famed studio on George Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch in Nicasio, California. Additional recording took place at Dragonfly Creek Recording in Malibu and Lake Balboa Sound in Los Angeles.

Reimagining one of the all-time greats is a gargantuan undertaking but one ripe to cross all boundaries of time and space and one meant for the stage. To celebrate the project, Quartet San Francisco, along with Gordon Goodwin and some of the key members of The Big Phat Band, including Wayne Bergeron on trumpet and Andrew Martin on trombone, played to a packed house at Yoshi’s in Oakland, California, with All About Jazz championing the “energetic performance and splendid tribute...a whimsical dynamism flowed throughout the music.” More shows will be announced soon. room.

Toronto’s soulstress Tanika Charles unleashes "The Union Sessions", a live in studio EP

Following the release of her third studio album "Papillon de Nuit" from 2022, Canadian soulstress Tanika Charles unleashes a new live in studio EP called "The Union Sessions", out now on digital platforms. Recorded live at Union Sound studio in Toronto, the EP comprises a total of five tracks: four of these appeared originally on Tanika’s first EP "What? What! What?!" from 2010, while “Since You Been Gone” was on her second album "The Gumption" from 2019. Watch the official video for the extract "Parkdale" [feat. I.JAMES.JONES.]. 

"Parkdale" is an ode to Tanika’s first Toronto home in one of the cities most unique and vibrant neighbourhoods, it transports to a time of part-time gig work, spontaneous hangs, and the constant hustle to make rent. But are these tensions a mere stepping stone of youthful adventure or an enduring and unescapable capitalist trap? 

Tanika Charles has earned her stripes as a performing artist. Through nearly a decade of headlining she has revealed a knack for engaging her audiences, weaving storytelling, and building dynamism into every measure of her time on stage. As such, much of her catalogue of songs have evolved from their original studio recordings in a number of creative and interesting ways. This is especially true for some of her earliest works, originally constructed over instrumental beds more reminiscent of looped hip-hop beats. "The Union Sessions" is a freeze frame of evolution, bringing the tour-tested versions of these songs into a studio setting. 

Far from a dusting off of old material, these songs have remained staples of Tanika’s live show. The writing harkens to a moment of innocence from a nascent songstress, eager for expression, but yet to carve a particular path. But with these new recordings that journey and realization is laid bare, serving a gumbo of influence and experience. Having now been played hundreds of times, these songs are the product of constant iteration, unlikely to remain as is for very long. 

The assembled band for this project is a dream team of some of the best musicians Canada has to offer. Accompanying Tanika on vocals were frequent collaborators D/SHON Henderson and emerging solo artist Tafari Anthony. Jemuel “J3M” Roberts, another solo artist of note, joined on piano, EP and synths. Members of Toronto mainstay band re.verse formed the core band, with Damian Matthew on bass, Robb Cappelletto on guitar and Austin Gembora on drums. 

All songs were recorded off the floor in a single afternoon sitting at Union Sound without overdubs. Featured guest i.james.jones popped in for all of 20 minutes, laid his verse and exited like an absolute pro. Engineer Alex Gamble recorded and mixed the entire project with a particular aim towards producing evocative Dolby Atmos mixes.

Drummer Ross Pederson Delves Into Jazz, Rock, Pop and Hip-Hop on "Identity"

In his decade-plus residence in New York, compelling drummer and producer Ross Pederson has performed regularly around town and toured the world as a sideman ranging from collaborating with Snarky Puppy and supporting Patti Austin at a Kennedy Center New Year’s Eve extravaganza to today serving as the drummer for the Manhattan Transfer, an international gig since 2016, and he’s currently working with Grace Kelly and Shayna Steele. But, he says, his broad musical taste has taken him in many directions. Call him a musical chameleon. 

“I have roots in different kinds of music that don’t show up in my sideman gigs,” says Pederson, a native of Fargo, North Dakota, and graduate of the University of Texas Jazz Studies. “So, I was looking for an outlet to express myself as an artist.”

With a stellar band of musicians attuned to a different sonic experience informed by jazz, rock, pop and even full-tilt hip-hop, Pederson makes his solo recording debut with the self-fulfilling title, Identity. The indie release—available August 25 on most streaming platforms—opens with a splash and ends with a surprise.

“This is me,” Pederson says. “It’s a sensibility of one foot in the jazz world and one foot in pop. I drum, program, and added in layers of synths and percussion during the Identity production.” 

