The Sofia Goodman Group | Receptive

Sofia Goodman continues her meteoric ascent in the jazz world with Receptive, her release on Joyous Records. The much-lauded Nashville drummer-composer presents on her third album a profoundly personal cycle of eight original compositions that explore the human values that she holds most dear. The team that augments her journey through her inner self includes the latest incarnation of the renowned Sofia Goodman Group—trumpeter Blaise Hearn, trombonist Desmond Ng, saxophonists Dan Hitchcock and Jovan Quallo, pianist Alex Murphy, bassist Leland Nelson, and percussionist Jimmy Lopez—as well as Grammy-nominated musician and recent Nashville transplant Pascal Le Boeuf, who serves as producer. 

Receptive represents a careful refinement of the rich, expansive approach that was the hallmark of Goodman’s previous album, 2023’s Secrets of the Shore. It offers the same panoply of grooves, lush harmonies, and textural colors, delivered in a variety of introspective moods (befitting their titles) as well as with a fresh compositional and conceptual confidence. 

She attributes this in part to the involvement of Le Boeuf, her first experience with an outside producer. “He’d want us to really experiment and get into new territory and get out of our heads to try new things,” Goodman says. “Having him in the studio raised the bar for everybody there, because he’s such an amazing talent.”

Let there be no doubt, however, that Goodman is the leader; Receptive is her vision. From the sweet warmth of the opening “Trust,” to the suspenseful stop-time and driving swing of “The Space Within,” to the knowing contentment (and again, driving swing) of the closing title track, the drummer’s presence both literal and psychic is unmistakable.

But that doesn’t mean the other Group members aren’t powerful presences in their own right. Quallo’s gorgeous flute illuminates the charming “Allow,” both in his pacific reading of the melody and his gymnastic solo (which Lopez follows with a purposeful solo statement of his own). Nelson and Ng each offer sharp-eared melodic submissions on “Presence,” while “Socket” finds Goodman’s thoughtfully improvised drums leading the whole Group into a dark, querulous free counterpoint that calls upon the listener to be receptive indeed.

Sofia Goodman was born December 22, 1987, in Michigan, but adopted as an infant by a family living near Boston, Massachusetts. There her musical pursuits began with childhood piano lessons. A friend’s drum kit, however, quickly stole both her ears and her heart. 

She was a punk-rock kid when she attended Berklee College of Music’s Summer Program—but a class there taught by bassist esperanza spalding turned her head. She enrolled in Berklee’s undergraduate program, determined to hone her craft as a drummer, and gradually made her way deeper into jazz as she was earning her degree in Drum Set Performance. 

Goodman’s postcollege life in Boston was suddenly upended by a fire that consumed her apartment in the city. Needing a fresh start, she relocated to Music City, USA, also known as Nashville, Tennessee. It was an ideal place for a young freelance musician to live and work—and, as it turned out, the city’s concert halls and recording studios were filled with far more than just the country music it’s best known for.

Goodman plied her skills with musicians of all stripes, at the same time studying composition for a master’s degree from Belmont University. It was only a short time before she was ready to form her own band. Those early efforts would evolve into what is now the Sofia Goodman Group, building a following throughout the South and into the Midwest. Her first album, 2018’s Myriad of Flowers, received a nomination for Best Jazz Album from the Nashville Industry Music Awards. With Secrets of the Shore, Goodman’s 2023 follow-up, she won that award, and began as well to gain national recognition in the greater jazz community. Receptive, her third effort, pushes her further still on the path to success.

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SANTANA ANNOUNCES 2025 RESIDENCY DATES AT HOUSE OF BLUES LAS VEGAS

As he prepares for an electrifying return to the House of Blues inside Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino this week, Carlos Santana is thrilled to announce additional performances for his residency, An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live: Presented by SiriusXM. Scheduled for January, February, and May 2025, this marks the 13th year of Santana's captivating residency at the iconic venue, known for its unparalleled energy and connection with fans.

Santana's residency promises an unforgettable live experience, showcasing the legendary guitarist's greatest hits, which have redefined the landscape of rock, blues, and Latin music over the decades. Known for his distinctive sound and electrifying performances, Santana has captivated audiences worldwide, earning numerous awards, including 10 Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards.

This intimate concert setting allows fans to experience Santana’s music up close, creating an atmosphere that amplifies the emotional resonance of his timeless songs. The band features some of the most talented musicians in the industry, bringing vibrant arrangements and dynamic performances to every show. Attendees can expect classics like "Smooth," "Maria Maria," and "Evil Ways," alongside newer material that reflects Santana’s ongoing evolution as an artist.

2025 Performance Dates:

January: 22, 23, 25, 26, 29, 30

February: 1, 2

May: 14, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25

Fan Club Presale Information: The presale for fans begins on Tuesday, October 29, at 10 AM PT. To participate, fans should log into their Fan Club account and visit the Santana.com Tour Page. 

Carlos Santana, born on July 20, 1947, in Autlán de Navarro, Mexico, is an iconic musician known for his groundbreaking fusion of rock, Latin music, and blues. Rising to fame in the late 1960s with hits like "Black Magic Woman" and "Oye Como Va," Santana has sold over 100 million records worldwide. His innovative guitar work and distinctive sound have influenced countless artists and continue to resonate with fans across generations.

Santana is not just a musician; he is a cultural icon and a humanitarian. Through the Milagro Foundation, he supports education and health programs for underserved children around the world, demonstrating his commitment to social change and empowerment. Discover Santana.

Steve Davis | We See

Trombonist Steve Davis was still in his late teens when he first shared the stage with trumpet master Eddie Henderson. While studying with Jackie McLean at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music he frequented the 880 Club, which regularly hosted big-name players from New York on Thursday nights. At the urging of house pianist Don DePalma, Davis sat in with Dr. Henderson, who put the young trombonist through his paces by calling “There Is No Greater Love,” then invited him to remain while he led the band through Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage” and “Dolphin Dance.”

At the end of the set, Henderson encouraged Davis, telling him, “Man, you're going to be a star one day.”

That prediction has long since been fulfilled. Davis is revered as one of the leading trombone voices in modern jazz, featured on more than 100 recordings with such legends as Freddie Hubbard, Chick Corea, Horace Silver, Cedar Walton and Hank Jones. He served a brief tenure in the formidable ranks of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and later co-founded the all-star sextet One For All. JazzTimes called him, “an updated amalgam of J.J. Johnson and Slide Hampton,” hailing his “inventive ear for harmony and passion for melody,” while no less an icon than Freddie Hubbard lauded him as “one of the greatest trombone players in the world.”

So to call the ensemble that Davis has assembled for his latest Smoke Sessions release, We See, an all-star sextet is definitely no exaggeration. The album features Eddie Henderson on trumpet – that first encounter in Hartford has blossomed into a nearly four-decade collaboration and friendship – along with tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore, pianist Renee Rosnes, bassist Essiet Essiet, drummer Lewis Nash. Recorded live at Smoke Jazz & Supper Club, We See is the latest release in a series of live recordings celebrating the 25th anniversary of the club and the tenth anniversary of its record label.

We See continues Davis’ tradition of conjuring unparalleled three-horn frontlines for his Smoke Sessions releases. “Having three voices on the frontline is always a pleasure and an inspiration,” he says. “Not only because of the possibilities for harmony and texture, but also to draw inspiration from the incredible soloists flowing together and in juxtaposition to one another. It’s amazing to hear the creativity that everybody brings.”

The album’s title, of course, is borrowed from the Thelonious Monk classic of the same name, featured here in a bracingly swinging rendition. The “We” half hints at the many connections represented in the band, which extend to the liner notes penned by the trombonist’s father, journalist Jeff Davis. A lifelong jazz aficionado, the elder Davis would volunteer to cover notable jazz performances coming to Binghamton, NY, and wrote liner notes for albums by Buster Williams, Larry Coryell and Joe Beck.

Davis’ history with Henderson has included countless performances and recordings, including Davis’ 2015 Smoke Sessions release Say When. Moore, Rosnes and Nash all played together with trombonist J.J. Johnson, one of Davis’ heroes. Essiet and Davis served together as Jazz Messengers, while the trombonist has worked often with Nash, including on 2017’s Think Ahead and with the Dizzy Gillespie All-Stars and the Jimmy Heath Big Band.

