Nitai Hershkovits | "Call on the Old Wise"

Call on the Old Wise is Nitai Hershkovits’ first record for ECM, presenting his powerful pianistic ingenuity in a largely improvised solo setting. Nitai’s improvisations unfold like compositions being created in real-time: “It’s like I’m playing with several periods of music at once, but in a sort of augmented-reality-environment,” states Nitai. “To me the album is like a journey taking you through multiple varying experiences in the blink of an eye. Like jumping through frames holding different pictures or looking through windows to different worlds.” Call on the Old Wise follows Isabela and Here Be Dragons, where Nitai has been heard as a member of Oded Tzur’s quartet.

The album is partially dedicated to Nitai’s former piano teacher Suzan Cohen, with whom he studied in Jerusalem and who according to Nitai is the mentor to whom the term ‘wise’ in the record’s title alludes. The pieces “The Old Wise," “Of Mentorship” and “For Suzan” refer directly to her. But Nitai draws from wide-reaching influences, ranging from his work in jazz contexts and cutting-edge contemporary explorations to his background in classical music. This immaculate balance of idioms gives rise to an abundance of colors and timbres, explored by a pianist, who has successfully forged his very own voice as improviser and shape-designer.

In his approach to improvisation, he notes, shapes and textures set the direction for the development of material: “I don’t want to be confined to any specific key or time signature, but rather leave the freedom to continually re-evaluate things in real-time and see them from a new perspective over and over again. That’s also why I tried to go into the session with as few preconceived ideas as possible.” In light of this spontaneous sense of creation, it is striking how completely formed many of the miniaturesque designs on the album unfurl. Nitai mentions inspirations as seemingly disparate as Chick Corea and Russian composers Rachmaninoff and Scriabin guiding him in the process.

Recorded at the Auditorio Stelio Molo in Lugano in 2022, the specific acoustic properties of the studio too play into the fabric of Nitai’s musical developments, as did his exchanges with producer Manfred Eicher. Nitai: “In the studio very few words are spoken. With Manfred, it’s like there’s another musician in the room, reflecting, reacting and reshaping the music in the moment.” Call on the Old Wise is a testimony to Nitai Hershkovits’s unique inventiveness as well as an essential addition to ECM’s celebrated line of solo piano recordings.

Born to a Moroccan mother and a Polish father, Nitai originally started out his musical path on clarinet before switching to the piano at age 15. Jazz and improvised music were the focal point of his musical investigations throughout his teens, with a particularly strong interest for the idiosyncrasies of Sonny Rollins. In this period, Nitai won several jazz competitions in the Tel Aviv area, before his deepened interest in classical music took shape, leading to studies in both jazz – with Omer Avital and bassist Avishai Cohen i.a. – and classical piano, with Menahem Weisenberg and Amir Pedorovits. After a five-year-spell in Avishai Cohen’s trio (2011-2016), Nitai moved to New York, where he played in numerous groups, among them Oded Tzur’s quartet, of which he continues to be part today. He has recently moved back to Israel, where he is involved with a variety of musical projects, including collaborations with electronic musician Yuvi Havkin aka Rejoicer and drummer Amir Bresler, who can be heard on their joint venture Apifera.

New music releases: Zbonics, The Southern Gentlemen, Funkcool Orchestra, and John Scofield

Zbonics - Keep On Walkin'

Zbonics makes their return with their full-album release from Color Red and Session Resurrection, Keep On Walkin'. The group led by Zak Najor (Greyboy Allstars), features an all-star cast including Karl Denson (Rolling Stones), Robert Walter (Roger Waters), Rebecca Jade (Aubrey Logan), and Greyboy. Zbonics started out as a studio project in Zak Najor’s (Greyboy Allstars) garage. Then in 2001, Producer Justin Prizant and Drummer Zak Najor recruited key musicians to take these early song idea gems and develop them into a timeless jazz/funk album. Saxophonist Karl Denson (Rolling Stones), Keyboardists Adam Scone (Lou Donaldson) and Robert Walter (20th Congress, Greyboy Allstars) , guitarist Melvin Sparks (Isley Bros, Little Richard, Marvin Gaye) and Zak himself on the drums, and many others, built a mighty foundation for this collection of songs. After the Instrumentation of the records was complete, a not-yet-world-known vocalist lent his voice and lyrical talent generously to the project. This vocalist ended up being multi-Grammy winner Gregory Porter. The Time To Do Your Thing album was received with a great response in the U.S. and in Europe. Jazz singer-songwriter and radio personality called Zbonics Time To Do Your Thing one of the best jazz albums of the year making Keep On Walkin' a promising sophomore release.

The Southern Gentlemen - Back In The Game

Known collectively as The Southern Gentlemen, guitarist Eric Essix, trumpeter Joey Sommerville and violinist Michael Ward have reunited after an 8-year hiatus to release their debut single, the straight-up smooth “Back In The Game.” The group are planning for a  2024 tour, bringing their dynamic on-stage chemistry and compelling arrangement of musical instruments to venues across the land! Individually, the members have toured the world, performed, and recorded with some of the biggest names in the music industry, and have nearly 40 albums between them. The new single promises to propel up the Smooth Jazz radio charts and onto popular playlists worldwide as the ensemble returns with their signature raw energy and excitement and an even stronger sense of purpose and camaraderie! ~ www.smoothjazz.com

Funkcool Orchestra - Latin Freaks

These guys are definitely Latin Freaks – of the sort who like to mix heavy percussion with some clubbier instrumentation – all at a level that would make 70s salsa disco giants like Joe Bataan or Eddie Drennon mighty proud! This Italian group have a great way with the music, and have really crafted something wonderful and amazing – a full, rich sound that draws from the sharpness of salsa instrumentation, yet which has more focused grooves for the dancefloor – tight horns on top, nice percussion on the bottom, and sweet keyboards and basslines right down the middle! There's vocals on the set from a few female singers – and the great Joe Bataan joins the group on the title "Can't Help Foolin" – next to other cuts that include "Juanita Shing A Ling", "Divine Dance", "Boogie With Your Baby", "Little Black Woman", "Latin Freak", and "Tiene O Tempo". ~ Dusty Groove

