SiriusXM Joins Forces With The Bob Marley Family To Launch "Bob Marley's Tuff Gong Radio" Channel Exclusively on SiriusXM

SiriusXM and the family of Bob Marley announced an exclusive year-round channel dedicated to the legacy of Bob Marley.

Bob Marley's Tuff Gong Radio will launch on December 3rd on SiriusXM channel 19 and will feature the cultural icon's entire music catalog, both live and recorded, including rare recordings, some of which have never been made available to the public.

The channel, to be curated by the Marley family, will include a wide range of Caribbean music from its inception to present day. Bob Marley's Tuff Gong Radio will also highlight the branches of his still-growing musical legacy including The Wailers, I-Threes, Tuff Gong International, the record label founded by Marley in the 70's, and his children and grandchildren as they continue to make their own impact on reggae and popular music.

Additionally, the new channel will present specialty programs and take-overs led by family members from three generations. Bob's daughter, award-winning entertainer, fashion designer and author Cedella Marley, will host her own monthly radio series, "Nice Time", inviting listeners into her world for an 'upful bit' of conversation, music and niceness. Friends and family members also reflect on the 40th anniversary of the release of Bob Marley's classic ballad "Redemption Song" and its continued impact on the world. Grandson, Skip Marley, a recent Grammy nominee for both his debut album and his hit collaboration "Slow Down" with H.E.R., will share some of his favorite moments behind the making of his music.

The channel will also originate shows from Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica, including "Jam-In," a monthly live music session featuring Jamaica's hottest sound systems and selectors. The December edition is headlined by the legendary Stone Love Movement and features popular Jamaican comedy duo, Ity & Fancy Cat. 

"This year marked Bob's 75th earthstrong and the 40th anniversary of the release of Redemption Song. Partnering with SiriusXM for a channel devoted to not only his life's work, but also second and third generations of artists he has inspired (including our own children and grandchildren), reflects the continuing reach of Bob Marley's music and message beyond the boundaries of time and genre," said Rita Marley, Co-Founder of Tuff Gong International and wife of Bob Marley.  

"Bob Marley and his music transcends time, reaching fans and listeners of every generation across the globe," said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief Content Officer of SiriusXM.  "We are so proud to work with the Marley family to bring this full-time channel to life with his music, his message of social justice and his legacy, represented by members of his family and those that knew him best."

Bob Marley's Tuff Gong Radio will launch on Thursday, December 3 at 12:00 pm ET on SiriusXM radios (channel 19) and on the SiriusXM app. For more information on Bob Marley's Tuff Gong Radio visit: www.siriusxm.com/bobmarleytuffgongradio 

Bob Marley's Tuff Gong Radio is the latest  addition to SiriusXM's stable of music channels created with iconic artists including The Beatles, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Pearl Jam, Eminem, LL COOL J, Phish, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Kirk Franklin, Diplo, B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and more.

Subscribers are able to listen online, on-the-go with the SiriusXM mobile app, and at home on a wide variety of connected devices including smart TVs, devices with Amazon Alexa or the Google Assistant, Apple TV, PlayStation, Roku, Sonos speakers and more. Go to www.siriusxm.com/ways-to-listen to learn more.

SiriusXM's The Joint channel will continue to be available on the SiriusXM app and on siriusxm.

ROBERT RANDOLPH PRESENTS THE DEBUT ALBUM FROM THE SLIDE BROTHERS

The Slide Brothers, standard bearers of the sacred steel tradition, will release their first studio album on February 19, 2013 on Concord Records (international release dates may vary). The album, simply titled Robert Randolph Presents: The Slide Brothers, was catalyzed by Robert Randolph, who has revitalized the sacred steel tradition in the modern era, carrying the style born in The House of God Church more than 80 years ago to mainstream secular success before concert and festival audiences around the world.

The Slide Brothers’ album includes 11 tracks and features some of the most dynamic electric slide guitar playing ever recorded. Inspired by Randolph to finally emerge beyond their respected positions within the sacred steel community, the Slide Brothers tackle rock, funk and even the deepest blues with a ferocity that will startle fans of Duane Allman, Derek Trucks and even Muddy Waters.

The Slide Brothers are Calvin Cooke, Chuck Campbell, Darick Campbell and Aubrey Ghent, each of whom was raised worshiping and performing in The Church of the Living God. They were an ad hoc family, traveling and learning from the other dominions in their communities in cities from Nashville to Chicago to Newark. Calvin Cooke was born into a musical family in Cleveland, Ohio in 1944 and would go on to become known among the ranks of Nashville’s premier country steel guitarists as “the B.B. King of gospel steel guitar.” Cooke is hailed today as the most influential living pedal steel guitar master within the Sacred Steel tradition.

The album opens with a searing interpretation of the Allman Bros classic “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’”. The twin guitar attack by Chuck and Darick Campbell immediately serves notice to the remarkable musicianship honed by years of playing in church and at sacred steel conventions. “Growing up in church, traditional blues music always came off to us as a little bit sloppy,” explains Chuck Campbell. “It was not as precise as Sacred Steel where it is always about mimicking the voices heard in the church. We wanted to play these songs with the same conviction we have in church—playing the steel so that you can almost hear the words as if they were sung by a voice.”

Two songs from the album celebrate the music of Elmore James, the Chicago blues legend who made his mark as a master of the slide guitar technique that would later influence greats like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and, of course Robert Randolph. Randolph also counts The Slide Brothers as a major influence and an inspiration. “I was born with these guys,” explains Randolph. “I look to them the same way I look to blues greats like Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. Aubrey Ghent and Henry Nelson, Aubrey’s dad, and The Campbell Brothers; they all shaped this Sacred Steel tradition inside the churches but they weren’t allowed to leave the church until now.”

Likewise, Aubrey Ghent has also become a celebrated steel guitarist, preserving the sacred steel tradition and bringing it to a wider audience. Ghent’s unique skills became apparent at a very early age and local churches began inviting him to perform at services starting when he was only nine years old. At twenty he answered God’s call and became known as the “Preaching Deacon,” evangelizing through both word and music. Unlike Robert Randolph and the Family Band who have crossed over by doing more secular music, Ghent has stayed closer to the gospel roots of the tradition.

Chuck Campbell began playing the lap steel guitar at the age of twelve and is renowned for his innovative approach to the instrument, both technically and musically. His brother Darick Campbell first made his mark in music as a drummer, and he was the premier drummer of the General Assembly, the National Convocation of the House Of God Church in Nashville, Tennessee. His choice of the Lap Steel is a direct reflection of the influences that he has blended in becoming the most emotional player of The Campbell Brothers musical tour de force.

Robert Randolph set the music world on fire in 2000 when he began playing his first club dates in New York City before audiences who had, for the most part, never before had any intersection with the sacred steel phenomenon. Randolph started playing the instrument as a church-going teenager in Orange, New Jersey. He was raised in the House of God Church, an African-American Pentecostal denomination that had been implementing steel guitars in services since the ’30s. Randolph’s own group, the Family Band, includes cousins Danyel Morgan, Marcus Randolph and John Ginty. Robert Randolph and the Family Band’s Live at the Wetlands, released in the fall of 2001, vividly captured the band’s live performance and set the stage for Unclassified, the studio debut that followed in 2003, introducing Randolph to an even wider audience.