Other connections can be traced, allowing the band to draw on well-honed chemistry while experiencing the thrill of a first-time meeting of all six on stage together. Rather than confront the band with new music to navigate, the bandleader called a set of smartly chosen classics, each one fertile ground for this superb band to stretch out and explore.

“We had very little written music on stage, so we could maintain a very natural, spontaneous feeling,” Davis enthuses. “But within that, some really beautiful ensemble playing shined through, along with plenty of freewheeling, swinging, hard playing. The approach was to take all this experience and friendship and seasoning and just play some jazz.” (The emphasis makes clear that this is not as easy as it sounds – at least not on the intended level.)

Rosnes echoes the leader’s enthusiasm. “Joining forces with these magnificent musicians on the Smoke stage was a joy,” the pianist says. “Our many years of friendship come through in the music, and every set was filled with excitement, discovery, and good vibes.”

The setlist includes favorites by the likes of Monk, Miles Davis, and Freddie Hubbard, but Larry Willis’ stentorian “To Wisdom, The Prize” stands out. Not just a stellar composition, the piece provided an opportunity to pay homage to the great pianist, who passed away in 2019. Willis became one of Davis’ closest collaborators over the years, serving a foundational role on many of the trombonist’s albums, including Think Ahead with Nash. “Larry Willis was a dear friend and very close to many of us in the band,” Davis says. “All of us loved him and loved his music, and ‘To Wisdom, The Prize’ is a modern classic. I hope this recording helps to honor Larry and his great works.”

Extending the use of the Monk title from the album to a name for what will hopefully be a recurring band is a wise choice on Davis’ part. Its conciseness is reminiscent of Muhammad Ali’s famously terse two-word poem, “Me / We.” A mere one letter longer, We See captures the myriad qualities of the sextet: its collective and communal spirit, as well as its forward-looking approach and the visionary qualities of each member.

“We've seen a lot collectively and individually,” Davis says. “We're continuing to see and search right now. It’s so gratifying to be in the midst of all that musicality and creativity.”

“We See" was produced by Paul Stache, and recorded live in New York at Smoke Jazz Club at 96KHz/24bit. Available in audiophile HD format, on limited 180g LP, and on 8-panel digipak CD. 

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Lucian Ban, Mat Maneri | Transylvanian Dance

Transylvanian Dance takes as its starting point transcriptions of folk songs and dance tunes collected by Béla Bartók a century ago. For Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri, these pieces have become “springboards and sources of melodic material” for performances “that capture the spirit of the original yet allow us to improvise and bring our own world to them…” Ban explains: “In our process we don’t have any preconceived notions of how we should arrange these songs. Some take a very improvisational approach. Some are more defined compositionally and harmonically. And others combine the folk material with original motives of ours. If you go deeper into the source material, new vistas are opening.

Recorded live in October 2022 in the context of the Retracing Bartók project in Timișoara, the album also bears testimony to the finely attuned understanding that Ban and Maneri have achieved in their long-running musical partnership.

The Romanian-born pianist and the US violist first played together in 2009, when the George Enescu Festival in Bucharest invited Ban to “re-imagine” Enescu’s music for a cast of jazz players. Maneri’s particular background, informed by classical and contemporary music as well as improvisation, made him an ideal partner for the project. A duet album, Transylvanian Concert (ECM 2313) soon followed, and Ban and Maneri have since collaborated in numerous undertakings, often playing in each other’s bands. Developing the music from the Transylvanian folk transcriptions has become a priority in recent years, with both players finding new freedoms in the material. On the present album, Mat Maneri, taking heed of Bartók’s observations about the “connective tissue” linking the musics of the world, subtly draws influence from Arabian, West African and Korean music as well as from the richly divergent folk sources of Transylvania in his uniquely liquid viola playing.

Lucian Ban moved from Romania to the US in 1999 to get closer to the jazz world that had long inspired him but has latterly drawn on earlier memories in his work. Raised in the rural community of Teaca in Transylvania, some of the first sounds Ban recalls are of traditional music played in the villages. On Transylvanian Dance such recollections come to the surface. But ‘jazz’, of course, is never far away. On “The Boyar’s Doina”, for example, the duo draws inspiration from Duke Ellington’s “Fleurette Africaine”, and explores connections between the doina and the blues…

Mat Maneri first appeared on ECM almost 30 years ago, on 1995’s Three Men Walking, one of several albums with his saxophonist/clarinettist father, the improviser, composer and sound poet Joe Maneri. Subsequent recordings with Joe included In Full Cry and the duo album Blessed. Tales of Rohnlief and Angles of Repose featured the Maneris’ collaborations with bassist Barre Phillips. Mat has also been heard on ECM albums with Robin Williamson and Ches Smith, as well as his own solo violin album Trinity.

Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri bring the music of Transylvanian Dance on the road in the months ahead, with concerts on both sides of the Atlantic. 

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Vince Guaraldi | You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown

Lee Mendelson Film Productions (LMFP) is thrilled to announce the release – for the first time ever – of the complete Vince Guaraldi soundtrack for You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown, the timeless 8th animated Peanuts® special, from writer and creator Charles Schulz, director Bill Melendez and producers Melendez and Lee Mendelson. Originally airing on October 29, 1972 on CBS-TV, the special is currently available for streaming on Apple TV+.

All versions of the album include the original 16 recordings that comprise the song cues of the special – with extended performances never available before now – plus another nine bonus or alternative tracks never heard before.

Guaraldi brought Dixieland jazz, his classic favorites, and even his voice (for the first time in a Peanuts special) to the score for Linus’s campaign for student body president.

Some highlights include: the complete (over five minutes) “Joe Cool” where Guaraldi sings about one of Snoopy’s most famous alter egos; multiple versions of “Incumbent Waltz” written for the special; probably his saddest tune in “Deserted Charlie Brown”; classic Linus and Lucy updated for the ’70s; and several of the eponymous “You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown” tunes. There are bonus tracks for “Joe Cool,” alternate takes of songs like “Blue Charlie Brown” and a bonus of “African Sleigh Ride,” which they ended recording a different version of for a latter special.

When the session tapes were rediscovered, it became apparent that many of the songs had been cut down or edited (or replaced) for time or feel within the special for its final edit. This release resurrects many of those performances to their original full length. And for the first time they can be appreciated on their own, not underneath dialogue or effects from the special.

The recording features Guaraldi (piano, electric piano, vocals and guitar), Seward McCain (bass and flute), Tom Harrell (trumpet), Glenn Cronkhite (drums), Mel Martin (woodwinds), Pat O‘Hara (trombone) and John Scott Trotter as the music supervisor. The soundtrack was produced by Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson; remixed at Bones and Knives by Terry Carleton and restored and re-mastered by Vinson Hudson.

The album became available September 6, 2024, including an exclusive vinyl variant in Woodstock Yellow LP via Record Store Day Indie Exclusive, available at participating stores. A 12” LP in black, a CD of all 25 tracks, and a complete digital release are also available. Order here.

The records and CDs are all eco-minded: The records are made with BioVinyl, a new and unique product that replaces petroleum in S-PVC by recycling used cooking oil or industrial waste. There will be a 100% CO2 savings compared to traditional PVC vinyl, without sacrificing any acoustic or optical quality. Each record comes in a reusable, compostable PLA bag that is made from 99% renewable material, and the jacket, label, and liner notes are all made from sustainably forested trees for minimum ecological harm. The CDs are also made of recycled material, and their paper inserts are from sustainably forested trees as well.

The physical copies will include liner notes that give a track-by-track analysis by Derrick Bang and notes from Sean Mendelson, son of Peanuts producer Lee Mendelson and co-producer of the record. The LP liner notes are four pages, the CD liner notes are eight pages, and all versions contain images from the special. The LP release also includes rare photographs and images from the original tape boxes recently re-discovered that led to this release.

The characters of Peanuts and related intellectual property are owned by Peanuts Worldwide, which is 41% owned by WildBrain Ltd., 39% owned by Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., and 20% owned by the family of Charles M. Schulz, who first introduced the world to Peanuts in 1950, when the comic strip debuted in seven newspapers. Since then, Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of the Peanuts gang have made an indelible mark on popular culture. In addition to enjoying beloved Peanuts shows and specials on Apple TV+, fans of all ages celebrate the Peanuts brand worldwide through thousands of consumer products, as well as amusement park attractions, cultural events, social media, and comic strips available in all formats, from traditional to digital. In 2018, Peanuts partnered with NASA on a multi-year Space Act Agreement designed to inspire a passion for space exploration and STEM among the next generation of students.

