Wayne Escoffery | Alone

In the summer of 2023, saxophonist and composer Wayne Escoffery found himself alone in a way that he’d never quite experienced before. He was away from home, on sabbatical in Europe with a month to himself between tours. A long-term relationship had just ended, and he was confronted with the loss of friendships that he’d once valued. Worst of all, he’d suffered a broken finger that left him unable to play the saxophone for the first time since he’d picked up the horn in high school. 

“Normally, my coping mechanism would be the saxophone,” Escoffery laments. “But even that wasn't available to me for about nine weeks, so I just had to be alone in my thoughts.” 

He made good use of this alone time, conceptualizing the music that makes up his striking and singular new album, Alone. What emerged from that solitude was an extended mood piece, an album unique in Escoffery’s typically wide-ranging catalogue for its sustained atmosphere of stark melancholy and searching introspection. Due out August 30, 2024, via Smoke Sessions Records, the music is breathtakingly interpreted by an all-star quartet featuring iconic bassist Ron Carter, drummer Carl Allen, and pianist Gerald Clayton. 

Escoffery hails from London, England, and lived a nomadic existence before finding a formative mentor in Jackie McLean, settling in New Haven, Connecticut, and then attending the Hartt School in Hartford to study with the legendary saxophonist. A Grammy Award and DownBeat Critics Poll winner, Escoffery has performed with such revered artists as Herbie Hancock, Abdullah Ibrahim, Al Foster, Tom Harrell, Billy Hart, Eddie Henderson, Ralph Peterson, Wallace Roney, Monty Alexander, and others. He is also a long-time member of the Grammy award-winning Mingus Big Band and one of the band’s musical directors. 

The saxophonist has enjoyed a decades-long relationship with Carter, considering the bass giant a mentor since his days in grad school at the Thelonious Monk Institute, now the Hancock Institute. He’s since recorded as a member of Carter’s Great Big Band, and the two have shared the stage on a number of occasions, but Escoffery was intent on finding the perfect project to feature Carter on an album of his own. 

Finding a drummer to pair with Carter, on the other hand, can prove daunting. The sheer weight of his storied legacy can be intimidating, but Allen shares his own history with the bassist and has also been a longtime mentor for Escoffery. He recorded with the saxophonist on his albums Times Change and If Dreams Come True, making the Alone session something of a reunion after a nearly two-decade hiatus. 

Clayton is more of a peer to Escoffery, but Alone marks the first time the two have had a chance to play substantially together. “We played together on a few occasions when he was living in New York but haven’t connected much in recent years for whatever reason, though I’ve admired his work with the late Roy Hargrove and more recently with Charles Lloyd. I really appreciate Gerald’s comping and his attention to detail. He has great ears and harmonic understanding, and he sounds amazing on this album.” 

The music Escoffery compiled for Alone – a carefully selected blend of original compositions and familiar standards – vividly captures the profound richness and variety of emotion that loneliness can evoke. The repentant, bittersweet “Moments with You” is Escoffery’s most direct reflection on his shattered relationship. There is no vocal on the track, yet Escoffery includes his self-penned lyric for the song anyway, his sentiments bolstering the fragile emotions conveyed by the quartet’s heartrending interpretation. 

There’s sadness, too, in Escoffery’s title track, but also a sense of hope, strength, and inner peace, aided immeasurably by the foundation of Carter’s broad-shouldered bassline. Harold Land’s “Rapture” has been a constant in Escoffery’s repertoire since he was invited to pay tribute to the late hard-bop great at San Diego’s Athenaeum Music & Arts Library last fall, and the tune fits the album’s mood exquisitely. 

The frigid chill coming off of “The Ice Queen” leaves no doubt that it has a particular inspiration in mind – though Escoffery is quick to insist that its subject is not the same as the former flame whose presence looms so large over the rest of the album – but its air of steely regret encompasses the loss of platonic friendships that becomes inevitable with age and maturation. Johnny Mandel’s “The Shadow of Your Smile” seems to dwell in the darkest recesses of that shadow, rendering the tune shrouded and mournful. 

“Blues for D.P.” is a Ron Carter classic, written in tribute to the pianist Duke Pearson and originally recorded less than two months after his death in 1980 for Carter’s album Parfait. It was revived by another of Escoffery’s heroes, Grover Washington Jr., on the legendary saxophonist’s 1988 album Then and Now, in a version with Carter and his Miles Davis Quintet bandmate Herbie Hancock. 

Of the two bonus tracks (available on CD and digital releases only), “Stella by Starlight” is a recollection of a more tender kind, lingering on an entrancing vision from the past, dimming yet still vibrant. Closing the album, Buddy Johnson’s “Since I Fell for You” pares the band down to the duo of Escoffery and Clayton, painting the tune in austere hues of last-call sorrow. 

Alone was conceived during a time of isolation, heartbreak, regret, and reflection, but the experience of the album is far richer even than that. In the end, “I was forced to reflect on life and what was most important to me,” Escoffery concludes. “The concept of this album grew out of that reflection.”

Michael Dease | Grove’s Groove

Michael Dease Pays Tribute to the Late, Legendary Trumpeter Roy Hargrove on his Second Album Replacing his Trombone with Baritone Sax

Grove’s Groove, Due out August 23 via Le Coq Records, Features a Superb Band with Hargrove Alumni and Friends Steve Davis, Rodney Whitaker, Terell Stafford and Ulysses Owens Jr., Joined by Bill Cunliffe and Jocelyn Gould

The legendary trumpeter Roy Hargrove is usually – and justly – depicted as a generation-defining voice and a radiant, troubled genius. What gets lost in that characterization is Hargrove’s equally vital role as a mentor for younger musicians who shared his deeply felt commitment to exploring the full spectrum of jazz and in carrying the blazing torch of tradition determinedly forward. 

Among those whose life and career were touched by Hargrove’s influence is the multi-instrumentalist and composer Michael Dease. With his enthralling new album Grove’s Groove – the second on which the acclaimed trombonist focuses solely on the baritone saxophone – pays tribute, says thanks, and bids farewell to one of modern jazz’s most iconic figures. 

“After Roy passed, I found myself thinking a lot about him and about the enduring impact he made on me,” Dease says. “Roy gave me advice about how to stay away from uninspired playing and how to be authentic. I’m still learning from his life lessons, and I try to impart some of them upon my daughters.” 

Due out August 23 via Le Coq Records, Grove’s Groove convenes a band full of Hargrove alumni, friends and devotees. Dease, trombonist Steve Davis, trumpeter Terell Stafford, bassist Rodney Whitaker and drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. player with Hargrove or were close to him. Only pianist Bill Cunliffe and guitarist/vocalist Jocelyn Gould lack a direct connection, though as a former student of Dease’s at Michigan State University Gould represents the next generation in the chain of tutelage passed on from the trumpeter. 

The fact that Dease leaves his trombone in the case once again is just one aspect of his continually evolving career to which Hargrove can claim a degree of credit. Dease is a lifelong saxophonist, having started on alto during middle school before the discovery of Curtis Fuller on John Coltrane’s Blue Train redirected his passions. 

He was discouraged from splitting his attention between multiple instruments early on by elders who claimed it would confuse audiences. But when Hargrove heard Dease’s sax playing he urged the trombonist to share his other talents with the world. Bolstered by the encouragement, Dease took a solo apiece on tenor and soprano on his 2010 album Grace, which also featured Hargrove on three tracks. 

“One of the enduring impacts Roy made on me was to encourage me to work saxophone back into my life,” Dease recalls. “Roy being such a serious and dedicated musician, it really stuck with me that he realized that I wasn't playing saxophone on a whim.” 

The baritone is a more recent development. Dease made his debut on the instrument with three tracks on The Other Shoe, his 2023 album of compositions by Michigan-based composer Gregg Hill. Swing Low followed later that year with a total focus on the low horn. Grove’s Groove arrives to prove that the addition is no novelty. Dease has no intention of foregoing the trombone entirely, and has played both sax and trombone in bands led by David Sanborn and the late Claudio Roditi as well as his own. 

It’s an awe-inspiring addition to the arsenal of a musician who is already regarded as one of the leading voices of his generation. Dease is a collaborator of choice with some of the most acclaimed and influential bandleaders in the music, ranging across generations, including Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Charles Tolliver, Renee Rosnes, Bill Charlap and Lewis Nash, among others. He’s won the DownBeat magazine Critics Poll for “Best Trombonist” three years running, from 2020 through 2023. 