One new fan was veteran guitarist Eric Clapton, who brought the band out on tour and appeared on Robert Randolph’s third release, Colorblind, in 2006. In 2010, Randolph teamed-up with producer T-Bone Burnett and released the album We Walk This Road, which featured guest appearances from Ben Harper, Leon Russell and Doyle Bramhall II. More recently, he unveiled Robert Randolph and the Family Band’s Live in Concert, a long-awaited follow-up for the fans of his acclaimed Live in the Wetlands recording. Today, Robert Randolph finds himself back in the studio and returning to his roots. “By co-producing and presenting the new album from The Slide Brothers, I’m hoping that the story can finally be told,” he explains. “For eighty years this music has been hidden inside the churches and these older guys were not allowed to play anything else. Now we’re all hanging out with The Allman Brothers, Buddy Guy and B.B. King and can use gospel and mainstream music to tell our story.”

The Slide Brothers shift easily between genres, incorporating both traditional gospel repertoire as well as and secular material. To underscore the album’s diversity, a stirring instrumental version of the spiritual classic “Wade in the Water,” is followed by a vibrant and bluesy cover of Fatboy Slim’s 1999 trip hop hit “Praise You” (featuring vocals by blues queen Shemekia Copeland and backing by Robert Randolph & the Family Band). Jimmy Carter of the famed Blind Boys Of Alabama joins Aubrey Ghent to provide lead vocals for “My Sweet Lord.” “It has long been a vision of all of ours to be able to this,” says Chuck Campbell. “Robert was able to pull together the top steel players from different generations. It is truly an honor to be a part of album that brings together so many wonderful people such as [Jimi Hendrix bassist] Billy Cox, Shemekia Copeland, and the Blind Boys Of Alabama. Instead of us meeting at a church convention we were able to get everyone together in a recording studios to play secular songs and religious songs with the same conviction. We feel blessed that we have finally been able to do this.”

The story of The Slide Brothers will finally be told on February 19, when their debut album, 80-years in the making, will be released.

Track Listing for Robert Randolph Presents: The Slide Brothers:
1. Don’t Keep Me Wondering
2. My Sweet Lord
3. Sunday School Blues
4. Wade In The Water
5. Praise You (feat. Shemekia Copeland)
6. It Hurts Me Too
7. Catch That Train
8. Motherless Children
9. Help Me Make It Through
10. The Sky Is Crying
11. No Cheap Seats In Heaven

Ted Kooshian | "Hubub!"

What’s all the Hubub!, bub? It’s the riotous and gleeful new album from pianist and keyboardist Ted Kooshian! Having spent his last several albums exploring the unusual repertoire of classic TV and cartoon themes, on his fifth album Kooshian focuses primarily on his own eclectic compositions for the first time since his acclaimed 2004 debut, Clockwork.

 While the tunes on Hubub! forgo the raucous takes on the I Dream of Jeannie or Underdog themes, the offbeat sensibility that led Kooshian to such unexpected material is fully intact on his own pieces. As is his enthusiastic love for pop culture, here represented by evocative dedications to actors Steve McQueen and William Shatner.

Not that his nostalgia for the Saturday morning and prime time fare of his childhood was ever the sole source for Kooshian’s spirited sound. Throughout his last three releases, the familiar music of Captain Kangaroo and Baretta sat side by side with Kooshian’s own witty writing, jazz classics from such heroes as Wayne Shorter and Duke Ellington, and rock/pop favorites by Led Zeppelin or The Police. All of those influences merge through the pianist’s own pen on Hubub!, with vigorously swinging jazz, memorably infectious pop melodies and a quirky, inviting sense of playfulness.

Which makes sense given that Kooshian was discovering those formative influences all at the same time as he grew up in the Bay Area. “In the seventh grade there was a new, young band director at our junior high school, who wanted to start a jazz band,” Kooshian recalls. “He played an Oscar Peterson record for me, and it completely turned me around. I immediately thought, ‘Man, this is what I want to do.’ That same band director was really into Star Trek, which I already loved. So he helped me dive further into Star Trek and [legendary stop-motion effects master] Ray Harryhausen and the Marx Brothers in addition to jazz.”

Kooshian has assembled an ideal band for the occasion to help him achieve his unique mixture of influences and approaches. Hubub! features longtime compatriot Jeff Lederer on tenor saxophone, who has appeared on every one of Kooshian’s releases to date; veteran trumpeter John Bailey; bassist Dick Sarpola, another longtime collaborator who filled the same chair on Clockwork; and drummer Greg Joseph. Percussionist David Silliman, a friend since college who appeared on Kooshian’s most recent release, Clowns Will Be Arriving, guests on both “McQueen” and “Shatner.”

The album opens with the title track, which has been in Kooshian’s book for nearly three decades. It was written in 1992 upon the composer’s return to the hectic lifestyle of New York City following a brief respite at his sister’s home in the Boston suburbs. The piece, featuring bold solo turns from Bailey (at his brassiest) and Lederer (low down and funky), vibrantly conveys the frantic kineticism of navigating the traffic and crowds of the Big Apple.

“Wandelen” presents a far more serene and blissful landscape. Kooshian’s wife had gone to Holland as a foreign exchange student, and the couple reunited with her former hosts over the course of several recent summers, each time visiting a different Dutch island. “Wandelen” translates as “walking,” a favorite pastime of Kooshian’s in general and amidst the gorgeous vistas of those sites. The smallest of the Dutch North Sea islands, and the first that Kooshian visited, was “Schiermonnikoog,” inspiring the buoyant tune of the same name.

Opening with a striking, jagged piano solo, “Sparkplug – She Came to Play” is named for Kooshian’s beloved 11-year-old dog. “She's getting a little older now,” he says, “but she's still got tons of energy. She still acts like a puppy, though she's starting to slow down a little.” The album’s sole non-original is Kooshian’s atypically jaunty arrangement of Leonard Bernstein’s “Somewhere,” from West Side Story. The pianist has had experience playing a more traditional version of the tune on a European tour of the show in the early 1990s. The heartfelt “Hymn for Her” was co-written by Kooshian and vocalist Judy Barnett, and features vocalist Jim Mola along with Katie Jacoby on violin and Summer Boggess on cello. Jacoby, a fellow alumnus of the Ed Palermo Big Band (of which Kooshian has been a primary member for nearly 30 years), also tours with rock icons The Who and is featured on “McQueen,” an ode to the late action hero and epitome of cool.

“Bullitt is my all-time favorite movie,” Kooshian explains. “I love The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven as well, but I always come back to Bullitt. I probably watch it a couple times a year – and I watch the chase scene about once a month. I'm a big fan.”

“Tornetto” is a portmanteau of “tornado” and “Ornette,” and the name perfectly suits the angular whirlwind of a tune. “Desert Island Tracks” not only conjures the ocean breeze and swaying palms of a deserted isle, but is Kooshian’s bid to land on some fan’s list of can’t-live-without favorites (he has his own playlist of a few dozen favorite tunes, just in case of shipwreck). “Space Train” returns to the interstellar terrain previously visited by Kooshian’s cosmic Standard Orbit Quartet.

Which brings us to “Shatner,” an ode to one of Kooshian’s lifelong heroes and star of his favorite show, the original Star Trek. “I'm a huge fan and have been since the sixties,” he says. “I saw his show on Broadway twice and saw him at a Star Trek convention once. Hopefully he’ll like this tune that I dedicated to him.”