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Luther Vandross | Never Too Much: Greatest Hits

"Never Too Much: Greatest Hits," set for release on December 13, features 20 tracks across two CDs that showcase the highlights of Luther Vandross' solo career. This collection includes timeless hits from his extensive catalog, such as "Never Too Much," "Here and Now," "Power of Love/Love Power," "I'd Rather," and "Dance with My Father." Fans will also be treated to four rare and unreleased tracks. Notably, a cover of The Beatles' "Michelle". This track was unearthed by longtime friend and collaborator Fonzi Thornton from Vandross' archives, labeled simply with the title and a date of June 1, 1989. The 2CD set will feature an exclusive radio edit, while both the full version and the radio edit will appear on the CD and double vinyl editions.

In addition to these gems, the compilation includes the unreleased outtake "Speak Your Love," a new remix of "Never Too Much" by Belgian DJ Lost Frequencies, and a rare radio mix of "Get Myself Together," recorded during the 1979 sessions for "Never Too Much" and later released in 2016 on a project by Bronx producer Louie Vega, one half of the Masters At Work duo.

Renowned for his smooth, velvety voice, Vandross seamlessly traversed disco hits and heartfelt ballads. His music significantly shaped the sound of the '80s and '90s, yet his influence often feels underappreciated, especially following his passing in 2005 due to complications from a stroke two years earlier. Vandross was a dedicated figure in soul and pop music. Before signing with Epic Records, he made a name for himself performing at venues like The Apollo in Harlem and with the theater group Listen My Brother, which participated in the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival documented in Questlove's Oscar-winning film, Summer of Soul. During the '70s, he became a sought-after backing vocalist, contributing to albums by Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway, David Bowie, and CHIC, among others.

Vandross also sang commercial jingles, wrote "Everybody Rejoice/A Brand New Day" for the Broadway musical The Wiz, and led a vocal group that struggled commercially, prompting him to purchase the masters to prevent their release (though these recordings were later made available on CD by Legacy). He was also the voice behind the European disco project Change, whose hit "The Glow of Love" topped dance charts.

Nearly all of Vandross' studio albums achieved platinum or multiplatinum status in the U.S., alongside three compilations and three singles. His accolades include eight Grammy Awards and eight American Music Awards, as well as a posthumous induction into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2021. Known for his privacy regarding personal matters, "Luther: Never Too Much" aims to provide a fuller portrait of the man behind the music, while "Never Too Much: Greatest Hits" invites fans to explore the rich musical legacy he left behind.

"Never Too Much: Greatest Hits" will be available in stores on December 13. A streaming version of the documentary "Luther: Never Too Much" is anticipated to premiere on Max in 2025. Pre-orders for the album are available below. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Amazon

Emaginario | Interlude of the Duende

World-traversed and genre-fluid guitarist Ethan Margolis, aka “Emaginario,” is a prime example of an artist who has become greater than the sum of his many parts and pathways. Through the eclectic filter of his musical passions, studies and influences, Margolis has evolved into a creative and worldly artist, whose deep connections with Romaní people, flamenco, jazz, blues and even punk coalesce into a unique musical voice.

Elements of that Margolis style can be heard coming to fruition on his forthcoming album, Interlude of the Duende, in trio form with jazz masters Larry Grenadier and drummer Eric Harland, released on Ropeadope. 

Duende, the Spanish word in the title, has been called “a heightened state of emotion, expression and authenticity” and is often connected with flamenco and the Andalusian Romaní population. On this recording, the term appropriately reflects the complexity of the music, the power of the collaboration itself and more broadly Margolis’ life experience in Spain and beyond.

Margolis, who spent more than two decades playing guitar within Spain’s Romaní community, continues to translate that rhythmic language into American jazz formats and recordings in the vein of Hungarian Roma guitarist Gabor Szabó and the jazz-flamenco crossover playing of Lenny Breau.

“Initially I wrote the compositions for my style of guitar playing and out of my love for roots-based genres such as blues, flamenco and jazz,” Margolis says of Interlude of the Duende. “I had full ideas for congas, bongo, batá, and shakers in these compositions but circumstance brought drummer Eric Harland to the session, and we worked together to harness the essence of the drums in the songs.”

Of the upright bass aspects and Grenadier’s participation, Margolis says, “Larry played with a masterful accompanist-mentality staying ‘out of the way’ of the guitar very naturally but at the same time keeping the groove moving forward as needed — check out ‘Solace and Descent’ as a reference to this. He also plays some really special stuff on ‘Continuance’ and ‘A Beating Heart.’”

Margolis wrote out several of the bass parts on the record so that harmonically he might achieve a natural fusion of sounds for his style. He adds, “I am extremely sensitive to the frequency clashes between acoustic guitars and upright basses, so understanding where the bass might play is an important aspect to my comfort zone as an improviser. The tunings and keys were deliberate compositional tools to highlight the acoustic guitar as a world jazz instrument and I wanted to play equal parts ‘finger style’ as well as ‘picking.’”

Illustrating the diverse reach of his musical impulses, Margolis initially ventured into his debut “world jazz” album, Soleángeles, in 2014, during a period of live activity at venerated Los Angeles jazz venues The Blue Whale and The Baked Potato. From another hybridized corner of his musical mind comes the 2015 album Sonikete Blues. Recorded both in Spain and the USA, that album proposed an inventive merging of flamenco and Delta blues—idioms with more emotional and fringe socio-cultural connections than might be expected. 

Following these two albums would be a 2016 EP and video release of Speakeasy Session alongside Miles Davis’s alumni pianist, Deron Johnson, the 2020 electronic jazz EP, Arsa 100, with pianist, Chano Domínguez, a 2022 piano and voice duo EP with Cuban virtuoso pianist, Caramelo de Cuba, En Madrid, and lastly a 2023 full length release of his original songs, Songs of Mind which garnered an editor’s choice selection from JAZZIZ and a ‘best of the rest of 2023’ write-up from Goldmine Magazine.

Entrenched by now in his still-maturing musical saga, Margolis continues the process of finding surprising–yet also logical–connections in the many strands of his musical life’s tapestry. He is an artist firmly in sync with an era of redefining of musical identities, in flamenco, jazz and other formerly fixed musical genres. In effect, Margolis has found himself in both the roots and various offshoots, and his own links thereof, within the music world.

Devin Daniels | LesGo!

Hailing from the vibrant Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, CA, alto saxophonist Devin Daniels stands out as one of the most unique and versatile voices to emerge from LA’s rapidly evolving creative music landscape. After honing his craft at the Berklee College of Music and FocusYear Basel, Daniels was selected to study at the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Studies at UCLA (class of 2023) where he was mentored by luminaries Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. Daniels then spent the early part of 2024 as the Artist-In-Residence at the esteemed 18th Street Arts Organization, during which time he composed much of the music that ended up being recorded for this exciting new album, LesGo!

Recorded live at LA’s westside jazz club, Sam First for their in-house label Sam First Records, LesGo!, which captures the live, unadulterated energy from five exceptionally gifted LA-based musicians– trumpeter Julien Knowles, pianist Chris Fishman, bassist Jermaine Paul and drummer Benjamin Ring. With an impressive list of collective performance credits that include Herbie Hancock, Dianne Reeves, Billy Childs and Pat Metheny, it goes without saying that these incredibly talented musicians represent a very important branch of LA’s evolving music scene.

In the album’s liner notes, esteemed jazz critic Nate Chinen explains: “What you have here is the roar of takeoff. LesGo! — say it fast, with hard emphasis on the second syllable. Then hear how Devin Daniels articulates the idea, first in the quick foreshadowing of his alto saxophone intro, and then in a composition that surges and shudders, over a chord cycle repeatedly pointing skyward. It’s a shrewd first move on an album with a declarative unity of purpose: a manifesto of sorts, for Daniels and the emerging Los Angeles peer group that populates his wildly dynamic band.”

Kicking off the album is the title track “LesGo!,” which Daniels describes as a “simple singable line that is versatile in improvisation and composition alike. I thought of opening with this song because it captures my light composition style and heavy emphasis on improvisation.”