Along for the ride are fellow in-demand beat keeper bassist Sam Minaie and two keyboardists who color the show with a full and at times dense spectrum of electronics—David Cook on piano, Wurlitzer, Rhodes, synths and Hammond B-3; and Julian “J3PO” Pollack on piano, Rhodes, B-3, synths. The group solidifies with tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin, who delivers blustery excursions and outstanding harmonies that are signature to his rock-meets jazz intuition.

“Donny is a player who has relentless energy,” Pederson says. “Before and after I moved to New York, I saw him as a key player in my own development. I looked at him as a mentor. He was driven in jazz but also just as heavily by indie rock and electronica. He’s a heavy player who is generous. We became friendly and played some sessions together. Donny was the perfect voice for this music. He stretches here.”

Pederson also talks about his long-term history with Minaie and Cook, who were the co-best men at his wedding. Again, there’s the jazz-pop connective tissue as he points out that Cook has served as the music director for Taylor Swift and Maren Morris. The core of the band recorded in Brooklyn except for Pollack, who tours with Marcus Miller and Chris Botti. He was stuck working in L.A., so Pederson sent the studio tracks to him for more sound push. “Just as I knew he would do, Julian added his magic to the tapestry,” he says.

With a solid beat undergirding the affair, Identity opens with “Anxiety,” a whirlwind, beat-grating drive with melodic interludes amidst other-worldly haunting electronics. “The title gives it away,” Pederson says. “This is music that expresses that sense of anxiety, which we’ve all been experiencing.” While it’s an eerie yet catchy tune that develops in a minor key, Pederson points out there’s hope. “The idea was to turn that anxiety we’re all feeling into a different sonic realm,” he adds. “At about the 7-minute mark, the song resolves into beauty with a major sustained chord.”

The uneasiness spell broken, Pederson offers “Now,” a positive, uplifting tune where McCaslin plays mightily through an arpeggio cloud of electronica that Pollack added into the mix. “Julian brought it to the table here,” Pederson says. “It feels like a shining halo. This is a bit of ear candy for where we should be now.”

In an extension of “Now” thematically, Pederson offers the quiet and ethereal “In the Moment” (a “short and sweet self-reflection”) followed by the soulful ballad “Contemplation” about personal connections that features Cook on B-3. 

“Strange Things” takes a different twist with McCaslin’s blowing and a sci-fi groove inspired by the Netflix series Stranger Things that reminded Pederson of his fascination with the ‘80s film The Goonies. That precedes the electronics-fueled “Sagittarius,” that in keeping with the album theme, focused on Pederson’s birth sign. “That is part of my identity for sure,” he says. “It’s a fire sign that also suggests wandering. I’m not happy staying in one place. I need to move into an adventure.” Highlight of the tune is McCaslin and Pollack conversing together.

The anthemic “Hope Uplift” is a dreamy, melodic, cosmic salute to overcoming the pervading environment of tension, hate and division. In a new melodic rush “No Pressure,” Pederson plays off a running joke from his in-laws. “It ends up taking on a darker vibe than I intended,” he says. “Like “Strange Things,” I used a lot of unscripted space for group improvisation. It’s like a musical invite. Come to the party, but no pressure.”

Composed as a reflection of the 2020 elections, “Bedlam” takes musical shape with odd meters and restless shifting. McCaslin stars as well as Cook who take the meaning to heart. That’s followed by the short love song, the pop-beat “Somewhere in the World,” inspired by Pederson missing his wife, bassist Julia Adamy, who importantly shows up at the finale. 

For the surprise, the leader says the change-of-pace hip-hop “Bigger Than That,” is definitely an “outlier.” He started by coming up with an offbeat keyboard sketch that called out for a groove. “I’m hearing something, but I’m looking for the right sound,” he says. “So, I asked Julia, does this need a rapper?” She agreed and soon he contacted JSWISS who he knew from some jam sessions. JSWISS came to his studio, got into the flow and improvised lyrics. Adamy and her singer-songwriter friend and long-time collaborator Melissa McMillan were hanging upstairs and came down to co-write and sing the chorus.

“It’s kind of like a bonus track,” Pederson says. “This totally fits into my musical identity. It’s part of the tapestry. What I like is that this song has such a positive vibe. At end of the day, I hope this song and the rest of Identity uplifts people.”

