Lisa Hilton | Lucky All Along

In her liner notes for her latest release entitled Lucky All Along (Ruby Slippers Productions 1030) out November 29, 2024, the acclaimed pianist/composer/band leader Lisa Hilton shares that the music is “Inspired by the history of cool jazz as well as the art of Impressionism.” Instead of paint, her compositional tools include “different harmonic palettes and rhythmic textures such as blues, swing, improvisation, free jazz, polyrhythms, bop, ragtime, early rock, the Latin tinge and traditional riffs.” Hilton hails from California, where many cool jazz creators previously lived for a period. These musicians include some of the most iconic jazz artists of all time: Miles Davis (1926-1991), Chet Baker (1929-1988), Stan Getz (1927-1991), as well as pianist Bill Evans (1920-1980). These “cool” and very expressive artists favored a moody style of playing with innovative harmonic explorations versus the more energetic “hot," or free jazz styles. 

Hilton also mentions being inspired by impressionist artists, including Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890), the French painter George Seurat (1859-1891), and French plein-air painter Claude Monet (1840-1926), who were searching for new ways to express what they saw and felt through their art. This same spirit has fueled explorations in a variety of musical directions on Hilton’s outstanding new quartet release. 

Percolating with ideas, the nine original compositions and three cover tunes are intimate, enthralling, and laced throughout with rich blue tones, and swinging with Hilton's expressive touch on the piano. Lucky All Along gracefully shares the spotlight with quartet mates Igmar Thomas on trumpet, Luques Curtis on bass, and Rudy Royston on drums and percussion. 

Thomas’s virtuosity is stunning on Hilton’s tracks And Some Blues…, Prophesies and Predictions as well as the iconic All Blues by Miles Davis from his 1959 album Kind Of Blue, but blends well with Hilton’s round piano tones and bluesy solos. Curtis creates powerful and at times almost boisterous solos on these tracks too, delivering a steady stream of energy. Melodicism takes center stage on Hollywood Moment, reminiscent of some of Bill Evans’ pianism and Starry, Starry Eyes, which Hilton notes was inspired by impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh. Royston’s creative moves delight throughout but imbue the Latin tinge tunes Little Beach Mornings and Escapist Fantasy with charm and mastery. Big Sur View allows us to hear Hilton’s solo piano clarity and expression in an Americana composition with classical touches. The titular Lucky All Along, has a countrified vibe, with a touch of ragtime. 

Hilton’s notes she chose two cover tunes because “I think jazz should reflect our times today and great composers of this generation too." See You Again, was co-written by singer/songwriter/producer Charlie Puth, whom Hilton met when he was still a student at Berklee College of Music. This touching tune was inspired by the loss of Puth’s friend in a motorcycle accident and radiates with Thomas’s improvisations and Royston’s steady support. Hilton added Puth’s solo piano intro to the finale of this track. 

The intimate Snow On The Beach, co-written by Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Jack Antonoff, is the last track on the album. Subtlety is the approach to this expressive song, that hints at holding onto rare and fleeting moments, bringing an impressionistic ending to this superb album. 

Brimming with ideas, hope and beauty, bursting with rhythm at times and creating impressionistic moods throughout, Lucky All Along has something for everyone - from those that are jazz curious to straight-ahead jazz fans, and beyond.

The music of Lisa Hilton draws on classic American jazz greats such as Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Dizzy Gillespie, Horace Silver, and Count Basie, as well as blues heroes Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. She is a prolific composer who records and performs with many of today's jazz luminaries. Her thirty albums regularly sit at the top of the Jazz Week and other radio/streaming charts for the last two decades, drawing millions of plays on streaming services and appearing regularly as an Amazon #1 New Jazz Release. Hilton has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Smithsonian Institution, UCLA's Royce Theatre, San Francisco Jazz, and Chicago's historic Green Mill.

Janis Siegel & Yaron Gershovsky | The Colors of My Life: A Cy Coleman Songbook

When The Manhattan Transfer performed its final concert at Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall last December, the event brought to a close one of the most storied chapters in vocal jazz history. Several months later, founding member Janis Siegel described her mindset as, “a kind of mourning,” while pianist and longtime musical director Yaron Gershovsky admitted to a deep sense of sadness.

Not that the pair was at a loss for the next step on their musical journeys. Over drinks at the bar following a Transfer concert several years earlier, Siegel and Gershovsky discovered that both had worked with the revered songwriter Cy Coleman – Gershovsky as the vocal arranger for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical City of Angels, Siegel as part of the all-star vocal ensemble for Coleman’s final collaboration with lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman at the Kennedy Center. 

That conversation soon evolved into a full-fledged project: The Colors of My Life: A Cy Coleman Songbook, available now from the Club44 label, features the duo’s spirited interpretations of ten favorite Coleman compositions, pairing Siegel’s unmistakable voice with Gershovsky’s inventive music and vocal arrangements. The album boasts an elite roster of musicians including bassists David Finck and Boris Kozlov, drummer Cliff Almond, guest vocalist Aubrey Johnson, and The Crosby Street String Quartet. 

Despite the timing, The Colors of My Life was never intended to open a new chapter in either musician’s career; it just so happened to arrive at an ideal moment of reflection, as both suddenly had time to pause and think back over their multi-hued trajectories. Its release marks the first songbook album of Siegel’s diverse and prolific career, the first collection in her rich discography devoted to the work of a single composer.

Ten-time Grammy winner Siegel has long enjoyed an acclaimed solo career in parallel with her work with the Manhattan Transfer, including collaborations with pianists Fred Hersch, Edsel Gomez, Cedar Walton, Gil Goldstein, John di Martino, Addison Frei, and fellow vocalists including her former Transfer bandmate Laurel Massé, Lauren Kinhan of New York Voices, Bobby McFerrin, and Bob Dorough.

Gershovsky is a highly accomplished, internationally recognized and award-winning pianist, arranger, composer and producer who has recorded and performed with such artists as Wayne Shorter, Pharoah Sanders, Lonnie Smith, Steve Gadd, Take 6 and the Count Basie Orchestra. His Broadway credits include vocal arranging for the Tony Award-nominated musicals Swing and City of Angels, and serving as keyboardist for Broadway megahits Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. He has been the pianist and musical director for Manhattan Transfer since 1979.

The personal connection that both collaborators shared with the urbane and jazz-inflected Coleman inevitably helped shape the album’s artistic vision. “There was definitely a resonance in visualizing how Cy might like what we were doing,” Siegel said. “He was always a third, silent partner in this endeavor.”

“Many times as I was toying around with my arrangements or reharmonizations,” Gershovsky added, “I was imagining Cy sitting at the piano next to me, listening and commenting about my choices. The challenge was always to put our personal stamp on the music, with all respect and deference to the music, just to make it a little fresher or more daring.”

Siegel credits the songwriter’s roots as a jazz pianist for the allure of his musical ideas. “I love the sophistication of his harmonic sense and the way his melodies fit with the chords,” she explained. “That's borne out by the types of artists that have covered his tunes: Blossom Dearie, Mabel Mercer, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mark Murphy – singers that want that kind of sophistication and musicality.” 

The repertoire on The Colors of My Life ranges from familiar standards to more obscure material. The former proved the most daunting for the veteran arranger – how does one put a fresh spin on a song as oft-performed as “Witchcraft,” for instance? Gershovsky’s answer was to return to the lyric, which in Coleman’s case are provided by such wordsmiths as Carolyn Leigh, David Zippel, Peggy Lee, Joseph McCarthy, Michael Stewart, and the Bergmans.

The finger-snapping swing of “Witchcraft” thus becomes an entrancing spell cast by Gershovsky’s mesmerizing piano, while “The Best Is Yet To Come” gilds the song’s optimism with the steely determination so necessary for bringing hopes to fruition. Opening track “I’ve Got Your Number” is playful and sultry, Siegel playing the temptress as a cat toying with an enamored mouse. 

Sourced from City of Angels, “With Every Breath I Take” is, appropriately enough, breathtakingly beautiful, as is the melancholy “Being Without You,” which Siegel took note of during that Kennedy Center workshop and always knew she’d return to. “I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life” is given a contemporary pop gloss with electric piano, shimmering synths, and Transfer-style vocal harmonies. 

