PIANIST/COMPOSER LESLIE PINTCHIK RELEASES FOURTH CD IN THE NATURE OF THINGS

In a personal note that follows the liner notes of her impressive new CD In The Nature Of Things (Pintch Hard Records), pianist and composer Leslie Pintchik cites the "extraordinary warmth and generosity (not to mention the superb musicianship) of all of the band members.  With that in mind," she continues, "I settled on the name In The Nature Of Things to reflect the feeling I had that all of the musicians on this date honored the fundamental intent and 'nature' of the music, as I had conceived it."

Pintchik's new recording features eight of her original tunes and one standard.

A marvelously gifted and imaginative composer, Pintchik has imbued each track on her new CD with a strong character and flavor of its own.  The wide range of grooves - swing, New Orleans second-line, samba and various Latin-based rhythms - and the equally wide range of feeling inherent in the tunes inspired her well-seasoned band members to take this material, run with it, and then some.

About her band-mates, Pintchik writes "What great good luck to live in a city where I've been able to meet and play with such creative, responsive musicians, who consistently bring so much to the table."  For this outing, Pintchik returns with two of her treasured long-time cohorts, bassist Scott Hardy and percussionist Satoshi Takeishi.  Michael Sarin, the extraordinary drummer with whom she's been playing for the past three years rounds out the rhythm section.  All three track this multi-layered music beautifully, and always give it what it asks for.  The superb saxophonist Steve Wilson (with whom she recorded on an earlier CD, Quartets) and the wonderfully resourceful trumpeter Ron Horton complete the band.

As a player, Pintchik's strong suit is an emotional directness and integrity that allows her to conjure a wide range of moment-to-moment, unmediated feeling.   And with a beautifully nuanced tone on her instrument, she evinces, by turns, the quiet delicacy and tenderness of power in reserve, a very playful extroverted humor, and a sense of urgency and play in her up-tempo pieces.

"I've always loved pianist Herbie Hancock's tune 'Speak Like A Child' on his classic CD with the same name," says Pintchik.  "And I was especially drawn," she continues, "to the way he used the horns, to color, but not state the melody.  With that as inspiration, Scott has written some wonderfully inventive counter-melodies for the horns, on the six tunes that feature Ron and Steve."

About the music:

In The Nature Of Things begins with the quietly seductive opening phrase of Pintchik's "With You In Mind."  A haunting melody with a sense of yin and yang, it is both quiet and turbulent, tender and urgent, and features strong feelingful solos from Pintchik, Wilson and Hardy.

"I'd Turn Back if I Were You" takes its name verbatim from a sign at the entrance to the Haunted Forest in the classic movie "The Wizard of Oz."  Set to a New Orleans second-line rhythm, the tune's strong groove and sense of humor is enhanced by the sassy James Brown influenced jabs from the horns.  This humorous take on the dangerous Haunted Forest is punctuated by the very loud repeated low note on the piano that serves as a quirky, ominous turn-around at the end of the tune.  Pintchik shines on an extroverted, enormously playful solo.

On the Lerner and Loewe standard "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," the poignant melody, arranged by Pintchik and Hardy in an extended form with a repeated ostinato rhythm, is set like a jewel.  Both the arrangement and the soloing showcase the especially sensitive interplay between Pintchik and Hardy: a subtle knockout.

Inspired by the color palette of her friend Peter Greene's paintings, the unusual flavor of Pintchik's tune "Luscious" showcases a lyricism within a bright straight-eighths tempo.  All three soloists (Pintchik, Wilson and Hardy) complete the picture with their vibrant solos.

With its happy, optimistic vibe, "Sparkle" is an appealing mid-tempo swinger written, says Pintchik, "to reflect the warmth of our listeners over a ten-year span of gigs at the recently closed Watercolor Café."  Pintchik sets the tone with a joyful, melodic, in-the-pocket solo.  Next up is Horton, who has a wonderfully uncommon mix of sweetness and excitement in his solo, followed by Wilson who plays with a powerful and very deep swing.

A minor blues that spans two twelve-bar choruses, "Terse Tune" has a very spare melody, hence its name.  Pintchik describes it as "a brief tune with astringent harmonies that ends not with a bang but a whimper."  This vibey romp with round-robin soloing, builds momentum throughout the track, and climaxes with an exciting flag-waving section with "dueling" horns trading choruses with "dueling" drums and percussion.

"Ripe" is a short volatile piece, with rich harmonies and dynamic contrasts, set to a loosely Latin-based groove.  "With his wonderful singing quality on flugelhorn, this is a beautiful feature for Ron" says Pintchik.  "Over the years, I've heard both his drive and beautiful tone in many bands and many contexts, and thought this tune would be a terrific fit for him."  Although Horton's solo is both active and intense, he still maintains the character of the tune, with its dark spacious beauty.  After a strong solo from Wilson, Pintchik's solo builds slowly and crests beautifully on her third chorus, before the return of the misterioso melody.

A samba with a rich feeling of anticipation, "Ready" has a sparkly energy in its groove, and a narrative with an attractive crescendo.  This quartet piece features Pintchik, Hardy, Sarin and Takeishi, in a beautiful dance, attuned to each other's every move.

The opening three-note phrase of Pintchik's wonderfully playful up-tempo swing tune "There You Go" is built around its three-word title, and the phrase continues in different permutations throughout the piece.  Performed live at a concert presented by the Shandelee Music Festival as part of its New York City Showcase Series, this trio track (with Pintchik, Hardy and Sarin) has an electric energy; the time just sails.  Pintchik and Hardy weigh in with powerfully swinging solos, and Sarin wows the crowd with his closing accompanied drum solo.

A richly textured reading of Pintchik's imaginative original material, In The Nature Of Things is a recording to savor.

www.lesliepintchik.com

www.pintchhard.com

SAXOPHONIST-COMPOSER ELI DEGIBRI DELIVERS "TWELVE"

The internationally recognized saxophonist-composer, Eli Degibri, possesses many gifts as a musician. He boasts a seemingly bottomless fount of artistry as a composer, and was a recipient of the honorary Israeli "Prime Minister Award for Jazz Composition", recognizing his great talent as a melodic composer and songwriter. He has been called, "an exceptionally melodic improviser with a big, bold tenor tone" (Bill Milkowski, JazzTimes), and the thirty-five year-old artist is simply, "a bewitching fellow who shows impressive chops, as both a player and a composer." (Karl Stark, The Philadelphia Inquirer). Herbie Hancock added that Degibri is, "a very talented composer, arranger, and performer", one who's music, "treads uncharted waters", and that the saxophonist-composer, "has the potential to be a formidable force in the evolution of jazz." Substantiating these accolades, in April of 2012, Degibri was invited to be a part of UNESCO's first International Jazz Day at the UN General Assembly in New York, alongside many of the finest jazz musicians in the world. Degibri is perpetually invited to perform at the world's most prestigious venues and festivals, and in 2011, was chosen as the successor to bassist Avishai Cohen as the Co-Artistic Director of The Red Sea Jazz Festival.

Degibri's gifts, his immense talents, were earned, molded and burnished from, not only his highly productive early days as one of the top young musicians in Israel, his time at Berklee (on a full scholarship) and The Monk Institute, but also from more than sixteen years of sharing stages with the likes of Herbie Hancock (1999-2002), Kenny Barron, Fred Hersch and Al Foster (2002-2011), and leading bands consisting of musicians such as Aaron Goldberg, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ben Street, Jeff Ballard, Kevin Hays, Gary Versace, Obed Calvaire and many others, resulting in five critically-acclaimed recordings under his name.