The album opens with the slinky groove of Davis’ title track, which captures the sly soulfulness of its subject and prompts a blustery solo from Dease out of the gate that revels in the baritone’s gut-rumbling range. The classic “Tea for Two” follows, the first of two standards on the album, both of which Hargrove taught Dease after hours at the piano at Smalls. “Never Let Me Go,” which Dease explains was the trumpeter’s favorite ballad, follows later in the program. Both also feature the warm, unadorned vocals of Gould, who has gone on from Dease’s tutelage to become a Juno-winning artist in her own right. 

Mentorship is a recurring theme throughout the album. Whitaker is renowned as a jazz educator as well as a revered bassist with such legends as Wynton Marsalis, Pat Metheny and Hargrove. Dease’s “Father Figure,” the title track of his 2016 album, was originally penned in response to Whitaker’s nurturing of bassist Endea Owens (who played on the album); here the mentor offers his own version, which expands to pay tribute to Hargrove’s guidance as well. 

Cunliffe provides a lovely, introspective opening to “Decisions,” which is reprised from Dease’s 2015 album of the same name. The engaging ballad reflects on a turbulent period when the composer found himself at a crossroads in a romantic relationship; as the tune’s radiant charm suggests, the story has a happy ending, with Dease and his now wife due to celebrate their tenth anniversary this August. 

Dease and Davis trade off the punchy melody to “Broadway,” showcasing the rare opportunity for a trombonist of Dease’s caliber to play alongside one of his contemporaries. “Steve is undoubtedly one of my biggest influences as a trombonist,” Dease raves. “He's a great in his own right, but he's also in the lineage of Slide Hampton, J.J. Johnson and Curtis in the same way that I am. We're brother disciples of that trinity.” 

The first of two tracks adding Stafford to complete a stunning Jazz Messengers-caliber frontline, “Minor Funk” adds the voice of another Hargrove alum, composer/pianist Cyrus Chestnut. Dease’s “Seiko Time” pays homage to the composer’s time in Japan, whose passion for jazz he also discovered via Hargrove. The album ends with Charles McPherson’s fiercely funky “The Viper,” adding organist Jim Alfredson, trombonist Eli Howell and percussionist Alex Acuña to the band. 

“We all loved Roy,” Dease says, confident in speaking for himself and his bandmates. “I think we all feel touched by his genius.”

Kat Hawley | X-IX-VIII

Ready to capitalize on the opportunity to step into her own spotlight and make her own musical statement after years of flanking 16-time Billboard No. 1 hitmaker Adam Hawley, R&B-jazz singer-songwriter Kat Hawley released her debut album, “X-IX-VIII” on June 21. She wrote eight of the set’s ten songs with her guitarist husband, Adam, who produced the MBF Entertainment album.

It's been a year since Kat Hawley released her empowering debut single, “Keep On, Keepin’ On,” a churning R&B groove bolstered by guest star Steve Cole’s soul-powered tenor sax affirmations. The single began the yearlong process of recording “X-IX-VIII,” and it served notice that Kat Hawley was more than merely a background singer.

“I wanted my debut single to be a stamp on the scene that left no doubt about my abilities as a vocalist and songwriter. The track sounds very edgy and modern, but I wanted to give my vocals a contrast by making them have a late 80s/early 90s sound,” said Kat Hawley, who performs this weekend with Adam Hawley at the Elkhart Jazz Festival in Indiana on Friday followed by a Saturday night gig at BLU Jazz+ in Akron, Ohio.

Love and romance are frequent muses for Kat Hawley’s songs on “X-IX-VIII.” Sensual vibes permeate “No Chill,” an R&B joint augmented by Judah Sealy’s sultry sax, a tune “about being completely head over heels when you’re in love or lust.” Adam Hawley uses his exquisite nylon guitar play to add ambience to “Love Me Tonight (A Lover’s Duet)” while Kat Hawley’s desirous voice turns up the heat.

“The goal for this song was to create a very seductive and hypnotic sound with the instruments and the vocals to envelope the listener. I really wanted the listener to be drawn in and feel like they were in the room with me seeing and feeling exactly what I was writing and recording so, I made my vocals smooth, very long and stretched out notes so the listener would hang on my every word – seduced and hypnotized,” explained Kat Hawley. 

The tempo picks up on “Can We Dance,” designed for the dance floor. 

“We definitely wanted a dance song, a steppers song that people could really move and groove to. As I was recording the vocals, for some reason I was envisioning myself on a light-filled dance floor with fans blowing my hair and clothes while I’m dancing my heart out. I wanted the listener to experience the same feeling,” Kat Hawley enthused. 

Last January, the second single, “Never Too Busy,” was issued halfway through the album recording process. 

“We live such a busy modern-day lifestyle of never having enough hours in the day. Everyone has to check their calendars in the same household just to see who has what and when, and when we can schedule family time or time with friends. This song is about making time for who and/or what is most important,” said Kat Hawley.  

Adam Hawley’s evocative nylon string guitar illumines “Summer Breeze,” paired gorgeously with Kat Hawley’s impassioned vocals. Her vivid longing lyrics were penned last winter in the midst of a prolonged period of cold and wet weather in Southern California where the couple lives. 

“Lazy Afternoon” was recorded to memorialize the late Cecil Ramirez, a Bay Area pianist and friend of the Hawley’s. Greg Manning plays poignantly in place of Ramirez on this track.  

“Cecil was an amazing musician whom we got to perform with many times at Brian Culbertson’s Napa Valley Jazz Getaway. He brought this song to me to sing on our live internet show that Adam and I did. It was for the three of us to perform together. Initially, I wasn’t too sure or comfortable singing the song, but Cecil reassured me, telling me that I sounded great singing it. We performed it and it was in fact perfect. Sadly, shortly after that live internet performance, Cecil passed away in early 2021 due to cancer. I wanted to remember Cecil and pay tribute to him not only on my record but also in my live shows. This song allows me to carry on his memory as the person and musician that he was,” stated Kat Hawley. 

The third single from the album, “Rather Be,” began collecting radio and Spotify playlist adds on June 24. It’s a devotional pledge from wife to husband. 

“Adam and I are like two peas in a pod. We are literally always together. That may be strange to a lot of people but, we’ve spent so many years with large spans of time being apart because he was out on world concert tours with other artists. We’re simply better together. No matter where we are individually or together, I’d rather be with him,” said Kat Hawley who has been with Adam for sixteen years.   

The album title comes from their son Adam Jr.’s (A.J.) birthday: 10/9/08. Kat Hawley wrote the ethereal “Moonlight” for A.J., which she hopes will serve as a timeless testament to her love for him and the pride she feels in being his mother.

“‘Moonlight’ is not even a fraction of the emotions that I have when I think of A.J. The love for your child can never really be described in words. I wanted the song to have a spacey and eclectic sound that captures these emotions via the sounds, the arrangement of the song and how the lyrics are sung. I wanted to make sure I was writing A.J. a letter rather than a song. Something that after I’m no longer living, he can read and understand and feel my words as if I am speaking directly to him along with the song and music itself. It will be something he can hold and read as well as listen to and experience all the feelings that were made exclusively for him,” conveyed Kat Hawley. 

To close the album, Kat Hawley delivers a stripped-down acoustic version of Adele’s “Chasing Pavements.” The occasion allows her to tap into her roots singing gospel and Christian music in church. 

“X-IX-VIII” includes performances by saxophonist Fabian Chavez, keyboardists Carnell Harrell, Kasey Square and Caleb Middleton; trumpeter Michael Stever, bassist Tim Bailey, drummer Eric Valentine and percussionist Ramon Islas.  

Kat Hawley has sung on all six of Adam Hawley’s albums. She performs with him at festivals, theaters and clubs around the world and has shared the stage with Dave Koz, Marcus Anderson, Julian Vaughn, Jazmin Ghent and Marqueal Jordan, among others.  

Tenor Saxophonist Elias Haslanger and Trumpeter Mike Sailors Join Forces on Elias Haslanger Meets Mike Sailors

Tenor saxophonist Elias Haslanger and trumpeter Mike Sailors are close - not just like-minded musicians who've shared Austin, Texas stages for the past decade, but true friends who have known each for nearly twice as long. The two text each other daily. Haslanger and Sailors are as likely to talk about their golf swings, or parenthood, as they are to revel in their shared affinity for the George Shearing/Nat King Cole duet album from 1962. 