Born in San Jose, California, pianist/keyboardist Ted Kooshian grew up in the Bay Area and started playing piano in the 2nd grade. He moved to New York City in 1987 and since then has worked with Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry, Edgar Winter, Marvin Hamlisch, Sarah Brightman, Blood, Sweat, and Tears, and Il Divo. On Broadway he’s performed with such hit shows as Mamma Mia, The Lion King, Aida, Come Fly Away, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Spamalot. He has performed at the Detroit Jazz Festival, the Syracuse Jazz Festival, the Sun Valley Jazz Festival, and the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, as well as festivals in Germany, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. In addition to leading his own groups and projects, Kooshian has been a member of the Ed Palermo Big Band since 1994. Since 2012 he has played solo piano five nights a week at Center Bar, one floor below Jazz at Lincoln Center in the Time/Warner Building.

MIGUEL DE ARMAS QUARTET with WHAT'S TO COME

Cuban-born pianist Miguel de Armas proudly releases What's To Come, a debut album sure to expand his ever-widening audience. Long known as a stalwart in Havana, de Armas has synthesized the musics of his homeland with those from North America and Canada (where he now resides). It is an effortless weave of influences, fulfilling the promise of his working quartet and illuminating Miguel's mastery as an instrumentalist and group leader.

In 1988, Miguel was a graduate of the famed Instituto Superior de Arte, proving himself a rhythm master devoted to the multitude of sounds and influences surrounding Havana - rumbas, chants, the cadence of street life. They served as the basis for his own musical ideas.

He became a founding member of N.G. La Banda, the group that originated the Cuban salsa offshoot called timba. It proved successful, touring Lincoln Center, Montreux, Northsea and other festivals around the world due, in large part, to Miguel's innovations. He had defined an approach that utilized both acoustic and synthesized keyboards, a sound subsequently adopted in the development of Cuban music. That became his launching pad. Since then he has collaborated with a Who's Who of legends and appeared on more than 60 albums.

Miguel´s style draws heavily from the rich contributions of influential predecessors - among them, pianists Chucho Valdés, Emiliano Salvador and Gonzalo Rubalcaba. They have enabled him to create a sound distinctively his own.

Moreover, Miguel has become a musical activist from his new home in Ottawa, Canada, producing shows, inviting collaborations, encouraging stylistic partnerships that further his ideas and those of the greats who walked before him.

What's To Come provides the evidence. It's reach is varied and broad, encompassing elements of elegant danzón ("La Dama y el Perro"); bossas (the title track);and '80s symphonic rock ("A Song For My Little Son"). Special guests from Canada's musical community of Cuban specialists include recent Grammy nominee Jane Bunnett, guitarist Elmer Ferrer, trumpeter Alexis Baró, and bassist Roberto Riverón.

On this record, Miguel de Armas solidifies his place among Cuba's most distinguished musicians. The region that birthed the likes of Cachao, Omar Sosa, the multi-generational families of Valdés and O'Farrill, and countless others, now applauds another forward-thinker, a native son. Introducing Miguel de Armas.

  

TRACKS

1. Yasmina, 5:57

2. A Song For My Little Son, 4:45

3. La Dama y el Perro, 4:05

4. His Bass and Him, 3:23

5. Pam Pim Pam Pum, 2:56

6. Illusion, 3:26

7. What's To Come, 4:48

8. Rumba on Kent St., 5:54

9. Tango Asunción, 5:38

10. Freddies's Drink, 4:46

All songs composed by Miguel de Armas, except "Freddie's Drink" (co-written with Marc Decho).

Produced by Michel Medrano and Miguel de Armas.

Mix and Mastering by Jim Zolis.

Recorded at Rose Room Studio, Toronto, April 2017.

Graphic design: Mallory Giles.

Brian Simpson & Steve Oliver Are A Winning Combination On "Unified"

On Unified Brian Simpson and Steve Oliver enlist help from bassist Alex Al, drummer Eric Valentine and percussionist Ramon Yslas. The CD opens with the inviting, spicy and funky title track and album’s first single. Simpson and Oliver set the perfect mood to take you for a spin on the dance floor with a righteous combination of sophistication and soul. The exquisite “The Road Never Ends” travels a euphoric path with its shifting and pulsating rhythms, sailing melodies and harmonic twists. A few tracks on Unified lean towards Brian Simpson and Steve Oliver’s affinity for EDM. “Our original vision for the CD was more of an electronic music concept, but as it is evolved it moved more into a Contemporary Jazz project.” Two of the tracks that showcase this vibe are the hypnotic “What The Wind Knows,” and the ethereal “Last Summer.” “I am a big fan of electronic music and I like the combination of great rhythms and melodies with acoustic instruments and electronic sounds,” shares Oliver who is a fan of both Art of Noise and Dzihan & Kamien. Label-mate and trumpeter Rick Braun joins Simpson and Oliver on the bluesy swinger “Fired Up,” while the tender “Like No Other” will have you singing its sweet and ear-catching melody in no time.

“There is a tremendous amount of respect between us,” confides Brian Simpson. “Our greatest asset is that we complement one another. Our strengths are different and that is what makes these compositions come to life in such an original way...a way that neither of us could recreate individually.” Simpson and Oliver’s chemistry is brilliantly illuminated on the track “The Way Home.” Their joie de vivre is wrapped in every note and the tracks uplifting and triumphant flow. Perfection! “Celestial Body” is a sensual R&B laced track while “Café Du Monde” draws inspiration from the Crescent City. Simpson explains, “This song made me envision a cafe setting and Café Du Monde is a place I’ve enjoyed on my visits to New Orleans.” Unified closes with two striking ballads; “A Distant Love” and “And Then You Loved Me.” Oliver shares of the latter, “We wrote this song at Brian’s studio in one day. We recorded it playing live together with just piano, nylon guitar, and acoustic Bass. It’s one of my favorites.”

Hailing from Gurnee, Illinois and based in Los Angeles, Brian Simpson always knew music would play center stage in his life. “Our house was filled with music. My older brother and sister both played instruments, and my brother's rock band rehearsed in our living room every weekend,” shares the keyboardist whose father introduced him to jazz. Simpson’s breakthrough as a solo artist began in 2005 with the #1 radio hit “It’s All Good.” In 2007 Simpson released Above the Clouds, featuring the hits “What Cha Gonna Do?” and “Juicy.” After graduating from Northern Illinois University, Simpson relocated to Los Angeles where he quickly immersed himself in the local jazz scene, playing alongside everyone from saxophonists Everette Harp and Boney James to guitarist Norman Brown. Simpson would go on to tour the world with pop divas Teena Marie, Sheena Easton and Janet Jackson. In January, 1991 he co-wrote the #1 Pop hit “The First Time” by Surface, which conquered both the R&B and Adult Contemporary charts.  Simpson who has been musical director for Dave Koz for close to 20 years has toured with some of the greats of recent jazz history, including George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Larry Carlton, George Howard, Billy Cobham, and Gerald Albright. In 2010 Simpson released South Beach whose title track snagged a #1 slot on the charts. Just What You Need followed in 2013 featuring the Antônio Carlos Jobim/ Vinicius de Moraes classic “The Girl From Ipanema” which hit #1 on the charts and “Emerald City,” a Top 3 hit. 2015’s Out Of A Dream featured the Top Ten single “Skywatcher.” 2016 saw the release of Persuasion which featured the Top 10 single “Wonderland” and Something About You in 2018 featuring the smash single “Morning Samba.”

