Gerald Levert | "When It's Right: The Anthology (1991-2007)

First-of-its-kind 3CD anthology drawn from the nine solo albums recorded between 1991-2006 by award-winning multi-hyphenate singer, songwriter, producer and perfomer, the late Gerald Levert. As the son of the legendary Eddie Levert, the founder/lead singer of The O’Jays, Gerald blended the time-honoured traditions of 60s and 70s classic soul music with 80s and 90s lyrical themes and contemporary grooves to create a distinctive sound that appealed to global audiences for over a decade until his untimely passing in November 2006 at the age of 40.

Featuring 45 tracks including 20 US charted tracks including ‘Private Line’, Gerald’s No. 1 R&B hit and title cut of his million-selling 1991 solo debut set; ‘Baby Hold On To Me’, which featured his famed father, Eddie Levert of The O’Jays; 1994’s ‘I’d Give Anything’; and Gerald’s back-to-back 1998 pop/R&B hits ‘Thinkin’ About It’ and ‘Taking Everything’.

Rarities include ‘When It’s Right’, only available previously as a bonus track on the Japanese version of Gerald’s sophomore 1994 set, ‘Groove On’; a cover of the Rick James/Teena Marie classic duet, ‘Fire And Desire’, recorded with Sherena Wynn, released on a 1995 cassette single along with remix edits of ‘Can You Handle It’ and ‘I Wanna Be Bad’, all three tracks appearing on CD for the first time.

Created with expert project assistance and first class mastering by Donald Cleveland and stellar artwork by Roger Williams, this excellent overview of Gerald Levert’s legacy (executive-produced by SoulMusic Records’ founder David Nathan) features an in-depth, heartfelt essay by distinguished US writer Janine Coveney (who interviewed Gerald a number of times over the years) reflecting his contribution as a bridge between classic R&B and contemporary soul music and also includes a personal tribute from Dyana Williams, the renowned US broadcaster and media coach and quotes from respected US writer A. Scott Galloway.

‘When It’s Right’ traces Gerald’s successful solo recording career, taking a deep dive into the three albums cut for EastWest America (1991-1998), four for Elektra (1999-2003) and two for Atlantic (2004-2007) and showcasing his multi-talented skills as a songwriter and producer, primarily working with musical partner Edwin ‘Tony’ Nicholas.

Michael Paulo | "Here Is Happiness"

Contemporary jazz saxophonist Michael Paulo honors his late father on the new single he produced with two-time Grammy winner Paul Brown.

It was a number one hit for his father in 1962, becoming “Hawaii’s Favorite and Most Famous Pianist” Rene Paulo’s signature tune. Nine months after Rene’s passing, his son, contemporary jazz saxophonist Michael Paulo, makes the song his own, paying homage to his father’s enduring legacy. Producing the track with two-time Grammy winner Paul Brown, the saxman’s second Woodward Avenue Records single begins collecting playlist adds on Monday (October 2).

There’s vibrant joy inherent in “Here is Happiness,” which is evident to the ears on the new version. Brown’s nylon string guitar sets a gleeful tone before Paulo’s warm and welcoming alto sax ushers the listener along an ebullient path fragrant with verdant melody.

“‘Here is Happiness’ is one of the most special songs in my life. It was the number one pop song as an instrumental in Hawaii. Whenever my father would go anywhere that there was a piano, people would always request him to play the song. Then my mother sang it on her first solo recording with my dad and it became a hit song for her, too. I could not do a recording in his memory without recording ‘Here is Happiness.’ I'm sure my dad would be very happy if he was still alive to hear my version. Whether it becomes a hit song for me remains to be seen, but in my heart, it’s already a hit because every time I play it live from here on, I will remember him and the legacy he left in me,” said Michael Paulo.

The family concept behind the emotional single continued in the recording studio. Paulo surrounded himself with his second family, his longtime band members, to play on the track, including three Hawaiians: keyboardist Kimo Cornwell, guitarist Fred Schreuders and bassist David Inamine. Paulo’s drummer Land Richards constructed the gentle rhythmic groove. 

Born and raised in Hawaii and a long-established resident of Southern California, Paulo is a first-call sideman and recording session player who has forty-five years of experience accompanying Al Jarreau, James Ingram, Patti Austin, Jeffrey Osborne, Kenny Loggins, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Caldwell, Rick Braun and Peter White. He debuted as a solo artist in 1977 and he’s balanced session and touring gigs with his own recordings ever since. Paulo’s production company, Apaulo Productions, has been producing concerts and festivals in Hawaii and California for more than twenty-five years. In the wake of the fires that devastated Maui, Paulo put together a benefit concert featuring more than twenty artists at the South Coast Winery in Temecula earlier this month.     

“My mom and dad were kind and giving people. Following in their footsteps, I make it a point to do many charitable events every year. Recently, we raised over $80,000 at our Jam for Maui concert that my wife, Terri, and I produced,” said Paulo, who spent a lot of time in Lahaina while growing up.

“Here is Happiness” follows Paulo’s Woodward Avenue Records debut, “Hang Time,” a funky, Brown-produced single that put the saxophonist back on the charts at the top of the year. It was Paulo’s first new record in nearly a decade.

 

Oz Noy: Triple Play

New album features Noy alongside bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Dennis Chambers, recorded live in concert.

For the tenth album to bear his name, guitarist, bandleader, and educator Oz Noy opted for the most demanding possible context: An absolutely unvarnished concert recording, capturing his trio with virtuosi Jimmy Haslip (bass) and Dennis Chambers (drums) without the benefit of overdubs or post-production sweetening. Triple Play, to be released on October 27, 2023 by Abstract Logix, was recorded over two evenings at Stages Music Arts – a performance space, recording studio, and educational facility in Maryland where both Noy and Chambers have conducted masterclasses. “We’d done a few tours,” Noy explains from New York City, his home base since relocating from his native Israel in 1996. “The band was sounding so good, I wanted to record it.” 

Fresh from a European trawl, the trio is documented in peak form – balancing muscular confidence with a tireless exploratory zeal. Master musicians with nothing to prove, Noy, Haslip, and Chambers are unafraid to let the music breathe, with even the most furious passages characterized by an airy spaciousness and an approach refreshingly free of frenetic posturing. As demonstrated on such compelling studio excursions as the recent Snapdragon (2020), Booga Looga Loo (2019), and the two-volume Twisted Blues (2011 and 2014), Noy’s ingenious knack for underpinning off-kilter harmonic ideas with sturdily righteous funk, R&B, and blues grooves provides endless possibilities for compelling melodic invention. On Triple Play, the road-hardened trio exhibit telepathic interplay equally marked by both search and swagger.

