TOM JONES TEAMS WITH JACK WHITE FOR HOWLIN’ WOLFS ‘EVIL’

British crooner Tom Jones has teamed with producer Jack White for a cover of Howlin' Wolf's 'Evil', which has has debuted online. The track will be released on Jack White's Third Man Records label as part of their Blue Series. It is due out on March 6, but the pair’s version of ‘Evil’ premiered yesterday on BBC radio. ‘Evil’ as well as the B-side track ‘Jezebel’ also features Jack White's bandmates from The Raconteurs, Patrick Keeler and Jack Lawrence as well as My Morning Jacket's Carl Broemel. The Blues Series has previously featured artists such as Stephen Colbert, John C. Reilyy, and Insane Clown Posse, who put out their track 'Leck Mich Im Arsch' as an exclusive seven-inch and download last September. The unlikely hook-up with the controversial rap duo came about when they apparently crossed paths with White at an airport.

The seven-inch single will also feature a new rendition of ‘Jezebel,’ a song also taken on by Edith Piaf and Anna Calvi. Both songs will feaure White’s Raconteurs bandmates. Tom Jones is no stranger to covers, of course, in 1964 he performed the Ray Charles hit 'What’d I Say;' he covered Prince’s 'Kiss;' and on his 2003 album Reloaded, he included versions of Talking Heads' 'Burning Down the House,' Ram Jam's 'Black Betty' and other tracks.

LISA LINDSLEY - EVERYTIME WE SAY GOODBYE

Lisa Lindsley's 2011 debut recording, Everytime We Say Goodbye, introduced jazz audiences to, as critic Ken Franckling described her, "a Bay Area singer we need to keep an eye on -- and ears wide open for years to come."

Lindsley is now preparing to make her New York debut -- at the Metropolitan Room on Wednesday, March 28 -- and has put together a new show, "I've Got a Lot of Livin' to Do," which also features her frequent musical colleague George Mesterhazy.

Mesterhazy, a premier accompanist for singers (from Shirley Horn during the last several years of her life to, more recently, Paula West, Mark Murphy, and Rebecca Parris), offered impeccable support on Lindsley's CD as pianist and arranger. "George has been a great support and mentor in guiding me with music, and making me realize I can go for my dream," says Lisa. "Performing in New York with George is another big step on my dream ladder!"

Recorded during the breakup of her marriage, Everytime We Say Goodbye reflects the currents of longing, melancholy, and fortitude running through her life at that time. In concert, Lisa brings vivacious energy to the stage, with a repertoire reflecting her resilience and rekindled exuberance. Lindsley may be a latecomer to jazz singing, but she has deep experience as an actress and possesses a natural flair for comedy. "I've Got a Lot of Livin' to Do" is a lively, persuasive showcase for all her gifts as a storyteller and a performer of the first order.

Lisa Lindsley was born and raised in Ogden, Utah, the daughter of a jazz-loving father and a former film actress mother who'd left Hollywood because of the McCarthy-era blacklist. By high school Lisa had discovered musical theater, a passion that carried through to college. She attended the prestigious California Institute for the Arts (CalArts) theater program, then spent a decade touring and performing with The Imagination Company.

Raising and homeschooling three daughters put her performing ambitions on the backburner for a long time, but in recent years she developed a successful career as a voice-over artist and, inspired by her daughters' own involvement in musical theater, she took the plunge into singing. The Bay Area's rich pool of jazz education has proven invaluable -- from her classes at Contra Costa College with award-winning vocal group instructor Roger Letson, to her on-the-job training with veteran pianist/drummer Kelly Park, to her studies at Berkeley's Jazzschool Institute, where she is enrolled in the demanding jazz studies degree program. Lindsley regularly appears on Bay Area stages, and also tours throughout California.

Lisa Lindsley at the Metropolitan Room, with George Mesterhazy, piano; Brian Glassman, bass; John Mele, drums, on Wednesday, March 28, 9:30 pm. Tickets are $15. The Metropolitan Room is located at 34 W. 22nd Street between 5th & 6th Avenues. (212-206-0440, http://www.metropolitanroom.com/).

SPIRITUAL JAZZ VOLUME II

The sound of spiritual jazz from the European underground of the 60s and 70s – a really rich music-making scene that's every bit as impressive as the one going on in the US – as you'll hear from this amazing set of tracks! As with the first volume in the series, the collection is filled with modal jazz and other groovers – mostly long tracks that really stretch out, yet still always have a tight sense of rhythm – one that makes the music completely infectious right from the start!

It might be tempting to think of European jazz of this sort as kind of a copy of a US mode – but instead, it really happened simultaneously – as younger players were really pushing past the styles of previous years – and drawing not only on American jazz for inspiration, but also a range of different post-colonial modes particular to the European scene – bits of African, Latin, Brazilian, and other styles that really helped influence their approach. And in a way, it might even be said that the Europeans of the 60s had a much looser approach to rhythm, one that really allowed for experiments like these – and which, in turn, went back to have an influence on the American side as well.

Titles include "Temple Dancer" by Michael Garrick, "Communion" by Erich Kleinschuster, "Archangelo" by Raphael, "Africa Freakout" by Barney Wilen, "Corrida" by Nicolai Gromin, "Duke & Trane" by Hiekki Sarmanto, "Nana Imboro" by Wroblewski Jazz Quintet, "Las Morillas De Jaen" by Pedro Iturralde, "Bosnia Calling" by Dusko Goykovich, and "Candy Clouds (part 2)" by Hans Dulfer & Ritmo Natural.

Source: Dusty Groove

NORAH JONES TO RELEASE NEW DANGER MOUSE PRODUCED ALBUM THIS SPRING - LITTLE BROKEN HEARTS

Norah Jones is set to release a new album this spring entitled Little Broken Hearts (released via Blue Note/EMI), which is a collaboration with producer and musician Danger Mouse. The two first worked together when Danger Mouse called upon Jones to contribute vocals to his acclaimed 2011 spaghetti western-tinged album, Rome, and their connection proved deep enough that they decided to collaborate on Jones’ fifth studio album.

Little Broken Hearts will feature original songs co-written by Jones and Danger Mouse, is the fascinating next step in the artistic evolution of one of the most intriguing singers to have emerged in the past decade. Together they have married their highly personal styles to create an entirely new sound.

The duo reconvened in Danger Mouse’s Los Angeles studio this past fall to finish what they had begun. The songs were all built from the ground up in the studio, with Jones and Danger Mouse sharing all the songwriting credits and performing the majority of the instrumental parts; Jones on piano, keyboards, bass, and guitar, and Danger Mouse contributing drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, and string arrangements.

Jones is scheduled to tour extensively in 2012, performing at a mixture of festivals, amphitheatres and theatres in the U.S. and abroad, including her return to the Hollywood Bowl, which has been announced as part of the venue’s subscriber series. The nine-time Grammy-winning singer will be appearing at the Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater in Rochester, New York, on June 29, and at the outdoor amphitheatre in Los Angeles on August 10.

LEONARD COHEN - OLD IDEAS

Leonard Cohen's new release, Old Ideas, has reached unprecedented worldwide creative and commercial heights with debuts in the #1 position on the official Album Sales Chart in 9 countries. Additionally, Old Ideas has smashed records with its debut at the top of the charts (official, iTunes or Amazon) in 17 countries (Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Finland {trending to #1}, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, UK, USA). The highly acclaimed 10-song collection of new material from poet/singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen was also Top 5 in an additional 10 countries. This makes Old Ideas the highest debuting album of Leonard Cohen's career!

Both The Washington Post (U.S.) and The Telegraph (UK) declare Old Ideas "a work of genius," and worldwide praise continues to mount. In his fifth decade of producing critically-acclaimed music, Cohen remains at the top of his game, a rare event for an older artist. In TIME Magazine, Adam Kivel observes about Cohen, "...here he is...delivering material that matches the depth and power of that first solo record, covering the same tropes of mortality, sexuality, and religion, while remaining as vibrant and striking a poet as ever… Listeners have been relying on Cohen's heartbroken yet grinning, world-weary yet hopeful voice to get through that night for decades, and this album should continue that for a whole new batch of souls."