The title track is given the hipster elegance of a Henry Mancini arrangement, while the instrumental “Playboy’s Theme” spotlights Gershovsky with a Neal Hefti-style buoyancy and Aubrey Johnson joining Siegel to weave more lush vocal tapestries. The co-collaborators pair off for two voice-and-piano duets: the last-call bop of “That’s My Style” and the wistful “Why Try to Change Me Now.” With this vibrant new collection, Siegel and Gershovsky add several bold and graceful new colors to their already kaleidoscopic collaboration. 

Roy Hargrove's Crisol | Grande-Terre

In early 1998, fresh off their GRAMMY win for Best Latin Jazz Performance for their debut album Habana, Roy Hargrove and his incandescent group of musicians headed back into the studio to capture lightning in a bottle. Until now that recording, Grande-Terre, has never been heard.

Showcasing Hargrove’s red-hot playing, his superlative writing and the band’s powerful singular sound, Roy Hargrove’s Crisol: Grand-Terre (Verve Records) will be released worldwide on October 18th, two days after what would have been Roy’s 55th birthday. The first track, from the never-before heard recording sessions, “Priorities,” is available now.

Roy Hargrove was widely praised for his compositions and abilities on the trumpet and flugelhorn and The New York Times called him “…the most impactful trumpeter of his generation.” Grand-Terre succinctly exhibits this talent alongside his “Crisol” or melting pot of long-time collaborators. This all-star group of Cuban, American and Guadeloupian musicians was the foundation to Hargrove’s unparalleled approach to jazz and the mélange of musical genres that appear on the record.

This unique blending of jazz, afro-Cuban rhythms, soul, bop, and funk influenced a generation of jazz, hip hop and neo-soul musicians. From Kamasi Washington and Robert Glasper to D’Angelo, Erykah Badu and Questlove, all these artists—who are now household names—have been shaped by Roy Hargrove’s music and what he cooked up in the studio.

Roy Hargrove’s Crisol: Grand-Terre will be available globally across all formats (LP, CD, Digital) on October 18th.

Grand-Terre Tracklist

1. Rumba Roy
2. Audrey
3. Lake Danse
4. Kamala’s Dance
5. B and B
6. Another Time
7. Lullaby from Atlantis
8. Afreaka
9. Ethiopia
10. Priorities

Roy Hargrove (trumpet, flugelhorn)
Frank Lacy (trombone)
Sherman Irby (alto sax)
Jacques Schwarz-Bart (tenor sax)
Gabriel Hernández (piano)
Larry Willis (piano)
Ed Cherry (guitar) 
Gerald Cannon (bass)
Miguel “Angá” Diaz (percussion)
Changuito (José Luis Quintana) (percussion)
Julio Barreto (drums, vocal)
Willie Jones (drums)

Loleatta Holloway | We're Getting Stronger: The Gold Mind/Salsoul Recordings (1976-1982)

SoulRecords (SMR) in association with The Second Disc presents this definitive, first-time-ever 5CD box set by this Grammy-nominated artist believed to be the most- sampled female singer in popular music.

A total of 58 tracks which includes expanded editions of the four full-length albums recorded during her association with Salsoul’s Gold Mind Records and a specially curated fifth disc that includes remixes, instrumentals, acapellas and reinventions from her Gold Mind/Salsoul catalog. All audio has been newly remastered by Nick Robbins.

Key tracks include her #1 Dance smash, ‘Love Sensation’, written and produced by Grammy-nominated multi-hyphenate Dan Hartman, her first Top Three dance hit, ‘Hit and Run’, and her cover of Debby Boone’s ‘You Light Up My Life’, which earned Ms. Holloway her singular Grammy nomination.

Includes productions by Norman Harris, Ron Kersey, Bunny Sigler, Ron Tyson and Vincent Montana Jr., all synonymous with the Philly Sound, as well as Floyd Smith, Bobby Womack, Tom Moulton and Patrick Adams, with mixes and re-edits by Larry Levan, Walter Gibbons, Shep Pettibone, Danny Krivit, and others.

Every album features legendary musicians including The Trammps’ Earl Young, Bobby Eli, Ron Baker, Steve Gadd, Cornell Dupree, Richard Tee, George Bussey, Larry Washington and Gordon Edwards of Stuff with The Waters and The Sweethearts of Sigma (Barbara Ingram, Carla Benson and Evette Benton), among others, providing background vocals.

A deluxe booklet designed by Ray Curenton includes comprehensive notes by the collection’s producer, God’s Music Is My Life’s Tim Dillinger creating the most in-depth biographical account of Holloway’s career on record with rare photographs and artifacts.

Audrey Powne - Souled Out (Double Pack) (remixed by Joe Claussell) | Feed the Fire Remixes (by Atjazz & musclecars)

Audrey Powne's eagerly anticipated debut album has been met with widespread acclaim from a host of tastemakers and musicians. Garnering over 500 plays on UK radio, her music has reached an audience exceeding 2 million listeners. Many have touted her work as a strong contender for Jazz Album of the Year—a remarkable achievement for a debut release.

This exceptional remix pack features a soulful interpretation from the illustrious DJ and producer Joe Claussell, profoundly inspired by the album cut "Souled Out." Claussell unveils three exquisite and spiritual remixes, each highlighting unique elements of Audrey's original production. Joaquin's Deep Version is quintessential Claussell, merging the bassy textures of a vintage King Tubby dub with vibrant percussion and dance-inducing beats. The "Sacred Rhythm Mix" is an essential for the dancefloor, weaving a seamless progression of expertly crafted sonic layers that culminate in a boogie-style crescendo, destined to be a summer anthem for DJs. The Souled The Cosmic Arts Interpretation mix completes the trinity expertly with an enchanting downtempo mix expertly seasoned with orchestral and percussive elements which breathes even more magic into Audrey’s incredible vocal display on this track. True to Claussell's renowned craftsmanship, these remixes speak for themselves— listen and be transported.

Adding to the allure of this remix pack are the superb renditions of "Feed The Fire'' by the legendary deep house producer Atjazz and the dynamic New York duo musclecars. Both remixes have garnered critical acclaim, elevating this package to an unprecedented level of excellence. Available for the first time on vinyl, these mixes are presented by BBE Music in a double pack, ensuring unparalleled sound quality that is spread out for maximum audio fidelity—a must-have for discerning DJs and vinyl aficionados who prize top-tier music pressed on wax.

This release is not just a collection of tracks but a treasure trove of sonic brilliance, making it indispensable for enthusiasts of high-quality, heartfelt music. Marketing Highlights - remix pack on double vinyl and digital formats featuring much loved remixes from Audrey Powne's debut album, lauded by tastemakers and musicians, has achieved over 500 UK radio plays and reached more than 2 million listeners, being hailed as a strong contender for Jazz Album of the Year.

Highlights:

- Joe Claussell's three soulful remixes—from the dub-infused 'Joaquin's Deep Version' to the dance-inducing 'Sacred Rhythm Version' and the enchanting downtempo 'The Cosmic Arts Interpretation Mix'—add new dimensions to Audrey's original production.

- The remix pack also features acclaimed versions of ‘Feed The Fire’ by Atjazz and dance music producers of the year contenders musclecars.

 

Mike Stern | Echoes And Other Songs

6-time GRAMMY nominated jazz guitarist Mike Stern released his anticipated new album Echoes And Other Songs. Marking his debut release on Mack Avenue Music Group/Artistry Music, Echoes delivers all the elements that longtime Stern fans want, and then some: the hook-filled rapid-fire bebop writing; the gorgeous melodic sensibility culled from African music, gospel and other influences; the breakneck improvisations that pepper hornlike bop virtuosity with rock fire.

Stern has been celebrated for his versatile playing style since he first hit the scene in the 1970s, transcending genres by performing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius, The Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Béla Fleck, Yellowjackets and more. With Echoes and Other Songs, Stern brings together an all-star group of musicians, including Christian McBride, Chris Potter, Antonio Sanchez, Richard Bona & Dennis Chambers, for 11 brand-new originals that will captivate and unite guitar and jazz fans of all generations. This is Stern’s first release since the loss of longtime producer and keyboardist Jim Beard (who played on and produced the album), the closure of Stern’s beloved 55 Bar, and his 2016 injury, which he continues to face physical hurdles from.

Echoes and Other Songs is a powerhouse document from one of the finest guitarists in jazz history, at a time in his career when he overcame immense physical struggles and experienced profound loss. In the sheer might of these performances, Echoes is a defiant record — not so much a victory lap as a call to arms. 