Eight Noy originals from past recording projects form the core of Triple Play, with Noy’s unique slant on blues and bebop emphasized via a haunting reharmonization of Thelonious Monk’s “Bemsha Swing” and an elongated exploration of “Billie’s Bounce,” a Charlie Parker blues theme. Noy’s delightfully angular, unexpected phrasing is enhanced by deftly (but never gratuitously) deployed effects, while Haslip’s bass is nimbly melodic one moment, gutbucket simple the next. For all his incredible technique, Chambers never shies away from the backbeat throughout Triple Play – giving the ensemble a taut, coiled intensity that dances in and out of explosive passages with thrillingly dynamic vigor.

Heard as it was delivered onstage in late December 2022, the music on Triple Play demands no further refinement – as a note in the album’s packaging reinforces: “What you hear is what we played, no overdubs or added instruments!” Adds Noy, “I wanted to capture the live sound of the band. As real as it gets.”

Eric Hilton's Corazón Kintsugi, featuring Thievery Corporation vocal collaborator Natalia Clavier

Eric Hilton and Natalia Clavier’s musical relationship dates back to 2007, when he produced her debut album, Nectar, for Eighteenth Street Lounge Music. The Argentinian singer-songwriter was subsequently invited to be part of Thievery Corporation’s live act, and sang on their stunning 2014 album Saudade. Clavier refers to Hilton as her “biggest musical mentor,” while Hilton calls Natalia a “muse on steroids.”

The pensive title track that opens Corazón Kintsugi contains the lyric “rebuilding myself is an art,” which is something Clavier was focused on as she worked through a challenging personal transition at the start of this project. "When I heard the music for what ultimately became the album, I knew I wanted to write about mending a broken heart, but not from a romantic perspective,” Clavier said. "I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese aesthetics, art and ceremonies. Kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery with gold, which makes the imperfections more visible, is beautiful. And of course, corazón means ‘the heart’ in Spanish. I thought that ‘Corazón Kintsugi’ would be a beautiful metaphor for how we heal our hearts, grow and move forward in life.” 

"I had quite a few fragments of songs that I felt would work better with a vocalist than as solo pieces, and Natalia created that outlet for me,” Hilton says of the creation of the new album. “It was a great break artistically to work with a singer and songs, instead of instrumentals. I had a very heavy hand in this record, but she trusted me and brought so many great ideas. There were no creative battles at all, Natalia and I have mutual respect and that’s why it worked.”

Clavier concurs. “Eric and I speak the same language. I asked him, ‘How do you feel about me singing in Spanish and maybe Portuguese?’, and he was so enthusiastic. He gives me creative freedom, which allows me to be totally open. I intentionally wanted to infuse musical healing arts into traditional songwriting on this record. When you go into the studio spiritually clean, you’re connected to the present, you’re grounded, and everything flows through the crown chakra naturally. I can see music, not just hear it. When I’m talking about the moon or ocean I’m in that environment in my mind.” 

Hilton couldn’t be more pleased with the finished result of this collaboration. "This is a fun, groovy record, and very light-hearted in the best possible way,” he summarizes. “It visits some styles I don’t really do with Thievery or my solo work, mainly late ’70s/‘80s disco funk. I love that style of music but don’t make a lot of it. Natalia did a fantastic job. Despite the ‘concept’, this is not a very self-conscious record. It has an openness to it, and I think that’s going to resonate with anyone who hears the music.”

Edith Piaf Like You've Never Heard Her Before!

Edith Piaf, performing her greatest songs 60 years after her passing, accompanied in London by a symphonic orchestra of 60 musicians... What could be considered science fiction has become a reality thanks to renowned musicians, arrangers, and sound engineers. They took on the challenge of creating new orchestrations capable of resonating with today's ears without compromising the nostalgia of their predecessors. By technically isolating her voice, they have allowed the refrains of yesteryears to prove that they remain as immortal as their interpreter. Edith Piaf's iconic voice was meticulously extracted from the original masters by a team of sound engineers working at the legendary Abbey Road studio in London. The album, on the other hand, was recorded at the prestigious AIR Studios, also located in London. The orchestra comprises carefully selected sixty musicians, forming the distinguished Legendis Orchestra. These musicians hail from some of the most prestigious English symphonic orchestras, including the London Symphonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and BBC Orchestra. The tracks were brilliantly arranged by Martin Batchelar, Samuel Pegg, and Nathan Stornetta.

Emotion: the word that encapsulates this journey—both for the musicians during the recording and for the rights holders of Edith Piaf, Catherine Glavas, and Christie Laume. As they listened to the album, they experienced the feeling that Edith was right there with them. Between 1961 and 1963, they regularly spent days and evenings in the apartment at 67 Boulevard Lannes, gathered around a piano where Piaf rehearsed for hours, refining every note and gesture. They are convinced that if she were among us today, Edith would have been the first to work tirelessly on this album, alongside the conductor and sound engineers. Perfection was her trademark. On tour, in the three hours leading up to a performance, she didn't hesitate to alter her program when her instincts guided her. From the school of the streets, she had learned a lesson: a chorus becomes popular when it's whistled by the mailman during his rounds. That's the case for most of those featured in this new version. Each of them has a story tied to their journey and their loves. Here are a few examples...

La Foule: While on tour in Argentina, Piaf happened to hear a waltz composed by Angel Cabra playing in a disco. The very next day, she acquired the rights to the song and enlisted the help of a young author, Michel Rivgauche, to craft French lyrics. He called her at three o'clock in the morning and read her a text that she promptly approved.

Milord: While on tour in Nice, she asked Georges Moustaki, who was then the love of her life, to jot down on a piece of paper all the words that came to his mind. He compiled a list, and upon the first reading, she selected one: "Milord." "You have the title, now write the song!" she exclaimed. Marguerite Monnot composed two melodies. Edith chose one, but Georges favored the other. To make him happy, she approved his choice. She would never regret it.

Mon manège à moi: Because they insisted persistently, she reluctantly agreed to host Michel Vaucaire and Charles Dumont at her home. After hours of waiting in her living room and a notably cold reception, Charles Dumont, trembling, sat down at the piano and sang the verses in one go, which she immediately demanded to hear again. Her reaction was swift: "With this song, the two of you are going to make a lot of money!"

Padam: At the outset of the war, while on tour in the free zone, she once hosted one of her musicians, Norbert Glanzberg, for the night. He was Jewish and faced the risk of being apprehended by the Nazis. At two o'clock in the morning, he sat down at the piano and composed a melody, which she immediately embraced.

L’homme à la moto: During a tour in the United States, Piaf came across a melody she wished to record in French. She approached Jean Dréjac, who had previously penned "Sous le ciel de Paris" for her, to adapt the lyrics. This is how "Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots" transformed into "L'homme à la moto" (The Man on the Motorcycle).

L’Hymne à l’amour: From time to time, Charles Aznavour, still unknown and living with her, provides her with lines when she's writing song lyrics. He throws out two verses: "the sky may fall on us, and the earth may crumble." She carries on, and when she's finished, she reads the whole thing to him. "Your story is a hymn to love," he tells her. "Well, that will be the title," she replies.