Degibri now presents his vibrant new album, Twelve, the follow up recording to Israeli Song (which featured Brad Mehldau, Ron Carter and Al Foster), recorded in Tel Aviv, Israel on December 12, 2012, and scheduled for release in the U.S. on January 28, 2013. Twelve is simultaneously reflective and pioneering, as the album represents two significant elements in Degibri's life today, youth and age. He explains, "joining me on this recording are two very young and astonishingly talented musicians: pianist Gadi Lehavi (16 years old), and drummer Ofri Nehemya (18 years old), as well as my best friend, the extraordinary bassist Barak Mori. When you listen to Gadi and Ofri, can you really tell their age? Watching and hearing Mori's playfulness and enthusiasm, can you really tell that he is the 'grownup' of the rhythm section? And yet, Mori's 'established' beat glues the band together because of his experience and maturity, while Gadi's and Ofri's fresh angle on music makes both Barak and me take more risks and strive for something new. We have the best of both worlds in this band!", explained Degibri.

As an established and prominent musician on the international jazz scene, and by employing these talented, emerging musicians featured on Twelve, Degibri is now engaged in the long-standing tradition of mentorship in the jazz world; in essence he is now the teacher, and no longer the pupil, and takes the transference of love, respect and dedication to this music very seriously. However, when Degibri puts horn to mouth in the studio or on stages around the globe, part of him becomes that kid back in Israel completely fascinated and elated by the saxophone and all things jazz. Degibri explains, "when I go on stage I try to enter a creative world where I find, and I hope that my audience finds, waterfalls full of harmony, thick forests pulsing with notes of all shapes and sizes, and many unique animals full of rhythm. In a way, for me, music is like a fairytale: ageless, immortal. And we musicians are eternally 'Peter Pan', no matter if we are 16, 18, 35, or 80 years old. I hope that the music we created together on this album will remain both young and old forever."

About the music on Twelve, featuring:Eli Degibri, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, mandolin; Gadi Lehavi, piano; Barak Mori bass; Ofri Nehemya drums; Shlomo Ydov, vocal on "Liora Mi Amor"; Eli Degibri, Gadi Lehavi, Barak Mori, Yaron Mohar, Yael Shapira, Pini Shavit, choir on "The Cave"

Twelve opens with the gentle intensity, and the soaring melody of the title track, complete with an immensely satisfying chord resolution! "Twelve" is the product of a melody and a set of chords growing in the musically fertile mind of Degibri. He explains, "many times I find myself composing, laying a melody over chords without knowing why, or what I am trying to express with this composition? 'Twelve' was just like that. Sometimes I find an answer and sometimes I won't! When we recorded the album on 12/12/12, I found the answer for this composition on that day!"

The lightning quick, odd-metered tune, "The Spider," is up next, showcasing the dexterity of the quartet, with a spotlight on the maturity of the young drummer, Ofri Nehemya. "I can hear the spider conspiring to catch its prey at the intro of the composition, then right to business and back to work to build those webs fast and elegant," said Degibri.

 "Roaming Fantasy" is an optimistic, hopeful song about musicians creating new fantastical worlds for their audiences around the globe. This composition and notion from Degibri relates to the famous quote from drummer Art Blakey, "jazz washes away the dust of every day life."

Degibri's swinging "Mambo" is the first mambo that the composer ever crafted, "I just had to call it MAMBO!," Degibri stated.

"Autumn In New York" is not only beautiful for it's wonderful melody, but also for the immediate feel of New York City that it gives the listener. It is a deeply meaningful standard for Degibri, "this song helped me imagine NYC before I even set foot on its streets, and this is my heartfelt version after living there for fifteen amazing years of my life."

"New Waltz" was new, and a waltz when Degibri composed it; now, it's just a waltz . . .

"Liora Mi Amor," featuring Shlomo Ydov on vocals, and Degibri on soprano saxophone, is a song for Lior (Liora is her nickname); a sensual tango dedicated to her.

The lovely "rock" ballad, "Old Seven," tells the story of a young individual of seven years old, with an old soul, while highlighting the wonderfully sensitive playing of sixteen-year-old pianist Gadi Lehavi.

Twelve closes with the contemplative, entrancing, "The Cave," featuring Degibri on mandolin, and providing an opportunity to fully appreciate bassist Mori's colossal, enveloping sound. The composition also features the wordless vocals of the quartet, with special guests. "'The Cave' is about my imaginary place where I can hide from all that's wicked and evil in the world," said Degibri.

On Twelve Eli Degibri speaks and sings through his horn eloquently, powerfully, and in a sophisticated, urbane manner, back by a group of musicians utterly committed to every note. This stellar album finds Degibri clearly an artist completely at home, physically, emotionally, and certainly musically.

www.Degibri.com

LEDISI - THE TRUTH

You can tell when a woman has finally come into her own. It's in the swivel of her hips, the growl in her voice and the joy that brightens her face when she smiles. A woman filled with confidence is a force to be reckoned with. For singer songwriter Ledisi, that exuberance rings through on every track of her new album The Truth. "I changed my life!" Ledisi says with a laugh. "With every album I grow, and with The Truth I am really starting to accept myself fully. I mean, I've always felt great about myself, but this time I've gone to a new level." The result is an album filled not only with Ledisi's trademark soaring ballads but also something unexpected: a generous collection of up-tempo, beat-driven celebrations of love and lust. Ledisi describes the effort as "vibrant, sensual and fun. Of all of my recordings, this is definitely my favorite album ever."

Her first single, I Blame You, is a joyful reflection on that new-found love. "This other person made me feel beautiful," she says. "And that made me look at myself and see myself in a different light." Her friend and collaborator, Claude Kelly (Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera) came up with title. "I came into the studio and Claude asked me how I was feeling and I said, 'I feel excited about myself,'" she recalls. "I told him someone was making me smile and he thought of the idea of blaming the other person for building me up. But of course, that only works if you are open to it." "That song was the beginning of me letting go," she continues. "I realized, it's okay for you to leave something that's not working. Of course, it's scary to realize the truth and then go ahead and make a move. But that's what you have to do. Basically it comes down to, are you going to stay here and be miserable or are you going to leap and go for what you want?"

Ledisi says while creating Lose Control, which she co-wrote with long-time producer Rex Rideout (Luther Vandross, Angie Stone, Will Downing), she drew on the experiences of people around her. "I asked Rex, how does it feel to feel to be married?" she recalls. "And I asked another producer, how does it feel to be single? And I thought to myself, wouldn't it be nice if people started getting excited about getting intimate? We don't have enough songs like that, songs that describe romance. Wouldn't it be good to describe what we are going to do in a classy intimate and aggressive way? Why can't women lead?"

  

Ledisi explains that her new music is a reflection of her journey of self-discovery. "There was a time when I felt like I had to please everybody," she says. "Now I'm like 'I don't care anymore,' I just want to be fully out there and be the person I really am, which is someone who loves being open and fun." But all this self love didn't enter Ledisi's life without her shedding some baggage. In 88 Boxes, Ledisi tells an intimate tale of a failed relationship. "If you would have said 'I loved you,' I would have turned around and stayed. But you said nothing. Did you really love me?" Ledisi sings on the hauntingly beautiful track that is as mournful as it is memorable.