John Scofield - Uncle John's Band

A surprisingly strong project from guitarist John Scofield – one that we'll admit we were a bit skeptical about, but which really delivers strongly overall! The set features Scofield and group taking on some tunes from a variety of sources – including the Grateful Dead, who are namechecked in the title – and the lineup features the bass of Vicente Archer and drums of Bill Stewart next to Scofield on electric guitar – all recorded at a level that's a bit warmer than you might expect from ECM, which really makes the music come alive – spacious, yet up-close and personal too, with hollow-body guitar work that resonates almost in an acoustic way at times, even as Scofield shows a few of his funkier currents on a few tunes. Titles include "How Deep", "TV Band", "Old Man", "Nothing Is Forever", "Budo", "The Girlfriend Chord", "Stairway To The Stars", "Mask", "Ray's Idea", and "Uncle John's Band". ~ Dusty Groove

NOVALIMA - La Danza EP Pt 2

The pioneering Afro-Peruvian sound system and Latin GRAMMY nominees NOVALIMA is thrilled to announce the release of their scorching new single, "Soy Palenque", featuring the sensational vocals of Karolinativa, a Peruvian MC that vindicates Afro-Peruvian identity through her lyrics, and an electrifying brass ensemble by Mexican dub jazz duo Man After Man. 

This track is the first glimpse into NOAVALIMA's sizzling "La Danza EP Pt 2", set to drop on October 27th on Six Degrees Records

On the new EPs La Danza Part 1 & 2, Novalima has collaborated with a new generation of artists who’ve reinterpreted their African Heritage. And sonically they experimented with both emerging sounds coming out of Peru and the world. All while paying homage to their African heritage as well as traditional African grooves and instruments.

This has been showcased on their current 20th anniversary U.S. tour, as they have prepared a playlist that includes songs from all of their previous albums as well as singles from their upcoming new album. They have also done some changes to the live lineup since the pandemic, adding Ivon Muñoz, a young Afro-Peruvian musician and dancer who plays cajon, percussion and adds Afro-Peruvian tap dancing to the show.

Novalima is thrilled to be back on the road to celebrate with their fans stating, “We’ve been aiming to export Peruvian culture through our music over the past 20 years, and so far we’ve been blessed by playing all over the world and meeting new great artists, who’ve somehow inspired our growth in music and our own artistic evolution. We are proud to be able to still be on the road with our family: our amazing live band, and this year we plan to take over new audiences to spread even more our music to younger crowds through our live concerts, which will be an exhilarating dance experience.”

During their career, Novalima has garnered worldwide critical acclaim from mainstream (NPR, UK Guardian, Wall Street Journal, La Presse, Metro, Billboard) and underground media (Giant Step, Remezcla, Sounds & Colors, Nat Geo) alike, delivered legendary performances around the world at festivals such as Roskilde, WOMAD, Pirineos Sur, NYC Central Park, Montreal Jazz Festival and Chicago’s Millennium Park, earned a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Album, and were featured in cult filmmaker Robert Rodriguez’s hit Mexploitation movie Machete.

• Tour Dates:
• October 05 @ Joshua Tree Festival - Joshua Tree, CA
• October 07 @ The Cedar - Minneapolis, MN
• October 09 @ Indigenous Peoples Day Festival – Chicago, IL
• November 21 @ Gran Teatro Nacional - Lima. PE

Ibrahim Maalouf Announces North American Headline Tour

French-Lebanese trumpeter/composer and global music star Ibrahim Maalouf has announced his biggest North American headlining tour to date for April-May 2024, including New York City’s Webster Hall.  Today he has also shared a live performance video of his song “Todo Colores,” which was filmed during GRAMMY weekend 2023 in Los Angeles as part of JAMMCARD's signature event, the JammJam.  The video features Maalouf and his band with special guests Cimafunk and Tank & the Bangas.  “Todo Colores” is from Maalouf’s new album Capacity To Love.

Capacity To Love - Maalouf’s 15th studio album - is unlike any he’s previously made, and has been celebrated by New Yorker, NPR All Things Considered, NPR Music, the New York Times, PRI’s The World, People Magazine, WNYC and more.  Featuring Sharon Stone, D Smoke, Pos from De La Soul, Erick the Architect, Gregory Porter, Cimafunk, Tank and the Bangas and many other international stars, it smashes together an array of sounds and all original songs, inspired by hip-hop, r&b, jazz, music from across the globe and Maalouf’s signature trumpet style rooted in his Lebanese roots.  Partly inspired by Maalouf’s love of cinema, Capacity To Love beams with positivity, a grand musical statement based on his belief that community and a sharing of ideas between cultures is the only way for humanity to prevail.  The album begins with Charlie Chaplin’s famous speech in The Dictatorand concludes with a trenchant spoken word that Sharon Stone wrote and recited for this album. 

Maalouf - a major star at home in France - will also headline the Accor Arena in Paris on November 29.  This is Maalouf’s third time headlining France’s biggest arena, with a capacity of 17,000.  See below for his full ‘23-24 performance itinerary.  

Other highlights include a Q&A event at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles which included a chat and performance with special guest and collaborator Angelique Kidjo.  Maalouf also performed at his mentor Quincy Jones’ 90th birthday tribute concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in July, playing alongside Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson, Jacob Collier and Samara Joy.

Shortly after Capacity To Love was released last November, Maalouf earned his first-ever GRAMMY nomination, for his album with Angelique Kidjo, Queen of Sheba. Maalouf and Kidjo discussed the album with Rolling Stone, The Talkhouse, Okay Africa and the Tape Op podcast, and SPIN said “it may be the most interesting album of the year.” Glide called it “undoubtedly one of the most important world recordings of the year" while WNYC celebrated the project as “ambitious and expressive.” A soaring 7-part suite, the album was inspired by, and reinvents, the myth of Queen Sheba, an African Queen who heard about the reputation of King Salomon and traveled to Jerusalem to witness the king’s wisdom.

Hailed as a “virtuoso” by The New York Times, Maalouf has spent his career crossing borders and blurring genres, mixing jazz, pop, classical, electronic, Middle Eastern, and African influences into a cross-cultural swirl. Born in the midst of a deadly civil war, Maalouf escaped Beirut with his family and spent his formative years in France, where he fell in love with music’s power to transcend geography and language. He has performed in 40 countries, sold out arenas from Paris to Istanbul, has been scouted by Quincy Jones and raised millions for charity. In the fall of 2021 he performed on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, introduced by Jon Batiste as “a living legend of jazz” and performed in front of the Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day for an audience of six million.