A quoi ça sert l’amour: Théo Sarapo was the last man in her life, both in her personal life and on stage. She once said of him, "He's the only one I don't need to call; he's always there!"

 For this new project, Warner Music France collaborated with the Jamais 203 Productions team, consisting of Nathan Stornetta, Samuel Briand, and Jérôme Kuhn. Nathan Stornetta is a composer, producer, and arranger with an impressive track record. He has contributed his talents to various film music projects, including notable works like Fast and Furious 6 and the epic series The Bible. In the years 2014 to 2015, Nathan resided in Los Angeles, where he served as an additional composer alongside the renowned Hans Zimmer. Their collaboration extended to films such as Chappie, Premiere Boxing Champions (NBC), and Mark Osbourne's The Little Prince. This collaboration remains ongoing, as Zimmer invited Nathan to join his ensemble as a percussionist, embarking on tours like Hans Zimmer Live (2016-2017) and participating in the recording of the music for the film The Lion King (2019). In 2018, Nathan took on the role of arranging three tracks for Sony Classical's James Horner tribute album - The Classics. Since 2013, he has held the position of the primary composer for Puy du Fou, showcasing his continued dedication to his craft.

Samuel Briand is a sound engineer, music supervisor, and artistic director. Over the past decade, he has worked as a sound engineer at Puy du Fou, where he crafts soundtracks for shows and records Europe's most prestigious orchestras. Simultaneously, he underwent training in film music mixing, learning alongside accomplished film sound engineers, and collaborating with Hollywood professionals such as Alan Meyerson, the sound engineer behind Hans Zimmer's works (including Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Inception...), and Nick Wollage (known for Solo: A Star Wars Story, V for Vendetta, Harry Potter...). More recently, he has ventured into the advertising realm, contributing to the musical production of advertising campaigns for brands like Coca-Cola, Disneyland Paris, and, most recently, Canal+.

Jérôme Kuhn is the artistic director of NOF – Nouvel Opéra Fribourg, the Prague Symphonic Ensemble, and the Ensemble Vocal de Villars-sur-Glâne. Jérôme Kuhn has collaborated in Switzerland, France, England, Germany, and the Czech Republic with numerous ensembles, including the Academy of Ancient Music, the Orchestre de Chambre fribourgeois, the Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain NEC de la Chaux-de-Fonds, the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Active in the recording industry, he collaborates on productions for Netflix and HBO in studios such as Seine Musicale in Paris, AIR Studios in London, and Smecky Music Studios in Prague. He also collaborates with renowned artists such as Mireille Mathieu (Mes Classiques).

Nick Flade & Ola Onabulé | "Better Man"

British Nigerian, Singer Songwriter Ola Onabulé and German songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Nick Flade joined forces on this retro pop/soul song, Better Man. Flade created the music production and Ola was immediately inspired to write the lyrics which talk about a man finally seeing himself as a separate entity and being his own strongest judge and critic. This man wants to be the best version of himself that he can imagine.

It was recorded at Mastermix Studios, formally known as Electric Studios, Munich - the famous site for the conceptualising, writing and recording of seminal albums from the 70s and 80s from artists including Donna Summer, ELO, Pete Bellotte, Giorgio Moroder, Jennifer Rush. This iconic studio became the location for the filming of the sumptuous retro video that accompanies Better Man.

This mid-tempo, groove based song is reminiscent of the sounds of the great soul era of the 60 & 70s era exemplified by artists such as Al Green, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and more recently Sharon Jones, The instrumentation is drums, bass, guitar, Rhodes, Hammond organ and a ‘Phoenix Horns’ style brass arrangement.

Ola Onabulé has built an enviable career through a relentless schedule both in the recording studio and as an international touring performer. Ola will be touring next year with his European quartet as well as performing with Jazz orchestras and symphonic orchestras. I would like you introduce Ola's latest symphonic project Point Less arranged by Tobias Becker. Ola has performed the project in several countries with more scheduled for 2024. This is a powerful project and score and Ola would like to dramatise the project and I would very much like to discuss this with you.

Ola Onabule's last album, Point Less was listed on many international publications as one of the best albums of 2019 including Downbeat Magazine (US), All About Jazz (US) and Jazz in Europe (Europe) amongst them.

Ola has performed on the main stages of many of the international jazz festivals including main stages of Montreal, Vancouver, San Sebastian, Istanbul, Washington, and Umbria, as well as at concert halls and Jazz clubs worldwide, building and consolidating a reputation with audiences globally. Onabulé's music combines elements of jazz, soul, funk and African music to create a unique and distinctive sound. His lyrics often address social and political issues, such as the fight against oppression and injustice. He has received acclaim from critics and fans alike for his ability to combine a powerful message with beautiful and moving music.

Onabulé has also collaborated with some of the world’s foremost Big Bands, including the Grammy Award-winning Big Bands from Cologne (The WDR Big Band), Stuttgart (The SWR Big Band) and Frankfurt (The HR Big Band), Denmark (Danish Radio Big Band) and his experience extends to symphony orchestras such as the Orquesta Liepaja Symphony, The Symphonic Orchestra of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, The Babelsberg Film Orchestra Potsdam. Onabulé has new projects on the way with the HR Big Band Frankfurt, Zurich Jazz Orchestra, The Sicilian Jazz Orchestra, Gotland Big Band Sweden, Latvian Radio Big Band and the New Wind Jazz Orchestra Estonia which demonstrates his ability to adapt and collaborate with different artists and world class musicians.

New music releases: Justink Klunk, Vertice Williams, Rainforest Band, and Sylvia Bennett

Justin Klunk - Kindness Is Mandatory

After teasing with four irresistible lead singles over the past year and a half, Justin Klunk unleashes the full fury of his relentless saxophone passion on his party ready debut full length album (after two EPs and loads of individual singles). With a title that doubles as a timely reminder, Kindness Is Mandatory, motivates us (and gets our blood pumping) as the  young, mega-talent brings to his solo artistry the same funk, rock and soul fire he’s been lighting up the stage with for years alongside Ariana Grande, Lindsey Stirling, Saint Motel, David Foster, Earth Wind & Fire and David Benoit! By the way, Benoit appears twice on this collection. In the midst of the blazing hooks and burning production skills, a lone romantic ballad offers a sweet meditational oasis.  A must have for contemporary sax fans!

Vertice Williams - Therapy

The long-awaited follow-up to her Billboard charting 2016 track “Guilty,” silky voiced singer/songwriter Vertice Williams’ beautiful new single “Therapy” will surely be the sexiest love song you’ve heard in Smooth Jazz this year – but not in the typical way we think of love songs. Co-written, co-produced and featuring the inimitable Steve Oliver – who also collaborated on Williams’ last album All Good – the song’s lyrics are romantic, but the real inspiration was the singer’s post Covid reflection that life is fragile and love (giving and receiving) is a complete healing modality, true tenderness and strength. The graceful, subtle arrangement, designed to showcase the pin-drop perfection of her voice, also features the lush piano harmonies and shimmering keyboard soloing of another genre great, Brian Simpson.   