  

"88 Boxes is about me letting go," she explains. "I was moving out and had to count how many boxes I had for the moving truck. For women, it's hard for us to leave things and people that we love. We stay in situations almost like martyrs to ourselves. At the same time I was leaving, I am recognizing that the other person didn't want me to leave but didn't know how to say the words, 'Don't go.' In 88 Boxes, I am being somewhat sympathetic to that...but I am also focusing on the reality of what is...the end of a love affair."

The track, which Ledisi had originally penned as a poem, was recorded in a single take. "I laid it down in the dark," she remembers. "Everyone had been telling me how I should record the song, but my vocal producer, Roland Jack, who is like a brother to me, said, "Led I want you to do what you wrote. Forget all these people. Get your butt in that booth and sing the truth. When I came out the room everybody had their mouths open like, "Oh my God!" It was one of the hardest songs to record and it's honest."

  

Ledisi's courage to be so vulnerable isn't the only positive byproduct of her transformation. "Over the past few years, I've really had to ask myself, 'Who are you and what do you want to be,'" she reflects. "I did some mediation and I started working out hard. Not like how I used to where I would do a couple of crunches and then drink a soda! Now I'm really challenging myself. And I love this girl! She's free and uninhibited and having fun with life. I've learned that when you really love who you are, it radiates! It all starts from the within. It all starts from accepting The Truth."

~ vervemusicgroup.com

NICK VAYENAS - SOME OTHER TIME

Trombonist, trumpeter and vocalist Nick Vayenas is a forward-thinking musician who incorporates different styles of music into the jazz idiom. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Vayenas started his music studies with trombone and piano at age 12. He has since become an accomplished trumpeter and vocalist.

Since 2003, Nick Vayenas has been a long-standing touring band member for Grammy® Award-winning recording artist Michael Bublé. Vayenas has performed on several Bublé recordings, including Crazy Love and the Grammy® Award- winning Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden.

In 2009, Vayenas became a leader in his own right, releasing his critically acclaimed debut album, Synesthesia, on drummer Kendrick Scott’s World Culture Music label.  "A well conceived album and more than casually ambitious", wrote Nate Chinen of the New York Times.  In 2012, he returned with his sophomore release, Nick Vayenas, on Whirlwind Recordings. The recording displayed his astonishing breadth of skills on vocals, trumpet and trombone, as well as his unique composing and arranging style.  "One of the most impressive of Whirlwind issues, showcasing a multi-talented individual likely to appeal to a wide constituency of jazz fans, 4 stars", said Jazz Journal.

Vayenas earned scholarships to attend Berklee College of Music, the Manhattan School of Music and the Thelonious Monk Institute, which were key to his technical development as a musician and composer. His musical influences range from Louis Armstong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, J.J. Johnson, Frank Rosolino, Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Freddie Hubbard, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock and Chet Baker to Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Donny Hathaway, Paul Simon, Joao Gilberto, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Beethoven and Debussy. Along the way, Vayenas studied with such jazz luminaries as trombonists Hal Crook, Conrad Herwig, Bill Watrous, David Taylor and Steve Turre, trumpeter Terence Blanchard, and pianist Herbie Hancock.

His new 2013 release, Some Other Time takes the concept used on his previous album and expands upon it.  Some Other Time is a balance of instrumental and vocal, originals and covers.  The recording features guitarist Doug Wamble, pianist Dan Kaufman, alto saxophonist Patrick Cornelius, bassists Michael Janisch and Peter Slavov, and drummers Rudy Royston and Joe Saylor.

  

A quintessential sideman as well as a leader, Nick Vayenas has appeared on many albums, including works by Patrick Cornelius and Dayna Stephens. He has worked with prominent artists such as Josh Groban, Bryan Adams, David Foster, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Scott, Aaron Parks, Dayna Stephens, Lionel Loueke, Vicente Archer, Patrick Cornelius, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Terence Blanchard and Gretchen Parlato. Television performances include the Tonight Show, Late Show with David Letterman, Today Show, Oprah, Ellen and Saturday Night Live. He has performed at the Umbria Jazz, Montreal Jazz, and St. Lucia Jazz Festivals, and at venues such as Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Sydney Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, Blue Note Jazz Club and Ronnie Scott's.

The album setlist features a number of classic blues, spanning obscurities to staples such as "Hoochie Coochie Man," here marked by Haynes' lead vocals and snarling slide work. Furthermore, Play All Night sees the Brothers unplug for a three-song acoustic interlude encompassing bare-boned renditions of Betts' "Seven Turns" and Allman's "Midnight Rider," as well as a buoyant take on the Robert Johnson standard, "Come On In My Kitchen."

~ nickvayenas.com

BLUE NOTE RECORDS CELEBRATES 75TH ANNIVERSARY

January 6, 2014 marked the 75th Anniversary of Blue Note Records, the most-respected and longest-running Jazz label in the world, which was founded when a German immigrant and passionate Jazz fan named Alfred Lion produced his first recording session on January 6, 1939 in New York City. Blue Note has gone on to represent The Finest In Jazz, tracing the entire history of the music from Hot Jazz, Boogie Woogie, and Swing, through Bebop, Hard Bop, Post Bop, Soul Jazz, Avant-Garde, and Fusion, and into Jazz’s numerous modern day incarnations under the leadership of Bruce Lundvall, who revived Blue Note in 1984, and the label’s current President Don Was, who took the helm in 2012.

Blue Note will celebrate its 75th Anniversary throughout 2014 with a series of live events beginning with a concert on January 8 as part of NYC Winter Jazzfest at The Town Hall in New York featuring two of the label’s leading artists: Robert Glasper and Jason Moran. The label will also be honored with a GRAMMY Museum exhibition, book releases, and various vinyl, CD, and digital catalog initiatives, as well as new releases from the label’s current artists. Blue Note has also launched a Facebook app that allows fans to put their own face into classic Blue Note cover artwork designs by Reid Miles.

ROBERT GLASPER & JASON MORAN AT THE TOWN HALL

On January 6, 1939, Blue Note founder Alfred Lion brought two Boogie Woogie pianists – Albert Ammons and Meade “Lux” Lewis – into a studio in New York City to produce the very first Blue Note recording session. On January 8, 2014, two of Blue Note’s current pianists – Robert Glasper and Jason Moran – will celebrate the label’s 75 year history by beginning with Ammons and Lewis and presenting their personal Blue Note touchstones as well as their music from their own considerable catalogs. The concert – which is being presented by NYC Winter Jazzfest – will also feature bassist Alan Hampton and drummer Eric Harland, as well as special guests vocalist Bilal and saxophonist and Blue Note artist Ravi Coltrane. Tickets are available at http://smarturl.it/bn75-townhall.

OTHER LIVE EVENTS

January 9 – NYC Winter Jazzfest & Summerstage present the Revive Big Band at (le) poisson rouge celebrating Blue Note Records 75th Anniversary featuring special guests. Click here for more info.

February 20-March 1 – Portland Jazz Festival presents Blue Note @ 75 featuring Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band, Eliane Elias, Dave Frishberg & Bob Dorough, and Bobby Watson & Horizon. Click here for more info.