NEW BIG BAND ALBUM: Composer/Arranger Drew Zaremba's "Reunion"

Drew Zaremba is saxophonist, organist, and rightfully lauded powerhouse of an arranger and composer. Drawing eclectic influence from icons of big band, heroes of classical music, and the luminaries of British Rock, Zaremba combines, concocts, and creates with a refreshing originality in the wildest of never-before-imagined manners. Described as a musician who “writes and plays from his heart” and who “knows and speaks the language of music” (Eddie Gomez), Zaremba presents Reunion, an unequivocally celebratory big band debut rich with creativity at every turn, united first and foremost around the deep joy that permeates from every note he pens. 

Reunion is Zaremba’s joyous brainchild of many years of devoted craftsmanship and many years of searching for a musical identity. Having worked as a writer and arranger for so many other high-profile artists throughout the world of jazz and creative music, Zaremba found himself, until recently, not knowing how to define his own concept of voice. When the pandemic of 2020 occurred, Zaremba was able to fully explore this question for the first time. The answer was not, however, a single genre blend or trademark concept, but something more that blanketed everything he created: joy. “My style of music is generally joyful,” Zaremba says. “[This] doesn’t necessarily mean happy or sad, but there’s a sense of hope and optimism within different settings of groove, melody, and (generally speaking) rich harmony.” 

The title of the album is aptly chosen as it is derived from a multiplicity of overlapping reunions. The first, and arguably most paramount, reunion that occurred is that of the band itself following the isolation and lack of ensemble work that occurred for so many with the onset of lockdown mandates. “[Reunion] is the first major recording session since the pandemic for a particular subset of musicians in the Front Range, and this represents our reunion together after nearly two years of not playing together,” Zaremba says. “It was an emotional experience for all of us, and a true joy to play together!” The mirth of reconnecting was felt most deeply in the sense of community found amidst the rhythm section. Comprising Zaremba’s colleagues - fellow professors at the University of Northern Colorado - this rhythm section has played together for over ten years, and, as Zaremba rightfully notes, “their synergy is palpable and connects all the elements of the band.” Lastly, this album was an opportunity for Zaremba to reunite with a few key players in his life: vocalist and trombonist Seth Weaver and the renowned composer/bandleader John Clayton. Weaver was a former roommate of Zaremba’s and for the two, this session was a joyous time of catching up and making music once more. Clayton has been a longstanding mentor of Zaremba’s and it is this relationship that led him to being the producer for the album. “This represents a beautiful collaboration between us. I’m incredibly grateful for him and his involvement on the project,” Zaremba says. 

One of the people Zaremba has written for over the years is the great Wayne Bergeron, and this continues on Reunion with “You Ain’t Got The Blues,” one of Zaremba’s originals. “I’ve known [Bergeron] on and off for the last decade as a fan, student, admirer, and now partner in crime!” Zaremba says. “I’ve done a couple charts for Wayne, and this one is one that I’m quite proud of. He absolutely crushes it, I’m very grateful he is on the project.” A great element of Reunion is that it showcases Zaremba’s unique ability to joyfully blend ideas from

whatever influence he may choose. In particular, Zaremba showcases his origins in classical music and how he’s carried those elements into his writing in the jazz and creative music genres. “I grew up a classical pianist, and thought one day I would be a professional concert pianist (definitely took a left turn since then!). However, the melodies and songs from my childhood greatly informed who I am today,” Zaremba says. Three of the arrangements on the album epitomize this: Chopin’s “Minute Waltz,” Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony, and Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer”. The “Minute Waltz” is in the burning style of Buddy Rich and is done as a tongue-in-cheek 4/4. Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony originated from one of Zaremba’s thought experiments when he asked himself the tantalizing question of “What if Haydn had collaborated with Count Basie?” Meanwhile, “The Entertainer” was arranged, as Zaremba describes, to take “a Clayton-inspired spin to New Orleans.” Zaremba continues to display his ability to reimagine music with his arrangement of Pink Floyd’s “Money”. Featuring Marion Powers on vocals, “Money” blends Latin American grooves, driving rock influence, and metric complexity. “Nothing quite says British Invasion like 21/8 Bembé, right?” Zaremba teases. “No? Well, we decide to go there anyways.” 

One of the profound elements of Reunion is Zaremba’s ability to collaborate in bringing it to life. From the writing and rehearsing to the production and tracking, Zaremba has demonstrated with his band that working alongside others is as important as the individual brilliance that sparks the project’s inception. “There were a LOT of chats, discussion, and editing between myself and the rhythm section, particularly [drummer] Jim White, who is a fabulous producer as well,” Zaremba says. “He helped the music breathe in so many places where it needed to.” Zaremba also thanks the role and influence of John Clayton on the album. “John (Clayton) and I have been getting together for years, and some of these charts are tunes we’ve done in lessons/hangs over the past couple years,” Zaremba says. “His touch is all over this album.” One of the biggest contributions to the album was the lyrics to the track “Together.” The song, which was written by Zaremba for his wife, Jolie, and son, Charlie, features a vocal performance by long-time collaborator and friend, Rosana Eckert. In addition to contributing her stellar vocal performance, Eckert also composed the lyrics for the piece. “Rosana knew all of us,” Zaremba says, “so this was a very touching and beautiful collaboration that I love to share with friends and fans.” 

With Reunion, Zaremba successfully creates a mosaic of variegated brilliance that reflects and reimagines the kaleidoscopic array of influences that influenced him. Armed with his keen compositional vision and ever-flowing joy, Zaremba makes an indelible mark on the world of composition that will leave an inexorable impression on all who follow after. 

Reunion releases on Next Level, an imprint of Outside in Music on November 10th, 2023. The first single, Money, releases on October 6th, 2023. 