As the lead-off tune concludes, the band seamlessly morphs into John Coltrane’s “Spiral.” Daniels says, “I was listening to a Jordan Peterson Interview on YouTube about toxic masculinity or something and he said something about moving forward in life and spiraling upward. I had never heard of spiraling upward. I thought it was only a downwards thing. Then for some reason, I thought of Coltrane’s spiral, then started thinking of this 11/8 clave I heard from a Vijay Iyer joint, Actions Speak. I thought it fit perfectly with the melody and chords, so I didn’t make any major changes.”

In 2023, Hancock invited Daniels to join him on stage at the Hollywood Bowl alongside luminaries Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette for a celebration honoring the late, great Wayne Shorter. The experience served as the impetus for Hancock inviting Daniels to join his band for a month-long US tour alongside heavyweights Terence Blanchard, Chris Potter, Lionel Loueke, James Genus and Trevor Lawrence.

“Devin is an amazing young talent creating new directions in music,” Hancock says.

Featuring top-level creative artists five nights/week, Sam First has served as a watering hole and jazz incubator for LA musicians and music lovers since its opening in 2017. Being positioned adjacent to LAX airport, just minutes from Daniels’ “home turf” of Inglewood makes it the perfect venue to celebrate a “hometown hero.”

Following suit with previous releases from Sam First Records, LesGo! is available as beautifully packaged, limited run foil-numbered 180-G vinyl LPs, and high-res digital downloads, all of which are available at samfirstrecords.com as well as a variety of record stores worldwide. Additionally, LesGo! will be available digitally exclusively on Qobuz beginning on August 9. Founded in 2007 and a pioneer in high-quality sound, Qobuz is a French music streaming and download platform for anyone who wants to fully experience and share their passion for music, making them the perfect match for Sam First Records’ hi-res releases.

Pritesh Walia | Hopetown

Jazz guitarist extraordinaire Pritesh Walia has been bubbling under the surface of wider public awareness and acclaim for several years. His nimble technical skills and deep sense of musicality has been making its mark in performances as a leader and as sideman, while his strides in education—after graduating from Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory–have helped to spread his message in that capacity.

But with the release of Walia’s impressive debut album Hopetown, featuring his guitar trio with bassist Chris Worden and drummer Gen Yoshimura, Walia is poised to go public in a more game-changing way. His long-awaited recording debut, a fresh and deep excursion into the neo-mainstream, clean-toned jazz guitar trio tradition, boldly initiates the discography portion of his career, with yet three other varied albums soon to follow. Earlier this year, he released the self-titled album with his organ trio PSA, and coming soon are albums by his big band and a special strings project.

Clearly, the New Delhi-born and currently Los Angeles-based Walia’s musical life is taking flight with a new fervor and higher profile. Hopetown makes for an auspicious introduction to Walia’s musical voice. Its ripe collection of original compositions—plus a venturesome new arrangement of The Beatles classic “Blackbird”—weave a narrative about the inner and outer life of the artist thus far.

Probably the most disarming and pleasant surprise on the album is Walia’s original, and slightly subversive, reading of “Blackbird,” which takes its place alongside a recent move in jazz to find expressive fodder in The Beatles songbook. Among the key Beatle-maniacal jazz proponents is Brad Mehldau, a strong influence on Walia who helped the guitarist look at The Beatles in jazz context. (He also points to the influence of mentors Miguel Zenon, Jerry Bergonzi, Jason Moran, Ethan Iverson and Donny McCaslin, with whom Walia has performed).

“The Beatles are like the Bach for rock and roll,” Walia comments. “A lot of their tunes almost feel like they have a form of a jazz standard.”

Walia remembers calling out “Blackbird” at a weekly jam session he led with his trio in the Boston club called The Bebop (an ongoing tradition, with Walia’s name still attached). The song “started to get solidified into something new, something that was coming up. I kept reharmonizing it, finding hits and things that I could deconstruct and reconstruct It’s pretty radically revised. I feel either people are going to like it or really hate it,” he laughs.

When it came time to record Hopetown, Walia was insistent that it be in a live way, together in a studio with sight lines between his highly empathetic bandmates. Jazz, he asserts, is “communicative music. I want to have a line of sight to cue a lot of things. Also, there’s something about visually being able to see each other that helps us improvise. There are so many moments in the music where it feels like we’re all on the same page, in the same stream of consciousness.”

Hopetown’s title tune itself stems from a vulnerable transition moment in the young Walia’s life, an epiphany on a bus trip from his work sites in Boston and New York City, passing by an idyllic small town along the route. “It seemed very calm,” he recalls, “like the place I wanted to be at. I had just finished my graduate studies and being a musician in general is tough. But then you add the fact that I’m from India and my parents have no clue about what it means to be a musician—let alone trying to be a musician in jazz. I remember singing pretty much the full melody on my phone.”

The sweet and infectious tune quickly became popular in Walia’s expanding circles, and an NEC ally Henry Godfrey created a big band version of it. “He wants to put it out and I hadn’t even put out the original,” Walia laughs.

Other songs on the album come equipped with back stories or ulterior motives, beyond their musical forms. “Thankful” expresses gratitude in a suitably gospel-hued palette. “Colors” pays musical tribute to his respect for NEC teacher Ben Schwendener, dealing with the post-George Russell’s Lydian concept developed into his book, Organic Music Theory. In the song, Walia explains, “each chord used in the song for this doesn’t have a relationship to each other. It has its own color–each vertical structure in the song. That’s what led me into writing the song.”

A Brazilian undertow tugs at the mischievous “Low Talks,” opening with a bass melody and a skittering, chattering guitar-bass melody in the body of the tune. Walia further explains that “’Low Talks’ is what I would call talking smack about anyone else. In music school and art school, you hear that quite a lot about people. It troubled me so much that as much of a community that jazz is, there’s also enough people trying to battle each other and compete. It’s a terrible position because I feel the only thing we have left is the communal aspect of this music.”

The album’s bittersweet balladic closing tune, aptly entitled “Finishing Up” makes emotional reference to the end of his 10-15 years of education and pondering “where my direction was. That was a song of hope I wrote for myself.”

Hopetown showcases the fact that Walia was very culturally versed. “My parents both being from north and south of India,” he says, “we had different influences of music and culture that I was thrown into and was exposed to. But I think by 15, I was kind of musically exhausted by Indian classical music. You can’t escape it if you live in it. For me, I was like ‘wow, what is this band called ACDC? This is really happening.

“I would start learning these tunes and I only had dial-up internet. I used to just download a Led Zeppelin song and play it, then show up to my Indian classical class and play that riff on the low two strings of the instrument. And my Indian classical teacher would say ‘ouch.’”

Fast forward to extensive jazz studies in Boston and establishing himself as a strong guitarist force, alongside expanding work in music education and the “gear” side of music, and a move to Los Angeles. His initial entry point to jazz, per se, came through guitarists blending tougher rock tones and blues airs with jazz sophistication–especially the Indian music-centric John McLaughlin, as well as John Scofield, Pat Metheny and Al DiMeola.

Consider Hopetown phase one in a musical career teeming with promise for the future. Bringing this music out into the world is also, for the creative restless and forward-leaning Walia, a necessity.

“All the songs in this record have a story, and they are a reflection of my past 15 years or so, in some shape or form. This is a good start.”

Vocalist Youn Sun Nah Teams with Pianist Jon Cowherd on Elles

Award-winning vocalist Youn Sun Nah has released her groundbreaking new album, Elles, arriving via Warner Music Arts.

Long hailed for her style-blurring renditions of artists spanning Tom Waits and Jimi Hendrix to Marvin Gaye and Metallica, Elles sees Youn Sun Nah bringing her remarkable voice and unique perspective to a range of songs that have deeply fueled her own indescribable musical approach, all made famous by such iconic female artists as Björk, Sarah Vaughan, Grace Jones, Roberta Flack, Edith Piaf, Grace Slick, Maria João, and more. Get it here.

Recorded in New York City alongside acclaimed pianist Jon Cowherd (Brian Blade, Cassandra Wilson, Lizz Wright) and producer/musician Tomek Miernowski, Elles spans a wide array of songs either written or performed by notable women artists, from soulful spirituals (“Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child”) and psychedelic milestones (“White Rabbit”) to long-overdue takes on “Feeling Good,” “My Funny Valentine,” “I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango)” and “Killing Me Softly With His Song” (the latter performed alone with a treasured music box). Backed by Cowherd’s subtle yet inventive work on a variety of keyboards, Youn Sun Nah reimagines standards both old and new in typically captivating fashion, traversing gender and generation with precision, magic, and intimacy.