Echoes and Other Songs could be considered a loving farewell to Jim Beard, who passed away in March 2024. Beard acted as Stern’s go-to producer for over three decades, and as a favorite keyboardist for even longer. “I’m not exaggerating when I call Jim Beard a genius,” Stern says. “People would say, ‘You should change up your producer — you know, just mix it up.’ And I would say, ‘Why?’ Everybody loved Jim. He was just great at what he did — how he used technology, how he produced, how he mixed.” Stern goes on to describe Beard’s touch as a player. “Incredible.” He pauses. “Ridiculous… Everything he did was perfect. The records he came out with were amazing, but I think he could have done even more as a piano player.” 

In the end, though, Stern was most affected by Beard’s devotion as a friend. “When I had the blues,” he recalls, “when I felt low and wanted to talk to somebody, he’s one of the people I would reach out to. It would be short, but he would know exactly what I was talking about. It’s a heartbreaker.” 

Echoes also marks the first album Stern has released as a leader since the West Village jazz haunt 55 Bar closed its doors in 2022, a casualty of the pandemic. Stern’s regular gig there was legendary, enduring and advantageous; it was at 55 where Michael Brecker became interested in hiring the guitarist. 

His 55 residency also provided a physical-therapy regimen of sorts after Stern broke both of his humerus bones in 2016. He stumbled over construction materials on the street in New York and fell, and the aftermath included potentially career-ending nerve damage that threatened his picking hand. The road to recovery has been long, hard and ongoing. Stern has had the abiding support of his wife, Leni, to help him, as well as godsends like Dr. Alton Barron, an orthopedic hand specialist recommended by a friend, fellow guitar master Wayne Krantz.

Advised by another pal, the drummer Ray Levier, Stern came up with an efficient system for holding his pick, using wig glue and tape. “It was a challenge and a half,” Stern says, “and it still is, sometimes, just to accept it. It gets me really upset and frustrated because I used to play stuff with my fingers. I had to change certain things about my technique.” 

But Stern pushes on and rises above, as he has throughout his career — like when he rejoined Miles Davis’ band in 1985, having found sobriety. Throughout Echoes, you’d be hard-pressed to find a second in which Stern’s chops are less than sublime. In terms of expressivity, his flatpicking has no limitations.  

“I’m gonna keep trying with whatever I got,” Stern says. “You know I got to. Because I love it, and love means that some days you hate it; those two sides are on the same coin. But the love is definitely winning out.” Consider Mike Stern’s Echoes and Other Songs his love letter to jazz, to the guitar, to bandstand camaraderie, and to his own undefeated will. 

2024 Tour Dates:

• October 26 – Stupsk, Poland @ Komeda Jazz Festival
• October 27 – Opole, Poland @ Drum Festival Opole
• October 29 – Muenster, Germany @ Hot Jazz Club
• November 1 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Jazz Dock
• November 3 – Plovdiv, Bulgaria @ Plovdiv Jazz Festival
• November 5 – Leverkusen, Germany @ JAZZTAGE
• November 7 – Graz, Austria @ Orpheum Graz
• November 8-9 – Milian, Italy @ Bluenote Milano
• December 13-14 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Baked Potato
• December 16-17 – Oakland, CA  @ Yoshi’s

2025 Tour Dates

• January 29-31 – Baltimore, MD @ Keystone Korner
• February 1 – Baltimore, MD @ Keystone Korner
• February 4-8 – New York, NY @ Birdland Jazz Club

Rahsaan Barber & Everyday Magic | Six Words

Saxophonist Rahsaan Barber greets the arrival of a new phase in his musical career with the September 6 release Six Words on Jazz Music City Records. The album features Barber’s eponymous, eight-part suite—his first—performed by his sextet Everyday Magic, which he formed with the help of a grant from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where Barber is an assistant professor of jazz studies and saxophone). 

The “six words” of the title refer to a statement Barber once heard from Wynton Marsalis: “There is power in this music.” The suite explores that power in its many guises—to all of which Barber himself has fallen prey: “I’m as excited as I’ve been about music in a long, long time.” 

Barber is looking at music from a different vantage point with this record. Now settled into academia in Chapel Hill, the saxophonist is able to embrace making music without having to take it on the road for endless stretches. It gave him the time and space to sharpen his focus and refine his approach, with the product being a musical vision of fresh clarity. 

But that didn’t subtract from the all-important spontaneity in the music; Barber saw to that. He assembled a band—trombonist Roland Barber, his twin brother; trumpeter Pharez Whitted; pianist Matt Endahl; bassist Kevin Beardsley; and drummer Joshua Hunt—that had never played together before and didn’t get a look at Barber’s compositions until they arrived at the studio in Nashville.

All the more remarkable, then, are nuances like the subtly balanced ensemble work on “Unity, Parts I and II,” Roland Barber’s sensitive muted melodic statement on “Reach,” or the delicate three-way exchanges between Rahsaan Barber and Beardsley, Endahl, and the brasses on “Dreams of Goliath.” They manage it all and maintain the vigor and aplomb it takes to generate gorgeous improvisations like Endahl’s ruminative one on “The Long Wait for Justice,” Rahsaan Barber’s fond reverie on “Remembering Roy” (for Roy Hargrove), or Whitted and Roland Barber’s fierce counterpoint on “Sun Dance.” This music has caught the other musicians in its power, too.

Rahsaan Barber was born April 2, 1980 in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was raised. He was the third generation of a musical family, with his grandmother and parents immersing him in every flavor of Black American Music. Jazz was the one that captured his attention, and Barber took after his older brother Robert in selecting the tenor saxophone. 

Accompanied by his trombone-playing twin brother, Roland, Barber matriculated at Indiana University, where both brothers studied under pioneering jazz educator David Baker. After completing their undergraduate work at IU, the Barber twins earned master’s degrees at Manhattan School of Music; Rahsaan went on to earn a doctorate in classical saxophone at the University of Memphis. 

Shortly after finishing his master’s, Barber was hired as a saxophone instructor at Belmont University in Nashville, moving from there to Tennessee State University and then to the University of North Carolina, where he is currently an assistant professor of music. He has also presented master classes at numerous other universities. 

In the meantime, he has continued to develop a performing career. The brothers made an album as co-leaders, Twinnovation, in 2000; his first album as a leader, Trio Soul, arrived in 2005. Barber then spent many years freelancing on the Nashville scene, leading to tours with Kelly Clarkson, Chris Stapleton, the Wooten Brothers, and Delfeayo Marsalis. Between those gigs and the university ones, he issued Everyday Magic, his first collection of all original tunes, in 2010, with the standards-intensive Music in the Night following in 2016 and Mosaic, another album of all-originals, in 2021. Six Words is his first time creating original compositions as a suite, adding another impressive entry to his already formidable list of accomplishments.

Herb Alpert | 50

Legendary musician, artist, record label executive, and philanthropist Herb Alpert marked an extraordinary milestone today in his storied six-decade music career with the release of his 50th studio album titled 50. Available everywhere, the album also commemorates another significant landmark as it celebrates 50 years of marriage to his wife, collaborator, and touring partner, Lani Hall, their golden anniversary.

Alpert sat down with The New York Times earlier this week at his home in Malibu and discussed 50, his iconic career, his marriage to Lani, touring, and his work as an artist/sculptor. Of the new album, they raved “The sound he got from his instrument - clean in tone, tidy in arrangement and joyous in character - also speaks of consistency. From the first note of the opening track, ‘Dancing Down 50th Street,’ his playing evokes the brisk and flirty mood of his ‘60s hits, from ‘A Taste of Honey’ to ‘Spanish Flea,’ a sound that represents midcentury modern culture as eloquently as an Eames chair or an Ossie Clark frock.” 

50 distills everything that makes a great Herb Alpert release, combining evocative originals and ingenious covers from throughout pop music history, with Alpert’s unmistakable trumpet melodies leading the action. Many of the songs on 50 date back to the 1950s, including pop-vocal, rock’n’roll, and jazz favorites. It was the decade when Alpert got his start in the record industry, still a few years out from his career-making success with the Tijuana Brass, the young songwriter was learning lessons that helped him shape his signature musical voice. Integrating modern techniques into retakes of older songs is one of Alpert’s signatures. His tasteful adaptability is part of what has helped keep him at the front of the cultural consciousness for nearly seven decades. 