May 11 – Jason Moran, who also serves as the Artistic Advisor for Jazz at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC will present Blue Note At 75, The Concert. As the culminating event of a celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Blue Note Records, artists from the label's present and past roster perform including Moran, Norah Jones, Wayne Shorter, and surprise special guests. Click here for more info.

**Additional live events will be announced throughout the year.

GRAMMY MUSEUM EXHIBITION

The GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles will honor Blue Note’s 75 year legacy with an exhibition that is set to open in March. The exhibit will present the label’s iconic artwork and photography, as well as artifacts and music.

BRUCE LUNDVALL’S BIOGRAPHY

Blue Note’s former President and current Chairman Emeritus Bruce Lundvall – who re-launched Blue Note in 1984 and presided over the label’s flourishing for over 25 years – will release his biography Playing By Ear (written with author Dan Ouellette) through ArtistShare this month. Click here for more info.

CATALOG RELEASES

Blue Note will commence an extensive vinyl reissue initiative on March 25 with the release of five classic titles (Art Blakey Free For All, John Coltrane Blue Train, Eric Dolphy Out To Lunch, Wayne Shorter Speak No Evil, and Larry Young Unity). The vinyl releases are set to continue monthly and will also include modern classics from Blue Note’s recent catalog such as Joe Lovano Quartets: Live At The Vanguard, Jason Moran Soundtrack To Human Motion, and Terence Blanchard Flow. For Record Store Day in April, Blue Note will also reissue the label’s first two releases as limited edition 12” vinyl:  Meade “Lux” Lewis “Melancholy”/”Solitude” (BN1) and Albert Ammons “Boogie Woogie Stomp”/”Boogie Woogie Blues” (BN2). Other catalog releases including a 75 track digital bundle spanning Blue Note’s entire history will be announced shortly.

NEW RELEASES

Blue Note continues to maintain an incomparable roster of current talent, and 2014 will see new releases from trumpeters Takuya Kuroda (Rising Son, February 18) and Ambrose Akinmusire (the imagined savior is far easier to paint, March 11), as well as artists beyond Jazz such as Rosanne Cash (The River & The Thread, January 14) and Benmont Tench (You Should Be So Lucky, February 18). Further new releases will soon be announced from Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band, Jason Moran, Joe Lovano/Dave Douglas Soundprints Quintet, José James, and two Blue Note legends: Bobby Hutcherson in a quartet with David Sanborn, Joey DeFrancesco and Billy Hart, and Wayne Shorter whose return to Blue Note Without A Net figured prominently in several Best of 2013 lists.

BLUE NOTE APPS

Blue Note has proved itself to be an innovator not only musically but also technologically, most notably with the 2012 release of our much-heralded Blue Note Spotify App, which created a space within the popular streaming service to explore and discover music spanning the entire history of the label, as well as the Blue Note by Groovebug App which is available for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users. Now Blue Note has introduced a fun Facebook App that allows fans to insert their own face into classic Blue Note covers. Choose between six cover artwork designs by influential designer Reid Miles and see how you would look on the cover of your own Blue Note record! 

It took the joining of many natural forces to create and define one of the greatest Jazz labels there has ever been: Jazz-loving German immigrants on the run from Nazism (Alfred Lion & Francis Wolff), a New Jersey optometrist moonlighting as a recording engineer (Rudy Van Gelder), a classical music-loving commercial designer (Reid Miles), and slews of the most incredible musicians that have ever walked the earth (too many to name them all here). The elements that each brought to the table—impeccable A&R instincts, elegant and insightful photography, sterling sound quality, strikingly original cover artwork, and consistently transcendent music—were all essential to the label's early success. Together they created a vivid Blue Note identity. The whole could not have existed without each of the parts.

Blue Note’s legendary catalog traces the entire history of the music from Hot Jazz, Boogie Woogie, and Swing, through Bebop, Hard Bop, Post Bop, Soul Jazz, Avant-Garde, Fusion, and on. The label’s stars from the early years form a true Who’s Who: Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Jimmy Smith, Grant Green, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, McCoy Tyner, Donald Byrd, Andrew Hill, Ornette Coleman.

After a brief dormancy from 1981-1984 during which producer/historian Michael Cuscuna kept the label’s legacy alive with a series of reissues on EMI, Blue Note returned reinvigorated by the leadership of Bruce Lundvall and has since established itself as the most respected Jazz label in the world. Blue Note is still home to some of the most prominent stars and cutting-edge innovators in Jazz today, and at the same time has broadened its horizons to include quality music in many genres.

Under Lundvall’s stewardship, Blue Note had its share of commercial successes from Bobby McFerrin, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson, Us3, Medeski Martin & Wood, Norah Jones, Al Green, Anita Baker, Amos Lee, Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis. The label also remained a haven for the most creative voices in Jazz including Ambrose Akinmusire, Patricia Barber, Brian Blade, Terence Blanchard, Don Byron, Kurt Elling, Robert Glasper, Stefon Harris, Charlie Hunter, Lionel Loueke, Joe Lovano, Jason Moran, Greg Osby, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, John Scofield, Jacky Terrasson, Chucho Valdes, and many more.

In 2011, veteran record producer and musician Don Was joined Blue Note as Chief Creative Officer and soon became President of the label with Lundvall continuing to provide guidance as Chairman Emeritus. With Was at the helm, Blue Note has renewed its dedication to Lion’s original vision that “any particular style of playing which represents an authentic way of musical feeling is genuine expression.” In the 21st century Lion’s words still ring true and provide a blueprint that includes Robert Glasper Experiment’s visionary melding of Jazz, R&B, and Hip-Hop and Elvis Costello’s funky collaboration with The Roots, as well as bringing the legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter back to the label where he made his early classic albums, and continuing to sign singular voices in Jazz such as saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and vocalist Gregory Porter. Blue Note Records is one of the flagship labels of the Capitol Music Group.

~ www.bluenote.com

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND LIVE AT THE BEACON THEATRE 1992: PLAY ALL NIGHT

Epic/Legacy Recordings is releasing Play All Night: Live At The Beacon Theatre 1992, a new two-disc set from the one and only Allman Brothers Band. The collection highlights the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers' first-ever extended run at the venerable New York City venue, an annual residency that has since become a certifiable rock 'n' roll tradition. Play All Night: Live At The Beacon Theatre 1992 arrives on February 18th.  Celebrating their 45th anniversary this year, the band will return to the venue for ten dates beginning March 7.  

Epic/Legacy Recordings will also release on February 18 Live At Great Woods, a feature-length concert DVD filmed at Massachusetts' Great Woods Center for the Performing Arts in September of 1991. Long requested by fans, the upcoming reissue showcases the original long form video version of the concert, previously only available on DVD with band interviews edited into the main feature.

The band's 1989 reunion revivified the Allman Brothers Band, leading to a pair of acclaimed studio albums and a full-fledged return to the road. The addition of percussionist Marc Quinones in 1990 finally brought to life the triple percussion ensemble Duane had envisioned when first uniting the band and by 1992, The Allman Brothers Band were definitely in an unstoppable groove. The Brothers' 1992 spring itinerary saw the band carry on its special relationship with New York City by settling into the landmark Beacon Theatre for an extended 10-night run.

Specifically selected for coming closest in spirit to Bill Graham's long gone Fillmore East, the beloved Upper West Side venue had previously hosted the ABB during their 1989 reunion tour and felt to the band like a place they could call home.