“I realized that the songs I’ve recorded over the years, most have been from male singers,” Youn Sun Nah says. “So this time I wanted to honor the female singers I’ve been admiring since a long time, the songs which move me and the voices that touch me.”

Since late 2023, Youn Sun Nah has been celebrating Elles with an international tour that included stops in Finland, Spain, France, Romania, Austria, South Korea and Germany. For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.younsunnah.com/dates.

Youn Sun Nah is among contemporary jazz’s most admired vocalists, an international award-winning singer, songwriter, and performer, hailed by The Guardian for her “seamless” movement “between impressionistic high drama, abstract improv, or a folk artist’s candid simplicity.” The Seoul, South Korea-based artist began her musical journey with piano lessons as a child before singing gospel with the Korean Symphony Orchestra as a teen. A career in musical theatre beckoned but Youn Sun Nah instead chose to pursue her own muse by attending Paris’ Institut National de Musique de Beauvais, Nadia and Lili Boulanger Conservatory, and the CIM, a school of jazz and contemporary music. Youn Sun Nah quickly affirmed herself as an exceptional vocal star, winning prizes at jazz festivals and competitions before truly arriving in 2001 with her debut album Reflets.

A series of increasingly acclaimed albums followed, including 2010’s breakthrough Same Girl and 2013’s Lento, earning her Gold certification in both France and Germany amidst a plethora of honors and accolades.

Along with her growing body of work as recording artist, Youn Sun Nah has performed countless live shows and tours in historic venues and at prestigious festivals across Europe, Asia, and North America, including performances at closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and at the International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concerts in Havana in 2017 and at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in 2022.

Appointed Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 2019, Youn Sun Nah made her Warner Music debut that same year with the highly lauded Immersion. Stuck in place by the pandemic, Youn Sun Nah wrote and recorded her first ever collection of all original songs, 2022’s evocative Waking World, marked as always by deep emotional insight and a haunting musical approach bridging pop gestures, folk intimacy, and surprising jazz instrumentations. Now, with the remarkable Elles, Youn Sun Nah continues to explore musical possibilities through her idiosyncratic creativity and deep sense of craft, reaching across boundaries and borders to once again touch something universal and true.

US TOUR DATES

• November 7-9 – Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, Davis, CA
• November 13 – Joe’s Pub, NYC

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra celebrates the 100th Birthday of its Legendary Founder with the Album, Centennial: The Music of Thad Jones

March 28, 2023 would have marked the 100th birthday of the legendary trumpeter, composer and bandleader Thad Jones, who passed away in 1986 at the age of 63. Always ahead of his time, Jones had anticipated the occasion by more than four decades, recording “My Centennial” in 1980 with his big band Eclipse.

That piece inevitably makes up part of the repertoire for Centennial: The Music of Thad Jones, the celebration concert recorded by the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the now-legendary ensemble that he co-founded in 1966 as the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. Released via BCM+D Records, Centennial is a vibrant two-album set captured live on stage at the ensemble’s Monday night home for nearly six decades, the iconic Village Vanguard. Get it here.

“I always say that we have two things going for us that no other band has,” explains bass trombonist Douglas Purviance, who joined the VJO in 1978 and now serves as its business manager. “That’s Thad Jones’ music and a steady gig at the Mecca of jazz. It’s every jazz musician’s goal to play the Village Vanguard, and we get to do that every week.”

Centennial was recorded in February 2024, during the VJO’s annual anniversary week. Late in 1965, Jones – middle brother of the famed jazz family that also included pianist Hank and drummer Elvin – and the drummer Mel Lewis had agreed to share the helm of a new big band, booking three nights the following February to test the concept on the stage of the Village Vanguard.

The club’s cantankerous owner, Max Gordon, grudgingly acknowledged the Orchestra’s successful debut, reportedly suggesting, “We’ll keep it going until it tapers off.”

Nearly six decades and more than 2,700 Monday nights later, the Vanguard is still waiting. Even after a pandemic-necessitated hiatus the band quickly returned to capacity crowds, continuing a historic tenure that has featured a who’s-who line-up, a pair of Grammy Awards from 17 nominated albums, and eleven “Best Big Band” nods in the DownBeat Critics and Readers Polls.

The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra modernized the big band sound as the world changed through the late 60s and early 70s. Jones’ writing and arranging drew upon the inspiration of the two most iconic bands in jazz history, elegantly interweaving the complexity and elegance of Duke Ellington with the fervor and blues roots of Count Basie, in whose band Jones had launched his career. It’s a combination that Purviance calls, “sophisticated yet down home.”

“Thad set the Orchestra up as a small group with a lot of horns,” adds lead alto saxophonist Dick Oatts, the current band’s senior member and artistic director. “The way Thad wrote was just ingenious. It was the future the of the jazz big band tradition.”

With more than 300 compositions now in its book, the VJO prides itself on never repeating the same show from week to week, mixing in a blend of music from throughout its 58-year history. When it came time to honor its founder, however, Oatts decided on a selection that would represent the cornerstones of the band’s identity. “These are the tunes that really put Thad Jones and Mel Lewis on the map,” he says.

The setlist reaches all the way back to the band’s beginnings. “Back Bone,” bookended here by Oatts’ captivating unaccompanied intro and Purviance’s rousing solo turn, was already in the mix for the Orchestra’s debut performance; it opens All My Yesterdays, the essential 2016 release of its earliest recordings. It includes such indelible compositions as the spellbinding ballad “A Child Is Born,” which has become both a jazz standard and a Christmas classic, interpreted by the likes of Bill Evans, Tony Bennett, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Geri Allen. “61st & Rich’It” serves as a tribute to another foundational band member, original Orchestra bassist Richard Davis, who died in September 2023.

The release of Centennial on Temple University’s five-time Grammy-nominated imprint BCM+D coincides with the Orchestra’s establishment as artists-in-residence at the school, bringing members to the school for classes and performances and opening the Vanguard’s doors to students on Monday nights. The partnership continues a longstanding relationship between the VJO and Temple’s Boyer College of Music and Dance. Terell Stafford, director of Jazz Studies and chair of Instrumental Studies, has played trumpet with the Orchestra for more than 20 years, while Oatts is a longtime faculty member.

“The Village Vanguard has essentially become another classroom for our students,” says Boyer College Dean Robert Stroker. “At Temple we’re all about building bridges to the professional world for our students, so this relationship provides an important opportunity to take jazz out of the Ivory Tower and onto the bandstand.”

Oatts’ tenure in the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, which began in 1976, is nearing the halfway point of its own centennial. But the saxophonist remains focused on the band’s future, never its past – however historic that past may be. “We’ve all taken on the responsibility to ensure that this legacy is going to stay true for the next hundred years.”

John Alvey | Loft Glow

Drummer John Alvey announces his formidable presence to the jazz world with the release of Loft Glow on Jazz Music City Records. Alvey’s recording debut presents a remarkably assured, but also risk-taking set of straight-ahead postbop jazz, joined by a killer sextet of stalwarts from the increasingly hot Nashville jazz scene: trombonist Roland Barber, tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm, alto saxophonist Jovan Quallo, pianist Matt Endahl, and bassist Jacob Jezioro. 

Alvey is a native of Nashville, the son of pianist and former Opryland USA conductor Michael Alvey. He grew up, studied, apprenticed, listened, and honed his craft all in the environs of Music City. Loft Glow is a nod to that immersion. “A small studio apartment south of Nashville was my home for a few years about ten years ago,” Alvey recalls. “It was a peaceful period of practicing and listening, a relaxed, focused, and transitional time in my life. This album is a reflection on that time and place, with an emphasis on the solitary, undistracted listening experiences I had there every evening.” 

The album title refers directly to those experiences: “the many lamps I kept on late at night, aglow in the window as seen from the street below my apartment.” 

We can hear how that intensive work paid off on Loft Glow’s combination of band originals and covers of tunes by Alvey’s musical heroes Ron Carter, Benny Golson, and John Stubblefield. The drummer drives the stately suspenseful interpretation of Stubblefield’s “Baby Man” and adds depth, shading, and a Latin tinge to Golson’s “Terminal 1,” giving sharp-eared empathy to smart solos by Endahl, Barber, and Frahm and making his own thoughtful, curiously colored statement on Golson’s tune. Alvey takes a more subtle, but still defining role on Carter’s fun, gospel-inflected “Blues for D.P."