Alpert has continued to follow the innovations of newer artists while refining his unmistakable “less is more” style of trumpet playing and arranging. His recent work combines acoustic and electronic sounds while revisiting music across disparate eras of pop, including ‘20s and ‘30s jazz standards, Beatles favorites, and more, with periodic turns from his wife Lani on vocals. This combination of the vintage and the au courant continues to resonate with audiences; Alpert’s last two LPs, 2022’s On the Sunny Side of Street and 2023's Wish Upon A Star, peaked at #5 and #1, respectively, on the jazz charts. 

Alternately playful and contemplative, 50 continues in the spirit of these releases, with Alpert offering his take on everything from bossa nova (“Corcovado”), Broadway-born standards (“Baubles, Bangles, & Beads”), surf-rock mood pieces (“Sleep Walk”), hard-bop tunes (“Jeannine”) and Elvis hits (“Are You Lonesome Tonight?”). The originals scattered throughout 50 sit comfortably up against these indelible melodies from bygone eras, reminding us how many generations of pop Alpert’s own compositional sound has endured through. In addition to “Dancing Down 50th Street,” there’s the bluesy and stylish “Where Do We Go From Here,” as well as “Morning Mist,” a dreamy ballad fit for a beach sunrise. 

For almost three-quarters-of-a-century, Alpert has always had the rare gift of being able to reach the greatest possible group of people through inhabiting an inimitable artistic voice. He has maintained and reshaped his sound through constant practice, recording, and performing (he continues to tour internationally, playing dozens of shows every year). With his eye invariably set on the future, Alpert is already turning over ideas for multiple upcoming albums. The sentiment crystalizes how one of popular music’s truest originals continues to find ways to connect and reconnect with himself and his audience. It is through his love of artistic kernels of inspiration—a couple of bars, a chord, a suggestive brushstroke—that seem to cut across time. 

Track Listing:

• 01) Dancing Down 50th Street
• 02) Sh-Boom
• 03) Are You Lonesome Tonight?
• 04) Baubles, Bangles And Beads
• 05) Morning Mist
• 06) Never Too Late
• 07) Where Do We Go From Here
• 08) Sleep Walk
• 09) Corcovado
• 10) Jeannine

Tour Dates:

• 10/08 - Folsom, CA @ Harris Center
• 10/09 - Campbell, CA @ Campbell Heritage Theatre
• 10/10 - Walnut Creek, CA @ Lesher Center for the Arts
• 10/12 - Santa Barbara, CA @ Lobero Theatre
• 10/13 - Scottsdale, AZ @ Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
• 12/10 - Nashville, TN @ Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater
• 12/11 - Chattanooga, TN @ Walker Theatre
• 12/13 - Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
• 12/14 - Metairie, LA @ Jefferson Performing Arts Center
• 12/15 - Houston, TX @ Cullen Auditorium
• 02/11 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ The Parker
• 02/12 - Sarasota, FL @ Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
• 02/13 - Orlando, FL @ Dr Phillips Center Steinmetz Hall
• 02/15 - Augusta, GA @ TBA
• 02/16 - Charlotte, NC @ TBA

Grammy nominated and Billboard chart-topping producer Nate Harasim returns to the studio renewed and reinspired

After spending sixteen years building his name and reputation as one of the top producers in contemporary jazz and instrumental R&B, earning a Grammy nomination and producing multiple Billboard No. 1 hits, Nate Harasim did the unthinkable: he retired from music before the age of forty. Now, after six years away from the studio, Harasim is back doing what he loves: writing and producing music. He was lured out of retirement to produce the debut album from R&B/jazz saxophonist Nick Stone, who is best known for touring and performing with Ne-Yo and Charlie Wilson. 

Harasim’s premature retirement from music came after a contemplative year. He’s driven and inspired to create music at the highest level by the relationships he forms with artists, getting to know “them on a very personal level musically and as a human being down to their core.” Over time, he found that the business of music was making him into someone he did not want to become. 

The Detroit-based Harasim explained, “Near the end of that chapter before I retired, I found myself taking production jobs just for financial gain. I had lost the love and romanticism that making the music and molding the artist entails. That helped me make the decision to unplug, turn off my speakers, and step away.” 

So, Harasim exited the business. 

“I looked back on all that was sacrificed over a span of sixteen successful years and made a life-altering decision that would ultimately leave me a better person, a mentally healthy person and, most importantly, someone who would once again enjoy music and its delicate creation process, even if just as a fan,” said Harasim, who earned a Grammy nomination for his work on star saxophonist Dave Koz’s “Hello Tomorrow” album. 

Harasim, who also charted as a solo artist and produced records for Steve Oliver, Vandell Andrew, Nils, Phil Denny, Lin Rountree, Darren Rahn, Rob Tardik, and Elizabeth Mis, was certain that his retirement from music was going to be permanent, that it wasn’t just a sabbatical. He found that the higher up he went in the industry, the lonelier the business became. And he longed for genuine connection and authenticity.  

“The music business is lonely for the producer, especially one with any type of real credentials. I wanted to smile and laugh again for real, not for a photo op, not to sell myself to someone. I needed and yearned for actual happiness and a genuine connection with a decent human being on a musical level and, more importantly, on a moral and ethical level,” admitted Harasim. 

During his time away from music, Harasim nurtured his healing and recalibrated his life outside of the recording studio. Over the years, he got repeated calls from Stone, another Detroit-based musician, who tried to convince Harasim to work with him. 

“My heart, soul, and mind needed time away. I believe when you’re born to do a specific thing, no matter the steps taken to extinguish the burn and fire in the chest, it will always bubble to the top. After many calls over the past five or six years, I was ready to take a gamble with Nick,” Harasim said. 

Harasim is resurrected as a producer and songwriter, and the time away allowed him to reset his mindset, reigniting his passion for music that never really left. 

“In doing my best to put the fire out, the fire was smoldering and now it’s raging once again. At this point, restarting my music career, enjoying the process is what’s most important to me and I’m deeply in love all over again. Taking the time to heal and remembering who I am, while listening to my gut instinct, has brought me out of retirement. I could say it was as easy as picking up the phone at just the right time, but coming back would’ve been out of the question without circling back to being who I dared not become,” said the refreshed Harasim. 

Having spent years out of the music business, Harasim now feels that he is in control of how he does business as well as with whom he works. Teaming with Stone has been revitalizing for the producer. 

“This time around, I’m fortunate enough in life to work with who I choose. Nick checked every box on the lengthy list of criteria: motivated, driven to succeed, takes constructive criticism, works to be better, and, most importantly, even with all the above qualities, if he weren’t an amazing human being, we wouldn’t be working together on an unbelievable album. Ultimately, it took a great person and an excellent musician to make the decision to come back easy,” said Harasim who is deep into the recording process with Stone for an album they plan to release early next year. 

Another reason that Harasim was drawn to produce Stone is that they are making a full-length album together in a music industry that currently favors releasing singles for Spotify. Recording a unified collection of music with an artist is his preference for a number of reasons. 

“Today’s market is largely singles based, but I prefer to make an album that tells a story with each track being a chapter of that book. It seems artists are chasing the single, not the album. When the album is finally put together, it consists of a little of this and a little of that, nothing that takes the listener on a cohesive journey. It’s more or less a compilation of different producers and soundscapes, and nothing that flows,” stated Harasim. 

While he loves adding vocalists into the mix, Harasim will continue to primarily focus on making contemporary jazz instrumental music saying, “My mind gravitates to the chillness and vibe the genre creates.” 

Now that he is back and comfortably ensconced in the producer’s chair, will Harasim also return to writing and producing music for himself as an artist?      

“Let’s see what the future holds. This is always on my mind, and I’d be lying if I told you it wasn’t. Here’s the problem lately: I’ll write something for myself, and then I give those songs to Nick!”

Bob Baldwin - “Songs My Father Would Dig” and “It’s Okay to Dream”

In his 35th year as a recording artist, jazz keyboardist Bob Baldwin double-downed on himself. Instead of releasing one new 12-song album as he’s done every year of his unparalleled career, he released two collections: one straight-ahead jazz set and one contemporary jazz record. Both albums, “Songs My Father Would Dig” and “It’s Okay to Dream,” and two tracks culled from the projects, "Malema" and “Cape Town at Night,” are up for GRAMMY® consideration. 