Incognito | "Into You"

Into You will be Incognito’s 19th Studio album release and confirmation that Bluey is still living his dream. ‘It has always been my goal to make music that reflects my journey and influences, whilst introducing new talent to our musical collective and fans worldwide,’ says Bluey, ‘I’ve had a smile on my face throughout this writing and recording process, musically and creatively, it’s been a joyful journey. I am really pleased to be releasing another Incognito album with Shanachie (USA) and Space Shower (Asia), and exhilarated to be releasing in the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world via my own label “Splash Blue” for the first time.’ 

Into You was recorded, mixed and mastered mainly at Bluey’s studio, Colibri Sound Recorders, in the East End of London by co producer and engineer Mo Hausler, but Bluey was surprised and inspired by contributions that came in from Coen Molenaar of Tristan (Netherlands), and James Berkeley of Yakul (Brighton on the UK South Coast), whilst he was in Krabi, Thailand, with MD and bass player Francis Hylton, and longtime collaborator Richard Bull. Those sessions became the backbone of the album and a strong foundation for Bluey’s lyrics. The importance of getting material that would connect with the featured voices of Natalie Duncan and Cherri V was paramount. ‘As I had done for Maysa, Joy Rose, Imaani, Vanessa Haynes, and other featured singers on previous albums, I knew that the key to connecting Natalie and Cherri to our fanbase, and the core of this album’s stories, lay in their voices reflecting their personalities and lives in every performance. Collaborating with these ladies was an amazing experience, and I already knew from touring with them that they would have my back at every turn.’

This is also the Incognito album debut of lead guitarist Charlie Allen who features prominently throughout. His contribution is eagerly anticipated by the thousands who have been raving about his live performances with the band this past year. Tony Momrelle features on a duet with Natalie and his unmistakable tones underpin the vocal blend on several cuts. Bluey describes communication between the dynamic duo of Francesco Mendolia and Joao Caetano on Drums and Percussion as being ‘simply Jedi like!’

There are some high vibes guaranteed as super talented actor/musician Max Beesley makes a special guest appearance on “Close to Midnight!” and Basile Petite and Drew Wynen set a killing groove on the guaranteed floor filler “Nothing Makes Me Feel Better”. According to Bluey this song ‘has one of the most hypnotic bass lines to take you from PM to AM. The after-party drive home will never be the same!’ 

As to be expected the Incognito horns are on fire throughout, pinpointing changes with brass stabs, bringing lush harmonic layers, rich harmonies and refreshing soulful solos. Add to that the force of nature that is new keyboard player Chicco Allotta, who also features as lead vocalist on “1993”.

Incognito’s friends, followers and everyone gravitating to the sound are in for a treat, and Bluey? ‘Well, I’ll continue to be Bluey! Playing, writing, producing music with a greater passion and conviction than ever before. I was born to do this!’

Art Ruprecht | "New Every Day"

Jazz, guitar and St. Francis of Assisi: Art Ruprecht’s spirited new single, “If Necessary, Use Words,” is receiving airplay on dozens of radio stations across the nation.

In this noisy era of incessant broadcast media coverage and social media clamoring, one may long for communication by action instead of words. And since many experts believe that the larger part of communication is nonverbal, living authentically through action may be a desirable goal. Those are some of the thoughts contemporary jazz guitarist Art Ruprecht contemplated when writing and producing his rousing new Flame Productions single, “If Necessary, Use Words.”

The second single from Ruprecht’s “New Every Day” album is a guitar and saxophone duet featuring Fred Middlekauff on tenor sax. The track was swiftly added to dozens of smooth/contemporary jazz playlists across the country.

Storming out of the gate, Ruprecht issues gregarious electric jazz guitar leads and soulful rhythmic riffs. He volleys playfully with Middlekauff’s fervent horn forays as the duo builds to crescendo while trading impassioned solos. Jeff Tobler’s EVI and Martin Klein’s keyboards thicken the harmonies tethered to the rhythm track constructed by Joshua West’s bass and Andy Summerfield’s drums.    

“The title for the single comes from a quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. ‘Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.’ No one knows for sure if he really said it, but nevertheless it is worthy advice. Actions speak louder than words. When we radiate joy and happiness, people notice,” said Ruprecht, a St. Louis native whose fretwork is influenced by Joe Pass, Pat Martino, Pat Metheny, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford and George Benson.

Ruprecht says that “If Necessary, Use Words” mirrors the journey of life.

“The first verse takes the listener through some ups and downs as we all experience in life. It leads to a redemptive chorus in the second part of the song. These parts are repeated with experimentation – our improv solos – leading into the wilderness part of the journey heard during the bridge. Finally, we emerge at a higher level, heard via a change in key, and coast from there to the promised land,” explained Ruprecht.

Ruprecht brings a unique and diverse background to his recording artistry. He’s a multi-instrumentalist who started on the drum kit. Falling in love with bluegrass inspired him to learn violin, mandolin and eventually, guitar. He debuted in 2008 with the “At the End of the Day” album, which was heard frequently on the Weather Channel. His "Cast Your Care" ranked No. 22 on the SmoothJazz.com Top 100 albums for 2019. Ruprecht’s first album in three years, “New Every Day” contains fifteen of his original compositions, including the first single, “Peace Meal,” another guitar and sax offering spotlighting Middlekauff that garnered national airplay last spring. 

New music releases: Paolo Rustichelli ft. Miles Davis, The Jim Self & John Chiodini Quintet, TheEEs feat. Juliet Ada, and Robohands

Paolo Rustichelli ft. Miles Davis - Love Divine (The Smooth Jazz Mix)

Italian composer and innovator Paolo Rustichelli saw jazz icon Miles Davis at the Umbria Jazz Festival in the summer of 1986. Rustichelli slipped Miles’ manager a demo cassette of his music. Several weeks later at the Rome Jazz Festival, intrigued by the demo, Miles invited Paolo to record with him and the magic began at a private studio in Europe. This session yielded beautiful results that have been stored away for decades, until now. “Love Divine” (The Smooth Jazz Mix) unearths these long-lost recordings and sets them into a contemporary yet timeless jazz setting. Steeped in perpetuity, this duet is likely to send chills down your arms and fill your heart with an unfamiliar hope… Almost like rewinding to a better place and time. ~smoothjazz.com