"We definitely have something going on; people tell us that all the time," Haslanger says about their relationship. "But it's more than the music. The two of us have a similar outlook on life." 

This friendship and musical kinship are evident from the first note of "One Hand Clap," the contrafact of Herbie Hancock's "One Finger Snap" that opens Elias Haslanger Meets Mike Sailors, available August 16 via Bandstand Presents. It’s almost as if you can hear the two musicians smiling through the changes throughout the entire album. They appreciate the jazz tradition, and they celebrate each other's talents and tunes. Trumpet makes soul offerings to saxophone's song. Saxophone reflects the beauty of trumpet's song – and aspires to elevate it, in the spirit of the art. 

When Haslanger and Sailors join forces, there's no showing off. This is a classic, straight-ahead quintet album, all the way, oh so modern and at the same time rich with historical reverence. The intricate, joyful twin lines from Haslanger and Sailors, song after song after song, direct our attention to interplay, to the inherent idea of kinship. You’ll feel the sensation of "updraft," a lot, on this record. It's unabashedly free, and free of apprehension. 

Joy happens when Haslanger and Sailors are in the studio or on the bandstand, and there’s a buoyancy. Saxophone meets trumpet, teases trumpet, laughs with trumpet, dances with trumpet, goes deep with trumpet. And trumpet answers: "I feel your spirit, brother." 

Haslanger and Sailors, who both composed songs for the album, have been playing these tunes, refining these arrangements, for years -- in large-band formats as well as in quintets featuring drummer Daniel Dufour, bassist Ryan Hagler, and the three pianists featured on this album: Eddy Hobizal, Ross Margitza and Andy Langham. 

These men know each other's hearts. 

"It was nothing but organic," says Haslanger, recalling the relaxed nature of the recording sessions. "We're humans. We show up at the studio. We try to get sounds. We have lunch. We have a beer. And it just happens. This is the tune; this is the arrangement' - and everything else is instinct and experience. We weren't trying to do anything but do the best we could in the moment... It's definitely about being as egoless as you possibly can to serve the band, the band sound." 

Haslanger, born and raised in Austin, has always been an open-book, nothing-to-hide, big-feeling kind of player. His heart is his greatest musical attribute. Haslanger feels the grit of the blues, inspired by so many late nights in the audience, as teenager, at Antone's blues club. But Haslanger’s big heart also feels spiritual Coltrane, bold Sonny Rollins, and the high-flying Bird. Heart, and breadth. 

Sailors, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, brings refinement, elegance, and muted grace to the mix. A master arranger, he has a scholarly air about him - and plenty of Birdland and Broadway in his pedigree as well as an arranger working with pop and jazz icons including Lady Gaga and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Kenny Dorham and Clifford Brown are major influences for Sailors but you can feel his affection for stately New Orleans legend Leroy Jones, too, especially on Haslanger’s bluesy "That One Time." Look what happens when these two personalities intertwine, when delicacy mingles with gusts of feeling, giving birth to a third voice, the twin voice. 

Haslanger played lead tenor in Maynard Ferguson's big band as a young man in New York and has recorded eight albums as a bandleader over the course of a 30-year career. Yet this is his first recording to feature trumpet on every track, start to finish. For Sailors this album represents his debut as a bandleader. Despite the difference: It's clear that each man sees a bit of himself in the other, brings out the best in the other, with jazz as the binding agent.

Damien Escobar | Gemini

Two-time Emmy-award winning contemporary soul violinist, DAMIEN ESCOBAR is proud to announce the release of his fifth solo studio album, "GEMINI". The aptly titled album is not only in reference to Damien’s astrological sign, but also humorously pays homage to his “Gemini ways” that he has exhibited throughout his twenty year musical career. It encapsulates the ups and down, the pivots and the rollercoaster scenarios brought on by the surprises of life, this 8-track album will take music lovers on an unforgettable journey.

"This album is a fully expressed celebration on what it means to be a Gemini in every facet of the word. There are so many emotions that went into completing this album and I am proud of this body of work," shares Damien Escobar. The first single to be released from the "GEMINI" album, was the Billboard Magazine chart-topping single, "Taboo." The single touched the souls of Jazz afficionados around the world and went on to become a number one Billboard single on the Jazz Charts. Earlier this year, Damien released the follow-up smash, "Deja Vu," featuring renowned Keyboardist, Jeff Lorber. “As we await the arrival of "GEMINI," Damien is eager to showcase the focus track of the album, his instrumental two-step, "Symphony of Romance." The song was produced by Hamilton Harden and written by Darren "J-Dibbs" Jenkins.

Damien Escobar is a worldwide phenom with a host of accolades to his credit including winning two Emmy’s, being nominated for a NAACP Image Award, performing for four presidents and selling millions of records throughout his historic time as a contemporary soul violinist. With a career spanning two decades, Escobar has single handedly

redefined the classical music genre and helped usher in a new breed of violinist along the way. He has also overcome a host of personal trials and tribulations including depression and homelessness to ultimately pivoting during the Covid pandemic to nurturing a career in the advertising industry where he became the Chief Global Music

Officer for advertising giant, HAVAS, the first and only African American to hold such a position.

At one time having completely lost his desire to produce music, then falling back in love with the creation process and developing content, Damien looks at the Gemini album as proof that a person can excel at a multitude of things at once as long as they stand strong in their perseverance and mission for success.

"GEMINI" by DAMIEN ESCOBAR (TRACKLIST):

1. Zodiac
2. Taboo
3. Ascension
4. Mercury Rising
5. Deja Vu
6. Secret Garden (Gemini Remix)
7. Symphony of Romance
8. Prelude

Hailed as one of the most influential and impactful violinists in modern history— two-time Emmy award-winning artist, Damien Escobar, has spent nearly two decades cementing his legacy as the “King of Strings”. He’s inspired listeners, broke barriers, and created a blueprint for other contemporary violinists who aspire to top the charts and make their way onto main stages around the world. And his work is just getting started.

The Jamaica, Queens native who is known for his charisma, sincere humility, and undeniable talent— has always believed the key to his success is rooted in his humble beginnings. It is the main source that keeps him connected to his fans, and cultivates his unending love for performing. And if you’ve heard his story you know that Escobar’s journey after Juilliard (from which he graduated at the age of 12) wasn’t easy! But his passion and vision took him from playing for straphangers on NYC subways to serenading everyone from Oprah to the Obamas while achieving several lifetime goals in between— including an NAACP award nomination, topping the 100 Billboard charts, and selling 1M+ records. In 2022 Escobar sold out venues across the nation with his “Life Out Loud” tour — an inspiring experience intended to affirm audiences to live authentically and unapologetically. And with new ventures, including new music being developed, Escobar is letting it be known that his reign as the King of Strings will not cease.

With the release of the "GEMINI" album, Escobar is on a mission to prove there’s astonishing power in instrumental music and his intention is to motivate listeners and make an impact on mainstream music like never before.

Michael Pallas | Gateway

With the release of his debut album, Gateway, the Phoenix-raised, New York City-based trombonist, composer, and educator Michael Pallas looks to make his mark as a leader to be reckoned with. 

A trombonist inspired by J.J. Johnson. Curtis Fuller, Steve Turre and Papo Vasquez, Pallas is a proud alumnus of the Jackie McLean Institute, founded by legendary alto saxophonist and educator Jackie McLean in Hartford, Connecticut. 

While Pallas has been performing professionally for over 15 years, including stints with legendary jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, mambo big band leader Steve Oquendo, Afrobeat band Antibalas, hip-hop group Soul Science Lab and others, the trombonist was inspired to become a solo artist during the pandemic. 

“I really had a lot of time just to reflect on where my career was at that point,” Pallas says, “and I felt like it was necessary for me to start moving in this direction of really seriously writing my own music, and eventually releasing my own record. So I began to compose tunes that dealt with themes and emotions that I and many artists were facing during the first two years of the decade.” 

Backed by saxophonist Lomar Brown, pianist Yeissonn Villamar, bassist John Benítez, drummer Jonathan Barber, and percussionist Nelson Mathew Gonzalez - with co-producer Alex Meltzer - the 13 Pallas-penned selections on Gateway reflect the myriad inventions and dimensions of 21st century jazz. 

The lead-off number, “Life On Mars,” is an infectious Cubop composition written for the nickname McLean gave to Hartford, and its non-resemblance to McLean’s beloved Big Apple. “One For The City” is a bouncy, upbeat waltz dedicated to New York City, followed by the midtempo backbeats of “Streaming Hope,” inspired by online concerts and jams musicians played during the pandemic. 