Baldwin is a seminal urban-jazz mixologist, a maverick who owns the rights to the majority of his prolific 37-album catalogue. The musician, producer, composer and arranger owns the City Sketches label, which is distributed by BFD/The Orchard. Baldwin has created music for and/or recorded with an array of GRAMMY® winners and nominees, including Bob James, Paul Brown, Gerald Albright, Grover Washington Jr., Darren Rahn, Regina Carter, Freddie Jackson, and The Four Tops. He received a GRAMMY® nomination for his work on R&B balladeer Will Downing’s “All The Man You Need” album but has not yet had any of his own records nominated despite consistently writing, producing and performing music at the highest-level year after year after year. 

While Baldwin certainly does not make records with awards in mind, he would welcome the acknowledgement from his peers a GRAMMY® nomination would bring in recognition of the work he did on his two latest albums. 

“I enjoy the process of making music, but also enjoy how others receive the music I produce. When I receive emails about people bringing my music into chemotherapy, or into military battle, that tells me that the music is cathartic and peaceful. The fact that I’ve earned a living the last thirty years doing something I genuinely enjoy and having traveled around the world is a blessing,” said Baldwin, a Mount Vernon, New York native who divides his time between Westchester, New York and Atlanta, Georgia. 

For consideration as Best Instrumental Jazz Album, "Songs My Father Would Dig" is an intensely personal project for Baldwin inspired by the straight-ahead cool jazz music of the 1960s. He composed half the songbook for the album and reimagined tunes by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, and a song by his late cousin, Larry Willis, a pianist who was a member of the original Blood, Sweat & Tears band and played alongside Roy Hargrove, Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band, and Hugh Masekela. Flanked by a jazz trio, Baldwin played a century-old acoustic Steinway piano on the album that pays tribute to his late father. 

For consideration as Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, “It’s Okay to Dream” is comprised entirely of Baldwin songs served as a fusion of R&B, contemporary jazz, soul, funk, and dance music, some seasoned with authentic Latin and South African music. Baldwin says the music he wrote for the album is “a contemporary playlist of thoughts and dreams.” 

Two tracks from “It’s Okay To Dream” will garner GRAMMY® consideration, both of which Baldwin wrote with Mozambique artist Jimmy Dludlu and were performed by Dludlu’s bandmembers. Included on the album in two parts, "Malema" is for consideration as Best African Music Performance while “Cape Town at Night" is being considered for Best Global Music Performance. 

This fall, Baldwin’s “Complicit” from “It’s Okay To Dream” will drop as a single. It’s the latest cut from his repertoire that indulges his passion for Brazilian music. 

“I created it through my jazz-funk-Brazilian lens. The track has a minimalist-type groove that’s carried by its distinct percussive rhythm and simple melody,” said Baldwin. 

Baldwin, who cowrote eight of soul-jazz flautist Ragan Whiteside’s Billboard top 10 singles, is working on the second edition of his book, “You Better Ask Somebody! Staying On Top Of Your Career in the Friggin’ Music Business,” adding content to confront music streaming issues. He also produces and hosts the long-running nationally syndicated radio show NewUrbanJazz Radio. 

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

• October 25 | Tin Pan | Richmond, VA
• December 6 | St. James Lounge | Atlanta, GA
• December 7 & 8 | Chayz Lounge | Columbia, SC

 

Charles A. Kelly | City Night

The Sound of Philadelphia wasn’t just the title of the No. 1 song that served as the theme of the iconic television series “Soul Train.” The sounds that originated from the City of Brotherly Love came with an energy, a community, and a feel unique and distinct to Philly. R&B-Jazz keyboardist Charles A. Kelly came of age as a young musician playing in nightclubs at Philadelphia’s Penn’s Landing. Memories of that formative, halcyon era inspire Kelly’s newly released Innervision Records single, “City Night,” which he wrote and produced. 

Ignited by Kelly’s jubilant piano and resonant keyboard melodies, “City Night” is a festive, energizing excursion back in time. Punchy horn section work from Michael Stever (trumpet and horn arrangement), Jason Kelly (soprano sax), Andrew Neu (saxophone) and Nick Lane (trombone) add power and sheen to the slick production. Guitarist James Greene shreds a scintillating solo mid-tune and distributes tasty licks throughout the cut. Anchoring the proceedings with precision and pace are drummer Tony Moore, bassist Jerome Randall and percussionist Munyungo Jackson.  

“‘City Night’ captures the spirit of the Philadelphia nightlife from that period in my life, the time I spent playing in the nightclubs by Penn’s Landing on the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Those nights are where I had a chance to feel the excitement of playing in front of crowds of people every night. That’s when I got a chance to feel that energy for the first time, the thrill of being on stage and performing. It was then that I knew I wanted to make music my career,” recalled Kelly. 

While writing “City Night,” Kelly questioned if the song had true single potential. So, he turned to other Philadelphia music legends for inspiration. 

“I started looking at old videos of The Spinners, Blue Magic, Delfonics, and other legendary Philly International Records groups. Since I used to play with Blue Magic, it was fun and exciting to think about that time in my life. I also had great conversations with my wife about Philly vs. New York nightlife. It was then I began to feel inspired to seriously develop the song,” said Kelly about the single that provides a glimpse into his second album, “Phase II,” which is slated to drop early next year. 

Occasionally, Kelly encountered major music figures during those Philly club gigs. One of his fondest memories was opening for jazz trumpet great Freddie Hubbard. Grammy-winning pianist Billy Childs was in Hubbard’s band at the time. Seeing Childs play up close and personal was a seminal moment as was the first time Kelly met Stevie Wonder at one of the Penn’s Landing gigs. Kelly would go on to collaborate with Wonder, eventually signing to Wondirection Records after relocating to Los Angeles in 1983. 

Kelly is a versatile musician, songwriter and band leader who has collaborated with a stellar spectrum of artists spanning Neil Diamond, Elton John, Nile Rodgers, Sister Sledge, The Pointer Sisters, and Nathan East as well as contemporary Christian artists CeCe Winans, Mary Mary, Jeremy Camp, and Israel Houghton. He also was cast to act on the television series “Fame.” 

Kelly finally released his solo debut album, “You’re Not Alone,” in 2022. The collection spawned four charting singles, including the title track, "Endangered Species,” “I Know You,” and “I’m Good.” Last year, Kelly shone brightly on the charts with the top five single “SunSeeker.” For more information, visit https://www.charlesakelly.com.

Brian Bromberg, Paul Brown, Michael Paul (BPM) | Seriously

So, who are these cats called BPM? Just three humble dudes, who love to play and yearn to hang out with one another equally as much and who have absolutely no room for drama. Seriously! Grammy-nominated and hit-making bassist Brian Bromberg, two-time Grammy- winning guitarist and producer Paul Brown and show-stopping and chart-topping saxophone sensation Michael Paulo (BPM), have joined forces for the first time as a unit on a recording for their anticipated and riveting new album Seriously, available everywhere on Shanachie Entertainment September 27, 2024. Brown’s vision for the trios new recording was simple, “To make the record we all have wanted to record after 30 plus years of making records. We have no constraints or have anything to prove. The music is just solid and from the heart.”  Collectively this triumvirate of musical powerhouses have been first call for such iconic artists as Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, Sting, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Stan Getz, and Sarah Vaughan, among countless others. Brian Bromberg reveals why BPM is a match made in heaven, “I bring the bagels, Paul brings the wine, and Michael brings his golf clubs and dancing shoes! We all really do bring something different to the table.” Paul Brown confesses that the idea was born after the trio performed together in Punta Mita, Mexico. He shares, “I wanted Brian in the band because I was so impressed with his playing and compositions. It's nice to have someone that can blow the roof off when he solos. Michael is just a great all-around player who has exceptional stage presence.” Michael Paulo chimes in, “Because I am playing with two stiff guys, somebody has got to move around onstage and that’s me. I am also the man in the middle when two geniuses clash, I chill them with my Hawaiian laid back, ‘ain't no big thing bruddah’ attitude.” 

The album’s captivating first single “Seriously?” is a declaration of Bromberg, Brown, and Paulo’s intent to leave no question unanswered. Can they swing? Yes! Do they bring the funk? Yes! Can you dance to Jazz? Yes! The trio is augmented by a gritty and soulful horn section which catapults the bluesy number to a new dimension as BPM stretches out with Paul Brown’s funky licks, Michael Paulo’s swinging tenor and Bromberg’s slap-happy bass.