Old Ideas has earned four and five star reviews from the media around the world including Rolling Stone (U.S.), Irish Times (Ireland), London Evening Standard (UK), VG Nett (Norway), Uncut (UK), The Globe and Mail (Canada), New Zealand Herald (New Zealand), RTE (Ireland), The Western Australian (Australia), American Songwriter (U.S.), Mirror (UK), The Gazette (Canada), The Guardian (UK), Winnipeg Free Press (Canada), DeMorgen (Belgium), The Observer (UK), Aftenposten (Norway), Rolling Stone (Germany), The Sun (UK), Gaffa (Denmark), Daily Express (UK), Bloomberg (U.S.), Calgary Herald (Canada), The Times (UK), The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia), Rolling Stone (France), The Telegraph (UK) and The Mail on Sunday (UK).

Old Ideas comes on the heels of Leonard Cohen's triumphant world tour. Ann Powers of NPR (U.S.) suggests that the album "...throbs with that life, its verses rife with zingers and painful confessions, and its music sounds more richly varied than anything Cohen has done in years. Its depth comes in the tenderness and refined passion Cohen brings to his thorough descriptions of being human..."

Cohen's work has received literary recognition throughout the world. In the past year, Cohen has received the Premio Principe de Asturias, the highest literary award granted by Spain, the PEN New England award for "Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence" and in Canada, the Ninth Glenn Gould Prize. Old Ideas continues Leonard Cohen's devotion to literary excellence. About the album, Jesse Kornbluth of The Huffington Post writes, "The lyrics are something else: considered, bone-deep, precise. And smart in a way that looks like his best work – a reach for what is eternally true... He insists he has no answers...but we know he does something even more important: He asks the right questions." Bernard Perusse of The Gazette in Montreal says simply, "Lyrically, Cohen is at the top of his game."

Old Ideas brought about a reunion of several players from Cohen's past: Jennifer Warnes with vocals/arrangement on "Show Me The Place"; Sharon Robinson with vocals/arrangement on "Amen," "Darkness" (with The Webb Sisters),"Banjo" and "Lullaby"; and the Unified Heart Touring Band on "Darkness." The band performed with Cohen on his sold-out world tour. Inspired partners, Patrick Leonard, Anjani Thomas, Ed Sanders and Dino Soldo, assisted with the arranging, engineering and recording on the majority of the album. These collaborations have proven most successful. "Lush female harmonies still carry refrains and colour his monochrome tones, but they float on the organic pulse of a live band, that plays with gentle restraint, and weaves flowing violin, trumpet and harmonica melodies in among the glistening pearls of Cohen's epigrammatic phrases," writes Neil McCormick of The Telegraph (UK). Finally, Geir Rakvaag of Dagsavisen (Norway) concludes, "The songs are rich and musically sophisticated... Those who yearn for a new 'Hallelujah' may also come to find new evocative favorites among the ten tracks."

Old Ideas is Cohen's twelfth studio album with Columbia Records since 1967.

JEFF LORBER @ THE MALLORCA SMOOTH JAZZ FESTIVAL 2012

With his trademark smooth sound bringing together elements of funk, R&B, rock, and electric jazz, keyboardist, composer, and producer Jeff Lorber helped pioneer a genre of fusion later formatted in contemporary jazz.

Born in Philadelphia, he began playing the piano at the age of four, and as a teenager performed with a variety of local R&B bands. Lorber's infatuation with jazz began during his stay at the Berklee College of Music, and after forming the Jeff Lorber Fusion he issued the group's self-titled debut in 1977.

During the first half of the following decade, the band became one of the most popular jazz acts of the period, touring nonstop and even scoring a Best R&B Instrumental Grammy nomination for the radio hit "Pacific Coast Highway." Released in 1986, Private Passion was Lorber's most successful outing yet, but at this commercial peak he stopped recordin, instead turning to production and session work. He did not issue his first proper solo LP until 1991, Worth Waiting For, remaining both a prolific performer and producer for the rest of the decade.

He recorded for several labels in the '90s and released successful smooth jazz albums in the 2000s. More than three decades after his earliest recordings, Lorber has come full circle. His 24th Album, Galaxy, set for release January 31, 2012, revisits a sound he helped pioneer. The album takes the experiment that he started with his last GRAMMY®-nominated CD, Now is the Time (2010).

Lorber will appear at the Mallorca Smooth Jazz Festival 2002, with a performance sert for Friday, April 27 @ 10:30 pm.

GORDON GOODWIN'S BIG PHAT BAND - THAT'S HOW WE ROLL

For ten years, saxophonist/pianist and GRAMMY-winning composer/arranger Gordon Goodwin has been driving a train that won’t stop. He first assembled his Big Phat Band in 2000 – an ironic starting point for an 18-piece big band, given that the fleeting neo-swing craze of the late 1990s was just winding down. But Goodwin and his crew have always been the real deal, and have always been in it for the long haul. In the decade since their ambitious beginnings, the Big Phat Band has burned up stages and studios with an eclectic, intelligent and high-energy brand of music that marries the best elements of Duke Ellington, Count Basie, John Barry and other big-band and orchestral jazz giants of the past 70 years.


The Big Phat Band’s journey takes a new turn with last year's release of That’s How We Roll, the group’s sixth recording overall and their first on Telarc International, a division of Concord Music Group.

“There’s a significant segment of the population – and some are just high school kids – who inherited an appreciation for this music from their parents or their grandparents,” says Goodwin. “They don’t necessarily consider themselves jazz fans, but they find this music to be accessible without being highbrow or elitist. The inspiration behind this record is very simple, and very much in line with that of our previous records. We make music that sounds good to us, and it does seem to resonate with a lot of people.”

That’s How We Roll is a ten-song set of all original material, save for an intriguing rendition of Gershwin’s classic “Rhapsody in Blue.” The remaining nine tracks were written by Goodwin, including the driving and syncopated “Never Enough,” which he co-authored with his wife, Lisa Goodwin. Along the way, the Big Phat Band gets some assistance from a handful of stellar artists: a cappella supergroup Take 6, saxophonists Gerald Albright and Dave Koz, and bassist Marcus Miller.

Goodwin admits that weaving high-caliber artists like these into the context of an 18-piece band can be a challenge. “In a case like this, you really want it to sound like an organic meeting of band and guest soloist,” he says. “It takes a great engineer like Tommy Vicari to fit everything into the sonic picture in a way that the listener can hear every part. He did an outstanding job in that regard.”

The album opens with the sly and ultra-tight title track that makes room for each of the horn sections to stretch out and establish their respective territory. In addition, guitarist Andrew Synowiec and bassist Rick Shaw also lay down some understated but solid grooves.

Equal parts simmering and funky, “Rippin’ and Runnin’” features the saxophone threesome of Albright, Koz and Eric Marienthal, the latter a regular member of the Big Phat Band roster. “Koz wouldn’t call himself a jazz player in the sense that some of us might think of jazz, but he’s such a great musician,” says Goodwin. “This track was a little experiment that we tried, and it came out awesome. You hear three different artists all playing alto saxophone, but each in a really unique way.”

Midway through the set, “Everlasting” sets up an interlude of melodic balladry that allows for a half-time breather of sorts. The quiet interplay between guitar and horns on this track may represent a brief scaling back of the energy level, but it demonstrates the same caliber of musicianship found elsewhere in the recording.

“Never Enough” showcases the vocal work of Take 6, with a definitive underscoring by Marcus Miller on bass. “I think there’s no a cappella group around right now that’s as good as Take 6,” says Goodwin. “As for Marcus, that guy’s groove is just as solid as it gets. His part on that track has a lot of complexity to it, but he didn’t hesitate about it for an instant. When you get a bass player like him on a track, it really elevates things.”