“Patient(s)” is a hypnotic, hip-hop flavored interlude, which sets up “Disu’s Dream,” a moving rumba dedicated to memory of Pallas’ friend and fellow trombonist Jason Disu, who passed away in 2021. In contrast, “Counterfeit Blues” features the arresting spoken word artist Ghazi Omair talking about police brutality and the murder of George Floyd, which introduces “The Verdict,” a hard bop comment on the subject. 

“Today And Forever,” is a beautiful Kenny Barron-style ballad. “Next Exit” is another dreamy, hip-hop friendly interlude, followed by the title track; an exuberant, contemporary jazz-style selection in celebration of the return of live music, bookended by Afrofuturistic, neo-soul number “Beyond (The Gateway).” “El Boli” is based on Chick Corea’s “Humpty Dumpty,” and the last track, “Variant,” is a twilight-toned blend of dance beats, psychedelic effects and Afro-Colombian cumbia rhythms. 

Pallas was very specific about how the recording was sequenced. “I was able to tell the story through the songs, and they're all placed in a chronological order,” Pallas remarks. “I thought long and hard about how the tracks should be placed.” 

Gateway is a testament to how versatile a trombonist and composer Pallas is while also showing that he’s fluent in many different genres. “I’m excited to share all these ways of playing and approaching new styles of music on the trombone,” Pallas says. 

Pallas was born in Los Angeles in 1990 to a Dominican immigrant mother and a father of European heritage who was born and raised in New York City. Pallas, who was brought up in Phoenix, started playing piano in the first grade, and took up the trombone at the age of 11. 

“Once I picked it up, I excelled on it pretty rapidly, in comparison to my peers,” Pallas proudly recalls, “and a lot of the reason why was because I'd been studying piano before I even picked up the trombone. So, I really had a strong musical foundation.” 

Pallas played in several local bands, specifically with the Young Sounds of Arizona: a non-profit 501-(c)(3) organization composed of young musicians playing in several jazz bands. Pallas’ major instructors were Robert McAllister, Principal Trombonist for the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, and Milas Yoes, Director of Instrumental Music, Jazz Studies and Humanities at Phoenix College, where Pallas attended. 

Pallas told Yoes that he wanted to attend a conservatory, so he put him in touch with jazz trombonist Steve Davis, who taught at The Jackie McLean Institute at the Hartt School of Music in Hartford, Connecticut. “I went out there and auditioned for Steve,” Pallas says, “and once I arrived there, it changed my life. It showed me that there is a path in music, for people that are serious, and you can really excel and make a living off of it.” Pallas attended McLean’s school and earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 2013 while also collaborating and studying with Rene McLean at the Artists Collective and working frequently with Ed Fast and Conga Bop. 

Pallas moved to New York City in 2014 and went on to gig with several Latin bandleaders including John “Dandy” Rodriguez, Gilberto “Pulpo” Colon, Steven Oquendo, Tito Rodriguez, Jr., Alex Matos, Tito Rojas and Lusito and Roberto Quintero. Pallas also worked with many jazz artists and ensembles including Abdullah Ibrahim, Steve Davis, Rene McLean, Robert Edwards Big Band, the George Gee Orchestra and the Cotton Club Orchestra. In 2021, Pallas began working with the NYC-based hip-hop and multimedia act Soul Science Lab. Between 2022 and 2023 Pallas toured throughout North America, Europe and Africa and recorded with the Grammy-nominated Afrobeat band Antibalas. Pallas has also performed with New York retro soul and R&B group Ernest Ernie and The Sincerities. 

Shortly before the pandemic, and towards the end of Barry Harris’ life, Pallas participated in the legendary pianist’s Orchestra Project. “Although we never performed or recorded it was an invite only workshop that met weekly in Manhattan to rehearse Harris’ compositions and arrangements for large ensemble,” Pallas says. 

Pallas, who received his Master of Music degree from New Jersey City University in 2022, is also a devoted educator. He taught music theory and directed jazz ensembles at the Music Conservatory of Westchester, from 2014 to 2023. Pallas currently teaches with the Harmony Program, which helps New York City children develop healthy habits and life skills through collective music-making, preparing them for long-term success.

Greg Skaff | Re Up

A  reliably swinging presence and facile improviser on the New York scene since the late ‘80s, guitarist Greg Skaff has shared the bandstand with such jazz greats as Stanley Turrentine, Freddie Hubbard, David “Fathead” Newman and Ralph Peterson Jr., as well current notables like Mike LeDonne, David Hazeltine, Orrin Evans, Ben Allison, Jim Rotondi and Joe Farnsworth. He has also toured and recorded with “Queen of R&B” Ruth Brown and jazz diva Gloria Lynne and recorded seven albums as a leader. 

Skaff’s latest, Re Up, recorded with bassist Ugonna Okegwo and young drumming sensation Jonathan Barber, follows the guitar trio format he explored on 2021’s Polaris, which paired him with iconic bassist Ron Carter and the great drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath. 

“I just like playing guitar trio with no other chord instrument, right now,” said the guitarist, who had

previously worked with an organist on 2017’s groove-oriented Soulmation, 2012’s 116th & Park, 2009’s East Harlem Skyline and 2004’s Ellington Boulevard. And his rhythm tandem of choice since 2017 — stalwart bassist Okegwo and Barber, who follows in the lineage of great melodic drummers like

Brian Blade, Marcus Gilmore and Rudy Royston — more than fills the bill. “This is the first time I’ve recorded with a working trio. And I’m glad I did document the way we play together because I’ve gotten really comfortable playing with them and how they react.” 

Skaff says there’s a certain freedom in the trio format he doesn’t get when playing with an organist. “I’ve gotten comfortable with having more space in the music,” he says. “And I like the openness of playing with a chordless trio and being able to change voicings without clashing with someone.” 

On Re Up, Skaff explores a varied program of swinging originals along with two well-chosen covers by

revered jazz elders (Thelonious Monk’s “Green Chimneys” and Duke Ellington’s “Fleurette Africaine,” rendered as a sublime solo guitar piece). Along with his bluesy meditation, “Southern Pacific,” the buoyant, Ornette Coleman-influenced “No Cover,” the energized swinger “Faith” and the flowing title track, Skaff also performs separate trio and solo renditions of his dreamy “Peace Place.”

Born in Wichita, Kansas, Skaff studied jazz at Wichita State University before moving to New York, where he soon began making an impression with his solidly swinging style, rooted in his jazz guitar heroes Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Pat Martino, George Benson, Grant Green and Jim Hall as well as more contemporary players like John Scofield, Pat Metheny and John Abercrombie. He held the guitar chair in tenor saxophonist Stanley “Don’t Mess With Mr. T” Turrentine’s band for five years and subsequently worked in bands led by saxophonists Bobby Watson and David “Fathead” Newman as well as in bassist Ron Carter’s big band. Skaff's debut as a leader, Blues and Other News, was recorded in 1994 and released in 1996. His subsequent recordings — 2004’s blues-drenched Ellington Boulevard, 2009’s East Harlem Skyline, 2012’s 116th & Park and 2017’s jazz-rock-tinged Soulmation — found the guitarist working exclusively in an organ group setting. A regular at such NYC jazz clubs as Small’s, Mezzrow,

Birdland, Blue Note and Zinc Bar, Skaff continues to distinguish himself as an outstanding player on the scene.

Bob Baldwin releases two new albums: Songs My Father Would Dig and It’s Okay to Dream

Seminal international recording artist Bob Baldwin has upped the ante on his own bountiful pace of releasing one 12-song album per year. On June 28, the keyboardist known for his contemporary urban-jazz sound will release two new albums from his City Sketches Records distributed by BFD/The Orchard, the 36th and 37th records in the musician, producer, composer and arranger’s vast catalogue. “Songs My Father Would Dig” is a straight-ahead jazz project and “It’s Okay To Dream” is a contemporary jazz outing. The releases mark the first time in 24 years that an artist has dropped two new albums on the same day in two different genres of jazz.

Another unique aspect of Baldwin’s extensive repertoire is that he exclusively owns the rights to all but seven of his albums, which makes him one of a select few recording artists who can make that claim. That places Baldwin in the company of Michael Jackson, Prince, James Brown, Ray Charles and Bob James, each of whom were proponents of artists owning the rights to their own recordings.