The Sextones – Love Can’t Be Borrowed

Produced by Kelly Finnigan of The Monophonics, Record Kicks presents “Love Can’t Be Borrowed”, the new album by US combo The Sextones, out on September 29th. Analog soul from the high desert of Nevada.

The intrepid soul crusaders from Nevada’s high desert have emerged from a years-long writing and recording process guided by virtuoso producer Kelly Finnigan (Monophonics) with their latest offering: Love Can’t Be Borrowed, to be released next September 29th via Milan heavy-weight soul label, Record Kicks.

Sophisticated, suave, and masterfully composed, the album is a sonic love letter to late 60s and early 70s soul, nodding to the giants of the genre and bowing to its unsung heroes. Drawing from their upbringings steeped in the sound, front man and guitarist Mark Sexton and bassist Alexander Korostinsky knew they wanted an album to highlight their old-school bona fides while leaving room for innovation. They found that balance in marathon recording sessions at Finnigan’s Transistor Sound studio in San Rafael, California. Over the course of two years, the producer helped them break down their slate of songs to the bare essentials and add a new layer of sonic maturity. “The ability to be vulnerable when writing your music is an important ingredient for any record,” Korostinsky said. “You can tell when an artist is being genuine and for a long time, we felt a little insincere with what we were doing. After working with Kelly, we started noticing that the music we were all making now was truly and finally ourselves.”

Kelly Finnigan said: “The Sextones made my job easy as a producer. They fully bought in to my way of thinking and stayed focused throughout the whole process. We took our time crafting the songs and did our best to capture a vibe when tape was rolling. It was a really great time making the album and we put a lot of care and love into each song. I think that comes through in the music and people will feel that.”

With inspiration from artists like The Moments, Baby Huey, The Delfonics, and especially the late Curtis Mayfield, the album is drenched in the era-defining tone that can only come from its origins on analog tape. From the first notes of the opening track “Daydreaming”, the songs shimmer and glow from one moment to the next like a summer’s drive with the windows down, with steady cruise anthems like “Beck & Call” floating by like a cool breeze. Love Can’t Be Borrowed is captained by Sexton’s smooth falsetto and bolstered by lush guitar work, crunchy drum breaks, and molten basslines that seep into every crack. Beyond the rhythm section, we find a delicate universe of orchestral strings, punchy horns, vibraphones, and reverb-drenched background vocals—reveling in the hallmarks of the genre as only true acolytes can. “I feel like this record is going to speak to people who understand it, and that’s who we’re making it for,” Sexton said. “I think it’s going to touch a lot of people emotionally. And, selfishly, we’re making it for ourselves because we just love this kind of music.” With an authentic sound and historical appreciation, The Sextones’ new album sounds like opening a time capsule from the golden era of American soul, assuring crate-diggers and casual fans alike that the legacy of the genre’s past 50 years is in capable hands.

Friends since childhood, The Sextones are Mark Sexton (guitar, vocals), Alexander Korostinsky (bass), Daniel Weiss (drums), and Christopher Sexton (piano). Having known each other for so long, their musical chemistry is effortless and forms the foundation of the band’s longevity and creative workflow. Despite their bond, each member has been able to channel their creativity into other acclaimed groups—Alexander and Mark with their cinematic-soul project Whatitdo Archive Group, whose acclaimed debut LP The Black Stone Affair was released on Record Kicks in 2021, and Daniel with the soul/jazz group Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio (Colemine Records). Flexing their creative muscle individually has only strengthened The Sextones’ collective songwriting ability and heralds their formidable return to the spotlight. With their recent signing to Record Kicks, the self-made heroes of soul begin a new chapter in their sonic journey, ready to scale new heights and plumb deep emotional depths in service of the genre they love. ~ firstexperiencerecords.com

Sonny Rollins | "Go West!: The Contemporary Records Albums"

Craft Recordings releases Go West!: The Contemporary Records Albums, the 3-LP and 3-CD collection that explores Sonny Rollins’ output for Lester Koenig’s revered Los Angeles jazz label. Newly cut from the original analog tapes by GRAMMY®-winning engineer (and former Contemporary Records studio employee) Bernie Grundman, the 20-track set presents two classic albums from the legendary saxophonist’s catalog: Way Out West (recorded in March 1957) and Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders (October 1958). Adding additional context are six alternate takes, culled from both albums. Originally released in 1986 on the long-out-of-print compilation album Contemporary Alternate Takes, these tracks allow listeners to hear Rollins and his fellow musicians develop such iconic recordings as “Way Out West” and “Come, Gone.”