“I've been making music my whole life. It's my go to when things are rough. I never even thought about doing anything else. I wouldn't even know where to start,” confesses Paul Brown. The avid golfer and wine collector has dominated the Contemporary Jazz charts as both an artist and producer for several decades. Born in Los Angeles to musician parents who sang with Mel Tormé, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, among others, Brown started playing drums at age five and picked up his first guitar two years later. He has amassed 75 #1 Contemporary Jazz radio hits and engineered for R&B divas Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross and has produced for everyone including Luther Vandross, Al Jarreau and George Benson. Paul Brown’s latest solo recording is the Promised Land.

A consummate musician, Brian Bromberg’s motto is “Good enough is never good enough. Always strive to be the best you can be in music and in your life.” Born in Tucson, Arizona, the versatile bassist, and producer has recorded the diverse repertoire of Jaco Pastorius, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Jimi Hendrix. Bassist Scott LaFaro is the subject of Bromberg’s most recent recording LaFaro. Hailing from a family of musicians and artists, Bromberg gravitated towards the drums as a toddler and by the time he was a teen he was working professionally. At only 18 years old Brian’s first big break came in 1979 when bassist Marc Johnson recommended Bromberg for a gig with tenor titan Stan Getz. The prolific bassist has recorded on over 150 albums as a sideman and has either recorded and or toured with such luminaries as Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, Shirley Horn, Lionel Hampton, George Duke, Lalo Schifrin, Dianne Reeves, Kenny Barron, and Michel Legrand. He also toured with such heavyweights as Freddie Hubbard and Eddie Harris. Bromberg is a self-professed wine connoisseur and is passionate about professional drag racing, animals, nature, and astronomy.

“I was very religious when I was young but when the spirit of music came calling, the stage became my church,” shares saxophonist Michael Paulo. Hailing from a musical home in Hawaii, Michael’s house was filled with music as Michael, his siblings and parents were all musicians. His most recent release, Here Is Happiness, is dedicated to his late father and legendary Hawaiian pianist Rene Paulo. Revered for his serious chops and unrivaled stage presence, Michael Paulo has been first call for everyone from Al Jarreau, Herbie Hancock and Patti Austin to David Benoit, Bobby Caldwell, and Peter White. Paulo is featured on the much talked about Miles Davis session Rubberband, which was released for the first time in 2020. A Jazz impresario, Paulo created and produces the long running Temecula Wine, and Music Festival, which has supported military veterans and organizations like the Shriner’s Hospital for Children through the years. He also produces music concert series in Hawaii as well as the California concerts Grooves at the Westin, Live from La Costa, and Rhythm on the Vine.

With the release of BPM’s Seriously, Brian Bromberg, Paul Brown and Michael Paulo are ready to hit the road and spread the good news. Look out for tour dates coming soon. Bromberg concludes, “If BPM has the ability, even on a small scale to make people happy, to make them move or make them sing, then we are playing a very little part in trying to bring people from all walks of life and stories together. That to me is an honor.” Paulo shares the same vision to emotionally connect with their audience stating, “Music is about how you make people feel and communicating emotion. When you accomplish that you have fulfilled your purpose. Paul Brown concludes, “We're all kind of in the same place in our lives where we only want to do special things that make us happy and that leave us satisfied. It's not about money or fame. Pure musicality.”

Chris Greene Quartet - Conversance

Chicagoan saxophonist Chris Greene's latest album, Conversance, is yet another milestone for Greene,his first album for Pravda Records, Chicago's longest-running indie rock label, which in its 40 years has never released a jazz recording before.The album is being released on 12” LP vinyl, CD, digital download and via streaming platforms October 19. 

In Greene and company, the label has a group that was voted best jazz band in Chicago twice in polls by the alternative weekly, the Chicago Reader and a fan friendly artist with strong ties to the community. He recently received the Mayor's Award for the Arts via the Evanston Arts Council. "This means a lot just because it's my hometown, these are people that I literally interact with just about every single day," he said in accepting the award. 

Along with a pair of fairly recent Pravda signees with whom he has played, singer-songwriters Steve Dawson and Nora O’Connor, he is helping boost the company's reputation even as it boosts his. Other artists with whom he has performed include Common, the Temptations, Poi Dog Pondering, Liquid Soul and Andrew Bird. 

For saxophonist Chris Greene, turning 50 was a double milestone. It inspired him to look back on his career and the strides he has made as an independent jazz artist. It also inspired him to reflect on his life as a husband, father and family man. Little did he know how happily those two worlds would collide.  

Greene was working at home on music for Conversance, when his attentive 12-year-old son Alex, a talented pianist and drummer and major Star Wars fan, played a melody for him inspired by one of the tunes his old man was playing. The elder Greene liked it so much, he decided to use it as the A section of the song, a six-measure blues in 6/4 time with a bridge. "It was a perfect fit," he says. "It really made the tune." He titled the tune "The Emperor Strikes Back."  

Even by Greene's high-risk standards (AllAboutJazz called him "a post-bop maverick intent on shaking things up for the mainstream"), the new album is an unpredictable delight. His treatment here of the oft-recorded jazz classic, "You Don't Know What Love Is," takes it into new, uncharted territory. Greene layers the melody over a groove borrowed from Curtis Mayfield's "Give Me Your Love" from the Superfly soundtrack. It's a great mash up. 

"Gentleman's Breakfast," a sonorous Greene original, is a "quick samba" inspired by Brazilian singers Ed Motta (with whom he has performed) and Elis Regina. Bassist Marc Piane joins the freewheeling party with his piece "Thumper," a "crazy shit's gonna happen type of song" that includes element of Frank Zappa and King Crimson. Conversance also features "Broken Glass," a great vehicle by and for Espinosa ("a great student of piano styles"), Piane's low-key "Inspiration" (the romantic flip side of "Thumper") and a bumptious reading of Duke Ellington's "Just Squeeze Me." Says Greene, "It dawned on me only recently that a lot of my albums have a Duke Ellington or Billy Strayhorn song on them," he says. "They're always in my thoughts." 

Like Duke, Greene writes with specific players in his close-knit band (including drummer Steve Corley) in mind. As reflected by the title of one of the CGQ's earlier albums, A Group Effort, he prizes its ability to think and feel as one – to "leave fingerprints on each other's playing." And as signified by the title Conversance, making great music is all about band members talking to each other through their different styles.  

Greene was born in Evanston, IL. He spent his formative years in the award-winning Evanston High School Wind and Jazz Ensembles. As a teenager he began to play professionally with many local pop/rock and jazz bands. Greene eventually went to Bloomington, IN to attend the prestigious Indiana University Jazz Studies program and studied with renowned professor and cellist David Baker. Greene returned to Chicago in 1994. 

He has given back to the community in numerous ways, collaborating with the Shorefront Legacy Center to document the work of great Black musicians with Evanston and North suburban roots such as Fred Anderson, Bob Cranshaw and Bill Brimfield and serving as resident musician at Art Makers Outpost, an Evanston arts center for children and adults where he helped create the After Dark Concert Series. He also was on a panel of Black creatives from Evanston discussing "The Art Thing We Do" at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center. 

Looking forward to his next half-century (well, why not?), Greene has all the security blankets he needs: a great band to work with, a great family to come home to, a great label to record for. 

Anne Sajdera - It's Here

Pianist/composer Anne Sajdera takes an introspective turn on It’s Here, her third album, set to be released September 20 on Bijuri Records. The recording features five originals and three covers that juxtapose wistfulness for the past with an embrace of the present, on which the Bay Area–based Sajdera works with a wide-ranging assemblage of musicians whose core comprises bassist Gary Brown and drummer Deszon Claiborne. 

The title It’s Here comes from the revelation Sajdera experienced after writing the eponymous track, then trying to determine what it was about. “It was that feeling I get when I look at old photos or mementos, and for a split second you think you don’t have that moment anymore,” she says. “But then you realize it’s right here, if you look for it.” 

The feeling of that realization is unmistakable across “It’s Here,” from Sajdera’s winsome melody to the gorgeous solos by Sajdera, trumpeter Mike Olmos, and alto saxophonist Jesse Levit. Yet it also recurs, if in altered forms, throughout the album, from the genial post-bop take on “Stella by Starlight” to the affecting solo piano closer “Just Starlight.”