Alvey brings the same level of respect and sensitivity to the album’s original tunes. His deft treatments of Barber’s sweet “Winslow Nocturne” and Quallo’s introspective “June 23” beautifully maintain the balance—so often neglected on drummer-led albums—of firmly outlining the rhythmic shapes while also giving his bandmates maximal room to express themselves. Even on his own tune, the harder-driving “Azure,” Alvey proves himself a careful drummer, injecting the performance with the required energy but never getting carried away (as his dazzling but punctilious solo demonstrates). 

In short, it’s Alvey’s remarkable discipline behind the kit that helps elevate Loft Glow to the polished, eminently pleasurable record that it is. It augurs well for the leader’s, and the musics future.

John Alvey was born February 3, 1985, in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of noted jazz pianist, conductor, and educator Michael Alvey. While growing up in the suburbs of the country music capital of the world, Alvey the younger was nonetheless first drawn to rock music. It was the energy of those artists and songs that led him to the drums, forsaking his father’s piano for them at nine years old. 

But if country music surrounded him and rock inspired him, it was jazz—in the guise of his father’s influence—that guided him. He taught his son how to play drum rolls, encouraged him to check out the great jazz albums, and jammed with him at home. Eventually, they played a gig together, which led to seven years of John’s presence in Michael’s established piano trio at a Nashville restaurant. 

That, in turn, led Alvey to find work with fellow Nashvillians Barber (as well as his saxophonist twin brother Rahsaan), Joel Frahm, and Rod McGaha, and with musicians like Taj Mahal and Sherman Holmes. He’s also been an active freelancer on Nashville’s rich circuit of country, bluegrass, and Americana music, playing with Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley and Sierra Hull. Each was a valuable educational and artistic experience that worked along with those late-night practice and listening sessions to feed the creation of his debut album, Loft Glow. 

Randall Bramblett | Paradise Breakdow

Randall Bramblett is happy to announce the unveiling of his latest single "Round and 'Round The Sun" off his wildly anticipated album, Paradise Breakdown, released via Strolling Bones Records. 

For decades, Bramblett explored the deep corners and outer orbits of American roots music, creating a southern sound that's every bit as eclectic as its maker. That sound reaches a new milestone with Bramblett's thirteenth record, Paradise Breakdown. In discussing his work, Randall says, "My songs are vignettes about everyday joy and pain that came to me over the last few years. An awareness of mortality and the fragility of life has settled in me, and all these songs have grown from those feelings. All the players brought their brilliant skills and love for this music into the sessions. The songs grew from my basement demos into beautiful pieces of a big, years-long puzzle. We called this record Paradise Breakdown because it has the feel of beauty and hope running up against pain and loss."

About the new single, "Round and 'Round The Sun," Bramblett said, "I overheard someone talking about a spiritual experience they had while driving.  Their car filled up with light. This story evolved into a song about the possibilities of seeing a world full of beauty and peace. Maybe it's much sweeter than we knew."

Teaming up with legendary instrumentalists like Tom Bukovac, Steve Mackey, Nick Johnson, and producer/drummer Gerry Hansen, Bramblett cooked up his melting pot of urban swamp-soul and modern roots music in an East Nashville studio. Once those sessions wrapped up, he returned to Athens, Georgia, to finish the record with Seth Hendershot, A.J. Adams, Tom Ryan, and Nick Johnson. The result is a mix of organic performances and electronic textures: an album built for roadhouse dance floors, dark, lonely corners, and the long ride from past to present.

Bramblett is no stranger to accolades; The New York Times declared: "Bettye Levette's Grammy-nominated album contains a set of songs by Randall Bramblett. LaVette sings about humankind as a flawed creation — "You gotta stop and wonder/Baby, why were you born?"— over a sputtering, tumbling Afrobeat groove, anchored like Fela's music by a burly baritone saxophone. Every rasp and break in her voice sounds like one more obstacle overcome." Associated Press concurs, "Imagine a world where musicians play concerts: These songs would have folks on their feet," and Rolling Stone effuses, "Randall Bramblett is one of the South's most lyrical and literate songwriters.

Bonnie Raitt opened her Grammy-winning album Slipstream with his composition "Used to Rule the World" in 2012. The Blind Boys of Alabama covered his song "Almost Home" on their own Grammy-nominated record several years later. Blues legend  Bettye LaVette took things a step further, recording 11 different Bramblett compositions on her 2024 Grammy-nominated record LaVette! , dubbing him "the best writer that I have heard in the last 30 years.".

Paradise Breakdown offers more than the soulful, sobering reflections of a road warrior willing to look at the blacktop stretching out behind him; it's also a snapshot of a man still in motion.

 

Miles in France – Miles Davis Quintet 1963/64: The Bootleg Series, Vol.

The acclaimed Miles Davis “Bootleg Series” has spanned years as early as 1955, and as late as 1985, but it has not yet touched 1963 or 1964 – a pivotal period in Miles’ musical evolution and the auspicious beginnings of the Second Great Quintet – until now. Today, Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, announce the newest box set in the Miles Bootleg Series out November 8th — Miles in France – Miles Davis Quintet 1963/64: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 which includes all the music made at the 1963 Festival Mondial Du Jazz in Antibes (July 26-28 of that year) and the 1964 Paris Jazz Festival (October 1). The 1963 recordings feature George Coleman, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams – while the 1964 recordings feature Wayne Shorter’s arrival on tenor saxophone as the final member of the Second Great Quintet.

Miles In France will arrive November 8th as a 6 CD and 8 LP set with more than four hours of previously unreleased music and new liner notes by journalist Marcus J. Moore. A 2LP break-out set, of just the 1964 recordings, pressed on French flag-inspired blue-white-red vinyl will also be available. The release will also be available digitally in its entirety on DSPs. 

Miles in France – Miles Davis Quintet 1963/64: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 Arrives November 8th via Columbia/Legacy Recordings

Miles in France – Miles Davis Quintet 1963/64: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 Arrives November 8th via Columbia/Legacy Recordings

Miles in France – Miles Davis Quintet 1963/64: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 Arrives November 8th via Columbia/Legacy Recordings

Miles in France – Miles Davis Quintet 1963/64: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8 was produced by the multi-GRAMMY winning team of Steve Berkowitz, Richard Seidel and Michael Cuscuna (marking one of the last productions for Cuscuna, who passed away earlier this year) and mastered by multi-GRAMMY winning Sony Music engineer Vic Anesini at Battery Studios in NYC.

France was important to Miles on both a professional and personal level, quickly becoming his preferred live market. He played in France more times than any other country outside the U.S. and recorded there frequently. His history in the country goes back as far as 1949 – when he appeared at the Festival International De Jazz at just 22 years old – and as late as July 1991, for a concert in Nice just two months before he passed.

In the early 1960s, Miles came to France having altered the course of jazz. His 1959 landmark album Kind of Blue eschewed hard bop for a modal style that allowed room for a freer type of improvisation – an overcast slow-burner evoking ease and tension. But when compared with the studio version of Kind of Blue, the music coming out of the Quintet in Antibes and Paris had very little room for space and silence. The highs were dramatic and the lows were filled with powerful phrasing – adding fresh perspective to this landmark album in all of jazz.

Miles officially hired the rhythm section of Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Tony Williams on drums in the Spring of 1963, and they went into the studio in May of that year with George Coleman on tenor saxophone to record the second half of the Seven Steps To Heaven album. Two months later they arrived in Europe, and Downbeat deemed their performances at the 1963 Festival Mondial Du Jazz to be: “superb… [Davis] was in clean, decisive form and at his lyrical best…”

Ron Carter recalls the experience in the new liner notes, adding, “I had never played with anyone like that, of course, and certainly not for this extended period of time. It was just stunning to hear him play like this, play with that intensity, play with that tempo, play with that direction night in and night out and not turn it on to the band and say, ‘Stop that.’ He allowed us to do whatever the chemist allowed his proteges in the lab to do. Take these chemicals I’m giving you guys and see what we come up with. Just call the fire department if necessary.”

Miles would return to the U.S. with a new sense of musical purpose, spurred on by the bands he took to France, reveling in the stages they played. By the time Miles recorded E.S.P. with the Second Great Quintet in 1965, he proved that – despite whatever physical and spiritual challenges he may have endured – he was the barometer by which jazz moved and evolved. Some 60 years removed from these recordings, and more than 30 since his passing, Miles is still the summit and pinnacle, the essence of audacity, the monument of all monuments.