“I knew from birth that I wanted to play and create music. My earliest memory was in the crib and wanting to climb out and get closer to the stereo to turn it up,” reflects Steve Oliver. With a career spanning over two decades and multiple #1 hits (including “High Noon,” “Fun In The Sun” and “Global Kiss), Oliver has been a first-call producer and writer for many of his contemporaries on the Contemporary Jazz scene. His recording debut came in 1999 with the release of First View, which was followed by Positive Energy in 2002. The album spawned three hit singles and garnered the guitarist a Debut Artist of the Year award from Smooth Jazz News. In 2004, Spyro Gyra keyboardist Tom Schuman produced Oliver's third album, 3-D which featured Harvey Mason and Eric Marienthal, among others. 2006 saw the release of two recording sessions from Oliver, Radiant and the Christmas recording Snowfall. The experience of Steve Oliver’s exhilarating live performance at the State Theatre in Modesto, CA, along with behind the scenes footage is harnessed on the 2008 two-disc CD/DVD set One Night Live. Oliver’s fifth studio recording, Global Kiss (2010) showcases his vocal chops on three tracks and highlights the singles “Fun In The Sun,” “Ba Aye” and “Angel Amore.” 2012 saw the release of World Citizen and the compilation Best Of So Far followed in 2014. Steve Oliver recorded his long-awaited and first all-vocal project in 2016, Pictures & Frames, at the famed Capitol Studios along with the all-star rhythm section of bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta. Steve Oliver’s most recent solo recording is Illuminate (2018) and features all originals alongside saxophonist Nelson Rangell, bassist Jimmy Haslip and drummer Joel Taylor.

At a time where human interaction is being replaced by screen time and people seem to be more focused on our differences rather than our commonalities, it is refreshing to experience something that speaks to the soul. Brian Simpson and Steve Oliver’s Unified is a refreshing journey to a happy place. Simpson concludes, “Music has the unparalleled ability make a profound difference in all of our lives.” Oliver adds, “I sure love this album even after writing it and listening to it a thousand times. I never tire of it and hope people will feel the same!!!”

https://jazzchill.blogspot.com/2018/07/pianist-composer-producer-brian-simpson.html

VOCALIST ARIANNA NEIKRUG, WINNER OF THE 2015 SARAH VAUGHAN INTERNATIONAL VOCAL COMPETITION, MAKES HER CONCORD JAZZ DEBUT

After winning the 2015 Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition then performing at the Montreal International Jazz Festival the following year, 25-year-old singer and songwriter Arianna Neikrug makes her grander introduction to the music world with the August 24, 2018 release of Changes on Concord Jazz.

Produced by the Grammy-winning pianist and arranger Laurence Hobgood, Changes displays Neikrug’s gift for interpreting tunes from the Great American Songbook and more recent pop and R&B classics from the ’70s. The disc also contains two originals that reveal some of Neikrug’s journey from her hometown of Los Angeles to New York City, where she argues she truly belongs.

Hobgood, who recruited his regular trio mates – drummer Jared Schonig and bassist Matt Clohesy – for Changes, describes Neikrug as “an intellectual and complex person.” “I can honestly say that she’s the most theoretically informed singer that I’ve ever worked with – in terms of just knowing music,” Hobgood says. “She understands the basic structures of music and how to talk about it. She has a healthy combination of being strong-willed with being totally open-minded to suggestions. Those are attributes of a singer with a long career.”

Changes begins with a hypnotic reading of “No Moon at All” on which Neikrug initiates by pairing her comely soprano with Hobgood’s economical piano accompaniment. Soon after the rhythm section enters the fray and buoys her along as she demonstrates her assured sense of swing, bluesy phrasing and remarkable scatting acumen.

Neikrug’s graceful rendition of “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” is the second of the Great American Songbook compositions to appear on Changes. Neikrug says that she started singing the Fran Landesman and Tommy Wolf tune when she was only 17, but with little understanding of its emotional subtext. “How could I? First of all, living in Los Angeles, I only had summer my whole life. So, what is spring?” Neikrug laughs. “After I first moved to New York, I finally understood what spring was all about. I found out why so many songs are written about the weather and the seasons, because they make a huge difference in your mental and emotional state.”

The disc shift gears with Neikrug’s divine makeover of Al Green’s R&B staple, “Let’s Stay Together” on which she sings the pleading lyrics and succinct melody atop Hobgood’s beguiling arrangement. Hobgood suggested the song to Neikrug during one of their first think-tank sessions while they were scanning Rolling Stone magazine’s “100 Best Songs.”

Neikrug’s burgeoning songwriting talent gets the spotlight with “Changes,” the disc’s title track. Spurred by a lithe samba rhythm, the song touches on the difficult period between graduating from Frost School of Music at the University of Miami with a bachelor of music degree in studio music and jazz vocal performance and applying for the Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition. “I was going through my first major depressive episode,” she recalls. “I was experiencing a rough time because I didn’t have any structure or job yet. It was weird for me to be out in the real world and think, ‘Okay? What do I do?  How do I make a schedule? Where do I go?’”

Now in hindsight, Neikrug sees that struggling, transitional period as a blessing because it afforded her some of life’s big lows and highs, which enabled her to write more convincing life-based songs and interpret emotionally gripping standards. “Having to build yourself up when you’re down is not an easy thing to do” she says. “But how else are you going to write music from the heart and emote these big experiences that you can put into your art? In the worst way, it’s kind of cool.”

Changes continues with the first of two intriguing mash-ups, “Never Let Me Go/I’ll Be There.” Neikrug and Hobgood delve into Ray Evans and Jay Livingston’s 1956 standard as a sparkling duet before the rhythm section slides in for a sumptuous rendition of the Jackson Five’s Motown gem. “I’ve been pitching ‘I’ll Be There’ as just a lush jazz ballad to a number of singers for about 15 years. Nobody has bit until now,” Hobgood says.

Neikrug returns to jazz standards with a blistering version of “The Song Is You,” on which she flaunts her rhythmic and tonal agility before delivering her second original “New York Song,” articulating her long desire to move to the Big Apple then returning to standard repertoire again by digging deep into the jazz canon for her bewitching, R&B-laden refurbishing of “After You’ve Gone,” a Henry Creamer and Turner Layton classic that’s 100-years-old. At the Sarah Vaughan International Competition, she’d performed a vastly different, more up-tempo treatment of “After You’ve Gone” during the final round.

Neikrug then performs what she argues is the song that sealed her win at that aforementioned competition – Bob Dorough and Terrell Kirk’s “Devil May Care.” Again, she explains that Hobgood’s mesmeric arrangement differs from the one she performed at the competition, which she described as “sassier and more down-home blues.

Changes concludes with its second mash-up – two Joni Mitchell songs “Help Me/Be Cool.” After college graduation, Neikrug went on a Joni Mitchell binge, beginning with the 1971 landmark LP, Blue. “[‘Help Me’] sounds almost as if it were written for my voice,” Neikrug says. “The key is perfect; the melody is perfect. The song is challenging enough that I had a desire to learn it.  But it was also about storytelling and being young and full of angst.”

After agreeing on “Help Me,” Hobgood suggested intertwining it with “Be Cool.” Neikrug had her reservations though. “To be honest, the first time I heard it, I said, ‘OK, could you give me something a little bit harder to sing?’” Neikrug laughs. “But Laurence wanted to do a mash-up. It almost resembles how I wish pop music sounded. It still sounds really hip but it’s challenging, eye-opening and re-imaginative.”

Blending the right amount of reverence for the jazz tradition with a knowing glance to modern pop and R&B classics, sprinkled with two inviting originals, Changes will delight both jazz purists and novices without making any unwise artistic compromises as she superbly negotiates the glories of jazz’s past with a wide-eyed optimism that betrays her tender age. “When you’re recording your debut album, fresh out of college, you’re not exactly sure how you want to present yourself,” Neikrug explains. “It was easier figuring that out by discovering who I didn’t want to be. I’m just trying to take the jazz tradition and move it in my direction.”