Which is not to say that the record is confined to any single mood or color. The Slovakian folk song “Ach Anička” (featuring two Czech guest musicians, trumpeter Miroslav Houcal and alto saxophonist Jan Fečo, who also animated her 2018 album New Year) and the Sajdera original “Bounce” both express upbeat joy with hard-driving swing and funk, respectively. “Three Color Study,” another solo piano piece, molds its fraught emotions to an expressive but angular melodic path, while the aptly titled “Lovely” is swathed in rich orchestration with players Rita Thies (flute) and Joyce Lee (violin) augmenting the ensemble, expressionistic solos by Olmos (trumpet) and Levit (alto saxophone), and perhaps a hint of the Brazilian music Sajdera so exquisitely drew on for her debut, 2012’s Azul.

If there are common elements, however, It’s Here is nonetheless a step forward for Sajdera. She remains a resolutely forward-looking pianist and composer, and this album finds her showing a more ruminative side without diminishing the style that had helped her establish her luminescent musical career. 

Born in Portsmouth, Virginia on November 5, 1965, Anne Sajdera was a “Navy brat,” largely growing up in the busy fleet center of San Diego, California. Her maternal grandfather was a professional musician in the Chicago area up until the 1940s, and even though he passed away when she was quite young, his love of music left an imprint on the family and inspired her grandmother to make sure Anne received piano lessons. She maintained a steady diet of Chopin waltzes, Bach inventions, and Beethoven sonatas in her piano studies, but at the age of 13 became intrigued by Chick Corea’s My Spanish Heart. Adolescent explorations into other kinds of music helped her to find a tight circle of musical friends who often gathered to play and perform together. After relocating to the Bay Area in 1985, she auditioned at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and was accepted as a piano performance major, studying under Peggy Salkind, and then switching to a composition major at the end of her sophomore year, studying under Elinor Armer. 

Sajdera’s investigation of jazz picked up pace while still at the Conservatory, listening daily to Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, and finally taking flight when she began a relationship with an accomplished jazz guitarist, with whom she was soon playing casuals. A class at Berkeley’s Jazzschool with the great Brazilian pianist/composer Marcos Silva sparked her enduring passion for Brazilian music. Before long she was gigging around the Bay Area with her own band Pelo Mar, and as an original member of Bat Makumba. 

Her debut album, 2012’s Azul, also reflects this deep and abiding passion, mixing her ravishing original pieces with classic tunes by the Brazilian masters. It received a place on one of Jazziz magazine’s 2012 Critics Polls and was named one of Latin Jazz Corner’s Great Latin Jazz Albums. The long-awaited follow-up, 2018’s New Year, took on a more straight-ahead postbop aesthetic and won Sajdera another round of critical acclaim. The six-year gap between New Year and It’s Here was, of course, necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic (which pre-empted Sajdera’s initial plan to record her third album in 2020). Yet it was also the pandemic that inspired the state of thoughtful reflection that gives her third album its essential character of fond remembrance and hopeful outlook. 

Anne Sajdera will perform a CD release show, in two sets (5:00 & 7:00pm), at Keys Jazz Bistro in San Francisco on Sunday 10/6, and a CD release/birthday show, in two sets (6:00 & 7:30pm), at Mr. Tipple’s, San Francisco on Friday 11/8.

Jason Jackson | Looking Up

The seeds of success in music were planted before Jason Jackson concluded his ten-year military career three years ago. Now set to release his third recording project on October 25 and his first for the MBF Entertainment label, the R&B/jazz saxophonist is fervently energized by his upward trajectory, a feeling that permeates the nine new songs that he wrote with his producer, 16-time Billboard chart-topper Adam Hawley. The ten-track “Looking Up” arrives on October 25. 

Jackson hit the Billboard top 20 in 2021, two months after he completed his Navy service. Each project he released has taken him another step up in the soul-jazz marketplace. As Jackson steadily raises his profile, one constant force has been Hawley. “Looking Up” continues their fruitful creative partnership. In addition to producing and playing multiple instruments (guitar, keyboards, and programming) on the album and cowriting the material, Hawley signed Jackson to his MBF Entertainment imprint.     

Jackson’s recordings are personal and thematic, reflecting not just where he is in his music career, but emblematic of where he is at in his life. 

“My first record, the ‘Movin’ On’ EP, was written as I was transitioning out of the US Navy. My first full-length album, ‘All In,’ was conceived after I saw the success of the first record and decided that I wanted to pursue being a solo artist for real. This new record, ‘Looking Up,’ comes at a time when all of the pieces are finally starting to fall into place. I’ve signed with an amazing label (MBF) and I’m getting lots of opportunities to play with well established artists like Adam (Hawley), Rick Braun, Chieli Minucci, and Julian Vaughn. I’ve also had the wonderful opportunity to play shows and festivals as a solo artist such as Marcus Anderson’s MAJACE and Berks Jazz Fest. To me, this record represents that all of the hard work, pushing through slim odds, self-doubt, and setbacks were all worth it and that things are, well, looking up,” said Jackson who lives in Virginia just outside of Washington, DC.  

Jackson’s debut single, “All The Way,” featured Vaughn’s rubbery basslines and the two reconnect to open “Looking Up” with the uber funky and fun “Bump,” which was cowritten by keyboardist Judah Sealy. Keyboardist Caleb Middleton cowrote four songs with Jackson and Hawley for the album, the first of which is “Intentional,” a deliberate midtempo groove. Braun, a seminal figure in the genre who has notched 30 Billboard No. 1 singles, features on “Upside Down,” the next single that will be going for playlist adds on September 23.   

“‘Upside Down’ was the first track that Adam and I wrote for this album. We both knew it was special from the incredibly early demo. It’s got such great swag and a hook you could listen to on repeat all day. We knew we wanted a special featured artist on this track, and I thought ‘Why not shoot for the stars?’ literally. Rick Braun has been one of my favorite artists for as long as I can remember. I remember buying the ‘Shake It Up’ album from a music store at the mall and absolutely wore it out. I recently played a show with him in Norfolk, VA and found out that he is not just an amazing player, but a wonderful person as well. We had to get him on this track! Only in an ‘upside down’ world would I ever think that Rick and I would be playing a song together, much less on my record,” gushed Jackson.  

Two-time Grammy-winning bassist Mel Brown and drummer Eric Valentine dispense the beats and rhythms on “With The Get Down” on which Jackson’s sweaty sax gets way down. “Stay Awhile” pleads its case via an inviting soul-pop melody simmering atop a cozy R&B groove.  

Earlier this year while still in the studio, Jackson previewed the album with the single “Daybreak,” which features a collaboration with another genre stalwart, Special EFX guitarist Minucci, who illumines the vibrant track with gorgeous nylon guitar light, forming a striking combo with the saxophonist’s emotional soprano horn.

“This track is a throwback that conjures up images of when I was a kid in the middle and high school bands and listened to every contemporary jazz CD that I could get my hands on, all while wishing that I could play like that someday. You could say that those years were the very start of my passion for this genre and the early dawn or ‘Daybreak’ of my long musical journey to come,” Jackson shared. 

The album title track brims with confidence, promise and optimism. “I like for all of my records - and record titles - to present a snapshot of where I am to the listener, not just musically but in my life. I think ‘Looking Up’ is a statement song for my today and outlook for what lies ahead,” said Jackson. 

Keyboardist Carnell Harrell cowrote the next two tunes for the album, including the robust R&B “Rewind,” on which Jackson lets loose some fierce alto saxophone play. “Silver” is a bouncy, head-bobbing  flashback with its old-school go-go beat breakdown etched by bassist Dwayne "Smitty" Smith and Valentine’s drums.   

“Looking Up” concludes with a look back. Jackson spotlights R&B vocalist L Young to pay homage to the legendary Luther Vandross by putting their own spin on “Take You Out Tonight.” They break down the track to an intimate acoustic groove augmented by expressive soprano sax, Hawley’s guitar, Ian Martin’s bass and Ramon Yslas’s percussion. 

“Luther has always been a special artist to me ever since his greatest hits CD was dropped into my candy bag one Halloween night. To this day, I don’t know why that person decided that I needed some Luther in my life more than a Snickers bar, but I’m glad he did! That CD ignited my love for R&B. I’ve always wanted to cover a Luther song, and I think this unplugged vibe is the perfect way to end the record,” said Jackson.    

Over the Labor Day Weekend, Jackson joined Hawley for a Saturday night (August 31) performance at the LOVAM Jazz Festival in Omaha, NE. Later this month, Jackson will be performing aboard fellow saxman Dave Koz’s Somma Italia Cruise. Other concert dates prior to the album release include October 11 at the Church Street Jazz Series in Norfolk, VA and October 20 at the Myrtle Beach Jazz Festival. After the album releases, Jackson will hit the stage on November 6 with guitarist JJ Sansaverino at Jazz Legacy in Hampton, VA. 