The 3-LP edition (pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI) and the 3-CD set both include an expanded booklet with new liner notes by the GRAMMY® Award-winning music historian Ashley Kahn. Also included is a new interview with Rollins, conducted by Kahn in August 2021. Beginning today, fans can stream or download an alternate take of “You.” Previously unavailable on digital platforms, the recording was captured during the sessions for Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders. 

Go West!: The Contemporary Records Albums is part of an ongoing collection of special releases celebrating the 70th anniversary of Contemporary Records, including 2021’s Ornette Coleman – Genesis of Genius, which is available here, and the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, featuring a variety of classic, 180-gram vinyl reissues from the likes of Art Pepper, Benny Carter and Shelly Manne, available here.

In the spring of 1957, 26-year-old Sonny Rollins was primed for a new adventure. For nearly a decade, the tenor saxophonist had worked his way up through the ranks of the New York City jazz scene. By the mid-50s, Rollins was playing alongside such stars as Miles Davis, Clifford Brown and Max Roach, and Thelonious Monk, and had released his first albums as a leader on Prestige Records. The saxophonist had also established himself as a talented composer, through such now-iconic jazz standards as “Oleo,” “Airegin,” “Doxy” and “St. Thomas.” But while the Harlem-born artist was firmly entrenched in the East Coast hard bop scene, the opportunity to explore the sights and sounds of the West Coast (where the cool jazz movement was in full swing) had a strong appeal. Moreover, having recently concluded his contractual obligations with Prestige, Rollins was a free agent. In his new liner notes, Ashley Kahn writes, “The idea of freedom comes up often in chronicles of Rollins during this period. It’s noted in the music he was creating—particularly in his decision to perform and record with piano-less rhythm accompaniment, allowing for a harmonic freedom, but also in his extended improvisations that developed into lengthy stories of their own. Rollins was developing his sound and approach on a daily basis.”

At the center of the West Coast jazz scene was Contemporary Records. Founded in 1951 by former screenwriter and film producer Lester Koenig, the young label was home to some of Los Angeles’ most exciting artists, including Shelly Manne, Barney Kessel, Hampton Hawes, Art Pepper and André Previn. From its state-of-the-art recording facilities to its high-impact jacket art, Contemporary Records had quickly established itself as an industry tastemaker—and Rollins wanted to take part in the action. Koenig, who had recently begun pairing East and West Coast musicians together, was just as eager to work with the rising star.

“I think everybody on the scene knew about Contemporary Records. Contemporary had a very positive reputation, a good name,” recalls Rollins, speaking to Kahn in 2021. “[Koenig] seemed to be a very resolute fellow, a no-nonsense type of guy, and a very charming person. . . . He was very respectful and a supporter of the music. He knew the history.”

Rollins commemorated his inaugural trip to California with Way Out West. Recorded in the early hours of March 7 with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne, the album marked the saxophonist’s first in a trio setting. A loose concept record, Way Out West was comprised of originals (“Come Gone” and the title track), standards (Duke Ellington’s “Solitude,” Isham Jones’ “There Is No Greater Love”) and a pair of Western classics: Johnny Mercer’s “I’m an Old Cowhand” and Peter DeRose’s “Wagon Wheels.” Engineer Roy DuNann (whom Rollins refers to as “the Rudy Van Gelder of the West Coast”) recorded the sessions.

The memorable jacket art, photographed by Bill Claxton, was also conceived of by Rollins. The desert scene features the musician as a lone cowboy, drawing a saxophone from his gun holster. “I used to go to the movies every week in Harlem and I happened to be a big cowboy fan,” reveals Rollins. “They were my heroes and they were always the good guys. They stood for justice. In the end, good would always win over bad.”

In 1958, Rollins returned to Los Angeles—but this time he was a star. In the two years following his first visit, the saxophonist had released multiple albums (including the groundbreaking Freedom Suite), made his debut at Carnegie Hall and was hailed by critics as the decade’s most influential tenor sax player. Rollins had also married his first wife, actress and model Dawn Finney, whom he met during his first trip to California. His follow-up for Contemporary, Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders, would bookend this eventful era—marking the musician’s final album of the ’50s, before he embarked on his first European tour and took a three-year hiatus, ahead of his next artistic phase.