Rainforest Band - Good Medicine

With the release of Good Medicine, an inviting mix of spirited contemporary jazz, robust funk and sensual balladry, six-piece Bay Area ensemble Rainforest Band confirms its status as one of Smooth Jazz’s most environmentally conscious artists. Launched in 2017 by R&B/Gospel soul veterans Tony Saunders (bass), Vernon “Ice” Black (guitar) and Sylvester Burks (keyboards), the group refashions the eco-minded aesthetic of Blues From The Rainforest - A Musical Suite, an early 90s  “environmental earth music album” created by Saunders’ father, famed keyboardist Merl Saunders, and the legendary Jerry Garcia. While the soaring power and passion of saxophonist Dave Ellis ensures that this collection is more horn-centric than their debut, there’s also plenty of urban jazz and groovin’ soul from Saunders and tasty, melodic guitar magic from Black and Lorn Leber. Good Medicine will make you feel good!

Sylvia Bennett - Reflections

Since her recording debut on the Grammy-nominated Sentimental Journey album with music icon Lionel Hampton, multi-talented jazz vocalist and songwriter Sylvia Bennett has become something of a legend herself, with a dozen solo albums to date, and a successful emergence into Smooth Jazz that includes collaborations with Arturo Sandoval, Paul Brown, Rick Braun and Nathan East. With production by longtime collaborator and producer Hal S. Batt, the vibrant singer’s latest album Reflections finds her looking firmly ahead, pairing her lush, lilting and sultry vocals with seductive light grooves and sweet caressing musical atmospheres. Complementing her emotionally impactful originals with a tasty “world mix” of a Songbook standard ("Witchcraft"), she thoughtfully explores the many facets of relationships, from hopeful beginnings and making dreams reality to the fine art of working things through.  ~ smoothjazz.com

New music releases: Ron King, Mike Di Lorenzo, Evan Carydakis, and Bob Coate

Ron King - Cascade

A few years back, when veteran Grammy-nominated trumpeter Ron King first started working with guitarist and producer Paul Brown, the Smooth Jazz hitmaker put it bluntly to his new friend, “You need to write a hit song.” King, whose decades long resume includes Marvin Gaye, Frank Sinatra, Jeff Lorber and David Benoit, took the advice to heart and has been in solo artist overdrive ever since, releasing 6 singles from his 2020 album Downtown Mama. King's latest album, Cascade offers a silky, sexy variety of hits, including the title track and his latest radio release, "Together Again." Chock-full of slinky grooves and world-class musicianship, Cascade is a welcome collection for horn man's fans and an exceptional calling card for an exceptional calling card for those newly discovering this icon's solo endeavors.  

Mike Di Lorenzo - Play It Cool

A quote on keyboardist/composer Mike Di Lorenzo’s website reads “Let the Music Tell the Story.” The versatile artist did that early in his career performing with Whitney and Cissy Houston, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and many East Coast symphonies. A decade and a half since launching his solo career, he’s found a fresh way of sharing musical narratives on his two recent albums, including his latest, the masterfully hip, stylish and sophisticated Play It Cool. He artfully pairs his formidable melodic and improvisational piano chops with vibrantly soulful vocalists Sonna Rele, Denise Stewart and Anna Moore. While creating graceful grooves and dreamy atmospheres around their featured vocals, he also showcases his dynamic range on acoustic and electric piano on a handful of free flowing, high-spirited instrumentals. Mike D'Lo always plays it cool... You can count on it!

Evan Carydakis - Cherry Pops

Whether a beloved pet, dear friend or close family member, when a loved one passes, just as important as mourning the loss is celebrating the life of the departed. It’s something fast-rising Australian born saxophonist Evan Carydakis does passionately and emphatically on his playful, vibrant new single “Cherry Pops.” A strutting, high energy tune that packs an emotional wallop while paying homage to his Australian Kelpie 'Cherry,' who recently died from canine lymphoma. We can feel the essence of the dog Carydakis calls “the love of my life” and her spirit in every funky groove, kickin' horn lick and blast of brassy fire. Evans says that Cherry never looked backwards and always lived her life to the full, remaining joyful all times. Expect "Cherry Pops" to make you feel that good!

Bob Coate - Mambo Rosalita 

Unleashing a blast of musical creativity after his long career in Information Technology, composer and multi-instrumentalist Bob Coate – driven by an aesthetic he dubs “Smooth Jazz and Beyond” – has dropped a flurry of ten tropical, chillout and in the pocket, light funk Smooth Jazz singles over the past two years. The “Beyond” on his latest, wildly danceable and infectious jam, “Mambo Rosalita” is a deeper venture into Latin jazz, creating a frolicsome, fast-moving playground to showcase his formidable melodic flugelhorn vibe, in the style of his hero Herb Alpert. A collaboration with keyboardist/producer Sonix, who adds high energy harmonies and a jaunty solo improvisation to the tune! ~ smoothjazz.com

New music releases: Johnny James (Dr. J); Ultrablue, D. S. Wilson, and Skii Harvey

Johnny James (Dr. J)  - How Deep Is Your Love

The Bee Gees’ Saturday Night Fever classic has never sounded hipper or funkier than it does in the hands of internationally renowned veteran saxophonist Johnny James Dr J, who unleashes three unique, equally explosive versions on his new How Deep Is Your Love EP. The first is a feisty Smooth Jazz delight featuring the late Chuck Loeb’s hypnotic, crackling guitar and the high stylin’ production energy of Jeff Lorber. Next is a classic styled R&B jam with Darrell Tookes' silky floating vocals, while the third (“A W Remix”) is a punchy hip-hop/dance floor classic in the making. Dr J adds two originals that further showcase his formidable talents on his brand new collection which is already hovering in top positions on UK and European Music Charts.

Ultrablue - Maria in Blue

The sophisticated, musical collective Ultrablue is the creation of in-demand New York-based keyboardist and composer John Smatla, a former music school teacher who made his way to the NY music scene from his hometown in Cleveland, OH. On the heels of the project's successful re-release of their star-studded self-titled 2006 recording, "Maria In Blue," rolls out in advance of the forthcoming New York Stories recording featuring guest performances by Chieli Minucci, John Patitucci, David Mann and Omar Hakim. Inspired by the artistry of contemporary jazz guitar legend, Earl Klugh, Ultrablue's nod to nostalgia in a contemporary soundscape, offers up seductive and spicy Latin rhythms for Smatla and NYC session guitarist Bernd Schoenhart to deliver a sexy and playful melodic dance.