Discover here.

Out Of/Into | Motion 1

The history of Blue Note Records is characterized by a harmonious blend of tradition and innovation. Over the past 85 years, the label has celebrated jazz's rich past while championing its vibrant future, from the rise of hard bop to its commitment to nurturing emerging talent. The all-star collective Out Of/Into, which began as the Blue Note Quintet to mark the label’s anniversary, perfectly embodies this ethos. Featuring pianist Gerald Clayton, alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, drummer Kendrick Scott, and bassist Matt Brewer, the group showcases cutting-edge music while honoring Blue Note’s storied legacy. As Ross succinctly puts it, “The collective keeps the Blue Note legacy alive by being unapologetically true to ourselves.”

On December 6, Out Of/Into will release their debut album, Motion I, featuring seven original compositions by the band members, including the striking lead track “Ofafrii.” This album was recorded during their extensive 2024 tour, where the group honed these improvisational pieces across nearly 40 performances in some of the country’s premier concert halls.

“With so much time on the road, we really aimed to push our boundaries,” says Wilkins. Clayton adds, “We challenged each other to dig deeper night after night. Over two months, the music evolved in every direction—growing both tighter and looser. There was an incredible amount of talent and creativity on that stage.”

Out Of/Into represents five of the most influential voices in contemporary jazz and is the latest chapter in Blue Note’s tradition of assembling all-star ensembles. Throughout its history, the label has formed groups like Out of the Blue, Superblue, New Directions, the Blue Note 7, and the Blue Note All-Stars, featuring trailblazers like Kenny Garrett, Roy Hargrove, and Robert Glasper. Each of these ensembles encapsulated their respective Blue Note era, proving that the label's “golden age” is not confined to a single period but is a continuous evolution of excellence and innovation.

The name “Out Of/Into” reflects this ongoing journey, emphasizing the balance between honoring the past and forging new paths. As Scott explains, “‘Out Of/Into’ signifies the evolution of the Blue Note story and our unique sound.”

Tanya Wills | She

Stepping back into the realm of dating can be an intriguing or irksome conundrum for those who have recently separated, split up, or divorced. With the commitment to your former partner now just a memory, some simply appreciate the joys of dating from afar. That is to say not dating at all. It's this idea that planted the creative kernel for Toronto-area jazz/blues singer Tanya Wills' latest Latin-infused single "That's Love" from her new album She, out now. 

Wills says "That's Love," the follow up single to "Someone To Love," was inspired in part by the culmination of her own marriage and wondering how difficult navigating dating waters nowadays could be. She knew it might not be for her at this time but realized it could be the germ of a fine song. 

The single opens with Latin sonic flavors that could recall Santana's classic "Oye Como Va." From there Wills relays the huge series of questions running sporadically through a person's mind. Is this date going good or not so good? Is there a connection? Will it last? What am I even doing here with this person? 

Guitarist Bill Bridges provides some breezy instrumental work in the bridge as drummer Kevin Coady and bassist Ron Johnston are locked into the airy yet sensuous groove. The narrative In some respects recalls the classic Latin song "Quizás, Quizás, Quizás," better known in English circles as "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" made famous by Doris Day, Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole. 

"'That's Love' is from a slightly different outlook on love," Wills says. "I was reflecting on how grateful I am to NOT be in the dating game, and how it could cause one to develop a bit of a cynical attitude toward the 'relationship.' I have several friends who are finding themselves newly single again, and they have stories about their experiences in having to dive into the dating pool." 

Because this might really be love...or isn't

And you might have givin' me your heart...or didn't

Flip a coin, douse the flame, turn the page, or change the game

Roll the dice, it's all the same

That's love 

The single is one of the songs from Wills' forthcoming album She set for an Oct. 4 release. Wills, who performs in the Wintergarten Orchestra in Toronto as well as leading the Tanya Wills Quartet, says the material was written over a 15-year period. Wills worked with her quartet as well as Jordan Klapman and Rob Korb. Unfortunately, the album's recording at Toronto's Inception Sound studio was shelved due to the pandemic. But Wills and her bandmates kept working on it by sending files and ideas back and forth through the internet. A second phase of recording post-pandemic at Toronto's Revolution Recording completed She.

Now with her latest single "That's Love," Tanya Wills should see a huge boost to her career with this lovely Latin-tinged nugget. In short, and to steal a lyric from the single, "That's Love" should be on a loop and leave you ten feet off the ground.

VISIONS JAZZ ENSEMBLE | ACROSS THE FIELD

Although Indiana isn’t usually the first place that comes to mind when considering the finest jazz players in the country, The Visions Jazz Ensemble and their debut album, ACROSS THE FIELD, should make jazz fans take notice. The band comprises Indiana University graduates and is spearheaded by trumpeter SAM BUTLER and tenor saxophonist GARRETT FASIG, both of whom are individually making a name for themselves around the Midwest and beyond. Get it here.

Butler is also a composer, arranger and educator based in Indianapolis. He has performed with various ensembles including the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, Sean Dobbins and the Modern Jazz Messengers. He was the winner of the 2023 International Trumpet Guild Jazz Solo Competition, and his debut album Folklore (2023) received positive reviews. JazzWeekly said, “Butler has a sweet bopping tone to his horn, similar to that of vintage players like Kenny Dorham and Blue Mitchell.” He is a recent graduate of the Master’s program at IU, where he was an Associate Instructor.

Fasig is also a composer, arranger, and educator. He has written and recorded music with the Brent Wallarab Jazz Ensemble, John Raymond Ensemble, Greg Ward Large Ensemble, and the Plummer Jazz Quintet. He has also performed alongside world-class musicians, including Walter Smith III, Oliver Nelson Jr., Dayna Stephens, and Steve Houghton.

They are joined on this recording by other IU graduates NICK RECKTENWALD (trumpet), JEFF PARKER (trombone, bass trumpet), DAN VENTURA (piano), JACOB SMITH (bass), FRANCIS BASSETT-DILLEY (drums), and special guest WYCLIFFE GORDON on trombone on one track.

On ACROSS THE FIELD, Butler and Fasig did a yeoman’s task of turning college fight songs into hip jazz tunes with a modern edge. Before work on the album started, the Indiana Entertainment Foundation conceived and commissioned the idea for a live show. Working in conjunction with The Timeless Music Project, which presents live music performances around Indianapolis, Butler and Fasig came to the attention of the Project by Brent Wallarab, an Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at IU and a strong supporter of Butler and Fasig. The two jumped at the chance with each of them choosing and arranging six songs. 

Butler and Fasig chose songs they had some connection to and thought were amenable to modern jazz treatments. They kept the melodies somewhat front and center but provided fresh takes on each tune. The show premiered in October of 2023 at the SILO Club in Indianapolis and was such a hit, that the Entertainment Foundation asked them to record an album of the music. 

Around this time, Wycliffe Gordon had been in town performing with his band and had also enjoyed their music. When he agreed to record one tune, Butler and Fasig jointly arranged “Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight,” the fight song of Florida A&M University, Gordon’s alma mater.

Many of these songs, which were written at least 100 years ago, are based on marches that influenced early New Orleans street music. Butler explains, “A lot of these songs are not that far from the origins of early jazz. We all have a concept of modern marching bands, but once we dug into the music, we started to find a lot of commonalities. It’s more closely related than we thought.” 

The album opens with “Tiger Rag,” arranged by Butler. It was written and first recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917. Butler took inspiration from Louisiana State University’s arrangement, using a traditional second-line feel and adding a twist of modern harmony and odd phrasing. The second half features classic NOLA-style backgrounds and a solo break during Butler’s solo. 

Other Butler arrangements include “Rocky Top.” The University of Tennessee chose the Osborne Brothers tune for the halftime show of a football game against Alabama. Butler’s twist on the tune features Dan Ventura on piano and Jeff Parker on bass trumpet. “Glory, Glory,” the classic fight song from the University of Georgia, features solos by Parker on trombone and Butler on trumpet. The University of Southern California’s “Fight On” uses multiple musical inspirations, including their “war march” opening that unwinds into a Lee Morgan “Sidewinder” groove and blues form, with solos from Fasig and Recktenwald leading into a big marching band-style finish. The groove of Georgia Tech’s “Ramblin’ Wreck” has a jazz march that lends itself to the classic pairing of muted-trumpet and flute. The whimsical tune features solos from Recktenwald on trumpet and Smith on bass. Butler transforms Notre Dame’s “Victory March” into a waltz featuring solos from Fasig on tenor saxophone and Ventura on piano. 