Recorded over three days that October, Sonny Rollins and the Contemporary Leaders found the horn player primarily in a quintet setting, backed by Manne, Barney Kessel (guitar), Hampton Hawes (piano) and Leroy Vinnegar (bass), with a guest appearance by vibraphonist Victor Feldman—all of whom also recorded as leaders on the label, as the title implies. Bridging the sounds of both coasts, the album showcased the talents of each musician, as they played eight standards, including “Alone Together” (Schwartz/Dietz), “You” (Donaldson/Adamson) and “How High the Moon” (Lewis/Hamilton).

“I really like the mix of tunes we did on the Leaders album, and I also like that the record shows there is a difference between the West Coast and East Coast musicians back then,” notes Rollins. “The musicians out there were just like the West Coast itself—beautiful landscape, beautiful weather, everything like that… East Coast jazz was more hard-edged. The bebop music we were playing at that time represented that divide—I could hear the difference.”

Rollins’ love affair with California wasn’t just about the scenery, however. To him, these trips and their resulting albums represented a unique moment in his life—one filled with creative exploration, a thrilling sense of opportunity and romance. “Being out West felt like new beginnings to me,” he explains. “That whole experience in L.A. was a moment of growth. I’m so grateful that I’ve lived to the age that I am and that I could learn. I’m still learning, you know, growing and learning.”

Eddie Henderson | "Witness to History"

If it hadn’t already been used for a 1950s television series, I Led Three Lives might have been an ideal title for the upcoming documentary about Eddie Henderson, who would be a fascinating subject in any one of those lives: as a medical doctor, as a pioneering figure skater, and of course as a legendary jazz musician. As it is, the film is scheduled to premiere on PBS in 2024 under the equally apt title of Dr. Eddie Henderson: Uncommon Genius.

If the process of making the documentary has forced Henderson to look back over the impressive scope of his own life, it’s also led him to ruminate on the broad sweep of momentous events and influential figures that he’s encountered over the course of his nearly 83 years on the planet. On his exhilarating new album Witness to History, due out September 15 via Smoke Sessions Records, Henderson has assembled a collection of musicians and material that represent key points along that consequential timeline.

“My first trumpet teacher, way back in 1949, was Louis Armstrong,” recalls Henderson, who met the trumpet icon through his mother, a dancer at Harlem’s famed Cotton Club.

“From that point on, I witnessed the evolution in music through Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Booker Little, Woody Shaw, John Coltrane, up to the present. I lived through the turmoil of the ’60s and ’70s and the rise of Black Power in this country. I was also fortunate to come into contact with people like Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis, and Willie Mays. So, I have been a witness to history, and inevitably that rubbed off on me musically.”

The release of Witness to History arrives on the 50th anniversary of Henderson’s debut as a leader, 1973’s Realization. The stellar quintet on this album bridges that half-century of music: lifelong collaborator George Cables returns once again to the piano bench. Henderson’s colleague in The Cookers, alto saxophonist Donald Harrison, and his more recent collaborator, bassist Gerald Cannon, have also appeared on the trumpeter’s recent string of releases for Smoke Sessions. They’re joined by legendary drummer Lenny White, who has reunited with Henderson in the studio for the first time since Realization 50 years ago.

Henderson’s “Scorpio Rising,” which opens the album with two drummers, also features a guest appearance by drummer Mike Clark, who, like Henderson, was an integral part of Herbie Hancock’s groundbreaking fusion groups (Henderson in Mwandishi, Clark in the Headhunters). The piece explicitly revisits “Scorpio-Libra,” the searching opening track from Realization. Henderson’s airy yet piercing approach, the hip-hop influence on White’s grooves and Clark’s exploratory interjections, all hint at the original while exemplifying the distance all have traveled in the intervening years.

The album continues with “Why Not?,” the title tune from Cables’ own 1975 leader debut, making for another fascinating career bookend. “I chose songs for this album that stood out in my mind for shaping my musical destiny,” Henderson says. “George and I are close musical affiliates, and I’ve always loved the way he writes, the way he leaves a lot of space and lets things float. I’ve played that tune with George on live gigs, and I’ve always wanted to record it, so like the title says, why not?”