The Jim Self & John Chiodini Quintet - Touch And Go

Jim Self is one of the busiest jazz musicians in Los Angeles. Besides being a prolific recording artist, the tuba master is also an in-demand studio musician. On his 21st release, Touch And Go, he once again shares production credits with guitarist John Chiodini. The two masters have produced three duo jazz CDs together and one with the David Angel Jazz Ensemble. Each of Self’s recordings have featured different kinds of bands, usually either classical or jazz. For Touch And Go, The Jim Self & John Chiodini Quintet includes some of LA’s top jazz musicians. Self says, “When Chiodini and I talked about who we wanted for this quintet recording we chose Ron Stout, Ken Wild, and Kendall Kay because of their great playing and impeccable time.” The project was highly collaborative, and all of the players contributed suggestions, arrangements, or compositions to the project. Like many of Self’s songs and album titles, he took the title Touch And Go from his 30+ years as a small plane pilot. It is a term that pilots use for practicing take offs and landings where, after touching down, you immediately take off and “go around” the pattern again. From the opening high-energy title tune, “Touch And Go,” written by Self, through standards like “Only Trust Your Heart” and “Whisper Not” to originals like Chiodini’s bluesy “Restless” to the bebop closing tune “Dig,” the swinging, hip arrangements and original writing on Touch And Go deftly demonstrate that this entire band - Self, Chiodini, Stout, Wild, and Kay - are all masters of their instruments.

TheEEs feat. Juliet Ada - Mother Earth

TheEEs – the Eclectic Experiences – combine elements from the broad spectrum of 60s and 70s sounds ranging from Soul, Latin and Afrobeat to Reggae, Psych and Jazz, with a contemporary attitude and eclectic approach. Music and sound surround us throughout our lives, they captivate our body and our brain, get absorbed, mixed and combine within us to form our individual sound language. Some sounds come and go, others stay with us forever. TheEEs, the musical project of composers and producers Claus Hartisch and Andre Neundorf (Bahama Soul Club / Kojato), is here to stay. The duo explores new musical possibilities and creates something unique: audible feelings and thoughts communicate with one another, becoming experiences, transcending individuality. With a bit of luck, the record button will light up red and capture something magical. Sounds and beats weave patterns, moments become repeatable, perspectives become shareable – eclectic experiences. Their debut release was the reggae remix of “Mango“ by Bahama Soul Club out in 2020, but fast forward a few years and there’s a whole album’s worth of material waiting to see the light of day and spread more eclectic experiences worldwide!

Robohands - Driven

Inspired by early 70s noir thrillers, second single ‘Driven’ features a saxophone solo from Jim Piela, with added tremolo and long time collaborator Ken Long, contributing Wurlitzer keys with Baxter playing drums, guitar, bass and Rhodes. The track is taken from 'Palms' , Robohands' 5th  album in a series of seven LPs. Moving towards different genres and arrangements from his previous albums, ‘Palms’ features duelling harp parts, tape echo, double bass and draws inspiration from artists such as Dorothy Ashby, Azimuth, Alice Coltrane and Toquinho. In parts tropical and synth drenched, and in others stripped back and acoustic, ‘Palms’ is a journey back to saturated analog recordings of the late 60s and 70s, with a subtle modern layer of glitch FX and pitch control experimentation in places. The album makes also reference to classic releases from jazz fusion that feature the legendary Arp Odyssey synthesiser, used by artists such as Herbie Hancock and George Duke.The seventeen track album features performances from multiple session musicians including Jim Piela on saxophone and Marco Cremaschini on Rhodes, with Baxter taking on drums, guitar, bass, keys and also mixing duties. ‘Palms’ is a new direction for his project and a record that thematically journeys into modern reinterpretations of jazz, downtempo, acoustic and ambient music.  

"Rainbow Revisited" From South African Pianist, Composer & Singer Thandi Ntuli with Producer & Percussionist Carlos Niño

In 2019 Ntuli traveled to Los Angeles for the first time to perform at The Ford Theatre at a show presented by The Nonsemble. She met the LA-based Niño in person for the first time during preparations for that performance, and he invited her to do a session with him and engineer Andy Kravitz at Studio 4 West.

As Ntuli recalls in her liner notes for the album: “Having been aware of some of his work… I knew that, with Carlos as producer, the artistic direction of the album would likely take me to a place I’d never considered going. A fact that had me both curious and terrified (as one tends to be when stepping into the unknown)… On that zen-like California afternoon in Andy Kravitz’s cozy studio in Venice Beach, he encouraged me to play around with various iterations of my composition Rainbow. “Try it this way”, “How about adding that?”, “Can you breathe into the mic?”, “What if you focus on the last section?”, and many other explorations that eventually went through a few cuts, edits, yays and nays to become this body of work. Rainbow Revisited was birthed through that session, another session a couple of days later, and a series of many small synchronicities that led up to that moment.”

Niño says: “I was super excited when I heard that Jason Sugars and Kali of The Nonsemble were bringing Thandi to Los Angeles. I was invited to play with her, Siya Makuzeni, and Katalyst Collective at The Ford Theatre. I reached out to Thandi to see if she had time and interest to get in the studio while she was here, and she did. We became fast friends, established essential trust, talked through some things, and got to work... I had always envisioned that this would be a full-length album, and we had plenty of recordings; but exactly what it was going to be, and how it was going to flow, took some time and space. In late 2021, I was called by an inner voice to return to this project and finish the album… Luckily, Thandi was into what I sent her and we were able to proceed in our collaboration, that is Rainbow Revisited.”

Exploring the fullness of who she is – who we are – in her personal and collaborative projects, South African composer, pianist, and singer Thandi Ntuli negotiates a wide palette of sound and genre. This approach is a proud embracing of having grown up with the family lore of a classical singer aunt, after whom she is named; an uncle (Selby Ntuli) who was a member of Afro-rock band Harari; and a grandfather (Levi Godlib Ntuli) who – while living with his young family in 1940s Sophiatown, a cultural hub not unlike 1920s Harlem in New York – fostered among his children a tradition of composing, playing and singing music together. This tradition still lives on. Through her work over a hitherto 13-year career, Thandi has carved space for herself, and others seeking home, to fully exist – thereby firmly situating herself and the contemporary South African generation in the musical cannon. Her frank-yet-empathetic and vulnerable gaze on herself, and the world, has birthed a body of work that facilitates our access to our histories, presents and futures by creating in music literature the existence of language, experiences and space that speak to us. For young South Africans and creatives – not least of all, women – Thandi represents a home-going to ourselves, each other and our communities.