Fasig’s arrangement of the Naval Academy’s “Anchors Aweigh” turns this classic, traditional march into a lively straight-ahead jazz tune. At the band’s first show, the audience sang along to Indiana University’s “Indiana Our Indiana,” featuring Recktenwald on trumpet. “Across the Field,” a spirited march from Ohio State University, takes a reflective and winding harmonic journey while creatively reimagining the iconic “dogfight” section of this melody. Purdue University’s “Hail Purdue” features some soulful playing by Fasig, who also re-imagines University of Michigan’s “The Victors” as an up-tempo, modal jazz tune. Fasig arranged “On Wisconsin” as a swinging version of the original march, playing the melody in a minor key rather than major.

Butler and Fasig co-arranged “Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight,” from Florida A&M, featuring Wycliffe Gordon on trombone. The arrangement combines aspects of Theodore Metz’s original song, Louis Armstrong’s 1964 arrangement, and a Horace Silver-inspired form and backgrounds.

Although the melodies on ACROSS THE FIELD will be familiar to many, Butler’s and Fasig’s clever, hip jazz arrangements played by musicians with top shelf improvisatory chops make this project truly unique.  

Geneva Renee | Your Tender Kiss

Summer love never sounded more sensual than Geneva Renée’s new single heating up playlists nationwide. The soul-jazz singer-songwriter wrote the Red Mile Music single with David P. Stevens who produced the song featuring saxophonist Marqueal Jordan.

“Your Tender Kiss” was conceived after a sit down in Stevens’ Los Angeles studio. The organic connection between Renée and her producer inspired Stevens to compose the initial track. 

“When Geneva came to the studio that day, her conversation and total vibe gave me an indescribable feeling. The song came to me after that conversation. As she and I began to collaborate, this sensual but tender masterpiece was born. I believe the song resonates with people because of the passionate place it was born from,” said Stevens, who has architected multiple Billboard top ten singles as a writer, producer and artist. 

The next day, Renée returned to the studio, excited to enter the vocal booth to croon the sultry tune set to an R&B groove with a sophisticated adult contemporary meets cool jazz nuance. 

"I was instantly captivated by the intoxicating melody and ambience, reminiscent of the Sade era that I missed so much. While we were in the studio, David encouraged me to channel my emotions by thinking of that one special guy—the one who never said, 'I love you,' but his kiss spoke volumes. When I was alone, I’d always wonder how this man felt about me; but every moment we spent together, my body would instantly respond to his touch, and I knew that our chemistry ran deeper than three words could ever express. In those moments, I was convinced our love was real,” said the Washington, DC-based Renée, a mezzo-soprano blessed with a three-octave voice. 

Instead of writing a vocal bridge to the song, Stevens suggested bringing in Jordan for a saxophone solo. 

“Once I heard ‘Your Tender Kiss,’ I was immediately taken to that place of high desire and tension when you are feeling someone, the chemistry and attraction is mutual, and you cannot wait to kiss them. Geneva's performance takes you there. She has a phenomenal tone that emotes sensuality and she gives everything to a song. I wanted to bring my emotional intensity to the song in a supportive way,” said Jordan, who launched his solo recording career after a lengthy tenure flanking superstar R&B/jazz instrumentalist Brian Culbertson. 

Renée, Stevens and Jordan teamed up to lens a romantic video for “Your Tender Kiss,” which can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anCib1Cc94g. 

 “For the video, I envisioned a relatable scene for most busy women. You arrive home after work to relax with soothing music creating the atmosphere. The romantic twist was adding a handsome love interest to surprise me with a bubble bath and sparkling wine. As I dip into the steamy water, take a sip of the rosé, and close my eyes, I’m transported by the sexy saxophone solo as the perfect finishing touch to a tender night of passion,” Renée describes. 

A native of Oxnard, California, Renée attended Howard University where she earned a master’s degree and a doctorate. Elements of classical, jazz, soul, gospel, and pop inform her recordings. Noted R&B producer Dinky Bingham (Patti Labelle, Lionel Richie, New Edition) produced her 2012 debut album, “Beautiful Wonder,” which was led by the empowering single “She Presses On.” Bingham also produced her sophomore release, “Brand New Day,” a 2021 EP. She has shared the stage with Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Shakira, Diana Ross, Maysa Leak and Vanessa Williams, and has performed at internationally televised events honoring Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Renée has graced such prestigious and diverse venues as the Kennedy Center, Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, The Birchmere, and UniverSoul Circus.     

 

Dan Zinn | Two Worlds

Tenor saxophonist Dann Zinn named Two Roads—his sixth album, released on Ridgeway Records—for the words of poet Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken.” Like the poem’s narrator, Zinn stares down a fork in the road, faced with a choice that will make all the difference. Backing him on this expedition through eight distinctive original compositions is an incendiary, innovative quartet that features Rachel Z on piano, Jeff Denson on bass, and Omar Hakim on drums, with percussionist Brian Rice guesting as well. 

The dilemma Zinn encountered was the result of an accident that damaged his right hand, endangering his ability to play the saxophone (and permanently derailed his flute playing). While the music on Two Roads was recorded before the accident, it provides an enthralling portrait of what was at stake—fork in the road—to continue on this path or another. After seriously considering whether to end his musical career, Zinn decided to persevere. It wasn’t easy—he had to completely rebuild his saxophone to accommodate the loss of motion in his fingers—but ultimately, here he is, with an offering that underscores that fateful choice.

The music is also a bold stylistic move. It explores the wide swath of musical styles that have informed Zinn’s unmistakably original voice as both a composer and a player. The range of ideas is remarkable, encompassing the Nordic folk-jazz of Jan Garbarek (who shares Zinn’s Norwegian heritage), American jazz, East Bay funk, gospel, and electronically processed atmospheres. 

Many of these elements show themselves individually—from the unabashed post-bop opener “Yarak,” to the rollicking, churchy “Pros and Cons,” to the eerie soundscapes that bookend “A Revolution of One.” Yet Two Roads’s deeper revelation is of the leader’s brilliance as a synthesist. Seamless blends like “The Sound of Ice Melting,” with its hard-driving, funky aggression balanced by the longing folklike melody; the pounding Latin rhythms and evocative wordless vocal (courtesy of Jeff Denson) on “Two Words”; or the quirky, grooving, not-at-all punk “East Bay Punk” could have come from nobody but Dann Zinn.

Dann Zinn was born January 4, 1958 in Castro Valley, California. He picked up the violin at the age of eight, switched to saxophone at nine, and took off down the jazz rabbit hole. On the way, however, he also encountered rock and roll; the hard-edged funk of Earth, Wind & Fire and Tower of Power (studying with the latter’s Lenny Pickett); and Irish flutist James Galway, among many others, creating a unique and diverse wellspring of ideas from which Zinn would draw throughout his life. 

After high school—and a supplementary education at San Francisco’s legendary Keystone Korner jazz club—Zinn went to Los Angeles, becoming involved in that city’s intensive music scene, then onward to the East Coast, where he spent some time in New York and played in a Boston-based rock band throughout the early and mid-1980s. 

He returned to the Bay Area to study at what is now Cal State East Bay, where he transitioned from student to teacher, and eventually became the school’s director of jazz studies. He has also been on faculty at University of California at Berkeley and the California Jazz Conservatory, directed the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars, given private lessons, and authored the six-volume textbook Zinn and the Art of Saxophone: a remarkable and accomplished career for an educator. 

In the meantime, however, his career as a saxophonist, composer, and improviser hasn’t slowed down a bit. Zinn has worked with the likes of Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Terri Lyne Carrington, Mike and Leni Stern, Cuong Vu, Peter Erskine, Taylor Eigsti, Allison Miller, and Derrick Hodge, to name just a few. As a leader in his own right, Zinn has recorded six albums, beginning with his 2003 debut Ten Songs and continuing through to his latest effort, Two Roads. 

“In the tradition of the great Duke Ellington,” says Zinn, “I have written this music for these exact musicians—music to be reflective and contemplative of the times we have lived, and are living through. Rachel, Omar, and Jeff exceeded all expectations and are brilliant. Two Roads is about choices—taking a road less traveled and finding that, at the end of one journey, another begins. Two Roads is both a culmination and a beginning, coming from a life well lived, and looking forward to what comes next.”