The band closes by pumping up Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” with an elastic tempo, an aggressive arrangement and generous spaces for ambitious solo flourishes. The resulting track preserves the integrity of the original material yet modernizes it for a contemporary audience.

It’s this kind of balance of the traditional with the progressive that underscores the Big Phat Band’s philosophy overall. “The title of the album is a statement about our desire and commitment to ensemble music that encompasses a wide range of styles,” says Goodwin. “That’s How We Roll is our way of saying, ‘This is the music that we believe in, and we’re going to play it and record it in a way that reflects that belief and the commitment.”

CURTIS STIGERS - LET'S GO OUT TONIGHT

On April 24, 2012, singer/saxophonist Curtis Stigers will release Let’s Go Out Tonight, his seventh album on Concord Music Group. A departure from Stigers’ previous projects, Let’s Go Out Tonight sidesteps the Great American Songbook completely. Rather, it includes a vibrant cross-section of pop, folk, country and soul songs from songwriters ranging from Bob Dylan, Eddie Floyd and Richard Thompson to Jeff Tweedy, Hayes Carll and David Poe, whose “Everyone Loves Lovers” was crafted expressly for Stigers.


Though jazz has been integral to Curtis Stigers’ musical vocabulary throughout his career, his transformation from rock/pop headliner (of the sort that filled stadiums and made Leno and Letterman appearances) to jazz vocalist is barely a decade old, dating from the release of his debut Concord album Baby Plays Around in 2001. Stigers is often placed at the forefront of post-millennial jazz singers, but isn’t a pure jazz artist in the tradition of, say, Mark Murphy or Mel Tormé. Nor does he want to be. Critical to his unique vocal style and his inimitable interpretative skills is his ability to draw upon his checkered professional past and his wide-ranging musical tastes to synthesize myriad influences, coloring tracks with various shades of pop, country, folk, blues and classic R&B. Stigers’ genre-blurring instincts have never been never been more defined than on his latest album, Let’s Go Out Tonight.

Stigers also describes the new project as, “probably the most autobiographical album I’ve ever made. It hits so many places I’ve been and things I’ve gone through and am currently going through.” Ironically, given its deeply personal nature, Let’s Go Out Tonight is the first album since 2003’s You Inspire Me that includes no original Stigers songs.

While shaping the playlist with producer Larry Klein, Stigers says he, “played him a few songs I’d written, but I hadn’t been writing that much. It’s been a tumultuous year, and I haven’t been able to focus on songwriting. He didn’t think the ones I played fit in with what we were going for, and I had to agree with him.” Instead, Stigers and Klein each drew up long lists of song possibilities. “Then,” Stigers explains, “I started flying down to L.A. [from Boise, Idaho, his birthplace, and once again his hometown, after many years in New York] every couple of weeks and we’d play songs for each other. He came up with a lot of songs, but I came up with a lot, too; and we ended up using more of my suggestions, which I’m very happy about. They’re songs I’ve had in my back pocket for years and have always wanted to record. So, in a way, it feels like I wrote the album anyway.”

The set opens with Stigers’ rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Things Have Changed,” Dylan’s Oscar-winning song from the film Wonder Boys. From the Eddie Floyd canon, Stigers selected the relatively obscure “Oh How It Rained,” originally recorded by Floyd in 1971. “You Are Not Alone” was written by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy for Mavis Staples. Another standout is the Neil Finn/Crowded House song, “Into Temptation,” about which Stigers says, “Give me a song about sex any day of the week.”

The David Poe song, “Everyone Loves Lovers,” on which Poe sings harmony, is, says Stigers, “A song I wish I’d written. Instead, David wrote it for me to sing, after hearing me with my band at The Blue Note in New York. It’s sweet and romantic, until you get to the part where it kicks you in the stomach. I love that brutal twist. We’ve all been there. No matter how perfect a relationship seems, there’s always a place down the road where it’s going to get rocky.” Another highlight is Steve Earle’s harrowing “Goodbye,” of which Stigers says, “We all spend periods of our lives numbing ourselves to block out what’s going on around us. I spent an unhealthy amount of my adult life doing that in different ways. It was a little scary how easily it fit.”

Stigers closes with the title track, The Blue Nile’s “Let’s Go Out Tonight.” “I’ve been a fan of The Blue Nile since their first album. Everything they’ve recorded is so understated and haunting. Basically, this song is about that unfortunate place that a relationship gets to, where you know everything is broken but all you want to do is pretend that it’s not. I spent years doing that. It’s about the saddest thing I can think of, and every time I hear it, I get choked up.”

Curtis Stigers - Let's Go Out Tonight -Full tracklist below:
1. Things Have Changed (4:59)
2. Everyone Loves Lovers (4:03)
3. Oh, How It Rained (3:53)
4. Goodbye (4:44)
5. Into Temptation (4:54)
6. This Bitter Earth (3:24)
7. Waltzing’s For Dreamers (4:24)
8. Chances Are (4:40)
9. You Are Not Alone (4:58)
10. Let’s Go Out Tonight (5:11)

KARRIN ALLYSON - 'ROUND MIDNIGHT

Karrin Allyson’s album, ‘Round Midnight is an 11 track collection that was recorded at Sear Sound in New York City. The tracks on ’Round Midnight come from a wide variety of sources, including Bill Evans, Paul Simon, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mandel, Thelonious Monk, Stephen Sondheim, even Charlie Chaplin. But regardless of who wrote the songs and when, Allyson ties them all together with the same melancholy thread with which they were originally spun.

The three time GRAMMY nominated vocalist describes her new album best in her liner notes: “Imagine yourself, in the city, walking late at night,” she writes. “It’s ‘Round Midnight. The wind is cold, but you hear some warm sounds and you follow your ear down into a small, dark club. There’s a woman at the piano singing these intimate ballads – one after the other. Maybe you’ve just recently suffered a heartache, or maybe the lyrics, melodies and harmonies evoke feelings you have somewhere deep down inside.”

The set opens with Bill Evans’s “Turn Out the Stars,” a song whose poignant lyrics by Gene Lees are made even more heartbreaking by Allyson’s decision to slow down the tempo and stretch the time at certain points along the way. The followup track is a quiet reading of Paul Simon’s “April Come She Will” that examines the human heart through the prism of changing seasons. “Whenever nature is referenced with life and love, I feel even more connected with it all,”

Further in, Allyson delivers a wistful rendition of “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most,” the bittersweet standard by Fran Landesman and Tommy Wolf, based on the classic T.S. Eliot line: “April is the cruelest month…” “I’ve sung this song for years and always wrestled with its long form and many lyrics,” says Allyson. “I wanted to make it swing, yet still have it convey the sadness of the story that’s told in the lyrics.” Allyson closes with the title track, Monk’s iconic composition that puts the final touch on the jazz club vibe that has taken shape amid the preceding ten tracks.

This album marks the first time in 13 records that Allyson plays all the keyboard parts — piano and Rhodes. “In a way, I'm just returning to my roots. I’ve been playing keyboards more and more in my live shows for the last three years, and it just seemed like the natural thing to do on this album. The shape and emotional feel of 'Smile' and 'I'm Always Chasing Rainbows' grew directly from my piano playing." In 'Round Midnight Allyson is joined by her long time partner, guitarist Rod Fleeman, with Bob Sheppard on woodwinds, harmonicist Randy Weinstein, bassist Ed Howard, whose previous associations include balladeer Shirley Horn, and drummer Matt Wilson.

In the end, telling the story is what it’s all about – even if the story is about heartbreak. Sometimes the best way to do it is to draw people into a quiet space in the late hours ‘Round Midnight – a time and place where their guard is down and they’re open to music that speaks the language of the heart.

“What I’m most interested in doing on this record – and on all my records – is reaching people and communicating with them,” says Allyson. “That’s the thing that inspires me more than anything else.”