Growing up in Mt. Vernon, New York, Baldwin was exposed to the legends of jazz – Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, John Coltrane and other giants – at an early age by his father, who was a pianist and music teacher. Playing an acoustic Steinway piano that is over one hundred years old, Baldwin gathered a trio (drummer Tony Lewis, acoustic bassist Richie Goods and percussionist Café da Silva) in the recording studio last November to record an album to pay homage to his father, who died in 2008. Recorded all in one day, half of the set list is comprised of tunes composed by Coltrane, Davis, Herbie Hancock and Stevie Wonder. The other half are Baldwin originals with one exception: “To Wisdom, The Prize” was penned by his late cousin, Larry Willis, a gifted pianist who played in the original Blood, Sweat & Tears band and had extended stints alongside Roy Hargrove, Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band, and South African legend Hugh Masekela.

“The cool jazz era of the 1960's was my father’s era and the backdrop to my own music foundation. This is a lifetime project for me due to the fact that the piano sound and recording had to be on point and picking songs that were my father’s favorites. Jazz of the 1960's was post-bebop and Avant Garde. It had a slight pop feel and was easy for the non-music listener. It was palatable and eventually became the launching pad for contemporary jazz in the 1970's,” said Baldwin who splits his time between Westchester, New York and Atlanta, Georgia. 

Baldwin describes “It’s Okay to Dream” as “a contemporary playlist of thoughts and dreams.” Crafted from a toolbox of R&B, soul, funk, jazz, house music, Latin and South African rhythms and melodies, the album was previewed earlier this year with the invigorating single, “I’m Good (Thanks for Asking).” On June 17, the second single, “Turn Up The Positive,” will begin collecting playlist adds. Baldwin wrote the entire album, revisiting one of his songs from the 1980s, “Get the Love,” and found inspiration from his wife (“That One”) and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (“Dreamin’ the Dream”). He provides authentic South African culture on “Malema” and “Cape Town at Night,” which were cowritten by Mozambique artist Jimmy Dludlu and performed by Dludlu’s bandmembers.  

“Some of the music for the album was written in a dream. My hope is that the playlist takes you to a quiet place where you can hear your beautiful voice beyond the bustling busyness of your own existence. This music is exactly what you need at the perfect time,” said Baldwin who just completed a concert tour through Johannesburg, South Africa.

There is one intensely emotional and poignant song that ends both new albums. “Til We Meet Again,” presented in instrumental and vocal versions on “Songs My Father Would Dig” and instrumentally on “It’s Okay to Dream,” was written for Baldwin’s late brother, William, who died tragically in a 1991 automobile accident at just 19-years-old.

“It's a constant reminder, even 33 years later, that you never forget that day, the moment the phone rings and you hear the pain coming across the phone from my sister, who had a visit from a local police officer delivering that horrific news. I had just seen William twelve hours prior at a family event. That day ripped my heart to shreds. I will never forget him and his spirit. This song is a revisitation of a great man. We always ask, ‘what if’...what if he were alive today?” shared Baldwin.

While jazz and R&B have been constants throughout his solo recording career ever since his 1988 debut album, “Long Way to Go,” Baldwin has also recorded Brazilian jazz albums (“The Brazilian-American Soundtrack” and “Brazil Chill”) as well as entire collections devoted to reimagining the music of The Beatles (“Bob Baldwin presents Abbey Road and the Beatles”), Thom Bell (“Betcha By Golly Wow”), Wonder (“MelloWonder: Songs in the Key of Stevie”), and Jackson (“Never Can Say Goodbye”). As a producer and songwriter, Baldwin has shaped Billboard hits and album cuts by Regina Carter, The Four Tops, Grover Washington Jr., Richard Elliot, Paul Brown, Marion Meadows, Ragan Whiteside, Will Downing and Freddie Jackson. Since 2008, Baldwin has hosted and produced a nationally syndicated radio show titled NewUrbanJazz Radio. He’s also the author of “You Better Ask Somebody! Staying On Top Of Your Career in the Friggin’ Music Business” and is working on the second edition that will address the nuances of music streaming.

“Songs My Father Would Dig” contains the following songs: 

1. “Equinox”
2. “Dolphin Dance”
3. “Nardis”
4. “Overjoyed”
5. “Star Eyes”
6. “The Beginning of Your Dreams”
7. “Blue Soul”
8. “Tell Me A Bedtime Story”
9. “South Beach”
10. “To Wisdom, The Prize”
11. “Til We Meet Again”
12. “Til We Meet Again” with vocals

The “It’s Okay To Dream” album contains the following songs:

1.  “Cape Town at Night”
2. “Turn Up The Positive”
3. “That One”
4. “My Will”
5. “Malema Part 1”
6. “Malema Part 2”
7. “Dreamin’ the Dream”
8. “I’m Good (Thanks for asking)”
9. “Get the Love”
10. “Complicit”
11. “It’s Okay to Dream”
12. “Til We Meet Again” 

Catch Baldwin in concert on the following dates (shows will be added, including a 2025 tour of Trinidad and Tobago):

• June 14 / Juneteenth Festival at Five Points, Rocky Mount, NC
• June 15 / Juneteenth Event, Atlanta, GA
• June 20 / Jazz at The Improv, Raleigh, NC
• August 9 / John E. Lawrence Jazz Series, Ypsilanti, MI
• August 16 & 17 / Jazz Forum Arts, Tarrytown, NY
• December 5 / St. James Lounge, Atlanta, GA
• December 6 & 7 / Chayz Lounge, Columbia, SC

Erin Stevenson | Cover Girl Uncovered

When you’re singing hit songs twenty feet from stardom, it’s easy to feel like a cover artist even if you are on stage with Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, Duran Duran, Nicki Minaj, John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Ciara, Rihanna or Camila Cabello. And since your role is to add light to someone else’s songbook, you keep your own artistic muse to yourself. Those are the circumstances that inspired Erin Stevenson’s “Cover Girl Uncovered,” her second album arriving June 28 from Innervision Records. Stevenson had a hand in writing all seven of the original songs and produced three tracks for the twelve-song set that uncovers some of her own musical influences via five cover songs that she selected to reimagine in her own inimitable style. 

A dynamic, high-energy performer blessed with a powerful voice, Stevenson bills herself as the “Smooth Soul Songstress.” The songs on “Cover Girl Uncovered” are an alchemistic style of R&B beats, jazz improvisation, neo soul grooves and pop melodies. She capitalizes on her freedom as a frontperson to share her own thoughts, insights and stories about love, relationships, and hope through life’s journey.

“The goal of ‘Cover Girl Uncovered’ is to let the world hear what I have to say about life and love. It’s about stepping out boldly into my own lane and spotlight. The album contains several of my favorite cover songs but done my way. I wrote the other half of the songs on the album, which are my uncovered thoughts and melodies,” said the Los Angeles-based Stevenson, who will celebrate the album release with a hometown concert at the Eldorado Ballroom in Houston on June 29.

Among the noteworthy contributors who helped flesh out Stevenson’s vision for “Cover Girl Uncovered” are two-time Grammy-winning producer Paul Brown, soul-jazz saxophonist Marion Meadows, producer-guitarist David P. Stevens, urban-jazz keyboardist Nathan Mitchell, and Grammy-winning guitarist Shane Theriot. Stevenson brought members of her own band – guitarist Kay-Ta Matsuno and bassist Keith Eaddy – into the studio to track the album, fostering continuity between what you hear on record and live in concert.  

“Cover Girl Uncovered” opens with the vintage R&B sounds of Teena Marie’s “I Need Your Lovin.” 

“I stand on every word written in this song as if I wrote it myself. I don't mind singing about love over money in 2024, which seems to be the unpopular opinion these days,” said Stevenson who calls Marie as one of her favorite singers.   

Another one of Stevenson’s favorites is Chaka Khan, celebrated on the album with a fresh rendition of “Everlasting Love.”

“The vocal melody and infectious guitar melody scream summer breeze, top down on your car, pure soul. It’s definitely my kind of vibe,” said Stevenson.

The summer heat continues with a sultry Brazilian jazz version of Phil Perry’s “Perfect Island Night.” Stevenson said, “It’s the chords and the passionate lyrics that get me. It's easy to over sing this song, but anything more would take away from a perfectly produced and well-written song. Sometimes you just have to deliver the song.”

Stevenson gets jazzy on an elegant reading of Nancy Wilson’s “Save Your Love For Me.”