Jackson was a teenager studying under the tutelage of James Brown’s longtime saxophonist Leroy Harper Jr. when he opened for Brian McKnight, Morris Day and the Time, KC and the Sunshine Band, and Michael McDonald. He went on to perform all over the world as a member of the Navy’s band, taking the stage in international locales such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Australia, and Japan. Three years ago, shortly before exiting the Navy, Jackson sent a demo recording to Hawley. The two have been linked ever since. 

Jackson’s “Looking Up” album contains the following songs: 

• “Bump” featuring Julian Vaughn
• “Intentional”
• “Upside Down” featuring Rick Braun
• “With The Get Down”
• “Stay Awhile”
• “Daybreak” featuring Chieli Minucci
• “Looking Up”
• “Rewind”
• “Silver”
• “Take You Out Tonight” featuring L Young

Aaron Parks | Little Big III

Acclaimed pianist and composer Aaron Parks returns to Blue Note Records with the October 18 release of Little Big III, the third studio album from his band Little Big featuring guitarist Greg Tuohey, bassist David Ginyard Jr., and drummer Jongkuk Kim. The heady lead single “Delusions” is out now.

Little Big III is the second album that Parks has recorded on Blue Note as a bandleader, following 2008’s Invisible Cinema, a powerfully modern, post-genre concept for improvised music in the 21st century that recently received it’s first-ever vinyl release as part of Blue Note’s Classic Vinyl Reissue Series. Invisible Cinema was a touchstone for so much of the atmospheric, indie-tinged jazz that came after and the catalyst for Parks to develop the working band that became Little Big.

Parks’ new album, co-produced by the pianist with Blue Note President Don Was, underscores the evolution of that vision, and that artist. With its shared writing credits and dynamic, streamlined production, Little Big III also reflects the vision of a bandleader who’s learned that letting go fosters greater inspiration than holding the reins tight. “There’s something about this record that feels like it captures the energy of the band in a more raw and honest way,” Parks says.

As Little Big III unfolds, the only thing more striking than the concise, accessible writing is the vibrancy of the ensemble: the empathy with which guitar and piano meld, sidestepping any surplus of harmonic information; Kim’s taste and finesse; the way Ginyard functions compositionally on the low end, anchoring this seemingly intuitive, slippery music.

For the pianist, crafting the album was an exercise in “letting the band itself start to show me what it sounded like, rather than me trying to control it all the time.” It follows that Parks is now at a stage in his life where acceptance, humility and levity are crucial — as a husband and a father, and as someone who has diligently worked on his wellness and mental health. At 40, Parks finds he’s able to “take the music itself more seriously, because I’m taking myself a little less seriously.”

Throughout Little Big III, the band’s kinship is palpable. There’s a vitality at play on the record that is extraordinary; beautiful and raw in equal measure. “While this record feels the most supple and alive,” Parks explains, “it also feels like the most focused album Little Big has recorded — the most distilled down to the essence.”

AARON PARKS – TOUR DATES:

• Nov. 15 – Bozar – Brussels, Belgium
• Nov. 16 – Alter Schlachthof – Eupen, Belgium
• Nov. 17 – Musig Im Pflegidach – Muri, Switzerland
• Nov. 19 – Kultur Worx – Kreuzlingen, Switzerland
• Nov. 20 – Świdnickie Noce Jazzowe – Świdnica, Poland
• Nov. 21 – Blue Note – Poznan, Poland
• Nov. 22 – Jassmine – Warsaw, Poland
• Nov. 23 – 40 Głogowskie Spotkania Jazzowe – Glogów, Poland
• Nov. 24 – Jazz Club Pod Filarami – Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland
• Nov. 26 – Casino – Wittlich, Germany
• Nov. 27 – Theaterhaus Jazzstage – Stuttgart, Germany
• Nov. 28 – Stadtgarten – Germany, Köln
• Nov. 29 – Jazz Dock – Prague, Czech Republic
• Nov. 30 – Il Torrione – Ferrara, Italy
• Dec. 2 – Jazz Café – London, UK

Richard Elliot | Straight Up Down

If you are one of the lucky ones, you can recall a moment in time when a portal to an entire new world was opened for you, and a fire was lit within. For Richard Elliot, that moment was when his sister, ten years his senior, took a leap of faith and invited him to listen to her record collection. The only caveat was that he takes good care of her records and put them back where they belong. Elliot not only took good care of the music, but the music has been taking care of him for over four decades. The chart-topping Grammy-nominated saxophonist recalls, “My sister had everything from Joni Mitchell, Carlos Santana and Dave Brubeck to Smokey Robinson, The Temptations and The Four Tops. I got a chance to be exposed at a young age to a lot of great music.” That inspiration ran deep, and Elliot went on to work with all three of the aforementioned Motown legends. His enviable credits also include a five-year stint with the funk and soul horns of Tower of Power and when he was just a lad worked with Natalie Cole and the Pointer Sisters. A man of many talents, Elliot, who once moonlighted as a software engineer, is also a pilot. In fact, the saxman is in the process of building his own two-seat plane in his garage. On September 6, 2024, the Scottish-born, LA raised and San Diego based renaissance man will release his 21st recording as a leader, Straight Up Down, on Shanachie Entertainment.  He shares, “I feel incredibly fortunate that I am allowed to do this as a career and even more grateful that I have been able to do it for as long as I have. It’s all about being honest and truthful in my music and never taking it all for granted.” Elliot provides maximum cruise control on Straight Up Down, an inspired collection of nine tracks, eight of which are originals. The album’s solid and alluring material shine a light on Richard Elliot’s signature soulful and bluesy approach which seamlessly combines his technical prowess and unbridled passion with the finer elements of Jazz, Blues, Pop, R&B and Rock.

“Very Delicious,” is a sumptuous and spirited affair reminiscent of the bluesy soul of John Handy’s 1970s hit “Hard Work.” The selection of “Very Delicious” as an album opener and first single is perfect as Elliot’s supple and agile tenor lines twist and turn to delight elevating the mood and urge you to join in and clap along. “When Jeff Carruthers sent me the track,” he explains, “what I set out to do was come up with a melody that was kind of more hooky. The song is a bit nostalgic, and I love things that are nostalgic. I always feel that it's important to pay homage to what came before us and to choose vibes, grooves and melody lines that speak to where the genre started.”

“Dexter (Gordon) is still my guy. I was around 18 years-old when I went to a club called Concerts By The Sea in Los Angeles. It was truly a life changing moment for me,” shares Richard Elliot. “This big man came out on stage with this low voice and this huge tenor sound. I had already been playing for a few years but when I heard him, I thought to myself ‘I'm doomed. I will never ever come up with a sound anywhere near this guy.’ It really was life changing to hear him play.” Inspired by Dexter and the likes of other tenor legends like Johnny Griffin, Gene Ammons, Coleman Hawkins, Grover Washington Jr. and Michael Brecker, Richard Elliot has managed to carve out this own niche out of his rich caldron of influences. Richard Elliot has scored more than 20 Top 10 Smooth Jazz singles and #1 Contemporary Jazz albums. His debut solo album, Trolltown was released in 1986 and shortly thereafter he began a fruitful relationship with Bruce Lundvall and was signed to Blue Note Records.  A few of his other stand out releases include 2016’s Summer Madness albums including On The Town, Soul Embrace, After Dark, and Jumpin’ Off. His 2013 collaboration with saxophonists Dave Koz Gerald Albright and Mindi Abair, Summer Horns. Elliot’s last recorded Authentic Life was released in 2021 and joined together an A-list line up including Rick Braun, Dave Koz, Jeff Lorber, Chris “Big Dog” Davis, Philippe Saisse and. David Mann

 

The ultimate family man, Richard Elliot confides, “I love spending time with my family. My wife and I have five children and it is a joy watching them pursue their careers and their lives.” He is also a self-proclaimed foodie. He and wife Camella enjoy the pursuit of discovering new places to eat. Richard and his wife also run a foundation that donates to worthy causes that benefit youth and young adults including the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, St. Judes, and the San Diego area dance organization TranscenDANCE. With the release of Straight Up Down Elliot concludes, “If there's a few people out there that enjoy or feel impacted or moved by what I do, then I feel like I've accomplished something. If my music affects them in a positive way, then I am happy.”