Karrin Allyson - 'Round Midnight Track Listing:

1) Turn Out the Stars

2) April Come She Will

3) Goodbye

4) I'm Always Chasing Rainbows

5) Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most

6) Smile

7) Sophisticated Lady

8) There's No Such Thing As Love

9) The Shadow of Your Smile

10) Send In the Clowns

11) ’Round Midnight

ERIC BIBB - TROUBADOUR LIVE

For four decades, singer-songwriter-guitarist Eric Bibb has criss-crossed the globe, captivating live audiences by bearing witness to the infinite complexities of the human experience – both the mundane and the spiritual – with music that’s steeped in the tradition of American blues and layered with generous shades of folk and gospel. He is, in every respect, a modern-day troubadour – heir to the legacy of Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, Odetta and countless other great voices of the early and mid-20th century.

Bibb’s recording, Troubadour Live, captures one of those powerful live performances in an intimate but emotionally charged setting. Recorded in December 2010 at Katalin and All That Jazz in Uppsala, Sweden (about 50 miles north of Stockholm).

“After many ambitious studio albums, I really wanted to document and share with a wider audience what I’d been doing live on stage,” says Bibb. “Given my intensive touring schedule over the past couple years, there was a window of opportunity to involve some fine musicians whom I really love working with live as well as in the studio, and it all seemed to come together around this gig.”

Among these “fine musicians” is Swedish guitarist Staffan Astner, who has recorded and/or performed with a list of artists from every corner of the world and every style imaginable. Some of Astner’s past collaborators include Ray Charles, Ian Hunter, Celine Dion, Kim Richey, Roxette and many others.

Also on hand are Glen Scott, Andre De Lange and Paris Renita, the gospel trio collectively known as Psalm4. Over the years, Bibb has worked with all three vocalists individually and as a group on previous recordings and stage performances. “Knowing how well we’ve worked together in the past, I asked them to join me for a few of the tunes in this performance,” says Bibb. “It was a nice way to reconnect with some old friends.”
Troubadour Live opens with “The Cape,” a quiet and nostalgic ode to the value of childlike courage – at any age – in the face of the unknown. Astner steps in immediately after to lend a few tasty licks to the rousing “New Home,” a mix of country blues and churning gospel.

Further into the set, the easygoing “Shavin’ Talk” celebrates the simple pleasures of life, while “Tell Riley” pays tribute to blues giant B.B. King. “Staffan’s a huge B.B. King fan, and he was really able to get into that zone and play stuff that’s reminiscent of B.B. I found that to be really exciting.”

The spiritual and melodic “Connected” includes understated accents from Astner and a subtle piano interlude by Glen Scott, but “the crowning glory of that song is when Andre De Lange begins to sing in Zulu at the end of the song,” says Bibb. “Something really came together there. The song seemed to be a really good canvas for something special and spontaneous to happen, and we actually lived the theme of the song. We really connected.”

Paris Renita takes the stage and joins her Psalm4 colleagues for the stirring “New World Comin’ Through,” an often dark but ultimately optimistic view of a better future. Bibb says, “I think something powerful happens on this song, with beautiful vocals from Psalm4 and some great slide guitar from Staffan.”

In addition to the live material, Troubadour Live also includes two bonus tracks crafted in the studio. “Put Your Love First” is a country-flavored vocal duet that Bibb co-wrote and recorded with Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Troy Cassar-Daley. “If You Were Not My Woman,” meanwhile, is a straight-up reggae track with a simple backbeat and heartfelt, devotional lyrics.

“A live record is a way to give people a sense of the way an artist communicates with his or her audience,” says Bibb. “I think this record does that. It’s intimate, and that’s a big part of what I like to do.I play in front of larger crowds sometimes, but I think my forte is being able to get close to an audience on a given evening and deliver a message that they can take with them after they leave. I think Troubadour Live captures that moment of connection.”

AL DI MEOLA - PURSUIT OF RADICAL RHAPSODY

Following the much ballyhooed Return To Forever reunion tour of 2008 - guitarist Al Di Meola began refocusing his energies on his World Sinfonia band. Live in Seattle and Elsewhere documented his tightly-knit chemistry in concert on a 2009 tour with his acoustic ensemble of accordianist Fausto Beccalossi, second guitarist Kevin Seddiki, bassist Victor Miranda, drummer Peter Kazsas and Di Meola’s longtime collaborator Gumbi Ortiz on cajon and assorted hand percussion. Di Meola’s rhythmically-charged flamenco and tango inspired originals revealed his knack for advanced harmonies along with his embracing of simple, beautiful, alluring melodies. And although he may be a romantic at heart, he showed that he is still very much capable of flashing those legendary chops that graced his ‘70s classics like Elegant Gypsy and Casino.

On Di Meola’s recent outing, Pursuit of Radical Rhapsody, the guitar virtuoso and world music pioneer deals in more evocative and compelling sounds with his World Sinfonia ensemble, delivering hauntingly beautiful and deeply moving music from track to track. The collection kicks off with the entrancing, suite-like “Siberiana,” which opens with some tender call-and-response between Beccalossi’s accordian and Di Meola’s nylon string acoustic guitar before building to a turbulent section with searing electric guitar lines on top. On the affecting “Paramour’s Lullaby,” Di Meola takes a more deliberate approach on electric guitar, spinning warm, lyrical lines over the beautiful harmonies before engaging in spirited call-and-response with Beccalossi near the end of the piece. The rhythmically charged “Mawazine” (featuring percussionist Mino Cinelu) is broken up into two parts on the album and showcases some typically tasty electric guitar work by the leader.

The lushly cinematic “Michelangelo’s 7th Child” (featuring Hungary’s Sturcz String Quartet) has Di Meola utilizing subtle MIDI textures and colorations on his acoustic guitar while also showcasing some virtuosic runs. “Gumbiero” is a stirring Latin number underscored by Ortiz’s churning conga work. Sparks fly between Di Meola’s signature fretboard bravado on both acoustic and electric, Beccalossi’s facile accordion playing and Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s dazzling piano work on this spirited offering. “Full Frontal Contrapuntal” features some chops-busting unisons and intricate exchanges between Al’s MIDI-tinged acoustic guitar and Beccalossi’s accordian. The surging “This Way Before” and the evocative, flamenco inspired “Fireflies” both feature Di Meola alternating between acoustic and distortion-laced electric guitar licks. The stirring Latin flavored “Destination Gonzalo” and “Radical Rhapsody” both feature virtuosic contributions from pianist Rubalcaba and former Weather Report drummer Peter Erskine. The poignant “Bona” is a tender offering with the Sturcz String Quartet that features some of Di Meola’s most lyrical playing on the record. The leader also turns in soothing interpretations of two classic pop tunes, the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” both of which feature the great jazz bassist Charlie Haden.

OTIS TAYLOR - CONTRABAND

Otis Taylor isn’t defined by any single category. A musical alchemist and a true innovator, Taylor has never been afraid to experiment beyond the blues tradition. He’s a master craftsman who has created his own signature “trance blues” style by melding haunting guitar and banjo work, syncopated rhythms and a combination of gruff vocals, shouts and yells with raw passion.


“When I sing, I just do what I do,” Taylor says. “Whatever comes out – that’s the way I leave it. And if I make a mistake, I leave it in. I like to keep the emotion.” Otis Taylor’s Contraband is evidence of that. Set for release February 13, 2012, on Telarc, a division of Concord Music Group, the subject matter on Taylor’s new album is familiar terrain as he sings of love, social injustices, personal demons and war.

The album takes its title from an article that appeared in the May/June 2011 issue of Preservation Magazine about runaway slaves who during the American Civil War escaped to the Union lines at Fort Monroe, VA (http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/2011/may-june/the-forgotten.html). Known as “contraband,” they lived in camps where conditions were often worse than life on the plantation.

Otis Taylor’s Contraband isn’t just speaking to the African American experience, but to the entire human experience. “I’m not really a protest singer or even a very political person,” says Taylor. “I just try to tell an interesting story and let people interpret it as they wish.”