D. S. Wilson - Skyline

Saxophonist and keyboardist D.S. Wilson has teamed with recording artist, guitarist and producer Adam Hawley along with an all-star cast to produce Skyline, the 3rd full album of  contemporary jazz featuring catchy melodies and solid grooves. The A-listers in the mix include Eric Valentine on drums, Mel Brown on bass and Carnell Harrell on keys. Paying homage to the bustling vibe of the Windy City, the project has released advance singles which have proven to grab the attention of radio stations and music fans around the world. His previous single, "Leave It To The Gods" has nearly 100k streams on Spotify! The successfully charting artist, performer and composer has experience in jazz, blues, pop and rock and all of these genres seamlessly flow through the tracks on Skylie, giving the listener an exciting experience from beginning to end.

Skii Harvey - Waiting

Often described vocally as a cross between Ella Fitzgerald and Tina Turner, veteran Australian singer-songwriter Skii Harvey is a celebrated citizen of the world, recognized by the Billboard Music Awards, the UK Songwriting Awards and Australian Songwriter’s Association. Over 15 years after launching her recording career, she profoundly shifts sonic gears, working on her heartrending, soul-piercing and uber cathartic forthcoming EP Waiting with renowned South Korean producer and K-pop artist Mackelli. The sequel/emotional aftermath to her powerful heartbreak chronicle BROKEN, this four-ballad collection finds her taking stock of the past, moving slowly past the pain and embracing the fact that she no longer must wait for happiness. She also slyly embraces the reality that the wait for true love (after one that wasn’t) captures the heart in perpetuity. ~ smoothjazz.com

New vinyl reissue for Tito Puente’s foundational Latin jazz masterpiece 'El Rey Bravo'

Craft Latino hasy announced a vinyl reissue for Tito Puente’s foundational Latin jazz masterpiece, El Rey Bravo. Originally released on Tico Records in 1962, the album includes the legendary bandleader and percussionist’s iconic hit, “Oye Cómo Va,” plus enduring favorites like “Tombola” and “Tokyo de Noche.” Set for release November 10th and available for pre-order today, El Rey Bravo features (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl. Completing the package is a vintage-style tip-on jacket featuring the album’s classic design. Additionally, for the very first time, fans can experience El Rey Bravo in 192/24 hi-res audio on select digital platforms. In addition, a Canary Yellow color vinyl exclusive, limited to 500 copies, with exciting bundle options that include a commemorative Tito Puente T-shirt is being offered at Fania.com. Vinyl Me, Please is also releasing a 180-gram Orange Crush exclusive variant.

This reissue offers a fitting cap to Craft Latino’s year-long centennial celebration of the influential artist. Throughout 2023, the label has honored Puente’s vital contributions to Latin music through exclusive digital content and a series of releases, including 180-gram vinyl pressings of Puente’s 1972 classic, Para los Rumberos, and his best-selling 1985 album, Mambo Diablo. 

In the late 1940s, an exciting new sound was taking root in New York jazz clubs, as Puerto Rican and Cuban musicians settled in the city, introducing Afro-Cuban and Caribbean rhythms to American audiences. Within a few years, everyone was dancing to the cha-cha-chá and mambo, thanks to a host of inspired young artists, including Tito Puente (1923–2000). The Manhattan-born, Puerto Rican percussionist honed his craft under the legendary Cuban bandleader Machito, who was instrumental in bringing Afro-Cuban jazz to America. Puente furthered his studies at the prestigious Juilliard School, where he received a degree in conducting, orchestration and theory. Before long, he was leading his own orchestra and by the end of the ’50s, “The King of Timbales,” as he was lovingly known, was one of the era’s most successful bandleaders, with multiple hit albums to his name, including 1958’s Dance Mania.

When 1962’s El Rey Bravo arrived on Tico Records, more than a decade into Puente’s career, the bandleader and his orchestra were at the height of their prowess. El Rey Bravo cements the band’s status, as they deliver a dazzling set of original dancefloor numbers—all primarily comprised by Puente. Among the highlights is the fiery opener, “Malanga con Yuca” (“Potatoes and Beans”), the joyful “Batacumba” (“Brazilian Beat”) and the cinematic “Tokyo de Noche” (“Tokyo After Dark”)—a rare instrumental track that features standout flute and violin solos. One of the album’s few covers is “Tombola” (“Circus”), written by the legendary team of Augusto Algueró and Antonio Guijarro for the 1962 Spanish musical of the same name.

The centerpiece of the album, however, is “Oye Cómo Va.” Praised by AllMusic as “one of the brightest, most exuberant Latin performances of the century,” the song was written by Puente as a classic cha-cha-chá, with an inviting title that borrowed from the chorus, “Oye cómo va/Mi ritmo” (“Listen how it goes/My rhythm”). While the infectious song was certainly a favorite of fans at the time of its release, “Oye Cómo Va” would become an international hit nearly a decade later, thanks to Carlos Santana. With his band, Santana, the Mexican-born guitarist transformed the classic tune into a psychedelic anthem of unity, swapping the song’s original horn section for a Hammond B3 organ and electric guitar.

This updated rendition of “Oye Cómo Va” was released in 1971 as the second single off Santana’s sophomore album, Abraxas. It was a major hit for the band, peaking at No.13 on the Billboard Hot 100, and landing in the Top 10 in Mexico and Canada. But it also gave a middle-aged Puente a significant boost. On his 1999 live album, Mambo Birdland, Puente introduced “Oye Cómo Va” with a tribute to Carlos Santana: “He put our music, Latin rock, around the world, man. And I’d like to thank him publicly ’cause he recorded the tune and he gave me credit as the composer of the tune. So since that day, all we play is Santana music.”

Thanks to artists like Santana (who also covered Puente’s song “Para los Rumberos” in 1972), the bandleader enjoyed a career resurgence. At the same time, salsa music was reaching peak popularity. As a reluctant forefather of the genre, Puente’s status as a cultural icon only continued to grow. “Oye Cómo Va,” meanwhile, would become a standard, covered over the decades by numerous artists, including Julio Iglesias, Celia Cruz, Natalie Cole and the Ventures, to name a few. Santana’s rendition of the song would be inducted into the Latin GRAMMY® Hall of Fame in 2001 and the GRAMMY Hall of Fame a year later, while it ranks on a variety of lists, including Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”

Puente never slowed down and continued to remain in the public eye until his death in 2000. During his five-decade-long career, the tireless artist released more than 100 albums and wrote over 400 compositions, while he collaborated with the biggest names in music, including Quincy Jones, Dizzy Gillespie and Celia Cruz. Among other achievements, he performed at the 1996 Summer Olympics’ closing ceremony, appeared in a variety of films (including 1987’s Radio Days, 1992’s The Mambo Kings and the 2000 documentary Calle 54) and even made a cameo on The Simpsons. Throughout his life, Puente’s influential work was celebrated with an array of honors, including five GRAMMYs, Billboard’s Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award and the prestigious National Medal of Arts from the United States Government.