Kicking off on March 10th, the Beacon shows blended recent fan favorites like "Get On With Your Life," "End Of The Line," and "Nobody Knows" with such stone cold classics as "Statesboro Blues," "Blue Sky," "Jessica," "Revival," and of course, "Whipping Post," all played with the distinctive invention and muscularity that defined this particular ABB line-up.

Highlights include an elongated "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed" – complete with incendiary Betts and Haynes solos, roaring Woody bass and a thunderous percussive break by Jaimoe, Trucks, and Quinones – as well as a stunning "Dreams," Gregg's immediately identifiable voice infusing every lyric with history, nuance, and soulful emotion.

As ever, the setlist features a number of classic blues, spanning obscurities to staples such as "Hoochie Coochie Man," here marked by Haynes' lead vocals and snarling slide work. Furthermore, Play All Night sees the Brothers unplug for a three-song acoustic interlude encompassing bare-boned renditions of Betts' "Seven Turns" and Allman's "Midnight Rider," as well as a buoyant take on the Robert Johnson standard, "Come On In My Kitchen."

"1991-92 was a period of great creativity for that configuration of the Allman Brothers," Haynes says, "and these shows capture a true moment in time for the group. It's cool that the acoustic set is included, because it gives the fans a chance to hear some rare versions of particular songs. All in all, I think Play All Night represents how on fire that band could be on any given night at that point in their history."

Play All Night: Live At The Beacon Theatre 1992 was produced for release by Warren Haynes; originally captured by legendary producer Tom Dowd. The collection will feature liner notes by John Lynskey (editor of the official ABB magazine, Hittin' The Note) as well as never-before-seen photos by longtime band photographer Kirk West.

 

NEW RELEASES - CATERINA VALENTE, JIMMY SAPIENZA & CHRIS PANGIKAS, SHEILA JORDAN

CATERINA VALENTE - LIVE AT THE TALK OF THE TOWN / CATERINA VALENTE LIVE

Two different live albums from Caterina Valente – served up here in a single set! Live At Talk Of The Town is one of Valente's great albums in the US – upbeat, swinging, and with a very groovy feel that has Caterina sounding especially nice on some of the album's medley tracks – done with a feel that's a lot less hokey than you'd hear from other artists! The spoken bits show her German accent, but the rest have a groovier swinging feel – and the backings are surprisingly jazzy throughout, handled by Burt Rhodes, with vibes and bongos from the great Fats Sadi! Titles include an excellent "Bacharach Medley", plus "Parade Medley", "Mother Goosanova", "Falling In Love", "Canto De Ossanha", and "Spanish Medley". Caterina Valente Live is a record that's mostly sung in German, but one that also has a really universal appeal – thanks to backing from a cool jazz combo that includes MPS heavyweights Fats Sadi on vibes and bongos, and Sigi Schwab on guitar! Horst Jankowski directs the music, and other great instrumental elements include organ from Gotz Wendland and guitar and flute from Silvio Francesco – both mixed up in these really playful arrangements from Heinz Kiessling that show Valente's great ability to skirt both jazz and pop. There's some nice medley numbers – including "Musical Hit Parade", and "Italian Hit Parade" – plus versions of "Canto De Ossanha", "Singing My Song", "Falling In Love With Love", and "The Windmills Of Your Mind". ~ Dusty Groove

JIMMY SAPIENZA & CHRIS PANGIKAS - AZURE TE

In 2007, Jimmy won an Emmy Award for his participation in the WQED Multimedia television show “Live From Studio ‘A’.” Sapienza’s rendition of “Just A Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody,” along with outstanding performances by Bo Wagner and other great Pittsburgh artists, won the Emmy in the category of “Arts Program or Special”. Sapienza is an expert showman, songwriter and stylist. A 'saloon singer' with a spontaneous, up and slightly offbeat sense of humor, he is one of the last Italian Saloon Singers steeped in the tradition of those great crooners that preceded him. Jimmy is also the leader of his own band, Jimmy Sapienza’s Five Guys Named Moe ™. The Moes are widely known for their crowd-pleasing performances and world-class sound. “Jimmy is the BEST!” said the late KDKA radio personality John Cigna. “He’s like Louie Prima, Sinatra, Dean-O, Tony Bennett and Louis Armstrong, all rolled into one loveable package!” Radio jocks Tony Mowod, Bob Studebaker, Chilly Billy Cardille, and Jack Bogut in the Morning all speak highly of Jimmy and frequently feature him on their programs.
http://www.thejazznetworkworldwide.com/?xg_source=msg_mes_network

SHEILA JORDAN - PORTAIT OF SHEILA

One of the only two vocal jazz albums that the Blue Note label ever recorded – and a haunting batch of tracks from a young Sheila Jordan! The style here is quite different than that of Jordan's later, more experimental records – and this early session shows her as an extremely talented young vocalist, with a unique approach that adds a sparkling modernist touch to familiar tunes – yet which still keeps things in a relatively more straightforward fashion. There's a great mixing of older and newer visions in the set – not just in Jordan's vocals, but also in the small combo backing by the trio of Barry Galbraith on guitar, Steve Swallow on bass, and Denzil Best on drums. Titles include great versions of "Baltimore Oriole", "Dat Dere", and "Hum Drum Blues" – plus the tunes "I'm A Fool To Want You", "Am I Blue", "Laugh Clown Laugh", and "Who Can I Turn To?". ~ Dusty Groove

THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDING ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE OF OLIVER LAKE, DAVID MURRAY, ANDREW CYRILLE

OLIVER LAKE - THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDINGS ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE: HOLDING TOGETHER / PROPHET / CLEVONT FRITZHUBERT / EXPANDABLE LANGUAGE / EDGE-ING / DEDICATED TO DOLPHY / A NEW ORGANIZATION (7-CD)

Some of the greatest work ever recorded by reedman Oliver Lake – all packaged together in one great set! The package shows Lake really maturing both as a player and as a group leader – working with a range of contemporaries to move his sound past the loft jazz modes of the 70s, but still with all the deep spirit of collaboration that always made his contributions to jazz so important. The first few albums are key standouts in the Black Saint catalog, and the later titles are great surprises from some years when folks might have taken Lake for granted, but he was still always able to pull out some new modes of expression. Players on the sessions include Michael Gregory Jackson, Fred Hopkins, Baikida Carroll, Donald Smith, Pheeroan Ak Laff, Russell Gunn, Charles Eubanks, Reggie Workman, and Andrew Cyrille – and the set features 7 full albums, all with original artwork – Holding Together, Orphet, Clevont Fitzhubert, Expandable Language, Edge-ing, Dedicated To Dolphy, and A New Organization. (All albums come in cardboard sleeve replicas of the original album covers!) ~ Dusty Groove

DAVID MURRAY - THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDINGS ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE: SWEET LOVELY / MORNING SONG / I WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOU / THE HILL / A SANCTUARY WITHIN / BODY AND SOUL / WINWARD PASSAGES (7-CD)