On Otis Taylor’s Contraband, the iconoclastic bluesman is reunited with several longtime collaborators including the supple-toned Ron Miles on cornet, pedal steel guitarist Chuck Campbell from American Sacred Steel gospel group The Campbell Brothers, djembe player Fara Tolno, a master drummer born in Guinea, West Africa, fiddler Anne Harris from Chicago, IL and the Sheryl Renee Choir. Bass is handled by Taylor’s daughter Cassie and Todd Edmunds. Rounding out the band are Jon Paul Johnson on guitar, Brian Juan on organ, and Larry Thompson, former house drummer for Colorado’s world-renowned Caribou Ranch recording studio.

The recording took an ominous turn in April 2010 when Taylor became victim of a serious illness and had to undergo major surgery. “I found out that I had a cyst connected to my liver and my spine,” he says. “I’ve always had a bad back, but the cyst was as big as a softball and it was pushing on the nerves in my spine. It was a pretty serious thing. So I went into the studio three days before the operation and recorded seven acoustic songs…just in case. If you listen to parts of the album carefully, you can tell I was in excruciating pain.”

Otis Taylor’s Contraband offers 14 compelling originals. “The Devil’s Gonna Lie,” a rousing showcase for the entire band, opens the album with Taylor’s trademark howls and a demonic laugh. As he writes in the liner notes, “When there is peace, the devil wants war. When there is love, the devil wants hate.” On “Yell Your Name,” one of the project’s original seven acoustic tunes, Taylor sings about a man wants his lover to come back.

The insistent rhythm of another acoustic love song, “Look To The Side” spotlights the distinctive sound of Taylor’s specially made electric banjo. Of the foot-tapping “Romans Had Their Way,” he says, “I wrote this song in the ’60s when I was a kid, listening to groups like the Kinks. This is the only old song on the album – all the rest are new.”

A stark meditation on race, “Blind Piano Teacher” tells the story of a young black piano teacher who lives with an older white man, while a man begs a woman for compassion on “Banjo Boogie Blues”

With its swirling guitars and hypnotic lyrics, “Contraband Blues,” a song about Civil War slaves who were held by the Union Army as contraband (or captured property), is the powerful centerpiece to the album. “During the Civil War, slaves were free, but not as people,” Taylor says. “We don’t usually think of people as contraband, but this is about treating humans as animals.”

The bleak and haunting “Open These Bars” – the longest song on the album – refers to the Jim Crow years in the South, when a black man could be lynched for just looking at a white woman. On “Yellow Car, Yellow Dog,” a poor man wishes he had money and could win the love of a woman. Taylor calls this “one of my more poetic songs.”

“Never Been To Africa” is the simmering tale of a black soldier who’s fought all over the world in World War I, but has never seen Africa. There’s desperation in Taylor’s voice when he sings “Cold sweat running down my leg, I can feel the gas coming across my face, I know I don’t believe in war, but I’ll fight anyway.”

On the final track, “I Can See You’re Lying,” Taylor captures the energy and emotion of romance and relationships perfectly. “It’s another one of my dark, twisted love songs,” he says.

By taking blues music as an art form to a higher level altogether, Otis Taylor’s Contraband is both subtle and challenging. Another thought-provoking entry in his canon, Taylor’s eighth Telarc album is the follow up to Clovis People, Vol. 3, released in May 2010.

“It’s all a balancing act,” Taylor says. “A new album has to be different, but you can’t be too different. It has to be the same, but not exactly the same. It’s like a riddle.”

PETER WHITE - HERE WE GO

After nearly four decades of writing, recording and touring, either as a sideman or a solo artist, Peter White still seeks out the road not yet traveled. Whether it’s new songs, new ideas, new styles or new collaborators, this virtuoso of contemporary jazz, classical, pop and Spanish guitar is at his best when standing on the edge of creative territory waiting to be explored.

This sense of adventure is at the heart of Here We Go, his new recording set for release on March 13, 2012, on Heads Up International, a division of Concord Music Group. The 11-song set, co-produced by White and long time collaborator DC (George Benson, Al Jarreau, Bob James, Jeffrey Osborne) includes a range of original material written in the recent and distant past and features guest spots from saxophonists David Sanborn and Kirk Whalum.

Like his previous album, Good Day (2009), Here We Go is a collection of songs written and recorded to move people on a level that’s beyond any preconceived concepts. “When I start recording, I don’t have a vision,” White freely admits. “I just go with the moment – what feels good, what sounds good. The vision comes out of the music. The music doesn’t come out of the vision.”

Some of the energy fueling this record is the realization of White’s longtime dream to collaborate with Sanborn, whom he’d met while playing in a live jam session with several other musicians just a couple years ago. In truth, White has been a fan of the saxophonist for decades. “David is someone whom I’ve wanted to play with for the longest time,” he says. “This is someone who played at Woodstock and recorded with David Bowie. His sound has become the inspiration for many of my contemporaries. He’s a legend to me and to just about every musician I know.”

The infectious title track was written with Sanborn in mind, “It came to me one day while I was driving,” White explains. “I kept thinking, ‘this has to be something outstanding. I can’t go to David Sanborn with anything less!’ The excitement about having him play on my record inspired an uptempo rhythm, so I took it in that direction.”

The album fires on all cylinders from the very first notes of “Night After Night,” the effervescent opening track that was culled from some of White’s older, unfinished material. “DC helped me finish this song,” he says. “He added a lot to the rough idea that I had put together years ago. This song and some of the other older ones were ideas that I’d been living with for so long that I could only think about them one way. It was really helpful to have someone like DC hear it for the first time and bring about a fresh approach.”

The powerful ballad “Time Never Sleeps” was written with friend and keyboardist Philippe Saisse, and was originally intended for Saisse’s next CD. “Philippe called me one day and suggested that it should go on my CD, so we reversed the order of the verses so that instead of him playing the first verse on piano, it was now me and my guitar. After many other changes in the arrangement it felt right to go on my CD and subsequently became the second track.”

The wistful “If Ever…” includes White’s 10-year-old daughter, Charlotte White, on violin. “The first time she brought the violin home and played a simple major scale for me, I was almost in tears. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. So I wrote this part for her, I set up the microphone at home and she played it. It’s a song about looking into the future. It’s about possibilities, about what one could do with one’s life if things were slightly different.”

“Our Dance” features the ever-soulful Kirk Whalum on saxophone. White has performed and recorded with Grammy Award winner Whalum many times since the mid-1990s and has often cited him as a major influence. “When Kirk plays, he can connect directly to your emotions”, White explains. The song plays out as a waltz, depicting a couple's relationship and its many intricacies before ending in beautiful harmony.

“Joyride” started with an electric guitar melody created by DC on top of a disco beat, and later embellished by White’s acoustic. “I added a classical guitar arpeggio on top of this slamming disco groove in an effort to create something that people would want to dance to ¬– a sort of latter day ‘Classical Gas’” says White, laughing.

“Costa Rica” is built on an energetic Latin rhythm featuring the congas and timbales of longtime associate Ramon Yslas (Patti Labelle, Christina Aguilera) and pays tribute to a place that White has visited and enjoyed a number of times. “Whenever I go there, I’m struck by the happiness of the people and the beautiful countryside,” he says. “Those are the things that I tried to capture in this song.”

The carefree “My Lucky Day” is White’s nod to Bob Marley and reggae in general. “I’ve always been a fan of reggae,” he says. “Of course, you have to listen to Marley to get the authentic sound. On this song I just tried to convey the passion of reggae in my own way.”

“Requiem for a Princess” is a piece that was written shortly after the death of Lady Diana in 1997. “That was an event that hit everybody hard, especially if you were English. I remember watching the funeral car on live TV moving through the countryside. At every village, people threw flowers on the car until it was just completely covered. I poured all of my sadness into this song and haven’t been able to record it until now, as the memory was too fresh. It’s all minor chords and descending lines- maybe the saddest song I have ever written.”