“I've always admired her (Wilson’s) class, her tone, and her brand of jazz. And every girl has had that one guy who they know is no good for them, but…” Stevenson said about the song that adds the sheen of Mitchell’s piano.

Stevenson revisits Alicia Meyer’s R&B prayer “I Want To Thank You” and grants Matsuno the freedom to riff freely throughout the upbeat track.

“This song has always resonated with me spiritually and artistically. It's really a gratitude prayer to God in an R&B setting. I want to sing and write songs that mean something, yet you have no idea that I'm inspiring you while you're swaying and singing along,” revealed Stevenson.

The section of original songs opens with the simmering “Playing with Fire,” which was produced by Billboard top 20 saxophonist Justin Young. Stevenson paints the scene.

“We sat across the table, staring into each other's eyes as he told me that he didn't want anything serious or to fall in love. I told him ‘I am love...and not me, but love is a powerful thing thus you're playing with fire.’”

Released as a single last February, “Almost” plays out on a sensual mid-tempo groove. Stevenson explains the song’s meaning.

“An ex- called to tell me that he should've married me, but he married the woman he met after me. So, I put in all the work, she reaps the benefits, but he's miserable, and I'm over it.”

Stevenson shares her wedding vows, which she set to music on “Yes.”

“I was engaged in five months, some would say too soon, but we've been happily married now for nine years and together for ten years. The lyrics are vulnerable, honest, and were my actual wedding vows that I sung to him at our wedding.”

“Cover Girl Uncovered” has already spawned a Billboard top 15 single with “Smooth Soul,” which features Meadows’s soprano sax (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxRBwozEjxM). Stevenson wrote and coproduced the steamy track with Stevens.

“I'm a red-headed tamed wild child, and I'm often initially misread as an artist and by men. But I like my music just like I like my men: smooth and soulful. If there’s a song that best describes me as an artist, this is the one.”

Illumined by Keith Mitchell McKelley’s expressive saxophone, “Everything To Me” was also released as a radio single and accompanied by a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf4ObH6hl7M).

Stevenson stated, “I believe there’s strength in being vulnerable. No matter how amazing we are, we all need someone. We should never be too proud to say thank you and I love you.”

An enchanted Stevenson shares her real-life inspiration for “Here With You.”

“It was our third date. A beautiful sun arose just as we arose from a magical night. He called out of work, and I canceled the studio session I had planned and neither of us cared about the repercussions. We were right where we wanted to be, and the outside world didn't matter.”

Brown produced and played acoustic guitar on “Believe,” which closes the collection on a note of positivity, thanks to Stevenson’s empowering lyrics.

“Believing is one of the easiest things to say and one of the most difficult things to do, but its believing that’s gotten me to where I am today,” Stevenson said about the Billboard top 20 single (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa5WoJpyW7w&list=PLnUqWc-s422D6vnB8ToCnu60jlRb7hXop&index=3).

Recording “Cover Girl Uncovered” was more than a two-year journey for Stevenson. As she wrote and recorded, she teased the project by dropping singles along the way, beginning with “Everything To Me,” in early 2022. “Believe” followed in August that year while “Smooth Soul” hit in March last year. When “Almost” streeted around this Valentine’s Day, Stevenson was caught up in the whirlwind promotional tour for Timberlake’s new album. Now she can fully focus on sharing, promoting and performing her own music. 

“Cover Girl Uncovered” contains the following songs: 

1. “I Need Your Lovin’”
2. “Everlasting Love”
3. “Perfect Island Night”
4. “Save Your Love For Me”
5. “I Want To Thank You”
6. “Playing With Fire”
7. “Almost”
8. “Yes”
9. “Smooth Soul” featuring Marion Meadows
10. “Everything To Me”
11. “Here With You”
12. “Believe” featuring Paul Brown

 

Henry Mancini – The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions: Henry Has Company (2024)

The Henry Mancini family continues to celebrate what would have been the late legendary composer’s 100th birthday with the release of Henry Mancini’s The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions – Henry Has Company out today via Primary Wave Music.

The album comprises seven tracks and features guest appearances from John Williams, Herbie Hancock, Arturo Sandoval, Quincy Jones, Lizzo, Sir James Galway, Michael Bublé with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Pat Metheny, Take 6, Monica Mancini, Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale, Stevie Wonder, Snarky Puppy, and Audrey Hepburn.

The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions – Henry Has Company will be available to stream in Dolby ATMOS. The Dolby ATMOS mixes were created by multi-time GRAMMY award winners Eric Schilling, Leslie Ann Jones & Steve Genewick and mastered by Michael Romanowski. The Dolby ATMOS mix of the album will be available to stream on all DSPs that support the format.

The Henry Mancini 100th Sessions – Henry Has Company Tracklisting

1. Peter Gunn ft. Quincy Jones, John Williams, Herbie Hancock, and Arturo Sandoval
2. Pink Panther ft. Lizzo and Sir James Galway
3. Moon River ft. Michael Bublé with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
4. Lujon (Slow Hot Wind) ft. Pat Metheny
5. Days of Wine and Roses ft. Take 6 & Monica Mancini
6. Baby Elephant Walk ft. Snarky Puppy
7. Moon River / Audrey’s Letter ft. Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Los Angeles Master Chorale, Stevie Wonder, and Audrey Hepburn

This Sunday, June 23rd, The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and special guests Michael Bublé, Cynthia Erivo, and Monica Mancini will raise the curtain on the Bowl’s 2024 season with a 100th birthday celebration for Henry Mancini conducted by the great Thomas Wilkins.

On Monday, June 24th, the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles will honor Mancini’s centennial with an event featuring live performances by Dave Koz, GRAMMY Award-nominated vocalist and Henry’s daughter Monica Mancini, plus multi-GRAMMY and Emmy recipient, producer and musician Gregg Field, along with an all-star band composed of L.A.’s finest studio musicians. In addition to the concert, the evening will also feature a panel Q&A with members of the Mancini family, as well as a couple of surprise guest artists. 

On August 4th, music director, conductor, and arranger Kevin Stites will explore the music of legendary performer and film composer Henry Mancini for the annual Gala Benefit Evening at the Ravinia Festival. Curated and hosted by actor Rob Lindley, “Mancini at 100: The Music of Henry Mancini, from the big screen, to the small screen, to the stage and beyond” features Broadway vocalists Jessie Mueller (Waitress, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Norm Lewis (The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables), and Karen Mason (Sunset Boulevard), with all three making their Ravinia and CSO debuts.

This fall, The Extraordinary Life of Henry Mancini: Official Graphic Novel will hit shelves. From the humble beginnings of his father’s flute lessons to composing his Oscar-winner scores, this new graphic novel, written by David Calcano and illustrated by the award-winning studio Fantoons, illustrates every step in the journey of Henry Mancini’s pivotal and industry-shaping career and is available for pre-order here. Jon Burlingame’s book Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir, chronicling the backstory of Peter Gunn and how its music propelled Mancini to fame and fortune, published earlier this month.

On Monday, September 2nd, Edwin Outwater and the BBC Concert Orchestra will celebrate Mancini and his music in styles ranging from jazz to light classical and film music at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Among the classics to be performed are the slinky ‘Lujon’ and themes from The Pink Panther and Peter Gunn, joined by gems from the lounge music and space-age pop genres Mancini helped inspire, including easy-going tracks by Burt Bacharach, Les Baxter and Juan García Esquivel. Tickets are available for purchase here and the performance will also stream live on BBC Radio. And on Saturday, September 28th, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. will honor Henry’s 100th with a special concert event at the Library of Congress’ “Coolidge Theater”.

JJ Whitefield & Forced Meditation | The Infinity Of Nothingness

Having plied his trade around the world for more than three decades, German guitarist, bandleader and musical explorer JJ Whitefield has always instilled in his craft a natural aesthetic of authenticity, a key component which has seen him amass a sizeable and varied catalogue of material which has remained timeless where some of his contemporaries have faded away.

In the early 90s, as various UK bands were signed up by sizeable labels and enjoyed even mainstream chart success in the Acid Jazz and rare groove boom, Whitefield was a founding member of the Poets Of Rhythm, self-releasing their own uncompromisingly hard-edged take on 70s street funk on the then completely unfashionable 7” single format, forerunning the Deep Funk scene by almost a decade. 30 years on, in spite of a legion of retro-focused bands having followed in their wake, few have yet to come close to matching the energy and spirit of those early Poets 45s.