Amazing small group work from saxophonist David Murray – and a body of material that really shows the reedman coming into his own! The Black Saint/Soul Note label was one of the first to really show faith in Murray – and allow him to step from the underground into the limelight of global jazz – working with key players who helped him really find his voice, and show the world that he was a saxophonist who could be freely creative one minute, then damn soulful the next! All albums in the set are classics from this amazing run in Murray's career – and some might argue that they represent a high point in his talents as well – wonderfully expressive sessions that feature players that include Fred Hopkins, Richard Davis, Ray Drummond, or Reggie Workman on bass; Dave Burrell, Sonelius Smith, or John Hicks on piano; Sunny Murray, Joe Chambers, Ed Blackwell, or Steve McCall on drums. The set features 7 full albums, all with original artwork – Sweet Lovely, Morning Song, I Want To Talk About You, The Hill, A Sanctuary Within, Body & Soul, and Windward Passages. (All albums come in cardboard sleeve replicas of the original album covers!) ~ Dusty Groove

ANDREW CYRILLE - THE COMPLETE REMASTERED RECORDINGS ON BLACK SAINT & SOUL NOTE: METAMUSICIANS' STOMP / NUBA / SOMETHING IN RETURN / SPECIAL PEOPLE / THE NAVIGATOR / X MAN / GOOD TO GO, WITH A TRIBUTE TO BU (7-CD)

Some of our favorite work on the legendary Black Saint/Soul Note label – a wonderful set of recordings that really allowed percussionist Andrew Cyrille a chance to express himself freely! Cyrille had been making music on record for almost two decades before he reached this stretch in his careery – but with these albums he really gets a chance to present his music at the height of its expression – in a range of settings and groupings that really get at the wide range of Andrew's skills on drums and percussion. Highlights include a very spiritual session with the Manolo group – David S Ware on tenor and Ted Daniel on trumpet; a set of duets with altoist Jimmy Lyons, a partner of Cyrille in the Cecil Taylor group; a trio date with Jeanne Lee on vocals and Lyons on alto; a trio tribute to Art Blakey; and another recording with Daniel and pianist Sonelius Smith. Every record's a gem, and the set presents them each with original artwork – in a box that includes the albums Metamusicians' Stomp, Nuba, Something In Return, Special People, The Navigator, X Man, and Good To Go. (All albums come in cardboard sleeve replicas of the original album covers!) ~ Dusty Groove

NEW RELEASES - KOUDEDE, DAVE REMPIS /JOSHUA ABRAMS / AVREEAYL RA, THE REMPIS / DAISY DUO

KOUDEDE - GUITARS FROOM AGADEZ VOL. 7

A sweet EP of guitar-laden grooves from Koudede – a Mali musician we've really grown to love from this excellent series! The record's got the strongest punch of any work we've heard from Koudede so far – a growing sense of pride that not only informs the bold rhythms at the bottom, but also the sharpness of his own lead guitar lines and vocals – so powerful and anthemic you can almost get the politics in his music, even if you don't understand the language. Titles include "Adounia", "Taghlamt", "Ewellan", and "Tamidit". ~ Dusty Groove 

DAVE REMPIS / JOSHUA ABRAMS / AVREEAYL RA - APHELION

A trio of tracks by a tremendous trio – the wonderfully spiritual combo of Dave Rempis on saxes, Avreeayl Ra on percussion, and Josh Abrams on bass, small harp, and guimbri! Abrams' presence is really felt here – and his growth towards even more soulful styles in recent years seems to bring Ra's music into great focus, and give Rempis a sensitivity that goes even beyond some of his best recent material in other settings. The music is always focused with a cosmic sort of energy – often relatively free, but never too loose – and driven by a shared spirit between the players that really holds the whole thing together. Titles include "Ruah", "Soria", and "Saqiya". ~ Dusty Groove.

DAVE REMPIS / TIM DAISY (THE REMPIS / DAISY DUO) - SECOND SPRING

An amazing showcase for the reed talents of musician Dave Rempis – working here on alto, tenor, and baritone sax – alongside some powerful drum work from Tim Daisy! The duets are great – unbridled, but still with a sense of structure that really shows Rempis' careful execution of his talents – a way of laying out these long, expressive lines on the different instruments – often with a sense of spirit that takes us back to Dolphy at his most out, the best ESP power trios, and some of the high points of the New York loft jazz scene. Titles include "Numbers Lost", "Three Flags", "For R Barry", "Impasto", and "Gerosten & Gesalten". ~ Dusty Groove

CHERYL BARNES - LISTEN TO THIS

"Listen To This," the debut CD from eclectically-trained Jazz vocalist Cheryl Barnes, is set for release on February 19, 2014, via Barnes & Cabasso Music.  Highlighting 12 tracks steeped in Jazz and Blues, 'Listen To This" was produced by music industry veteran Rahn Coleman, recorded at Mystic Knight Recording Studios in Los Angeles and features a stellar list of sideman including Brandon Fields on sax, John Hammond on piano, and Ricky Minor on bass with orchestration by John Beasley.

Known principally as a Jazz singer, Cheryl's versatility encompasses many musical genres.  Singing in four different languages, Cheryl has performed around the world (including shows with Wynton Marsalis, J.J. Johnson, Quincy Jones, and a guest member spot with the Clara Ward Gospel Singers, and she has recorded with the likes of Skip Scarborough, Azar Lawrence. Billy Mitchell, and Cathy Segal-Garcia.  Her 16 years of Operatic training have brought her to the stage as a featured soloist with the Denver Symphony Orchestra in Wisconsin, and she has toured extensively in South America, nurturing her love for Samba, Bossa-Nova, Salsa and the riches of Latins and Afro-Cuban music.

A sought-after vocal clinician conducting numerous workshops  and clinics across the U.S., Barnes is also a founding member of the Jazz Vocal Coalition and retains an esteemed musical presence in Los Angeles, having been heard on stages ranging from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's prestigious Friday Jazz Series to the Hollywood Bowl to the House of Blues.

Barnes' varied background makes itself apparent in the choice of songs which she has selected to sing on "Listen To This." From Mark Winkler and Marilyn Harris' lovely portrayal of a veteran Jazz singer with an extraordinary life in "Afternoon In Harlem" to the spirited, party-like jazz vibe of the title track "Listen To This" (written by Barnes' husband-arranger, musician, and physician Phillip Cabasso), to Barnes' own powerful interpretation of Joni Mitchell's 'Come In From The Cold."

Barnes' album is amply reflective of her deep-rooted musical training as well as her love of infusing different musical styles within her chosen material.  But what sets this project apart is Cheryl's incredible voice, which imbues each word she sings with a beauty and clarity all its' own, taking the listener along on an extraordinary journey as th story of each song unfolds.

"After years of touring and working with a multitide of artists, I've decided now is the time to focus my energies on my own CD," said Barnes, "It's been a long time in the making and I'm very proud of both the music and the breadth of the songs and musicians on this album." 

www.cherylbarnes.com

NEW RELEASES - CHUCK BERRY-ONE DOZEN BERRYS, MIGHTY MIGHTY-SEE THE LIGHT, DARIO CARNOVALE-PORTRAITS

CHUCK BERRY - ONE DOZEN BERRYS

One dozen "berrys", all of them great – the fresh fruits of the labors of a young Chuck Berry – heard here at his raw, early best! The sound here is stunning – a version of Chuck that gets way past any oldies cliches – and which reminds us that at the start, his music was coming from the same Chess Records fount as Bo Diddley's riffing guitar and Muddy Waters' Chicago blues! The tunes all work together perfectly – and the familiar numbers fit in perfectly with overlooked gems that really make the album great – especially when Chuck's guitar is really given a chance to step out and solo. Titles include "La Juanda", "Sweet Little Sixteen", "It Don't Take But A Few Minutes", "Rock & Roll Music", and "Low Feeling". CD features an insane 14 bonus tracks – including "21", "Vacation Time", "Beautiful Delilah", "21 Blues", and lots of alternate and different takes of other tunes too! ~ Dusty Groove.