While many of the remaining pieces are classic standards, four of them represent a kind of Mount Rushmore for the post-Armstrong jazz trumpet, at least in Henderson’s estimation. “Totem Pole” is the one piece actually written by one of the horn players I question, a cut from Lee Morgan’s immortal The Sidewinder, here given more of a bossa nova feel. He discovered “Born to Be Blue,” meanwhile, from Freddie Hubbard, though Henderson’s version shifts from a ballad to a simmering mid-tempo swing. Finally, “Sweet and Lovely” is a nod to Booker Little, again reimagined from a melancholy ballad to a ¾ swagger.

Henderson says that “It Never Entered My Mind” really “hit a nerve” when he first heard Miles Davis’ rendition as a teenager. Eddie Harris’ “Freedom Jazz Dance” is another homage to Miles, as Henderson fell in love with Davis’ renowned version from Miles Smiles.

Finally, “I Am Going to Miss You, My Darling” is the latest contribution to Henderson’s songbook from the pen of his wife Natsuko. The gorgeous ballad is named for her sentiment whenever Henderson heads out on the road, vividly captured by the pining melody. “Natsuko is a very prolific composer with an innate, God-given musical talent,” says Henderson. “This particular tune was particularly meaningful, because we are inseparable when we’re together. She usually travels with me, but it is difficult when we’re apart.”

Three lives, eight decades, more than fifty years of incredible music. Witness to History traces Eddie Henderson’s evolution through a remarkable span of time but listening to this captivating album, it’s abundantly clear that he’s done more than watch from the sidelines as history unfolds. Dr. Henderson has made his own indelible mark on history, and this vital music reveals that he’s far from writing his final chapter.

CLARK SOMMERS | "FEAST EPHEMERA"

First call Chicago bassist, Clark Sommers, perhaps best known for his long, and ongoing, tenure with Kurt Elling, has an enviable CV, with appearances on stage and in studio with The Chicago Yestet, Jeff Parker, Matt Gold, Darrell Grant, Joe Locke, Gary Versace and many others. He has also led his own ensembles including his open-sky trio Ba(SH) and the quintet, Clark Sommers Lens. As busy and in demand as Sommers is, a true artist keeps growing and expanding; they continually search for outlets for creative impulses that are simply boiling over inside of them. And that is precisely what Sommers did. “I wanted to get deeper into writing,” said Sommers. “I wanted to see what I could do if I had the capacity to add more texture to a group – to go further into the exploration of harmonic possibilities, and to try spreading out the sounds using different instruments.” With that in mind, he enrolled as a Masters student in composition at DePaul University, with the aim of enlarging his tonal palette while expanding the scope of his work.

Sommers still had no plans to write charts for a traditional jazz orchestra, or to write such an expansive suite, as he has done here. (“Man, why would I do that now, in 2020? What’s the point?” he remembers thinking.) He admires the power and sweep of the classic big bands led by Ellington and Basie – who wouldn’t? – and the unsurpassed arrangements that Nelson Riddle wrote for the likes of Fitzgerald and Sinatra; he just didn’t see those as a model for himself. But, he was intrigued by the 12-piece band in the composition workshop at DePaul run by his Ba(SH) bandmate, the formidable drummer, composer and long-time friend and collaborator Dana Hall. “I really started to get into this more streamlined version of a big band,” says Sommers; “I felt I could do more with counterpoint in a way that wasn't so dense – like I could keep some of the small-group ethos but with a few more players.”

During the workshop, Sommers attempted writing a new introduction for one of his older pieces, and inadvertently composed an entirely new piece, “Pedals,” which contemplatively treats the listener to tiers of burnished brass, solos from trombonist Joel Adams and saxophonist Nick Mazzarella, and then the unexpected timbres of organ and flute. Subtly authoritative, it belies the fact that it is the first composition Sommers completed for this instrumentation. Encouraged by “Pedals,” he then wrote “Chance Encounter,” and got to hear it played at DePaul, in March, 2020 – only days before COVID-19 upended the world.

The pandemic made virtual hermits of almost everyone, and especially those whose lives and work revolved around real-time interplay and synergistic creativity – you know, musicians. Cut off from audiences and colleagues, going a bit stir-crazy at home, Sommers channeled his energy and frustration into his new avocation. He began to write the pieces heard on Feast Ephemera – pieces that quickly gained a significance beyond the music itself. Over time and through diligent hard work, Sommers found himself with a suite of music, with each composition a chapter in this story, told from the heart by Sommers through rhythm, harmony, melody, counterpoint, and many other ingredients that make music like this such a joyful, life-affirming pleasure to listen to.