Darius Jones - fLuXkit Vancouver (i​̶​t​̶​s suite but sacred) LP

A radiant manifesto of artistic freedom, 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.”

WAR The World Is A Ghetto: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition

In 1973, the best-selling album in America was The World Is a Ghetto by WAR. This fall, the multi-ethnic SoCal band is giving fans a new way to experience its mega-million-selling classic with a new 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition available exclusively for Record Store Day Black Friday.

The World Is A Ghetto: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition is a one-of-a-kind 5-LP boxed set available exclusively at participating independent music retailers on November 24 while supplies last. Limited to 4,000 copies, the deluxe collection was curated by WAR's producer, Jerry Goldstein, founding member Lonnie Jordan, and Jeremy Levine. It includes the original album, newly remastered, as well as six unreleased bonus tracks and unreleased "the making of" recordings that trace the evolution of each of the six original album tracks from the first note to the master take. The original album and bonus tracks are pressed on two gold-vinyl LPs, while "the making of" tracks are pressed on three black-vinyl LPs. 

The World Is A Ghetto: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition introduces six unreleased bonus tracks recorded during the sessions for the album. These previously unreleased recordings include original jams that later developed into future WAR songs. For example, versions of "War Is Coming" and "L.A. Sunshine" would appear on Platinum Jazz in 1977.

In the 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition liner notes, Goldstein and Lonnie Jordan (lead singer and founding member) share insights into the "making of" recordings introduced in the set. Goldstein states these tracks show the songs taking shape in the studio. "The nice part about all these 'making of' tracks is that the final take of all of these tracks is the actual final master that we used in The World Is a Ghetto, without edits, without overdubs, just raw." Jordan cleverly adds, "Then we turned it around… R-A-W to W-A-R."

In 1972, The World Is a Ghetto soared to the top of the Billboard album and R&B charts, becoming Billboard's No. 1 Album of the Year for 1973, generating two gold singles, including the title track and "The Cisco Kid," which shipped gold and remains WAR's highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100. This album also marked the beginning of an extended period of creative and commercial triumph for WAR, which boasts 17 gold, platinum, or multi-platinum albums in the band's remarkable career.

Today, WAR's music provides an inexhaustible source of inspiration for R&B and hip-hop artists. Samples from four of the six songs on The World Is a Ghetto have appeared on tracks by artists like A$AP Mob, Geto Boys, Janet Jackson, and a hip-hop supergroup featuring Method Man, Redman, and Cypress Hill. 

WAR continues to tour steadily, with live shows scheduled for the fall. (See the band's itinerary below.)

• Oct 4 - The Big Fresno Fair - Fresno, CA
• Oct 5-8 - Jazz Alley - Seattle, WA
• Oct 14 - Music Hall Center - Detroit, MI
• Oct 20 - Chumash Casino Resort - Santa Ynez, CA
• Oct 21 - Palace of Fine Arts Theatre - San Francisco, CA
• Oct 25 - The GRAMMY Museum - Los Angeles, CA
• Nov 4 - Hutchinson Fox Theatre - Hutchinson, KS
• Nov 11 - Primm Valley Casino Resorts - Primm, NV
• Nov 16 - The Plaza Theater Performing Arts Center - El Paso, TX
• Nov 17 - Arlington Music Hall - Arlington, TX
• Nov 18 - Freeman Coliseum - San Antonio, TX
• Dec 1 - Paramount Theatre - Denver, CO
• Dec 2 - The Magnolia - El Cajon, CA

Silvan Joray, Nadav Erlich, Jeff Ballard | "Updraft"

New York City-based guitarist and composer Silvan Joray is proud to present Updraft, his second album as a leader and first for the Ubuntu Music label. The album showcases his forward-thinking original style characterized by a transparent tone, crispy articulation, creative rhythmic ideas and extended techniques like quarter tones and „tapping“ which are not traditionally associated with jazz guitar playing. A follow up to his ambitious 2020 trio album, Cluster, Joray’s latest outing features once again Israeli double bass player Nadav Erlich and this time, living legend Jeff Ballard (Brad Mehldau, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny) on drums.

Born and raised in Switzerland, Joray embraces both the openness of European as well as the rootedness and swing of American jazz. While the music on Updraft is clearly influenced by the American jazz tradition, it doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not and is totally content with being in its own category. Renowned jazz bassist Larry Grenadier states: “Silvan along with Nadav and Jeff have made a musical statement together that has at its core a sense of history and at the same time moves the music towards the future with bold playing and fresh compositions. Sonically beautiful and captivating music.“

The recording includes seven original compositions and two short, freely improvised tracks. The serenity of joyful straight eighth grooves, as heard in “Kokodrillo“ or “Kaeppeleview“, complements the swinging energy of pieces like “Updraft" and “Kurtish". Joray is also passionate about playing jazz standards and pays tribute to two masters of the genre, Cole Porter and Andrew Hill, with "At Long Last Love" and “Subterfuge“.

Starting in September 2020, the trio had the chance to refine its band sound and interplay over the course of two years before going into the studio. At the same time, humanity faced some new challenges that heavily impacted everyone’s life. Updraft is Joray’s personal way of dealing with these difficult times and presents a collection of compositions that strive to lift our spirits and elevate our perspectives. The title of the album beautifully encapsulates this sentiment, and Joray’s innate gift for melody and lyricism shines through both in his playing and compositions.

Silvan Joray is currently based in New York City. He has gained recognition in the jazz community, having won special prizes at the UNISA International Strings Competition in South Africa 2022 and the Smietana Jazz Guitar Competition 2019 in Poland. He has performed at prestigious jazz festivals including the Krakow Summer Jazz Festival, Offbeat Jazzfestival Basel, and International Jazz Festival Bern, and has toured in Germany, Norway, Poland, Spain, and Israel. Silvan will be touring throughout the year – please see his website for details: www.silvanjoray.com.

IZANGOMA debut album ‘NGO MA’

IzangoMa, a 15 piece experimental collective hailing from Pretoria, South African, today release their debut album ‘Ngo Ma’ via Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings label (Kokoroko, Doom Cannon and Sons of Kemet’s Tom Skinner). 

Although IzangoMa’s debut may only be reaching us now, the avant-garde collective’s roots stretch back to the meeting of core members Sibusile Xaba (vox/keys) and Ashley Kgabo (synths/snare drum/drum machine) in 2016. It was a galvanising connection which allowed Xaba to begin cultivating a different side to his virtuosic talent, one at cardinal opposites with the familiar folk sound the largesse knew him for. 

IzangoMa are Cosmic sgubhu with the alchemic powers of Sun Ra mixed with township styles ranging from pantsula to bubblegum. ‘Ngo Ma’ - which loosely translates from Zulu to English as ‘by my mother’ - explores themes of Creation as seen through the all-knowing feminine energy that transcends time and space. This is rhythm music; it spills into crevices ever-evolving, and revolts against a revolution yet to be finalised.