MIGHTY MIGHTY - SEE THE LIGHT

A great debut from an ultra-jazzy combo from the Finnish scene – one with the same sort of fire and crackle as the best groups on the Ricky Tick label! The tracks have a blend of 60s hardbop with some later soulful elements – and leader Kari Setala's got a mighty great touch on both piano and keyboards – the former used in these strongly modal ways at points, the latter with even more deft touches on some of the record's more 70s funk-styled selections! Other instrumentation features trumpet, tenor, bass, drums, and percussion – and almost all tracks are originals with a mighty fresh sound. Titles include "Backyard Boogie", "Dark Sun", "Seventh Sign", "Time's Up", "See The Light", and "Simba". ~ Dusty Groove.

DARIO CARNOVALE - PORTRAITS

Wonderfully cascading piano work from Dario Carnovale – a player who's working here in a grand piano, which gives the record a really rich sound that's perfect for Dario's command of the keys! Most of the record is solo, although two tracks feature a drummer – but Carnovale creates a sound that's often as full as a trio performance, given his deft handling of melody, and inherently rhythmic style – even at mellower moments. Titles include "Seven Steps", "Giant Steps", "Miriam & Sara", "Aforisma #2", and "La Flamme De Scriabin".~ Dusty Groove

 

NATALIE CRESSMAN - TURN THE SEA

Raised in an eclectic musical household, Natalie Cressman has only continued to diversify and expand her musical universe. Still in her early 20s, the trombonist, composer, and vocalist has assimilated the full range of her sonic influences into a startlingly mature, strikingly original voice that melds the sophistication of modern jazz with captivating storytelling and intoxicating melodies reminiscent of indie rock's most distinctive songwriters. 

Cressman has spent much of the last three years touring the jam band circuit with Phish's Trey Anastasio, while also performing with jazz luminaries Nicholas Payton, Wycliffe Gordon, and Peter Apfelbaum. Those varied experiences are reflected on her gorgeous second release, Turn the Sea. Anastasio calls the album "a beacon of light in an increasingly cold and mechanized era of music. Natalie is standing on the precipice of an incredible life in music, and if this album is any indication of where she's headed, then I'll be listening every step of the way." 

Inspired in part by those bandleaders' boundary-blurring approaches, Turn the Sea reveals a sound that's utterly uncategorizable but instantly accessible, one that belies but is also a product of Cressman's youth. "I want to make music that my own generation can respond to," Cressman says. "I would really love for anyone to listen to my music and find something to relate to. I don't want to shut people out by being overly sophisticated and esoteric, even though everything I write is jazz-based and more dynamic and spontaneous than a lot of the music that is wildly popular."

The disc features a stellar eight-piece band, largely culled from Cressman's Bay Area peers: trumpeter Ivan Rosenberg, flutist and clarinetist Steven Lugerner, saxophonist James Casey, keyboardist Samora Pinderhughes, guitarist Gabe Schneider, bassist Jonathan Stein, and drummer Michael Mitchell join the bandleader, who sings and plays trombone. The two talents, she says, are intimately related. "I think the fact that I sing influences and affects the way I play the trombone and vice versa. The voice in my head that I write with and play with and sing with is the same, but the medium is different."

Cressman was raised in San Francisco by parents who guaranteed she would be constantly surrounded by music. Her mother, Sandy Cressman, is a jazz vocalist who immersed herself deeply into the traditions of Brazilian music; her father, Jeff Cressman, is a recording engineer, trombonist, and longtime member of Santana. Natalie quite naturally began studying trombone with her father, but set out to be a dancer rather than a musician. She was an aspiring ballet dancer until her junior year of high school, when an injury set her on a different path.

Once she set her sights on a career in music, her parents provided not only role models but active assistance, helping to provide her with some of her earliest opportunities. "Seeing how inspired and passionate my parents were about what they were doing lit a fire in me once I decided to go for music," Cressman recalls.

Her parents provided entrée to a number of enviable opportunities, but Cressman's own prodigious gifts continued to merit her presence in any number of high-profile settings. She soon found herself playing salsa with Uruguayan percussionist Edgardo Cambon e Orquesta Candela, Latin Jazz with Pete Escovedo's Latin Jazz Orchestra, world music with Jai Uttal and the Pagan Love Orchestra, and globally-inspired avant-garde jazz with multi-instrumentalist Peter Apfelbaum, a family friend who became a key mentor. Cressman continues to work with Apfelbaum in his ensembles, The New York Hieroglyphics and Sparkler.

Cressman switched coasts in 2009 to study at the Manhattan School of Music, and the following year was enlisted by jam band pioneer Trey Anastasio for his touring band. "I first met Natalie when she was 18, and I was instantly floored by how melodically and naturally she played and sang," Anastasio says. "Natalie is the rarest of musicians. Born into a musical family and raised in a home filled with the sounds of Brazilian music, jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms, she is seeping with innate musicality. Musicality is in her DNA."

Following her jazz-oriented debut, Unfolding, with the more song-based Turn the Sea was at least partially a result of her tenure with Anastasio, Cressman says. "Trey always wants to include the audience, but he doesn't dumb down his music to do it. I find myself between two worlds with the music that I'm writing; it's not bread and butter jazz but it's not wholly anything else either."

It would be equally difficult to pinpoint Cressman's music, and at the same time equally hard to resist its allure. The album's title track marries her silken voice and lyrical trombone with a surging rhythm evocative of waves crashing and receding; "Fortune's Fool" is a melancholy love song propelled by a somber, Middle Eastern-inflected pulse; "New Moon" sets enigmatic lyrics to a soulful, flute and Rhodes-driven groove which segues into a soaring chorus that draws on West African rhythms.

Lyrically, Cressman hopes to connect with listeners by dealing with universal subjects, while offering her own unique twist. "It's interesting how many different ways you can write about love," she says. "I like to put on different characters when I compose, because I feel like my own life is often too ordinary to write only autobiographical songs. Sometimes I use snippets of other people's stories to create a new character and write from their perspective."

The album also features songs by two of Cressman's inspirations, reconfigured for her ensemble and voice. Norwegian singer-songwriter Hanne Hukkelberg provides "Do Not As I Do," while "Blindsided" is a song by indie favorite Bon Iver. The latter maintains the ethereal mood conjured by the original. "He gets a lot of mileage out of not too much," Cressman says of Bon Iver singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. "I'm trying to discover how little I can write and still have it mean as much as possible."

The album ends with a remix of opening track "Turn the Sea," courtesy of the band's bassist in his electronica-producer guise of JNTHN STEIN. The track hints at yet more future directions for the adventurous Cressman, while making literal the song's message of risk-taking. "It's a good bookend," she says, "coming back to where you began but in a totally different place."