Here We Go is, in many ways, a study in diversity – a collection of the joyous and the poignant, the newly crafted and the vintage. “I wanted variety,” says White. “I wanted songs that moved me, in the hopes that they’ll move the listener as well. I’m on a journey, and I want to bring with me anyone who’s willing to follow. That’s what the title of the album – and indeed, the spirit of the album – is all about.”

KIRK WHALUM'S LIVE 'ROMANCE LANGUAGE' CONCERT ON VALENTINE'S DAY...

Instead of dealing with crowded, overpriced restaurants on Valentine's Day, stay home, light a few candles and let Grammy winning saxophonist Kirk Whalum set the mood for romance with a live two-hour concert streaming at 11:30 PM ET/8:30 PM PT in conjunction with the release of his 29th album, Romance Language. In partnership with Portland Prime, Hilton Portland & Executive Tower and BMW & MINI Portland, the February 14th webcast powered by StageIt and shared around the world via Whalum's Facebook page will include a backstage camera offering viewers a rare glimpse behind the scenes. On February 18th, there will be a rebroadcast of the Valentine's Day concert at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT with a live question and answer session with Whalum.

The essence of Romance Language is Whalum's reimaging of the classic album of duets recorded in 1963 by sax titan John Coltrane and sterling vocalist Johnny Hartman. Whalum's contemporary version showcases his younger brother Kevin's velvety voice. They recorded all six timeless standards that comprise the original collection utilizing fresh arrangements and live-sounding production by Whalum and John Stoddart, Whalum's musical director and keyboardist. The Rendezvous Music release includes a few romantic R&B-pop instrumentals that Whalum believes to be modern standards along with a show-stealing vocal performance by Kirk & Kevin's 83-year-old uncle, Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum.

Romance Language is available as the world's first complete LiveAudio optimized album for JAMBOX by JAWBONE, a leader in personal mobile technology devices. LiveAudio allows music to be enjoyed in a 3D-like, surround sound experience from a single, small Bluetooth wireless speaker. During the live stream, Whalum will give away a JAMBOX and announce an exclusive JAMBOX offer as a gift to his fans.

The musicians scheduled to accompany Kirk, Kevin and special guest Hugh "Peanuts" Whalum on the Valentine's Day webcast from the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower are Stoddart (keyboards), Marcus Finnie (drums), Braylon Lacy (bass), and Kevin Turner (guitar).

Additional information about Whalum is available at http://www.kirkwhalum.com/.

LONNIE LISTON SMITH - A SONG FOR THE CHILDREN / EXOTIC MYSTERIES

Wonderfully warm work from the late 70s years of Lonnie Liston Smith – material from his key stretch a Columbia Records, a time when he'd really learned to tighten up his groove a bit from earlier years, yet still keep all the deeper soul intact! The set kicks off with Song For The Children from 1979 – a set done by Lonnie with help from Bert DeCoteaux, who's still clearly aiming the record at the soul side of the spectrum – using Lonnie's cosmic blend of keyboards, rhythms, and vocals just the right way – and hitting some sounds that are a bit more righteous than other Columbia Records fusion acts of the time. Some cuts feature lead vocals by James Robinson – and other instrumentation includes saxes from Dave Hubbard and guitar by Ronnie Miller. The album kicks off with the soul jazz number "A Song For The Children", and other tracks include "Aquarian Cycle", "Street Festival", "Gift Of Love", and "Midsummer Magic". (Note that the reissue leaves off the track "Fruit Music", due to space restrictions.) Exotic Mysteries is one of the fullest-sounding albums ever cut by Lonnie Liston Smith – but one of the greatest albums too! The set has Smith really taking off a bit more than on his work for RCA or Flying Dutchman – hitting some fuller sounds in the studio, thanks to backings arranged by Berg DeCoteaux, who's clearly trying to push Lonnie's groove a bit more towards a soul fusion audience of the time, yet always without losing any of the righteous energy that makes the music so great. There's a wonderful blend of acoustic and electric keyboards on the set – wrapped up in bits of strings, and propelled strongly to the skies with some great rhythms that include bass work from a young Marcus Miller, who also wrote some of the tracks on the set. Vocals aren't often in the lead – usually just sung by a chorus, if at all – and some of the best numbers here have a laidback groove that's totally wonderful – nice and mellow, with lots of room for the keys! Tracks include "Quiet Moments", "Space Princess", "Night Flower", "Mystical Dreamer", "Magical Journey", "Singing For Love", and "Exotic Mysteries".  

Source: Dusty Groove

LET IT BE ROBERTA: ROBERTA FLACK SINGS THE BEATLES AVAILABLE ON AMAZON FOR $3.99!

Roberta Flack, the four-time Grammy Award-winning artist, is back after an eight year absence with a brand new album, Let It Be Roberta: Roberta Flack Sings The Beatles — a collection of Beatles song interpretations. As part of the "Daily Deal" promotion with Amazon.com, the digital download of the full album will be available for purchase at Amazon's MP3 store for $3.99 on Monday, February 6th and will include 2 bonus tracks. The first single "We Can Work It Out" is currently racing up the charts at several different radio formats including AC, Urban AC and Smooth Jazz. Buzz continues to build within the press. Says Marc Myers in the Wall Street Journal: "On each track, Ms. Flack transforms the familiar with her penetrating, soulful voice and passionate phrasing...as comebacks go, Ms. Flack's seems to be well under way." Ms. Flack has also been planning a series of tour dates to coincide with the release of the album. Newly signed to a partnership of 429 Records, Sony ATV Music Publishing and Flack's RAS Records, the album which was produced by Sherrod Barnes, who has also produced Beyonce' and Angie Stone, with contributing producers Jerry Barnes and Barry Miles, is slated for release on February 7th worldwide (Sony Music will release the album in Japan).

Roberta Flack has long been known as an unparalleled musician who effortlessly inhabits the worlds of pop, soul, R&B, jazz and folk. From her very first recording , "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" which hit #1 in the U.S across all charts, Flack has created strong emotional bonds with her listeners through her poignant musicality and unerring stylizations while also shining an uncompromising light onto the culture and politics of the times. Since bursting onto the scene in 1969 with the blockbuster album First Take (produced by the legendary Joel Dorn), she's followed her fiercely uncompromising lyrical and musical muses earning her a place alongside pioneering artists such as Aretha Franklin, Elton John, and Nina Simone. A multiple Grammy winner, she is the only artist along with U2 to win "Record of the Year" in consecutive years (for "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "Killing Me Softly"). Although she's taken some time between recordings, she's never stopped performing having constantly toured worldwide. Flack, a national treasure gives her time freely to a host of charitable and humanitarian causes--among them, the ASPCA (spokesperson of the year for 2011) and the Roberta Flack School of Music in Bronx, NY (which she founded in 2006).

Let It Be Roberta: Roberta Flack Sings The Beatles Track Listing:

In My Life

Hey Jude

We Can Work it Out

Let It Be

Oh Darling

I Ahould Have Known Better

The Long & Winding Road

Come Together

Isn't It A Pity

If I Fell

And I Love Her

Here, There, and Everywhere

LENNY WILLIAMS - UNFINISHED BUSINESS

Oakland, California native Lenny Williams possesses one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary music. With his rich, passionate vocal style, he is rightfully regarded as one of R&B's most influential soul men. Williams began his musical career making records that have subsequently become R&B and Pop classics, tunes like the mega-hit "Cause I love You" (recorded on his solo album) and "So Very Hard To Go', which he recorded as the lead singer for Tower of Power. Lenny's style has transcended into the new millennium, influencing many of today's newest R&B and Pop vocalists. Lenny himself sounds better than ever, and can be heard on his new CD  Unfinished Business on LenTom Records.