Since then, Whitefield has applied himself to all manner of new incarnations and innovative side-projects, releasing further funk surveys with his own band under the pseudonym Karl Hector, with releases on labels such as Stones Throw, Daptone, Ninja Tune, Mo’Wax, Strut and more. An avid music lover, explorer and record collector extraordinaire, Whitefield’s music has effortlessly absorbed his expanding interests along the way, particularly drawing influence from Ethiopian Jazz and West African funk and highlife, as well as Kraut-rock and ambient via his Rodinia alter-ego.

More recently, Whitefield has begun to venture into the astral planes of what’s now commonly referred to as ‘spiritual jazz’, and this is very much where we find him manifesting on ‘The Infinity Of Nothingness’. A set of mature, delicate and meditative orchestrations, like much of Whitefield’s best work the album is studiously true to its key influences - and in this instance the twin figureheads of Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders are particularly preeminent - but also completely avoids falling into a trap of mere tribute or facsimile. With subtle yet diverse accents of Hip Hop, Library and the Avant Garde appearing wholly unobtrusively, the album is unified by a marked trance-like feel, beginning with the sparse, processional opener ‘Nothingness’ through to the 3 part ‘Infinity Suite’ of ‘Time’, ‘Space’ and ‘Energy’.

As he did as a schoolboy with the Poets of Rhythm, with ‘The Infinity Of Nothingness’ Whitefield achieves that exceptionally rare feat of creating music that is not only worthy of sitting alongside that of his overarching influences, but will also stand up with it against the tests of time.

Jerome Sabbagh | Heart

Analog Tone Factory announces the release of Heart, tenor saxophonist Jerome Sabbagh’s tenth album as a leader and his first on the newly formed label he runs with pianist and engineer Pete Rende. Heart is due on CD, vinyl, and reel-to-reel August 30, with digital downloads available October 11. Three singles are planned as well: “ESP,” on July 19; “Lead the Way,” August 30; and “Heart,” October 11. 

A consequential, galvanizing presence on the New York scene since the early 2000s, Paris native Sabbagh is a compelling tenor and soprano saxophonist, bandleader, and producer. Heart documents an elegant, creative encounter with the iconic drummer Al Foster and esteemed New York bassist Joe Martin. 

“Al is my favorite living jazz drummer, and I’ve been trying to record with him for a long time,” says Sabbagh. “Over the last 12 years I’ve sat in on gigs with him and developed a rapport that finally came to fruition with this album. 

“Joe and I started playing together around 2003, and I’ve played with him more than any other bassist over the years. He can do anything, but his priority is to make the band sound great, to ensure everything is locked in on every front.” 

The music on Heart and Vintage, its immediate predecessor (which featured a quartet including Kenny Barron), diverges from all but one of Sabbagh’s first eight records. Released on labels like Sunnyside and Bee Jazz, they featured, in his words, “original music that doesn’t always sound like standards.”

Sabbagh recorded Heart 14 years after his first tenor-bass-drums album, an all-standards recital titled One Two Three, with drummer Rodney Green and bassist Ben Street. “I find records featuring original music easier to make than those with standards, because the originals define the direction,” he says. 

“To me, standards and original music are complementary, and I’ve worked hard to connect both sides of my playing. Now I have a deeper understanding of how I want to play the saxophone, and play those tunes.” 

On the opening track, Ellington’s “Prelude to a Kiss,” Sabbagh intones the melody deliberately, almost sotto voce, while Foster functions as the soloist, coloring with well-calibrated cymbal interpolations. Although the tempos are slightly brighter, Sabbagh, Martin, and Foster bring a similarly melody-first, no-wasted-notes attitude to “Gone with the Wind,” “When Lights Are Low,” and “Body and Soul,” and medium-up treatments of Wayne Shorter’s “ESP” and “Heart,” Sabbagh’s soulful waltz that titles the album.

The mutual trust and intuition between the members are palpable on the two scratch improvisations. “‘Lead the Way’ is a groove, and ‘Right the First Time’ is a freer, improvised piece,” Sabbagh says. “Al told me he’d never played completely improvised music before. Afterwards he said, ‘Now I understand why people want to do this. I really like it.’” 

The production values on Heart are highest-level, befitting the involvement of hifi high-end companies Stenheim and darTZeel as Executive Producers of the project. Iconic engineer James Farber recorded Heart direct to two-track tape to a custom 1/2-inch Ampex 351 tube tape machine at 30 IPS, with all the musicians playing in the same room. No edits or overdubs were necessary. The legendary Bernie Grundman mastered the proceedings, and the 180g vinyl pressing was cut all analog, as will all future Analog Tone Factory productions. Every sonic detail of the three masters functioning synchronously comes through with three-dimensional presence and transparency. 

Sabbagh adds: “I am proud that this record is the first one on my own label and I hope that, at a time when recorded music can feel disposable, audiophiles and regular listeners alike will band together to support the creation of new music, recorded all analog, so that this can be a sustainable way to document some of what’s happening today, in jazz and beyond!”

The Jerome Sabbagh Trio will perform an album release show with Joe Martin and Al Foster on Wednesday, September 18, at Bar Bayeux, 1066 Nostrand Avenue, Brooklyn; sets at 8:00 and 9:30pm.

As For the Future by As For the Future

As For the Future’s debut album is self-titled and self-produced. The release date will be Friday, June 14 on As For the Future Music. The record will be released as a digital download and via streaming services, 12” LP vinyl, and Deluxe Edition CD (including alternate mixes, dub versions, and edits).

Over 90% of the record was recorded entirely remotely at an assortment of home and professional studios. The record was mixed by D. James Goodwin (Kevin Morby, DEVO) at The Isokon in Kingston, NY.

As For the Future is a new Brazilian music-inspired group based in NYC. Drawing on a variety of styles – bossa nova, samba, MPB (Música popular brasileira) – and combining them with rock, jazz, folk, and soul influences, the group mates their distinctive sound with vibrant, original lyrics.

Started by songwriter/musician David Nagler, As For the Future features vocalist Alexia Bomtempo, Mauro Refosco (David Byrne’s American Utopia, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Atoms for Peace), and Ryan Keberle (David Bowie, Maria Schneider Orchestra), among others. The group took shape during the summer of 2020, when over 15 different musicians contributed to the recording of new material – entirely remotely. These sessions resulted in a 10-song full-length album comprised of singularly memorable songs that are topical (“The Mob”), wry (“Koan for the Music Business”), comprehensive (“Encyclopedia of Songs”), and evocative (“Childlike”).

In addition to the numerous Brazilian artists that listeners may hear elements of – Chico Buarque, Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil – As For the Future is recommended for fans of the globally-minded indie music of Vampire Weekend, Beirut, Kings of Convenience, and Arto Lindsay, as well as David Byrne’s American Utopia (percussionist Refosco was a music director of the show during its entire Broadway run).

Taking their name from a novel by the great Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector, and residing somewhere between a band and a collective (a Tropicália-influenced New Pornographers?), As For the Future is an eclectic musical experience that embodies exploration and discovery, and never looks back.

Black Diamond - Carrying The Stick (single)

Chicago's Black Diamond are about to release 'Carrying The Stick', from their We Jazz Records debut ‘Furniture Of the Mind Rearranging’ (out 5th July).

Co-led by Artie Black and Hunter Diamond (composers, saxophones, and other woodwinds), Black Diamond appears in both quartet and duo formations. The first three album sides present the quartet, complete with long standing band members Matt Ulery (double bass) and Neil Hemphill (drums), under the heading Furniture Of the Mind. The remaining two tracks on side D fall under the title The Mind Rearranging, with Black and Diamond presenting a meditative duo encounter of two tenor saxophones.

‘Furniture Of the Mind Rearranging’ is an assemblage of new compositions and improvisations that develop the band's established sound and exemplify the way in which this band folds into the Chicago creative music community. The quartet traverses their familiar aesthetic ranges between driving off-kilter groove, plaintive minimalism, and intimate chamber music, with the ever-present spirit of small-group jazz and a hovering influence of Chicago’s improvised music culture. And while this collection represents three previous albums and more than a decade of close kinship and artistic evolution between co-leaders Black and Diamond, neither are too precious about any one element on the album. This is very simply the latest work in what continues to be an expanding body work founded on a guiding principle: cultivation without expectation.

Starting right from album opener ‘Carrying the Stick’, Black Diamond shares new music that's immediately engaging. Lean instrumentation with plenty of space, potent groove-based experimentalism and a sense of meditative introspection live effortlessly side by side in the band's work. This is music left of the timeline, topical through belonging on a much broader continuum rather than anything specifically "current" and short-lived. While marinated in the foundational concepts of creative music and Chicago's rich musical tradition, Black Diamond is not afraid to search new paths in their music.