Upcoming Natalie Cressman Tour Dates:

March 20 / Church of Boston / Boston, MA

March 21 / Nectar's / Burlington, VT

March 30 / Joe's Pub  / New York, NY

Natalie Cressman·  Turn The Sea / Cressman Music ·  Release Date: March 11, 2014

NatalieCressman.com

HELEN SUNG - ANTHEM FOR A NEW DAY

Pianist/composer Helen Sung has an announcement to make. In fact, declaration might be a more appropriate word. The artist’s musical statement can be heard at the center, literally and figuratively, of her Concord Jazz debut and her sixth album overall. Anthem for a New Day, a ten-song set that positions her at the forefront of a talented and diverse sextet, is set for release January 28, 2014, on Concord Jazz.

“I have been working on and ‘trying on’ different approaches in jazz music,” says Sung, who made the leap from classical to jazz piano in college and began performing in and around Boston and New York before releasing her first album in 2003. “With my previous albums, I was searching, experimenting – not that that ever ends. But this is the first project where I feel the most comfortable with who I am as an artist, where I am as an artist, what I’m doing as an artist. It brings the different pieces of my experience together in a way that’s organic and authentic. That kind of clarity is very exciting.”

Exciting enough for Sung to fly her colors with a sense of conviction that hadn’t existed previously. “When I hear the word ‘anthem,’ I think of flags or banners,” she says. “This album is my way of planting my flag in the ground. The journey continues, but at this point, I feel a confidence unlike before.”

Some of that confidence evident on Anthem for a New Day comes not just from Sung’s own diverse experience but from the talented crew backing her on this project: saxophonist Seamus Blake, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, bassist Reuben Rogers, drummer Obed Calvaire, and percussionist Samuel Torres (saxophonist John Ellis also lends his bass clarinet on a tune). In addition, guest artists Regina Carter (violin) and Paquito D’Rivera (clarinet) make outstanding appearances.

Sung also shook things up a bit with her own instrumentation. “Along with the piano, I played Rhodes as well, which I haven’t done on my previous albums,” she says. “Classical and jazz are the two primary genres I’ve been immersed in since I started playing music as a child. Early on, I played classical concertos and sonatas with their diverse and grand textures; then when I started jazz, in my quest to really swing, I found myself primarily just playing single lines in my right hand while playing chords with my left. Now I feel like it’s all starting to come together – in my playing, my improvisation, my writing, and with my arranging. All of this makes for an album that’s much bigger in terms of the sonic space it occupies.”

She stakes out that territory early on with “Brother Thelonious,” an effervescent opening track with an interesting origin. Sung originally wrote it as the commissioned “theme song” for a Belgian ale of the same name, crafted by the small North Coast Brewing Company located in Fort Bragg, California. “The owners are jazz fanatics, and I got to meet one of them through a connection with the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance [Sung is a graduate of the program’s inaugural class when it was housed at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston]. I had recorded an earlier version of the song for them, but then I revamped it a bit and recorded a stronger version this time, and it became the lead-off track for the album. North Coast is a fabulous outfit. They do so much good – not just for jazz but for a variety of causes.”

The lively “Armando’s Rhumba,” a Chick Corea composition, gets plenty of Latin mileage with a minimum of instrumentation. It’s just piano and clarinet – courtesy of Sung and D’Rivera – along with some very organic percussion techniques. “I was excited to contribute some non-piano musical material on this album!” says Sung. “After first laying down the instrumental tracks (clarinet, piano, and cajon), Samuel, Obed, and I then overdubbed the handclaps and foot stomps. It was so fun to work on this piece!”

“Hidden,” a composition by Sung, derives much of its melancholy sensibility from Regina Carter’s stirring violin as well as Ingrid Jensen’s cascading trumpet lines – two voices that establish themselves early in the track. Further in, Sung’s solo work on Rhodes adds a shimmering layer to the entire piece.

Sung indulges her occasionally ironic sense of arrangement in a rendition of “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” that includes occasional nods to her classical roots. While the title – and the original intent – of the Duke Ellington classic may have been all about swing, “my arrangement has hardly any swing sections in it,” says Sung. “It was intended to be tongue-in-cheek in that sense. Whether playing live or recording, I’ve always tried to present something familiar in unexpected ways.”

The title track gets under way with a quiet interlude, then segues into a rousing interplay between Rhodes, saxophone, trumpet, and the rhythm section of bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Obed Calvaire. The result is everything an anthem is supposed to be – energized, unabashed and daring. And in this case, it’s one artist’s declaration of creative identity.

Anthem for a New Day includes a unique reading of Monk’s “Epistrophy” that resulted from a tug-of-war between planning and spontaneity. “I’ve been working on ‘Epistrophy’ for a while and it actually started out as a totally different arrangement,” says Sung. “What a luxury to have musicians who can hang with my tendency to tinker, and that’s kind of what happened in the studio with ‘Epistrophy.’ More than once, we would try something, after which I’d say, ‘No, that’s not it.’ And the band would say, ‘Are you sure?’ Finally we did this take, and I said, ‘That’s it!’ It was awesome to see everyone really ‘get’ the arrangement.”

A solo piano rendition of “Equipoise” closes the album on a note that’s reflective and full of promise. “In some respects,” says Sung, “this album is my way of saying, ‘This is me, take it or leave it,’ instead of something more tentative like, ‘Okay, let me work on it a little more.’ Not that I don’t want to keep growing and developing, but I’m happy to be in a place where I’m more confident about the kind of artist I am becoming. I can’t believe how rare that feeling has been in my experience. That this coincides with the opportunity to release the album on Concord Records is a great blessing, and I’m excited to share it with the world: this is a new chapter, a new day, and I invite you to join me in the celebration of this album and music!”

PIANIST/COMPOSER ARUAN ORTIZ LIVE AT THE 2014 NYC WINTER JAZZFEST

Jazz pianist/composer Aruán Ortiz, "the latest Cuban wunderkind to arrive in the United States" (John Murph, BETJazz.com), hit the ground running when he arrived on the American jazz scene in 2003. A classically trained violist and pianist, this Santiago de Cuba native's sound is as marked by the influence of the contemporary classical composers such as Schoenberg, Ravel, and Copland, as it is by traditional Afro-Cuban sounds and jazz masters such as Bud Powell, Monk, Andrew Hill and Muhal Richard Abrams. A major testament to his massive talent, since setting foot in the States, Ortiz was quickly called upon to perform and record with artists such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Greg Osby, Cindy Blackman, Esperanza Spalding, Gary Thomas, Wayne Krantz, Rashied Ali, Stefon Harris, Horacio "el negro" Hernández, Giovanni Hidalgo, Lionel Loueke, Jane Bunnett, Jerry Bergonzi and others.  

Ortiz is currently featured on his own albums, "Orbiting" ("On Orbiting, the erudite Ortiz has smashed every preconception of Latin pianists and his penchant for innovative expression succeeds in surpassing the output of his musical contemporaries." - All About Jazz.com), and "Santiarican Blues Suite" on Sunnyside Records ("Ortiz's pen shines in a new light, the music lyrical, dramatic, creating suspense." 4 1/2 stars - DownBeat Magazine), plus, Steve Turre's newest recording, "Woody's Delight", the new Wallace Roney album, "Home" (both on HighNote, 2012), "Textures and Pulsations" with fellow pianist Bob Gluck, and The Aruan Ortiz/Michael Janisch Quintet, "Banned In London", featuring Greg Osby.  The NYJAZZ Quartet releases its newest album, "Blue Divide" (Zoho Music, 2014), on January 14th, featuring Aruan Ortiz, Rob Derke, Carlo de Rosa & Eric McPherson.

www.Aruan-Ortiz.com