 

New music releases: Tenderlonious, Daniel Villarreal with Jeff Parker & Anna Butterss, Enemy, and Per Texas Johansson

Tenderlonious - You Know I Care

The most spiritual session we've ever heard from Tenderlonious – a set that we always knew he had in him, given his playing on other folk's albums – yet one that still comes as a great surprise in comparison to some of his other records too! The set features compositions by Wayne Shorter, Stanley Cowell, Charles Tolliver, and Bill Lee – all nods to the generation that Tenderlonious evokes here on alto and flutes, working in a quartet that features Hamish Balfour on piano, Pete Martin on bass, and Tim Carnegie on drums – a group who are lean and work without any other trappings or structures – coming across maybe a bit like some Clifford Jordan quartet session for Strata East. Titles include long takes on "On The Nile", "Infant Eyes", "John Coltrane", "You Know I Care", "Poor Eric", and "Maimoun". ~ Dusty Groove

Daniel Villarreal with Jeff Parker & Anna Butterss - Lados B

Killer trio material from drummer Daniel Villarreal – a lean, clean record that's a really great showcase for all three players involved! The music's got a vibe that's more live and spontaneous than some other efforts on the International Anthem label, and a sound that's almost funky at times – as Daniel's snapping drums get plenty of encouragement from the basses of Anna Butterss, which really sets fire to the guitar of Jeff Parker! Parker's back here at a level that we haven't heard on record in awhile, and the record seems to resonate with all his long experience with a variety of players – while also standing as a showcase for his ability to really deliver some warmly chromatic tones on the guitar. Titles include "Things Can Be Calm", "Daytime Nighttime", "Salute", "Sunset Cliffs", "Republic", "Chicali Outpost", and "Bring It". ~ Dusty Groove

Enemy - The Betrayal

Enemy, the trio of drummer James Maddren, pianist Kit Downes and bassist Petter Eldh make their We Jazz Records debut with their third album 'The Betrayal'. After their self-titled debut (Edition, 2018) and the follow up ('Vermillion', ECM 2022), the explosive yet lyrical trio is seeking new directions with the 12-track new record, arguably their strongest yet. 'The Betrayal' consists of all original material penned by Downes and Eldh. It's an album of "purposeful contradictions and a shedding of skin", a studio recording recorded within the scope of a single day, edited, produced and mixed by the band themselves. In their own words, the band "doesn't really rehearse, playing a lot live, taking risks, always writing new music, always playing as fresh as possible", and evolving in the process. Careful listeners will quickly notice how different from 'Vermillion' the new album is. Where once was echo and reverb, is now rhythmic intensity and a more compact sense of sound. The band sounds closer, their movement seems more focused. If ENEMY would have a motto, it would be "no risk, no fun". True to this, The Betrayal has its sudden twists and turns, yet the trio never loses sight of what makes the music theirs. It wouldn't be fair to call them "experimental", at least for the sake of using such a vague word, but they do experiment, having fun while at it. Listen to the three albums in one serving and you'll surely hear many directions in music being suggested, tried out, perfected, thrown out, and taken into processing again. You can also hear it within a single track at times.

Per Texas Johansson - Orkester Omnitonal

A compelling chapter in the long and wonderful career of reedman Per Texas Johansson – a set that features a larger ensemble interpreting his ideas, and working with a really incredible combination of horns! The group perform three longer compositions under the direction of Johan Siberg, and there's an insane criss-crossing of instruments throughout – a variety of clarinets from Per, plus other reeds from Johan Horlen, Astrid Le Clercq, Fredrik Ljungkvist, Alberto Pinton, and Linus Lindblom – plus trumpets from Joakim Agnas, Emil Strandberg, and Karl Olandersson – and trombones from Mats Aleklint, Mats Agelid, and Lisa Bodelius! The horns really shape the sound here, but there are some other elements in the mix – vibes from Mattias Stahl, bass from Par Ola Landin, piano from Rasmus Borg, and drums from Konrad Agnas – but all elements that really step back at many points and let the woodwinds and brass direct the music. Titles include "Livet I Tre Delar", "Klarinet", and "Orosmoln".  ~ Dusty Groove

Nicole Rampersaud - Saudade

Since 2008, Canadian trumpet player and composer  Nicole Rampersaud has relentlessly probed the sonic boundaries of her instrument, crafting exploratory works for it alone that she montages spontaneously into riveting solo performances.  On her debut LP Saudade for Toronto imprint Ansible Editions, she ventures further along this trajectory, augmenting her brilliant, individualistic playing with textural electronic treatments.

Although said electronics play a crucial role in shaping the identity of this recording, it's her expansive lexicon as an acoustic player that drives much of abstraction that transpires. "Then Again...", for instance, sees a base of moist, guttural growls stacked with twirling high-register phrases that bubble and melt as effects are intermittently applied. Similarly, its her faint pan-flute-like whispers of "Erasure" that immediately catch the ear—even as dub-like cascades stream off of this primary line by way of echoes and tweaked overdubs, listeners remain transfixed by Rampersaud's exquisite command of ultra-specific trumpet techniques. Where others use processing as a means to obliterate the intrinsic timbre of their instruments entirely, Rampersaud almost deploys it like she's making a documentary—cutting between or superimposing various camera angles, crafting transitions, adjusting the tint of the footage, and only judiciously engaging in blatant trickery.

Her capacious repertoire of sounds is mirrored in the remarkably broad scope of the vignette-like compositions themselves.  Eruptive cybernetic jazz splatters down right beside a digitally-botched ballad or slices through quivering ambient mists. Sandro Perri, with whom she has worked in several other scenarios, enhances the gentle unruliness of this release wielding his keen ear for mixing and mastering.