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, Lenny moved to Oakland at a very young age. Learning to play the trumpet in elementary school fueled his interest in music. Lenny's skills as a vocalist were first nurtured by singing in gospel choirs and groups around the Bay Area. He was in good company working alongside up-and-coming artist Sly Stone, Andre Crouch, Billy Preston and members of the Hawkins family, Edwin, Walter and Tremaine.

After winning several local talent contests, Williams signed his first record deal with Fantasy records. He cut two singles for the label including "Lisa's Gone", now regarded as an R&B classic among British soul music lovers, and "Feelin Blue", written by John Fogerty of Credence Clearwater Revival. Lenny then spent a brief spell with Atlantic Records before deciding to put his solo career on hold in 1972, when he joined the emerging funk band Tower of Power. A string of hits ensued, including " So Very Hard To Go', and "Don't Change Horses (In The Middle Of The Stream)", written by Lenny and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. During his two years with the group, Lenny participated in three milestone albums, the gold LP Tower Of Power, Back To Oakland, and Urban Renewal, while touring non-stop throughout the United States, Europe and Asia.

At the end of 1975 Lenny returned to his solo projects. Initially signing with Motown in 1972, he later moved to ABC Records in 1977 (which was then purchased by MCA Records in 1979). Over the next four years. Lenny scored ten charted hits, including "Shoo Doo FuFu Ooh", 'Choosing You", "You Got Me Running", "Love Hurt Me Love Healed Me", and "Midnight Girl". Lenny recorded four more albums from 1977 to 1980, Choosing You, his first gold LP, Spark Of Love, Love Current, and Let's Do It Today. These albums established a solid and loyal following for Lenny, and the impact of his music can still be felt, particularly the mega-hit "Cause I Love You", from Spark Of Love. This song crosses generational boundaries, and has frequently been used on "old school" and "slow jam" compilations throughout the years.

After leaving MCA, Lenny recorded for independent labels, Rockshire and Knobhill. In 1986 Lenny was invited to sing vocals on "Don't Make Me Wait For Love" a track from superstar sax man Kenny G's multimillion selling album Duo Tones. When released as a single in 1987, the song became a top 20 pop and R&B hit.

Over the past few years, Lenny has continued his solo career, touring the US, Europe and South Africa In 2004 and 2005 Lenny Williams and Kanye West were honored recipients of the BMI song writers award for the song "Over Night Celebrity" recorded by rapper Twista. He has recently shared stages with Aretha Franklin, The Whispers, Rick James, Boney James, Bobby Womack, Ohio Players, Al Green, Usher, K-Ci and JoJo, Alicia Keyes, Anthony Hamilton and Frankie Beverly and Maze. Lenny has also expanded his multi-dimensional career to include acting, starring in several stages plays "Love On Lay Away" starring Deborah Cox, actor Mel Jackson and Martha Wash. He also appeared in "What Men Don't Tell" starring Kenny Latimore, Shante Moore and Dottie Peoples the hit stage play "When A Woman's Fed Up". As an icon of the past and the present, Lenny Williams continues to expand his musical prowess and flex his newly found acting skills. He is sure to continue wowing his fans in the United States and beyond for decades to come.

KEN NAVARRO - THE TEST OF TIME

Ken Navarro has released the first video "Message In A Bottle" from his upcoming album The Test Of Time, set for release on March 20, 2012 (see the link below for viewing). The Test Of Time is Ken Navarro's 20th release. Navarro is an accomplished guitarist in the Contemporary and Smooth Jazz genre, with decades of widespread airplay, media coverage and touring. His new CD is fingerstyle solo guitar, and this music and style are not just contemporary jazz but also acoustic guitar virtuoso. It is solo guitar like you never imagined it. Genuine, flawless performances with melodies, bass lines, harmonies, percussion - all masterfully played simultaneously on just one guitar.

Navarro's previous CD Dreaming Of Trains was pre-nominated for the 2011 Grammy awards in 2 categories and his 2008 album The Grace Of Summer Light was named the #1 contemporary jazz album of the year at Jazz Times. Over the past 20 years, he has had numerous Top 5 songs at national radio and has performed in every major US city. In each of the 12 songs that make up The Test Of Time, Navarro delivers a genuine, flawless performance, where all of the melodies, bass lines, harmonies and even percussion are masterfully played simultaneously on just one guitar without overdubbing. Some of the contemporary classics included are The Police's “Message In A Bottle”, John Lennon's “Imagine”, Glen Campbell's “Wichita Lineman”, Pat Metheny's “Letter From Home” and Santana's “Europa”. These performances are magical in many ways and will be appreciated by a wide audience. Navarro's has infused himself in each style of solo guitar playing so that it transcends the song and style and becomes an original Ken Navarro masterpiece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uBrjpdRMHk

STANLEY CLARKE – THE COMPLETE 1970s EPIC ALBUMS COLLECTION

The most complete Stanley Clarke 1970s albums collection!

• Stanley Clarke’s most famous and best-selling albums were all recorded for Nemperor/Epic between 1974 and 1979. All are included in this collection.
• All of these albums were either Top 50 or Top 100 Billboard Pop Albums, and all were Top 5 Billboard Jazz Albums.
• Clarke demonstrates throughout why he is considered one of the all-time greatest acoustic and electric bass players.
• Includes his biggest hits “School Days”, “Silly Putty”, “Rock’N’Roll Jelly”, “Vulcan Princess” and more.
• Many featured guests including Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, George Duke, Jeff Beck, Tony Williams, Jan Hammer, Steve Gadd, Stan Getz and Freddie Hubbard.

The bass has seen its share of extraordinary innovators in the hundred-plus years of jazz history. Stanley Clarke, much like such hallowed figures as Jimmy Blanton, Charles Mingus and Scott LaFaro, was a game changer on his instrument. Unlike those who came before him though, Clarke helped alter the nature of both the acoustic and electric configurations of the bass. His groundbreaking work of the 1970s has been so integrated into the very fabric of modern jazz bass playing that a return visit to his own brilliant recordings can be nothing less than a revelatory listening experience.

By the time he was in his early twenties, Clarke had already apprenticed in the bands of, among others, Horace Silver, Pharoah Sanders and Stan Getz; his phenomenal technique, rich tone and melodic phrasing galvanizing the acoustic bass into previously unheard territory. Uniting with keyboardist Chick Corea in the various editions of the Return To Forever band, Clarke began incorporating the electric bass into his arsenal. Blending funk-styled finger popping and virtuosic strumming techniques – mated with his harmonic and compositional sophistication -- Clarke alerted a new generation of fusion players to the instrument’s untapped potential.

Clarke’s own recordings of the time are ripe with superb playing from the leader and such illustrious fans as drummer Tony Williams, keyboardists Jan Hammer and George Duke, and guitarists Jeff Beck and John McLaughlin, just to name check guests from Clarke’s first two albums. With his third album, School Days, Clarke became a bonified jazz-funk hero: the greasy bass line of the title track remains a yardstick of groove playing; to this day, no self-respecting electric bassist dares not have it under his or her fingers.

Subsequent albums found the now revered bassist mixing rock, jazz, R&B and orchestral textures with comfort, originality and boldness. Make no mistake, each of these pioneering Clarke recordings can sit proudly alongside the fusion masterworks of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report and Return To Forever.

Albums Included:
1. Stanley Clarke
2. Journey To Love
3. School Days
4. Modern Man
5. I Wanna Play for You [2-CDs]
6. Live 1976-1977

THE GEORGE DUKE BAND – THE COMPLETE 1970s EPIC ALBUMS COLLECTION

Legacy Recordings has release the George Duke Band's most complete 1970s Epic albums all in one bundle!

• Keyboard master and renowned producer George Duke’s most famous and biggest selling albums were recorded for Epic in an incredibly prolific period between 1977 and 1979. All of them are in this collection.
• These albums were all crossover successes faring very well on the Pop, R&B and the Jazz Charts.
• Includes his biggest hits “Reach For It”, “Dukey Stick” and more.
• Special guests and featured players include Dianne Reeves, Stanley Clarke, Sheila E., Milton Nascimento and more.
• Extensive liner notes by George giving the behind the scenes stories of all of the records.
• Includes Brazilian Love Affair, considered by many to be George’s very best album. Recorded in Brazil with top Brazilian players.