 

 

DAVID BENOIT, PETER WHITE, KIRK WHALUM, MINDI ABAIR TOPLINE SMOOTH JAZZ NEW YORK CONCERTS

Smooth Jazz New York, New York City’s premier live jazz concert promoter, has announces two star-studded December smooth jazz shows with holiday themes at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City. The David Benoit Quartet performs the beloved classics from A Charlie Brown Christmas on Friday, December 2, 2011 and A Peter White Christmas with Mindi Abair & Kirk Whalum takes the stage with jazzy arrangements of holiday favorites on Saturday, December 10, 2011. Both shows feature performances at 7:30pm and 10:00pm. “It’s always exciting for us to bring some of smooth jazz’s finest acts back to New York with their special holiday shows,” notes Bill Zafiros, Smooth Jazz New York co-founder. “These fan favorites really know how to celebrate the season with their own twists on holiday classics.” On Friday, December 2nd, composer and pianist David Benoit returns to the Big Apple for a special Peanuts-inspired holiday show featuring his renditions of Vince Guaraldi’s compositions for “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

Over the past 25 years, David Benoit has been a passionate musical innovator committed to the exploration of many different art forms on the American landscape. His prolific output of the last decade includes several notable Charlie Brown related projects including Here’s To You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years and his star-studded 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas. These memorable works reflect his lifelong passion for the music of Peanuts’ original composer, and solidify Benoit’s role as his musical heir. David has also released the Billboard Contemporary Jazz charting albums Fuzzy Logic, Right Hhere, Right Now, Full Circle, and Heroes, which paid homage to the pianist’s top jazz and pop influences. In 2010, the year of his most recent release, Earthglow, Benoit was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at The American Smooth Jazz Awards.

On Saturday, December 10th, “A Peter White Christmas,” now in its 7th year, returns to audiences with a new feel for 2011. Eight-time Grammy nominated saxophonist Kirk Whalum has signed on to shake up the holiday season with guitarist Peter White and singer/saxophonist Mindi Abair playing dazzling arrangements of seasonal favorites. For nearly two decades, Peter White has kept smooth jazz fans worldwide enthralled by his spirited melodies, soulful grooves and inviting, instantly recognizable acoustic guitar tone. Consistently finding unique ways to bring his modern sensibilities to cherished pop classics, White’s holiday renditions are sure to captivate.

http://www.smoothjazznewyork.com/

Kate McGarry Releases First Trio Album featuring Keith Ganz and Gary Versace On The Subject Tonight Is Love

Countless poets, philosophers, artists, musicians, writers and dreamers have taken up that same subject since Hafiz's day, but despite seven intervening centuries of exploration love continues to offer an inexhaustible supply of complexities and mysteries. On The Subject Tonight Is Love, their first album as a trio, vocalist Kate McGarry, guitarist/bassist Keith Ganz and keyboardist/accordionist Gary Versace rise to that eternal challenge, investigating the concept of love in its many forms and from several different perspectives over the course of a dozen alluring songs, from timeless folk tunes to transformed jazz standards, celebratory pop songs to evocative originals.

Love is not only the subject but the very substance of this project. The Subject Tonight Is Love (due out February 2, 2018 via Binxtown Records) is the culmination of more than a decade of work and friendship. McGarry and Ganz are partners in life as well as in music, while Versace has been a close and frequent collaborator with both, dating back to McGarry's 2007 album The Target. In various combinations the three have worked together under each other's leadership, alongside drummer/composer John Hollenbeck and with the vocal supergroup MOSS.

Only such longstanding relationships could lead to such free-ranging but sharply focused sounds as are captured on The Subject Tonight Is Love. Beginning from McGarry's gift for bringing a lyric to life, the trio improvised cinematic settings for each song, painterly enough to conjure vivid imagery in the listener's mind while leaving space for their own spontaneous creations to shape each piece anew and allow an audience to make its own discoveries. Both Ganz and Versace pick up a variety of instruments throughout the session, with Ganz supplementing his acoustic and electric guitar with acoustic bass and, on one piece, drums, while Versace plays piano, keyboards, organ and accordion. McGarry also takes over the piano for her own "Losing Strategy #4."

  

"Kate's music is very story-oriented," Ganz says. "There's a soundscape or mood that goes with each particular tune, so this trio offers an unusual situation where we're all improvising within a specific mood. With just Gary and me, it's easier to get a hold on the little world for each song and shape it or move it around in the moment each time we perform it."

"I really appreciated that they were so receptive and sensitive to the origins of the stories behind the songs," McGarry adds. "That's always the driving force for me emotionally. Keith and Gary were able to be an extension of that, forwarding the narrative in instrumental ways. That's a rare thing."

Another kind of love was an important factor in bringing The Subject Tonight Is Love to fruition - namely, the love of their fans for McGarry, Ganz and Versace. The project was supported by a PledgeMusic crowdfunding campaign, which permitted the trio to take their time to discover an approach to the music and record at a more leisurely, exploratory pace. "We wouldn't have had that kind of freedom in other circumstances," McGarry points out. "It was really beautiful to see so many people jump up to the plate and say, 'We want this music to get made and we're going to make sure that happens.'"

The title piece, a stark, atmospheric recitation of the Hafiz poem, sets the elusive mood for the album, followed by a gentle, diaristic take on the classic "Secret Love" that captures the song's shift from the surreptitious to the celebratory. Their breezy, intimate "Gone With the Wind" meets the notion of lost love with a resigned, "easy come, easy go" shrug, while Ganz's hushed, intimate arrangement of "My Funny Valentine" is a perfect fit for McGarry's unique sincerity, overcoming a lifetime of resistance to what she rightly calls "this most abused of love songs." Joy pervades "What a Difference a Day Made," combined in a medley with Ganz's "Mr. Sparkle."

While these familiar tunes span the spectrum of love songs, the remainder of the album steps back for an even broader interpretation of the core idea. McGarry's haunting "Climb Down" depicts a dream-like venture onto her own family tree, offering both a challenge and an expression of gratitude to the spirits of her forebears. The Irish folk tune "Whiskey You're the Devil," with Obed Calvaire making a guest appearance on drums, emerges at the end like an ancestral memory. Co-written by Benny Golson and Kenny Dorham, "Fair Weather" is an expression of brotherly love sorely-needed in these most divisive of times, while "Indian Summer" is saturated with the wistfulness of time gone by. Egberto Gismonti's carnivalesque "Playing Palhaço," with new lyrics by singer Jo Lawry, finds love peeling back the layers of masquerade we tend to hide ourselves beneath.

McGarry's confessional "Losing Strategy #4," with Versace's expressive accordion supplying the voice of conscience, is a reckoning with the notion of retaliation, coming to terms with the fact that vengeance tends to backfire on oneself. "She Always Will" finds the trio revisiting a song, with music penned by guitarist Steve Cardenas, that the three originally recorded a decade earlier on The Target, now deepened and reflecting on the idea of maternal love. Finally, an impromptu romp through The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" provides an inviting epilogue, with a guest appearance by trumpet great Ron Miles to enhance the all-embracing message.

"Love is the substratum of all things," McGarry says. "I wanted to look at love from a lot of different angles. The point wasn't to sing about some idyllic love; it was more thinking about how love functions in our lives. What brings it to us? What keeps us from it? What helps us connect with it inside ourselves? What helps us connect to humanity? Having that current flowing through everything really affected the way we played."