The music on Feast Ephemera reflects on Sommers’ life over the past two decades, and the love, camaraderie and solidarity that he shares with his family in music (of which, eleven are featured on this album). He wrote this music while meditating and reflecting on his experiences with each of them. He wondered when or even if they might get back to working together – back to their neighborhood. (The “ephemeral” nature of these reflections inspired the name of the band and the album.) And then he thought, “How can I be creative with them in mind, kind of on their behalf? How can I fit them into the music in a way that I hear naturally?” The answer lies in the compositions and the performances on this album.

Sommers wanted to capture the memories and the experiences that sustained him during the pandemic’s amorphous twilight. To do that, he sought to convey the personalities of the musicians – not only by giving each of them solo space, but also by utilizing their unique artistic personae within the ensemble writing. This proved easier than you might think: as the music evolved, he began “hearing” their styles, and connections seemed to spring to mind. “I let each composition guide me to whom I thought could best represent it” as a soloist, he says; the design of the piece dictated whether to highlight the specific sound of John Wojciechowski’s flute, or Geof Bradfield’s bass clarinet, or Tito Carrillo vis-à-vis Russ Johnson on trumpet.

The process allowed Sommers to access an interior dialog with absent friends, but it didn’t stop there. “I was only three months into my graduate studies. I didn’t know much about arranging then. So I would get on the phone with various people. I would ask Chris Madsen and he'd say, ‘No, man, you’ve got to give more to the saxophones here.’ I would call Scott Hesse and ask about a certain guitar voicing. It was a way for me to stay engaged with these players, and to think about how they could bring this to life. And it became an important driving force for me to finish the piece and just bring these people together to record it.”

You’ll notice that Sommers takes no solos on this album. He didn’t have to; he expresses himself throughout the work. Feast Ephemera is rigorously imagined, handsomely arranged, superbly realized – all the things that make it a long-lasting feast for the ears. Ultimately, it’s about community: these specific musicians, at a specific time and in our lives, that Clark Sommers gets to lead and enjoy from the back of the bandstand.

This press release borrows text from the album’s liner notes by the esteemed Neil Tesser.

Darius Jones Announces fLuXkit Vancouver (i̶t̶s̶ suite but sacred)

A radiant manifesto of artistic freedom, Darius Jones' fLuXkit Vancouver (i̶t̶s̶ suite but sacred) brings together a composition in four movements written and performed by Jones on alto saxophone, long-time collaborator Gerald Cleaver on drums, and four Vancouver-based string musicians: violinists Jesse Zubot and Josh Zubot, cellist Peggy Lee and bassist James Meger; with original artwork by Stan Douglas and liner notes by poet Harmony Holiday.

Commissioned by Western Front, an artist-run center for multidisciplinary experimentation and the historic home of the avant-garde in Vancouver, Jones drew inspiration from Western Front’s art is life ethos and its legacy of exchange with creative musicians such as George Lewis and Ornette Coleman. Composed across a series of residencies beginning in 2019 and recorded in June 2022 at Western Front’s iconic Grand Luxe Hall, fLuXkit Vancouver (i̶t̶s̶ suite but sacred) is the first collaborative release with Brooklyn-based Northern Spy and Helsinki-based We Jazz Records.

The album’s spirited first movement, Fluxus V5T 1S1, reveals a compositional universe as penetrating as it is expansive. For Fluxus artists, art can exist anywhere. This can take the physical form of a fluxkit, a collection of artworks and everyday objects placed in a small container or box. By challenging definitions and pushing artistic boundaries, anyone who opens a fluxkit can experience an art event. Jones presents us with a fluxkit that we want to reopen again and again. 

The cover art for fLuXkit Vancouver was contributed by internationally acclaimed Vancouver-based artist Stan Douglas. Part of Douglas’ DCT series (2016 - ongoing), Occ6 is a brightly colored abstraction created through manipulating frequencies, amplitudes, and color values at the point in the digitization process where a photographic image is only represented by code. Occ6 mesmerizes and in turn offers a visual language that is untethered from conventional notions of the art form. “Stan found this world inside of a machine. Is this a photo?” Jones asks. “Is it a painting? What am I looking at? Maybe something that doesn’t exist anywhere else.” 