Isaac Edwards | With You

The seven-year itch, the idea that happiness in relationships declines and divorce rates spike after seven years, certainly does not apply to R&B/jazz saxophonist Isaac Edwards’s marriage. Having recently celebrated his eighth wedding anniversary, Edwards teamed with multiple Grammy nominated hitmaker Darren Rahn (Dave Koz, Blake Aaron, Tim Bowman, Nick Colionne) to write “With You,” a jubilant, high-energy single released last Friday (May 17) that he penned as a bright bouquet to honor his wife, Laura. Edwards produced the Songs in My Pocket Music release that began collecting playlist adds on Monday (May 20). 

“With You” finds Edwards in the company of frequent collaborator Jacob Webb, bassist and a Billboard chart-topper in his own right. Playing over the sturdy funk groove constructed by Webb and drummer Kevin Marsh, Jordan Love adds guitar to embellish the ebullient melodies created by Edwards’s saxophone, keyboards and synths. 

With a full and grateful heart, Edwards composed “With You” in an attempt to capture his feelings for his partner. 

“Life with Laura is very upbeat and magical. When I think of her, the phrase that keeps coming to me is that ‘she literally makes everything better,’ which is totally true. Laura lights up the room when she enters, and she's filled my life with so much joy, hope, and happiness,” said Edwards who resides in Southern California with Laura and their two children. 

One of Edwards’s previous singles, “On The Town,” hit the Billboard chart. He’s released four albums, including a gospel-jazz outing titled “Here,” which garnered a Shai Award nomination, the Canadian equivalent to a Dove Award. The saxman studied under the tutelage of six-time Grammy nominated saxophonist Eric Marienthal and three-time Grammy nominated sax player Jeff Clayton. His formal training came by earning a bachelor’s degree in music performance (saxophone) and a master’s degree in jazz studies. An overachiever by nature, Edwards also received a law degree from Pepperdine University. 

Crafting musical collages from jazz, R&B, funk and gospel, Edwards has performed or recorded with Grammy-winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum, guitarist Adam Hawley, soul/funk band DW3, bassists Darryl Williams and Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and ten-time Grammy-winning vocalist Joel Kibble of Take 6.  

Catch Edwards perform “With You” live at the Monserate Winery in Fallbrook, CA on June 23.

Introducing: The Rare Sounds' feat. Eddie Roberts & Members of The Greyboy Allstars

It all started at The Yardbird Suite in Leeds, UK in 1996. The legendary jazz-funk revivalists, The Greyboy Allstars, embarked on their maiden voyage to the UK with a stop at the legendary jazz club hosted by Eddie Roberts and a supporting set from his organ trio, The Three Deuces. That night sparked a mutual admiration between both groups as they had met their cross-continental counterparts who were reinvigorating 60s boogaloo soul-jazz. It was a once-in-a-lifetime connection between devout loyalists of exploring vintage tones, digging for records, and forging paths as trailblazers of the funk and soul revival in the late 90s and early 00s.

Roberts would later form the international funk group The New Mastersounds’ in 1999 whose expansive career has issued 12 studio albums, earned coveted appearances at international festivals, and even made headway on the Billboard contemporary jazz albums charts with the release of their 2019 studio album ‘Shake It’ that celebrated the group’s 20th anniversary. Meanwhile, The Greyboy Allstars continued to preserve the heritage of jazz-funk giants while cultivating timeless music of their own as individual members of the group would flourish into sought-after collaborators, notable film composers, and studio standouts.

With Roberts residing in the US, collaboration with members of The Greyboy Allstars became frequent, especially between him and keyboardist/organist Robert Walter. Using his own record label and music platform, Color Red, as a springboard, they could now travel back in time to their initial meeting 26 years ago and assemble the dream team of funk enthusiasts and analog recording devotees featuring Roberts on guitar, Walter on keyboards, GBA’s Chris Stillwell on bass, and GBA alum Zak Najor on drums.

Despite being a brand new project, all four members of The Rare Sounds have played in numerous projects with each other over the years and have automatic chemistry and musical shorthand. Everyone gets all the references and shares a common language and love for the traditions of the music. The group recorded 10 tracks for their debut LP at Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco, CA in August 2021 and made their live debut at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom in Denver, CO for two packed-out nights leaving listeners in eager anticipation of what’s to come. The group is excited to share their debut album release with soul jazz quartet tunes that are as classic as a 1970 El Camino.

Shabaka Hutchings | Perceive its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace

Perceive its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace by multi-instrumentalist Shabaka Hutchings is, in a sense, a debut album. And yet, the album also serves as a reintroduction to the artist, a levitating, stunning work chock full of the lessons he’s learned over the course of his life and career. And perhaps, most importantly, it represents the spirit of exploration that the artist is most tapped into these days.

London-born, Hutchings spent much of his childhood in Barbados. Beginning at age nine, he studied the clarinet, playing in calypso bands while studying classical repertoire, often practicing over hip hop beats by artists such as Nas, as well as to the music native to Barbados. He imparted that at the time, “The idea of being a particular ‘type’ of musician who limited themselves by genre was totally alien to me and my peers, it was just about playing with skill and dedication, and whether music moved me or left me cold.”

Consequently, after studying clarinet at Guildhall School of Music from 2004-2008, he collaborated on a kaleidoscopic range of projects: recording and/or touring with Mulatu Astatke and the Heliocentrics, Soweto Kinch, Floating Points and Courtney Pine amongst many other bands, as well as being a part of the London Improvisers Orchestra. He’s also composed pieces for the BBC Concert Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Ligeti Quartet, and performed the Copland Clarinet Concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Britten Sinfonietta as well as the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra.

Over the course of the past decade, the lion’s share of his touring and recorded work has been with three bands: Sons of Kemet, The Comet is Coming and Shabaka and the Ancestors. “In these formations,” he shared, “I’ve been able to display a fundamental approach to creative practice in different contexts spanning Afro-Caribbean fusion, London dance music club culture and the rich South African jazz tradition - all within the freedom afforded by the legacy of the American ‘jazz’ tradition.” That approach reflects a mantra he absorbed early in his life.

“My primary school teacher told me ‘the music isn’t hard, just practice it mechanically then relax and let your soul shine through’. This is an adage which I’ve kept throughout my life of learning how the musics and instruments of different cultures relate to my personal vision of sound.”

His musical exploration includes employing a variety of flutes, including the ancient Japanese Shakuhachi, which he started playing in 2020 during the pandemic. “Since then, it has slowly changed the scope of my musical inner landscape and drawn me towards a multitude of other instruments in the flute family,” he explained. “As more flutes have been added to my arsenal including Mayan Teotihuacan drone flutes, Brazilian Pifanos, Native American flutes and South American Quenas, I’ve started to appreciate the underlying principles that cause these instruments to resonate most fully and use this understanding to form a concept allowing me to freely move between instruments.”

On New Year’s Day 2023, in the wake of the release of his 2022 debut EP, Afrikan Culture (which notably featured the artist primarily on flutes), Shabaka announced that beginning in 2024 he’d take a hiatus from playing the saxophone publicly. He clarified in July 2023 on his Instagram page his intention to cease playing with bands in which the saxophone was his primary instrument (including The Comet Is Coming, Sons of Kemet and Shabaka and the Ancestors).

For the flute-forward album Perceive its Beauty, Acknowledge its Grace, Hutchings tapped into a remarkable cadre of players, including percussionist Carlos Niño and bassist Esperanza Spalding. Vocalists including Saul Williams and Lianne La Havas contributed to “Managing My Breath, What Fear Had Become” and “Kiss Me Before I Forget”, respectively. Floating Points, with whom Shabaka shared a stage with for their performance of Promises at the Hollywood Bowl, provided additional production on the track “I’ll Do Whatever You Want".

“I invited a bunch of musicians I’ve met and admired over the past few years of touring throughout the United States to collaborate and everyone said yes, which I constantly find breathtaking,” he disclosed. His aim was to gather the musicians at Rudy Van Gelder’s historic studios, which he says “informed the sound of so many seminal jazz albums that have shaped my musical aptitude. We played with no headphones or separation in the room so we could capture the atmosphere of simply playing together in the space without a technological intermediary. After recording hours of inspired interactions, I set to work producing an album from the material.”