CD Release Concert on Valentine's Day, Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at The Jazz Standard, NYC

o Fri. Feb. 2 - The Velvet Note, Atlanta, GA  

o Sat. Feb. 3 - The Oak Room at Serenbe Inn, Chattahoochee Hills, GA 

o Sat. Feb. 17 - The Sharp Nine Gallery, Durham, NC

o Wed. June 27 - Rochester Jazz Fest, Rochester, NY

katemcgarry.com

CHELSEY GREEN and THE GREEN PROJECT ReEnvisioned

Growing up in Houston, Chelsey Green has fond memories of coming home from classical violin lessons and hearing and experimenting with influential jazz, funk and R&B vibes her parents were throwing down on the family stereo – Herbie Hancock, Marvin Gaye, Earth Wind and Fire, et al. With her brilliant array of talents, the classical scholarships and opportunities that came her way, the multi-talented singer/songwriter, violinist and violist could have found a career playing in orchestras.

Yet, God’s gift of music led her into bolder, more eclectic directions; resulting in a wondrous diversity that now - years later - inspires her and her longtime ensemble, Chelsey Green and The Green Project. Their fresh new EP, ReEnvisioned, is a dynamic and empowering collection that in only four tracks showcases their passions for contemporary and traditional jazz, R&B and funk with a touch of classical violin. The EP lays a foundation for an upcoming full-length album (the band’s first LP since the Billboard charting The Green Room in 2014) that will include elements of her gospel roots as well.

“ReEnvisioned represents my continued effort to break the niche mentality and not restrict myself to one, single genre,” says Chelsey, whose discography also includes their 2012 EP,Still Green, and their popular 2018 single, Summertime. “My music is influenced by many styles, and over the years, we’ve really cultivated a vibe in the live setting that incorporates all of those elements seamlessly. The same way music has been fed to me throughout my life, that’s how I want to share my voice and personal artistry. A lot of our songwriting comes together when we are rehearsing for performances; that’s where we do a lot of creative diving and arranging. After we recorded these first four tracks, I started thinking about a title that would capture the essence of this new direction.” 

“Classical music has been good to me. I love what it has taught me about harmony,” she adds. “At the same time, I am a Black woman that grew up immersed in and studying gospel, blues, jazz and other Black music genres. This is the music of my culture, borne out of the dichotomy of despair and joy. Jazz; music evolved out of work song, connecting us to our ancestors for whom improvisation was a way to survive.”

For jazz and soul fans who haven’t experienced Chelsey Green and The Green Project’s explosive live performances across the U.S. and internationally, the EP is the perfect primer to connect with the unique melodic, harmonic and grooving chemistry between Chelsey, Ignatius Perry Jr. (piano/keyboards), Kevin Powe, Jr. (bass) and Brian “Spyda” Wheatley (drums). All contribute their writing and arranging skills to ReEnvisioned; three originals (“Soundcheck,” “It’s Not What It Seems,” “Time”) and the spirited, jazzy, funky and swinging re-imagining of “Fly Me to the Moon” featuring trumpet great Sean Jones, a friend and educational colleague of Chelsey’s.

Whether singing or choosing to use her stringed instruments as lead voice, Chelsey is a masterful storyteller and calls the tunes on ReEnvisioned "the soundtrack of her current life." Literally written during a soundcheck before a show in Idaho, the soulful and eminently driving opening track “Soundcheck” finds Chelsey creating magic out of the experience of checking levels, exploring resonances and manipulating timbres to make the performance electrifying. She adds, "the opening tune represents the repetition it sometimes takes in life to get things right." The moody, thoughtful instrumental ballad “It’s Not What It Seems” stops at one point from its infectious soul-jazz vibe for a random classically-influenced breakdown. In addition to serving as a commentary about false perceptions, the song reflects an inner conversation Chelsey is having with herself to re-align her own life focus.

Spinning “Fly Me to the Moon” so far beyond its traditional orbit that we can almost imagine Sinatra snapping his fingers and soaring along, Chelsey’s inviting and passionate vocals share the reality that she’s not asking for the entire galaxy, just a little love and affection. The final track “Time,” features her viola-based string arrangement around her beautiful yet heartbreaking vocals. On one level, it’s a mournful tune about the impact of lies in a relationship. In a larger sense, it’s about the importance of living one’s life authentically; even if we sometimes feel we must lie to ourselves to keep up appearances. 

A native of Houston, Texas, Dr. Chelsey Green was born into a family of jazz and funk musicians and started her performance career as a violinist at age 5. Her father, Craig Green, was an influential teacher at a performing arts middle school who taught many, now notable jazz musicians. Chelsey received a scholarship for classical viola studies at The University of Texas at Austin, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude, and later earned her Master’s from The Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Maryland College Park. 

In August 2017, Chelsey was appointed Associate Professor in the String Department at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, where she teaches privately, various ensemble classes and also conducts a lab for viola students, teaches introductory and intermediate string improvisation and two ensembles. Dedicated to educational outreach efforts for young people, she and her bandmates provide a wide range of educational music workshops to city and county schools, after school programs, educational groups and more. Chelsey Green and The Green Project work with students from all backgrounds, exposing them to the possibilities of what music can be.

John Scofield | "John Scofield"

With a career spanning over half a century, marked by influential collaborations with jazz greats like Miles Davis and Joe Henderson as well as several dozen genre-bending leader dates, it’s all the more striking that this is in fact John Scofield’s first ever guitar-solo recording. The long wait, however, pays off, as John is able to benefit from his decades of experience and charts an intimate path through the styles and idioms he has traversed up until today. He is not entirely all on his own on this endeavour though: the guitarist enters into dialogues with himself, soloing to his own tasteful chordal and rhythmic accompaniment via loop machine. 

“I think that there’s a delicateness that I have acquired from playing at home alone," Scofield has recently said in conversation with The Boston Herald. “I am so used to playing with a slamming band […] and there’s a certain musicality to that. That went away and was replaced by this more delicate approach of pinpointing the beauty of the strings. When I play solo, I make these little guitar loops on the fly, […] and it’s almost like I’m playing with another person.” 

Not uncommon for self-titled recordings, a deeper meaning can be read into choosing the album name John Scofield, as John digs deep into the past, all the way back to his roots and the heroes of his youth. The result is a balanced and thorough picture of the musician, tying together the music that shaped him and that he has subsequently continued to influence and forge himself.  

“When I was a kid the guitar was the instrument of rock and roll and popular music, that’s what I was interested in," Scofield explains. In that spirit, he effortlessly pulls Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away” from a hat, giving an edgy and laid-back rendition of the hit Holly wrote six years after Scofield was born. John reaches even further back with Hank Williams’ “You Win Again," released when Scofield was just a year old, in 1952. 

John’s main emphasis throughout the years, however, has remained his deep commitment to the jazz tradition, and here he grabs a number of standards off the rack and gives them unique interpretations. His comments on each song are included in the liner notes accompanying this release, where he reveals his fondness for Kenny Dorham’s take on “It Could Happen to You." John’s own version is a swinging affair with a deft key-change halfway through. He also reminisces about his first recording date, backing up Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker on “There Will Never Be Another You” and his pass at the song proves a nimble and compact adventure. An especially minimalist take on the Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow-penned “My Old Flame” follows – John turns off the loop machine for this one. 

The guitarist has filled a fair share of albums with his own writing – its tuneful qualities and inviting singability having the same timeless character as jazz standards. “I never think about ideas when I write music," John reflects. "Instrumental music exists in a different part of your brain, it’s not about an idea that can be described with language or visually. Music exists in its own place." 