George Duke has worn many hats during his nearly fifty-year career. Jazz pianist, rock keyboardist, R&B and pop producer, singer, composer, arranger and bandleader -- Duke has been impossible to pigeonhole, which is just the way he likes it.

By the time Duke began his tenure at Epic Records he had already garnered a sturdy reputation as a resourceful and versatile keyboardist from his work with Jean-Luc Ponty, Cannonball Adderley, Frank Zappa and Billy Cobham. Yet jazz was not on his mind when he came to record at his new label. With From Me To You, Duke went funky with a vengeance. Enlisting bassist Stanley Clarke and singer Dianne Reeves among his collaborators, Duke turned in a song-oriented R&B recording that set the pattern for the popular albums that followed.

Now established with a new audience who knew him primarily as an R&B artist, Duke focused on sophisticated funk on Reach For It, which yielded a hit single in its title track; Don’t Let Go had its own R&B anthem in “Dukey Stick.” Follow the Rainbow and Master Of The Game continued marching in the funky footsteps of their predecessors.

Duke’s passion for Brazilian music finally rose to the surface with A Brazilian Love Affair, on which he’s joined by Airto Moreira, Flora Purim and the master singer and composer Milton Nascimento, who contributes the only two non-Duke originals. Recorded in Rio de Janeiro, this labor of love also features a host of Brazil’s finest studio musicians. A Brazilian Love Affair and The 1976 Solo Keyboard Album, on which Duke offers more of his instrumental prowess than usual, might be anomalies when it came to Duke’s Epic work. Yet they demonstrated that this unclassifiable musician had more than just funk in his veins

Albums included:
1. From Me To You
2. Reach For It
3. Don't Let Go
4. Follow The Rainbow
5. Master Of The Game
6. Brazilian Love Affair

BILL O'CONNELL - TRIPLE PLAY THREE

New York Latin Jazz pianist Bill O'Connell's Triple Play Plus Three, his debut recording for Zoho, is an innovative spin on the traditional jazz trio format. Triple Play Plus Three presents eight lively, virtuosic O'Connell originals, plus two 20th century classics by Thelonious Monk (‘Round Midnight") and Kurt Weill ("Speak Low"). Triple Play Plus Three also features Dave Valentin, Richie Flores, Dave Samuels and Paquito D'Rivera.

Bill O'Connell's colorful career is notable for his extensive accomplishments in both Latin music and modern jazz, from serving as Mongo Santamaria's pianist in the 1970s over his long association with flutist Dave Valentín to working with Chet Baker, Sonny Rollins, Gao Barbieri, and the fabled Fort Apache Band, followed by a stellar career as a band leader and solo artist since the 1990s.

"A lot happens at the moment," the leader adds, "and that's the beauty of just having three people. Because there's no bass player, sometimes I'm playing the tumbao (the basic rhythm played on the conga and the bass in Afro-Caribbean music) with my left hand and sometimes I just leave it alone. This really allows me to direct the harmony or re-harmonize any way I want without having clashes with a bassist. I feel that this format has opened up a different way for me to play."

Dave Valentin made his recording debut with Ricardo Marrero's group and he appeared also on a Noel Pointer album. Discovered by Dave Grusin and Larry Rosen, Valentin was the first artist signed to GRP and he has been a popular attraction ever since. Valentin has recorded over 15 albums, combining the influence of pop, R&B, and Brazilian music with Latin and smooth jazz to create a slick and accessible form of crossover jazz. In 2000, he appeared in the documentary film, Calle 54, performing with Tito Puente. He toured with El Negro and MioSotis. Since the mid-2000s, Valentin has been signed to Highnote Records releasing World On A String (2005) and Come Fly With Me (2006). He has done several collaborations with pianist Bill O'Connell and was a nominee for the Latin Grammy Awards in 2006 and, for Pure Imagination, in 2011.

Typically, a Latin jazz group led by its percussionist would mean one thing: explosive Afro-Cuban rhythms in a boisterous, celebratory atmosphere. But the boundaries of the music have been expanding exponentially in recent years, and 34-year-old Arturo Stable is a prime example of how the influence of his native Cuba is being woven into a far more colorful tapestry than ever before. Stable's musicianship is subtle and textured, and his compositions possess an elegant romanticism culled from classical music.

 Bill O'Connell - Triple Play Plus Three:
1. Sweet Sophie Rose (feat. Paquito D'Rivera)
2. Bill's Blues (feat. Dave Samuels)
3. Crazy Samba (feat. Dave Valentin)
4. 'Round Midnight (feat. Paquito D'Rivera)
5. Non-Sense (feat. Dave Samuels)
6. Lake Road (feat. Dave Valentin)
7. Cobblestones (feat. Dave Samuels)
8. Speak Low (feat. Richie Flores)
9. Mr. EP (feat. Dave Valentin)
10. La Playa (feat. Dave Samuels)

HULON - AFTER HOURS

The urban jazz styling of Hulon has returned with his newest album, After Hours, set for release on February 7, and available on iTunes and Hulon’s website (http://www.hulon.com/). After Hours features Howard Hewitt, Geoff McBride and the new radio single “Do You Feel Me.”

After the success of his debut album, First Impressions, Hulon’s newest album, After Hours, has combined passion and confidence creating Hulon’s best tracks to date. Hulon’s debut album spent 15 weeks on the Billboard Jazz Chart, peaking at #25, and featured the single “Sax on the Beach,” which reached #16 on the Smooth Jazz.com Top 50 Indie Chart, and was featured on the noted jazz website AllAboutJazz.com, in addition to receiving national and international airplay on terrestrial and online radio.

The new 11 track set includes a vocal and instrumental version of the 1977 Heatwave classic “Always and Forever,” and eight originals penned by Kashiwa that play to Hulon’s strengths as a soulful balladeer and a grooving R&B/funk player, with a few dashes of cool and swinging traditional jazz in the mix. Highlights include the sensual late night romance “You’re Beautiful,” the whimsical mid tempo light funk tune “Takin’ My Time,” the tropical chill of “Sticky Trickuation,” the sly, Pink Panther-esque “Speak Easy,” (featuring shuffling drum, bass and finger snap rhythm) and the high octane horn-driven jam and first single from the new release, “Do You Feel Me.”

Hulon has collaborated once again with mentor, composer, producer and fellow saxophonist Jeff Kashiwa. World renowned for his years with The Rippingtons, The Sax Pack and numerous hit solo albums over the past 20 years, Kashiwa again brought in some of contemporary jazz’s most powerful and dynamic players to take Hulon’s musical game on the new collection to the next level including Dave Hooper (drums), Allen Hinds (guitar), Melvin Davis (bass) and Bill Heller (keyboards) all of whom have played key roles on First Impressions.

Yet there’s much more to Hulon’s dynamic emergence onto the urban jazz scene than simple chart stats and the support of some of the genre’s best players. At its heart, it’s the story of a musical dream long deferred, and unique connections between the spiritual and emotional healing power of music and the physical healing that Dr. Hulon E. Crayton does as a rheumatologist and founder of The Arthritis and Infusion Center, which specializes in the treatment of Rheumatological diseases as well as sports related injuries. The title of one of the tracks on After Hours, the tropical flavored groove tune, “Second Opinion,” is a playful ode to his longtime profession.

Upcoming Tour Dates:

February 18, 2012 @ Pineapple Willy's, Panama City Beach, FL
May 10, 2012 @ Pineapple Willy's, Panama City Beach, FL
May 11, 2012 @ Pineapple Willy's, Panama City Beach, FL
May 12, 2012 @ Pineapple Willy's, Panama City Beach, FL

Official website: http://www.hulon.com/