Nicole Rampersaud is recognized internationally as a singular improviser. Her adventurous versatility has led to collaborations with notable figures such as Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker, Ra-kalam Bob Moses, Joe Morris, Roscoe Mitchell, Nate Wooley, Sylvie Courvoisier, Anthony Coleman, Raven Chacon, and Ig Henneman. She's been heard at key venues and festival including Toronto Jazz Festival, Suoni per il Popolo, the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Massey Hall, Aga Khan Museum, National Art Gallery of Canada, Guelph Jazz Festival, Cornell University’s Symposium - After Experimental Music, and  Göteberg Art Sounds Festival (Sweden). Her primary groups include Brass Knuckle Sandwich (with celebrated pianist Marilyn Lerner), a duo with guitarist Joel LeBlanc, and she co-founded the trio c_RL alongside Allison Cameron and Germaine Liu. She is also a member of Brodie West’s Eucalyptus, and regularly performs and records with Joseph Shabason.  Her compositional output has been commissioned by the EVERYSEEKER Festival (where she was their first composer-in-residence), Festival RE:FLUX, the Canadian Music Centre's CMC Presents Series and presented by Vale of Glamorgan Festival in Wales, the Festival of New Trumpet Music in New York, and the Suddenly Listen series in Halifax, In 2021, she co-founded the improvisation-driven multi-disciplinary series, Understory, which uses technology to reimagine collaboration between artists across Canada.

Reviewing Toronto's Women From Space Festival for Musicworks Magazine, veteran critic Stuart Broomer said the following of her: “Trumpeter Nicole Rampersaud opened the festival with an expansive exploration of extended trumpet techniques and electronic interaction. Beginning with bird calls and muted forest cries, she employed both standard and soprano trumpet and extensive looping through multiple microphones to create a world of trumpets—lows, highs, and blips—expanding her clarion horn into its own soundworld.”

AC Soul Symphony – Metamorphosis

Legendary producer Dave Lee returns as AC Soul Symphony with the “Metamorphosis” LP – his most ambitious production project in his 35-year career.

With an inimitable CV and discography that includes over a thousand production credits to his name, hundreds of singles under renowned pseudonyms including Joey Negro, and three UK top 40 hits as Jakatta, Dave Lee is one of the UK’s most revered producers of disco and house music, defining each genre with a signature sound. Always looking to push the boundaries of what it means to make music, his latest project sees Dave return to one of his lesser-known pseudonyms – AC Soul Symphony – to deliver an epic disco record that takes the sound back to its roots in every way possible.

Comprising 15 beautifully arranged disco tracks that effortlessly span almost two hours, “Metamorphosis” is an album by definition, but at its core, much more than that – it is a labour of love, meticulously composed, arranged and crafted through a very tangible and human creative process which is unmatched by many modern producers.

Inspired by happy memories from the golden era of TV and the soundtracks of his favourite childhood shows, “Metamorphosis” was borne of a desire to put the strings center stage and recreate the same analogue sounds that brought instrumental albums by Love Unlimited, MFSB and Salsoul Orchestra to life.

Taking disco back to a physical place, “Metamorphosis” was an organic writing process that saw Dave lay down his ideas digitally, before reshaping the MIDI strings into a proper arrangement and recording them live with a 20-piece orchestra at RAK Studios. By his own admission, it is an album of pure indulgence, but by relying on digital production methods, it can be easy to lose sight of the soul that makes music such a unifying entity. Backing up the immaculate strings with catchy vocals and enough groove to level a discotheque, it’s this soulful energy that Dave has captured and expertly delivered with “Metamorphosis”.

New music releases: Phyllis Hyman, George Duke, Nancy Wilson, and Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Jazz Is Dead 19

Phyllis Hyman - Old Friend, The Deluxe Collection (1976-1998) 

SoulMusic Records has compiled the first-ever box set of the music of the legendary Phyllis Hyman, who created a wonderful legacy of recordings over close to twenty-years that continues to resonate today with her dedicated global audience and beyond. Creatively traversing the soul/R&B and jazz genres from the mid-‘70s until her passing in the mid-‘90s ,with her instantly recognizable and distinctive vocal style, Phyllis developed a solid cadre of discerning music buyers with albums for Buddah, Arista and Philadelphia International Records, collated here along with a number of bonus tracks and guest appearances for a total of (113) tracks. Appropriately named ‘The Deluxe Collection,” this 9CD box has been lovingly created by SoulMusic.com founder David Nathan in cooperation with Glenda Gracia, manager & executrix of the Phyllis Hyman estate, who contributes a moving up-close-and-personal essay. Renowned writer Janine Coveney provides a heartfelt tribute with an overview of Phyllis’ music; while SoulMusic Records’ Michael Lewis offers his thoughts on Phyllis’ compelling live performances. In a beautifully-designed box with artwork by Roger Williams along with stellar mastering from Nick Robbins, “Old Friend: The Deluxe Collection” is a fitting celebration of Phyllis Hyman’s contribution through music.

George Duke: No Rhyme, No Reason: The Elektra/Warner Years (1985-2000)

Musical gems drawing from George’s three Elektra albums, ‘Thief In The Night’, ‘George Duke’ and ‘Night After Night’ and his six Warner Brothers albums, ‘Snapshot’, ‘The Muir Woods Suite’, ‘Illusions’, ‘Is Love Enough?’, ‘After Hours’ and ‘Cool’; plus a non-album “B” cut, ‘Guilty (Part 2)’ making its worldwide CD debut. George Duke’s diverse musical history included stints with Jean-Luc Ponty, Al Jarreau, Frank Zappa (as a member of The Mothers Of Invention for a year), Cannonball Adderley and Billy Cobham – began a seven-year tenure with Epic Records, the focus of the SoulMusic Records’ 2016 anthology, ‘Shine On’ (SMCR-5140D). ‘No Rhyme, No Reason’ picks up where that 2CD set left off with handpicked cuts that reflect George Duke’s multi-faceted mastery in Jazz, Funk, Soul and Pop and includes five US R&B charted singles and confirms his place as a staple artist in the world of Smooth Jazz. This sumptuous collection, created by SoulMusic.com founder David Nathan with invaluable project support from renowned US music journalist A Scott Galloway, features extensive notes by acclaimed UK writer Charles Waring with 2022 quotes from musicians Paul Jackson Jr, Byron Miller and Everette Harp who all worked with George for many years.