The music of fLuXkit Vancouver also exists in between worlds: Is this a compositional suite? Is it sacred music? Or is it simply art? Jones’ score includes visual components — a 25 unique graphics key for extended technique on strings — alongside standard musical notation. “I wanted the musicians to respond in a way that was unique to them, to explore the relationship between what we hear and how we see, where sound becomes visual, emotional, and visceral.” That relationship is seen in the second movement Zubot, a bopping earthy elixir, and in the third movement Rainbow, an alluring and sultry ballad. “The music has a cinematic quality. Like Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite, I wanted to tell a story about a place,” Jones says

The album’s fourth and final movement, Damon & Pythias, marks Jones’ chrysalis as a sonic painter. The 200-year-old building that houses Western Front was originally a fraternal lodge of the Knights of Pythias. When Jones arrived in 2019, he encountered a multidisciplinary space that had fully integrated art practice into daily life. Between composing, Jones spent time with Fluxus artist and Western Front founder Eric Metcalfe and explored their historical archive. “I was able to sit and converse frequently with Metcalfe about why he and other artists created Western Front and how they were influenced by a movement called Fluxus. Being there helped me remember the importance of art existing together, music alongside visual art, writing, and dance, as a way to influence one’s process and perspective. This inspired me to make a compositional statement that would present me fearlessly as an artist."

In her liner notes for fLuXkit Vancouver (i̶t̶s̶ suite but sacred), poet and archivist Harmony Holiday writes, “The playing here is gorgeous, but what stands out most is the rigor of the compositions, which feel like tributes to Sun Ra’s call that ‘only the impossible happens.’ Their mood is expansive, gleeful, wistful, sometimes frantic, but so coherent and poised at every turn that all you can do while listening is marvel at this fluency in the language of will and won’t that lives here alone.”

Released by Northern Spy and We Jazz Records, and produced with support from Coastal Jazz & Blues Society, the International Institute of Critical Studies in Improvisation, and with additional support from the Robert D. Bielecki Foundation.

Darius Jones has created a recognizable voice as a critically acclaimed saxophonist and composer by embracing individuality and innovation in the tradition of Black music. Jones has been awarded the Van Lier Fellowship, Jerome Foundation Artist-in-Residence and commission, French-American Jazz Exchange Award, and a Fromm Music Foundation commission from Harvard University. Jones has received acclaim for not only his studio albums featuring music and images evocative of Black Futurism, but also for his commissioned work as a composer throughout the United States and Canada.

In 2021, Darius released Raw Demoon Alchemy (A Lone Operation) on Northern Spy Records. Jones was the 2022 MATA Festival artist in residence and festival curator, where he premiered Colored School No. 3 (Extra Credit).

Jones has collaborated with Gerald Cleaver, Oliver Lake, William Parker, Andrew Cyrille, Craig Taborn, Wet Ink Ensemble, Jason Moran, Trevor Dunn, Dave Burrell, Eric Revis, Matthew Shipp, Marshall Allen, Nasheet Waits, Branford Marsalis, Travis Laplante, Fay Victor, Cooper-Moore, Matana Roberts, JD Allen, Matthew Shipp, Nicole Mitchell, Georgia Ann Muldrow, International Contemporary Ensemble and many more. 

Jones was a JJA Jazz Awards finalist nominee for Alto Saxophonist of the Year in 2022 and 2013, the 2019 Downbeat Annual Critics Poll winner for Rising Star Alto Saxophone, and The New York Times named Jones among the Best Live Jazz Performances of 2017 for his Vision Festival performance with Farmers by Nature. Jones has been featured in Pitchfork, The Wire, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Downbeat, among others. Critics have called him "robustly creative" (Nate Chinen, New York Times) and "one of NYC's most incisive and passionate saxists" (Time Out New York). AllAboutJazz.com reviewer Troy Collins writes, "Jones has set the stage for a winning series of albums designed to document his rise as one of the most impressive and unique voices of our time." 

Jones has been a contributing writer with featured essays, “Year of Demoon (My Life Inside 2020)” in The Brooklyn Rail (September 2021) and “We Can Change the Country" New Music Box (October 2020).

Jones graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies in 2003, earning a Master of Arts in Jazz Performance/Composition from New York University in 2008, where he also taught New Music Improvisation as an adjunct professor. Jones taught saxophone and improvisation at Columbia University in 2017, and currently teaches in the College of Performing Arts and Contemporary Music at The New School. 

Jones’ music is a confrontation against apathy and ego, hoping to inspire authenticity that compels us to be better humans.