His compositions are among the highlights of this set: Scofield renders “Honest I Do," which he originally wrote and recorded in 1991, into a soulful ballad, explored with experimental guitar tones. “Mrs. Scofield’s Waltz” is dedicated to his wife, who in turn gave “Since You Asked," a song John initially recorded with Joe Lovano in 1990, its name. “More of a feeling than an actual composition” – in the words the guitarist – “Trance Du Hour” is his “version of '60s jazz à la Coltrane." It maintains the same high level of energy as his blues “Elder Dance” does. 

Along with traditionals “Danny Boy” and “Junco Partner," John delivers a haunting and somewhat oblique interpretation of Keith Jarrett’s “Coral” – Scofield’s version doesn’t introduce the song’s main theme until the very end. They complete this graceful solo venture, recorded in Katonah, New York in August 2021. 

John Scofield’s ECM appearances to date include two albums with Marc Johnson’s Bass Desires group – Bass Desires (recorded 1985) and Second Sight (1987) – in which the guitarist shared frontline duties with Bill Frisell. On Shades of Jade (2004), a third Marc Johnson album, Scofield is heard alongside frequent colleague Joe Lovano. The live double album Saudades (recorded in 2004), meanwhile, features Scofield as a member of Trio Beyond, alongside Jack DeJohnette and Larry Goldings, reassessing the songbook of Tony Williams’ Lifetime. After 2020’s Swallow Tales, John Scofield is the guitarist’s second ECM recording as a leader.

Tenor Saxophonist Ivo Perelman Collaborates With Bass Clarinetists Rudi Mahall & Jason Stein On Kindred Spirits & Spiritual Prayers

Over the course of nearly 100 recordings under his own name, tenor saxophone savant Ivo Perelman had previously recorded only once in the company of another reed player -- in 2005, in a quartet that paired him with Louis Sclavis on bass clarinet. Now, in his latest exploration of sonic colors and instrumental pairings, Perelman has tripled that output with the release of two quietly spectacular albums, Kindred Spirits and Spiritual Prayers (August 24 via Leo Records). However, instead of a quartet format, Perelman and each of his bass-clarinet partners work as a duo, which magnifies and enhances the relationship of these closely related but still disparate horns.

The idea to record a series of albums with bass clarinetists took shape in the summer of 2017. At that time, the restlessly creative Perelman had begun work on what will become a series of more than 20 albums featuring improvisers from the violin family (including viola and cello); nonetheless, he was already looking ahead to a next challenge. He had a specific criterion in mind for selecting bass clarinet collaborators. In addition to embracing Perelman’s modus operandi of total spontaneity -- improvisation without any written music, tempo cues, or predetermined structure -- they would have to be bass clarinet “purists,” in Perelman’s description: artists who work on that instrument exclusively, as opposed to the overwhelming majority of reedists who use it as a second (or more likely third) option in their improvising.

He ended up with a short list, finding only two such improvisers known for their single-minded devotion to the bass clarinet: Rudi Mahall, based in Germany, and Jason Stein, a mainstay on Chicago’s seemingly inexhaustible new-music scene. But these two sessions sufficed to whet Perelman’s appetite for working with other woodwind artists in the future. “This means so much in my development as an artist,” Perelman says, “considering that I’ve built my career so far by playing mainly with piano, bass, drums, and strings. Playing with another reed instrument opens up so many possibilities.”

Much of this has to do with the common bonds between tenor sax and bass clarinet. Both are single-reed aerophones, in the same key (B-flat), that traverse a similar timbral range. They share similarities in articulation, fingering, and embouchure, and also in the way these techniques can be combined to produce the altissimo notes, above the written notation, that Perelman has especially mastered. But the success of this project also depends on the unique connections forged by Perelman with Mahall (on Kindred Spirits) and Stein (on Spiritual Prayers) -- each of whom met Perelman less than 24 hours before they stepped into the studio.

In the case of Mahall -- famed for his work with Globe Unity Orchestra, as well as a long association with new-music pianist Aki Takase -- Perelman discovered a fraternal bond between outsiders. Mahall grew up in Nuremberg, Germany, and Perelman hails from São Paolo, Brazil; says the saxophonist, “We are both foreigners. We both grew up outside American jazz.” So even though each of them would eventually discover, embrace, and then transcend the “jazz tradition,” neither of them heard very much of that tradition in their formative years. For Perelman, this proved revelatory, particularly when working with another reedist who, like himself, trained extensively in classical music (Mahall on soprano clarinet, Perelman on guitar and cello).

Five days after the whirlwind session yielding the double-disc Kindred Spirits with Mahall, Perelman went back to the studio with Stein to record the single-disc Spiritual Prayers, and again forged an unexpected connection. While neither of them observes his religion in any formal sense, both are Jews with familial roots in Russia and Eastern Europe; this coincidence did not go unnoticed by either of them.

“Playing with Jason felt like reverentially, respectfully praying with another rabbi,” Perelman says. “Not that I’ve done that before -- my last synagogue experience was my bar mitzvah! -- but I have this clear memory of me and my father, the rabbi and the minyan, and the seriousness of that moment came back to me when I was playing.” For his part, Stein says, “There are things about Ivo that reminded me of my grandfather” -- small gestures, his way of going about his business -- “and that just cultivated a sense of ease and familiarity. It’s hard to point to a connection in terms of direct musical experience. But we both have this shared Jewish heritage, coming from a Russian-Polish lineage, and that feeds into the music.”

Although each album comprises freely improvised duets for the same instrumentation, they really have only that in common, owing to the striking differences between the bass clarinetists. Mahall, steeped in not only classical music but also the European avant-garde, imparts an old-world elegance to Kindred Spirits, even in guttural passages and moments of furious abandon. Stein embodies a grittier new-world boldness, and a rawboned swagger particular to Chicago jazz in all its manifestations, from the early trade players through the adventurers who formed the AACM in the 60s and the avant-garde renaissance of the 21st century. Together, they constitute a new chapter in Ivo Perelman’s musical biography, one in which the intimacy between similar instruments yields some of the most affecting music in his extensive catalog -- even if it rigorously resists categorization.

Born in 1961, Ivo Perelman played several instruments before finally adopting the tenor saxophone. Entering the Berklee College of Music in 1981, he focused on the mainstream masters of the tenor sax, as opposed to such pioneering avant-gardists as Albert Ayler, Peter Brötzmann, and John Coltrane – all of whom would later be cited as precedents for his own work. Perelman left Berklee in 1983 and moved to Los Angeles, where he discovered his penchant for post-structure improvisation. “I would go berserk, just playing my own thing,” he explains now. Emboldened by this approach, he began to research the free-jazz saxophonists who had come before him, and in the early 90s he moved to the more inviting artistic milieu of New York.

Since 2010, he has immersed himself in a “creative frenzy” that shows no sign of diminution; he has recorded more than 30 albums in just the last three years. His impassioned, expressionist approach to the tenor sax continues to captivate (and often mystify) critics and fans, as do his specific performances, vivacious and hyperkinetic, with a variety of like-minded improvisers. Critics have called him “one of the great saxophone virtuosi” and “one of the world’s most prominent avant-garde jazzmen,” and the composer-conductor-scholar Gunther Schuller praised him as “a unique genius” working within “an entire new school of jazz.”

Perelman also maintains a separate career as a visual artist, producing a steady stream of abstract drawings and paintings that have attracted admirers worldwide. He now splits his time between New York, his home for more than 25 years, and São Paulo, Brazil.