Nancy Wilson: This Mother’s Daughter/I’ve Never Been To Me 

Two albums from the premier song stylist from the late ‘70s, ‘This Mother’s Daughter’ remains one of the most soulful records cut by Nancy Wilson during her Capitol tenure.  Helmed by producer Eugene McDaniels, it’s filled with subtle but ingenious jazz-funk flourishes. Includes the R&B charted singles, “Now” and “In My Loneliness (When We Were One)”;  1977’s “I’ve Never Been To Me” resumes Nancy’s association with producer Gene Page and includes the US R&B 45, “I’ve Never Been To Me,” later covered by Motown artist Charlene. This 2-CD set, with stellar liner notes by renowned writer Kevin Goins, was originally reissued on SoulMusic Records in 2012 and is being re-released through popular demand.

Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Jazz Is Dead 19 – Instrumentals

An all-instrumentals set of tracks from the Jazz Is Dead duo of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad – but one that also has some ties to their previous projects as well! The set features some material written with Jean Carne, who doesn't sing at all – and some written with Lonnie Liston Smith, who does play Fender Rhodes on a number of tracks – making a great return to the format of the series, after his own volume! And speaking of Fender Rhodes, Adrian Younge plays plenty of that great instrument – as well as Hammond B3, flute and saxes, and even some monophonic synth and electric sitar – all of which makes for a mighty nice, wide array of instrumental flavors! Titles include "Black Rainbows", "The Summertime", "Cosmic Changes", "Black Love", "People Of The Sun", "Come As You Are", "Visions", and "Love Brings Happiness". ~ Dusty Groove

Randy Crawford: You Might Need Somebody – The Warner Bros. Recordings (1976-1993)

Celebrating this timeless artist, a priceless collection delving into Randy Crawford’s peerless recordings. Lovingly curated into a one-of-a-kind anthology of three thematic discs that focus on her artistry and craft. So much more than a chronological checklist of the international award-winning singer/ songwriter’s most popular hits, this 57-song set includes the cream of her Warner Bros. catalogue recorded between 1976-1993, drawn from eleven albums (along with tracks from the classic all- star live jazz LP, ‘Casino Lights’) that all reflect the soul-baring breadth and depth of Randy’s musicality through her instantly recognizable voice.

Disc 1 features 20 roots R&B, Jazz, standards and the bluesier side of Randy’s balladry. Highlights include her redefining covers of The Eagles’ ‘Desperado’, Jerry Butler’s ‘I Stand Accused’, her instant standards ‘When Your Life Was Low’ and ‘One Day I’ll Fly Away’ (written by Joe Sample and Will Jennings), and the unforgettable ‘I Hope You’ll Be Very Unhappy Without Me’.

Disc 2 features 19 of Randy’s lushest love songs including ‘Now We May Begin’, ‘I’m Under The Influence of You’, ‘Endlessly’, her classic live duet of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell’s ‘Your Precious Love’ with Al Jarreau, ‘Rio de Janeiro Blue’, two Leon Russell chestnuts ‘Windsong’ and ‘Time for Love’, the timeless gems ‘I’m Glad There is You’ and ‘At Last.’ and Randy’s own classic composition, ‘Almaz.’ The disc closes looking at love on the level of all humanity with a breathtaking live version of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’.

Disc 3 is a smorgasbord of Randy’s dazzling shapeshifting musical styles that includes her signature breakthrough hit with The Crusaders’ ‘Street Life’, the sassy dance rock jam ‘Blue Flame’, covers of Journey’s ‘Who’s Crying Now’ and Kenny Loggins’ ‘Who’s Right, Who’s Wrong’, her movie soundtrack classics ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’, ‘One Hello’ and ‘Don’t Wanna Be Normal’, the rare European one-off 45 ‘Give Peace a Chance’, and the oft-covered anthem ‘You Might Need Somebody’ after which this anthology was named.

With an in-depth essay by project producer A. Scott Galloway that includes commentary from Randy herself, Joe Sample, Nicklas Sample, Russell Ferrante, Steve Lukather, James Gadson and more, this compilation (executive-produced by SoulMusic Records’ founder David Nathan) comes complete with tasteful artwork by Roger Williams, exquisite mastering by Nick Robbins.

Philip Bailey: State Of The Heart – The Columbia Recordings(1983-1988)

Glorious 3CD set featuring the first three solo albums by renowned soul/pop/gospel vocalist Philip Bailey (of Earth, Wind & Fire fame) originally released on Columbia Records.

36 tracks, (including 8 rare bonus tracks consisting of single edits, remixes, and soundtrack songs) on these expanded editions of ‘Continuation’ (1983), ‘Chinese Wall’ (1985), and ‘Inside Out’ (1986).

Key tracks include the international smash hit ‘Easy Lover’, a celebrated duet with Phil Collins, plus US R&B classics ‘I Know’, ‘Walking on the Chinese Wall’, ‘Children of the Ghetto’, ‘State of the Heart’, and many more.

Includes production from George Duke, Phil Collins, and Nile Rodgers, and songwriting from Richard Marx, Glen Ballard, and members of The System plus a brand new interview with Bailey offering insights on this pivotal era of his career.

Throughout the 1970s and early 80s, Philip Bailey’s rich falsetto powered some of the biggest hits by Earth, Wind & Fire, from ‘Shining Star’ and ‘That’s the Way of the World’ to ‘Fantasy’ and ‘September’. When EW&F founder Maurice White put the group on hiatus in 1983, Bailey fearlessly embarked on a new musical journey, building cutting-edge R&B albums with a galaxy of talent, including some of the most formidable producers in soul and pop history.

These albums showcased the full versatility of Bailey’s distinctive voice and forged creative partnerships that would last throughout his entire career. In 1985, with the help of fan-turned- producer and duet partner Phil Collins, Bailey scored one of the most enduring hits of the decade with ‘Easy Lover’, a US No. 2 and UK No. 1 smash.

Bonus tracks include ‘Love is Alive’ from the soundtrack to The Goonies and the rollicking theme to the blockbuster comedy Twins, recorded as a duet with rock and soul legend Little Richard as well as extended dance music mixes of ‘Easy Lover’ and ‘I Know’.

Produced and compiled by Mike Duquette and Joe Marchese of popular re-issue site The Second Disc, and includes a 24-page booklet. The package is designed by John Sellards with rare images from the Sony Music archives, and all audio has been newly mastered by Donald Cleveland.

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.”