The ensemble is a link-up of Mozambican and South African musicians - says Sibusile; “I had this idea of working with my students from Mozambique. When I first met them [during exchange workshops], they were young men. We’d return every year to find these great human beings growing into these phenomenal musicians. We felt like it would be nice to incorporate them into this thing that we were doing.” Fittingly, the future-forward ‘Ngo Ma’ is a collective effort - while the duo of Xaba and Kgabo forms the backbone, it’s the kaleidoscopic collective which feeds into the cycle that expands each time, adding something new on each iteration.

“It’s never effort; it’s always joy,” says Ashley, reflecting on the fluid nature of how ideas find them while they’re jamming to the tunes of their own creation, to which Sibusile adds: “Even this idea of this music being a voice of remembering the feminine energy — that wasn’t there. It developed as the music was leading us. And funny enough, every song is talking about mothers. This wasn’t something that we planned.”

‘Ngo Ma’’s title track is a cry to The Spiritual Mother about the discordant lives that many people lead. Here, the elders are given a voice by a resonating horn section, while the tempo is kept afloat by a lively, polyrhythmic hop between the Roland TR-8, the MOOG Minitaur analogue bass synthesiser and percussion. Elsewhere, Kwaito-influenced ’Wathint’ Imbokodo‘ takes its title from another Nguni phrase which translates as ”You strike/touch a woman, you strike/touch a rock”. The off-beat ‘Out of This World ‘, meanwhile, is a buoyant hymn to Mother Earth, where Sibusile‘s MC-esque calls are flanked by Marabi-influenced walking piano motifs and the handclaps of a Roland TR-8.

“Le Nna Mfana” - meaning ‘me too, my man’ - is what happens when Nyabhingi drum riddims escape to the future. It spells freedom for the Black universal imagination, and pleads to African people worldwide to look beyond the daily shackles of Capitalism, chains imposed upon by systems not of their own construction. On the freewheeling ‘Tribute To Johnny Dyani’, IzangoMa hail the legendary Blue Notes bassist & Don Cherry-collaborator for his musicality but also for his efforts to promote emancipation as a member of a mixed race band under apartheid. The track also recognises the many creative SA communities which have fed into the band’s journey.

Propelled by an ARP Odyssey duophonic synthesiser, “Birds (Of A Feather)” is frantic, searching, surfing — a shroom trip laced with ones and zeros. It has neither beginning nor end, only a constant seeking — for truth, for satisfaction, for more. Sibulsile and Ash observe; “It recalls visions of ones who existed before time; the very First Nations of this land we call Southern Africa, with all its combinations and permutations, all its complexities laid bare for all to ‘ear”. Method is eschewed in favour of madness, and that’s just how the band digs it.

New music releases: Towner Galaher Organ Trio, Ben Cassara, Philip Lassiter & Candy Dulfer, and Marina Pacowski

Towner Galaher Organ Trio - Live

The newest album by drummer, composer, and bandleader is an homage to the great jazz ensembles that were especially popular in the 1950s and 60s. This is Galaher’s 4th album as a leader and follows Uptown! (2012), Courageous Hearts (2009), and Panorama (2007). Uptown! made it to the Top 10 on the JazzWeek radio chart, and All About Jazz said, “This five-piece aggregate seems to have a genuine connection that comes through in its playing; this makes Uptown! a delight to hear from start to finish.” Galaher is a protean drummer adept at a multitude of styles. He plays 10 different grooves on Live's 14 tracks, laying down a smorgasbord of rhythmic styles that range from boogaloo to straight-ahead swing to jazz waltz and beyond. Live was recorded during the Covid lockdown at a restaurant in Connecticut at a private event with a small number of family, friends and restaurant staff in attendance, but Galaher and the band played liked they were in front of a crowd. The set was not planned in advance, with Galaher calling the tunes. They recorded all 14 tracks in less than four hours. The Hammond B-3 organ could be found in almost every black church, and more than a few of the jazz masters started out playing gospel. 

Ben Cassara - What A Way To Go

What A Way To Go, the newest album by New York-based vocalist Ben Cassara, is an eclectic collection of songs culled from the Great American Songbook, gems by Dave Frishberg and Antonio Carlos Jobim, and four tasty originals by jazz pianist Ronny Whyte, who also produced the CD and plays piano on several compositions. Cassara is a mainstay on the New York City and New Jersey jazz scenes. . He performs regularly at clubs like Jazz at Kitano, the Metropolitan Room, Trumpets, and Shanghai Jazz. He also curates a long-running jazz series at Pangea, an East Village cabaret and jazz club. This is Cassara’s second CD and follows Sister Moon (2013). Critic George Harris said, "Want a fresh voice in singers with an XY chromosome? Give this guy Ben Cassara a try. His voice gives hints of Barry Manilow and Bob Dorough - a mid-toned tenor that sounds comfortable in his skin … Cassara sounds calm and collected on this cool collection of music, perfect for a night of pensive thoughts." New York is rife with great musicians, and Cassara brought on board a stellar cast of first-call accompanists . Eschewing vocal pyrotechnics, Cassara’s vocal style is urbane and conversational. His mentors were Carol Fredette, Roz Corral, and Marlene Ver Planck, jazz singers who are known for their ability to swing hard while telling stories with finesse and honesty … an approach that Cassara took to heart.

Philip Lassiter & Candy Dulfer - Purple

11x GRAMMY-award winning trumpeter & arranger, Philip Lassiter, has released "Purple," the aptly titled tribute to Prince featuring global saxophone sensation Candy Dulfer. The track is the lead single off of a forthcoming album recorded live in Amsterdam with a 14-piece ensemble and cast of special guests featured throughout. Lassiter first connected with Prince in 2010 when he auditioned to be his horn arranger/section leader and landed the gig performing with New Power Generation. Like many of the late genre-defying master’s collaborators, Lassiter was inspired by Prince’s work ethic and dedication to experimentation. With its Prince-like driving quarter note groove and syncopated guitar and bass line, Lassiter helms a 15-piece ensemble in the live recording that embodies the spirit of Prince. The punctuated, shout-like horn melodies trade with layered vocal harmonies before an asserted horn soli launches into rounds of deliberate solos performed by Jordy Kalfsvel on keyboards, Lassiter on trumpet, and capped off with a powerful, extended solo by Dulfer on alto saxophone. Though Lassiter and Dulfer never performed with Prince at the same time (she was in his band during the 2003-2005 Musicology era), the two connected when Lassiter relocated to The Netherlands two years ago and have been collaborating together ever since.