RICARDO LEMVO TO RELEASE FIFTH ALBUM 'ISABELA'

Ricardo Lemvo's mix of Cuban salsa and pan-African styles like soukous and Congo rumba has been described by the Los Angeles Times as "seamless and infectious." Born in Congo-Kinshasa of Angolan ancestry, Lemvo formed his Los Angeles-based band Makina Loca in 1990. Since then he has refined his craft and vision, raising his joyous voice with strength, singing songs that celebrate life. He has been enthusiastically acclaimed by both print and broadcast media including BBC Radio, NPR, the NBC Today Show, and CNN World Beat. He has toured extensively in Europe, Australia, and Latin America, and has performed in some of the most prestigious venues in North America including The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Lincoln Center in New York City and The Montreal Jazz Festival.

Isabela, Lemvo's fifth album, can be enjoyed purely for the way it moves, or you can drill down into its complex Afro-Atlantic heritage. Its cosmopolitan bouquet of musical styles is sung in six languages including Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, Lingala and Kikongo, each with its own distinct musicality. Isabela's repertoire ranges from "Kasongo Boogaloo," a fiery upbeat boogaloo, to '50s Congo classic "Lollobrigida" (written by the late Congolese guitarist Tino Baroza in honor of Italian movie star Gina Lollobrigida), to "Serenata Angolana," a duet with Cape Verdean songstress Maria de Barros that Lemvo dedicated to his beloved Angola. Lemvo even learned to sing in Turkish for his version of Candan Ercetin's "Elbette," which he turns into a Turkish tango. Lemvo's songs are inspiring vignettes of life delivered with flair, using rhythms that are inviting and familiar. Ultimately, it could only come from someone who has seen the world and gathered the music of life.

Special EFX and Chilu Minucci to release new album "All Stars"

Mainstay of the GRAMMY® nominated collective that is Special EFX, guitarist Chieli Minucci has spent a lot of time on the road the last few years with a revolving lineup of celebrated musicians who bring the band’s world jazz brand to life. When Minucci began writing the group’s 21st album that he produced, he came up with the idea of inviting each player from the rotating touring ensemble to perform on the album and even composed material with specific musicians in mind. The luminous result is “All Stars,” a title that is a nod to an accomplished supporting cast. The imaginative collage of contemporary jazz, world music and blues drops on February 14 on the Trippin ‘N’ Rhythm imprint. Radio will get its first sampling in the form of “Hanky Panky Boys,” a groovy, retro cool tune that finds Minucci’s guitar and organ getting into a heap of mischief with saxophonist Eric Marienthal. 

“It was the first tune that I wrote specifically for the album and it doesn’t really sound like Special EFX, whatever that might be! I wanted to write something a bit different that we could play at jazz festival jam sessions, a piece that kind of sounds like a standard. Writing it got me fired up and inspired to write other music for the project,” said Minucci, who co-founded Special EFX 35 years ago with the late percussionist George Jinda and has amassed a host of Billboard No. 1 singles. 

Minucci wrote thirteen songs for “All Stars” and scrapbooked the talented artists who brought his eclectic vision into focus along with his New York City-based core band members Jay Rowe (keyboards), Jerry Brooks (bass) and Joel Rosenblatt (drums). Among the dozens of guest stars on the album are violinist Regina Carter, saxophonist/flautist Nelson Rangell, trumpeter Lin Rountree, multi-horn player David Mann, Spyro Gyra drummer Lionel Cordew, bassist Gerald Veasley, keyboardist Lao Tizer, fretless bassist-vocalist Fernando Saunders, a longtime Special EFX family member who has a history with the outfit dating back to their formative years; and 2019 Soul Tracks Female Vocalist of the Year Maysa Leak, who soars mightily on a version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Little Wing.” 

“I grew up listening to Jimi Hendrix. During a show we did two years ago with Maysa, I asked if she’d like to try singing ‘Little Wing’ and I was totally blown away. I asked her about making a recording of it and when she agreed, I got serious about the arrangement. I wanted to pay homage to the rock aspect of Jimi Hendrix. I also wanted to do something that was modern R&B. I think it came out unusual and I’m curious to hear how people react to it. I don’t really do cover tunes too often so this was different,” said Minucci, who will lead a revolving Special EFX lineup on a busy touring schedule in support of “All Stars” beginning on the eve of the album release date at Yoshi’s Oakland. 

One song on “All Stars” is especially personal to Minucci. “‘Sweet Memories Of You’ is a solo guitar piece that has a deeper meaning for me because I wrote it around the time my mom was passing a few years ago. It’s one of the pieces I felt would be important to include on the record - not only to break up the mood and texture of the listen, but also to give people something a little more contemplative in the middle of the record.”     

As the listener gets deeper into the album, the depth and breadth of Minucci’s compositional and arranging skills are on full display. “Kampala” was written on a borrowed acoustic guitar in a Ugandan hotel room during a concert tour. Minucci calls the two-part “Great Escape” “a labor of love that was written in odd meter because that’s part of the style I grew up listening to and really love. ‘Flows Like Water’ is a bit jazzier than what I typically do with Special EFX. I wanted to let people hear something a little bit different. I like to give people who buy our records and come to our shows a variety of styles. ‘Flows Like Water’ is a really nice representation of how tight the band has become over the many years we’ve worked together.” 

“All Stars” concludes with “One Stick And A Stone” - the stick being Steve Adelson’s Chapman Stick that engages Minucci’s guitar intimately. “It’s a world groove piece reminiscent of what my late great partner, George Jinda, used to do on percussion. I wanted to end on a nostalgic note, something very true to the Special EFX sound.” 

In addition to crafting Special EFX records, Minucci has released nearly a dozen solo collections. A guitar player gifted with an extensive sonic palate and technical proficiency, he has recorded and performed with a galaxy of A-list pop, rock, R&B and jazz stars spanning Celine Dion, Lou Reed, Chaka Khan, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Lopez, Jewel, Mark Anthony, Michael Bolton, Kirk Whalum, Jeff Lorber, Norman Brown, Rick Braun, Marion Meadows and Mindi Abair. Nominated for ten Emmy Awards for the music he created for television shows such as “The Guiding Light,” “Dancing With The Stars,” “American Idol” and “Good Morning America” (theme), Minucci is a three-time Emmy winner. He has also composed music for film (“Bowfinger,” “Legally Blond” and “Panic”) as well as stage (“Peter Pan,” “Dora the Explorer” and “Thomas the Tank Engine”).

On the other side of the holidays, Minucci is eager to begin introducing the music from “All Stars” to listeners. “I think it’s a really interesting sounding record. All over the place stylistically as I always do, but I enjoy that aspect. It was really intensive making this record.”

Catch Special EFX featuring Chieli Minucci on tour on the following dates (partial list below):

January 24 & 25 / Bermuda Jazz Festival / Devonshire, Bermuda

February 13 / Yoshi’s Oakland / Oakland, CA

February 15 / Spaghettini / Seal Beach, CA

February 16 / Aliante Casino Hotel & Spa / N. Las Vegas, NV

February 18 / Blues Alley / Washington, DC

February 19 / Middle C Jazz / Charlotte, NC

February 20 / Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts / Winter Park, FL

February 21 & 22 / The Velvet Note / Alpharetta, GA

March 11 / Dakota Jazz Club / Minneapolis, MN

March 12 / Soiled Dove Underground / Denver, CO

March 13 / The Sofia / Sacramento, CA

March 14 / Tower Theatre / Fresno, CA

March 21 / Maxwell C. King Center for the Performing Arts / Melbourne, FL

April 2-4 / Boscov’s Berks Jazz Festival / Reading, PA

April 11 / The Cutting Room / New York, NY