Marina Pacowski - Inner Urge

Born and raised in France, Marina Pacowski always dreamed of coming to America because of her fascination with the American music scene and her love of jazz. Now a mainstay on the Los Angeles jazz scene, Pacowski has recorded her debut jazz album, Inner Urge, with a Who’s Who of some of the finest jazz musicians in the United States. Although a superb pianist who has been honored with numerous awards, Pacowski chose to focus on her singing for this project. With the ear of a trained musician (and a uniquely individual vocal timbre), Pacowski is adept at vocal improvisation. Her complete command of the chord changes and highly developed sense of swing are apparent right from the opening number. Inner Urge is an eminent debut by a refreshing new voice on the American jazz scene. Marina Pacowski’s highly developed harmonic sense and feeling for time infuse her vocals with a musicality that you would typically associate with a skilled horn player.

Monika Herzig & Janiece Jaffe | "'Both Sides of Joni"

Both Sides of Joni is a reimagined set of Joni Mitchell's music arranged by pianist Monika Herzig, interpreted by award-winning vocalist Janiece Jaffe, and recorded with a group of renowned jazz musicians including Greg Ward on saxophone, Jeremy Allen on bass, Carolyn Dutton on violin, and Cassius Goens on drums with guest bassist Peter Kienle. 

The Both Sides of Joni project was the product of a period of soul searching during the Covid Summer of 2020. Vocalist Janiece Jaffe started listening closely to Joni Mitchell's music and lyrics with her jazz vocalist ears and found truth and wisdom that inspired her and that she wanted to share with the world to inspire others. She studied the words more deeply and got the urge to re-imagine them in jazz arrangements. "I could almost 'Hear' them!" Together with friend and collaborator Monika Herzig, they spent many summer days of 2020 in the barn with keyboard and masks working out arrangements and rediscovering Joni's music. In March 2021, the arrangements were premiered at the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis to most enthusiastic response. Many audience members came together for the first time in over a year and the messages of overcoming challenges, endurance, rebellion, love, and regret rang deep. They decided to record the music with a group of outstanding musicians and with community support from a successful Kickstarter Campaign. Just days after the completion of the Master Recording, Janiece left this world unexpectedly after heart surgery. This album is her legacy and her dream and we are grateful for her musical gift to us to be celebrated throughout 2023 with extensive tours in the US and Europe featuring renowned New York vocalist Alexis Cole.

From the Liner Notes:

This album is, first and foremost, about relationships: between Janiece and Monika; between the stretch of time that gave rise to Joni’s songs and the ones we’re living through now; and, most of all, between Janiece and these lyrics. She sings them in a pure and transparent voice, sometimes overdubbing the harmonies she once only imagined, and she moves through a variety of moods: reflective on “Both Sides Now”; startlingly direct on “Don’t Interrupt the Sorrow”; with swinging aplomb on “My Old Man”; longingly, on “River,” her yearning teased out by Dutton’s violin; and, in the middle of “The Hissing of Summer Lawns,” seizing upon the word “darkness,” and then sings wordlessly, in the improvisational style she studied with Bobby McFerrin and Rhiannon, a master teacher, and leading the ensemble into freer terrain. She’s “hanging out with the jazzers,” just like she used to, just like Joni so famously and brilliantly did. And she’s revealing both sides of herself—the girl who heard Joni’s songs and wanted to make them her own, and the woman who now leans on them to, like the rest of us, try to make sense of it all. ~ Larry Blumenfeld 

Janiece Jaffe grew up in a musical family. Her mother was a preschool teacher and an opera singer and her father was a professor of classical music. As a child her parents facilitated 'Opera Nights' where singing was the mode of conversation at the dinner table!

As a performer, Janiece has worked in collaboration with many great artists, including Freddie Hubbard, Frank Vignola, Keter Betts, Dominic Spera and Al Cobine. She is featured in Scott Yanow's Jazz Singer: The Ultimate Guide.

The vocalist has recorded 11 albums and can be heard as a guest on more than 25 other recordings. During her career Janiece has written lyrics to the music of Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Freddie Hubbard. She has also been a lyricist with composers Marcos Cavalcante (Standing on the Edge), Monika Herzig, David Ward Steinman and Curtis Cantwell Jackson. 

Janiece became a Reiki Master practitioner in 1999 and began exploring Sound Healing. She created three meditation CDs: The Lotus and the Rose, Heartones, and Fire in the Lotus. Janiece produced companion music for the book The Atlantean Legacy by Paula Bates with harpist Amy Camie. She also collaborated with Amy Camie in St. Louis on Soundscape Concerts, one of which was produced as a CD called Beyond Words Into the Soul. 

On November 23, 2022 in the early morning as Janiece was preparing for heart surgery she wrote and sent out these last words: “After finishing my morning prayer and feeling all of your love and support I am ready for what comes next! I want to let you know how much gratitude I feel for everyone’s songs and prayers and chanting and healing energy and love coming at me. May It come back to you all tenfold! Thank you so much! I’m ready! Love, Janiece”

The Mayor of Bloomington, Indiana declared December 12 Janiece Jaffe Day.

Monika Herzig’s career as a jazz pianist/composer spans three decades and dozens of releases, most recently with her all-star group Sheroes featuring the world’s leading female instrumentalists including Jamie Baum, Reut Regev, Leni Stern, Rosa Avila, Jennifer Vincent with guests Ingrid Jensen, Ada Rovatti, Akua Dixon, Lakecia Benjamin, and more. Her composition “Just Another Day in the Office“ is featured in the recent publication New Standards: 101 Lead Sheets by Women Composers (Berklee Press, 2022) compiled under the direction of Terri Lyne Carrington.

Monika is a DownBeat and JazzTimes contributor and served as the editor of Jazz Education in Research and Practice (JAZZ) as well as board member and head of the research committee for the Jazz Education Network (JEN). In 2019, Sheroes played the Jazz Tales Festival in Cairo & Alexandria, Egypt and toured many of Europe’s premiere jazz clubs, such as, Porgy & Bess (Vienna), Unterfahrt (Munich), Theaterhaus Stuttgart Jazztage, the Women in Jazz Festival (Halle) and also can be seen in Kay D. Ray’s documentary In Her Hands: Key Changes in Jazz, alongside their sister contemporary jazz stars, Anat Cohen, Ingrid Jensen, Sherrie Maricle, Grace Kelly among others. Groups under Herzig’s leadership have toured Germany, Italy, Japan and opened for acts such as Tower of Power, Sting and the Dixie Dregs. Herzig is the author of two critically acclaimed books; one with a brilliant forward by Quincy Jones: David Baker: A Legacy in Music (IU Press, 2011) and Chick Corea: A Listener’s Companion (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017), which the Darmstadt Jazz Institute attests, “Herzig manages a perfect balance of musical analysis and context for the chosen recordings as well as Chick Corea’s career...easy to read, well-organized and motivates–which is still the highest achievement for music literature–for repeated listening.” Her co-edited volume Jazz and Gender was released in 2022 on Routledge. Since 2020, she is the host of the radio series and podcast Talking Jazz. Currently she serves as Professor of Artistic Research and Dean of Music Education at the Jam Music Lab University in Vienna, Austria.